...“You know what I'm here for!” Effie’s words rang out as Ernie watched on at the unexpected turn of events. “The funny thing is I really don’t know.” Ernie stood there and took in the scene. Was this the first time he had seen this type of outburst in the District? Ernie tried to recall, but now wasn’t really the time to reminisce on bad memories. Something was afoot. Something about Ugo threatening them that was for sure. But if Ugo wanted somebody to fight him this would never be his plan of attack. “Would you care to enlighten me then, I wouldn’t mind this either way!” Ernie shouted back, his tone was neutral, the tension of the situation only increased, but he didn’t see a need to fight back even now. “They sent us here, because they wanted us to steal your notebook!” Ernie heard the voice of Jenny behind a tree. Things started to make sense to Ernie, the hiding, why it wasn’t Odin’s people doing this, and that outburst. “And what do you two intend to do?” Ernie moved his backpack from his back to carrying it on one arm. “Well if you help us, you could send them a fake notebook! It’s not like we like those fuckers anyways!” Jenny replied beyond the trees. Well that wasn’t so difficult was it, it only took one or maybe both of their ire to get to this arrangement. Ernie weighed this against the prospect that they were lying to him, but if it came down to it it would just be either a fight now or a fight later. “Alright I’ll help you! I’ll be in my cabin manuscripting! You two wait outside, this will take less than an hour!” Ernie shouted back over as he started to walk back to his cabin. “Your funeral..wait what?!” Effie flipped as Jenny clapped an arm on her, “We did it, we can get out of this shitty situation.” Effie looked around, The Murder receded back into herself. “Did that really just happen?” She held out the hope that it really would be that easy, she wanted to believe it but she felt a slight pang of confusion, guilt maybe? Jenny continued on, “We just have to make sure that he does his end of the deal and we’ll be out of here in no time.” Jenny looked at Effie’s face as she noticed the change in expression, “You okay there? You let out a bunch just now and if you wanted to talk about it.” “No I’m ok, come on we have to still keep an eye on him.” Effie brushed Jenny’s arm off and made her way closer into the clearing with Jenny following. Well, that was somewhat anticlimactic. If you were hoping for a match with some more carnage in it, how about checking out a race out of a monster-filled urn and voting on it? Scenario: Sound’s Garden Eastern Strip - Heartache Casino VIP Room “So kind of you all to come again,” a man dressed garishly in gold spoke to a roomful of wealthy highrollers, a lounge area with a wall taken up by a screen large enough to make the place double as something of a particularly cozy home theater, a setup which had typically been reserved for two things: watching games organized by Heartache Casino’s owner on the closed-circuits of buildings he owned, and being rented out for private parties and banquets. “This is pretty unconventional,” a dark-haired sniper remarked between drinks, staring at the screen as it showed, largely, several shots of a building in Downtown Los Fortuna, which seemed to have rapidly grown occupied by a small group of Stand Users, some of whom familiar to the district’s regulars after some close shaves in the subways both occupied, “but it’s brilliant… Just needed to get your tech guy to get cameras in there, now you have a huge show for free.” “Should you be drinking, Seido?” The gold-clad owner asked, raising an eyebrow, “I mean, if something comes up…” “If something comes up, I’m off-duty, I’m just a guest right now, and I can shoot well enough sloshed to get myself out of a bind. If you wanted me as security, you should’ve hired me for that… Though really, I’d have rather been down there raising some hell if I was gonna shoot things.” Tigran sighed, finding that fair enough, he supposed… He wasn’t going to hire this man when he was buzzed, and he wouldn’t do guard detail for free either. Apparently, the man literally came to the city walking out of a bar into the flag unveiling, so he shouldn’t have been surprised. Still, though, even with moods high here, nobody seeming to mind the way anonymous characters like Oh No and Conqueror Worm mingled among them. Sure, they were kind of a low-priority target right now, with protests in the Business district, the hell-on-earth about to be unleashed Downtown keeping their worst nightmares busy, and the usual BS in places like the Waterfront and Industrial, but the man once noted for his supremely smarmy overconfidence had been feeling more anxious lately, probably because the Entertainment District’s criminal underground had taken some losses recently. Things were riding high with several successful games, and the arrival of Conqueror Worm, revitalizing everything that they had thought they’d known and opening up whole new possibilities of what games might be possible to organize from a place of safety, all while not asking for a penny of payment. He was a weird guy, but a valuable asset, and all that was understood to be asked in return was that they pretend not to know exactly who it was underneath that big fleshy suit. And then, the next time they had an in-person event, a bunch of them died in a fire, and on the way to… Well, who knew why he was there, but something happened that got a formerly active manager and ‘game’ organizer murdered blocks away from the site of the flames. Was it a sign, then, that the old ways really were dying, that they needed to change with the times or lose this subculture of theirs entirely? Maybe, and maybe some would leave it like that, but Tigran “Golden” Sins knew another source of common ground with every one of their games to go wrong, to go awry, to risk the future and safety of all that they were, all that they had. Everything (besides that time he got punched in the face) that had gone wrong, from Thutmose leaving them, to events that were supposed to be disastrous bloodbaths going well for the ‘players’ and ruining bets, could trace back somewhere. And she was sitting there looking very disinterested, nursing a sparkling juice in a very expensive evening dress and earrings, recently bought by the only man in the world he believed to be above himself. “Having a good time, Metra?” Fox asked the star known to much of the city as TD/MD, smiling smoothly and paying her more attention than the event itself, where he was significantly more public than before. He’d spent how many thousands on her in a few days? “Sure, yeah,” she answered, with a clear disinterest and foul mood. “I understand if you’re not… we’re all sorry to have lost Thutmose. Most likely by where he was, whoever killed him would have done the same to us had he not interfered. So he would want you to have a good time, right?” “Alright, everyone, last calls!” Conqueror Worm called out, many eyes looking all over. After getting back from camera work, he’d volunteered to handle bets, on account of his utter disinterest in profiting from his work there. Damn shame, honestly; Tigran loved that weird golden Stand-hurting sword he’d always been swinging around, and something belonging to a regional founder would be a hell of a get to wear around. “We know all the key players in that little downtown scuffle, so let’s hear it! Who’s biting it? Who’s comin’ out? Who’s gonna have the highest bodycount? Is anyone even gonna get IN?” That Oh No guy, from the Institute, spoke up through that voice changer he almost always had on in his coverings. “I think that… Three people will manage to find their way inside. Nobody on this betting board.” “Ooh, bold words from our boldest regular!” Worm leaned in close, asking, “how much’re you puttin’ on that?” “Nothing,” No responded, “I just want to see what comes of it… I’m almost disappointed you needed to ask.” Peas in a pod, those two. Tigran sighed, figuring he might need to drink through these proceedings, only to glance at Metra, suddenly, seeming to smirk, ears twitching as if that special pitch of hers had picked something up. “What? What’s so fun now, that-” The heavily reinforced, hidden doorway to the VIP room burst open, bisecting the hollow yet burly door guard as sand and rocks spilled out of its hollow crevasse, the only herald within seconds of a quintet of Stand Users barreling in, led by a trio on two motorbikes as two others, curious but energetic, followed. “All that you’ve done ends here, Fox!” Around the same time, Heartache Casino Public Floors “Uh… Glitch? I think… it might be good if we… go?” William Eyelash was not liking it here very much. His hyperactive coworker and teammate had practically dragged him here after what was otherwise a simple delivery performed in place of Zebra, who had been busy enough delivering food to the other side of the city. William was the one supposed to carry it out, but Glitch had practically jumped at the opportunity to do so. Glitch herself, meanwhile, seemed to be very content eating some fries which she (very regrettably) had to actually buy instead of simply snatching it away from a poor, unaware bystander, and had already ordered another plate because they were just that good. Security was too tight, somewhat on edge - the moment she got close to someone or something, they immediately turned their attention to her. Still, she didn’t want to deprive herself of one of the many pleasures of life like that, so she didn’t mind paying too much. “Mmrgh..? Why sho?” “W- well… you know… uh...” William wasn’t sure how to say it - he was scared enough of Glitch’s erratic mannerisms most days, and that was while he tried to steer clear of her. Were he to directly oppose her, he’d have no way of knowing what she’d do! On top of that, he couldn’t help but notice that she seemed slightly… on edge. She was usually hyperactive, but she seemed to be even more eager to jump from one thing to another recently, and to ignore anything that even slightly stressed her out. Considering everything that happened to the staff at the Elephant Bones recently, it made sense for her to be stressed, even if she didn’t really show it usually. “... um, you know the rumors about this place… right? ” Glitch turned to look at William, tilting her head “Hm? What rumors?”. “Uh... well… about the ED… and the fighting rings… I saw an article about it on the Hermod, and… i- it could be dangerous to be here for too long...” hearing William say that, Glitch seemed to recede for a bit, thinking to herself. “Mmm... well, it hasn’t been a problem yet! Right? Besides, the other chips haven’t arrived yet!” Glitch didn’t want to think much about it - so long as these fighting rings were away from her, she could just ignore them and go on with her life, but if it really was here, then maybe it would be good to avoid this place… but the fries were so good... Glitch took another look at the table she was sitting at and at the plate of fries she’d ordered. She grabbed a handful and ate them. “Mmm… after the second order of chips comes! Then we leave! But only after then!” “Alright...” William didn’t like this very much, and he couldn’t help but shoot nervous glances around as Glitch finished up. Just about every staff member here was on edge and uncomfortable - he knew how to notice these things, and it would make sense if this place really was connected to the underground. Ugh… Why did he come along with Glitch? He’d just have to hope that the second order would come soon, and then they’d be able leave just as quickly as they came in. Naturally, as if fate itself had conspired to screw him over, he couldn’t help but pick up on ‘something’. Guards around the floor peered nervously into their phones, and most of them began rushing towards the stairwell. Glitch had noticed as well, her ears picking up on the nervous murmurings of the guards and their hasty footsteps. “Uhh… G- Glitch, something’s happening, we should-” “Pleh! Can’t you wait just a second! The chips aren’t here yet! This isn’t-” Before Glitch could finish her sentence, something flew into the room - the body of a security officer, clearly tossed away by some stand, flew from the entrance to the second floor, and landed right in the middle of a group of more security officers. “Oh god oh god it’s happening oh no oh no oh no oh-” William was, as expected, positively freaking out by now. Meanwhile, Glitch was keeping her ears peeled out, having picked up on something… interesting. The voice of two people she vaguely recognized from “Taste of Fortuna” a month or so back. “Hey! That’s Agnes! And that other chef whose food is good! Even better than the chips!! What are they doing here, fighting?!” Soon enough, Agnes and Arpeggi really did pop into the room, their stands summoned as they staved off some guards with them. Much to William’s chagrin, Glitch grabbed onto his hand and summoned [Vida Loca], before hopping onto it, the massive feline hoisting him onto it as well, before running right towards the source of the commotion… And right into the footpath of a terrifying giant who seemed to suddenly fall from the ceiling, several eyes along its body looking to them as its head rotated 180 degrees. “Well, wouldn’t you like to know?” Several minutes earlier, A Few Stories Lower - Sound’s Garden Abandoned Subway “Are you sure this is the place? Seems pretty fucking trashy to me, honestly…” “That’s what makes it a secret passage, Agnes… They’re not exactly rolling out the red carpet to tell you how to get there.” “Ugh, Astronomia wasn’t built for this shit. You’re paying if something gets stuck somewhere.” “You’ve crashed it how many times this month alone?” Arpeggi Osso Buco sat in the sidecar of a motorbike driven by one Ananas “Agnes” Bayley, through the abandoned subways of the Eastern strip. He’d meant to take this trip alone, like he had before, but of course, this fucking guy had to be the first on the team to learn that he was a Stand User, an active vigilante, and not only in part responsible for a certain cult’s influence plummeting to nothing in Los Fortuna, but had dedicated himself to making an enemy of the blight of the Entertainment District. “Fuck it, I’m down.” “You’re… What?” “I’m down. Fuck those guys. I don’t even need to ask any more questions, they’re an absolute disgrace to be shown up by a real villain, and if you’re hunting their boss down, I’m with you.” “You are the last person I would want watching my back in a-” “Or I can tell Gabanna what you’re doing so soon after getting SHOT last time you tried your luck with these guys.” “…bastard. Okay, just don’t get in the way.” Minus a near-scare with RCR’s nightmarish train nearly running them down without noticing, and Arpeggi having to explain at some point that it was both private information from a set of informants and news now publicly printed in multiple sources about the higher-ups of this organization, it had mostly gone smoothly since then. As they drove closer to the underside of Heartache, Arpeggi signaled for Agnes to stop, noting a destroyed set of hollowed-out mannequins of sorts, smoking and smelling like gunpowder. “Hell is that?” Agnes asked, looking down, but Arpeggi, in turn, didn’t quite seem surprised. Before he could explain, however, another, distorted voice cut through. “You’re late.” The revving of a second motorcycle, a sport bike, had quietly synced with Astronomia, and the pair looked up to see a figure clad in orange and black, winglike scarf drooping upside-down, its rider atop the ceiling of the tunnel. “You.” Agnes spoke with contempt, despite having never seen the Black Angel in person before, only for them and their bike to drop down right in front of them, flipping in midair to land gracefully. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing a friend, let alone… Him.” The Angel sounded dubious about Agnes’ presence, adding, “since you took time picking him up, I’ve had to start picking off these weird… hollow doll-guards myself. They almost noticed me in time to signal the boss. I really don’t have the time for this today.” “Sorry about that, he insisted,” Arpeggi wrote off, not wanting to explain the somewhat unsurprising (“ran into one another while doing their vigilante rounds, got to talking about the ED mainly”) story how he and the Angel met, “and he’s here right now… Say what you like about him, you saw that Being So Normal, I assume. He’ll be an asset.” “I’ll kick your ass-et,” Agnes grumbled, “fighting them alone my ass. Ugh, teaming up with masked hero types like this… Pisses me off. We should be kicking each other’s asses, Angel.” “Deal with it,” the Angel wrote off, before adding, “our contacts in there… They said basically everyone we might have any reason to get is on that floor with them, watching Downtown.” “Right, some madman is acting out there,” Arpeggi noted, folding his arms and looking Westward, “I take it that’s why you’re in a hurry? You want to deal with them quickly and head out there next?” “You got it,” they answered, “and admittedly, there’s a reason I had to come here first… Something I’m going to prioritize the highest, and if we take too long, I’ll have to leave having only done that.” “You’ve got a grudge, is that it?” Agnes asked, “you wanna punt some fucker before moving on?” “That’s… not why I’m targeting him,” The Angel noted, before adding, “that sword the Conqueror Worm always has on him… The ‘Sword of Sir Aurel…’ The future of the city might depend on me getting that Downtown. The contacts say he still has it with him, just like on that stream.” “You’re pissing me off, pretending you don’t care about just one-upping that bastard,” Agnes chided, adding, “act like you’re ‘heroes of justice’ all you want… I’m doing this because these guys piss me the hell off, and seeing them fall will make me laugh. Do all of us a favor, cut the bullshit, and admit you’re gonna enjoy this, yeah?” The others didn’t say too much more of note, then, beyond the Angel briefly examining Astronomia, putting something all over it that they claimed would ‘make it maneuver better,’ which Arpeggi had to calm Agnes into accepting, especially considering it meant they could ride up stairs with relative ease. “Alright, from this secret passage, it’s a straight shot up a few flights of stairs to the VIP room… We should be able to burst it down without ever disrupting all the public patrons and fortifications up on 1F. Hold on tight, you got that?” The motorbikes revved, then, and the Angel’s led Agnes in seeming to leap into the air, driving up and along the walls of the stairwell, before a long-haired figure emerged from the Angel, aiming something at a metal reinforced door, firing into it a few times, and it shifted in place as Pork Soda rushed towards it, placing a tab on the material before ripping it away, liquid metal blasting in the opposite direction the door would fly and swing at rapid speed, swinging like a deadly projectile and cutting more powerful puppet guards away as the three burst in. Arpeggi called out, “All that you’ve done ends here, Fox!” Not long after Arpeggi called that out, Fox himself, of course, was quick to stand, as were a few bold-looking members of the crowd, hurrying towards the fighters with his own accompanying doll-guard, small enough to hold in two hands and, with his large frame, swing like a hammer-thrower, lobbing up towards them and bursting open into a mess of pointed rocks as he drew closer, repelling Arpeggi’s immediate attempts to approach. The swinging door, embedded with odd screws and still gushing metal soda, began to fly towards him, only for the sound of a rifle to fill the room, a single warping bullet putting out every one of the odd screws and careening it to strike Arpeggi back, sending him flying down the stairwell before either the Angel or Agnes could react. Seido, sitting at his edge of the bar, finished downing his drink, holding his weapon in one hand and grinning a bit, slurring slightly, “thas’ goin’ on your tab, boss…” Fox smirked, then, rocks and sand swirling around him and beating back the remaining attackers’ efforts to burst forward. “Let’s not fight up here, gentlemen… I’ve set this place up nice for a very special guest. Take it downstairs. Seido, consider yourself on the clock now.” Worm, then, seemed to realize the Angel was staring at his movements, diving down into the floor below to the terror of the 1F patrons, and the rider hurriedly cut away from the clash, leaving Agnes to fend for himself against the rocky onslaught of Fox, all while Oh No watched and Seido, quickly, lined up another shot. Even on this upgraded bike, he knew the only response to make there. “Fffuck this!” Pork Soda reached for Astronomia, a tab appearing on its wheel which, as the Stand weathered rocky blows, it pulled, blasting Agnes back into the stairwell, where he hit the wall with an, “oof!” before hopping off of his ride, which crashed and plummeted down as he abandoned it to slide down the railing, doing a cool combat roll to cover Arpeggi and the Angel as they rolled into the first floor, clearly concerned about what Conqueror Worm being there would mean for the patrons. Fox and others were shortly behind, with a certain exception. Though nobody could hear it, by Metra Doria’s choice, as soon as Seido had spoken that aloud, she’d kicked up the chair she’d been sulking in all ‘party’ long, a pair of headphones appearing along her neck as a blast of sonic energy kicked it directly into the head of the hitman. Her heart skipped a beat, then, and she muttered under her breath, “shit, that actually worked… I got lucky, huh?” “Entirely,” Oh No agreed, stepping forth himself and stretching, producing a very large, intimidating revolver from his cloak and beginning, idly, to load it, “but don’t treat that as a failing, TD/MD… You saw a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and you had the instincts to take it.” No closed the chamber, starting leisurely towards the stairs after the rest. “This is getting tiresome, isn’t it? You see it too, how dull this has gotten… What potential they’re wasting here. What do you say we speed along what’s been a long, long time coming?” “Well, wouldn’t you like to know?” A golden, shining sword appeared out of the giant’s gross hand, and his presence alone made Glitch want to wretch, the smell of the Conqueror Worm fell, and vibes even more rancid. “We got two more troublemakers here, eh?” Worm asked her and William with an amused tone, “Hell just broke loose here, and you’re tryin’ to run headlong into it! I like that! I like that drive! So what do ya say? Attacka them!” Glitch didn’t know this guy, but something about his gleeful nature, the way that William murmured to himself in alarm when he spoke those distorted words, made her hairs stand on end, made her want to hiss and immediately turn her attention to him, and it seemed, then, that Worm could sense this. “Another one who ain’t a fan, huh?” He shook his head. “Disappointing, but typical.” At that, he ducked into the floor, before attempting to burst out from underneath and drive his blade up into Vida Loca, barely being scraped before hopping away from the rising attack and meeting it with a sharp, harsh claw, beating back his raw strength with her Stand’s own. “I don’t know who you are, but you’re really not the kind of bad news that’s any fun!” Glitch called out from atop her mount, pulling off in time to avoid the ambush of a hollowed-out guard and note two others bothering William. “That guy looks underage… He ain’t allowed to be on a casino floor without ID!” Worm declared with amusement, fully expecting what came next as several of the doll-guards attempted to strong-arm him. “G-get away… Get away from me!” William was freaking out, then, and fairly fearing for his life, allowed Ocean Eyes to manifest, swinging and spraying acid all around, which bounced uselessly off of Worm’s hide, didn’t so much as drop near Glitch or Vida Loca, and melted away the threats in an instant. The casino floor was pandemonium then, several high rollers, some random patrons, and of course, every named member fighting, Stands flying. Arpeggi expertly caught rocks tossed by Fox, only for him to still control them even as they were made to burn by NEXT LEVEL 2, though this eroded away much of the sands of his barrier, backed up by Agnes as he very competently kept a rocky barrier up regardless, Metra standing close by, shifting her eyes. The Black Angel tried to drive headlong into Worm, continuing his mess of a situation, while Glitch, mostly, managed to sneak off on her own, trying to find a way to support William and calm him out of whatever this was. “Don’t move,” a modulated voice behind her said, and she heard something click behind her. “Mrr?” She turned, then, facing the barrel of Oh No’s revolver head-on. “This might be a bit loud… But it’s about time this ended.” Before Glitch could react, No had pulled the trigger twice. Neither shot so much as grazed her, but seemed to hit tables, cameras, walls, ricocheting about in apparent chaos, before finally… “I… What did…” Blood ran down the organizational ringleader’s outfit, bleeding both from a massive wound to the back of his knee and opening a massive hole in his shoulder, as the rocks he had been flinging around dropped like… Rocks. Tigran’s voice was the next thing to ring out through the casino, now mostly abandoned bar the combatants. “TOBY!!!” Fox hadn’t even heard the shots fired, thanks to Metra, let alone noticed their angles; after all, the only one he knew of who could make a shot like that was knocked out and drunk upstairs, not to mention loyal to Tigran’s paychecks. No twirled his gun around, holstering it and patting the bewildered Glitch on the shoulder. “Thanks for holding still… Didn’t want to hit you and ruin it all, after all. Hmmhmmhmahaha!" “You… You motherfuckers!” Tigran wanted to cry then, especially as the others drew closer, seeing everyone who had fought against an ally of his here as little more than an enemy. Still, though, facing them off, he had to calm himself. “Stand down,” Arpeggi demanded, “you’re outnumbered, completely.” Tigran, rather than giving up, began to speak again. “You know, as the owner of this casino, I know the power of ‘games’. You see, if you call it a ‘gamble’, that sounds so… negative, no? So you call it nothing more than a simple ‘game’. That’s what draws people in. Getting people to play ‘roulette’ is harder, but if you call it a ‘roulette game’ and mask it correctly, it’s so, so, easy… However, the moment the ball is launched, it doesn’t matter, does it? No difference between a ‘gamble’ and a ‘game’... the ‘contract’ is the same - you abandon your money for ‘entertainment’ and for a slim ‘hope’ that you’ll succeed this time and make bank… It’s all thanks to these ‘games’... All of you lot, don’t you think so? Aren’t ‘games’ great? Hell, I’ve got an idea for one we can play right now…” “Wh- what the hell are you talking about!” Arpeggi shouted out in anger. “I’m not putting up with this shit! You want a ‘game’?! Sure, fine! Here, how about this one - I go up to you, and have fun beating the shit out of you!” rushing towards Tigran, Arpeggi readied a punch and swung towards him - only for his fist to stop in midair, hitting against some kind of invisible barrier. He reeled back from the impact, stumbling backwards, feeling… weak. A look behind him revealed that Agnes, Glitch, William, and even Metra, the Angel, and No seemed to be feeling the same, struggling to remain upright. “Y- you ‘agreed’... heh…” Tigran’s previously panicked expression quickly faded, replaced by a wide grin. “You agreed to it! You agreed to the ‘game’!” By now, Tigran broke out into uproarious laughter. “Always! They always fall for it, tempted by ‘games’! You… you idiot! I put the answer right in front of you, and you still missed it! ‘Games’, by their very nature, are tricks! Illusions! And my [The Grid] has the power to facilitate that! By agreeing to the game, my [The Grid] forces you to participate! There’s no escape now - you’re trapped in this ‘game’ of mine!” As he realized he had screwed them all right at the last moment, Arpeggi’s vision began fading, and he fell onto the ground with a thud, blacking out. ???, an hour later, Heartache Casino VIP room “Alright! Seems like our contestants for the first impromptu match of the day are waking up!” “Plrrr..?” Out of nowhere, Glitch found herself standing straight, awake, somewhere unfamiliar. She tried to listen to see what was going on, only hearing the groans of William, Agnes, and Arpeggi, indicating that they were in a similar position to her. Of course, there was also that voice - she was… a ‘contestant’. It wasn’t hard to roughly figure out what exactly she was a ‘contestant’ of. She, and... “...William!” Behind her was a whimpering noise, evidently William, and the sound of droplets of some kind of liquid splashing onto the ground, clearly [Ocean Eyes]’s acid. Ahead of her were Agnes and Arpeggi, talking between themselves about what the hell happened. Arpeggi sounded mad. Agnes… she wasn’t sure how he sounded. But she gathered enough from their conversation to understand that somehow, they were currently inside of a roulette wheel. Or rather, she, and everyone else, was shrunk, and placed into a roulette wheel. “Now, this match is simple - a deathmatch to see who manages to survive! However, since we’re at the heartache casino… there’s an appropriate twist involved! See, our combatants for today are fighting on a roulette table, and meanwhile, our spectators for today are placing ‘bets’ to see which colors win out! Representing ‘red’, we’ve got our very own ‘Fox’! On black, meanwhile, we’ve got ‘Tigran Sins’, who set this match up!” She summoned [Vida Loca] besides her, taking a look through the stand’s eyes and seeing the environment for herself. She was dwarfed by the room, trapped inside of this small roulette wheel. There was nowhere to run. William’s whimpers had escalated into sobbing, as [Ocean Eyes] hugged him from behind. Arpeggi and Agnes were arguing by now, shouting at each other. She took a deep breath. “Now… I won’t keep you waiting any longer, since I just know everyone here’s excited to see what happens! So...” First, Glitch got tossed into Los Fortuna and found a new home there, with the rest of the staff at the Elephant Bones. Then, they started getting into fights with other stand users - Shelldrake, Effie, Byte, William. She hadn’t been in one yet, but she knew very well the effects of them. Her friends had gotten hurt, some such as Father Blue even dying. Then the situation in the slums got worse, her home becoming less and less safe by the minute, her friends getting extorted and forced to work for ODIN, and now she and William were trapped here. “Three… Two… One...” She needed to get out. She needed to fight. She needed to win. She could overhear Agnes and Arpeggi bickering on the other side of the wheel, but knew that they were going to try and fight her and William as well. They had to. They’d been trapped by that man’s stand, and none of them knew what could be done against it, if anything. [Vida Loca] stood behind her, a constant vibration coming out of it and creating a loud hissing noise that was soon mimicked by [Ocean Eyes], drowning out William’s sobs. She knew full well that, even if he was her friend, William was also a dangerous killer, meek though he might have acted. As hard as that whole situation was to grasp, she understood something else - that the more she stayed near [Ocean Eyes], working alongside it, the safer she was. She and William had to get out of this. And if they wanted to get out of this... They would have to fight for their lives. OPEN THE GAME! (credit to magistelles for the image, both the censored and uncensored version!(CW: trypophobia)) Location: A roulette wheel in Heartache Casino, upon which players have been forcibly placed. The map here is roughly similar to the image of the roulette wheel above. The outer brown layer represents the rim, the yellow layer being the wooden slopes down towards the center, the black layer being the numbers, the red layer being the pockets, the next layer being sloped wood up towards the center, and the center being a metal tower. The map is 30 by 30 meters relative to the players, with the dotted tile being 5 by 5 meters. The diamonds are the metal bumpers, about half a meter tall, and the blue circle is a weighted metal roulette ball which is a meter tall, both heights relative to the players. The metal tower in the center is 8 meters tall relative to the players and the outside walls are 5 meters relative to the players. Players can not go past the rim of the roulette wheel. Goal: RETIRE your opponents! Additional Information: There is an invisible barrier keeping the players and their Stands inside the roulette wheel. Everything else will pass through as normal, but the players and their attacks will be blocked by this barrier. The barrier is cylindrical around the entire roulette wheel. The roulette system is currently automatic, 5 seconds after the ball falls into a pocket or stops moving entirely, it will start rolling again at top speed clockwise. The max speed of the ball is equivalent to B SPD and the ball is A DUR. You can expect it to make around 8 revolutions around the wheel before losing most of its speed if it is unimpeded by the players. If the ball is destroyed or unable to roll, a new one will be thrown in from outside.
“W-Well, I'll be going now...” You’re being forced to fight, and you don’t want anything to do with this! During the match, try to stay on the backlines as much as possible, assisting from there!
"Nowadays, 30,000 yen is gone after you make one or two trips... So all that's left is to make more money, or go flat broke." You are being forced to fight here, and you hate it, so you might as well do something to cause the casino to lose money! Do whatever you can to constantly rig the roulette in favor of odds!
"Does that alien not know what 'holding back' means?" You were tricked by that asshole, and now you’ve got to fight these two bystanders?! Fuck, this makes you irritated. Destroy as much of the area as possible over the course of your strategy!
"I did say this seemed fun, but I wasn't talking about Cee-lo. I meant that it'd be fun taking your 30,000 yen from you." That girl over there is trying to rig the game, so play the agent of chaos and rig it towards the other end! Do whatever you can to constantly rig the roulette in favor of evens!
Link to the Official Player Spreadsheet Link to Match Schedule As always, if you would like to interact with the tournament community and be among the first to get updates for the tournament, please feel free to PM a member of our Judge staff for an invite to our Official Discord Server!
MAME 0.223 has finally arrived, and what a release it is – there’s definitely something for everyone! Starting with some of the more esoteric additions, Linus Åkesson’s AVR-based hardware chiptune project and Power Ninja Action Challenge demos are now supported. These demos use minimal hardware to generate sound and/or video, relying on precise CPU timings to work. With this release, every hand-held LCD game from Nintendo’s Game & Watch and related lines is supported in MAME, with Donkey Kong Hockey bringing up the rear. Also of note is the Bassmate Computer fishing aid, made by Nintendo and marketed by Telko and other companies, which is clearly based on the dual-screen Game & Watch design. The steady stream of TV games hasn’t stopped, with a number of French releases from Conny/VideoJet among this month’s batch. For the first time ever, games running on the Barcrest MPU4 video system are emulated well enough to be playable. Titles that are now working include several games based on the popular British TV game show The Crystal Maze, Adders and Ladders, The Mating Game, and Prize Tetris. In a clear win for MAME’s modular architecture, the breakthrough came through the discovery of a significant flaw in our Motorola MC6840 Programmable Timer Module emulation that was causing issues for the Fairlight CMI IIx synthesiser. In the same manner, the Busicom 141-PF desk calculator is now working, thanks to improvements made to Intel 4004 CPU emulation that came out of emulating the INTELLEC 4 development system and the prototype 4004-based controller board for Flicker pinball. The Busicom 141-PF is historically significant, being the first application of Intel’s first microprocessor. Fans of classic vector arcade games are in for a treat this month. Former project coordinator Aaron Giles has contributed netlist-based sound emulation for thirteen Cinematronics vector games: Space War, Barrier, Star Hawk, Speed Freak, Star Castle, War of the Worlds, Sundance, Tail Gunner, Rip Off, Armor Attack, Warrior, Solar Quest and Boxing Bugs. This resolves long-standing issues with the previous simulation based on playing recorded samples. Colin Howell has also refined the sound emulation for Midway’s 280-ZZZAP and Gun Fight. V.Smile joystick inputs are now working for all dumped cartridges, and with fixes for ROM bank selection the V.Smile Motion software is also usable. The accelerometer-based V.Smile Motion controller is not emulated, but the software can all be used with the standard V.Smile joystick controller. Another pair of systems with inputs that now work is the original Macintosh (128K/512K/512Ke) and Macintosh Plus. These systems’ keyboards are now fully emulated, including the separate numeric keypad available for the original Macintosh, the Macintosh Plus keyboard with integrated numeric keypad, and a few European ISO layout keyboards for the original Macintosh. There are still some emulation issues, but you can play Beyond Dark Castle with MAME’s Macintosh Plus emulation again. In other home computer emulation news, MAME’s SAM Coupé driver now supports a number of peripherals that connect to the rear expansion port, a software list containing IRIX hard disk installations for SGI MIPS workstations has been added, and tape loading now works for the Specialist system (a DIY computer designed in the USSR). Of course, there’s far more to enjoy, and you can read all about it in the whatsnew.txt file, or get the source and 64-bit Windows binary packages from the download page. (For brevity, promoted V.Smile software list entries and new Barcrest MPU4 clones made up from existing dumps have been omitted here.)
MAME Testers Bugs Fixed
02603: [Sound] (cinemat.cpp) tailg: Phasor sample plays incorrectly. (Aaron Giles)
Toy Story 3 (Lexibook) [Sean Riddle, Kamaal Brown, David Haywood]
unknown 'TE06' [TeamEurope, Roberto Fresca]
Unknown Compumatic ProSPDP based darts machine [jordigahan, ClawGrip]
VideoJet Kiu Games [Sean Riddle, David Haywood]
Virtual TV Ping Pong [TeamEurope, David Haywood]
Yataimura Kingyosukui (4-player, China, Ver 1.000) [Darksoft]
New clones marked as NOT_WORKING
Anakonda [Robbbert]
Funhouse (L-2) [PinMAME]
Funhouse (L-2, prototype PA-1 System 11 sound) [PinMAME]
Kharkovsky [Robbbert]
Laser Ball (L-2, PROM sound) [PinMAME]
Last Action Hero (1.04 France) [PinMAME]
Last Action Hero (1.07) [José Renato Castro Milanez, Sergio Munemori]
Magic Card - Wien (Sicherheitsversion 1.2) [TeamEurope, Roberto Fresca]
Nove Diamante (bootleg) [Ioannis Bampoulas]
Unga [Robbbert]
New working software list additions
fmtowns_cd: Akiko - Premium Version, Cal III - Kanketsu-hen, Chiemi & Naomi, Curse, Eikan wa Kimi ni 2 - Koukou Yakyuu Zenkoku Taikai, FM Towns Application Catalog CD-ROM - Original Soft-hen, G5 (HMA-206), Gambler - Queen's Cup, Gokuraku Mandala, Hyper Fetishism, Illust Hyakka - Yamashita Hideki no Ikiiki Cut-shuu, Iris-tei Serenade, Jouhou Club - Card Processor Ver. 1.1, Mahjong Musashi, Manami no Doko made Iku no? 2 - Return of the Kuro Pack, The Manhole (1990-08-01), Marionette Mind, Mirage 2 - Torry, Neat & Roan Fairladies in MagicLand, Noushuku Angel 120%, Shamhat - The Holy Circlet (FM Towns Marty version), Tenshin Ranma, Two Shot Diary, Viper-V12 RS, Viper-V8 Turbo RS, YES! HG - Erotic Voice Version [redump.org, r09]
gba:
Rayman IV (Rayman - Sunshine of Trip) (unlicensed) (protection hacked) [RibShark]
Crash Advance IV (unlicensed) (protection hacked), Digimon - Ruby and Sapphire (unlicensed) (protection hacked), The Lord of the Rings IV - The Fellowship of the Ring (unlicensed) (protection hacked), Pokemon - Sapphire Version (unlicensed) (protection hacked), Rayman IV (Rayman - Puteshestviye Solnechnogo Sveta) (unlicensed) (Russian) (protection hacked), Sonic 3 - Fighter Sonic (unlicensed) (protection hacked), Super Mario DX (unlicensed) (protection hacked), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 (unlicensed) (protection hacked), Ultraman - Confrontation Between Justice And Evil (Ul'traman - Konfrontatsiya mezhdu spravedlivost'yu i zlom) (unlicensed) (Russian) (protection hacked), X-Man - Armour of Might (X-men) (unlicensed) (Russian) (protection hacked) [taizou]
Bloodwych (Quest & Glory Compilation) (Euro), Bloodwych (USA), Budokan - The Martial Spirit (5.25"), The Colonel's Bequest (3.5"), The Colonel's Bequest (5.25"), Dragon's Lair (5.25"), F29 Retaliator, Lakers vs Celtics and the NBA Playoffs (3.5"), Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places) (5.25"), Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards, Mario Andretti's Racing Challenge, Speedball 2 - Brutal Deluxe (Euro, 3.5"), TV Sports Basketball (3.5", USA, EGA/TANDY version), TV Sports Basketball (3.5", USA, VGA version), TV Sports Basketball (5.25", UK, EGA/TANDY version), TV Sports Basketball (5.25", UK, VGA version), Xenon 2: Megablast [ArcadeShadow]
SCO XENIX System V Development System version 2.1.3 [archive.org, Davide Cavalca]
IBM Personal Computer Interactive Executive (PC/IX) 1.00 [WinWorld, Davide Cavalca]
ibm5170: B-17 Flying Fortress (5.25"), Corridor 7: Alien Invasion (demo), Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle (France), Out of this World (USA, 3.5" DD), Out of this World (USA, 5.25" HD), Sam & Max Hit the Road (Germany) [ArcadeShadow]
pc98_cd: F15 Strike Eagle III, if 2 - Invitations from Fantastic Stories, Manami no Doko made Iku no? 2 - Return of the Kuro Pack, Phobos, Pro Student G (ALS-0010), YES! HG - Erotic Voice Version, Yuurou - Transient Sands [redump.org, r09]
sgi_mips:
Desktop Special Edition 1.0, European Language Module 1.1, European Language Module 1.3.1, Hot Mix 5, Hot Mix 7, IndiZone 1.0, IRIX 5.2 for Indy R4600PC and Challenge SX, IRIX Patch 5.1.1.2, ONC3/NFS for IRIX 6.2 Version 1, ONC3/NFS for IRIX 6.2 with Indigo2 IMPACT 10000 Version 1, Support Advantage 10/94, Support Advantage 6/95, SupportFolio 2/97, SupportFolio 4/97 [darkstar]
Disney/Pixar Wall-E (China) [tenyuhuang, Ryan Holtz]
Les Bisounours - Le monde merveilleux des Bisounours (France), Nickelodeon Bob L'éponge - Une journée dans la vie d'une éponge (France) [DisizDream]
vsmilem_cart:
Disney/Pixar Cars 2 (France), Disney/Pixar Toy Story 3 (France), DreamWorks Kung Fu Panda - La mission de Po (France), Football Challenge (France), Martin Le Dauphin (France), Nickelodeon Dora L'Exploratrice - Les adventures de Dora Apprentie Mécano (France), Sporti'Folies (France) [DisizDream, Ryan Holtz]
Action Mania (USA), Disney/Pixar Toy Story 3 (USA), Marvel Spider-Man & Friends - Secret Missions (USA), Soccer Challenge (USA) [Sean Riddle, TeamEurope, Ryan Holtz]
mobigo_cart: Disney Jake and the Neverland Pirates (USA, alt), Disney Princess (USA, alt), Disney/Pixar Brave (USA), Dreamworks Shrek - Forever After (US), NAND User Cartridge (unknown data, set 1), NAND User Cartridge (unknown data, set 2), Sesame Street - Elmo and Abby - Nature Explorers (USA) [TeamEurope]
novag_ssensor4: Quartz Chess Clock [Berger]
pc98_cd: DOR Special Edition '93, DOR Special Edition '93 (alt), Kanji Land 3-nen, Kyrandia II - The Hand of Fate, Lemon Cocktail Collection, Lip 3 - Lipstick Adventure 3, Mirage 2 - Torry, Neat & Roan Fairladies in MagicLand [redump.org, r09]
pi_storyreader_cart: Disney Blanca Nieves y los siete enanos (Spain), Disney El Rey León (Spain), Walt Disney Peter Pan (Spain) [TeamEurope, ClawGrip]
tvgogo:
Basketball (EU) [ClawGrip, TeamEurope]
Basketball (US) [Sean Riddle, David Haywood]
vsmileb_cart: Teletubbies (France) [DisizDream]
Merged pull requests
6825: docs: Improved analog joystick mapping documentation, and added health warnings. [Firehawke]
6837: debugger: Added loadr and saver commands for loading or saving data to/from a memory region. [bombzj]
6838: fmtowns_cd.xml: Added 28 new entries, and replaced 22 entries with improved dumps. [redump.org, r09]
6844: gigatron: Hooked up CPU output callback, fixed program counter wrapping, and added CPU input callback. [Sterophonick]
People frequently bring up the argument that vehicle speed can contribute to the feeling of size of the map They say that RDR2 feels bigger than gta 5 even though it’s smaller because the horses aren’t as fast as cars I’m gonna have to say this isn’t entirely true. GTA 5 feels smaller because the majority of its area isn’t playable, you play a bit in sandy shores and paleto bay and aside from that the whole map is just Los Santos. You don’t use most of the right side of the map that’s past the casino, none of the mountains are useful, the game isn’t playable in those areas When talking about map size it’s important to consider playability, having shit to do. If the majority of businesses can be entered in gta 6, and you can rob NPCs with mechanics that require actual skill and finesse, if you can get paid for stunts you do while off roading, or look for any of 50 different treasures that are hidden around the map worth actual money, those are the things that will make the game feel big. Because the entirety of the map you have something fun to do In gta 5 if you aren’t in a populated area the only thing you have to do is find a way to get back to a populated area, meaning that the majority of the game is unplayable In terms of actual playable area I’m sure that gta San Andreas is bigger than gta 5, because although gta 5 has a much bigger map, the majority of it is mountains. In gta SA there were 3 full sized cities and each was playable All I want is a map that’s 100% playable. This is why RDR2 can be fun despite sometimes being a mile away from another human. At any time you can hunt, or tame a horse, what have you.
What we need in gta 6 to avoid it feeling like the playable area is small
No more than one mountain should be in the game, all it does is serve as a barrier in gta 5 so that you can’t see the desert from the top of maze bank tower. That’s probably the only reason it’s there
NPCs should have interaction, even online. The ability to pick pocket NPCs or hold them up for money or whatever trinkets that are in their pockets would be nice. Maybe with a certain skill and finesse needed so that they’ll call the cops if you’re too aggressive or make your pick pocketing to noticeable or whatever. This allows for areas with minimal playability like paleto bay to seem playable
Animals should wonder the land, especially in online. There was a bit of this in gta 5 story mode but even that was lacking. There should be birds that walk around the metro, rats that rarely spawn that freak out NPCs, dogs which can be tamed and trained to find buried goods out in the desert, animals allow the less playable areas to still feel lively
The ocean should be playable. Maybe add buried treasure collectibles you can dive for that pay you, add ships that can be raided, and small islands with rich peoples houses. Maybe a weird rock formation that a treasure hunt leads you to which is too weird of an angle for you to get to by helicopter. Things like this would encourage boat exploration. Also, I can’t stress this enough. There should be actual fish models, seagulls that eat fish, and dolphins.
More animations. While not necessary for increasing the playable area size it means that the interaction with unique and obscure places will seem unique. Maybe there’s a specific marsh area where you trudge through different from anywhere else in the map. Maybe your character enters certain cars different, like jumping over the door into the seat if a top is down.
Maybe you could even choose animations which have different pros and cons. So maybe holding pistols sideways and gangster decreases accuracy but increases the amount of RP you get per kill, or hip firing a machine gun rather than holding it proper decreases accuracy but has a 1/8 chance of auto locking to the head rather than the body. Maybe you can choose between diving away from bullets which allows you to stay shooting while dodging or rolling which allows you to get back up to your feet faster Imagine if gta 5 has 100 brand new animations how much more interesting it would be to play. Animation variety absolutely increased the playability of a game because it doesn’t feel stale, and if you want a game to feel playable even in the most boring of places, a ton of animations is the way to do it
A Tale of Two Immortal Bank Robbers: Chapter Five, Part 19.5: The Beginning of the End
Archive Act 1: The Steakhouse Music The Golden Grin was always a prosperous casino, my business was booming with waves of gamblers pouring their life savings into my vault like how tea gets poured into the teacup. I had to settle a few things internally within my management, but nothing new for me, especially for trips back to either Makai or the Lunar Capital. Me, Dust, Kaguya, Mom, and Yumeko were to meet up in a high class steakhouse around Murkywater's airport. Located below a steep hillside and being considered a "restricted area," it was the perfect place for Murkywater, a convenient place to hide stash dark secrets while being off the radar. My bodyguard, an ex-GenSec Elite, was with me in the front seat of my Falcogini. I was going to meet up with 5 at the steakhouse with my bodyguard driving the car back to the Grin. Luckily for me, I had a deal with GenSec where my personal vehicle would be transported anyone under my request, they needed to save face and have financial gain after being embarrassed by my crew. "I'll stop here. Here are the keys, drive back to GenSec and say that I was dropped off in the proper location, got it?" "Yes, Mr.Hoxworth." I parked the car and gave the keys to my bodyguard. Then, then started driving off to to the airport so that he can park this thing back in Vegas. Loyal guy I must say, does my requests without asking questions. No matter how questionable the circumstances are. Now to wait for Dust, Kaguya, Mom, and Yumeko. For whatever reason, they didn't have transportation, so I paid Twitch to pick them up with his van and promised to let him eat dinner with us, I supposed it was the least I could do to keep him as a reliable getaway. After smoking a cigarette outside in the smoking area, the 5 of them arrived. I pressured Dust and Kaguya to look a "little different" as I don't need to answer stupid questions from any 'heroes.' My mother and Yumeko were fine, since none of the bastards could of knew anything about Makai. After properly introducing the 5 of us to Twitch, the 6 of us walked in the steakout. The employee at the front had to write down our names due to "company policy" and that nonsense. Knowing 2 of them were wanted fugitives, I gave them these names in order, from me, Mom, Yumeko, Dust, Kaguya, and Twitch, respectively.
My status as the owner of the most prosperous casino on Earth made the employee's eyes shine brighter than that one time where Sariel pulled a mean joke on me and said I was locked up in Heaven. I'm still going to get her for that. Cheeky bastard. "I-it's been an honor serving you. M-Mr.Hoxworth. May I get a trip to your casino to gamble or something? This job is pretty dead end..." I just looked away and smiled, it was stressful living a quad life as a casino tycoon, bank robber, Lunarian prince, and demon lord. Now my mother and older sister were interested in the human world, as it's been something they've taken a interest in ever since that failed tour agency. And with my return, they wanted to see what I've accomplished in the human world and learn my experienced. I knew what I wanted, a ribeye steak with mashed potatoes and loaded cauliflower, along with their finest beer. Mom and Yumeko were confused on what they wanted, so I told them that I can cover them, I mean I've seen Yumeko cook before, I can identify exactly what would satisfy them. Twitch was asking if this dinner would cut his overall payment, knowing that he's important for the plan and wanting to be on his good side, I promised him that it wouldn't and that this would be a professional courtesy. After settling that with him, he ordered steak burger, fries, steamed vegetables, and a Coke. I was about to taunt him about stealing his fries and saying that's the payment, but not in front of my mom. That's embarrassing. Kaguya and Dust ordered the same steak and beverage, being sirloin, and sake. I mean I like sake, but it wasn't made by the Lunarians or Eirin so I just ditched it for an all-time favorite Earthly drink of mine, being some proper tea. For the side, Dust got broccoli, and Kaguya got a loaded potato. After finishing my meal, I went outside to the smoking area, checked for eavesdroppers, took out my phone, and called Dallas, he was going to be needed soon to transport all the youkai and whoever Murkywater was keeping hostage, "Hey Nathan... it's James. You think you could sail in your yacht around Oregon?" "Sure buddy, I missed seeing us 4 together. Me, Nicolas, Wolf, and you. Like old times. Say... how's the Grin, I heard you've been making massive profits. You doing OK over there?" "Yep, I fucking am. Anyways, be seeing you Dallas." "Farewell, Hoxton." Dallas was the first of many calls I had to make, now I gotta call Bile, since he would be delivering Twitch to Dallas' yacht, and being part of multiple escape plans I had for Hell's Island. Either we get out through plane, yacht, or multiple helicopter extractions. After discussing what the helicopter might need to do, I finished my call with Bile, it was time to make one final one with Locke before the airport raid. "Heyo, Locke." "Ahh, Hoxton, you chop. You want to know more about the Murkywater operations, yes? Fo' sho! Hey listen, I heard that their final 2 planes, similar to the one back in the Birth of Sky Job that I smuggled you onto... they're leaving from that airport I told you about, with their final place being Hell's Island. Now I couldn't get exact details, but those dwankie bastards have made some upgrades from last time. This one is for Bain... yeah?" "Yeah Locke, this one is for Bain, we owe him one... anyways, I'll be seeing you on the Medic Bag..." "Anyways... it seems that those Murky Bastards are losing. If you think you got a little bit more lead in your pencil and wanted to fu-" "Locke, shut up! My mom is going outside, gotta hang up." My mom walked outside and asked who I was talking to. I just replied that it was an old friend of mine. Now she was uncomfortable knowing what she had to do. After all, ever since Mystic Square, she has been completely reluctant to use her full power. But I had to keep persuading her that this one was for Alice. I know how that would fuck with her psyche, but I wanted to send GenSec and Murkywater a message that they were fucked, and that she would die for Alice. After talking to Mom a little more and hanging up on Locke, the waiter responsible for our food gave us the bill and I paid up. They offered desserts and I could easily pay for that, but those 5 were done, it was pretty cheap all things considered. We were ready to take on Murkywater's last stand. Twitch had stashed Kaguya and Dust's weapons in his van, while my stuff was located in a pocket dimension. We're finishing this war my first crew started with Murkywater, and there's nothing they can do about it... Us 6 went in the van, Twitch was obviously driving, I called shotgun, and everyone else could suffer in the back. Not my problem. This was it, if my first crew couldn't put the final nail in Murkywater's coffin, then this crew will. Act 2: Murky Airport Music "Hey Twitch, thanks for doing this for us." "No problem, man. Hey, I'm supposed to go to a helicopter, right? I'm supposed to meet up with a guy named Bile?" "Yeah... tell him that Hoxton sent you. Enjoy your free stay on a luxury yacht." "I'm going to miss driving this baby for a bit. My beautiful hunk of metal." We took our gear and got off this hillside above this dirty Murkywater den. Those bastards took my sister, my boss. Now I will take them. I don't care who's responsible, whether those Kataru bastards have returned or not, it's the beginning of the end for them, the final crackdown. I grabbed an old friend of mine, my M1A SOCOM 16, my best friend since the first Green Bridge job, sniping coppers across that gauntlet. Wielding my silenced Bernetti and my akimbo Glock 18s. The plan was for me to blow off any heads of camping pigs on the control tower while the 4 others storm the place. I don't know how Mom will feel about doing what I have planned, not after what happened last time, but she would do anything for Alice's safety... Sliding down the hill, I drew my silenced pistol and shot a Murkywater guard in the back of the head. I know tripping any alarms, even for a brief second will cause the cops to come assault us, and with their firing advantage up in that control tower, I need to take that over. Hearing the guard barely breathing, I snapped his neck and threw him in a dumpster, leaving a small blood trail behind, I only have minutes now before some rent-a-soldier gets suspicious and raises the alarm. Good thing my 6th sense detected nobody around the control tower. It was time to climb a tower! I grew 6 wings and began scaling the tower, while I could just fly us quickly, I also run the risk of letting someone hear me, at least with climbing, I just need to hide in the shadows and let my wings do the work. I had other tricks, but I forgot to plan for those, and I rather not risk failing because something sounds or even is easier. Cutting open the window with my wings, I turned intangible and slit the throat of all the guards and eye of the cameras with my wings. I could grow as many as I desired to, but 6 felt just right. I took whatever equipment they had to make an improvised rope or chain or something of that nature, using their handcuffs and other equipment, I chained the door together. Salvaging whatever I could use on the Hell's Island raid, I signaled the 4 to go... 2 hangers. 2 planes. With my rifle in hand, and a happy trigger finger, it was time to have some fun again. Let's do this! Dust's Perspective Now Music Something in my body feels odd, like it wants to jump out, but it knows that now is not the time. For us 4, we understand we need to secure the airport to leave. I don't know exactly what Hoxton was saying outside the steakhouse, but he probably knows what he's doing. After all, he's one of the most notorious members of his gang. I heard multiple back-to-back gunshots and a guy yelling "Sound the alarm, we got enemy snipers!" That was a signal for us to rush in and go in guns a-blazing, but it was just me, Yumeko, and Kaguya that was storming the hangar. For Shinki... I saw 6 white wings sprouting out her back, but she wasn't flying, or doing anything... what the Hell was she doing? Hearing the sirens and desperation of Murkywater. Something felt bad after sliding down the hill into cover, I heard, "ALRIGHT!!! The turrets are about to be here any minute, time to turn this around!" over a megaphone. I didn't want to look behind me, maybe Shinki had a death wish, maybe she had something else in mind. It didn't matter, this was Hoxton's mother, and knowing Hox's capabilities, she probably has her own surprises. Taking my Tempest-21s, I stormed the first hanger with Kaguya. Popping Murkies with my wife, we make a good team, but above all, a good couple. Yumeko went alone to Hangar 2 by herself. I peeked around a corner and unloaded, Kaguya leapt over me and possibly decapitated a few guards. My ammo was running dry, and I reloaded. I then heard the bulletstorm trying to force Kaguya out of cover. I saw a distortion in front of me. Yumeko, that's her, right? I hope so. We saw her running through, turning intangible into a green outline the split second a bullet would of hit her. The guards were yelling things such as, "THIS IS A COLOSSAL GOATFUCK!" and "Who the fuck are these guys, ex-military?!!" Since the guards were focused on Yumeko, with Hoxton laughing his ass off at everyone who tried to hide behind a van or something. I used my small time window with Yumeko taking them on, I inspected the Murky hardware. They had things that I could sell at a healthy profit. Unmarked weaponry, with an excess of battle rifles, specifically Eagle Heavies along with 7.62x51 rounds, Jackals with .45 ACP, and so much more. I think Hoxton would love the spare 7.62x51 with his M308, as he's been doing some great work as a sniper. I started bagging up the things that I could steal for myself and sell at a healthy price and smuggled it onto the plane. Checking for Murkywater PMCs in the plane, I realized that we might need them alive, so I called over Kaguya and we intentionally crippled anyone else remaining inside. It seemed that Hox knew exactly that they were starting their preparations for leaving. How deep does this guy's connections go? Taking their handcuffs, me and Kaguya chained them together. "We'll play with these soon~ but for now, we gotta get everyone off Hell's Island." I went outside and it seemed that Yumeko is standing down the SWAT Van turrets, red lasers and guns were pointed at her and started firing, but Shinki showed up and took it all. Us 3 took cover and saw what was there, an army of GenSec Elites, FBI SWATs, SWAT turrets, and helicopters. What the fuck was she trying to pull off without fighting back? A peace offering? Not with possibly dozens, or even hundreds of armed officers willing to kill us. But her wings started to glow darker, and there I heard her speaking. It was unsettling, especially with demonic presence encompassing us all. "Doing this last time hurt me more than anything... all the pantheon of so-called gods that tried attacking me. Any ungrateful demon from eons past that tried rebelling against their mother in a sad attempt to overthrow her. Nothing will hurt as what I did to my realm before... However... you took Alice and her friends away, and for that, you will pay dearly. You only have seconds to enjoy what is left of your tiny lives." We heard at least millions of rounds being fired from all the turrets, JP36s, Jackals, M1014s, CAR-4s, R870s, and whatever GenSec and the FBI had up their sleeve, but it was useless against her, no bullet holes, no flinching, no reaction. Just a very pissed off Shinki. We all watched as Shinki unleashed her wrath onto the cops. As fires raged throughout the improvised wall of cops, SWAT Vans, and helicopters, I heard the screams. The explosions, the wreckage, all of that shocked us with the pure violence that was displayed in front of our very eyes. Back at San Martin, we were shocked at what Sariel did, but Shinki. Holy shit, we're glad she's on our side! There were lasers that appeared to be unmaking anything it touches, spikes that would pierce through cop and vehicle alike before impaling themselves into something, and snake creatures cleaning up the wreckage. I took this time to steal more of Murkywater's loot for myself as Shinki was destroying everything. I though to myself, Wait... if she's indiscriminately firing at them, then how are we not getting hit? Then I saw it, Hoxton was using his magic and his hands were starting to shake. He was taking the full force of Shinki's wrath! I saw that he was approaching us and was a bit tired. "Alright you wankers... don't fucking tell my Mom that my hands were broken in order to protect you from god's fucking wrath. She still has flashbacks from that shite back in Mystic Square, don't need that to be the first thing in her mind, got it?" Hoxton took out one of his first aid kits and found a gauze, he wrapped his hands in a fashion to that of a boxer, while saying. "Heh, I wasn't allowed to do this for bare knuckle brawling. Gonna love to punch some Murkies today. Ha ha ha." After overhearing that the police will retreat with a bigger assault force that would involve the ZEALs, the National Guard, and possibly the entire U.S. military. Remembering what happened the last time the military was going to be called in, we had to go quickly, or else we'll be eating an anti-aircraft gun for desert, or a nuclear missile... "Hey wankers... get prepared, I'm going to do something." Hoxton's Last Word: Makai's Rebirth ~ Apocalyptic Undoing "I can't hold on to this for too long... fuck. I turned this place into a part of Makai temporarily... dimensional barrier confusing the pigs. JUST FUCKING GO!!!" The sky turned even darker than the night sky we were under, it was so beautiful in it's own way, it was feeling like a demonic reflection of this world in many ways... maybe I should take the rest of Eientei to Makai for vacation, I know the Buddhist monk was sealed there and she thought it was a nice place. Going back onto the plane, with all their equipment smuggled, I asked Yumeko for a flaming sword and interrogated a few of them. After some resistance, which was short-lived as Hoxton broke their bones with each hit, we found the pilots, and had to do lots of persuading to get Shinki to possess them. "I didn't want to do this... there's a reason I left. Oh well... this one is for Alice." Shinki then possessed them, forcing them to start flying, I had an idea to make an entrance to Hell's Island. Now I still wanted my beautiful firearms to sell, and maybe this idea might have them burn up in flames. But... this is for Gensokyo. I went on the plane with everyone else behind me. Shinki completely took over the souls of the pilots and and we were starting to fly out the airport. I saw Yumeko giving Kaguya one of her flaming swords. I felt that Hoxton's Last Word started to end and it finished with a demonic storm. I heard the sirens and ultimatums over a radio. Now, it would be the best time to go. Few minutes later, in the sky... "That's right, we're getting out by a yacht. Don't worry, I know the guy who owns that boat. But first, we better make sure Hell's Island is forever destroyed... You're still worried about my hands... aren't you? Well I'll just tell you something, I can't be as trigger happy as I usually am, still doesn't mean I won't be able to tear a Murk in 2." "Hoxton... I feel strange, like something will happen. You know what's going on?" "Nope, but it's something good, I know that much. Anyways... I'm seeing if these twats have any good movies, if they don't, then I'm throwing them out the plane. It's not like they can track it back to u-" "Hox... we still need them to blackmail Murky-" "They have the entirety of Gensokyo in there, what fucking blackmail? These guys are the lowest of the low in Murkywater's army. Anyways, I'm watching a fucking movie with my mom." Then, I left and took cupcakes from a refrigerator, grabbing 2 chairs at a table and eating them with Kaguya, we know what's happening next. We would ask Hoxton to call in the Lunarians, but Kaguya doesn't want to go back... regardless, this will be our tale against Murkywater, A Tale of Two Immortal Bank Robbers. To be continued in Part 20 (Not by me)...
MAME 0.223 has finally arrived, and what a release it is – there’s definitely something for everyone! Starting with some of the more esoteric additions, Linus Åkesson’s AVR-based hardware chiptune project and Power Ninja Action Challenge demos are now supported. These demos use minimal hardware to generate sound and/or video, relying on precise CPU timings to work. With this release, every hand-held LCD game from Nintendo’s Game & Watch and related lines is supported in MAME, with Donkey Kong Hockey bringing up the rear. Also of note is the Bassmate Computer fishing aid, made by Nintendo and marketed by Telko and other companies, which is clearly based on the dual-screen Game & Watch design. The steady stream of TV games hasn’t stopped, with a number of French releases from Conny/VideoJet among this month’s batch. For the first time ever, games running on the Barcrest MPU4 video system are emulated well enough to be playable. Titles that are now working include several games based on the popular British TV game show The Crystal Maze, Adders and Ladders, The Mating Game, and Prize Tetris. In a clear win for MAME’s modular architecture, the breakthrough came through the discovery of a significant flaw in our Motorola MC6840 Programmable Timer Module emulation that was causing issues for the Fairlight CMI IIx synthesiser. In the same manner, the Busicom 141-PF desk calculator is now working, thanks to improvements made to Intel 4004 CPU emulation that came out of emulating the INTELLEC 4 development system and the prototype 4004-based controller board for Flicker pinball. The Busicom 141-PF is historically significant, being the first application of Intel’s first microprocessor. Fans of classic vector arcade games are in for a treat this month. Former project coordinator Aaron Giles has contributed netlist-based sound emulation for thirteen Cinematronics vector games: Space War, Barrier, Star Hawk, Speed Freak, Star Castle, War of the Worlds, Sundance, Tail Gunner, Rip Off, Armor Attack, Warrior, Solar Quest and Boxing Bugs. This resolves long-standing issues with the previous simulation based on playing recorded samples. Colin Howell has also refined the sound emulation for Midway’s 280-ZZZAP and Gun Fight. V.Smile joystick inputs are now working for all dumped cartridges, and with fixes for ROM bank selection the V.Smile Motion software is also usable. The accelerometer-based V.Smile Motion controller is not emulated, but the software can all be used with the standard V.Smile joystick controller. Another pair of systems with inputs that now work is the original Macintosh (128K/512K/512Ke) and Macintosh Plus. These systems’ keyboards are now fully emulated, including the separate numeric keypad available for the original Macintosh, the Macintosh Plus keyboard with integrated numeric keypad, and a few European ISO layout keyboards for the original Macintosh. There are still some emulation issues, but you can play Beyond Dark Castle with MAME’s Macintosh Plus emulation again. In other home computer emulation news, MAME’s SAM Coupé driver now supports a number of peripherals that connect to the rear expansion port, a software list containing IRIX hard disk installations for SGI MIPS workstations has been added, and tape loading now works for the Specialist system (a DIY computer designed in the USSR). Of course, there’s far more to enjoy, and you can read all about it in the whatsnew.txt file, or get the source and 64-bit Windows binary packages from the download page. (For brevity, promoted V.Smile software list entries and new Barcrest MPU4 clones made up from existing dumps have been omitted here.)
MAME Testers Bugs Fixed
02603: [Sound] (cinemat.cpp) tailg: Phasor sample plays incorrectly. (Aaron Giles)
Toy Story 3 (Lexibook) [Sean Riddle, Kamaal Brown, David Haywood]
unknown 'TE06' [TeamEurope, Roberto Fresca]
Unknown Compumatic ProSPDP based darts machine [jordigahan, ClawGrip]
VideoJet Kiu Games [Sean Riddle, David Haywood]
Virtual TV Ping Pong [TeamEurope, David Haywood]
Yataimura Kingyosukui (4-player, China, Ver 1.000) [Darksoft]
New clones marked as NOT_WORKING
Anakonda [Robbbert]
Funhouse (L-2) [PinMAME]
Funhouse (L-2, prototype PA-1 System 11 sound) [PinMAME]
Kharkovsky [Robbbert]
Laser Ball (L-2, PROM sound) [PinMAME]
Last Action Hero (1.04 France) [PinMAME]
Last Action Hero (1.07) [José Renato Castro Milanez, Sergio Munemori]
Magic Card - Wien (Sicherheitsversion 1.2) [TeamEurope, Roberto Fresca]
Nove Diamante (bootleg) [Ioannis Bampoulas]
Unga [Robbbert]
New working software list additions
fmtowns_cd: Akiko - Premium Version, Cal III - Kanketsu-hen, Chiemi & Naomi, Curse, Eikan wa Kimi ni 2 - Koukou Yakyuu Zenkoku Taikai, FM Towns Application Catalog CD-ROM - Original Soft-hen, G5 (HMA-206), Gambler - Queen's Cup, Gokuraku Mandala, Hyper Fetishism, Illust Hyakka - Yamashita Hideki no Ikiiki Cut-shuu, Iris-tei Serenade, Jouhou Club - Card Processor Ver. 1.1, Mahjong Musashi, Manami no Doko made Iku no? 2 - Return of the Kuro Pack, The Manhole (1990-08-01), Marionette Mind, Mirage 2 - Torry, Neat & Roan Fairladies in MagicLand, Noushuku Angel 120%, Shamhat - The Holy Circlet (FM Towns Marty version), Tenshin Ranma, Two Shot Diary, Viper-V12 RS, Viper-V8 Turbo RS, YES! HG - Erotic Voice Version [redump.org, r09]
gba:
Rayman IV (Rayman - Sunshine of Trip) (unlicensed) (protection hacked) [RibShark]
Crash Advance IV (unlicensed) (protection hacked), Digimon - Ruby and Sapphire (unlicensed) (protection hacked), The Lord of the Rings IV - The Fellowship of the Ring (unlicensed) (protection hacked), Pokemon - Sapphire Version (unlicensed) (protection hacked), Rayman IV (Rayman - Puteshestviye Solnechnogo Sveta) (unlicensed) (Russian) (protection hacked), Sonic 3 - Fighter Sonic (unlicensed) (protection hacked), Super Mario DX (unlicensed) (protection hacked), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 (unlicensed) (protection hacked), Ultraman - Confrontation Between Justice And Evil (Ul'traman - Konfrontatsiya mezhdu spravedlivost'yu i zlom) (unlicensed) (Russian) (protection hacked), X-Man - Armour of Might (X-men) (unlicensed) (Russian) (protection hacked) [taizou]
Bloodwych (Quest & Glory Compilation) (Euro), Bloodwych (USA), Budokan - The Martial Spirit (5.25"), The Colonel's Bequest (3.5"), The Colonel's Bequest (5.25"), Dragon's Lair (5.25"), F29 Retaliator, Lakers vs Celtics and the NBA Playoffs (3.5"), Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places) (5.25"), Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards, Mario Andretti's Racing Challenge, Speedball 2 - Brutal Deluxe (Euro, 3.5"), TV Sports Basketball (3.5", USA, EGA/TANDY version), TV Sports Basketball (3.5", USA, VGA version), TV Sports Basketball (5.25", UK, EGA/TANDY version), TV Sports Basketball (5.25", UK, VGA version), Xenon 2: Megablast [ArcadeShadow]
SCO XENIX System V Development System version 2.1.3 [archive.org, Davide Cavalca]
IBM Personal Computer Interactive Executive (PC/IX) 1.00 [WinWorld, Davide Cavalca]
ibm5170: B-17 Flying Fortress (5.25"), Corridor 7: Alien Invasion (demo), Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle (France), Out of this World (USA, 3.5" DD), Out of this World (USA, 5.25" HD), Sam & Max Hit the Road (Germany) [ArcadeShadow]
pc98_cd: F15 Strike Eagle III, if 2 - Invitations from Fantastic Stories, Manami no Doko made Iku no? 2 - Return of the Kuro Pack, Phobos, Pro Student G (ALS-0010), YES! HG - Erotic Voice Version, Yuurou - Transient Sands [redump.org, r09]
sgi_mips:
Desktop Special Edition 1.0, European Language Module 1.1, European Language Module 1.3.1, Hot Mix 5, Hot Mix 7, IndiZone 1.0, IRIX 5.2 for Indy R4600PC and Challenge SX, IRIX Patch 5.1.1.2, ONC3/NFS for IRIX 6.2 Version 1, ONC3/NFS for IRIX 6.2 with Indigo2 IMPACT 10000 Version 1, Support Advantage 10/94, Support Advantage 6/95, SupportFolio 2/97, SupportFolio 4/97 [darkstar]
Disney/Pixar Wall-E (China) [tenyuhuang, Ryan Holtz]
Les Bisounours - Le monde merveilleux des Bisounours (France), Nickelodeon Bob L'éponge - Une journée dans la vie d'une éponge (France) [DisizDream]
vsmilem_cart:
Disney/Pixar Cars 2 (France), Disney/Pixar Toy Story 3 (France), DreamWorks Kung Fu Panda - La mission de Po (France), Football Challenge (France), Martin Le Dauphin (France), Nickelodeon Dora L'Exploratrice - Les adventures de Dora Apprentie Mécano (France), Sporti'Folies (France) [DisizDream, Ryan Holtz]
Action Mania (USA), Disney/Pixar Toy Story 3 (USA), Marvel Spider-Man & Friends - Secret Missions (USA), Soccer Challenge (USA) [Sean Riddle, TeamEurope, Ryan Holtz]
mobigo_cart: Disney Jake and the Neverland Pirates (USA, alt), Disney Princess (USA, alt), Disney/Pixar Brave (USA), Dreamworks Shrek - Forever After (US), NAND User Cartridge (unknown data, set 1), NAND User Cartridge (unknown data, set 2), Sesame Street - Elmo and Abby - Nature Explorers (USA) [TeamEurope]
novag_ssensor4: Quartz Chess Clock [Berger]
pc98_cd: DOR Special Edition '93, DOR Special Edition '93 (alt), Kanji Land 3-nen, Kyrandia II - The Hand of Fate, Lemon Cocktail Collection, Lip 3 - Lipstick Adventure 3, Mirage 2 - Torry, Neat & Roan Fairladies in MagicLand [redump.org, r09]
pi_storyreader_cart: Disney Blanca Nieves y los siete enanos (Spain), Disney El Rey León (Spain), Walt Disney Peter Pan (Spain) [TeamEurope, ClawGrip]
tvgogo:
Basketball (EU) [ClawGrip, TeamEurope]
Basketball (US) [Sean Riddle, David Haywood]
vsmileb_cart: Teletubbies (France) [DisizDream]
Merged pull requests
6825: docs: Improved analog joystick mapping documentation, and added health warnings. [Firehawke]
6837: debugger: Added loadr and saver commands for loading or saving data to/from a memory region. [bombzj]
6838: fmtowns_cd.xml: Added 28 new entries, and replaced 22 entries with improved dumps. [redump.org, r09]
6844: gigatron: Hooked up CPU output callback, fixed program counter wrapping, and added CPU input callback. [Sterophonick]
Back to the Moon, Part 0: Demons and Monks (Prologue)
Just a little prologue I wanted to work on to add some new complexity and interest to the Hoxton Cinematic Universe (thanks for Kdog8273 for getting me to settle on that), I'll try to make this relevant somehow... I embraced the final twophotos that my family from Makai sent me using a Buddhist monk and her associates as a courier of all people that the demons could think of. On the back of one of them, a message, written in my native demon language in my mother's handwriting, instructed me to talk with the courier. The courier, a tall purple and blonde haired nun named Byakuren, started talking to me about my mother's past as she was sealed and hasn't had the support from her Buddhist buddies at the time to unseal her. She mentioned how Shinki had an more twisted past that she managed to overcome and move on with her help. "Hoxton... I hate saying this, but your mother used to be The Devil. But she wasn't exactly what people will view her to be." I was curious, "The Devil, but she wasn't exactly what people view her to be." That thought went on into my head until I asked, "How?" "She was only there to punish the evil and create other demonic entities as the God Empress of Hell. Her rule over all other demons and Hell itself was absolute. But eventually, all the stereotypes about The Devil got far enough into her head where she simply gave up her role and started going on a massacre. She was given names such as, Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Mephisto... and many horrible names I wouldn't wish to call upon anybody. Even the worst of the worst. They also attributed her as being a massive muscular male with red skin who carries a trident, has horns, wings, and a tail who's boogeyman is called "God." They believed that she was the one who tortures mortals with pleasure for all eternity, even though she only oversees her demon underlings doing what the dead mortals believe is their punishment. They called her things like the Father of Lies or really, Father of anything that's terrible. People also believed she was forcing sentient life to live against their own will as they would say things like, "The Devil made me do it." People also believed she trades souls with a beautiful reward as a way to exploit people, which is highly untrue. As those who sold their souls are in debt to that individual entity rather than Shinki herself. Only the most twisted individuals sold their souls to your mother for a percentage of absolute power, putting themselves in an inescapable debt trap with The Devil... Eventually, this got so out of hand for her mentality, The Devil herself, after what your mother says is at least a hundred trillion years of hearing nonsense from idiots, started her own apocalypse in Hell. First, by wiping out the 7 Demon Overlords, which were second only to her in power and authority. You may of heard of them as the 7 Deadly Sins. None of us has ever had to deal with them more than our desires, as your mother erased their forms and power in their entirely. Looking back on that, we would of had literally prayed to The Devil to control them, as Shinki described them as beings of evil beyond the concept of pure evil and conquerors of "immeasurable realms." Later, as she the stereotypes and negativity still occurred despite their erasure, she proceeded to erase all the Demon Lords, which served as a advisory council for her and as rulers of their own kingdoms, which were partitioned by Shinki's absolute rule with confirmations by the Overlords. These Demon Lords are also known as the most powerful demons in all of religion, those names I mentioned earlier, they serve the Overlords and your mother. They could also be malevolent gods, and all other sorts of bad things that could quality as the most powerful evil per religion. Good thing they don't exist anymore... otherwise, it'll be much worse for all of us. Eventually, this erasure has reached the near-entirety of both Hell and evil as a concept itself. Until a mere peasant has defied your mother and promised to take over her position of the Goddess of Hell, for exchange of Shinki being able to leave and live her own life outside of Hell. I think her name was Hecate or something... I need to double-check on that. After your mother has officially transferred her throne and leaving evil itself in a state of near-death, she was obsessed with the concept of "free will" after humans keep mentioning it all the time, either embracing it or considering it "the lies of The Devil." She saw and heard through many eyes and ears on Earth, being obsessed with humanity's "free will," but wanting to leave them alone, left the universe, created a new one from the nothingness, and made it a completely flat world instead of a bunch of planets going around a star. Her first demon was Yumeko, who saw Shinki as a mistress despite her never getting involved with her life beforehand. Eventually, she wanted to experience what made relationships so special after Yumeko's constant begging to be her maid, and why humans treasure them so much, so she allowed herself to experience emotions and did as Yumeko desired. Then, she wanted to see how her new demons were interact with each other if left alone with nothing but themselves and some resources. After more creation and overseeing their existence with Yumeko, she was happy and wanted to live among them, but not interfere with them unless asked to. Creating her own fortress behind a world of Ice and Snow, the Pandæmonium, inspired by her original fortress in Hell. She and Yumeko were there for a very long time. That is where I come in. The first time I saw Makai, a bunch of scared humans sealed me away for being friendly with youkai. I was trapped in Makai with the fear of death looming around me, so I was desperate and learned demonic magic to do good things. Eventually, this anomaly has gotten your mother's attention and she was confused on why a human sealed in a demon's realm by their own species would learn their magic to be a beneficiary to them. She was baffled, confused, and simply did not understand why I did what I had to do. Eventually, both of us managed to grow a relationship with each other as friends, even with her being my jailer. After I told her everything about me, she felt comfortable admitting her faults around me. But she also had a bit of a code of her own, she doesn't lie and loves backing up her statements. Eventually, she told me everything I told you prior, but she showed it all. To show I'm not bluffing, I need to do something... hold on. Shou, do you know where I placed my scroll?" I was trying to see if maybe she had dropped it, or misplaced it, or something, until "I can feel it... everything it has to say. I can feel it breathing, hearing, everything about it." I waved my hand and pulled out the scroll. "Hmm... maybe it'll work. Hoxton, would you be kind and use a spell which turns this scroll into a window of the past?" I was interested and mesmerized by everything Byakuren had to say. Being a Buddhist nun, it was pretty much against her own interest to lie and I heard from some others that Byakuren was generally one of the most pleasant people to be around in Gensokyo. Using some of my magic, I opened a window to the past with the scroll being what we saw. The Sutra Scroll augmented itself and we saw a visual representation of everything Byakuren previously described, even down to the finer details and things she missed, such as the amount of worlds Shinki has conquered as the Empress of Hell, and many other atrocities that I would never of expected my mother to oversee and be indifferent to. When I pointed them out, Byakuren was shocked she could miss the finer details, but I didn't blame her. Going out of your way to see evil is something I don't believe Buddhist monks do in their free time. "Wait... there is also a reason why you embody all the demonic powers of Makai, Hoxton! Now I have to warn you, this is very disturbing, I will stop if you ask me to." Byakuren showed me the first destruction of Makai... the Mystic Square Incident. I've always tried suppressing that memory. Whether it was through my unlicensed boxing, felony, or other legally questionable activities I have engaged in. It was unfortunately, but I learned to accept it and move on. She got thirsty after at least an hour-long so monologue and teaching me Buddhist values, so she asked her friend Shou the Tiger to get us tea. I told her she didn't have to be so nice to me as I was the absolute scum of Buddhist ideology, especially of the number of corpses I have belonging to at least the GenSec Elites, my rampant stealing, my constant lying as a criminal and the owner of the Golden Grin Casino for my own gain, and my love for alcohol. "Why would you be so polite to the lowest of the low? They'll remain that way even with your best interests at heart." Shou the Tiger was surprised someone could be so self-loathing, so she was interested into seeing how she could try helping me. I told her there was no way in Hell she could do anything even if I let her and she was trying her very best. Even if I had a 180 in heart, it still doesn't change the type of monster I used to be. However, Byakuren knew this was the same deal with Shinki, as she claimed my mother had the exact same attitude when they both first started out with their little therapy session. She mentioned you can't ever change the past and everything that happened unless your name was Sakuya Izayoi. "Hoxton... what you were in the past stays that way. But maybe... maybe you can change yourself for the future? You won't know unless you try. I'm helping youkai and humans get along, I also believe in you." Those words really broke my self-loathing, as I knew as a fact I couldn't change my past as the notorious Fugitive of the Payday Gang with at least billions stolen and at least a few thousand bodies, but I could be the best Hoxton that I could be. No wonder my mother entrusted her with the delivery, they were tight... just like me and the original Payday Gang. I was thankful and did a small demonic gesture, pulling one of my money bundles from the Golden Grin ($307.5k) and donating to the Buddhists, it was the least I could do as a thanks for Byakuren for making me realize how much better I could be and letting me know more about my mother's past, even if it was nothing but atrocities and indifference. I sprouted my 6 demon wings and prepared to fly away to Alice's house to pick up my stuff, but before I left, Shou and Byakuren approached me and asked me if I wanted to join them on their Buddhist quest. Humans and youkais had the same chance opportunity. I was thinking hard about it, give up my life for a pursuit of Buddhism, or use their teachings to inspire me on future decisions and live my current life. I had a moral dilemma, but after seeing what they do daily, I knew I wasn't Buddhist material. Additonally, Toyohime knows about my existence and chances are, Yorihime knows I'll be returning soon. Politely, I declined their offer and started flying to Alice's house to get my stuff and pack my bags. I have to pass through the Hakurei Barrier, then a language barrier, finally, I was going to head back to Washington with a quick stop near the airport I funded near the Golden Grin, until heading back to the Lunar Capital somehow without using Eirin. As I rather not be experimented on with the weird medical shit she uses on Reisen. I could just fly up there from Eientei as that's the closest route from the Moon to the Earth... but I'm willing to experiment with my demonic powers to see if the purity of that place can block my magic or my status as a Lunarian is already enough. Additionally, I think I was on a tourist visa and don't need to send in Japanese agents to find my demonic arse. Flying over to Alice's house and packing up, I told her it was time that I leave. Grabbing my stuff and placing them in pocket dimensions, I used the curses lying around in the Forest of Magic and changed part of the evil to be an infinite supply of iced coffee for me. Alright Yorihime... you know I'll return for you. The Revenant always does.
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