Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (HIATUSl)

[mysticCharlatan]

>Lindsay: Do the first-aid thing.

Your brain more-or-less shuts off, going into full medical mode. You grab the first aid kit, kindly fetched by Chester's father while everybody was freaking out, and begin to work. You begin by removing Chester's lab coat and shirt, getting as good a look at the wound that you can. (If this was occuring under any other circumstances, you would be feeling exceptionally funny inside, and begin to suspect you were dreaming. As it is, it is far more probable that this is some sort of nightmare.)

Surprisingly, there isn't as much blood as you expected. This is only an initial guess, but it would appear as though by some insane luck the bullet passed right through without severing any major arteries. Nevertheless, you grab the clotting agent from the kit and apply it. Then, you prop him up against you and begin bandaging.

>Kaylyn: Do the helpy thing.

You really wish she wouldn't. You know she's only trying to help, but she's really only getting in the way.

Dialog:

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Heeere, let meee do thaaat.
bak off, 1m f1ne
Nooo, seriouslyyy, let meee heeelp.
1 can handle 1t
That caaan't be eeeasy one haaanded.
1 don7 need you ge771ng 1n 7he way
Cooome now...
s7op
Dooon't be stuuubborn.
cu7 i7 ou7
You could probably use another ar-

You hit her. Hard. Square in the jaw.

Damn, that was satisfying.

You finish bandaging Chester while Kaylyn lies dazed on the floor.

-------

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Wow, I didn't even realize who was naming all my characters...

[trulyElse]

> Henrick: Stand by your girl. By which I mean beat up an amputee. Like a man.

Or, a more serious suggestion:

> Henrick: See to your injured friends as careful not to enrage Lindsay as you can be.

[Xindaris]

>Everyone present: Don't.
Mention.
Arms.

>Police officer: Come along talking about who was using illegal firearms to shoot this boy on the shoulder, which is considered the base of the arm, and how we need to go take care of this armed suspect before he causes any more problems with his deadly firearms.

[simon.clarkstone]

> Get Chester to hospital.
> Ambulance: arrive.

[mysticCharlatan]

Henrick: Stand by your girl. Beat up an amputee.

You do not do this. Not because of any moral objections (none of the standard ones would apply to this amputee), but because you know from experience (four seperate occurances, actually) that this particular amputee can kick your ass seven ways til Sunday.

Dialog:

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||=0 Ummm... do you need a ha- need some help?
1m f1ne
7hanks
||=0 Sure. Sure thing.
She hiiit me!
||=0 Kaylyn, maybe we should-
She hiiit me!
1m sorry, d1d 1 mess up your makeup?
Oh, thaaat's it!
I'm goooing to teach yooou some manners!
7hen 1 hope 7hey have room 1n 7he ambulance!
||=0 L-ladies, there's r-really no need-
shu7 up!
Staaay out of thiiis!

You wisely decide that it is best if you shut up and stay out of this.

The girl's are doing such a good job of fighting and you are doing such a good job of staying out of it that nobody seems to have noticed that Chester has regained consciousness and is attempting to get up.

[trulyElse]

> Chester: demonstrate misplaced machoism and act totally fine despite your nigh-total lack of blood flow.

[simon.clarkstone]

> Chester: look for health bars and/or lives counters.
> supernatural swordsman / suburban sniper: strike again.

[mysticCharlatan]

> Chester: Demonstrate misplaced machoism and act totally fine despite your nigh-total lack of blood flow.

Of course you're fine. Would it be as easy to get up as all this if you weren't fine?

Interesting fact: the combination of blood loss and getting up way too fast will create something of a dizzy spell that will make it very easy to fall back.

Interesting fact, part two: you are currently standing in front of the stairs leading into the basement (though, it may be said, not for long).

Interesting fact, the third: neither the basement, nor the stair leading to it, are carpetted.

Ouch.

Well, at least you didn't knock yourself out this time.

[simon.clarkstone]

> Look how well that game is getting on with loading.

[mysticCharlatan]

>Chester: Look how well that game is loading.

Well, you are in the basement now so WHY IN PLUTO'S NAME IS THAT THE PRIMARY THOUGHT ON YOUR MIND?!?

Besides, everyone is starting to come downstairs to worry over you. It appears that your little episode has ended the conflict that woke you. That's you. A peacekeeper.

Lindsay is down the stairs first, followed by the ever inseperable Henry and Kaylyn. Finally, you see your fathIS THAT A SHOTGUN?!?

>Chester's Father: Freeze and be useless.

NO.

HELL NO.

You are now FELIX ELLIS.

They are after your son. You really don't have a proper clue who "they" are, but you know they have made attempts before that your son has remained blissfully unaware of (moreso on the unaware, less so on the blissful).

And you know that you will be DAMNED if you let them get to him.

Dialog:

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Keep Chester down here. I'll make sure you're all safe.
yes s1r

You seem to recall that this friend of your son, Lindsay, is usually a bit more willful. Then again, normally you aren't holding a loaded weapon.

You leave your son in the care of his friends downstairs, quickly making your way to the door to scout the area.

You have a promise to keep.

[trulyElse]

> Felix: Scout like your son's life depends on it. Which is to say, it does.

[mysticCharlatan]

>Felix: Scout like your son's life depended on it. Which is to say, it does.

You do that, vigilantly combing the area around your house. Unfortunately, your son's attacker is much further away than anticipated, and it will be some time until you realize this. And by then, you will have an... encounter with the police that have arrived to investigate reports of shots being fired.

This will take some time to clear up.

[trulyElse]

> Game: Load.
> [S?] Kids: Enter.

[Malrone]

>Gunman: Dramatic rhetoric fueled reveal.

[mysticCharlatan]

>Kids: Enter.

You are once again Chester. Lindsay helps you into the Game Room and onto the Loveseat. You sit down expecting Lindsay to take the other half of the seat, but she decides to sit on the ottoman. You shrug (or would if that wouldn't cause fire to shoot through your entire right side) and lie down as comfortably as you can.

Dialog:

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Hey, can I get my shirt back?
7he paramed1cs are go1n 7o need 7o check 7he bandages
Then could you pass me a lab coat or something?
There's a fresh one on the wall behind you.

Good thing you keep these things all over the house.

Suddenly, an odd thought occurs to you. If you were in prime condition, you might just dismiss it, but then again, if you were in prime condition this wouldn't be an odd thought.

Dialog:

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Hey, pass a controller.
wa7?
The game's finished loading.
We can get started.
you do real1ze your go1n 7o be 1n an ambulance 1n l1ke, f1ve m1nutes?
Well, that should be enough time to get something started, then.
forge7 17
we can do 7h1s some o7her day
No. Come on.
We've been planning this for weeks.
You were so excited.
I want to do this for you.
really?
for me?
Sure.
I'm mean, you're my best friend.
...oh
So come on.
Pass me a controller and go get the others.
Someone can take over for me when I have to go.

It's interesting what happens when an illogical thought lodges itself into a logical mind.

Lindsay passes the controller and leaves, looking a little glum.

Wonder what's with her?

[trulyElse]

> Be Lindsay

[Malrone]

>Lindsay: curse false hope

[mysticCharlatan]

>Lindsay: Curse false hope.

You are now Lindsay. And you are feeling pretty dumb right about now.

Damn.

Just... damn.

Okay, you shouldn't have gotten your hopes up like that. Your really shouldn't. But...

This is all US's fault. Henry and his teasing is fine, that stays between you and him. But SHE insists on actively shipping you and Chester, and that makes the whole debacle so much more infuriating.

You can just hear what she would think of the situation, too.

Having brushed with death, the male lead looks at himself and realizes what, and who, is really dear to him.
He wishes for one more chance, just one more, to tell the girl, the true girl of his dreams, exactly how he feels.
And low and behold, like an angel from the heavens she is at his side, desperately battling to keep him near.
And once they are alone, he uses some guesture, some simple, silly thing, to convey the truth, the full truth, of his feelings.

And you let yourself get sucked into one of her fantasies. If she was here, you would strangle her.

No. That's not right. Its not her fault that Chester is a completely unaware moron.

Best friend...

You may not be the "love expert" that US tries to pass herself off as, but you know one thing:

THE GUY IS NOT THE ONE WHO'S SUPPOSED TO "FRIEND ZONE" THE GIRL!!!

[trulyElse]

>Lindsay: Get the others.

[mysticCharlatan]

>Lindsay: Get the others.

You recall that Kaylyn went to the ground floor bathroom to check if she was bleeding from your earlier assault, and Henry, whipped as he is, followed along to make sure she was okay.

You wonder if she's in a better mood now.

You secretely hope she isn't. It would feel really good to hit someone right now.

>Game: Load.

You are now Chester. You are sitting in a loveseat, bleeding from the shoulder, about to play a video game.

A part of you realizes how ridiculous this is.

However, you just made that big deal to Lindsay about this, so if you don't want this held over your head for all eternity, you better get started with the gaming.

The television now shows the TITLE SCREEN of Smyth. It is as equally non-descript as the game's case, simply a black screen with the now immobile game's logo, and two available options: NEW GAME and CONNECT TO ANOTHER SESSION.

Strange, you thought the Gamesphere didn't have any internet connectivity.

[Xindaris]

>See what happens when you say 'connect to another'. Does it show a bunch of lobbies or something?

[mysticCharlatan]

>Chester: Connect to another session

You try out the second option just to see what it does. However, a notification comes up saying that there are currently no sessions in progress.

Odd. This is a new game. You would imagine someone would be playing right now, even if the Gamesphere isn't the most popular system.

You shrug (this time forgetting that doing so is a bad idea, and paying for it with an intense pain) and brush it off. Probably the connect feature is a relic from when the developers still expected to get onto a more modern system.

[trulyElse]

> Chester: Resist urge to start the game without everyone.

[Malrone]

> Chester: Resist urge to start the game without everyone.

Fail spectacularly.

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So, was it I who broke the now infamous naming streak?

[trulyElse]

So, was it I who broke the now infamous naming streak?

Infamous? Well... :blush: