Pandora Quest 46

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>>950023
Back at last. Back at last.

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You sit there in sullen silence after the bombshell reveal of your literal worst nightmare may very well be real. You have much to think on and much to decide. You still have no idea where your father could be and if the Bad Man meant what he said about making things worse. You never did get whatever was in the dirt there...you have no idea what it could even be. You're happy Aph is back, but are unsure if you want to go back there...

Your battery is just under half full at the moment. You could probably make it there and back before running out, but you'd be best to hurry if you did. Or you could get to your charging cradle and deal with it tomorrow.

>Go back to retrieve the "surprise"
>Sleep for now, get it in the morning
>Other (write in)

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>>950042
Getting a human to accompany us, either now or later, would be a good precaution against any techno magic Prometheus has got.

>>950042
>>Sleep for now, get it in the morning
He'll probably be a whiny prick about it, but this should serve as an example of our priorities to him.

Also, we should talk to Mouse about learning how to fix and repair robots. It'll be good to do something to help around here, especially if it's the complete opposite of hurting people.

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>>950109
Awww, nurse Pandora sounds cute.
>>950088
I may or may not start using your stained-glass picture for the new OP image. If you don't mind, that is.

>>950042
>Go back to retrieve the surprise

>>950042
>Sleep for now, get it in the morning
Pandora needs a break, it's been a stressful day.
And it's not like bad things have ever happened while she slept.

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>>950135
well hold on a second there.

I have a mostly completed version set up now.
I wanted to play with the lighting and maybe add the "actual" pandora in there but I've been sitting on this for a while so I might as well post it.

>>950189
Beautiful. Well let me know when it's the "final" version and I'm using that. I love it!

Looks like sleeping it off it is. Writing!

>>950204
Feel free to use this version for now. I'm just being a bit... perfectionist-y?

>>950042
>>Sleep for now, get it in the morning

>>950189
>What Patriarch Minos thinks we are
>Meanwhile, back near the facility...
>"WAAAAHHH-HAA-HAA! EVERYONE IS DEAD AND IT'S MY FAU-HAU-HAULT! BUAAAAA-HAH-HAH-HAH!

You decide that you need a night to recoup and recharge. You solemnly stand and give Aph one last hug before heading back to your room. It's a little strange plugging yourself in and not having the doctor do it for you. You think of him for a minute and have to hug yourself to keep it together. You miss him so much it's almost painful. Your last interaction...if you'd known, you would've...what could you've done? You don't even know what happened... You hug yourself a little tighter.

After composing yourself, you manage to get plugged in and set up. It's awkward, but not too hard to do. Before long you drift off into sleep mode, darkness washing over you, surrounding you like a blanket.

Then you wake up. You're not fully charged yet, you need hours more before you are. Why are you awake. You look around...or attempt to. You can't move...your body is frozen and you can only look around the room. A single red eye hazily comes into view once again. The voice is like nails and you are the chalkboard.

"I warned you." the Bad Man says, rage dripping from his voice as he tries to stay composed, "You were given simple instructions and you chose to ignore them. You chose to defy me, despite my promise to make things worse."

You start to panic as the Bad Man stands up slowly, looking around slowly. He folds his arms, his skinny fingers drumming on his arm as he thinks. "I can't let this slide. Mmm, no, no, no...oooh...yes, perfect...you'll wake up again once you're all fresh and ready, pet. Don't worry. But things will be...oh, I don't want to ruin the surprise!" He giggles devilishly, a sick, perverse kind of glee in his body language.

>Plead with him
>Demand he stop
>Bargain
>Other (write in)

>>950290
>Demand he stop

>>950290
>>Demand he stop

>>950290
>>Demand he stop

>>950324
Big girl pants are on. Gloves are off. Writing!

"Stop it!" you shout to your best ability, "Stop it now! Leave me alone! Go away! You're a bad person! Just...just go somewhere else! I-"

You are cut off, your voice suddenly unable to come out. The Bad Man is about an inch from your face once again, his fierce, wrathful glare the only thing you can see. His hands holding your head fixed on him, actually shaking with intensity. It appears you've irked him.

"You DO NOT GIVE ME ORDERS!" the Bad Man shouts, causing what little of you that can move to flinch, "I AM IN CHARGE HERE! I AM THE ONE WHO SAYS WHAT WILL AND WILL NOT HAPPEN! YOU DON'T..." he pauses for a second, then relaxes somewhat, but does not release you. "You don't tell me what to do. You have no power here. You cannot stop me, nor can you resist my wishes without consequences. Oh no, you will see this come the morning. You will know just how badly you have screwed up here. And when you do, I expect you to perform your little task, or it will just keep getting more and more bleak for you. Do you understand me?"

He's staring silently. It looks like he wants an answer. You still can't talk, but you can move a little.

>Nod yes
>Frown at him in defiance

>>950428
>>Frown at him in defiance
No, you're not in charge. If you were, you'd have gotten someone else to do it. Prove me wrong, jerk. Do it now.

>>950428
>Frown at him in defiance

>>950447
>>950487
Stickin' it to the Man. Writing.

>>950542
When life gives you lemons get mad!

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>>950553
And then burn Life's house down.

With the lemons.

Why yes, I do enjoy my dated memes, why do you ask?

You scowl at the red-eyed psychopath, refusing to play his game. He doesn't control you or anyone else.

Bad Man looks somewhat taken aback, but only briefly. "Such venom in those eyes. Very well, you will see what your hubris will bring you. You will know why I shall not be ignored. And each time you do, it will only get more difficult for you to say no. Good night, pet." He gives you a light pat on the head and instantly you are asleep once more. Your rest is dreamless and hours later you awake to an empty room. It's a quiet morning, even the sounds of birds chirping can be heard from outside. Nothing seems out of place or urgent. You simply unplug and get out of your charging cradle as usual. Was he bluffing? Maybe he doesn't have as much power as you thought. Blowhard.

Then your thoughts are interrupted by a sudden knock at your door and you almost jump out of your servos. You tell yourself it just surprised you, nothing to do with being scared of him...

You head to the door and open it to see an unfamiliar face. An oddly disheveled-looking android with a large red splotch on it's face made with what looks to be paint. It's androgynous and doesn't seem to be in the best condition, it's eyes staring off into space. It's holding a small metal box that's covered in dirt, much like itself. It offers it to you, only gargling out the word "delivery" without moving it's mouth, it's voice garbled and unpleasant, obviously severely damaged. Part of it's arm falls off in the process. Ew...

>Uh, thanks...[take package]
>Shut the door in it's face
>Other (write in)

>>950633
>>Uh, thanks...[take package]

>>950633
>>Other (write in)
Ask him if he's all right, and if he wants to see about a repair job. If he refuses, ask Mouse about him.

>>950633
>>>950633
>>>Other (write in)
>Ask him if he's all right, and if he wants to see about a repair job. If he refuses, ask Mouse about him.
This

>>950639
>>950654
I elect for both....

Prometheus has his own delivery service?

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>>950661
Writing.

You awkwardly take the box from the odd thing before you, stepping back as you do. "Uh, thanks...?" you say, a little unnerved, "Are you okay? You should go see Mouse...about...your..." you trail off as it turns around and walks off to another part of the camp. There's a small group of androids watching it warily as it approaches them. It reaches into a small bag at it's hip to what you can only assume is deliver another package. You begin to close the door before a deafening explosion almost knocks you off your feet, your door swinging open violently from the sudden rush of air.

Where the small crowd once was is now a smoking crater littered with scrap metal. Several androids, or what's left of them, are weakly crawling on the ground trying to get away, looks of horror and confusion on their faces as fluids, wiring and internal hardware fall from gaping holes in their torsos. One of them makes eye contact with you before it's lights go dark and it slumps in a heap on the ground, completely silent. Screams begin to erupt and panicked androids begin running in every direction.

Oh no...

>Go get Mouse
>Go get Ares
>Go get Jason
>Other (write in)

>>950716
>>Go get Mouse

>>950716
>Go get Mouse

>>950716
>Go get Mouse
>Go get Ares
Say no to terrorism

>>950727
>>950742
>>950743
MOM, GET THE CAMERA! Writing!

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>>950716
Man we really should've got jason... He is gonna start not trusting us...

>>950789
This seems lewd.

You snap out of your state of shock and immediately run for the first person you can think of. You make a bee-line for Mouse's workshop, hoping that's also where she is in the morning. You burst through the door, meeting face to face with a shocked cyborg with a mouth full of canned beans. You speak at a mile a minute, going over every little detail of the strange android showing up, giving you a package and then blowing itself up. You're scared, not thinking too straight, so all you can do is wildly gesture in the general direction of the incident. Mouse gets the idea, thankfully, and grabs some tools and sprints out the door. Before long more androids start showing up, keeping people out of the way and helping to gather up anyone left that they can. It's very efficient, but you can't help but shake nervously. This has to have been from the Bad Man...this is what he warned you of...you could've stopped this if you'd just gone to get his stupid dirt box, but you had to be proud and rebellious. Stupid! Why did you have to do that?! You think to yourself over and over.

As Mouse does her best to save who she can, Jason shows up with a group of armed guards, each form a perimeter around the area and keep watch for more attackers. Jason, however, corners you. His emotionless face is impossible to read, but his body is clearly excited and possibly even angry. His PDA screen reads a rapid succession of questions.

What happened? You saw it, right? Who did this? How did they get in? Was it the Church? Are there more of them?

>I don't know who did it...
>Tell him about the Bad Man
>It was the Church!
>Other (write in)

>>950898
>Tell him about the Bad Man

>>950898
>>Tell him about the Bad Man

>>950898
>>Tell him about the Bad Man

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I'm so sorry. The urge was too strong to resist.

Writing!

>>950949
>>950848
O-oh no.
Eagerly await what comes up next.

"It...it was the Bad Man..." you say slowly, nervously looking around.

Bad Man?

You nod. "He's...I thought he wasn't real, but...he was in my dreams back at the Facility. He was a nightmare, always scaring me in my dreams, but the doctor told me he wasn't real. Just a bad dream, and that he couldn't hurt me...but he is real. He can make you stop moving and..."

Prometheus? Prometheus is an urban legend, Pandora. A superstition made up by scared androids looking for something to blame their problems on. Who really did this?

"It was really him!" you say, trying not to shout, "I swear, it was him! I dunno if he's Prometheus, but he's real. He can freeze you and...he wanted me to dig up something by the Facility, but I didn't, and he said because I didn't he'd punish me. So he had some android I'd never seen bring it to me. It's in my room! The android had...like, really messed up everything. Falling apart, dirty, with red paint on it's face or something..."

Red spot? The outcasts in Tartarus, some of them have that mark. We're not sure where they get it from or why. We always assumed it was some kind of odd ritual among them. Like they have their own semblance of culture.
They're too dangerous to study up close, but if it did have that red mark like you said, then what this was is an escapee that somehow managed to sneak in here, or even just stumble across us by accident. No Prometheus or "Bad Man", just a crazed android that got it's hands on explosives.

"No, It really was-!" you start to say, but Jason holds up a hand to stop you.

We'll discuss this more later, but for now I need you to bring me whatever it gave you. It could be another bomb or something dangerous. Please, hurry.

The Bad Man told you specifically to get it, now Jason wants it. Should you keep it in case it's something meant for you only, or do you listen to Jason's wishes? Could it be another bomb like he warned?
>Bring him the box without opening it
>Check inside the box first
>Refuse to bring it to him and check inside yourself
>Destroy it

>>951013
>Check inside the box first

>>951013
>>Check inside the box first

>>951013
>>Check inside the box first

>>951065
WHAT'S IN THE BOOOOOOOX?! Writing.

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>>951071

You hurry back to your room and close the door behind you, quickly grabbing the box and popping it open. The inside is dusty and full of dirt like the outside. On top is a neatly folded note, much more recent than the rest of it. Below it is some kind of data card. Tiny and rectangular. The date on it is from three years ago. Could this be from the event at the Facility?

The note reads in rather sloppy handwriting: Hello pet, it's me! Your very own boogie man! Just a few things before you go off doing something that will infuriate me again; first of all, I warned you what would happen if you defied me. That was me being nice. Nobody you know was killed...probably. You know how it is when you send someone to do your dirty work for you. Anyway, I trust you get the picture. Do what I say and nobody else needs to get hurt...for now, anyway. Though that fuckbot with the human parts might be a fun target if you need more convincing.

Second, keep this note from that mannequin boss the little dirt farmers you're staying with call a leader. He doesn't need to know about our little interactions. He'll know when the time is right.

Lastly, check out the data on that card ASAP (that means As Soon As Possible!), your human cyborg woman should know how. You'll be very interested in seeing, I assure you. It has wonderful information stored on it. The mute can have it after you've seen.

No further instructions after that, what you do with the information is up to you. But I'll be in touch. Hope you're enjoying life outside!
Love, (A small red dot of paint on the bottom of the paper is in place of a name.)

What the hell is he saying?
>Go to Mouse with the data card
>Show Jason the letter and card
>Destroy them both, you're not his puppet!
>Other (write in)

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>>951071
I think I just got my next prompt.

>>951120
Can we go to mouse with the data card WITH Jason. I feel like we need to make him less of a skeptic.

We may also need to make sure whatever we check the data on is isolated.

>>951120
>Go to Mouse with the data card

>>951125
I'm gonna go with this. As the prick says himself, he'll just ruin lives whenever the hell he wants to. There's no guarantee he'll keep his word ever, especially after a show like that, so he can go screw a wall socket for all I care.

>>951159
just so long as we can have jason present to see whatever is going on... We need to start making connections with people beyond the facility.

Making friends in high places.

>>951125
>>951159
>>951174
Alright, so you want to bring Jason along to see it. But do you also show him the letter, or get rid of it?

>>951193
Get rid of it.

>>951212
i wouldn't show him it... its suspicious. But I wouldn't get rid of it yet... Especially since its evidence of Prometheus Existing.

>>951193
Keep it for later.

>>951212
>>951217
>>951219
Secret pen-palls! Writing.

>>951238
Hopefully not a dreadful mistake.

>>951247
When dealing with this guy, it's always a dreadful mistake.

All I wanted was some cute post-apocalyptic android slice of life stories...

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You take the note out and hide it under your charging cradle for now. Maybe you'll use it to prove he exists or something later. You then grab the box and hurry back to Jason, who is speaking with one of his guards. He holds out one hand, the other carrying his PDA.

Thank you, I'll take it from here.

"No, I'm going to look at it with you." you say, resolute, "It has a data card in it and Mouse will know how to read what's on it. If this has information about what happened when this all started or where the doctor is, I need to know."

Jason pauses for a second, thinking, then replies.

Fine, but if it has anything dangerous, I'm taking it and handling the rest myself. I have to think of the safety of my people over anything else.

You head back to Mouse, who's finishing up triaging the few survivors there were, wiping sweat and lubricant from her face with an old rag. "Christ, what a fuckin' nightmare...I'm not sure if they're gonna last the day. We find out the cunt behind this? Church finally sniff us out?"

"It was the Bad Man!" you say before Jason can respond, "He found me again and sent someone to bring me this and kill those people!" you hold up the data card, but Mouse just looks worried.

"Sweetheart, I really don't think-" Mouse starts, but you hold out the card, refusing to listen to more people telling you he's not real. Mouse sighs. "Fine. I think I still have an old reader somewhere."

Some digging through junk parts and you have a reader hooked up to an old laptop Mouse was going to strip for parts. The card gets inserted and immediately data starts filling the screen. It's evacuation instructions in case of catastrophe. Longitudes and latitudes of where to meet in case of separation. There are two places listed nearby with emergency bunkers that can be used if needed, all the others would take days to get to if even possible. Their locations are...really unfortunate. The first is smack dab in the middle of the Church's territory, under what appears to be a government owned steel factory. The second, potentially worse location, is under an old warehouse, also government-owned...in what is now Tartarus. This data, if correct, says that if there are survivors, odds are they're in unfriendly territory.

"Ahhh, shit..." Mouse says quietly. "Panda, I know what you're thinking, but we have no idea if they're there. There are plenty of other bunkers they could've made it to somehow. Those two are way too dangerous. We'd need to send an army to get through that."

Jason just shakes his head slowly.

This is the only lead you have now...your father could be there somewhere. One is full of insane, defective androids and the other is full of zelots who want to put you in a gilded cage and worship you as their god.

What now?
>I'm taking Ares and anyone who will join me to Tartarus, that's final
>I'm taking Ares and anyone who will join me to the Church, end of story
>You're right, it's probably just wishful thinking...
>Other (write in)

>>951347
>Go talk to Ares

>>951347
>I'm taking Ares and anyone who will join me to the Church,

And Peacefully so.

>>951364
Alternatively this... I do think the church may be the better option. if only for it to be a little peaceful. Plus there is the distinct possibly since... that's where we were found, that might be where doc is.

>>951408
Actually you were found in "Nowhere", a sort of no-man's-land type deal in the middle of the city. Officially it's in Church territory, but it's not policed. Too open and populated to be kept under their full protection.

>>951347
>>>I'm taking Ares and anyone who will join me to the Church
hopefully we can create a temporal truce

>>951426
Y'all need robot Jesus. Writing!

"I'm taking Ares and anyone who will join me to the Church." you say sternly, "I have to find him and I will. They won't attack me, so I think...I think I can meet them peacefully. I just...need to talk to Ares first."

"Panda, please-" Mouse starts, but you walk away before they have a chance to try and change your mind. Everyone keeps trying to stop you from doing what you need to do, and frankly you're sick of it.

You reach Ares' room and see him doing a little self-cleaning on his arms. He looks up and looks happy, but a embarrassed when he realizes who it is. He doesn't have the ability to wake himself, so you're kind of curious who came in and woke him...wait, does he need to sleep?

"O-oh, Pandora." Ares says, quickly putting the cleaning supplies away, "I didn't, uh...hi. Why are you...can I help you?"

You ignore him acting oddly, nothing unusual for him anyway. You spend time explaining what's happened, as well as your plan to try to enter the Church's territory peacefully if possible. If your father is there, it's the best place to look.

Ares pauses for a second, thinking it over, then nods and stands up, saluting. Old habits die hard, you suppose. At least he's on your side...though he seems a little too eager...

Wait a second...ohhhhh...Church...Selene...

Ugh, idiot.

That's it for tonight guys, but thanks so much for playing! If you enjoyed it, please vote on the archive and follow me on Twitter for updates! I can stick around to answer some questions for now, but other than that, thanks for playing and have a good night!

(By the way, no Pandora next week due to Christmas. Sorry! Hope you guys have a good one, though!)

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Hope Panda Claus brings you what you wish for!

>>951484
Thanks for running AM. Have a good Christmas yourself.

>>951484
Thanks for running and happy holidays!

>>951484
G'night, bossman.

>>951479
Thanks for running.

>>951484
You kept it after all this time.

How sweet.

I wonder... did I ever post that onto my blog?

>>951347
So....are there some robots who just follow Prome's orders because otherwise he blows them up? What fraction of Tartarus is that?