Kintsugi Plays Fallen Hero: Rebirth

‣ I run as fast as I can, pretending to be a henchman heading to the fight.

...If there's anything I've been practicing in the last few years, it's taking on different personas to blend in in plain sight. Even with the stiffness from holding still, I should be able to move right to convince him of that. Hopefully.

 

No use hesitating — faking it is the first part of making it.​

> I run as fast as I can, pretending to be a henchman heading to the fight.

Trying to stay on your feet in the darkness, you run as fast as you can. You can feel your heart speeding up, the welcome precursor to the adrenaline of being in a fight again. You have to admit, some part of you has missed this. Missed the danger.

You duck safely into the shadows of the warehouse. Inside, the sounds of battle are intensifying, flashes of greenish light erupting through the massive hole in the wall. Keeping your head low, you weigh your options.

Psychopathor is giving them a good fight; what you dare to scan of his thoughts are fury-red, but there's no trace of worry yet. He's still holding his ground.

The WolfPack henchmen are a different story. There is a panicked feel to their thoughts; most of them are still calm, but the worry is spreading. Some of them are thinking of running. Some of them…

Wait…

You frown a little, trying to block out the din of battle. There! You were right. Rosie is here as well, and she is not doing too well.

　‣ Fuck. I'll make sure she's alright.
　‣ Rosie might come in handy; I'll give her a hand.
　‣ I'll stay focused on the goal—I can't allow myself to get distracted.

Speaking of making it, Rosie might not be. Should we step in?​

Spoiler: Show Stats

CLASSIFIED

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary
Description: An average mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short, neat curly dark brown hair.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine, with no significant wounds.

Telepathy

Strength of Mind: 50%
████████████████████
Subtle Manipulations: 62%
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Psychological Profile

Infamy: 0% / Obscurity: 100%
████████████████████
Arrogance: 9% / Anonymity: 91%
█▒██████████████████
Ruthlessness: 47% / Empathy: 53%
█████████▒██████████
Daring: 55% (+5) / Caution: 45%
████████████████████

Main Puppet

Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: Fine.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Barbara's relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum and Barbara: 40%
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‣ Fuck. I'll make sure she's alright.

we are accidentally almost-friends, are we not? I feel like we should step in.

 

> Fuck. I'll make sure she's alright.

Rosie has no idea what she has gotten herself into—you have to give her a hand.

You know you shouldn't let yourself get distracted, but there's a little bit of you that nearly panics at the thought of Rosie running afoul of the Special Directive. That's an odd enough reaction that it gives you pause….

　‣ I don't want them touching my things, and Rosie is mine.
　‣ I like Rosie; I don't want to lose her.
　‣ It could have been me, couldn't it?

It's a slippery slope—you let one person close and before you know it you're in touch with your own emotions.​

Spoiler: Show Stats (no change)

CLASSIFIED

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary
Description: An average mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short, neat curly dark brown hair.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine, with no significant wounds.

Telepathy

Strength of Mind: 50%
████████████████████
Subtle Manipulations: 62%
████████████▒███████

Psychological Profile

Infamy: 0% / Obscurity: 100%
████████████████████
Arrogance: 9% / Anonymity: 91%
█▒██████████████████
Ruthlessness: 47% / Empathy: 53%
█████████▒██████████
Daring: 55% / Caution: 45%
████████████████████

Main Puppet

Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: Fine.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Barbara's relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum and Barbara: 40%
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Undecided so far, but right now my brain is going oh! Josie and Rosie. Rhymes :)

 

> It could have been me

 

> It could have been me, couldn't it?

It could have been you, couldn't it? Just doing your job, just in over your head, no idea of the sharks that had slipped into the water. You still remember being fresh out in the world, not making your own calls, just following orders.

You had no idea of the danger.

It could have been you, and you are determined that it is not going to be her.

Josie…​

Time to get going.

Luckily, Rosie is nowhere near Psychopathor and the main fight at the moment.

Keeping your head low, you sprint deeper into the warehouse. The explosions cascade black shadows over the ground, the maze of boxes giving you more than enough cover as you run. You can feel panicked little screams light up and disappear. Rosie is still conscious, but there's someone else back there, clearing out possible reinforcements.

One of the Special Directive.

You're not sure what class; it's hard to make out details through the shielded minds back there. But since they are not going for Psychopathor and you haven't seen any flashy display of powers, it is probably one of the standard SCOs. That means strength and speed in various combinations, and probably armor as well. Perhaps some sort of natural projectile attack, or a quiet needle gun. An expert killer.

That thought hits you right in the gut, and you dodge behind a crate as machine guns open fire with a cacophony of noise. Apparently the WolfPack has noticed what is going on and is trying to take down whatever it is that's attacking them. They won't stand a chance….

　‣ Unless I help them…lead them…
　‣ Good. That gives me cover; I'll grab Rosie and get her to safety.
　‣ This is too risky…I'll have to abort and let Rosie fend for herself.

Good news: we found Rosie! Bad news: her latest job is now a slasher movie. Do we grab her and run? Try to help her team out? Or should we get away before that SCO notices us?​

Spoiler: Show Stats

CLASSIFIED

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary
Description: An average mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short, neat curly dark brown hair.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine, with no significant wounds.

Telepathy

Strength of Mind: 50%
████████████████████
Subtle Manipulations: 62%
████████████▒███████

Psychological Profile

Infamy: 0% / Obscurity: 100%
████████████████████
Arrogance: 9% / Anonymity: 91%
█▒██████████████████
Ruthlessness: 47% / Empathy: 53%
█████████▒██████████
Daring: 59% (+4) / Caution: 41%
███████████▒████████

Main Puppet

Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: Fine.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Barbara's relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum and Barbara: 40%
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Grab her!

 

> Good. That gives me cover; I'll grab Rosie and get her to safety.

With the WolfPack putting up this much of a fight, you have to be careful. It would be easy to get hit by a stray bullet. But hopefully they are making enough of a ruckus to give you cover as you sneak in and get Rosie out of here.

As long as you move fast….

Closing your eyes for a brief and vulnerable moment, you map out the presence of all the WolfPack in your head. The thought-void at the center is harder to pinpoint, but you can judge where the Re-Gene should be from the reactions of the others.

Good. You can do this.

Breaking into a run, you sprint past a confused WolfPack and dive into a quick roll to escape a stray burst of fire. You skid behind the crates to where Rosie has been hiding, just in time to tackle her backwards as the crates explode, sending splinters everywhere.

There's no time to be gentle—you give her mind a push to stay silent and compliant, dragging her further back as the screams start in earnest. The SCO must have used the explosion to rush the WolfPack's position; you can feel them panic and run. Pressing Rosie against the ground, you stay still until you feel that the danger has passed as the operative pursues elsewhere.

Not a moment too late.

"What?" Rosie spits out the word, her frustration breaking through your compulsion of her mind.

"Not now. Move or be dead." You drag her by the hand towards the quiet side, pushing her down with you behind a tarp-covered loader.

"Who the hell are you?" Rosie has her fists up, ready to sock you one in case she needs to. You'd rather she did not. That would hurt.

"It's not important." You're glad that you're masked; the goggles cover most of your face, and the black hood hides the rest.

"You're with them, aren't you?" There's a slight tightening of her fists, shifting slightly to get ready.

"No." You can't hide the amused snort. "You would be dead, in that case."

"Shit." She pops her head up, takes a look around, then immediately pulls back, face white. "Was that a Re-Gene? This is really happening…."

"It was, and it is."

"Okay." She draws a deep breath before continuing. "What do you want from me?"

"What makes you think I want anything?" You can't help sounding amused—she's catching on fast.

"You saved me. That usually means there's a reason."

　‣ "Barbara mentioned you."
　‣ "I need help, and you're conscripted."
　‣ "We both work for the WolfPack—but it's time to get out now."

Oh, right, she has no idea who we are. What do we tell her?​

Spoiler: Show Stats (no change)

CLASSIFIED

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary
Description: An average mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short, neat curly dark brown hair.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine, with no significant wounds.

Telepathy

Strength of Mind: 50%
████████████████████
Subtle Manipulations: 62%
████████████▒███████

Psychological Profile

Infamy: 0% / Obscurity: 100%
████████████████████
Arrogance: 9% / Anonymity: 91%
█▒██████████████████
Ruthlessness: 47% / Empathy: 53%
█████████▒██████████
Daring: 59% / Caution: 41%
███████████▒████████

Main Puppet

Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: Fine.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Barbara's relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum and Barbara: 40%
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> Barbara mentioned you.

 

> Barbara mentioned you

 

Trust us, we're a friend of Barbara's. Or an almost-friend, at least?​

> "Barbara mentioned you."

"Barbara mentioned you, and that makes you worth saving in my book." Not to mention that old memories are going on rerun in your head tonight, and you don't want to see Rosie die. Not like…

"Barbara? Shit. Really? Please don't tell me she's here too…."

"No. She's not crazy enough to be here." You're glad the mask hides your slightly manic grin. "But she did say you were someone she trusted."

It's not even hard to reach in and nudge suspicion into trust, not with the way Rosie's face lights up when you mention Barbara.

Maybe you should be feeling bad about this, but it's for a good cause, right? You get what you want, and she gets out alive.

"What are you doing here, then?" You can feel the willingness to help pouring from Rosie. That's one of the reasons you kept in contact after your first encounter as Barbara; some people are just born to be good henchmen. It would be a shame to pass one up.

"Looking for a better opportunity?"

"Well, the WolfPack only hired me for a one-off gig…and that gig looks like it might be up. Not getting paid enough to fight the military." She takes a long look around. "Honestly, with the way things are going tonight, I don't expect to get my paycheck."

You pause for a moment, making sure nobody is paying attention to you. "Maybe not from them. From me, on the other hand…"

"Shoot." Rosie sighs. "Okay, lay it out for me. Night's not getting any younger."

　‣ I tell the truth: I am after Psychopathor's cannon.
　‣ I lie, planning to use Rosie for a distraction.
　‣ I'll be vague and use Rosie to help with the getaway.

Rosie joined your party!
Now, how involved do we want her?​

Spoiler: Show Stats (no change)

CLASSIFIED

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary
Description: An average mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short, neat curly dark brown hair.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine, with no significant wounds.

Telepathy

Strength of Mind: 50%
████████████████████
Subtle Manipulations: 62%
████████████▒███████

Psychological Profile

Infamy: 0% / Obscurity: 100%
████████████████████
Arrogance: 9% / Anonymity: 91%
█▒██████████████████
Ruthlessness: 47% / Empathy: 53%
█████████▒██████████
Daring: 59% / Caution: 41%
███████████▒████████

Main Puppet

Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: Fine.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Barbara's relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum and Barbara: 40%
████████████████████

 

Be vague - no need for her to know too much or be too involved just yet, as far as she knows she's a stranger to Josie

 

> I'll be vague and use Rosie to help with the getaway.

Rosie is used to obeying orders, and it's that urge you are leaning into right now. You don't need her help getting the thing you're after. Getting away, however…that's always the toughest part.

"I need to be able to get out of here fast, as soon as I'm done with what I'm here for."

"Mysterious," Rosie teases.

"Mysterious and generous," you point out.

"Fair enough. If it's transport you need, I have a car not far from here."

"One you can get to safely?" You scan her face and thoughts for any hesitation, and find none. There is a car, parked a safe distance from the warehouse.

"As long as I don't run into those assholes."

You nod. "Just keep low and run away from the fight. They're not interested in henchmen; if you don't bother them, they'll ignore you."

"And if not, I'll punch them," she says, punching her palm with her fist.

"Trust me, you don't want to do that," you say with conviction. "Just keep your head down." She reluctantly nods yes.

Rosie is best henchman ♥​

"Okay…how long are you going to be?"

"Not long. Ten minutes tops. Where is it?"

"Down by the water. Just follow the alley—look for the cistern with the crane." You follow her mental impression instead, which is a lot easier to understand.

Single most underappreciated telepathy perk, tbh.​

"I know where that is," you say because now you do. "Don't have the motor running; we don't want to draw attention to you."

"Got it. I'll be careful."

"I'm glad we understand each other." You give Rosie a little clap on the shoulder. "Just give me a moment to…"

You scan your surroundings, pinpointing the little thought-voids, trying to predict where the fighting will be heaviest. "There, that way, go! And remember, keep low."

You don't give Rosie the opportunity to refuse; instead, you give her a mental push to start running in the right direction.

To your relief, she doesn't even look back.

Good. Now to get in position and wait for an opportunity.

> On with the Show

Now it's about time to get to work.

At the front end of the warehouse, the fight is still raging. You need to get a lot closer before you will be able to act on any chance you get.

The place is a massive maze of boxes and stored equipment, so you've got enough cover to get around unseen if you are careful. On the other hand, maybe it would be safer to attempt getting up into the gantries, trying to get a height advantage. There's less cover up there, but hopefully everyone is too focused on Psychopathor to look up. The old monster likes his solid footing, so he'll stay on the ground.

You need to get to a position where you can keep an eye on the fight, waiting for your moment. You are certain you will get the opportunity you need soon enough…you just need to avoid getting your head shot off in the meantime.

　‣ I stay low to the ground.
　‣ I climb the fire escape to get the height advantage.

Obviously we can't risk making ourselves a target, but we still need to be close enough to act. Should we wait on the sidelines of the fight where we can hide among the clutter and chaos, or in the rafters above it where we'll be out of the line of fire?​

Spoiler: Show Stats (no change)

CLASSIFIED

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary
Description: An average mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short, neat curly dark brown hair.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine, with no significant wounds.

Telepathy

Strength of Mind: 50%
████████████████████
Subtle Manipulations: 62%
████████████▒███████

Psychological Profile

Infamy: 0% / Obscurity: 100%
████████████████████
Arrogance: 9% / Anonymity: 91%
█▒██████████████████
Ruthlessness: 47% / Empathy: 53%
█████████▒██████████
Daring: 59% / Caution: 41%
███████████▒████████

Main Puppet

Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: Fine.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Barbara's relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum and Barbara: 40%
████████████████████

 

> Climb the fire escape

 

>We like to be tall

 

Better start moving up in the world; we're certainly not getting the height advantage on these guys any other way! especially since we can't be tall until the second game​

> I climb the fire escape to get the height advantage.

Up is safer; you don't trust your reflexes to keep you out of harm's way when it comes to destruction on this level. Plasma doesn't discriminate, and there are too many unknowns to contend with. Better by far to be a fly on the ceiling.

Once you make certain no thoughts seem to be focused in your direction, you quickly scale the fire escape. Several holes have been blasted in the wall; with a bit of effort, you manage to maneuver your way across the gap to the gantries near the ceiling.

Fuck, you didn't think it would be like this to be back in action.

The stench of plasma fills the interior, mixing with the smoke, and once again you are grateful that you picked a rebreather and goggles as your mask tonight. You don't want to be revealed by a stray cough, and since you had no idea what operatives the Special Directive would send to deal with Psychopathor, you had to plan for gas.

As you get closer, the strange green flames are bright enough to paint the interior of the warehouse in garish colors.

Below, Psychopathor is pushing his way through fallen rubble, his armor glowing red from the heat. No discomfort is visible on his contorted face, only anger.

The blue-skinned Re-Gene confronting him is dressed in nothing but a reinforced nanomesh skinsuit, the tattoos covering his face and hands dividing his flesh into stark patterns of orange and white. Around him, the flickering green flames are hot enough to melt steel. But the armored monster only laughs, a sound that sends a familiar shiver down your spine.

　‣ Fuck, I've missed being in on the action!
　‣ I hope I'm ready for this because there's no turning back now.
　‣ I can't stop thinking about last time I faced him. I wish Ortega were here.

Seven years out of the game and now here we are, suited up once more and face to face with one of our recurring nightmares. What must that feel like?​

Spoiler: Show Stats (no change)

CLASSIFIED

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary
Description: An average mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short, neat curly dark brown hair.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine, with no significant wounds.

Telepathy

Strength of Mind: 50%
████████████████████
Subtle Manipulations: 62%
████████████▒███████

Psychological Profile

Infamy: 0% / Obscurity: 100%
████████████████████
Arrogance: 9% / Anonymity: 91%
█▒██████████████████
Ruthlessness: 47% / Empathy: 53%
█████████▒██████████
Daring: 59% / Caution: 41%
███████████▒████████

Main Puppet

Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: Fine.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Barbara's relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum and Barbara: 40%
████████████████████

 

Yeah, that can happen when the narrator doesn't tell us what our big plans are. :::PPP

 

Fallen Hero: a synopsis. (...Okay, no, I kid—they'll move on to not telling us other things soon enough, promise!)

Maybe Josie just assumes their plans should be obvious? I mean, what else would you do with... *checks notes* a colony of newly-vegetarian flesh-eating nanomachines and a giant, rat-brain-assisted plasma cannon?

 

destroy the city? the...the city that we seemingly used to help protect? this is a plan that makes sense. I'm sure of it.

also, I vote for
‣ I can't stop thinking about last time I faced him. I wish Ortega were here.
because we were friends with Ortega in the past and sadness and missing people is always a fun good time.