/monster/ - The Last Bastion of Romance

“Yeah, I’ve actually been looking into that. There’s some Junko partner on the west coast that owns a shipyard near Chinatown.”

“Really… another shipyard?” The jinko groaned.

“Hey, at least you’ll get to see San Francisco,” Coop replied, trying his best to downplay just how shitty the situation was.

“Oh, just what I’ve always wanted.” Tabby said flatly.

“Well, anyway, we’ve been driving along a railroad for the last hundred miles or whatever and I just thought what the hell are we gonna do if they’re on a train?”

The truck went silent as everyone began to have the same worry, only the roar of the engine and the rain plinking off the roof offering a response.

“Shit. Alright let’s say you’re right, so what? We can just hop onto the train and figure things out from there!” Coop finally answered.

“Mom can this thing keep up with a train?” Cathy asked, turning back to look at her. She thought about it for a moment before shrugging. “You know… it’s got us this far and we somehow got here before them, right? What are the chances of them actually being on a train?” She asked.

Everyone went quiet again, mulling it over in their tired brains. It did seem odd, but then again if it’s one of those big cargo trains they have to make stops all the time, right? Cathy shook her head, the thought had occurred to her, but what if they messed up? What if this tracker was off by even a little? Who knows how old it is! Both Coop and Mom seemed to think it worked just fine. All they could really do now was wait and see.

Warrensburg was a decent sized town compared to the others they had passed through. For one it wasn’t like one of those small towns, population one-hundred like the last three they’d seen.

That actually made it worse, as far as she was concerned. The more people, the more confusion, the worse their chances were.

“Here we are…” Coop announced, pulling off the highway into the town. It was around four in the afternoon by the time they had gotten there. Still, the tracker said they were ahead of them for some time. “Cathy, you got a fix on them?”

Cathy held up the GPS and nodded. “They’re definitely on a train. Look at this.” She said, presenting it to Coop. He groaned, driving the suburban around town toward the station on the map. It was out of the way in an industrial district. Thankfully the rain seemed to keep activity outside the buildings low, giving them some form of cover.

“The train’s probably gonna stop here in about half an hour, so that’s our chance to get on board.” Coop explained. “Tabby, hand Cathy that rifle.”

The jinko passed the gun forward, Cathy taking hold of it for Coop while he drove around to looking for somewhere to park.

“Alright, here’s our options. We ditch the suburban and hop on the train while it’s at the station. It might be pretty risky since we don’t know how many eyes will be on site, but I say we jump on the train right as it’s leaving and hope nobody sees us.” He said.

“Lucky it’s raining then,” Tabitha replied.

“What other choice do we have?” Asked Cathy.

“Well, it’s either that or we follow it out into the country and attempt to jump it out there. Might have less eyes but it’s definitely more dangerous… moving train and all that.” Tabby suggested. “Super risky though, again, rain.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem for me.” Cathy said, subconsciously flexing her wings a little.

“Still a problem, even for you.” Mom retorted. “You haven't actually flown, have you?”

Cathy shook her head. “Haven’t had the chance to try.”

“Well, we still got some time, let’s get ready for-… oh, shit.” Coop exclaimed, pointing out the window.

Not a moment later a train came through the station, slowing to a halt not far from where they parked.

“Tracker gave us half an hour, huh? Right on cue,” Tabby said sarcastically. “So what’s the plan?”

A. Ditch the suburban and board the train while it’s in/leaving the station. The four of you could probably sneak onboard with the rain as cover, but then again there’s a lot more activity now that the train pulled in.

B. Wait for the train to depart, you might have a better chance getting on undetected on the road, but it could be dangerous. Cathy is the only one who could feasibly jump onto the train without getting hurt or worse.

Suggestion? Write it out!

<Well, we're back in action! Hope you guys are ready!

<This is probably the biggest post I've made in one go, but I doubt they're all going to be like this lol.

>cathy is back for more crime fighting action

Let’s get this bread

>>391076

Wait just outside the station and board it as it’s leaving. Most trainyards search the cars before the train pulls out of the station. Remember, if you can’t count the bolts on the train wheels the train is moving too fast and you’re liable to lose a limb

>>391076

Option B but like >>391080 said do it sooner rather than later because Cathy's the only one who can fly

Cathy better be getting a husbando this time around, gargoyles with wings in this magical realm need a boost in numbers

<Bumping for a few more votes, then I'll get to work by the end of tomorrow!

>>391158

>Spoiler

You'll just have to wait and see:^)

>>391076

B and block/destroy the track somewhere isolated to set up an ambush.

>>391071

>Cathy doing that Kurt Russell pose from BTiLCT

YES YES YES! WE'RE BACK IN ACTION!

>You guys usually:^) have some really good ideas.

>Usually

U-u-uh, I'm not one of those oddballs, OP?

>>391076

B, plus Cathy can practice using her wings a little out in the country when Coop has to refill the car or the gang has to get some supplies.

After a moment of contemplating their next move, Cathy gave a low hum and pointed out the window toward the train. Several workers, both man and monster alike were unloading cargo and inspecting every little bolt, hitch and car of the train. There were even some security guards escorting all sorts of freight as it was coming on and off.

“So does the freight company have any ties to Junko?” Cathy wondered aloud.

“They have to… if they were stowaways on that train they’d have found them by now - look at all the security.” Mom replied.

“Forget that, so what’s the plan, then? We just sit here and wait or are we gonna do somethin’?” Tabby piped up again.

“Hold up, Tabby. Looks like they’re gonna be here for a while, so we could head out of town and wait for them there.” Cathy suggested. “I mean, look! There’s way too many people out there now, there’s no way we would get on without getting caught.”

Coop sighed and nodded, “I hear ya…” he said, putting the truck in gear and driving off. “Just keep an eye on that tracker. I don’t want to be chasing down this train for nothing.”

As they drove out of town they followed the tracks that ran alongside Route 50.

Eventually they were out in no-man’s land again. The sun glared down at its peak, the waves of heat radiating off the old metal of the suburban. Cathy bit off some beef jerky she had from the supplies. It was dry, but had a kick to it. Better than nothing, she supposed.

“So why don’t we just block off the tracks?” Tabitha asked, gulping down some trail mix.

“With what, the truck?” Mom shot back after sipping some water.

“Sure, why not?” Tabitha argued, “If they stop, we can jump on, find Bill and get out.”

“We’d be in the middle of nowhere without a vehicle.” Cathy said, her mouth half full of jerky.

“Look, I’m just trying to think outside the box and I don’t see anything else around here. It’s so fuckin’ hot…” The jinko complained, pulling her shirt to wave some air down her chest. “No boulders, no trees, all we got is this damn truck and barely any of us have gotten any sleep… I haven’t even seen another car come through here.”

“We’re not risking the truck, besides, what if the train derails?” Said Mom, trying to get back on topic.

Cathy sighed. “Mom, it’s not gonna derail…”

“Do you know that for sure?” She asked, clearly annoyed with her daughter’s attitude.

“I’ve seen videos of trains hitting busses and they just plowed right through them!” The younger gargoyle hollered, sharing the same sentiment.

A silence came over everyone as they stared at Cathy for several moments, processing what she just said.

“I get bored, okay?” She said indignantly, throwing all four arms up. “Let’s just go over the plan!”

“Okay, so one more time…” Coop began, adjusting his shades.

“We wait out here, let the engine pass us by before we ride up beside the cars-”

“And I jump on.” Cathy interjected.

“No, absolutely not, you are not jumping on that train!” Mom barked. “If anything, I’m doing it.”

“Charlotte, she’s the only one who can.” Coop argued, turning around in his seat. “She has wings - you don’t!”

“TO HELL WITH THE WINGS!” Charlotte erupted, “She’s my daughter, she shouldn’t even be here! I’m not letting her jump onto a moving train - and another thing, she hasn’t even flown yet!”

“I’ve been through a lot worse in the past month than jumping on a train! If you’re hung up on me not flying then I’ll just have to practice right now!” Cathy barked, jumping out of the passenger’s seat. She shut the door behind her before Mom could protest, stretching her wings out wide. The others joined her outside, both Coop and Tabitha standing back to give her space. Mom watched from the open door in the back seat, her eyes narrow and sharp and arms crossed. Whether she wanted her to succeed or not seemed pretty apparent, at least to Cathy. Didn’t she understand that she had to do this? Who else is going to get on that train? Her? She can’t even turn to stone if she fell! The only person Cathy would trust to get on a moving train other than herself was already on board as a captive.

<Doublepost!

Maybe at little practice will get her off my back, Cathy thought, slowly flapping her big wings. The gust blew up around her but there was no real lift. I must not be flapping hard enough, she mused, walking out further from the truck.

She began flapping furiously and after several seconds the wind beneath her wings slowly pushed her off the ground.

“I-I told ya, I can do it!” Cathy said, trying and failing to sound confident.

Damn, this is tough! It takes a lot just to get myself to hover, Cathy noted, her winged arms slowly giving up on her. She dropped back down to the ground on all fours, breathing deeply as she tried to compose herself. Suddenly a water bottle was thrust in front of her. When she looked up she saw it was Tabitha.

“Good try, but you should keep practicing. Maybe you should try what some of the harpies do and get a running start?” She suggested. “You’re gonna be jumping off a moving truck anyway, so…”

“Yeah… thanks, Tabby.” Cathy replied, taking the bottle with a smile. “What, no backwash?”

“Not today,” Tabby grinned down at her, helping her to her feet.

She gulped down some water, wiped her mouth and was ready to give it another shot, handing the bottle back to Tabitha. This time she picked a direction and braced herself. Her wings spread wide again, this time she angled them nearly horizontally as she pushed off the baked dirt with all her might. It was like watching a kid try to get their kite to take off, every now and then her wings would flap, but eventually she got it. The wind lifted her up and she went soaring.

Not too high, she told herself, don’t get yourself killed before you even start. Somehow she managed to turn her wings back downward, angling herself so that she was slowly descending.

I’m doing it, Cathy cheered herself on, I-I’m flying! I- Oh no…

WHUMP! She skidded across the dirt, landing on her belly. When she finally came to a stop she picked herself up and looked around. Surprisingly that was less painful than she expected. Must be the stone skin thing, she figured, brushing herself off. Cathy turned around to face the others only to realize she was out by a good hundred yards or so. Well, pretty good if I do say so myself! Guess I should head back now, huh.

Going through the motions again, this time her take off was smoother than the last. She felt the wind against her face, the feelings of glee she felt - but she decided to focus on landing instead.

There’s no time for daydreaming, she reminded herself, I gotta get this right!

With a twist, she threw her legs forward just as she was getting close to the ground, digging her heels in while her wings opened and dragged behind her.

Somehow she managed to come to a complete stop right before the others. Tabitha was smiling ear to ear as she began to clap, nudging Coop to do the same. Mom looked surprised for a moment, but she quickly forced that out in favor of a stern look.

“Mom, I’m doing this.” Cathy said, cutting her off at the pass. Her mother stood there, contemplating a response. She furrowed her brow like she always had before putting her hands on her hips.

“You had better keep practicing then, ’cause if you screw up-.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’ll kill me, I get it.” Cathy interrupted. “Trust me, Mom, I’m not doing this because I want to. I HAVE to do this. Even if I do somehow fall off, I can just turn to stone like nothing happened!”

“She’s got a point.” Coop added, nudging Mom.

“Shut up, Coop. Turning to stone isn’t a catch all.” She shot back, punching him in the arm. He yelped, surprised at how hard she could hit, then she climbed back into the truck and slammed the door.

“Damn, Charlotte! Save it for the bad guys!” Coop wailed, nursing his arm.

Tabitha laughed, slapping him on the shoulder. “What’s wrong, Coop, I thought you liked tougher girls?”

He glared up at her over his sunglasses before turning his attention back to Cathy.

“I don’t know how much time we got left, so you had better get as much practice as you can.” Cathy nodded, turning back to the arid plains.

<Triplepost!

>>391838

>A. Stay on the train

I don't want Cathy to listen to Cats in The Cradle on repeat like so many other people who lost their dads

>>391838

Going A. While the other three are down for the moment they're not out. Not too sure there's going to be another chance to get near Cathy's dad for a while, and I have a hunch that the longer he's with junko the worse off he's going to be. Having Cathy within a few train cars leaves more options.

>>391838

A

<Bumping for any more votes and anyone who didn't see the update, locking votes in at the end of today!

B. just to be a contrarian

>>391838

B, because trying to handle Junko without much planning or as a group has worked so well before.

Then again, >>391861 has a very good point.

>>391838

A

Let's go crazy or die tryin'.

>>391838

A is almost the best choice but only if she sneeki breeki

>>392059 Does have a point that we aren’t going to fare well if they do (((find us)))

>>391838

A. Focus on getting to the front and stopping the train so we can link up with everyone else and interrogate one of the mooks together.

>>392256

for shame you've been her to long for this shit nigga

>>392257

I've had a long day

>>392258

I feel ya.

FUCK YEAH SEASON 2

>a

“COOP!” Charlotte shrieked in a panic, trying to keep herself upright.

“I GOT IT, HOLD ONTO SOMETHING!” He barked, straining against the wheel.

RRRRRANG!

PLING!

The driver’s side mirror scraped across the side of the train before flying off the door. Coop could hear both Charlotte and Tabitha screaming as the suburban nearly spun into the train but somehow he managed to right the truck at the last moment. They veered off away from the tracks, the suburban coming to a sudden stop with all three of them jerking back and forth in their seats.

Tabitha slammed into the back of the front seat, her arms the only thing stopping her from clocking either Coop or Charlotte on their heads. Charlotte recovered first, instantly slamming her fists on the dashboard.

“DAMNIT! Coop! They’re getting away!” She roared. Coop tried to shake off the whiplash, but he found himself completely disoriented, which only frustrated the gargoyle even more.

She grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him out of the driver’s seat, scrambling over him to get behind the wheel.

“Charlotte… wait!” Coop objected, but it was too late. She put her foot down and the engine roared up same as before, the wheels spinning for a moment before the truck began to roll. Tabitha covered her ears, a pained scream escaping her mouth. The sound of the bare steel rim scraping across the rocks was torture to say the least, but Charlotte didn’t care. Her ears may have hurt, but she ignored it in favor of giving chase.

“I’m not letting Cathy do this alone!” She shouted, the fear of losing both her husband and daughter tugging her heart onward.

“Charlotte, stop!” Coop protested again, trying his best to sit back up.

There came a bump in the dirt and rocks and suddenly the truck was in the air for a moment before crashing back down to earth.

The wheel’s squealing gave way to a much worse noise, a pathetic grinding sound before coming to an abrupt stop.

Without missing a beat Charlotte was opening the door, ready to jump onto the train before both Tabitha and Coop grabbed her.

“LET ME GO!” She wailed, the rush of the cars blowing wind past her face.

“CHARLOTTE, STOP! You’re gonna get yourself killed - and then what good will you be?!” Coop shouted, grabbing her arm and using his full weight to keep her from jumping.

Tabitha managed to get herself in front of the gargoyle, putting both claws on her shoulders to push her to the back of the seat.

“Let go, dammit! Cathy’s still on the train!” She cried.

“Shut up! Getting us all killed isn’t gonna help her!” Tabitha shot back with as much authority she could muster. Charlotte struggled, but the jinko was too strong for her, pinning her to the cushioned seat with little effort.

Tears began streaming down Charlotte’s red cheeks as she fought to break out of their hold. Only moments later did the last car of the train pass by them, leaving them sitting in the middle of nowhere.

“She’s…” Charlotte sobbed, “We can’t - we can’t just leave her all alone!”

Tabitha scoffed, “I don’t like it any more than you do, but Cathy is more capable than you give her credit for.”

<Doublepost!

Okay, Cathy, they’re alright, they can handle themselves, you got a job to do, she thought looking ahead. Oh, shit! Alarm bells were going off in her head as she saw what was coming up. The train was going to be making another turn and soon. If I don’t do something fast I’m gonna get thrown off! She looked at either hardened claw on her wings and with all her might she slammed them down and dug them into the steel of the freight.

PONG!

Again!

PONG!

Almost… there!

The steel whined as it bent under the force of her attack, allowing her to grab on properly.

Here it comes, she told herself, tightening her grip on the holes. She could feel her body lift off the car as she took the turn, her wings’ claws the only thing keeping her grounded as she swiped at the air in an effort to force her way back down. Finally the turn straightened out again and she flopped back down to the steel with a grunt.

THUD!

“That’s gonna leave a mark…” Cathy groaned.

Somehow I managed to stay on, she thought, picking herself back up. The gargoyle looked around once again, trying to assess the situation.

Alright. One thing at a time, girl, find Dad’s car and get the drop on the bastards that nabbed him. She pulled the GPS out of her pocket, still holding onto the train for dear life. His car was several links back as far as she could tell. It was nearly at the end of the train - well, it would be if the tracker wasn’t so faulty. Think, dammit, what would be the best approach? Stopping the train or finding Dad, grabbing him and jumping off?

Stopping the train will definitely attract unwanted attention, but finding Dad like this is going to take time.

Let’s just do this! Starting with the car she had already pulverized, Cathy dug her claws in again and ripped it open. Just like that time on the ship, she thought, slowly peeling the metal off like a tin can. When the sunlight shined through the hole she saw barrels stacked upon one another.

From what she could tell they seemed to be oil drums filling the whole car.

Interesting - but I gotta keep looking.

Cathy took careful steps heading to the back of the train, using her wingspan to grab onto the next car and pull herself over.

She pried this car open as well, finding some kind of building materials, steel, plastic, rubber tubing.

What the hell is all this stuff? It doesn’t matter, Cathy, move on and find Dad, she reminded herself. The next car was similar to that one, and the one after that but the next one had something different on it. Some kind of hazardous material was inside as the markings indicated.

It could be a front they were using to keep people out… right? But what if it really was dangerous? Ah, to hell with it! The thought of stopping because there might be danger seemed foolish in the face of riding atop a train that belonged to Junko.

PONG!

PONG!

Once the car was open she peeked through the hole and found several more barrels with one word written on each of them.

‘Radioactive.’

What the hell is this, uranium? That can’t be good… What the hell does Junko need uranium for? Forget it, it’s time to move, Cathy, She told herself, picking herself up. She rushed to the back of the train, leaping over the gap.

<Triplepost!

“CATHY!” The jinko cried, catching sight of a dark stone mass. It had to be her! She ran over and took hold of the clump of rocks, the gargoyle holding herself in a ball. When Tabitha rolled her over she found her naked - in her arms was a lizard woman out cold, her hair singed and her scales darkened from the blast but she was otherwise breathing. The rocky shell encasing Cathy began to soften as she slowly rolled over, releasing the lizard in her arms.

“Cathy, are you alright?!” Tabitha wailed, taking her into her arms. The gargoyle coughed and forced a pained smile.

“I’m fine, Tabby…” She lied. The pain on her face was apparent when she tried to sit up. One look at her wings and Tabby could see the problem. Scrapes, cuts and bruises ran across them from tip to shoulder. Overall they were bloodied up pretty bad.

She’s lucky to be alive, Tabitha thought, gingerly pulling the gargoyle to her feet.

“Ow-ow-owww… easy!” Cathy protested, “I just survived an explosion!”

“I saw the whole thing.” Tabitha said, looking her over again to make sure nothing else was hurt. “What about her?” She asked, pointing to the unconscious lizard. Cathy shook her head.

“I just… couldn’t leave her.” She answered.

“What about your dad?” Tabby asked, “is he…?”

Cathy’s eyes turned downward as she took a deep breath.

“He wasn’t on the train. He was never on it.” She replied, opening her hand to reveal the tracker and the piece of paper. Tabitha stared at them in disbelief.

“What? So we’ve been on a wild goose chase?!”

“Cathy!” Both Mom and Coop shouted as they ran past the train wreck. Mom nearly tackled her with a hug before Cathy weakly pushed her off.

“I told you not to do it…” Mom cried, holding her in her arms.

“I’m alright, Mom… I’m okay - listen…” Cathy began, “We don’t have a lot of time… Dad wasn’t on the train. It was a trap… One of Junko’s heads set us up in some sick scavenger hunt… We have three days to find the next clue to dad or…” She explained between breaths, holding up the paper with the numbers on it. Coop took it from her and began looking it over.

“What about that lizard woman?” He asked, looking down his shades at the gargoyles.

“She saved her.” Answered Tabby.

“Why?!” Mom asked. It was more like an accusation than a question.

“I…” Before she could answer, Cathy went limp, both Mom and Tabby catching hold of her.

“She’s okay, she only blacked out.” Coop said after looking her over.

“She’s not okay, did you see her wings?” Charlotte asked angrily.

“We’ll figure it out later, right now we need to move.” Coop said, “We need to get our supplies and a vehicle. I can patch her up if we take her back to the truck.”

“That’s-“ Tabitha was about to protest but Coop shook his head. “Look, we can get her back to the truck, then you two find us a vehicle. Hitchhike or steal one, I don’t care how but we need to be quick!”

The jinko nodded, picking Cathy up onto her shoulders before bending down to grab the lizard woman.

“What are you doing?” Charlotte asked.

“Cathy risked her life for her - I’m not letting that be all for nothing.” Tabby answered, carrying either of them back to the truck with Coop.

Night was already upon them when they reached the suburban again. It was right where they left it, stuck in the rubble with a busted wheel. Tabby carried both Cathy and the lizard woman to the back, carefully laying either of them in the open trunk. Coop began working immediately, finding the medical supplies to patch up Cathy’s wings and any other wounds she had. “Get them out of those clothes,” Coop directed Tabby at the two, “We need to see how bad it is.” He explained, pulling out a small container of burn cream for both Cathy and the lizard. Tabby made short work of Cathy’s clothes and the lizard woman’s uniform, tearing them open to reveal their burnt body. Cathy was mostly protected by her stone skin but there was only so much she could do for the lizard woman.

“You’re just wasting your time, Coop,” Charlotte said, hopping into the driver's seat. She tried the ignition just in case, but that same grinding noise from before let everyone know that the truck was shot.

<Sextpost! with an explosive finish:^)

“Yeah? What if she has information?” Coop snapped back, shutting her up for the few moments he needed.

Cathy was completely out of it, offering no resistance when Coop applied the cream to any burns he could see on her. When he started on the lizard however, she hissed when he rubbed it on her skin, jumping up to meet him. Tabitha grabbed her and pushed her back down, allowing Coop to continue.

“What the- who the fuck are you guys?! Let me go!” She shrieked.

“Stay still you idiot!” Tabitha hollered, wrestling her down as best she could. “You just survived an explosion!”

Coop managed to get most of her front side done before gesturing to Tabby they needed to flip her over. The lizard roared with all her might before both Coop and Tabitha grabbed her and twisted her onto her belly. She was kicking and screaming, Coop dodging her foot only to get wapped by her tail.

“Distract her dammit,” He barked to the jinko.

“What’s your name, idiot?” Tabitha growled.

“Go fuck yourself!” The lizard retorted, only for Tabby to slap her on the back. She howled in agony, the burns on her skin taking her pain to a whole new level.

“Shoulda left her out there to die…” Charlotte grumbled.

“What’s your name?!” Tabby demanded, but when she grabbed the lizard she found that she had once again fallen unconscious.

“Thank you…” Coop sighed, “I can handle this. You two need to hurry and find us a vehicle.” He said, putting a hand on Tabby’s shoulder.

“I’m not leaving Cathy!” Charlotte argued.

“This isn’t a debate! You need to go with Tabby right now,” Coop said, his voice stern, “Or we run out of time and Bill is going to die. You wanna make this all for nothing?!” He said, waving his hand over Cathy’s injured body.

“She did this for him. Don’t you dare waste that!”

Tears were forming in Charlotte's eyes, but she furrowed her brow and held them back.

“Let’s go,” she hollered to Tabitha, slamming the door as she went. Tabby turned to Coop, her ears drooping down.

“Are you sure you can handle this?” She asked, jerking a thumb at the blackened lizard.

“She won’t be a problem.” Coop said, pulling a pistol from a holster hidden under his jacket to prove his point. “What about you?”

“I can handle her… be careful,” the jinko answered, stealing a kiss from him before running off to catch up with Charlotte.

“You too.” He called after her as the two disappeared into the dark of the night.

A. Time to hitchhike, there’s bound to be someone on the road that will help, but there’s no guarantee it would be the quickest option.

B. You don’t have time, go steal a vehicle, any vehicle! Cathy said you only have three days! Tabby thinks she saw a motel a mile back or so.

<Whew, that took a while, sorry for the wait guys!

I was having a tough time with the drawings this time around - between work and personal timeand hurting my wristI have had a rough week trying to actually get them done.

<To compensate for making you wait for my stupid shit, have one of my longest posts to date! I'll be trying to keep most of my posts about this long because it may or may not take me this long to post again.

<Bumping for replies!

Is there a specific time I should try to post, guys?or am I being a faggot and need to be more patient?

>>393025

Fuck knows how long we're going to be spending hitchiking. At least have a bit of sense when doing option B so we don't end up arrested.

>>393025

A. if you can find a volvo 240 they are easy to steal but are ugly as sin

>>393138

I meant b

<Alright guys, bumping one last time, I'm giving it 'til the end of today then votes are locked in!

<1A, 2B 4U

>>393025

> there’s bound to be someone on the road that will help

I'll take the thinly veiled new monstergirl option: A

>>393025

A. Rent a car. Or steal one. Nobody gonna hitchhike a burnt victim

Charlotte and Tabitha found their way back to the road, the dim light from the moon their only means of seeing.

Tabby looked in either direction before staring up at it, her eyes sharpening on the yellow crescent. Charlotte watched her for a few moments before speaking up.

“Come on, Tabitha, we’re wasting time.”

“This way,” Tabby said, “I remember seeing a motel back the way we came. Five bucks says someone there can help us.”

The jinko began to jog back east along the roadside, Charlotte trying her best to keep pace. Whenever Tabby offered to slow down for her she refused, spurred on by her fears and worries for her family. Seeing Cathy like that for the sake of a nobody - how foolish could she be?! Not just a nobody, but the very people they were fighting against!

What would I tell Bill if our daughter wound up dead saving one of those Junko… bastards!

She shook the thoughts from her head when Tabby stopped, turning to face her. There was a light heading towards them from the west. Charlotte spun around, finding a car driving right by them. They sped past before slamming on their breaks, the tires squealing across the asphalt.

Charlotte and Tabitha exchanged looks before the car reversed and stopped right next to them. The passenger window rolled down to reveal a man with a wide grin on his lips, his eyes drifting up and down either of the two.

“Good evening, ladies. Need a ride?” He asked, the locks on his doors clicking off. He leaned over and forced the door open, waiting for their answer. Tabby looked to Charlotte who was giving her an intense stare as if to say ‘don’t do it.’ She shrugged, what choice do we have?

“Oh, well thank you! We were just headed to the closest motel, my friend here says it’s only about a mile up from here.” Tabitha answered before Charlotte could protest. She got into the passenger’s seat, the car’s weight shifting a little. Charlotte didn’t say a word but her expression made it clear to Tabby that she was not happy with the turn of events.

Yeah, maybe we can handle this guy, she thought, bringing her attention back to the driver. He was about her height, if not a little stocky, but Charlotte was a monster! With or without Tabby she could probably take him. Maybe we can take his car… but will everything fit? Not to mention Cathy’s hurt. Still, we don’t have time to be picky…

She put those thoughts aside, sliding into the back seat. We’ll just have to bide our time. If there’s a better vehicle at this motel we can take that instead.

“So what are you doin’ all the way out here, kitten?” The man asked, looking at Tabby.

“O-oh, you know, our truck broke down and our phones have no reception out here so… we were hoping to call a tow!” Tabby answered, trying her best to keep up the lie.

“That sucks. Tell ya what, I know a guy that could take a look at it.” He replied. “In the meantime we could all get to know one another!”

Charlotte could feel her skin crawl at the way he talked. Whatever this guy was up to she wasn’t about to let Tabitha play along anymore.

She could see the lights of the motel coming up in the distance as she leaned forward in her seat.

“No thanks, we can take care of ourselves,” She said sharply.

“Alright, but what about you, kitten?” He asked without skipping a beat.

Tabitha faked a smile and sighed. “Sorry, but I gotta go with my girl on this one.”

“Well, that’s a shame,” replied the man. As they approached the motel they showed no sign of slowing down.

Charlotte took a sharp breath as they sped past, her heart beating quicker and quicker the further they got from the motel. Just what the hell was this guy trying to pull?

“Uh, hey, that was our stop back there, guy,” Tabby said, trying her best to keep her cool. The man laughed, “My bad, my bad.” He said, pulling a u-turn and speeding right back to the motel. “Here, I’ll even drop you off at the front door.”

He pulled up beside the entrance, stopping long enough for either Tabby and Charlotte to open their doors and go. As soon as the two jumped out of the car the man peeled off, kicking up a cloud of dust.

“HEY!” Charlotte shouted. “Jackass…”

“Forget about him, we’re here, so let’s see what we can find.” Tabitha said, walking around the motel.

<Doublepost!

“Here’s today’s words of wisdom, folks, a little something Ol’ Owen learned on the road. You ever find yourself in a tight situation - maybe your car broke down, or your boss is an jerk and he fired ya, or maybe you got your face up against the wall - some three-hundred pound sonovagun has his hand around your neck and he’s about to make your day a helluva lot shorter. This is what Ol’ Owen says - you look that fat bastard in the eyes and you- whoa!” Owen yelped, swerving around a car going half his speed. He blared his horn a few times to get their attention, flipping them the bird.

“Why don’t ya learn how to drive ya asshole!”

The man put the mic to his CB radio back on its hook and took a bite out of his burrito, admiring the countryside as he chewed. The sun bleached the road, the heat rising off the asphalt in waves. Owen wolfed down another bite of the beans before he sighed. All that talk of freedom was great, he really believed it, but there was still that something missing. Something he hadn’t found yet. This was a long and lonely road that passed by every hill, every bush and every rock in sight. Being a roamer was great and all, but lately that ‘something’ he was missing now was someone to really talk to and he knew it. Owen wiped the sweat on his brow and took a swig from his canteen. It had been nearly a week since he had talked with another person, nearly a whole day since he saw a car on the road not counting the jackass earlier and even worse, longer since he had a proper shower.

He found himself looking at the ‘Owen’ in his rearview mirror. Hair unkempt even under his hat, beard scraggly and grown out too long for his liking. Not to mention he hadn’t gotten a good night’s rest in a proper bed. That’s it, Owen thought, the first turnoff I come to I’m stopping. Half the country was long behind him as well as several Kansas cities including Kansas City. If he remembered right there was a motel or something around this area.

“Huh… still out in the middle of nowhere…” Owen said to the empty cab as he thumbed about the map. “Only about fifteen or twenty people at a time, huh?”

He tossed the map to the passenger seat and sighed. Whatever. As long as the motel has a damned shower and clean sheets I don’t mind.

Owen pulled up to the small, run down motel amongst the few surrounding buildings. There were hardly any vehicles parked out front. Must not be getting much business, he figured, climbing out of his truck.

When he entered the lobby building the door rang a small bell above the frame. The wallpaper was old and faded and had that garish look the sixties were known for. The floor was an equally awful designed carpet. There was even an old fashioned register at the counter with a sign that said ‘Cash only!’

Jeez, what decade did I just walk back into, Owen mused, stepping up to the counter. No one was there to greet him but a stained countertop, an old call bell and a stack of yesterday’s newspapers.

He shrugged, slapping the bell once.

Ding!

The bell rang throughout the lobby. Moments later Owen heard someone flushing a toilet before a door opened in the back.

A rather lanky man appeared dressed in a loose fitting button up and jeans. He had a mustache that reminded Owen of those old seventies pornos people always made jabs at. It didn’t help that he was wiping his hands on his shirt in an attempt to dry his hands.

“How can I help you,” the man asked, taking his place behind the counter.

“Yeah, can I get a place to stay the night? Just need one bed.”

“Sure, it’ll be about a seventy bucks a night!” The clerk said with a smile.

“Seventy bucks?” Owen repeated the words in disbelief. “Well… alright but-“

“Oh, plus a twenty dollar security deposit,’ the clerk interjected.

“What? Security deposit? Have you seen the place?” Owen said, gesturing to the peeling paint on the walls and the frayed carpeting.

The clerk shrugged in response. “Have ya seen any other places around here?”

Owen shook his head. “No, I guess I haven’t.”

“So what’ll it be?” The clerk asked.

“Sorry man, I think I’ll sleep in my truck,” Owen replied, walking back out of the lobby.

“Your loss!” The clerk called after him.

What kinda highway robbery is that? The place didn’t even look like it was worth seventy bucks and he wanted to push for the extra twenty? Their bills probably don’t even come up to half that. They probably didn’t have any TVs in the rooms or AC. Owen stopped and looked at his rig. Well… looks like I’ll be sleepin’ in the back of the cab again. The thought of going another night without a proper bed and a shower was painful, but he wasn’t about to get fooled out of money for being desperate. Not to mention it’s probably cleaner in my truck, he rationalized.

Owen hopped into his truck and climbed into the back of the cab, lying down on the bed he had set up. With the help of his handheld radio it didn’t take long for him to fall asleep.

<Quintpost!

“Just break the glass and let’s go, we don’t have time for this!” Someone hissed from the outside.

“I almost got it, so just-“

Click!

“See? Easy.” The sound of people entering the vehicle awoke Owen. He rustled around in his bed, blinking a few times before he realized what was happening. Somebody was jumping his ride! The engine had already started up and they were on the road without a minute to spare. Whoever it was somehow they knew how to run the truck! Don’t know if I should be impressed or not. They don’t know I’m here, right? Owen wondered, looking toward the front of the cab through the curtain he hung between the front of the cab and the living area. He could see a couple of those monsters, or whatever they called themselves. Some kinda big catwoman and another he didn’t recognize. A dragon? No, she didn’t have wings, maybe she was some kind of demon? Despite his travels Owen had not actually seen many monsters.

No idea what I’m up against here, he thought, but I gotta do something.

Charlotte sat at the wheel, going through the motions. It had been years since she last drove a truck like this with Bill. That was so long ago… just as they had gotten married, even before Cathy was born.

“You sure you know how to drive one of these?” Tabby asked, taking the seat beside her. Charlotte cracked a smile for a moment before coming back to reality.

She revved up the engine and pulled the semi onto the road, easing her way up to speed.

“I guess that answers that, huh?” The jinko said, impressed with the gargoyle. They drove along the road, both of them keeping their eyes peeled for the old suburban in the dark.

“Hey, is that…? Stop the truck!” Tabby yelped, pointing at the road.

The brakes squealed as they slowed to a stop, kicking up the dust off the road. There was Cathy and Coop, hauling as much as they could carry out to the road.

“She’s already up?” Said Charlotte, completely bewildered.

“I told you she was tough,” Tabby replied as she flung open the cab door and held out a hand.

“Come on, get in!”

Cathy was first in, the jinko helping her in, taking one of the bags slung over her shoulder.

“Wow, I knew you’d really come through, but a semi?” She said, walking through the curtain to the back.

“That was you mom’s idea. I wanted to go for the volvo,” Tabby laughed, helping Coop into the truck. They smiled at each other before Charlotte slammed the door shut and kicked the truck back into gear.

“We’re wasting time, everyone, buckle up and shut up, Coop you’re navigator.” She ordered. Coop handed all but one of his bags to Tabitha and took his spot as copilot, pulling out the map.

“We’re headed for California, somewhere in San Francisco according to these coordinates.” He said, pulling out an old laptop from the bag.

“Uh… Coop?” Tabitha called, her voice trembling.

“What is it - ho-ly shit.” Coop said, slowly turning rising from the seat. Tabitha was backing out of the curtains when a man holding Cathy at knifepoint moved in. He had the knife to her throat, keeping his distance from the other three.

“Who the hell are ya and what are ya doin’ with my rig.” The man growled.

“Whoa, easy man, put the knife down. We’re just ” Coop said, slowly raising his hands. Tabby reluctantly followed his lead, showing him her empty hands. He looked to Charlotte who was still driving.

“Stop the truck!” He demanded, but the gargoyle ignored him.

“Charlotte! Stop the damn truck!” Coop shouted.

Suddenly she slammed on the breaks, everyone tumbling toward the front of the cab,

Including Cathy and her captor.

WHUMP! Cathy ducked, slamming the man into the dashboard, Charlotte snatching the knife out of his hand before he could recover. She tossed the knife aside, drawing out her handgun and pointing it at his face. He glared up at her, spitting blood at her feet.

“Mom, don’t!” Cathy yelped, shoving her way in front of Charlotte.

“Move it, Cathy, we don’t need another tag-along getting in our way.” Barked Charlotte as she attempted to shove her daughter aside.

“Mom, please! You don’t have to shoot him!”

A. Shoot him, he’s a liability and it’s too risky to let him live and he threatened your daughter.

B. Do as Cathy asks and let him be. She can be responsible for him.

One more post after this for a little stinger.

The lizard scrambled up the rocky terrain, finding her way onto the railroad tracks. She had just narrowly escaped her captors with her life - gritting her teeth with the pain from her burns. Just who the hell were those people? The boss had warned her that someone would be coming for that weird doll she had put her in charge of, but she never actually believed it would happen. That weird girl took me down like I was some kinda chump, but what happened to Jade?

The last thing I saw before I was out was Jade fighting back against that winged bitch. Well, that and that jinko that suddenly attacked me when I woke up. What the hell happened? As she trudged along the tracks she could see a shadow on the tracks in the distance. It’s the car we were stationed on. It was a complete wreck, like the aftermath of an explosion, she figured, taking another step. Wait, what about Jade?! Before she could begin to run, her bare foot felt something other than cold, hard stones. Her footing shifted and she tripped over whatever it was lying over the tracks. Her hands went up by instinct in an attempt to catch herself, landing hard on the rocks below. The pain was excruciating, her palms getting scraped up, but she needed to press on. When she turned to see what she had fallen over a scream escaped her lips.

There was Jade’s pale face staring up at her, dark blood dried between her scales, her body broken and lifeless.

Several memories swirled inside the lizard woman of her life alongside her sister. It wasn’t so long ago that she had heard her voice, seen her smiling face.

“Amber, we’re getting a promotion! Boss says we’re going to personally work for Migi Junko! You know what this means?! No more debts, no more shitty car, no more bologna mignon!”

If only she knew… if only they hadn’t taken this job. If only they hadn’t been on that train.

If it wasn’t for that bitch that attacked them then none of this would have happened, Amber inferred. She carried her sister’s body off of the tracks and laid her down on the cold stones, taking her knife from her belt as well as her torn up kevlar jacket. Her sister’s limp and bloodied body was the last thing she would see of her before she buried her in the stones. Amber had no words to offer her sister but for one promise: “I’ll get the ones who did this to you, Jade.”

<I'm really sorry it took me so long to post guys.

Life is fucking me right now and I haven't had time for drawing

<I'll keep doing my best to keep posting but it may take longer than I expected.

<Sorry again, hope this post makes up for the wait.

>>394341

Oh shit. How about NOT shooting the trucker. Last thing we need is to be chased by the cops for murder so going with option B with a side of reconciliation so that the truck driver doesn't do something the group will regret later

>>394355

<One vote for B and no regrets.

<Bumping for more votes!

>>394341

B. Obviously. I know anons voted to steal, but I doubt we're game for straight up murdering a random trucker.

>>394342

Goddammit! I knew I should have asked for the Lizardgirl to be OK…

B.

CATHY'S MUM NEEDS TO CHILL DOWN

We are not desperate enough to start shooting civilians

Poor lizard F

B. No shooting civilians.

>>394341

B, Cathy is Daddy's little girl and learned enough about survival and stuff to know. Still, random truckers, that's always a red flag, especially one with a creepy smile.

>>394342

RIP

Amber found herself wandering down the road aimlessly. Her burns stung under the constant beating the cold night wind was giving her, but still she had to keep moving. The claws on her feet were now blunt and filthy as they clacked on the dirt and cement. Her half naked body was scraped up and bruised from the few times she had tripped and fallen, but the aches and pains she had were nothing compared to the bloodlust she felt.

I won’t die out here, she thought, not until I kill those bastards! Just as she finished the thought, she stumbled, landing on her arms with a grunt. “Dammit… I can keep thinking that, but it’s no use if I really do die out here… I need to rest…” she told herself, rubbing the scales on her arms. No blood, but it sure didn’t feel good. As she picked herself back up she saw headlights in the corner of her eye. They came closer and closer until they stopped only a few yards away from her. She held her hand up over her eyes to keep the beams of light from blinding her. A moment after she heard someone cackling from the car.

“Whoo boy, well looks like my luck has turned around! You look like you’ve been through hell, girl!” A man called to her. He came towards her, confidence in his stride. The light behind him hid his face in shadow, but even then Amber could tell he was grinning at her. She had become aware of her nakedness.

“Get away from me,” she growled at him, trying her best not to show weakness.

“Whoa! I’m just tryin’ to help ya there, kitten!” The man laughed, grabbing her by the arm. Before she could do anything a sudden dizziness hit her and she went down.

The next thing she knew she was woken up by a pounding headache, the loud thumping of a song’s bass doing a number on her. She noticed she was sitting in the front seat of a car, more than likely belonging to that man. It was still nighttime, but was it the same night? Who knows, damn my head hurts, she thought, letting out a groan as she stirred in the seat.

“Well look who came to!” The man loudly declared. “I think someone owes me for my services! If it weren’t for me, you’d be dead in a ditch somewhere!”

It was definitely the same man from before. Amber groped around for her knife, only to find that it wasn’t on her. In fact, nothing was but for the belt binding her wrists together. This scumbag took off the only piece of clothing she had on and bound her up! Where was Jade’s kevlar vest the thought came to her. Amber grit her teeth in pain as she managed to twist around and spot the kevlar vest lying in the back seat.

“Now I wonder just what the hell happened to you? You look like you were a little more than half-baked.” He said, poking her singed cheek. Amber hissed in pain, her bloodshot eyes staring a hole through his.

“You can talk, can’t ya?” He grinned, showing off his crooked teeth. Together with his unwashed body and his greasy hair shining in what little light there was Amber scowled and turned away in revulsion.

“The last girls I had were talkers. Well, one of them was, the other was a real bitch!” He went on to say, looking back at the road.

“If I had my way… heh, well, they’d be where you are now.”

Amber gritted her teeth. Do I have enough energy to take this guy? At full strength I could break this belt no problem… but it hurts just to move. He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt… neither was she for that matter. She weighed her options as they drew closer to a motel. Fighting is my best bet. It was better than becoming a prisoner or worse.

<Quadpost!

“Coop!” Charlotte barked at him, snapping him out of his thoughts. “How far are we from Colorado?”

He frantically picked up the map and began to skim over it.

“About an hour or so at this speed.” He answered, “So are we just not gonna talk about it?”

“Talk about what?” Charlotte asked. The question irritated Coop, was she playing dumb or did she really not see the problem?

“Oh, I don’t know, about how you almost shot your kid? The one Bill made me promise to protect? Sound familiar?”

“I wasn’t going to shoot her, I was gonna shoot that asshole.” Charlotte corrected him. “She jumped in front of me, she was lucky I didn’t pull the trigger.”

“Lucky? What, did she have a chance to get shot while you were thinking it over?” Coop said indignantly.

Charlotte scowled at him, “Coop!”

“No! I wanna know! What were your daughter’s chances of getting shot, huh? Was it twenty percent, thirty-five? Fifty?”

“I don’t know, okay? I don’t know!” Charlotte shouted. “I wasn’t going to shoot her but seeing her risk her life for yet another asshole she didn’t know, over her own father! It just really pissed me off, alright?!”

Coop took off his shades and glared at the gargoyle.

“Well maybe she’s trying to rescue Bill without becoming a shitty person. What the hell happened to you, Charlotte? I can understand your hatred for Junko but this guy has nothing to do with that.”

Charlotte shot him a dirty look before focusing on the road again.

“He had a knife to my daughter’s throat!” She exclaimed.

“She can turn into stone!” Coop argued.

“Sure and she still couldn’t stop him.” She pointed out.

“She probably didn’t want to hurt the guy! Have you seen what she can do with that?” He retorted.

“Then what would getting shot matter? Why are we even having this conversation?” Charlotte snapped. Coop sat there silently wondering the same thing.

“I guess I just wanted to see if you were still in there.” He replied, glowering at her.

Charlotte shook her head, “He’ll become a problem. You’ll see.”

Coop nursed his brow, putting his sunglasses back over his eyes. Nothing he could say now would matter to her, there was no changing her mind once it was set. At least that was something he recognized in her. No sooner than he was about to lean back in his seat did Tabitha come back.

“Well, she seems to be doing alright with him.” She said, followed by the sound of a meaty whack and Cathy shouting angrily from the back of the cab.

Coop turned and looked at the jinko, a grin slowly spreading across her face.

“And how is he doing?” He asked, keeping a straight face.

“I’ll check back in about… ten minutes. Maybe he’s alive, maybe not?” She replied.

“Quit fooling around.” Charlotte said, “I think we have a problem.”

“What is it?” Asked Coop.

“Police.” Answered the gargoyle, pointing at the nose of a cruiser poking out from behind a billboard. She attempted to slow the truck down enough not to be noticed. Tabitha bit her lip while Coop held his breath, all three of them hoping against hope they wouldn’t get pulled over.

Sure enough as they passed by, the cop’s lights went on and the siren blared.

“Shit! We don’t have time for this…” Charlotte griped.

“We can’t outrun them in this thing, pull over and we’ll talk our way through this.” Coop cautioned her.

Despite her grumbling she nodded. It was the best course of action.

“Tabitha, go back there and make sure our friend keeps quiet. We’ll be in hot shit if he gets the cop’s attention.” Charlotte told the jinko. She nodded and disappeared behind the curtain once again, the racket from the back dying down in moments.

Charlotte looked to Coop who nodded. Soon enough the officer came to the driver’s side of the truck and flashed a light up into the cab. Charlotte rolled the window down to get a look at them. A human officer, a woman, Charlotte noted. She looked like a real piece of work, but the gargoyle put on a smile and started her act.

<Sexypost!

“Oh, officer, good evenin’!” She greeted her, giving her best mid-western accent.

“License and registration,” the cop said bluntly, holding her flashlight up at the window.

Charlotte fumbled about, directing Coop to find the registration while she found her license. After a few moments she opened the cab door and handed them down to the officer who directed her light down at them.

“Ma’am, do ya know how fast you were goin’?” The officer asked.

“Oh, I donno, but I was tryin’ to get to California for my next job, ya know? I’m awfully sorry, officer.” She answered.

The officer ignored her, instead focusing on the registration, “You working for a mister Bronson?” She asked.

“Oh yeah, he leased this truck out for a job we signed up for, needed an extra driver to go coast to coast.”

“I see…” she said, handing back the registration. “I’ll be back with your license.”

Thump thump!

The noise came from the back of the cab.

“What was that?” The officer asked, turning around.

“Oh, must have been Mr. Bronson’s girlfriend, she tags along too, ya know. A real bruiser that one,” Charlotte fibbed. The officer nodded slowly, heading back to her cruiser.

“Holy shit…” Coop whispered, his heart pounding.

“Go check on them,” Charlotte hissed, jabbing a finger toward the back.

The back of the truck was chaos, the microwave had been knocked off the cabinet and to the floor, their supplies had been thrown about the room and now both Cathy and Tabitha were wrestling the man down to the bed with Cathy behind him wrapping all four arms over his body and mouth while Tabby kept ahold of his legs to stop him from struggling.

“What the hell’s going on back here?” Coop asked, rushing over to help.

“This guy heard Charlotte talking to the cop and he went nuts!” Tabitha explained.

“OW!” Cathy yelped, “He bit me!”

“That’s the least of your worries when the cops get your asses!” He shouted before Cathy clapped both hands over his lips again.

“Hold on, calm down. Why don’t we make a deal?” Coop offered.

“You help us get to California, we find her dad and we let you and your truck go.”

Owen stared daggers up at him, grumbling behind Cathy’s claws.

“Oh, um…” She stammered, slowly removing her hands from his mouth. He spat out the taste of gargoyle before answering.

“Yeah, a deal huh? Okay guy, I’ll play along, but that ain’t good enough, I need something with a little more substance. What’re you gonna do to make all this go away?”

“How about we don’t kill you?” Tabitha quipped.

“Go ta hell you overgrown stray,” came his response.

Coop put a hand on Tabby’s chest, holding her back.

“Tell ya what, I got about ten thousand at home with your name on it,” Coop offered. Both Tabby and Cathy were taken aback, exchanging looks that shouted, ‘he has that kinda money?’

“Ha, you talk a big game but how am I supposed to believe that?” Owen scoffed, only for Coop to pull out two rolls of cash neatly tucked away inside. He tossed them into Owen’s lap, his hands attempting to catch them even as Cathy kept him restrained.

Owen was quiet as he took hold of them both and began to unroll and flip through them. Cathy recognized the hundred dollar bills and looked to Coop. She could tell he didn’t care, he was focused on getting Owen’s compliance.

“What is this, two thousand?” Owen wondered, licking his thumb and properly counting them over again.

“I got ten more waiting for you at the end of this.”

Coop promised, crossing his arms. “That is if you cut the shit and help us get to California by the end of tomorrow.”

The three watched as the man wrestled with himself, weighing his options. Two thousand up front and another ten later, that was probably more than he saw in three months, Coop judged from his reaction. Owen looked up at him and smiled.

“All that just to play taxi? Aw what the hell, you got yourself a deal. Not the first time I’ve been jumped but I never had someone offer me cash after the fact!” He laughed. Cathy slowly released him, allowing him to stand up and extend a hand to Coop. The two shook on it before Owen looked up at Tabitha who huffed at him.

“Just remember, nothin’s changed,” she said, her sharp eyes glaring into his.

“Ha, wouldn’t have it any other way, Molly,” He replied.

“Tabby,” she corrected him.

He shrugged, “Whatever.”

He turned to give Cathy a toothy grin, “As for you, I think ya owe me an apology.”

“A-an apology?” The gargoyle repeated indignantly, jumping up from the bed. “I don’t owe you anything - you owe ME an apology!” She said, jabbing a finger into his sternum. He winced and brushed her hand aside, “Whatever, lady, just keep your claws to yourself. Unless ya really want me to bite ya again.” He said with a wink and a smirk. Cathy could feel her brow twitching, maybe Mom was right, maybe he was more trouble than he’s worth. She shoved passed him and headed up to the front of the cab, poking her head out through the curtain.

<Septupost!

The police woman was just handing back Charlotte’s license and letting her off with a warning when Cathy came through the curtain and locked eyes with her.

“You must be Mr. Bronson’s girlfriend,” the officer remarked with a knowing smile.

Cathy’s mouth twisted into a scowl, a fiery revulsion in her eyes, “I am not! That guy’s an ass!”

She hollered.

“Hey, you take that back!” Owen demanded, coming out of the curtain. It took everything in Charlotte not to react surprised to see him walking up front unrestrained.

“Oh?” The officer said, looking up at Charlotte. The gargoyle forced a laugh, “Oh, haha, they’re just like that, ya know. Always fightin’, but they always make up in the end.” She said, somehow managing to keep her fake accent going. “Two birds in love and all that.”

“Well you drive safe now, don’t get into trouble.” The officer warned, moving away from the truck.

“Thank ya ma’am for keepin’ the roads safe!” Charlotte called out as she closed her door and started the truck back up. Soon enough they were back on the road, Owen shoving Cathy away to take the passenger seat for himself.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t paint this truck with your brains.” Charlotte said, resting one hand in her holster.

“Relax, ‘Charlotte,’ I’m gonna get you to California.” He said, unfazed by her venomous attitude.

“… Why?” She inquired, still suspicious of his motives.

“Oh, a sudden change of heart I s’pose, that and a hefty fee.” He answered, the corners of his mouth turning further upwards.

Charlotte scoffed, “Should I pay you in lead?”

“No need, your man is good for it.” He said, flashing the two rolls of cash Coop had given him.

Charlotte narrowed her eyes, “He’s not my man, shithead.”

“Whatever. Are we square? You drive, I drive, until we get to wherever we’re going.” Said Owen, pointing to her then himself.

“Don’t think I trust you to take the wheel.” She warned.

Owen shrugged and leaned back in his chair.

“I don’t need you to trust me, I need you to tell me where in California we’re goin’. I know this road pretty well, you’d be stupid not to take my offer, seein’ as shades back there already paid for it.” He advised her.

Charlotte grumbled profanities under her breath before looking over at him. His smug grin made her trigger finger itchy, but if Coop managed to turn this situation in their favor then she could deal with him until they found the next clue. It was that or she just shoots him later. Right now she was just too tired to deal with the bullshit.

“Fine, take the wheel, we’re heading to San Francisco.

You turn this truck in any other direction and I’ll put a bullet between your eyes.” She warned him, slowing the truck so he could take the driver’s seat. He kept that annoying smirk on his face even as he moved behind the wheel, “Relax, I got this.” He said, tucking the cash into his pocket. “Easy money.”

<Octopost!

The sun was coming up on the horizon. The start of the second day in the search for Dad, Cathy noted. That Owen guy had driven them through the whole night and made it to Nevada. We’re making good time, but we gotta haul ass if we’re gonna make it to San Francisco and solve this stupid clue.

She flipped the piece of paper over in her hands, looking at the numbers - the coordinates Coop had dug through. They didn’t really mean anything to her other than what they had originally planned before all this scavenger shit; get to California, find Dad. Now instead of some Junko branch shipping company she didn’t know what they were looking for.

There was no guarantee that Dad would be there either, but these numbers pointed them in that direction. She turned over the note and stared at the riddle, memorizing it.

I am purity, rising up from the filth of this world. Come and find me.

The gargoyle puzzled herself over it, reading the words slowly. She had a few ideas what it could mean but none of them were concrete. She took the paper up front to take the passenger seat from Tabitha. It was her turn to play co-pilot, that and watch Owen. The two of them didn’t really get along all that well from what Cathy could tell - or maybe they did in their own weird way. The front cab was full of one-upmanship with them slinging insults and name calling.

The more Cathy looked at them the more she got the impression that they enjoyed it.

Now that it was her turn to sit up front Owen had gone silent.

A. Try to talk it out with Owen. Maybe get to know him? (What does Cathy ask him?)

B. You have memorized the numbers by now, 37.792191, -122.405694. Focus on solving this riddle. Where in San Francisco could it be referring to? (Give it a guess, maybe look it up on a map? You can also consult the others!)

<Sorry as usual for taking so long, but I’ve been thinking of you guys (and the CYOA) for the last two weeks no homo so I made three drawings and an Extra grande post!

<I hope you guys enjoy it!

been struggling with balancing work/drawing and keeping myself from burning out /blogpost

>>396025

>B

>>396025

Option B … but meditate on it so Cathy can talk to her grandmother in wonderland about it. This clue is strange, so you need solve it with a strange mind

>>396072

<Hmmm, interesting choice.

<Bump for more votes, 2 for B!

<Voting will be done by the end of today and then I'll get back to work!

B, Owen doesn't seem husbando material especially after calling one of Cathy's best friend "a stray".

<but I’ve been thinking of you guys (and the CYOA) for the last two weeks

Y-you too!

<drawing and keeping myself from burning out

Don't overdo it. The moment you feel yourself doing this out of obligation rather than enjoyment is the moment you want to stop doing this all together.

>>396025

>8 post. weew lad, it really was worth the wait

B- ask the driver, truckers tend to be into conspiracy theories and such, maybe he knows about coordinates and radio signals

>>396374

What's the neighborhood like around that shop?

Cathy watched as the scene faded away in her mind’s eye. She remembered that back then her father had already finished many years of service and had been discharged, but something happened when she was younger. Something she couldn’t remember, but it was important enough for Dad to volunteer again. That was the day her father had left both her and her mother for another two years of service.

That was the start of the end for her happy childhood, when she and Mom would bump heads for years to come even now. Their relationship had become so strained that it caused Cathy to move out as soon as she had the chance. They would still talk, of course, but there were sore spots. This last month was the most they had talked in a long time.

When Dad came back he had changed. He was still the father that loved her and she loved him, but he would become distant whenever she asked him about those two years. Even to this day he had never told her why he went or what he did. Her vision darkened and turned to a sea of deep purples dull lavender as a figure appeared before her.

“I for one can understand why he did it.” The figure said, approaching her. Their voice belonged to someone she knew. When Cathy focused on them their image became clear. It was her grandmother, still dressed as though she were in Wonderland.

“He even told you he wanted to keep you safe. I would have done the same had I been in his shoes.” She continued. “Good to see you, too, by the way.”

“Grandma!” Cathy cheered, deciding it best to forget the somber scene from before - at least for now. Grandma tittered as her granddaughter rushed to hug her, catching her between her arms.

“I was wondering when I’d see you again, and look at you, you’ve even grown wings!” Said Grandma. “I guess that means our little adventure was a success!”

“What happened to you? You disappeared so suddenly - and why are you still wearing that?” Asked Cathy.

“Ha, well to answer the last question first, you’re the one that put me in this. It’s your dream after all. Secondly, that gazer broke our bond when we last saw each other,” explained Grandma. “I was drained of my mana trying to repair our bond and had to rest. Seems this dream became the catalyst for our conversation. This must have been the only one powerful enough to make a ripple,” she mumbled.

“So you’re the reason I kept having this dream.” Cathy accused. “You were the one in the doorway, it had to be you!”

Grandma sighed, “It was. As for me being the reason of your dream that’s a little more complicated. In order to reconnect I needed a strong emotional response since I lacked the mana to mend our bond. I’m sorry you had to relive this moment, but I had to make sure you were alright! And look! It worked!”

“That’s great and all, but I’m not okay. I have problems to deal with at the moment.” Cathy said, frustration in her voice.

“Oh, did you find a man?” Asked Grandma.

“What? No!” Cathy was quick to deny. “There’s no one in my life like that!”

“So you say,” her grandmother grinned.

“Grandma!” Cathy shouted, throwing up her hands.

“Well if not that then what?” The older gargoyle questioned.

“What, can’t you see what’s been going on like last time?” Cathy inquired.

Grandma shook her head, gesturing to the emptiness of the dream, “Can you see any better than me? No? Then our bond must not be fully recovered. As I said I had used nearly all of my mana to bring us together again.”

“Great, well let me inform you! Dad’s been taken by those Junko bastards and now I’m driving across the entire country to get him back from some crazy danuki bitch!“

Grandma frowned at the news. “That explains the dream… I’ll excuse the language for now. Listen, I’m sorry, Cathy. I didn’t know. I had no idea what had happened after we were separated but now I’m here. I can help you.”

“Thanks, I’m… just need a second.” Said Cathy, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. “Right now we’re heading towards San Francisco with a riddle that I don’t understand. It’s some kind of clue to Dad’s whereabouts.”

“A riddle you say? You’re in luck! I love riddles!” Grandma said with a smile.

Damn them, they must have a big lead on me, Amber thought. She cursed under her breath as she kept driving, speeding faster and faster in the hopes that she would find the semi that was her mark. She had already been driving for hours and still no sign of them. That bastard better have told me the truth… or I swear I’ll find a Lich to bring him back for me to kill him over and over until I find them. After that ordeal she had taken a moment to collect herself. The first thing she had to get back was Jade's vest and knife. Amber found both of them in the back seat and quickly took them, pulling the vest over her head.

As she kept accelerating, her desperation grew. She mulled over how exactly she would deal with the monster who killed Jade. She wasn’t alone, that much was certain, but how many of them were there? She counted at least one other monster, maybe two as well as a human man. Would she be able to take them all armed only with a knife, in her condition no less? She carefully touched the burns on her cheek and frills and winced. That monster that attacked her and killed Jade had the drop on them before, but not this time. Amber would have a disadvantage even in a fair fight now, she knew that, but if she could pull off a surprise hit on them she could end it in one fell swoop. Regardless of the plan, the burnt lizard decided that she was going to succeed or die trying. Jade deserved that much.

The car zoomed past a billboard and moments later Amber could hear a siren sound off behind her. She was struck with several feelings at once as she drew her knife. Angry at yet another hurdle to her goal, fear of the officer seeing the blood in the car, desperate not to fail Jade and then suddenly… hopeful.

She pulled the car over and stared in her rearview mirror at the police cruiser parking behind her. Amber was quick to hide her vest, stowing it on the floor between the seats in the back of the car. The dark of the night gave her confidence that the cop would not see it. An idea had struck her when it came to her nakedness and the blood.

The lizard’s grip on her knife tightened as she took it and ran the blade over her own abdomen, slowly and carefully drawing blood before hiding the blade under her leg.

The officer came up to the window and tapped it with her flashlight, waiting for Amber to roll it down before gasping at the sight.

“Help me…” Amber said in a weak voice, the burnt half of her face twitching as she covered her bleeding gut.

The policewoman’s eyes were as big as saucers as she caught sight of her wound and all the blood in the car causing her to jump to action.

“Oh my God! Stay here, I’ll get my first aid kit!” Shouted the officer, turning to run towards her cruiser. Amber kept herself from smiling, waiting for the officer to return with her knife now in hand. Sure enough she was back, medical box in hand. As soon as the officer opened the door, Amber lunged at her, knocking her to the ground with a shriek. She pressed the knife to her new hostage’s throat.

With her other hand Amber quickly snatched up the officer’s gun from its holster and took the safety off.

“I’m gonna ask you a few questions…” Amber growled, pricking the woman’s neck with the tip of the blade. “Depending on your answer I might not have to ruin your uniform. Understand?”

“Cathy! Wake up, dammit!” Mom said, shaking the gargoyle awake. Suddenly Cathy sat up with a start, gasping sharply.

“What happened?” She asked, “is everything alright?” After a moment her vision focused and she saw both Tabitha and Mom looking at her as though she had grown a second pair of wings.

“You turned to stone for hours!” Tabitha explained. “When you turned back you seemed to be having a nightmare.”

“Neither one of us could wake you up.” Mom interjected. “That was about ten minutes ago.”

“I’m sorry, I was just dreaming…” Said Cathy, “But I’m here now, where are we?”

The two looked at one another before Mom sighed. They were clearly worried, but what could she say? It was only a dream. Sorta.

She had considered telling them about it, but… well, there was enough on their plates without a healthy helping of old ‘dead’ Grandma visiting her in her dreams.

“We’ve made it to California. We’re nearly to our destination.” Mom answered her.

“And we’ve yet to figure out that stupid riddle.” Tabitha groaned, “That Owen guy says he has an idea, but it’s probably bullshit.”

“I guess we’ll find out. How much time do we have left?” Asked Cathy, getting onto her feet and heading for the front of the cab.

“Not long. A few hours at most.” Said Tabby, following her out.

Owen and Coop were at the front still, Coop with a phone in hand. The truck had stopped in a back alley parking lot.

“How about that old antique shop?” Owen asked.

“Doesn’t seem to be there anymore, but there’s a jewelry store where it was.” Coop answered. “I’m thinking it has to be this church here.” Coop pointed on the map, “Look, it’s been through a lot in the past and it’s even in the middle of two rivaling gang territories! The church is purity, the gangs are filth. It even has ‘puritan’ as its denomination!”

“You’re thinking about it all wrong,” Owen argued, turning to see the two gargoyles and the jinko coming up front. “Ah, look who’s joined the waking world. Cathy, the person who gave you this, it was Migi Junko, right?” He asked, holding the paper up. She nodded slowly, figuring Coop must have told him.

“The Junko family is based in the east, she probably meant something else. Something to do with eastern symbolism. Whatever we’re looking for is probably in that antique shop.” He reasoned.

“Jewelry,” Coop corrected him.

“Whatever! It use to be called The Golden Lotus! That new store there’s bound to have some old assets and it’s even owned by Junko!” Owen yelled.

“How do you know that?” Cathy butted in.

“Because I delivered their furnishings.” Owen answered.

Coop held the phone up, showing a chart connecting Migi to several people, monsters and humans alike.

“He’s right, except Junko has its fingers in every little pocket around that area. Besides, Migi propped up several western based companies herself and even sponsored Monster Wrestling Entertainment. She’s got a good understanding of western culture as far as I can tell and she’s made tons of donations to all kinds of religious folks, several of which included statues and other symbolic images.”

“I still say that shop is the place. It even comes up when I punched in those numbers! If that’s not a sign then I don’t know what is.”

Coop shook his head, “Fine, we don’t have time to bicker. Let’s split into two groups and head to both places just to make sure. Either way, we’ll find Bill.”

“Or another clue.” Cathy grumbled. “Who’s going where?”

“I’m going with Coop to the church.” Tabitha said.

“I’ll go with our new ‘friend.’ Wouldn’t want him to ‘accidentally’ go to the police instead.” Mom added with a glare.

Owen rolled his eyes, “Psh, okay lady. Two thousand bucks says I’m right.”

A. Go with Owen, he’s right. Whatever it is they’re looking for is in that jewelry store. Be it pearls or some kind of lotus shaped object.

B. Go with Coop, his logic is sound and whoever this Migi is, you get the feeling she would pick a church for a gargoyle for irony’s sake.

<Wew, that took some doing.

<Didn't bother counting the posts this time around, wanted to post ASAP.

<Sorry it took so long work has been a bitch and a half lately.

>>396371

<Thanks anon, you make it worth it. no homo

>>396375

<Don't worry about it, Anon, I'll take that pic as payment.

>>398069

B because Grandma and Owen are right. More Grandma than Owen mind you … but not letting this bit of serendipity to go unnoticed. I don't think the (((chosen monsters))) are asian and aren't going to put themselves up in a church. Much less one where there's petty gang wars going on. Coop has his wits and an angry tiger waifu to help him out if need be and it sounds like he's going there regardless.

>>398077

Nice digits but it's option a retardo

Also voting a

>>398077

>want option A

>put the other one

Fug

<Bumping for more votes!

<I'll give it another day or so til I start writing again.

>>398066

Amber, depending on the jurisdiction the policewoman was in, has a shotgun or a similar long weapon for back-up. By-the-way, was the policewoman a monster girl, and if so, which one? I'd assume that detail doesn't really matter.

>>398069

Reluctant B. That Owen is connected further with the enemy (he knows them and has worked for them before) means he's a bigger risk to just blindly trust and go straight to possible trap. Grandma and Owen are right that what we're looking for might be at the Golden Lotus' former location, but let's investigate it with someone who's more trustworthy.

>>398069

A just because

<3 A, 1 B from what it looks like.

<Bumping one more time, by the end of tonight I'll start writing again!

BAMP

>>400524

faggot

>>400541

>>400542

I was desperate, ok?

>>400524

Get a hold of yourself

>>400590

>Big iron

Anybody have part 5 archive link? OP's link doesn't go anywhere anymore

‘Blessings of the Ying family.’

‘Strength.’

‘Wisdom.’

‘Purity.’

‘Blessings on Bai Ying.’

“Yo, girls! This has to be it! Check it out!” Owen called over. He was jamming a finger on the glass counter towards a ring display. Inside was a silver band with an opal in the shape of the flower - the lotus.

“You have a good eye, sir. For many who have come through here, it has caught their eye. I must apologize however, that one is not for sale I am afraid…” Jin Ying said sadly, “It is a rare make, one of a kind.”

When Cathy and Charlotte turned toward the dragon, causing her to grimace under their gaze.

“But perhaps we could make a… em… trade?” She said reluctantly. “Something precious to you for something precious to me? Something beyond value?”

“What’s precious to me is time, and you’re wasting it.” Said Charlotte to both the dragon and Owen in a huff. She took the frame from Cathy and held it up for the dragon to see, pointing to the anklet.

“Do you have this one?” She asked bluntly. Jin Ying was taken aback for a moment before collecting herself. She let out a deep sigh before answering.

“I wish I did… some time ago it was stolen from me. It belongs in my family, a special heirloom passed down to our newborns for luck and prosperity. It is our family tradition to bless newborns with their first treasure. My little Bai Ying… she may grow up impoverished if I don’t get it back in time for the ceremony.”

Charlotte rolled her eyes as she was about to say something before Cathy butted in front of her.

“Who stole it?” She asked, gently pushing her mother back.

“Street thugs, gang members! They belong to the Sho Pan gang!” Explained Jin Ying, her voice becoming more disgusted at the mere mention of them.

“They were common criminals once but somehow they now rule this side of town! They grow bolder by the day! You…!” She pointed to Owen and the rest. “You want this ring? You get this anklet back for me and I will give it to you!” The dragon offered.

Charlotte glared, less than enthusiastic about the prospect. Ignoring her mother, Cathy took the dragon by her claws and held them close.

“I’m sorry this happened to you… if we were to get it back for you where would we find the Sho Pan?” She asked. The dragon’s face lit up with a warm smile as she squeezed the gargoyle’s hands.

“Not far from here! They stay at the church now after they took it! Their leader Yue Pan will have it! I’m certain!”

The three looked at one another upon hearing this.

Seeing the others’ faces Cathy could tell they had thought the same thing. They knew about the gang, sure, but they didn’t know Coop and Tabby were walking right into the middle of crime headquarters!

Before any of them could make a move, the bell rang as someone opened the front door.

CLACK-CLACK!

<Quadpost!

The sun’s rays were beating down against the windshield of the cruiser Amber was driving, the burning orb outpacing her westward course. If not for the shades she found hanging inside her new vehicle she’d be completely blind. An hour passed, then another before she saw any sign of traffic again. It didn’t matter as long as she was unimpeded in her mission. It wasn’t until the Utah state line that she had come up upon a convoy of semis. One by one each of them turned off the road heading towards anywhere but California. Well, it certainly made the search much easier in that sense, but Amber couldn’t help but be frustrated that she had not yet found the monsters in question. More time on the road left her especially irritated, her burnt eye twitching more and more until she let out a scream of frustration. When she finally reached the border to California Amber stopped the cruiser and slapped herself on the cheek, knocking her shades off her face. The burnt lizard sat there, letting the stinging sensation radiate from eye to frill as she took deep breaths. The pain was better than the twitching, she felt. Better to rile herself up than to sit there trembling like a wounded animal. She thought about her new arsenal of tools and weapons, listing them off in her head to keep herself from snapping. With everything she lifted off that cop she was set, but an interesting addition found its way into her claws. She soon found out that the cop she had stolen the vehicle from had a shotgun sitting inside the door. Sure, it was locked up, but all she needed to do was ‘crack’ the code.

If she couldn’t figure out the number then a few good tugs from her claws would rip it open. It seemed that a few areas in the world that considered themselves ‘human’ still had not accounted for monsters and their superior strength, regardless of what generations they were. It was either that or the funding for police was a joke in that particular jurisdiction. Whatever the reason it was making everything that much easier.

Just as she was picking up the shades from the passenger seat something caught her eye. A semi was passing by without a trailer, a man and a familiar looking gray monster sitting at the front. It was her! It was definitely her, though she seemed different than before. Maybe she just didn’t get a good look at her the first time, after all, she was knocked out early on in their first encounter. That was definitely her, though.

Amber’s lips curled up into a toothy grin, her burnt eye quivering from the sudden movement. She ignored it this time, what was a little twitching now that her prey was in sight?

She followed them. Biding her time was the utmost importance. A mistake now could cost her everything, so she decided to hang back and wait for the most opportune moment. She followed them for miles, all the way to Chinatown in San Francisco until they stopped down an alleyway parking lot and separated. There were five of them in total. Two she didn’t recognize, and three that fit her memory. One was one of those tiger women, the others were monsters she did not recognize. Gray skinned, horns, a tail, but only the younger of the two had wings. More like big muscular arms, but regardless, that had to be her! Unless the other had retractable wings… Amber had considered the possibility. They were running off together with the truck driver. Amber waited, watching which direction they went. She could hide in their truck and get the drop on them… but there could be someone waiting inside for her. Maybe they knew she had followed them and were setting a trap for her. She wasn’t exactly blending in driving a Colorado cruiser in California. Amber put the car in gear and drove slowly around the corner, spotting them going into a building on the corner close by. Amber took a deep breath and put on Jade’s kevlar vest.

It was now or never.

<Septpost!

Cathy leapt up and across the counter and slid across the floor, raising her revolver faster than her adversary.

BLAM! BLAM!

Two to the chest sent her stumbling backward, using the momentum to swing her shotgun and unload another shell.

BOOM!

Glass flew up into Cathy’s chest and arms, the shards cutting her exposed skin even through her stone flesh. The gargoyle landed beside the counter and scrambled across the floor to get a better shot.

CLACK-CLACK!

BOOM!

CLACK-CLACK!

BOOM!

CLACK-CLACK!

The lizard missed her by inches, blowing a hole in the floorboards beside her.

Cathy twisted around onto her back, ignoring the pain as she put her sight on the lizard. The shotgun was already trained on her, a wicked smile on the lizards face as she pulled the trigger.

CLICK!

In an instant the assailant’s face twisted into a scowl, her burnt eye twitching wildly.

“Put it on the ground!” Cathy demanded. Instead, the burnt lizard roared, spitting profanities out before going for her handgun.

BLAM BLAM BLAM! Cathy fired off a few more shots, just missing her mark but still forcing the lizard to back down.

“YOU BITCH!” The lizard shouted, turning and crashing through the doorway, both of her weapons in hand. She ran off through the streets and disappeared. Cathy slumped down on the floor, the adrenaline wearing off. She was greeted with excruciating pain shooting through her body, a yelp escaping her lips.

“Cathy? You okay…?” Mom called to her. The younger gargoyle groaned in response, her muscles tensing up as she clutched her gut where the glass had gotten her. Blood. Not much but enough to be worried about, as was evident from the look on both Mom and Owen’s faces when they found her.

“Help me get her up! We gotta go back to the truck!” Charlotte barked.

“Shouldn’t we call an amb-“ Owen began, before Charlotte slapped him.

“Just do it!”

Cathy could only writhe in pain as the two lifted her up, heading out of the now decimated jewelry store. The last thing she saw of the place was Jin Ying standing in the back of the wreckage silently weeping. ‘Being born into poverty,’ it seemed like a self fulfilling prophecy now, Cathy found herself thinking as her vision slowly began to fade.

<Octo and Nonpost!

Owen was carrying the heavier half of the gargoyle, holding her by her sizeable wings. For such a small lady she sure was hefty. He saw her take a full blast of buckshot to the chest in that firefight and still she seemed… well, better off than any normal person. Monsters were scary for a reason, he figured. Regardless, she was hurt and her distraught mother wasn’t about to let that stand. They reached the truck in no time flat, Charlotte throwing open the door while Owen helped hoist Cathy up to her.

“Careful,” he warned her.

“I know!” Charlotte snapped at him. Owen ignored her outburst, helping get Cathy into the back where they put her on the bed.

“Get her shirt off,” Said Charlotte, finding a first aid kit in one of their duffel bags.

“Whoa, shouldn’t we get her to a hospital?” He asked.

“We don't have time for that!” She snapped.

Owen didn’t protest anymore. He took a knife from his pocket and carefully cut Cathy’s top open, exposing the wounds. Deep enough to draw blood, but nothing fatal Owen hoped. Charlotte took out a pair of tweezers, gauze and a small disposable needle filled with a morphine, steeling herself for what was to come. She put on a pair of latex gloves and threw another to Owen before taking out a sewing kit.

“You’re gonna do this?” Owen asked, the concern in his voice apparent. “You’re shaking like a leaf!”

“Who else will, you?” Replied Charlotte, her voice cracking. It was more like a request than a retort, Owen could see in her expression. He took the tweezers into his hand and placed the other on her shoulder.

“Let me do it. I’ve had to stitch myself up a fair share.”

Charlotte relented, allowing him to take the tweezers, but she held tight to the morphine.

“I can do this much.” She protested, readying Cathy’s arm with an alcohol wipe. Owen gave her a silent nod, not wanting to fight over it at a time like this. He looked over Cathy’s bare chest, noting the wounds centered mostly around her midsection.

Thankfully there weren’t many pellets buried in the gargoyle's sternum due to her stone flesh, but the ones that made it through needed to be dealt with. Owen counted at least six that he could see. He waited for Charlotte to finish injecting her daughter with the morphine before taking a deep breath to concentrate.

“Do it.” Charlotte urged him. He held his breath, slowly forcing the first of the small wounds open with his gloved fingers. Cathy whimpered in her unconscious state, sweat beading up on her brow. Charlotte placed her arms around her shoulders, ready for the worst. Owen nodded again, it was now or never. The moment the tweezers went in the gargoyle shrieked in pain, her body fighting to get away from the source. Had Charlotte not been there she would have jerked away and made things worse, Owen surmised.

“I… I got it.” He said, pinching the tweezers and withdrawing the foreign metal lodged in her body. Luckily the pellet seemed to have flattened instead of shattering. He dropped the bloody object in the palm of his hand and placed it on the countertop before turning back to the others. He prayed the morphine would do it’s magic any moment now before going for the next shard.

<Decapost!

It was a grueling task that seemed to go on forever, but they finally managed to patch Cathy up. Only after the fourth pellet did the morphine actually do anything for the poor girl. The fifth one was particularly scary, considering it had shattered into four pieces, but thankfully he had found them all. The sixth was the easiest by far, it had barely penetrated at all. Now with her wounds sewn up and bandaged, Cathy was out cold.

“Well… glad that’s over with. Your daughter’s going to live.” Owen said, giving Charlotte a reassuring smile.

“I… don’t know how to thank you…” Said Charlotte to his surprise.

“You can start by thanking me,” he joked.

For once he actually saw her smile, giving him a shake of her head.

“Then thanks, I guess.”

“Great, now you stay here and make sure she’s okay.” Said Owen. Charlotte gave him a sideways look.

“Where are you going?”

“I gotta go make sure that Coop guy and his girl come back alive. Otherwise I’m not getting paid, right?” He forced a laugh. “Seriously, though, we’re running outta time and they probably need help. Doubt those two even know what we’re looking for now.”

“‘We?’” Charlotte parroted.

“Shaddup, you know what I mean. Like I said, you keep an eye on her, no telling if that psycho lizard will come back…”

A. No way, he doesn’t stand a chance out there, you should go instead! You’re a monster, so that automatically makes you more durable than him. You trust him enough to protect Cathy with her revolver while you go fight.

B. He’s right. Let him go, Cathy needs you right here protecting her, not someone you still don’t fully trust. Lend him your gun and ammo and you’ll make due with Cathy’s revolver.

<Finally! I hope this was worth it. Really sorry how long it took this time around, like I said, life shit got in the way. Just had to go to a wedding

<I'm starting to think I should stop coloring to save time. Thoughts?

>>401032

<I have PDFs of each part, but I would also like an archive if anyone has it. I might still draw something for you :^)

>>401258

PDF's are fine, but then you lose all the suggestions and autism. You lose half the fun

>>401258

>I might still draw something for you

not the same guy, but i kinda want to see what you think a holstaur looks like or rather, a holstaur in your artstyle

>>401272

<It has the comments in there but the pictures look like shit, will post it if you’re still interested but I think the thread is dead from all the spam, might have to check that.

>>401331

<Maybe soon if I find the time/force one into the story. But the offer of a drawing extends to the one who provides an archive for Cathy part 5 as >>401272 requested.

<Also don’t you two forget to vote, dammit!

<Oh right, forgot to mention if there are any suggestions for what to do then go ahead and make them! I’ll be bumping the thread tomorrow for more votes!

<Good morning bump!

<Get some votes in!

>>401258

A

>>401337

It's a hard decision.

>Leaving your wonder daughter alone

>Leaving the gate of your husband in the hands of a stranger

I vote C

Go together, maybe they could use the semi like a killdozer

>>401258

Fuck it, going to go with A this time around.

>>401337

One does what one must. PDF me, and thanks

>>401430

<Last bump.

<Bed time.

<Will start working on next post when I wake up whatever the votes are.

>>401407

Seconded. Never split the party.

>>401258

You should do what you want, especially as it relates to your creative vision and how you want to practice as an artist. For what it's worth I found the old simple black and white pieces absolutely charming.

>>401258

http://archive.is/B5H4Y

Here's the archive for thread the fifth.

For my bounty I need an aratacular, christmas cakey nine tail in a black silk kimono

“Absolutely not.” Charlotte replied, shoving him down onto the edge of the bed.

“You’re going to stay right here and make sure nothing bad happens to her - else I’ll kill you myself.” She ordered him. Owen was bewildered at her sudden change in attitude until she gave him a smirk. Seems she did have a sense of humor, he thought, rolling his eyes.

“You can’t be serious. You? You were shaking like a leaf a minute ago!” He pointed out.

“Sorry, I’ll try to contain myself next time my daughter gets shot!” The gargoyle growled in response. “You’re capable, but don’t let it get to your head. You wouldn’t last a minute against a monster let alone two before you went down.”

“Oh, and you will?” Owen protested.

“A hell of a lot longer than you,” she retorted, “you ever been with a monster before?”

“N-… no? What the hell does that have to do with anything?” He asked.

“More than you’d think. As a monster I’m better suited for this than you and considering the beating that lizard took even you could handle her if she was stupid enough to come back.” The gargoyle stated bluntly.

“Alright, jeez, have it your way, but you’re gonna owe me big time.” Owen grumbled, clearly feeling a little deflated. Charlotte gave him a toothy grin, satisfied that she had gotten her way.

“Oh, I’m working on a way to pay you back, don’t you worry.” She promised him.

“That is probably the scariest thing a woman has ever told me.” Replied Owen, a crooked smile now on his lips. With a quick check of her handgun, Charlotte counted her ammunition. Six shots left in the mag, one in the chamber, plus a few extra mags she snatched out of the ammo bag and she was ready.

“If you get bored, load some of these, will ya?” She said, dropping an empty mag onto the pile.

“Wait,” Owen stopped her. “What am I gonna protect her with?”

Charlotte shook her head, “There’s a perfectly good gun right there,” she nodded towards Cathy. When Owen turned around he gulped. The gun, being the revolver firmly tucked away in Cathy’s holster, was buried between the gargirl’s arm and her still bare breasts.

Great, he thought to himself. Only one problem, gotta climb over her to get it without waking up the beast… hope that morphine is still doing its job.

“Good luck. You’ll need more of it than me.” Charlotte said with a knowing grin. “Just make sure she’s comfortable.” With that she hopped out of the truck before Owen could say anything, running off down the street to follow Coop and Tabby’s trail.

“What the hell does that mean?! You-… That bitch… she set me up for this.” He grumbled, rubbing his brow before kneeling down onto the bed with a sigh. He turned around and looked at Cathy for a moment, her eyes moving around behind their lids even as she slept. Maybe she was having a nightmare? Maybe Charlotte meant something else about making her comfortable? Either way she wasn’t about to stay on his bed with her boots on. With a grunt he got to work on making the gargoyle ‘comfortable,’ whatever that was. He could get the gun during all that… hopefully.

<Doublepost!

Coop felt the wind behind his opponent’s fist, her flames licking at his cheek as they passed by, the punch nearly clocking him in the jaw. Tabitha retaliated by swinging at her with her good arm, the hinezumi ducking low and sweeping her feet out from under her. Before she could follow up, Coop, struck her backside with the pole, knocking her away from the jinko. The hinezumi grunted and leapt away, shouting something in her language before throwing a kick his way. Coop tried to dodge, but the hinezumi twisted and lead her kick straight into his side with great force. It flung Coop to the wall and singed his clothes, his makeshift weapon clanging against the wall as he tried to rise to his feet.

If it weren’t for Tabitha stepping between them the hinezumi would have been all over him, he figured. Short as she was, this mouse was no slouch when it came to fighting.

Tabitha managed to push her back long enough for Coop to get back on his feet, but soon enough there came the shouts of the other gangsters rushing into the hall behind them.

They all stopped immediately when they saw the hinezumi, forming a wall to block Coop and Tabby’s escape.

“This isn’t looking good,” Tabby growled, keeping an eye on the fire mouse looking for an opening. Coop wiped the sweat from his brow before looking back at the others behind them.

“Might be time to jet. Follow me.” He said, grabbing the pole before rushing the mouse.

Jabbing his weapon at her caused her to dance around it, giving them both an out behind her. The two ran down the hall, taking the corner to the left and hurrying down while the gang shouted what Coop assumed were profanities before giving chase.

Before them was a double door that lead into a lobby room. As soon as they entered, Tabby took his pole and twisted it around the handles of the door.

“It’ll buy us some time.” She said, “we just gotta find what we’re looking for and get out, right?”

Coop nodded, still not sure what they were looking for in the first place. The doors at the back must be to the sanctuary, he figured, heading that way.

Whump! Their pursuers already slammed into the door.

“Come on! Whatever it is, it’s gotta be in there.” Coop explained, grabbing Tabitha’s hand. They rushed through the doors, kicking up dust as they went. The two found themselves looking down a sloped floor to a stage at the far wall, a big statue of an angel standing at the top.

“That’s gotta be it… There’s probably something on it, right?” said Tabitha, pointing a claw at the statue.

Just as they approached it, in came the gang members lead by the hinezumi.

“You do well to make it so far!” The hinezumi shouted with a smile. “But there is no escaping now. Once Yue Pan sets sight on you, you through!”

“Yue Pan, huh… that you?” Tabitha called back.

“That’s right!” The hinezumi answered smugly, “You not from around here or you know that!”

“Why don’t we end it here, then, between the two of us,” Tabitha suggested.

“So you really are jinko. Good, yes!” Yue Pan replied, dropping to a fighting stance.

<Triplepost!

Owen frowned, but remained silent, staring at her intently. He seemed to be thinking on her words, whether they were true or if he was unsurprised to hear that she had taken a life, she couldn’t tell..

“… I’m listening” He told her, crossing his arms over his chest.

Cathy’s gaze fell downward. “I know these people are… bad. I already told you they took my dad and are gonna hurt him or worse if we don’t play along with this stupid game. So why do I feel so awful?”

She heard Owen take a deep breath before clearing his throat. “Listen, Cathy… I’ve learned something on the road all these years, so for what it’s worth there was nothing you could have done.” He started, taking a seat beside her. Before she could say anything he put his hand up to stop her.

“I know what you’re thinking and the answer isn’t easy to hear, but even I’ve had to realize that sometimes there’s no other options. What do you think I would have done if your mom had actually tried to kill me? Do you think I would have just talked it out with her? I mean shit, not that I would have stood a chance but I’d have fought like hell to stay alive.”

“No, I get that - but I-I didn’t have to kill her, right?” Cathy protested.

Owen put a hand on her shoulder and sighed, “Let me put it another way: it was either you or her. You don’t have to like it, but that’s how things are sometimes. If you’re not gonna worry about yourself then remember that she really was between you and your dad back there. What would you have done then?”

He was right, in a way and Cathy knew that, but it didn’t make her feel any better about it. Still, it was nice to have someone to console her, even if it was Owen.

She couldn’t help but smile at that.

“Thanks…” she said. Standing up, Cathy hissed from the pain shooting through her body. She stumbled for a moment before Owen reached out and caught her.

“Careful, ya dummy!” Owen chuckled, putting his hands on her second shoulders to steady her.

“T-thanks… again.” Said Cathy, leaning on him.

Owen turned away, his face red as it was before. “Sure, uh, you’re still uh… in the nude.” He said, motioning towards her chest before retreating to the front of the cab.

Cathy stood in silence for a few moments, a grin slowly spreading across her lips.

After fixing the tank top up, Cathy slipped into it and joined Owen at the front of the cab.

“You can open your eyes now,” she teased, taking the seat on the passenger’s side. Owen glanced over at her for a second before holding his hand out.

“Knife.” Was all he said. Cathy placed the handle in his hand, releasing the blade before he slipped it back into his boot.

“Hey… where is my mom?” She asked as she looked around the front of the truck.

“She left you with me to go help out the others. Probably ran into some trouble.” Owen explained.

“What?! Well we can’t just sit here and wait!” Replied Cathy, “Let’s go!”

“Are you kidding? You just got a chest full of buck and you want to go back out there?” Owen shouted.

“Yeah, so what? Gave your ass a beating.” She said, smug with herself.

“You caught me off guard is all. Bet you couldn’t take me in a head to head.” Owen argued.

“We can find out about that now or later, your choice!”

Cathy threatened, cracking the knuckles of all four of her hands.

“Alright alright, say we go, what’s the plan?” Asked Owen. “I still say you’re in no real condition to fight and neither you nor your mom seem to have any confidence in me.”

“Well why don’t you prove us wrong?” Cathy offered. “What would you do?”

Owen looked at her for a moment before turning the key over in the ignition.

“Alright already, I get it, we’ll go find them and if it gets too crazy we’re out. Don’t need your Mom ripping me a new one on account of you taking another hit.”

The drive only lasted a few minutes before they found the place. Owen parked far enough away to stay out of sight. As it was, Sho Pan goons were running all over, shouting things in their language at one another.

“What’s going on?” Asked Cathy just as a van pulled up. Several more Sho Pan jumped out of the back carrying small arms weaponry of all sorts. More were being handed out to the rest of the gang before they ran back inside the church.

“That can’t be good! What are we gonna do?!” Cathy cried.

Owen put the truck in reverse, moving the truck back several yards.

“What are you doing? We can’t just let them-“

“Shut up and hold on to something, I got an idea!” Owen said, putting the stick into drive.

<Sectpost!

Charlotte hurried through the alleyway, following a trail of blood left behind. She silently hoped that it didn’t belong to either Coop or Tabby, ignoring the homeless man sat against the wall. Soon enough she ran into the lot behind the church. The trail ended with one of the Sho Pan goons whimpering against the wall of the building just beside a door. His leg was torn up, the source of the blood. His ‘friends’ must have left him behind.

“Hey!” She said, kneeling down to slap him upside the head. When he looked up at her he saw the muzzle of her pistol staring back down.

“Where are they?” She growled.

He could only choke out a few words, none of which she understood. Useless. Well, they had to be inside, that much was clear. Charlotte rushed through the door, heading down the hallway. Soon enough she heard shouting, where from she didn’t know. The gargoyle ran into a room, finding a mess of instruments and a fallen in ceiling. Backtracking, she found another way around that lead to the other side of the broken wall. A new trail of plaster and dusty footprints followed by scorch marks on the walls greeted Charlotte. The shouts were getting louder as she came closer to what had to be the sanctuary. Peeking through the door, she saw a circle of Sho Pan watching a hinezumi fighting Tabitha. The jinko had burns on her arms, but her opponent had just as many cuts on her own. Blood trickled down her forearms onto - the bracelet! That’s Jin Ying’s anklet! That’s gotta be Yue Pan! Quickly and quietly Charlotte slipped in through the doors, keeping low as to not draw any attention. Killing her now amidst all of these Sho Pan would be a problem, she considered. Maybe a hostage situation? There’s no telling how many guns these guys had but if they were loyal to Yue Pan then it might work. She saw Tabitha duck a flaming high kick from the mouse and throw her to the crowd, only for her goons to catch her and help her to her feet.

Yue Pan gave the jinko a smug look, as if to say Tabby stood no chance, only for her to blow raspberries as the hinezumi.

Yue Pan scowled, her fire flaring up.

“You take this serious or else!” She demanded of Tabitha.

Charlotte snuck around the side, making sure her gun was ready as silently as she could.

“Oh! Or else! Ha!” Tabitha mocked, “Or else what, you’ll sick your friends on us? Pathetic.”

Yue Pan whipped her tail around and caught Tabitha across the neck, burning her nape with a hiss.

Tabitha slapped it away, her eyes narrowing.

“Alright, maybe I’ll have me a roasted rat after all,” she growled.

“You’ll have to wait your turn,” Charlotte interrupted, jumping onto the stage with her gun trained on the hinezumi. The Sho Pan went silent, gasping and whispering among each other as the gargoyle approached the two fighting.

“She’s got what we're looking for.” Said Charlotte.

“She does?” Both Coop and Tabitha replied in unison.

“Mmhm,” Charlotte hummed back her answer, staying just out of the mouse’s reach. “Tabby, the pearl bracelet on her left wrist, that’s what we’re after.” She instructed the jinko. Tabitha grabbed the hinezumi’s wrist, wrenching it closer so she could take it off, giving her a smug grin before snatching it up in her claws.

“Guess that means I win.” She taunted her. Yue Pan spat at her.

“You win nothing, coward! You lack honor!”

“That’s rich coming from someone who won’t fight without her posse backing her up.” Tabitha threw back in her face.

Charlotte counted the crowd, a total of at least twenty, only one gun that she could see.

“Get out of here! Or Yue Pan is dead!” She barked at them.

The Sho Pan were now shouting profanities before the one with the shortened rifle took aim at the gargoyle.

<Septpost!

BAM BAM!

Charlotte put a bullet in his chest and head in a split second, the man dropping to the ground before he even had a chance to finger the trigger. The others backed away as a pool of his own blood formed around him. With that, Charlotte approached Yue Pan.

“You understand that, huh?!” She shouted. “Get the fuck out of here!”

BAM BAM! She shot over their heads, causing them to disperse and run out of the sanctuary.

“You won’t get far,” said Yue Pan, “They come back with big guns! You see!”

“Thanks for the warning,” Charlotte said, putting her gun under her chin, “Maybe they’ll come back and find you next to the other body.”

“You do that and my father kill you all!” She threatened. “You never escape! You never ever escape! He track you down and feed you to sharks!”

“Ooh, scary,” Tabitha mocked her, “Coop, go get your gun, honeybun, before this bitch squeaks us to death.” Coop nodded, heading over to pick up the rifle before the doors were flung open and even more Sho Pan piled into the room.

Just as they were readying their weapons came the sound of a big engine gaining speed before -

THWOOM!

The wall burst with the front of a semi plowing through, plaster and brick and wood flying in all directions as the vehicle came to a stop between Coop and the Sho Pan.

The horn blared twice before Owen stuck his head out of the window.

“GET IT!” He howled, Cathy throwing open the passenger door. The Sho Pan opened fire through the smoke at the group, narrowly missing them as they retreated into the truck. The door slammed shut and Owen threw the stick in reverse, the truck dragging itself out of the wall just as it began to collapse.

“Hurry!” Cathy shouted.

“I’m trying! She ain’t exactly the world's fastest truck!” Owen hollered at the top of his lungs. Bullets pinged and ricocheted off the front, by some miracle never hitting the cab.

Soon enough they were out, the rubble and debris covering their retreat with more smoke as Owen gained speed, turned the wheel and spun the truck back out, slamming the front of the van in with the back tires before driving away. A few moments of silence filled the cab as they made it through several intersections, distancing themselves further and further from the Sho Pan.

“Oh my God… we did it!” Tabitha cheered, breaking the silence while throwing her big arms around the group.

“Yeah! I can’t believe it! You saved our asses back there!” Coop shouted, sharing Tabby’s enthusiasm by slapping Owen on the back.

“Looks like you owe me again, Charlotte.” Owen said with a smug grin on his face.

“Uh… Mom… is that…?” Cathy began to ask.

When everyone looked they saw Charlotte still holding her gun under Yue Pan’s chin. The mouse looked furious, seething in silence.

“I uh… I guess in the excitement I kinda nabbed Yue Pan.” She admitted.

“Well get rid of her!” Tabitha shouted.

“No way! She has what we need!” Replied Cathy.

“Had!” Tabby corrected, showing off the anklet in her palm. Cathy looked up at her, both of them slowly grinning at each other.

“Ayyy!” The two ribbed one another while Tabby handed the gargoyle the anklet.

Before anyone could say anything, someone's phone began to ring. After a moment Cathy realized it was hers. She quickly withdrew it and answered, putting it on speaker phone.

<Octopost!

“Hello?” She answered.

“Cathy… are you okay?” The familiar voice of her father asked.

“DAD!” Cathy yelped.

“BILL!” Charlotte cried, matching her daughter. “We should be asking you that!”

Bill sighed deeply, relieved to hear their voice as much as they were his.

“Thank God… I thought something had happened to you two.” He said. His voice sounded raspy and tired, that much Cathy could tell.

“Bill, what’s going on?” Charlotte asked, furrowing her brow. She could hear it, too, Cathy thought judging by Mom’s expression.

“I don’t know… they’re keeping me somewhere dark… smells like the ocean, but… can’t be a ship, not shifting with the waves… no sound of an engine.”

“Don’t worry, Dad! We’re coming to get you!” Cathy promised. “I… I love you!”

“Awwww, that’s awfully sweet of you!” Another voice interrupted. Immediately Cathy recognized it, her expression turning sour.

“What the hell did you do to him, Migi?!” Cathy hollered at the phone.

“Nothing you need concern yourself over. You’d be surprised by the amount of comfort we’ve tried to give him, but the man just refuses all our advances!” Migi taunted.

“Bastards…” Charlotte gritted her teeth.

“Oooh! Is that Mommy dearest? What an honor it is to finally speak with you! I assume you and all your friends can hear me? Well, friends plus one I should say. Oh, and bravo on that quick thinking, Mr. Bronson! Mr. Sho Pan will think twice before messing with you lot.” Said Migi. Yue Pan began hurling insults in her language at the phone before Charlotte put her in a choke hold.

“What the…” Owen muttered.

“Oh yes, I do exist, Mr. Bronson! Your new friends weren’t lying. It was fun to watch you all bicker, though, I must say I much enjoyed it when you were ‘getting along.’” She laughed.

A grim unease spread through the cab as everyone looked at one another, concerned with the fast talking danuki casually revealing that she has seen, or maybe heard just about everything.

“Anyway, I’m not calling for pleasure today, unfortunately. This is all strictly business. My business. I’d first like to start by congratulating you on finding that little trinket, that little conversation with Daddy was your reward. I’m glad to see you are all capable of following directions no matter how vague. That’s an important trait for what’s to come.” Said Migi.

“So that was just a test…?” Asked Cathy.

“Yep! That little anklet is worthless in the grand scheme of things I’m afraid!”

“So what now, more riddles?” Charlotte growled.

“Oh, well, if you insist, Charlotte dear! I need you to go to the bi-iggest state in the union! It’s awfully co-old there, know which one I’m talking about?” Migi belittled the gargoyle. “Some clumsy fools lost something there that belongs to Junko, MY company. You’re going to get it back.”

“What, no fancy poem?” Tabby asked sarcastically.

“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, Tabitha.” Migi replied with the same amount of sarcasm. “You’ll have a hard enough time finding it as it is, where you’re going.”

“Finding what?” Asked Coop.

“Ah, ah, ah, that’s not how the game works, Coop. I tell you where to go, you find whatever it is you’re looking for. Capiche? You have about ten days to find it starting tomorrow at eight AM. A small extension in time given the circumstances. You get the rest of the day off to collect yourselves and push that reset button on the week.”

“How thoughtful.” Owen snarked.

“I’m hurt, Mr. Bronson! Even someone of my status knows I wouldn’t get results if I deprived you of your beauty sleep. I’m even going to throw in an all expenses paid for cruise for everyone, won’t that be fun?” The faux enthusiasm in the danuki’s voice irked Owen, but he bit his tongue and listened.

<Nonpost!

“There’s a ship docked nearby, the MS Midway, one of mine. They’ll be heading to where you can start your search. I’ve booked passage for you, so all you need to do is show them the receipt I’m sending you and everything will be peachy!” Migi explained.

“What’s going to happen to my dad?” Cathy asked.

“I wonder! Don’t worry your pretty little head over him, he’ll be much better off than you in a day or so. The best you can do for him right now is to keep to it and retrieve what belongs to me. Remember, tomorrow, ten days. Find it and I will contact you, don’t and well… I think you know.” There came a click followed by dial tone, leaving everyone in the cab to think on the words. ‘Ten days to find it,’ just what the hell were they looking for? Owen turned to look at Charlotte, then Yue Pan.

“So what do we do with her?” He asked, jabbing a finger at the mouse.

“What do we do with that?” Asked Tabby, pointing at the anklet in Cathy’s hand.

“Who cares?!” Charlotte said, throwing Yue Pan aside, “That bitch is gonna pay!”

“We have to play along, Charlotte…” Coop reminded her. Cathy could tell what came after that: ‘or else.’ No one wanted to say it but it was on everyone’s mind. Or else Dad is dead. Or else they were dead. They still had no idea what Migi or Junko were capable of with their seemingly endless reach and resources. Still, they had a day to recuperate, for whatever that was worth.

The gargoyle looked at the anklet in her hand. Going back to give Jin Ying the anklet somehow seemed important to her even now. She promised her she would return with it - and after what happened in her shop she couldn’t help but feel responsible in some way.

But they also needed to deal with Yue Pan…

Cathy wants to go give the anklet back to Jin Ying, who will go with her? (Character/relationship development!)

What should they do with Yue Pan? (Morality/consequence development!)

<Happy 4th of July my fellow Amerifags! That also means the Cathy CYOA is now 3 years old and it’s totally Cathy’s birthday! I'm celebrating by buying an AR kit!

<Can you believe how far we’ve come? I can’t! Thanks everyone who's stuck with my autism so far

<Trying out something new for the choices and the art style. Please let me know what you think!

>>401427

< >>402273 has provided a link to the archive! The quality is much better than the PDF but some spoiler images still don’t work (particularly the last image I posted that is part of the CYOA, I can post any that and any other cyoa000 files that I’ve missed if you tell me the file names)

<As thanks to >>402273 I will work on that drawing and hopefully post it soon, fingers crossed!

>>402403

Happy Birthday, Cathy. Sorry for not following your fun autisms as closely as some of the others in this thread.

>>402403

>Gargoyle tiddy

Yes/10

Wut do? Fuck it, have Owen go with Cathy. She can even use her winghands for handholding, she stays pure for marriage if she doesn't use her arm hands :^)

For the firemaus? This isn't a case of good vs. bad … it's a case of what bad decision is less shit than the other. I vote for keeping firemaus under wraps so she can't get help and/or tell the rest of her gang what's going on … etc

>>402403

They should let Yue Pan go. But only after Cathy's Mom has a heart to heart with her. Yue Pan's gotta get out of this gangsta shit or she's gonna end up in prison or in a grave. Based on what has been inferred about Cathy's parent's experiences in the war I'm sure Charlotte has seen some shit way realer than stupid triad wannabe bullshit. Hopefully Charlotte can straighten the mouse out. Yue Pan's a monster girl. She should be finding a husband and making a happy family.

Meanwhile Cathy and Owen return the bracelet. The real character development is Coop and Tabby get some alone time. Gotta recharge that mana if you know what I mean. It's like the Doctor said: Jinkos are rare, they gotta repopulate.

Also: holy shit Cathy got some nice thicc tiddies. Paging >>>/ara/. Damn.

>>402411

<You're always welcome to join back in anytime, anon!

>>402468

>>402509

<two for Cathy and Owen one for Coop and Tabby getting it on

<one for keeping firemaus in our custody (I think?) and one for putting her on the straight and narrow could work together if you so wish

<Bumping for more votes!

>>402509

>Cathy is ara now

<Oh my. Maybe a thing for later:^)

>>402574

I'd like to add that I'm on board with Tabby giving Coop a [MEATY WHACK] if it's safe enough to do so. It's not going to hurt anything. Maybe Coop's pelvis but that's his fault

>>402707

>I may have gotten carried away

Nigga that is some top tier work right there. Many thanks.

>>402403

>Cathy wants to go give the anklet back to Jin Ying, who will go with her?

Mom.

>What should they do with Yue Pan?

Discuss that with dragon tiddies.

>>402707

Big brown girl are the best. Your best artwork yet.

>>402403

drop the rat in the middle if the desert

>>402758

Once again a saged post bumped the thread. Bizarre.

>>402574

I'm voting fo what these guys want

>>402810

<Which guys? Please elaborate!

>>402814

The votes in that update post

>>402821

Anon, there's a tie that needs to be broken regarding firemaus. I say "kidnap" .. and the other anon is saying "let her go"

>>402837

I'd say ditch her, she's just a liability at this point

>>402840

But not at the shop when we give back the anklet

“Hey… Owen.” Cathy began, breaking the silence. “I wanna give this back.” She took the anklet in one hand and dangled it for him to see. Owen glanced at it for a moment, then looked back at the road before them.

“You can’t be serious,” Mom groaned.

“Hey, you heard that crazy Danuki: you have ‘til tomorrow, let her do what she wants,” said Owen.

“You not take what rightfully mine!” Yue Pan hollered, “I get it fair and squ-!” A slap on the back of her head from Charlotte cut her short. She scowled, snarling behind her teeth before the gargoyle pressed the gun to her back to pacify her.

“… Fine. But you had better get us to that boat before eight.” Charlotte said.

“It’ll only take us a few minutes,” Replied Owen, turning down the street heading straight for the antique store. “Maybe you can use that time to figure out what the hell we’re gonna do with that one.”

“Hmm. Not a bad idea…” Charlotte said, eyeing her prisoner.

The semi stopped in front of the store, Cathy opening the door before Owen turned off the engine.

“Hold on, I’m coming, too.” Coop said, before Tabitha grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Oh no you’re not! We got a few hours, I’m usin’ ‘em!” The jinko said, pulling him into the back of the truck.

“HEY! Don’t you dare do that shit on MY bed!” Owen hollered at the two.

“You gonna stop us?” Tabby shot back, a threatening tone to her voice.

“No, but Cathy bled on the bedding.” Charlotte answered for him.

Tabitha looked at Coop who winced behind his shades. “That’s…” he started, before she shot him a look.

“Damnit, I don’t care! … FINE! When we get on that boat you’re all mine.” She ‘threatened’ him.

Coop groaned, “Alright, but we’re showering first.”

“Oh no, we don’t have time for that, I’m taking you how I find you.” Tabitha growled.

“Disgusting.” Yue Pan grumbled.

“You got a problem, rat? Maybe I’ll make you watch!” Tabitha hollered.

“You’ll do no such thing.” Said Charlotte.

“Then maybe we should dump her in the desert somewhere!” The jinko snapped.

“Just shut up, Tabitha,” Charlotte groaned.

“Yeah! You shut mouth, you look like stray cat with nasty fur!” Yue Pan spat at her before Charlotte slapped the back of her head again.

Tabby gave her a low growl, “One more word out of you and I’m gonna personally introduce you to jinko style pest control!”

“Come on, I’ll go with ya,” Owen said with a sigh, following Cathy out of the truck and onto the street. He slammed the door shut, the group still bickering inside.

“Are your friends always like that?” He asked, sliding his keys down a pocket.

“I’d like to say that’s the first time, but it’s nearly been like that the whole time.” Cathy sighed, embarrassed by the thought.

“And those two… they really gonna… do it on my bed?” Owen sheepishly asked.

“Hate to say, but I kinda walked in on the two of them at the hospital.” Cathy admitted, sticking her tongue out. “So you might want to wash your sheets twice before you sleep again.”

“No way… for real? You’re not serious are you?” He asked. “In a hospital, really?”

“Mmhmm. In the bathroom.” Cathy answered, grabbing his arm before he turned back to run towards his truck.

“I’m joking! Well… sorta.” She teased.

“Alright, I get it. Is that a them thing or a monster thing?” Owen asked, opening the door to the jewelry shop.

Cathy gasped in mock disgust before heading inside, “What? A monster thing? I’m offended, sir!”

“Alright, alright, but you get me, right?” Owen said, following her in. The bell rung before the shop went quiet once again.

“I guess it depends on the couple… I mean, I never saw my parents act that way.” Cathy answered, thinking on it.

“Well yeah, they’re your parents. They probably did it in secret.” Owen pointed out.

“Oh God, disgusting,” Cathy shook her head, “don’t make me think of that!”

“No, I’m serious! Your parents ever go out for ‘movie night?’ Huh?” Owen pushed on.

The gargoyle spun around on him shouting, “Stop!”

“They probably went to a hotel to bump uglies!” The onslaught continued.

“STOP!” A playful swat from her wing hand shut Owen up only for a moment before he laughed.

<Doublepost!

“Jin Ying!” He called before Cathy slapped him on the arm again. “We got your anklet or whatever!”

There wasn’t an answer. The place was still open, right? Cathy thought, looking back at the front door. Maybe not, but it was too late to go back now.

Glass was still scattered all about the floor and counters, the jewelry left in the cases.

“Jin Ying?” Cathy called out. Suddenly she could hear a moan followed by muffled sobs coming from upstairs. She looked at Owen who motioned toward the stairs, the two of them ascending each step slowly until they reached the last. A door met them at the end of the flight, thinly cracked open so either one of them could barely peer through. Cathy could see Jin Ying lying on a bed weeping into a pillow. Here we are cracking jokes, she chided herself. She straightened herself out, took the anklet in her hand and knocked on the door promptly. The dragon sniffled before stirring, curious to see who could possibly be at the door of her room.

When she opened the door, Cathy put on her biggest smile and held the trinket up for Jin Ying to see. The dragon blinked back more tears from her puffy eyes and for a moment she didn’t know how to react. Her face lit up as she caught Cathy’s contagiously cheerful manner, taking hold of the gargoyle’s hand.

“You! You… did it?” She asked, wiping away a tear with the back of her hand. Cathy smiled and pushed the anklet into her hands.

“I’m sorry for what happened earlier,” she began.

Jin Ying stared at the anklet, her wings flitting before she looked up.

“Oh, that? Forget that! My good luck is back! Bai Ying’s good luck is back! We will turn everything around and make a name for ourselves!” She cheered. The dragon turned and practically skipped over to an armoire, opening it up and withdrawing something she kept hidden in her hands. As soon as she came back she showed off a pair of matching rings, silver and sapphire as the dragon herself, one in each hand.

“You two have made it possible for my daughter to be prosperous! Here, these are much more valuable than that other trinket you want! Take them, Ying Family - my family - blessings, and make of them what you will! You are one of us now!” Jin Ying explained, taking each ring and placing them in their hands. Owen looked to Cathy who smiled back. There was no saying ‘no’ to a dragon, it seemed.

“You two are filthy like pig!” Yue Pan swore at Coop and Tabitha. The jinko was getting awfully grabby on her man, despite his protests.

“Tabby… you said you’d at least wait until we got to the boat.”

Even Charlotte had to look away from embarrassment. “You two are ridiculous,” she said, her face flush.

“Oh, everybody just shut up! I can’t wait any longer!” The jinko complained. “We’ve all been crammed into one vehicle after another with no second to get any real rest! If I can’t even fuck my man what’s the point?!”

A crooked smile spread across Coop’s face. “Oh, well when you put it that way…” he said, slowly wrapping his arms around her much to her excitement.

“If you two don’t stop I swear I’ll shoot you myself!” Charlotte barked.

“Then do it! But I’m still getting some!” Tabitha jeered, running her claws carefully through Coop’s hair.

“What’s gotten into you?” Replied Charlotte. “You’re acting like…”

“What? Acting like what, Charlotte?” The jinko asked. “Like rabbits?”

“Like a couple of fucking monsters!” Owen interrupted, flinging the door open. “I SAID NO FUCKING IN MY TRUCK YOU DAMN ALLEY CAT!”

“Yeah, Tabby, get a room!” Cathy jabbed, hopping up into the truck after Owen.

“Ha! Fine! At least he has the balls to say it!” Tabitha laughed, nodding at Owen. She reluctantly peeled away from Coop to retreat towards the back of the cab, her tail whipping back and forth as she passed through the curtains.

“Something’s got her riled up…” Cathy said, looking at Coop.

“What? I didn’t do anything!” He protested.

“Sure ya didn’t,” she said, following Tabby into the back. The jinko was leaning on the counter staring out the window as the truck began to move. Cathy cleared her throat but Tabby held a hand up.

“Don’t say anything. I just need to wait until we get on that boat…” She said,

Her voice having an edge to it.

Cathy sighed and sat on the edge of the bed in silence, watching her friend’s grip on the counter tighten as time went on. She must have been tired as well. Her hair and fur for that matter looked faded and she seemed to have trouble standing straight. Maybe her strangely aggressive behavior had something to do with that? Maybe it was natural for jinko? The gargoyle hoped they would reach the shipping docks soon, for her sake.

<Triplepost!

Owen cupped a hand over his mouth, letting out a yawn before putting on the brakes to the truck. They had made it to the docks with time to spare, now all they had to do was find the so called ‘cruise ship’ Migi mentioned called the MS Midway.

Coop would look for it, while Charlotte kept Yue Pan under her watchful eyes. Owen slowly drove around, making sure to stop at every ship docked so Coop could get a look, be it the big private yachts, the shipping freighters or even a dingy. At this point a dingy wouldn’t come as a surprise considering how Migi was - at least from what he heard. After that phone call it all seemed plausible.

“There!” Coop pointed out a ship moored to one of the larger piers. Owen raised a brow. It was Junko alright, judging from the fenced off area with the big ‘JUNKO PROPERTY KEEP OUT.’ He shook his head, amazing detective work, Coop, he chuckled to himself. Looking into the shipyard, there was only one boat at the pier. Instead of a private yacht anchored in the harbor this was more like a roll-on cargo ship he had ridden on once or twice in his line of work. It was a smaller variety, only large enough to carry a few mack trucks like his with their trailers on. He pulled the truck around to the front gate of the fenced off area, two large buildings at the front acted as both offices and a warehouse that stretched back to the pier by his guess.

“Hold on, before we go in…” Charlotte began.

Owen stopped the truck. “We gonna deal with the rat?” He interjected.

“Yes. I’ll handle it,” Charlotte answered, “Just don’t leave without me. I’ll be back soon.”

“What you mean ‘deal with?’ You not kill me!” Yue Pan protested.

Charlotte rolled her eyes and pushed the hinezumi out the other side of the truck, forcing her down the steps. She resisted at first until Charlotte grabbed her by the scruff and shoved her out.

“Dammit… let’s go.” Charlotte growled, leading her out the gate and slipping out into the late night road for a time. Real fear began to slowly work its way onto Yue Pan’s face. She seemed to come to the realization that no matter what she said she wasn’t going to live through the night.

Charlotte ignored it and shoved her forward. Eventually they came to a sign on the side of the road. The hinezumi stopped herself to look at her captor.

“What game you playing?!” She squeaked, before spotting the gun still in Charlotte’s grasp. Yue Pan backed up, her flames flickering weakly before she forced them to flare up.

“Y-you not kill me without a fight!” She threatened the gargoyle.

“You really think you’re hard, don’t you?” Asked Charlotte, her gun still trained on the mouse.

“I am! I am toughest in Chinatown! Toughest in any town!” Yue Pan boasted. “You… you kill me now and like I say, father kill you all!”

“Oh, yeah?” The gargoyle replied.

BAM! BAM!

<Quadpost!

“Are y'all the ones we’re ta take aboard?” The sahuagin leader asked, looking over the four standing before her.

“We have one more coming soon,” Answered Cathy.

“Well where in the seven hells are they?!” The sahuagin asked.

“What does it matter, we have time.” Tabby replied with a hint of snark. “We don't leave until eight in the morning, right?”

WHAP!

“I decide when we ship off!” The walking fish shouted.

The sahuagin had reached up and slapped the jinko across the face. Both Coop and Cathy were about to pounce on her before Tabby held up her hand. She smiled down at the sahuagin, rubbing her cheek.

“Not bad. So when do we leave?”

The blow was more shocking than painful. Even if she was the largest sahuagin she didn’t even come up to Tabitha’s shoulders. Still, she had guts so Tabitha held her tongue.

“We leave at dawn, but we don’t give free rides to layabouts! I don’t care who ya think y’are or whose seal is on that mail! Yer gonna pull yer weight until we get to what we’re gettin’ to, unnerstand?” She bellowed, pointing her cigarette at the others. Just then, Charlotte returned, marching up beside her daughter. The sahuagin eyed her intently.

“Are ya the last one?” She asked.

“I am.” Charlotte answered curtly.

“Fine. Ye’ll be gettin’ yer discipline soon enough!” She announced, flicking ashes at her.

“Anybody touches me and their life is forfeit.” She retorted.

“Says you, ya damned obelisk! Now fall in line!” The tallest sahuagin answered.

“Best do as she says,” Cathy whispered. “They’re our ride after all.”

Charlotte rolled her eyes, but obeyed. Her daughter was right, they still needed to play along if they were going to save Bill.

“Ziya, go tell the others to make ready,” The tallest sahuagin said.

“Aye, Captain Zimm!” The shortest one replied eagerly, rushing onto the ship’s ramp with a spring in her step.

“The rest of you go with her and get back to work, we’re shipping out soon!” The captain ordered her crew. Both humans and sahuagin all marched off, boarding the ship on either side. Before Cathy and the others could follow, Captain Zimm turned to them and scowled, “Not you. You come with me, Alla ya. Hey, you!” She said, pointing at Owen, “Don’cha worry abou’cher damned truck, neither. It’ll come with. Right now we need ta ‘ave ourselves a talk.” She said, herding them toward the office building. Once inside, there was a lobby with chairs lining the wall across the concrete floor. Captain Zimm pointed at them, directing everyone to sit before leaning against the wall opposite of them.

“We’re headin’ alla way to Alaska to look fer somethin’ our northern boys lost several months ago and I can’t afford to bring any leeches! Each one o’ ya’ll earn their keep in whatever way I see fit! Miss Migi wants ta hire mercenaries, then you’ll do as yer told! Is that unnerstood?”

Cathy was first to nod, “Yes, ma’am.”

“What was that?” Captain Zimm growled. “I work for a livin’, pebblebrains!”

“Oh, er - Aye, Captain!” The gargoyle answered.

“Humph! That’s better! She’s a quick learner, hope the rest of ya can do as much. Ya’ll each be paired into your own quarters, they’re standard bunks so make due.”

“So what is it we’re looking for, uh, Captain?” Owen Tabitha asked.

“I was just gettin’ to that, housecat! We don’t know what we’re lookin’ for. Like I said, northern Junko boys lost it in the snow… apparently we also lost THEM, so the worst is to be expected. We haven’t heard from any of the teams sent in to find ‘em either. Last we heard someone tracked alla way back to the research base where the shipment came from and was ne’er heard from again.”

“Well, that’s comforting.” Owen grumbled.

“What, ya got somthin’ ta add, lumberjack?” Captain Zimm quipped, taking another puff of her cigarette.

“We don’t know what’s there. Wildlife or mercenaries or what…”

“Mercenaries? Does that happen often?” Coop asked.

“Well sunshine, Junko don’t keep on top by smelling daisies and lilacs e’ry mornin’. Sometimes we gotta get dirty to keep our competitors from gettin’ any ideas.”

<Septpost!

“Dirty is an understatement.” Charlotte growled. “You bastards kidnapped my husband.”

“Oh did we now? Is he here? Then I didn’t ‘ave nothin’ ta do with that. I’m not in the kidnappin’ business, I’m in the security business, as in ‘we’re gonna secure Junko’s shit,’ geddit? Ya got yer reasons ta hate Junko, but leave that shit ‘ere ‘til we finish this or ya might not make it ta shore, got it gravel-tits?”

“You…” Charlotte grit her teeth, “You damned… pufferfish!”

Captain Zimm laughed, “I bet your ovaries turned ta stone a century ago.”

The gargoyle’s face turned a bright shade of red as her anger rose, but by some miracle she kept her mouth shut.

“Aw, and I was jus’ gettin’ started.” Captain Zimm chuckled, “any questions?”

“No.” Coop answered for the group, “Whatever it is we can handle it.”

“Good, I'll show ya to yer bunks. Lumberjack,

Go get yer truck and ride ‘er inna my ship. Tomorrow we’ll rig ‘er up with our equipment.”

Owen nodded, ”Aye, uh, Captain. What the hell did I get myself into…” he grumbled on his way out.

“I’ll uh, go help him.” Cathy said, rushing off after him.

“Oh sure! By all means, not like I had anything fer ya!” Captain Zimm called after her. “Pah! Damn kids.”

“Rest of ya, follow me.”

“Been awhile since I’ve smelled that… almost nostalgic, ha.” Owen laughed, walking away from the pier. Cathy kept pace with him, following him to the truck where they both hopped inside.

“Ugh, you like that smell?” She asked.

“No, didn’t say that. Just nostalgic is all. Back when I worked with people like that sahuagin.” Owen explained.

“Back when you worked for Junko?” Cathy inquired.

“I never was part of their company. I was contracted by them, only made some deliveries like I said. Might’ve been more than two though… When you have your own trucking business you do your best to get recurring clients. You can take jobs where you can but that’ll only get you so far. Junko gave me a short-term contract, a deal I’d’ve been a fool to refuse. Made so much money I was able to hire two more trucks onto my little company and rake in even more cash.”

“So what did you deliver?” The gargoyle asked, watching Owen start the truck and drive it expertly onto the ramp of the boat.

“Odds and ends. Building materials, oil, food, windows - that one was tough. Lumber, all sorts of stuff.” He answered, thinking back on it. “You know… after that call with Migi… I… I wonder if any of those were…”

“Stop it, Owen. Did you ever check your loads?” Cathy interjected.

“Yeah… I did. You’re right. Nothing weird… but…” He began scratching his beard.

“What…?” Cathy pressed him.

“There was that one time that they refused to open the trailer for me. Wouldn’t say what was inside other than it was dangerous stuff. Apparently radioactive, or at least that was the bullshit they were shovelin’. I noticed there was a ton of security with ‘em and they didn’t like me askin’ questions. Coulda been anything in there.” He answered.

Cathy swallowed instinctively, goosebumps spreading across her body. “So what happened?”

“That’s it, that was my last job with them. It all felt too fishy, so I played it straight and when it was over I ended my contract with them a month later.”

“You didn’t tell anybody?” Asked Cathy.

“What would I have said? Junko deals everything with practically everyone. I bet that gun of yours is made by them, much less that shirt you got on.” Said Owen.

Cathy narrowed her eyes. “Then why were you so opposed to the idea that they kidnapped my dad?”

Owen took a deep breath and sighed. “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t want to hear your story. I mean, it’s not every day someone steals your truck and tells you that some multi billion dollar international company kidnapped your dad and is playing Simon Says with you. I wasn’t thinking straight and I think you’d have done the same thing.”

Cathy smiled. “Well, I forgive you as long as you forgive me.”

“Hey, now, you got yourself a deal!” He said, holding a hand out. Cathy took it and shook it vigorously, still smiling away.

<Octopost!

The Captain led the remaining three to the MS Midway. It stank of the ocean and oil, as was to be expected, but the smell of sahuagin was much more prevalent now. The smell of fish mixed with the familiar odor of sweat and dirt as well as gasoline made for a terrible concoction. Tabitha held her nose as it hit her, while Zimm took a deep breath of it and sighed with delight.

“Nothin’ fresher’n the ocean!” She bellowed, flicking the butt of her spent cigarette onto the pier. The three followed her onto the ship, passing through the spacious inner hull where the excavating equipment and snow vehicles were parked. The guts of the ship echoed with the sounds of labor, crewmen of all kinds carrying crates and supplies or checking the hull or securing machinery to the floor. Everyone was doing something. Charlotte spotted a scylla working with several sahuagin to fasten down a rather large drill on treads, strapping it to the floor. Her eight tentacles tightened the ratchet straps down with ease, the group cheering after they were done only to move onto the next project - checking the flamethrowers. A harpy came flying down one of the openings at the top deck carrying tools in a satchel hanging from her waist. Her brightly colored feathers clashed against the dull gray and red paint of the inner hull. She chirped loudly, whistling a tune before landing next to two gremlins. Beside them was a strange box-like contraption with multiple gears and some kind of locking mechanism that the two were testing. The harpy landed too close to one of the gremlins and tripped over her, falling into the box before it snapped shut on her and locked her inside, the two gremlins panicking before prying it open with their oversized wrenches to release her.

“Ohmigosh, thanks girls! I thought I was done for!”

The harpy cheered.

“Dammit, Ripley! Next time I oughta leave ya in there!” One of the gremlins squawked at her. The harpy called Ripley giggled dumbly behind her wings.

“You wouldn’t do that! Who’d sing for you on this dreary tugboat?” She asked with a smile.

“Hell, anyone but you. Nobody likes your singing, Rip.” The other gremlin grumbled.

“Nu-uh! Captain Zimm likes my singing!” Ripley argued.

“No I don’t!” The Captain hollered at them as they passed by. “Put ‘er back in that thing and keep it shut!”

The two gremlins burst into laughter, only for the harpy to start to laugh with them, much to their annoyance.

“What’s with them?” Tabitha asked.

“Harpy fancies ‘erself a siren. She’s the errand girl. She’s also a pain inna ass in the mornin’, so get use ta th’ noise she makes real quick or get yerself some earplugs.” Captain Zimm warned.

“Great. Everything here is an offense on my senses.” The jinko muttered. Coop put a hand on her shoulder, which did make her smile Charlotte noticed. Behind them Owen and Cathy pulled in, parking not far from them before exiting the truck.

“Finally decided to join us, lovebirds?” Captain Zimm called.

“L-lovebirds?” Cathy stammered.

“Get o’er here an’ fall in line!” The sahuagin captain roared.

After joining up the six of them finally turned down a hall and wormed their way through the interior until they came to a set of doors.

“These’re yer rooms ‘ere. Two per. Nothin’ special. On o’ ya’ll be sharin’ a room with ‘er.” Said Zimm.

“Who?” All five asked.

“Who we were just talkin’ ‘bout! Rip!” The sahuagin answered bluntly.

Charlotte frowned, not happy about the news of a Junko bunk mate.

“Who?” Both Cathy and Owen wondered.

“Shitbird ya passed on the way in,” Zimm explained. “Don’t care who, but one o’ ya’s bunkin’ with ‘er.”

“Ohhh, not me.” Tabitha said, “I’m with him tonight! Every night for that matter!” She said, grabbing Coop before dashing into one of the rooms while slamming the door behind her.

Charlotte sighed, “I’ll chose then.”

A. Take one for the team, let Cathy stay in a room with Owen? You see something there and you’re still her mother, but most importantly like you she’s a monster. Cathy can’t stay pure forever and he’s shown that he can be reliable.

B. No way in hell! Owen can stay with the harping harpy. You won’t subject Cathy to it but you’re not gonna suffer through that torture either. Plus you’re still not 100% convinced Owen is right for your daughter. He needs to prove himself.

>>403442

After a well thought out and deliberated thought process lmao 1d2 fuckit I will go with option A and have Cathy/Owen share a room

>>403442

cathy should stay with her mom

that way, they can have a nice heart-to-heart or something

or maybe some TRUE gargoyle milf pictures :^)

>>403496

>A bitchy winglet is a better gargoyle than Cathy

U wot?

<Bumping for votes, will begin writing either tonight or tomorrow!

>>403496

>Spoilers

We'll see:^)

>>403487

<Soon

>>403459

<Don't you forget to vote, or worse shitposts than that will come when I'm bored.

>>403536

A, Owen needs to be some big trouble for Cathy's little china

>>403442

Let's go with A.

>3 years later it's still going

Did she get a boyfriend yet?

>>403584

lmao no Cathy is still clamjammed

>>403442

B. I don't think she'd be quite ready to push the two of them together like that. It's pretty hard to let your baby go. Maybe they can talk about it.

>>403438

I really liked this section.

>>403487

Yeah, why are people complaining about the harpy making noise? Everyone on the ship is going to feel the vibrations from what Tabby's about to do to Coop.

>>403559

Big Trouble in Little Cathy:^)

>>403584

What >>403588 said.

>>403598

<Well damn, you guys managed to tie it up again, so we actually get to do what I said in >>391071 I'm a little excited

>but if the votes tie up and are not resolved then something else might happen!

A and B are tied = C

<Time for someone else to develop their character!

>>403442

Some asshat decided to use my VPN to spam on this board.

Anyway, I forgot to vote. B, Cathy deserves better.

>>403930

i forgot to add

we need information about the situation we are heading, and the harpy seems like the one to spill the beans easily

As she thought it over, Charlotte noticed Cathy ribbing Owen about something with a grin on her lips. Owen’s face turned red as he tried to ignore her prodding. Something about their behavior made the older gargoyle smile.

“I’ll stay with this Rip-.” She began before a sudden gust of wind blew through the hall. When she looked, the harpy herself landed next to Cathy and smiled.

“Oh, hey! You guys are new, right?” Ripley asked, locking arms with Cathy.

“Uh, I uh, I guess?” The gargoyle answered, slowly trying to pull free from her.

“OH GOOD! That means I’m not the newbie anymore! Come on, girl! We got stuff to talk about!” Said Rip before dragging Cathy into one of the rooms.

“Hey, HEY! Wait a minute!” Owen shouted, chasing after them.

“Yeah, hey! Lemmie go!” Cathy cried, trying to wrench herself free.

“We’re gonna have a good time tonight so don’t sweat the small stuff! LISTEN UP SHRIMP! Ha! I’ve always wanted to say that!” The harpy said, doing her best to impersonate Captain Zimm before slamming the door behind them.

Captain Zimm shook her head, “Well… that settles that.” The sahuagin sighed. “God rest ‘er soul.”

“You can’t be serious,” Charlotte growled, “just get her out here!”

“Ya don’t geddit yet. Trust me, it’s easier ta just let ‘er go ‘til the mornin’.” Zimm replied. “Otherwise she’ll keep us all up with her whinging. Anyway, best get your rest while ya can.” She said before walking away.

Just as she turned the corner they could hear her chuckling to herself.

Charlotte grit her teeth, going for the door. The steel rungs didn’t budge no matter how much she struggled to turn it.

Charlotte grunted angrily as she strained against the handles. “Open this up you…-“

“Sorry, no can do! You gotta say the password!” The harpy called back. “Come on, newbie! We’re gonna get rid of that gloomy look and get some color in your life!”

“You better stop or I swear I’m gonna… I’m gonna punch you!” Cathy shouted.

Owen placed a hand on Charlotte’s shoulder. “You know… I think she’s gonna be okay.”

“She better be or I swear I’ll be having rotisserie harpy.” Charlotte spat, kicking the door. “Let’s go.”

“Go? Where?” Asked Owen.

“The only room left obviously. You got any brains left up there? Or did you fry them out on the road?” She sneered, marching into the last room.

“Ah. I was wondering when she’d be back,” Owen muttered, reluctantly following her in. The door clanked shut and the halls fell silent save for the muffled voices from two rooms.

<Doublepost!

Whump whump whap!

Cathy groaned, stuck sitting on the edge of her bunk while Ripley was busying herself painting her claws

On a stool. She had already painted the gargoyle’s toes and had moved onto her own. The harpy had multiple dyes collected on a vanity in her room that she had been using on her feathers to create a plethora of colors. Her hair was a vibrant blue, which had dull, gray roots. She had clearly not colored it recently, at least Cathy hoped that was the case and she wasn’t just incompetent. The harpy managed to keep her brush steady as she finished all four claws, making them a strange swirled color of purple and white. She seemed happy with the results, moving onto the other four.

Cathy cleared her throat abruptly, though the harpy didn’t take notice.

“So… what do you do around here? You know, besides… that.” She ventured to ask. That seemed to get her attention as her mouth turned upwards in a big smile.

“Ohohoho, miss! I am the fetcher, or at least that’s what the captain calls me! Probably because I’m so beautiful! Get it? Fetching?” Ripley replied. Cathy groaned before plopping her chin down on her fists.

“So you’re the gofer.” She inferred.

“Nope! No gopher here! I’m one hundred and ten percent siren!” Ripley said as a matter of fact, finishing up her claws and airing them out to dry.

“No, I mean, they send you out to get stuff.” Cathy clarified, trying her best not to sound annoyed.

“Yeah, or to be lookout, or to deliver messages when the communi… comminu… the walkie talkies don’t work!” Ripley explained. “All kindsa important stuff!”

“But you’re not really a siren, are you?” Asked Cathy.

“What? Of course I am! Don’t you see my pretty feathers and hear my lovely voice?” Squawked the harpy indignantly. “I’ll prove to you that I’m not a gopher!”

Cathy hid her face in the palms of all four of her hands. “No, that’s okay.” She groaned out. At once Ripley jumped to her feet, balancing on top of her feet like a ballerina as she belted out a song.

“I’M A HARPY GIRL, IN A HARPY WO-ORLD! MY VOICE IS MAGIC, IT’S FANTASTIC!” The screeching pierced the gargoyle’s eardrums, the pain of her voice like a thousand needles driving themselves into her brain.

“JESUS, STOP, WHY ARE YOU SO LOUD?!” Cathy yelled back, covering her ears with hands and wings.

The harpy stopped for a moment to hear someone yelling from next door. Cathy heard it too, her face turning red as she realized it was Tabitha.

“Oh God, more!” The jinko’s muffled cries came.

“A fan!”

Immediately Ripley smiled and began whistling a different tune loudly, something the gargoyle knew but couldn’t quite remember until the moment Ripley began to sing.

“SOME, BODY-“

“NOPE! OKAY, I BELIEVE YOU! Cathy hollered over the harpy. “You’re a siren! I was wrong! Boy was I wrong!”

“Oh! You get it, then! Finally someone gets it! So, whacha think? American Idol? America’s Got Talent? Maybe not, Simon Cowell wouldn’t understand my vision. What do you think?” Ripley wondered aloud, considering each choice with as much brain power as she could muster.

“I think you’d do better self publishing…” Cathy mumbled, slowly removing her hands from her ears.

“Do ya really think so?!” Ripley hooted, “I bet I could even go to Broadway! I could write my own plays and musicals and star in them and win every Tony ‘til the day I die!”

“It couldn’t come soon enough.” Grumbled the gargoyle, throwing herself down on the bed before grabbing her pillow.

“What’s that?” Asked Ripley.

“Your Tonys, I mean.” Cathy answered before stuffing the pillow over her ears.

“Oh! Well, yeah! And when I’m famous I’ll remember you, promise!” The harpy said, going back to her vanity to begin coloring her hair.

<Quadpost!

Charlotte covered her ears and grit her teeth. Those two were ridiculous! Between the literal screeching harpy and the sex crazed jinko she didn’t know which one she was more pissed at. The harpy was every bit as loud and obnoxious as the jinko was being, screeching in the night, sometimes trying to match Tabby’s cries of pleasure with her own wretched interpretation of it like some kind of drugged up duet of dumbasses. Cathy was certainly in Hell by her guess. Tabitha was fucking Coop like a rabbit in heat - no, as Owen said, like a monster in heat! They weren’t being shy about it either. It would come as no surprise if tomorrow the entire ship knew what had happened. Maybe that was Tabitha’s plan all along?

She couldn’t help but admire her brazen behavior even among Junko - the enemy! Somehow she wondered if she and Bill had been that way all those years ago. Cathy told her how the two had become an item, eerily similar to how she and Bill had met in the first place only the roles had been reversed. She admitted to herself that in the last few months she had missed him, his touch, his voice. With everything that’s happened it’s only made me… worse, she concluded. The phone call although short, was torturous for not only her but for Bill as well she knew. Whatever those Junko bastards had done to him… Migi meant business and they were going to have to speed this along if they were going to rescue him before she began mailing fingers to them. Stop thinking so morbidly, Charlotte, she chided herself, you have to stay positive… at least for Cathy.

“SOME, BODY-“ the harpy began again.

“Ripley!” Charlotte heard her daughter shout.

The gargoyle mother sighed, turning over in bed. God help her, she prayed silently. As she looked over she saw Owen across the room in his own bunk staring straight up at the ceiling.

“You up?” He asked, not moving.

“Ha. How could I not be?” She asked, turning away in a huff. “Why?”

“I just need to make sure I thought this through, comin’ along with you guys - willingly, I mean.” Owen said.

“We haven’t shipped out yet… you could always disappear in the night.” Charlotte suggested.

“That eager to get rid of me huh? Doubt they’d let me outta here with my truck, doubt anyone’s even asleep with all that racket. Not to mention your boy Coop still owes me ten thousand bucks and whatever you think you owe me.” Owen reminded her.

“Oh, I’m still working on that. You’d die for ten grand?” Charlotte scoffed.

“Nope. But I’ll live to get it, you watch.” He retorted.

“You sound like your mind’s made up then.” The gargoyle pointed out. Owen hummed, thinking on it for a moment.

“Maybe. I don’t know…”

Charlotte could tell he was deep in thought about something. Whatever it was wasn’t her business, but then again…

“Don’t know what?” She goaded him on.

“Well… Ahh it’s nothin’, nevermind.” He said, finally turning over to face the wall on his side of the room.

Charlotte raised a brow curiously. Maybe a change of topic will get him to talk?

<Sectpost!

“So… how do you feel about monsters?” She asked him outright. An awkward moment of silence passed between the two before he turned back to face her.

“Are you… comin’ onto me?” He asked, confused.

“Not me, you idiot!” Charlotte snapped hysterically. “Monsters in general! How do you feel about them?”

“What the hell for?” Asked Owen, sitting upright.

The gargoyle exhaled sharply. “Because I’m bored and we’re not going to sleep with all that damned noise any time soon! So you gonna answer me or what?”

“Alright, alright! I mean… you’re all people. Crazy people but I mean, I think your hearts are in the right place. I hope.” Owen answered. “You can get pretty bitchy yourself, y’know.”

“Yeah, I do know.” Charlotte replied, “Well, that’s just us, sure. But that’s just surface level. What do you like, or dislike?” She pried. “Monsters or women in general.”

The man across the room began scratching his chin hairs.

“That’s kinda personal, ain’t it?” He pointed out.

“I wasn’t joking, you really could die at any point during all this,” Said Charlotte. “You saw it first hand at the jewelry store. You coulda had your head blown off by that lizard.”

Owen shook his head. “Don’t remind me.”

“But that’s what I mean. All of this could go south and none of us could make it out alive. No harm in sharing, right?” Explained Charlotte, hiding her grin behind a hand.

“I don’t really know… I never really… thought about it.” He started.

Charlotte leaned up in her bed, looking over to the trucker. “Wait, you-…”

“No.” He cut her off. “I don’t swing that way.”

“Oh thank God.” She exhaled. “I wasn’t sure if you would… then again you would’ve probably alped…”

“What? Alped? Look, I didn’t touch your daughter either if that’s what you’re thinking. Thanks for that by the way, definitely wasn’t a bad situation to be in or anything.”

“I doubt it was that bad,” Replied Charlotte, now grinning ear to ear.

“Yeah, she only put me in a headlock and nearly killed me ‘cause she thought I was gonna molest her.” The trucker’s sarcasm only made Charlotte laugh. She sat up and faced him, leaning up against the wall.

“So you got grabbed by her first, huh? I’ll have to congratulate her for claiming a man.”

“Claiming a- what the hell, she didn’t- er… she didn’t do any of that.” Owen stammered, thinking back on it before turning away with embarrassment.

“So… she didn’t ravage you?” Charlotte asked, genuinely surprised. “When I got my first wound I got pretty riled up myself.”

“Too much info, thanks. Anyway, no, she didn’t ‘ravage’ me. At least not in the way you obviously wanted. Y’know you monsters got a funny way of expressin’ yourselves. You seem upset your daughter didn’t jump my bones and leave me a crippled mess.” Said Owen.

“Well… what can I say, beating around the bush doesn’t suit most of us.” Charlotte shrugged. “So you didn’t-“

“No.” Owen replied brusquely.

Charlotte raised a brow, “You really haven’t been with a monster before?”

“No!” He repeated.

<Septpost!

Charlotte sat in silence again, the squawking fool in the other room still driving her daughter another step toward insanity.

“You’ve never been with anyone, have you?” She asked bluntly.

Owen grunted, clearly annoyed and embarrassed by her questioning.

“Wait, so you’ve not been with anyone! Oh my God, you’re a virgin?” Charlotte laughed as though she had struck gold. Owen furrowed his brow, clearly fed up with the conversation.

“Well, excuse me for not havin’ the time or money for any of that.” He grumbled.

“You’re a trucker! Don’t you guys have those…. whatta ya call them? Lot lizards?” Charlotte asked jokingly.

“Yeah, only nowadays most of them are actual lizard women.” Said Owen, rolling his eyes. “They all got somethin’ to prove. You know how many guys I watched get beaten in armwrestlin’ by a lizard girl? They became laughingstocks among the other guys.

“So what?” Said Charlotte, “any of them take on the girls? Romantically I mean.”

“I’m sure a few of ‘em did, but a lot of ‘em felt fed up about the whole thing. Friends of mine. Felt like their world was turned upside down when monsters hit the scene. Like they wouldn’t be needed anymore.” Owen explained, sighing deeply. Charlotte raised a brow. What a load of bunk, she thought, men are just as important. She considered saying so, but she wanted to hear what this man had to say about it.

Owen continued, “They all up and left for the heartland, but all those anti-monster states aren’t gonna last long.”

“What about you? What do you think?” Charlotte inquired, happy to have him talking.

“I adapted. When all those other companies got bought up by Junko and monsters moved in I offered to work alongside them instead of running away. Sure, I had a few uh… run ins, but I kept my nose clean. A lot of people lost their jobs because they were afraid of them, but I wasn’t about to give up my ground just because a couple girls with big fangs moved in. Can’t help but feel like the culture changed for the better around them.”

“I remember something similar,” Charlotte began. “We stopped seeing kids on the streets, crime fell like a brick, at least for a time and there were fewer broken families. Then the monsters started to outnumber the men…You know, I think that was one of the reasons that damned war started in the first place…”

“So you get it.” Said Owen. “Like I said, you monsters have funny ways of expressin’ yourselves… Fighting over men. I don’t know about the rest of the world but there might be too many monster women and not enough men for ‘em in the States, least on this coast.”

“You’re a man.” The gargoyle asserted. “What’s stopping you from… you know.” Owen stopped to think about his answer for a few moments before he decided to share.

“I… want a son.” He said. Charlotte blinked a few times, trying to comprehend what he was implying.

“You… want a son?” She repeated the words as though they would help her better understand.

“Yeah. I probably don’t deserve ‘em.” He answered.

“Why do you say that?” Asked Charlotte.

“Forget it. It wouldn’t work anyway, I hear a lot of monsters have low birth rates, especially for boys.” He said.

“That’s your reason? You’ll never have a son if you don’t get busy.” Replied Charlotte.

“That’s not it… I don’t mean to offend but what if he’s a… a monster? I want a human son.” Owen explained.

“Oh. Oh! Haha!” Charlotte began to laugh, the harpy matching her from the other room only for Cathy to shout something at her.

“You don’t know?” She asked, trying to catch her breath.

“Know what?” Owen shot back, not amused with being laughed at.

“You really don’t know?” She egged him on.

“What, damnit, what’s so damn funny?”

Charlotte finally caught her breath, sitting upright to look him in the eye.

“Monsters give birth to human boys.”

“… What? That’s not true. There’s no way - how is that even possible?” Owen denied vehemently.

“I don’t know the science behind it but it’s true. Several friends of mine decades ago gave birth to perfectly healthy human boys. They all grew up into a fine, young, human men.” She explained.

“How…?” The man wondered, shaking his head. “How did I…”

“You ever see a ‘monster man?’” Charlotte asked.

Owen sighed. “Now that I think about it I guess not… so I was worried over nothing?”

“Seems that way.” Charlotte said with a smile. “So how do you feel about monsters now?”

Owen threw himself back down on the bed, turning over to face the wall before wrapping himself back up in his blanket.

“Well?” The gargoyle pried.

“I’m goin’ to sleep. G’night.” Owen grumbled. Charlotte couldn’t help but smile. One more step and maybe after a time…

<Octopost!

The morning came quicker than expected. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon when Captain Zimm had everyone gather on the top deck for the morning briefing. Cathy and crew were introduced to the sailors as a small squad of mercs hired by Junko to go on this extraction job. Cathy looked and felt like hell, having gotten zero sleep at all with the help of the harpy from hell. Ripley seemed completely the same as though she had slept the whole way through. The faces of the crew members all knew, some sympathetic while others stifling their laughter. They all knew too well what had happened and must have felt some satisfaction that someone else in the world knew their pain. The harpy was like a shrieking child from nightmares who might have been more than a few screws loose if she had any to begin with. After she had finished what she called singing she chatted herself to sleep like the kind of schizophrenic siren she marketed herself as. Tabitha looked well rested, her skin and hair much more vibrant and colorful. Her romp in the sheets obviously did her some good, Cathy figured, feeling a little irritated with her. The same couldn’t be said of Owen, as he looked just as she did - dead on his feet.

Owen seemed relatively unaffected as did Mom. They were probably used to this - at least more so than she was, thought Cathy.

“ALRIGHT PEOPLE, WE’RE SETTIN’ OUT!” Captain Zimm bellowed over the crew. “GET TA WORK AN’ MAKE ME PROUD!”

Immediately the crew dispersed and went about their business of making the ship ready. Captain Zimm beckoned the five over to her, having them follow her up the steps to the bridge. Cathy would have tripped dragging her feet up them had Tabitha not caught her by the wing and set her upright.

“Careful, Cathy!” She laughed, patting her on the back before heading in before her.

“Come on, Cathy… let’s get this over with.” Owen mumbled, following the jinko in. Cathy managed to make it inside this time without incident, finding a few crew members at the helm with Captain Zimm. The older sailor from before and the shrimpy sahuagin called Ziya were with her.

“Hope ya had a good night,” Captain Zimm chortled, “I know the rest of us did, what with not havin’ ta hear that bird brained idiot fer the first time inna year.”

“Yeah… thanks.” Cathy muttered.

“Got somethin’ ta say, pebble head?” The sahuagin captain jeered.

“No, Captain.” Cathy responded, gritting her teeth. It was bad enough not getting any sleep but to be subjected to these schoolyard insults so early in the morning…

“Anyway, the trip’ll take about two days roughly, so best fall in line.” The Captain explained. Cathy’s heart sank. Looking to the others she knew they felt the same. That was only going to leave them with eight days to find this thing and get their next breadcrumb.

“We want our weapons back.” Charlotte demanded.

“Ha, fat chance. You’ll have ta wait.” Said Zimm. Charlotte made to charge her, but Tabitha and Coop grabbed her shoulders and held her back.

<Nonpost!

“How long?” The gargoyle questioned her.

“Ha! As long as I bloody well say, now keep yer trap shut and lissen! Anyways, ‘ere’s ‘ow the day’s gonna go. The two o’ ya,” she said pointing at Coop and Tabitha, “you’ll be startin’ with the laundry after you’ve finished scrubbin’ yer room clean o’ filth. You two got busy last night - don’t even try ta deny it, could hear the slappin’ and the moanin’ all the way up ‘ere. This ain’t a getaway honeymoon fer lovey-dovey hand-holdin’ debauchery! Report ta Mavis when yer done. Now get outta my sight ya deviants.” She sounded more impressed with them than insulted by Cathy’s interpretation, but she chalked it up to sleepiness as both Coop and Tabby exited the bridge, the jinko beaming, practically carrying her man while he looked absolutely miserable.

“As for you, lumberjack, you know how ta turn a wrench?” Asked Zimm.

Owen hesitated before answering, “… Aye, Captain.”

“Good, You’ll be workin’ with the squirts in the hull with their magic box o’ fun. Maybe the three o’ ya can trap that worthless featherbrain in it fer good. Would do us some good around ‘ere. Go on now.”

As Owen exited the bridge he looked back at the two gargoyles left behind before shutting the door.

“So, mother an’ daughter, huh?” Zimm began.

“Clever to figure that out, what tipped you off?” Charlotte sneered. “Know a lotta gargoyles?”

“Shut yer gob an’ drop the mean bitch act or I’ll drop ya like an anchor.” The captain scowled. “If ya had any relation ya might say I was thrown off by yer daughter on account o’ those, ya damn winglet.” She pointed to Cathy’s extra appendages draped over her shoulders. “Most gargoyle’s I’ve ‘ad the displeasure o’ knowin’ at least had a pair o’ them. Not as big mind ya, but alla ya are a buncha crag ‘eaded, oversized paperweights.”

“So did you call us here to spew insults and listen to your own voice or did you have something for us to do?” Cathy snapped. “In case you forgot, I just had to deal with the world’s worst songbird and I’m not in the mood for this shit. Tell us what we’re doin’ or I’ll bring her up here and staple her to the goddamn wall for you.”

Captain Zimm stared the gargoyle down for a moment, looking her in the eyes before bursting out into laughter.

“Oh hell, you really mean it! Haha! Alright then girlie, well your winglet of a mum’s gonna be workin’ in the kitchen with ol’ Anton ‘ere.” She ribbed the old sailor beside her. “Maybe he can teach ‘er some manners while ‘e’s at it. As fer you, since you ‘volunteered’ last night I think I’ll cut ya some slack an’ let ya choose yer duties today.

A. Go help Tabby and Coop with the laundry, share some info, maybe they can figure out what the hell Ripley was talking about?

B. Help Owen with the gremlins, you might be able to get some more info out of them.

C. Help Mom in the kitchen. You may need to help keep her cool so she doesn’t lash out and do something crazy.

D. You will babysit Ripley to earn both Captain Zimm and her crew’s approval. You may get more freedoms in doing so, but at what cost?

E. Suggest something else? Investigate something? Offer to help in some other way?

You can do at most two choices this time around as you'll be spending some time on this tub.

<This was suppose to be a shorter post lol

<Opening up choices for a bit to see how it plays out.

<As always suggestions are welcome, though they may be tacked onto other choices as well if you like.

>>403637

<Sorry m8, already had the votes tied up when I started writing! I should have been more clear.

>>403931

<We had similar thoughts I see. no flying indoors please

>>403991

B. Help Owen with the gremlins, you might be able to get some more info out of them.

>>403991

>puts on autism hat

A: Tabby and Coop were too busy with babymaking practice, and Coop's pelvis is is likely several shades of purple. And these two are in it for the long haul, can always talk about things off ship.

B: Going with Owen to fix things in another part of the ship will give Cathy a chance to take note of any odd things. Even if said chance is incredibly short. Also she can stare at Owen's ass if she fancies some eye candy.

C: This is going to go nowhere productive. Can't coerce anybody into talking because Cathy's tied to a stove. However, it would be prudent for Cathy to tell winglet her mom to keep her head down.

D: Doing this for freedom? Makes no sense. You're on the ship for what … two days? From this angle it makes no sense. BUT … Ripley's a goddamn moron. One who likes to talk. So there's one benefit, although Cathy should make a mental note to chat with Ripley the special sparrow after the day's work is done.

So I pick option E:

>Quick "don't fuck it up" to mom

>Take mental notes of things while going to help Owen but don't be a fucking tourist about it

>Get gremmies to talk when working with Owen

Finally caught up

E- go chat up the janitors/housekeeping/whatever. This will also probably earn Cathy props with Cap'n. The people who unfuck things hear EVERYTHING

>>403991

>>404018

Seconding this vote.

> Her hair and fur for that matter looked faded and she seemed to have trouble standing straight. Maybe her strangely aggressive behavior had something to do with that?

> "I don’t remember you being this big last time"

> Tabitha looked well rested, her skin and hair much more vibrant and colorful. Her romp in the sheets obviously did her some good

Dr. Fetch's last batch really did work. I wonder if anyone will notice that Tabby and Coop are becoming a fully powered up jinko and jinko incubus couple. Also makes me wonder what Sam is doing to the Doctor and her poor kidnapped date.

> lewds were fun but got more feels from the doofy "siren" singing her heart out

what is this place doing to me?

-TOLD ME THE WORLD IS GONNA ROLL ME

<Gonna bump for some votes!

<After tonight I'll start writing again.

<So far mostly suggestion votes! (which is perfectly fine, working as intended:^)

<B, 1 (technically 2)

<E1, 1 ( mix of C and B)

<E2, 2 Chat up with janitors/housekeeping/whatever (general maintenance?) on account of people who fix everyone's fuckups hear people talk.

<Reminds me of Cathy 1 votes, nice!

>>404018

<Glad to hear it! More glad you can participate now!

>>404040

<Nice digits.

>Dr. Fetch's last batch really did work.

Who knows? :^)

>Sam and the doctor

<I don't believe they kidnapped her date but as far as I'm concerned they may have been simply voted off the island unless there's some weird demand to see them again.

>lewds were fun but got more feels from the doofy "siren" singing her heart out.

>What is this place doing to me?

<Hey man, Broods over Lewds. Nothin' wrong with that.

>>403991

D because I like the harpysiren. she should sing some more

The gargoyles looked at one another for a moment, Cathy slowly regaining her composure. She hadn’t expected Captain Zimm to take her outburst so well, but given that she had Ripley as her bunkmate… like the captain said, she was just cutting her some slack.

“Lemme think about it…” Said Cathy.

Zimm Scoffed, “Make it quick.”

The gargoyle considered her options. Tabitha and Coop had each other and would be fine on their own, she concluded. Besides, there was no way she was about to clean up after them. It’s bad enough I’ve caught them in the act and heard them go at it twice now, Cathy thought, I don’t need to see the aftermath.

She looked at the man called Anton. Scruffy, short, had one eye near permanently screwed shut. His good eye switched from staring down Mom to glowering at her. He seemed to be in a bad mood. That or maybe that was just how he was, but Cathy was confident that her mom could handle herself with him and just about anything else on this tub. If he was stupid enough to try anything she’d make minced meat out of him.

Another option could be keeping Ripley busy but to Hell with that! There’s no way I’m gonna willingly subject myself to that, Cathy told herself.

“Well?” The captain pressured her.

Cathy nodded, having come to a decision.

“I’ll go help with that ‘magic box’ you mentioned, Captain.” She answered.

“Curious ta see the squirts at work? Or’s there another reason?” Replied the Captain, grinning crookedly. Before Cathy could object the sahuagin laughed. “Fine, get to it. You too, winglet, I expect breakfast’ll be somethin’ truly special, right Anton?”

The scruffy sailor grunted as he gave her a nod, walking to the door to wait for Mom. He grumbled something at her, looking rather impatient. She glanced at her daughter, rolled her eyes and followed, Cathy doing the same until the three left the bridge.

“Just take it easy, Mom…” Cathy whispered. “I know it’s been said a hundred times, but we gotta be patient. Last thing we need is to get thrown off this ship.”

Mom tightened her fists for a moment before she exhaled sharply, “You’re right… ha, never thought I’d see the day you’d be lecturing me.”

Cathy smiled, “Like you used to tell me: don’t do anything stupid.”

Anton huffed and puffed a jumble of words as if to hurry them along. Mom shook her head and sighed, heading down the steps.

“Keep your shirt on, I’m coming!” The gargoyle said, shoving passed the cook. Cathy watched as the two made their way down into the guts of the ship, their voices all but disappearing into the cacophony of work down below deck. The gargoyle took a deep breath before heading down herself, finding her way back to where she had originally seen the two gremlins.

On her way she noticed a few things, an alcove behind the stairs that lead to a couple of doors.

There was a keycode lock on one of them and a fire axe was hanging on the back wall not far from the door as well as an extinguisher, but there were no markings or signs otherwise. Could be worth checking into later, or it could be nothing, Cathy thought before heading out to the main chamber in the hull. The ship felt much bigger on the inside than it seemed.

<Doublepost!

Ripley gasped, somehow contorting her wings to cover her mouth.

“YOU WOULDN’T!” The harpy crowed at them. “Don’t leave me up here to die!”

“Shaddup! Ellen, open the drainage valve! I gotta tell maintenance what the hell happened so they can turn off the damn alarm! Hey you, help the eye candy over there with the tarp! If that box gets damaged then we’re up shit creek!” The first gremlin shouted at Cathy. The gargoyle didn’t hesitate. She rushed over to Owen who was opening the tarp as quickly as he could.

“Hey, decided to join the party huh?” He asked sarcastically, giving her a half-cocked smile. He quickly tossed her one of the tarp’s ends.

“Yeah, I thought you guys were having too much fun so I let her loose.” Cathy said, bobbing her head back at the harpy uselessly flapping her wings behind the pipes. She took her end of the tarp and together they lifted it over the gremlin contraption, blocking it off from the sprinklers. Thankfully the other gremlin Ellen, had opened the drain valve and the water on the floor receded down to the corners of the ship, leaving only small puddles behind.

Soon after the alarm turned off as did the fire prevention systems, leaving Cathy and Owen standing completely drenched to their socks.

“Oh thank God, I thought we were gonna drown there,” Cathy joked, brushing wet locks of hair from her face.

Owen rolled his eyes, but still he chuckled. He wiped away the water running down his face and looked up at the harpy, his smile turning to a scowl.

“What the hell were you doin’ causing all that trouble?” He called up to her.

“HELP ME, HELP ME-E!” The harpy called back, wiggling her legs and spreading her wings like a fledgling harpy might on their first day of flying lessons.

“Ow, jeez! Enough already! Carla, how are we gonna get her down? The scissor lift’s locked up!” Said Ellen, coming back from the emergency drain valve. The other gremlin called Carla leaned to the side and tried to pat the water out of her fuzzy ear.

“I guess we could get a ladder, but how are we gonna pull her out without gettin’ stuck up there ourselves? I said it before, she oughta rot up there. Already warned her one time.”

Cathy groaned, approaching the two gremlins reluctantly.

“I… think I can help with your uh… bird problem.” She offered. The two gremlins ears perked up.

“You can?” They both replied, “how?”

Cathy slowly outstretched her wings, pointing at Ripley with one of them.

“Whoa! You got huge guns there!” Ellen praised her.

“Thanks, grew ‘em myself.” The gargoyle laughed. “Just get me a ladder and I’ll get her down.”

“Great! We’ll be back with it in a jiff! Come on Ellen!” Carla cheered, the two rushing off. Cathy turned to Owen who shook his head.

“I grew ‘em myself?” He quoted her before smirking.

“You’re laughing, you’re laughing on the inside.” Argued Cathy.

“HELP ME-E!” Ripley cried out again. Both of them sighed and did their best to avoid looking at the caged bird. It didn’t help as not a moment later did the harpy spot Cathy and make a loud gasp.

“BESTIE! You gotta help me! Someone put these stupid pipes in my way and now I’m stuck! I think it was those mean little gremlins! You gotta watch out for them! They’ll snatch up your boyfriends! No joke!” She peeped, trying and failing at making the saddest face she could. Does she think I didn’t see any of this happen, Cathy thought staring up at the ‘siren.’ And what the hell does she mean ‘snatch up your boyfriend?’ Is she talking about Owen? He’s not my… She took a long, deep breath and sighed once more, her face turning a shade of red when the two gremlins returned with a ladder in speedy fashion.

A moment later the gargoyle was climbing up the rungs until she was high enough to reach the harpy. ‘Boyfriend?’ What’s up with this harpy…? Cathy wondered.

“Rip, I need you to hold your wings out and stay PERFECTLY STILL! Understand?” The gargoyle asked.

“Perfectly still! Like an ice sculpture! Oh no! But ice melts! What if I melt, Bestie?!” Ripley wailed.

Cathy grabbed her legs and belly, slowly lifting her up from the pipe, but her arms strained under the harpy’s struggling. She grit her teeth, having expected her wings to hurt from the explosion only a few days back. The real pain however was in her chest. I said it myself, she thought, I took a shell or two of buck. Still hurts like hell!

All her frustration was building up again and she quickly directed it at the harpy.

“Be. QUIET!” The gargoyle barked, yanking on her.

CLONK!

<Quadpost!

That seemed to work, whatever she did as Ripley stopped moving altogether, sliding off of the pipe with relative ease. The gargoyle hoisted her onto her shoulders with her big wings, carefully carrying her down the ladder until she reached the bottom.

With Cathy landing on her feet, the motion seemed to jolt life back into Ripley and she immediately began to flap her arms.

“I’m falling! I’m falling! Help HELP!” She squawked.

“You’re fine! Stop shouting!” All four hollered back at her.

“Oh. You’re right!” Replied Ripley, now smiling again. Cathy sighed, putting her down on the floor. Had it not been for her personality, she might not even recognize her. Ripley’s wings were now a less colorful gray, her skin and clothing smudged by grease or washed out by the sprinklers. When she looked carefully however, there was a red spot on her chin. Must have been what happened back there. Whoops, Cathy mused.

All that work she put in last night amounted to nothing and she didn’t seem to care in the least.

“Haw, shucks guys! I’m sorry!” Ripley chirped cheerfully. “I made a mess again, but my Bestie here bailed me out!”

“Bestie huh?” Owen couldn’t help but laugh. “You two sure did get along last night.”

“Not as well as the other two,” Cathy grumbled.

“Oh. Yeah, I uh… see what you meant about them. They got along a little too well.” Owen snorted, watching the harpy rush off to bother the two gremlins. She was shouting something about them being awful people, but Cathy couldn’t care less.

“I’m kind of jealous of them.” She admitted.

“Of your friends?” Owen asked, giving her a sideways glance.

“Uh… no I mean them!!” The gargoyle tried to save herself, shrugging towards the other three. “H-hey! We better go help the gremlins out with their b-box thing!” She left behind a wary Owen, heading right over to the three. I can’t believe I said that out loud! Cathy panicked, I hardly even know him! He doesn’t need to know that! Stupid!

“Bye Bestie! See ya tonight!” Ripley called, running off down the main corridor. Ellen and Carla had sent the harpy packing and were already pulling the tarp off of their contraption.

“We gotta make sure this thing has no water in any of its joints!” Said Carla.

“How come?” Cathy asked, taking the tarp from the two to fold back up.

“If it gets iced up in the joints or seams then it’ll be completely useless! It’s gotta be air tight!” Ellen explained, wiping the side of the box with a spare rag.

“What is this thing anyway? Some kinda trap?” Owen asked, picking up a rag to help. Cathy shied away from him, feeling self-conscious. She took a rag from Carla to soak up the water on her end, trying to keep busy.

The two gremlins smiled at one another before answering, “I call it the Zero-Space Box!” Said Ellen.

“I call it the Portable Vacuum!” Said Carla.

Ellen was taken aback, “Hey! I thought we agreed on Zero-Space Box?”

“No, you wanted to call it that and never even asked my opinion!” Carla retorted.

“Fine! What would you guys call it?” Asked Ellen.

<Quintpost!

“Well, what does it do?” Cathy answered with her own question. The gremlins exchanged a look before nodding at one another.

“It uh… it kinda collapses in on itself to create a mini vacuum in the span of a second. It’s pretty dangerous really. Rip’s lucky it didn’t ‘rip’ her head off.” Carla admitted.

“Whoa! Really?” Said Owen before he stepped away from it.

“Oh, don’t worry! It’s closed now, and Rip wasn’t really in any danger… I think.”

“What do you mean you think?” Cathy asked, frowning.

Carla shrugged, “I mean it wasn’t even working yet, right, Ellen?”

“We almost had it working, but Ripley got in the way and well… the box almost ate her. Again.” Said Ellen.

“Elle-en! She didn’t need to know that!” Carla scolded her.

Owen covers his mouth, “It happened right in front of me.” He laughed. “She was squakin’ and strugglin’ so much when we released her that - well… that happened.” He said pointing at the broken pipes.

“Whatever! That idiot’s fine now so who cares?! You gonna help us name it or not?” Ellen asked, jabbing a finger at either of them.

Cathy looked over the box at Owen, who stared back.

“What is this… for?” Asked Owen, clearly a little weirded out by the machine box.

“Could help us name it.” Cathy interjected. She was curious about it as well, waiting for the two gremlins to deliberate.

“It’s uh, it’s for the thing we’re looking for! To secure it! Right?” Carla said, prompting her counterpart.

Ellen nodded, “Yeah, we don’t know if it leaks anything like radiation or what so we’re taking some extra precautions to make sure it doesn’t hurt anyone or uh - get damaged! Boss’d have our heads if we came all the way down here only to break the piece to the puzzle!”

“Puzzle?” Cathy repeated.

“Hey, don’t worry about that, we’ve been slackin’ off for too long! Let’s get back to work! Carla, open the box but make sure it’s off this time!” Ellen said, tossing the other gremlin ratchet wrench. Carla caught it and - after flipping several switches on the back she placed it on a large bolt and began to turn it. Sure enough, the box slowly began to open like a jaw until it was fully extended. The inside of the box looked relatively simple, two halves of a spherical mold rested inside the ‘teeth’ of this box with several circuits running around it as well as several short rods protruding at the bisecting points. As Carla turned another bolt the rods began to sink back into the sides of the box.

Owen did a double take, mentally measuring the size of the inner box he was unsure of how anything significant would fit inside. ”Hey… uh - oof!” He grunted, Cathy elbowing him in the side.

“Why don’t you guys just keep it simple? Call it the black box? Or the puzzle box?” She suggested before shooting Owen a dirty look. He seemed to get the message, keeping his mouth shut.

“Hey, you know, you might be right! Ellen, whattaya think of Black Box?” Carla asked, going back to wiping any water out from the cracks in the box.

Ellen was checking the circuitry inside, making sure there was no moisture inside before bobbing her head.

“I kinda like Puzzle Box, I mean this thing is a mastercraft puzzle, so nobody’s gonna get in or… well, you know!”

Cathy knelt down to mop up some water on the corner of the box, locking eyes with Owen. He knew as well as she did that this sounded strange. Obviously this box wasn’t just for some part judging from the way they talked about it. But if it was what she thought it was, how could they fit inside with all those rods, retractable or otherwise?

“Alright, that seems to be all of it, now we can get back to testing this thing!” Ellen smiled, producing a tennis ball.

“What’s that for?” Asked Owen.

“You’ll see! Ready, Carla?” Asked Ellan. Carla tightened the bolt back down to close the box before flicking on several switches.

“Ready!” She said, picking up a corded handheld trigger from the back of the box.

Ellen gave the ball a toss, lobbing it at the box when Carla pulled the trigger.

<Sectpost!

WAKLANG!

The metal gear box opened and clamped shut in the blink of an eye, the tennis ball falling to the ground - or at least half of it did. The ball had been bitten in half by the gremlin contraption, leaving a hollow, fuzzy half husk behind.

“Uh… that wasn’t supposed to happen.” Carla said, turning off all the switches. Ellen pulled a pair of goggles out of her pocket and put them on.

“Hey, four-arms, get me the screwdriver! The pneumatic one! It’s hanging over there on the wall!” She ordered, taking a wrench to remove the lugnuts off a box panel.

Cathy hurried to the wall where the air powered tool was hanging and quickly snatched it up.

When she brought it back she handed it down to the gremlin who passed up her wrench.

“Cool, hold this. Carla, open her up!” Ellen hollered before removing a secondary shielding plate. Inside was a jaw like mechanism that she began to crank back the moment Carla had fully opened the box.

“What’s that?” Cathy asked.

“It’s a little timer.” Ellen answered between revving her screwdriver.

“What do you need a timer for…?” Cathy asked, already certain of the answer.

Ellen stopped with her screwdriver and frowned at the gargoyle. “Hey, Beardie, come hold this wrench for me.” She said before snatching it out of Cathy’s hands.

“Why don’t you go make yourself useful somewhere else, you’re distractin’ me.”

Cathy rolled her eyes, “If you say so.” She said before tossing the wrench to Owen. “I’ll talk to ya later. Try not to get eaten by that box.” She told him before heading back toward the front of the hull.

“Where’re you goin’?” He asked.

“I just remembered I promised I’d help with maintenance!” Cathy fibbed, running off before Owen could offer reply.

“Mavis prefers ‘servicing,’ forearms!” Carla called after her.

Obviously she had pushed some buttons with Ellen by asking too many questions, the gargoyle figured. But how can I not ask questions when they’re all acting so suspicious and shifty? That box is definitely some kinda cage, but for who? Or what?

“Whoa there! Gargoyle!” Someone called from the side. When Cathy looked she saw that scylla and her entourage of fish girls mopping up all the water from Ripley’s little incident.

“Seen ya come an’ go through here more’n once now, gargal! What‘cha up tae?”

“Just looking for something to do, really. You guys the uh, servicing crew?” Asked Cathy.

“That’s right, and you’re one a’ them mercenaries we brought along, aren’tcha? I’m Mavis, I’m the head a’ the servicing crew.” She said, offering a hand.

“I’m Cathy.” Replied the gargoyle, taking her hand and shaking it. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Oh, pleasure’s mine, I’m sure. Say! You wouldn’t happen tae know what all this ‘ere’s about?” Mavis asked, waving her mop at all the puddles her crew was currently cleaning up.

“Oh, that? Ripley.” Cathy answered. Mavis’ friendly smile turned sour as she heard the name.

“Ah. That numpty. I should ‘ave known. What did she do this time?” Asked Mavis, “I swear she’s nuthin’ but trouble. ‘Aven’t an inklin’ as tae why Zimm keeps ‘er aboard.”

“She broke some of the pipes where the gremlins are working. Had to pull her down myself.” Cathy explained. Mavis grit her teeth, holding her mop to the gargoyle before slapping her tentacles on the floor. Cathy took it, watching as the scylla’s anger boiled over.

“AGAIN?! O-OH, If I get my suckers on ‘er I’ll squeeze the life a’ her an’ I dinnae think I’ll ever stop! I’ve told ‘er a thousand times no flyin’ below deck an’ what does she do?!” The scylla bellowed.

“She flies below deck.” Mavis’ crew of sahuagin answered in unison, clearly having heard this spiel on several occasions.

“SHE FLIES BELOW DECK!” Yelled Mavis, shaking her fists and slapping her tentacles.

Suddenly Cathy felt a little bad for the harpy, but she couldn’t help but understand Mavis’ outburst given the morning she had.

“Those gremlins, you were with ‘em? Did they do anything tae clean up the mess?” Mavis asked, crossing her arms. Cathy nodded, using her mop to wipe up the closest puddle.

“Well… sorta. They mostly just wiped off their box and any puddles close by, but the pipe is still broken and there’s probably still water all over the place.” She answered.

“Huh! Typical gremmies! Only care for their own! Come along, lovelies, we need tae finish up here an’ go clean up the rest of the guts. Would ya do me a favor, Cathy? Would ya come with me tae get us some pipes tae fix that broken one? Should be some extra ones in the supply room.” Said Mavis.

Cathy nodded, handing off her mop to one of the sahuagin who took it happily and used it to finish off another puddle before moving on.

<Septpost!

Mavis led Cathy to a double door at the far end of the lower deck marked ‘supplies.’ The scylla removed a keyring from her belt and fiddled with it a moment before unlocking the doors and swinging them open. Inside there was an open room with several shelves filled with boxes of nuts, bolts, screws and all sorts of drawers labeled by the hand tools inside. There were also pallets of materials: steel sheets, two-by-fours, and as luck would have it, pipes in many sizes.

“Grab the longest one there, gal,” Mavis pointed at the assorted piles.

“But we don’t know which one-“ Cathy began to protest before the scylla sighed.

“Oh, trust me,” she said, finding a brand new sprinkle and some pipe joints, “I know exactly which one that finch broke. She does it every week, gal! EVERY WEEK! Drives a girl mad, I tell ya! And the singing!”

“I… know about the singing.” Cathy recalled, cringing at the thought of spending another sleepless night with the harpy.

“Do ya, gargal? Do ya truly? Has she regaled ya with her poems yet? They’re absolute trite!” Mavis spat.

Again, Cathy couldn’t help but feel a little bad for the harpy playing siren. “Seems like everyone hates her,” she found herself muttering.

“Hate? Oh no, I just wish she’d grow up! Those gremmies are no help to ‘er neither! They may act like they hate her singin’ an’ ‘er poems, but they egg ‘er on an’ tell ‘er that it’s all an act everyone puts on! Because we’re jealous! Can you believe that?!”

Cathy laughed, picturing it in her head as she picked out one of the pipes. “You know, I think I can.”

“Ha. Alright, grab an extra one just in case, and take some of these.” Mavis said, piling some of the pipe joints and cans of pipe glue into the gargoyle’s arms. Cathy snatched up another pipe with her wings before turning back.

Mavis nodded her approval before picking up a pair of wrenches in two separate tentacles as well as a pair of sprinklers. “Good. Let’s go back and get started on the repairs.”

When they got to the back of the lower deck, neither gremlins nor Owen were anywhere to be seen. Mavis’ crew were already getting ready to take the pipe down when Mavis whistled. They all straightened up, giving her their full attention.

“Gals, help Cathy out, would ya?” She ordered. At once they crowded around the gargoyle, taking the pipes, joints and glue from her and going right back to repairs. Cathy looked at Mavis quizzically, who was handing off her wrenches to one of the taller sahuagin.

Mavis smiled back. “They’re just so helpful, aren’t they?”

“Yeah.” Cathy replied.

“Yeah!” They shouted.

“It helps tae bribe them with munchies.” Mavis admitted. “Speaking of help, where’d those gremmies run off tae?”

It was a good question. They were here a few moments ago…

Even as the repairs had gone underway, there still wasn’t a sign of either Owen or the Gremlins. Nearly twenty minutes had passed and there was no sign of any of them. At this point, Cathy was getting suspicious.

MAKE TWO CHOICES IF YOU LIKE!

A. Go find Owen, something is up and he could be in danger! You don’t want him to get hurt! (You’ll need an excuse!)

B. You’re not his keeper, Owen is a grown man. He probably just went to take a leak. Keep working with Mavis, eventually Coop and Tabby might show up if they aren’t bumping uglies in the laundry room.

C. You notice that the gremlin puzzle box is still there, you should investigate it! Maybe you can figure out what it’s true purpose is?

D. Nonchalantly mention the box to Mavis and see if she knows anything about it. She seems talkative and relatively nice.

E. Something else you wanna do? Character change? Exploration? Throw it into the mix!

<Only one pic this time, didn't want to delay this any longer because funk.

>>404347

True evil has never been seen until now

>>405330

>B. You’re not his keeper, Owen is a grown man. He probably just went to take a leak.

>D. Nonchalantly mention the box to Mavis and see if she knows anything about it.

Ask her about the box of human dildos

>>405330

First thing: D. Bring up the box and maybe stretch the truth a little, but only a little because the scylla is the bigwig wrench twirler and will know if you're trying to shit her about the box. Mavis might let something slip if she's distracted by the fact that her gremmies are fucking around and not doing their job. Which will tie in with the next choice

A: Since I have my suspicions about the gremlins Cathy's going to make sure the gremmies aren't using Owen's tool to fix their lack of pregnancy. Not to mention Cathy might be able to figure out something with any additional information Mavis has given up. Important for Cathy to tell Mavis that she's looking for them because they're not doing as she wants. Also:

>Trusting gremlins

>Ever

>>405330

C and D

Curiosity killed the cat, but it can't kill our gargirl!

>>405383

I'm going with this guy, we got Cathy a man finally, not gonna lose this one. Also adding in a character change to Owen so we can see this from his pov

>>405330

A

>>405330

>D. Nonchalantly mention the box to Mavis and see if she knows anything about it. She seems talkative and relatively nice.

>>405425

noice m8

>>405330

Some more D, and switch to Owen. I bet he's doing Kurt Russel stuff. Pop culture from 30 years ago is best culture

>>405330

> infamously, sailors get very "lonely" at sea

> probably even worse for monster girl sailors

> Owen has shown some interest and aptitude in what the gremlins do

> he's all greasy and sweaty

> his clothes just got soaked

This reads like the start of a romantic porno designed for gremlins. Shit, they'd probably be willing to "marry" him as a duo right about now. I don't know what option to choose, but if Cathy doesn't intervene somehow she's probably going to get cucked again.

>>405480

>This reads like the start of a romantic porno designed for gremlins.

They were referring to him as "eye candy" earlier too.

>>405330

A & D

>>405425

Also, I demand you make one nice shitpost about Cathy. This was just mean

“Any idea where they’d go?” The gargoyle asked. Mavis shrugged, directing the sahuagin with her tentacles.

“Hey, make sure the water’s off first! I’m not mopping any more water than I have tae!” She turned to Cathy and frowned, “knowin’ them they went tae their bunks tae get a few tools for their toy box there.”

Cathy raised a brow, “why would they have tools in their bunk room?”

“Y’mean asides bein’ gremmies? I refuse tae let ‘em clutter up my supply room! Ya seen their pet project there? This whole side a’ the deck was a mess afore they put it together!” Answered Mavis.

“That bad, huh?” Cathy said, staring at the box.

“Oh, if twern’t for Rip they’d be the main reason for all my troubles, gargirl.” Mavis nodded.

“What’s it for anyway? That box, I mean?” Asked Cathy.

“That? Beats me. I heard it was tae catch somethin’ nasty.” She said, leaning in closer. The scylla covered her mouth and began to whisper. “Supposed tae snatch ‘em up and electrocute ‘em tae keep ‘em in it or something. Been real curious about it myself but anytime anybody asked ‘em about it they clam up tighter’n that box a’ theirs! Captain won’t answer any questions about it neither! Tae think they let the thing on my ship! If whatever they aim tae catch makes any filth or heaven forbid it gets loose I’ll toss it in tae the sea myself! An’ I know it will! If I know one thing about gremmies and their ideas they’re always hair brained! They’re a mischievous bunch! I’d watch out for ‘em!” The scylla warned her.

“So I’ve heard… say… they’ve been gone a while now. My friend was with them so do ya mind if I go check to make sure he’s alright?”

“A man? Uh oh. Ya best hurry up then girl! Their room’s at the end a’ the hall by yours!” Mavis told her, “and make sure to bring ‘em back so I can scold ‘em! I’d go myself but I gotta fix this pipe first! You get that old pipe out yet?” She called up to the fish girls.

“Already did it!” One of them called back.

“You done with that glue yet?”

“Yep! Here!”

“Goin’ in! Here we go!” They cheered, fastening the joints and pipe in place with the sprinkler. Cathy took her leave, hurrying back to the bunk rooms. By some miracle she managed to find her way back with ease, retracing her steps until she found the right hall and rushed to the end. She could hear something strange going on in the room at the back. Voices, the gremlins and-

“Whoa! Stop!”

That was Owen!

Alright, Cathy, Owen’s in trouble and you got this! She braced herself, slowly prying the bulkhead open and slamming against it.

WHAM!

“DON’T WORRY OWEN, I’M COMIN’ TO SAVE YA!” She found herself shouting.

WHAM! CRASH!

<Doublepost!

____

“Ah! Tch, dammit!” Amber hissed, rubbing her chest. Her ribs ached horribly, the bruises on her muscles were painful and turned her skin a nasty shade of purple and blue. Thankfully nothing broken or worse - at least as far as she could tell. That bitch had shot her twice just under her heart. A damn good shot, hate to admit, Amber scowled at the thought. Clearly this is turning out to be a bigger challenge than I’d guessed.

With all the adrenaline gone and her heart pumping like crazy she had barely made it back to her vehicle and escaped before passing out.

She had at least managed to hide herself in a parking garage before that happened. When she came to, it was already nightfall. There was little doubt in her mind that she had missed her opportunity to take her vengeance, but she wasn’t about to give up. Linking back up with the Junko security detail she was sure to find them. There was no way Junko wouldn’t have eyes on someone who attacked one of their shipments - that just didn’t happen. There might even be a hit on them, which meant she had to hurry. No damned lowlife button men were going to rob her of this.

She winced again as she moved in the driver’s seat. If not for the kevlar she might have been done for right then and there. No JUSTICE for Jade, no revenge for Amber.

I’ll have to thank Jade when I see her again, Amber thought, looking out the windshield of her stolen cruiser. Maybe sooner than later. Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad…

“So long as I take ‘em with us, right, Jade?” She found herself saying to the empty cruiser. After a moment of silence, the lizard felt a weight in her chest. She had nearly expected her sister to answer in her usual peppy quips, but she found herself staring back in the mirror alone. She knew it would come eventually, the heart-break and grief she had suppressed even during her burying of Jade, but she found herself wishing she could stave it off until she had finished what she set out to do. A tear ran down her burnt cheek, the sting of salt on her exposed skin not even a drop in the ocean of pain she felt herself sinking into at that moment. Amber breathed through her teeth, fighting the emotions assaulting her psyche.

I don’t have time for this! If I… if I don’t hurry I’ll lose my chance… and I’ll never be able to face Jade.

“SHUT UP!” She screamed, slamming a fist into the dash, crushing the radio. Before any more tears could come Amber slapped herself on her burn and hissed with pain.

“I’ll give you something to cry about! Now stop it! I don’t need this right now, what I need is a plan!” She told herself, spouting out orders like she would to a greenhorn enforcer.

First things first, she needed to get in contact with Junko again and get the info she needed. Once she had that she could come up with a course of action.

Maybe I could even put together a team, she considered. They could deal with the bitch’s friends while I settle things with my own hands.

<Triplepost!

It was a start. Amber knew of a Junko outpost not far from where she was: a distribution warehouse. The very one they were to arrive at on that train. So much for that, Amber mused angrily. Too bad I’ll have to deal with the bitch. The drive wasn’t long, although the two kinds of aching pains in her chest made it agonizing. She drove up to the front gate, a Junko enforcer standing guard. A man from the looks of it, Amber surmised. One that she was acquainted with. He held up a hand as the gate came down to block her entry. Amber rolled down the window and glared at him.

“Ma’am, I know you’re law enforcement, but this is private property,” he began.

“Jerid.” She greeted him curtly. Jerid did a double take, not sure if he had heard her right.

“You don’t recognize me do you? It’s me. Amber.” She growled. The blood drained from Jerid’s face, the realization of who he was talking to hitting him.

“Captain A-A-Amber? I d-didn’t recognize you, ma’am! Wh-wh-what happened to you?” He asked. “And what are you doing in a police cruiser? You were supposed to be on that train, right?”

“Jerid, can you read?” Amber inquired, ignoring his question.

Jerid raised his brows, “Ma’am?”

“Notice that this cruiser is from Colorado?” Amber growled. Sweat ran down Jerid’s forehead. He visibly gulped, his mouth dry.

“Well, allow me to inform you that I’ve been through some shit. Now open the damn gate.” Amber ordered him. “And let that cunt Biggs know I’m here.”

“B-but… you’re supposed to be… yes ma’am!” He panicked, hitting the switch to let her through before getting on his radio. As soon as she was in, she parked the vehicle and noticed one more enforcer approaching. A minotaur, roughly a head taller than her swaggered over from one of the warehouses.

“That idiot, Jerid. What the hell was he thinking…” she grumbled. “Hey, ma’am, there’s been a mistake, we have a no trespassing policy here!”

“Ah, Cass. How about you try throwin’ me out, ya damn ringnose.” Replied Amber, stepping out of her cruiser..

“Hey, wait… is that…?” The minotaur stopped short. “Amber?!”

“That’s right ya bull dyke, it’s me.” Amber called to her. The two smiled at one another as the minotaur ran over, only to gasp at what she saw.

“Whoa,” she started. “Damn, girl! What happened to you? You lose a fight with a blowtorch?”

“Eat a dick, Cassidy.” Amber spat.

The minotaur laughed, “You offerin’? Ben’s been holding out on me.”

“Shut up and listen, where’s the cunt?” Amber interrupted, dropping any pretenses of friendly banter. Cassidy thought about it for a second before pointing back at the building on the other side of the warehouse.

“In the main office. Why, whadda ya wanna talk to that bitch for?” Asked the minotaur.

Amber was already walking that way when Cass grabbed her by the shoulder.

“Hey wait a minute, Amber! I know you’re a higher up but you gotta gimme somethin’! You were scheduled to be here two days ago and now you show up looking like you went down on the local hinezumi! And where’s Jade?”

The twitch in Amber’s eye came back violently. She spun around on the minotaur and slapped her hand away with force.

“Jade is dead! The shipment got attacked and this - this crazy BITCH! She killed my sister and set off a bomb with us still inside! So you shut your mouth and get out of my way, Cass!” Amber roared.

“Wh-whoa! S-sorry, Amber! I didn’t know!” Cassidy sheepishly replied, backing away from the wrathful lizard.

“Apparently nobody does! I doubt they even stopped the damn train or sent out a search party. That's why I want to talk to the cunt! That and find out where this bitch is!” Amber explained.

“Well, don’t let me get in your way, haha…” Said Cass. “Just don’t do anything you’ll regret!”

Amber laughed, sending a shiver down the minotaur’s spine. “There’s nothing I could do that I’d regret. Not anymore.”

The lizard turned and made for the main office with purpose, ignoring the pain in her chest and the twitch in her eye.

<Quadpost!

As Amber shoved open the door and walked inside she looked at her surroundings. The first floor being a single hall and several cubicles interspersed, there was only the odd pencil pusher here and there. A slow day it seemed. Good.

To her left were the stairs that went straight up at such a sharp angle it seemed like the steps were made with giants in mind. Or one tall, blue bitch. The lizard took them and hurried up each step, not wasting time. The bitch is probably in her office fucking about right now, Amber figured. As soon as she reached the door she twisted the knob and threw it open, marching over the threshold to the only desk where an oni was at work. She was wearing a business jacket and skirt and sat ticking away at her laptop.

Even for an oni she was tall, coming up to Amber’s height even while sitting. Her blue skin reflected the light from her monitor as she liked to keep the lights low in her office. Amber knew her as Biggs - a fitting name considering not just her physical stature but her status within Junko. She was the chief logistics officer for the entire west coast and operated out of California to maintain connection with homeland Junko businesses. She was also bigheaded in Amber’s experience, which was the root of her nicknames.

The oni looked over her glasses to see the unannounced guest.

“Mm. Amber. What are you doing here?” She asked clearly out of courtesy, but her tone made it abundantly clear that she was not the least bit interested.

“I gotta ask you the same thing Biggs.” Replied Amber, crossing her arms.

“I work here. Would you like to sit?” She offered, waving a hand at the chair in front of her desk.

“No, I prefer to stand. I got a question for you though: why the hell didn’t you send out any search parties?” Amber inquired. The oni stopped typing for a moment before continuing on as if she hadn’t heard her. After a moment she cleared her throat.

“Search parties cost money, Amber. If I sent one out for every ex-Junko employee that went on a week long bender then I’d lose this position very quickly.” She answered, not looking away from her work.

“BENDER?!” Amber roared, slamming a fist on the desk. “You know exactly what happened out there, don’t give me that corporate BULLSHIT! We got attacked and you guys didn’t lift a goddamn finger!”

Biggs looked over her glasses at the lizard, staring straight through her before going back to her typing.

“What do you want, Amber? This is getting tiresome.”

“Oh, tiresome? Well I’m sorry that I interrupted your comfy little life of luxury to tell you I want answers. What the fuck happened - and don’t feed me that horseshit again or I’ll rip your fucking horns off! I had a whole security team on that train and no one noticed the big explosion?!”

“No one reported an explosion, Amber. Are you sure you and your sister didn’t just fall off the train?”

“FUCK YOU BIGGS! AND YOU KNOW WHAT?! FUCK ALL THAT SHIT!” The lizard erupted, swiping the desk clear of everything including the oni’s laptop.

“You know what I want, Biggs? I want answers! Who attacked us and where are they, NOW!”

Biggs sighed deeply before narrowing her red eyes. “I’ll only tell you this once: leave.”

“Hahaha! You think I came all this way like this just to take your shit talk, tuck my tail between my legs and leave? That’s rich!” Amber chuckled before kicking the chair aside and pushing the desk into Biggs’ gut. “Cunt!”

The oni pushed herself off, standing up from her chair in a huff. She towered over Amber, even taller than Cassidy by her estimate, but still she didn’t back down.

“You’re going to regret this, Amber. You could have walked away as a free woman.” Biggs threatened.

“I think this’ll be the only thing I don’t regret, you big, blue bitch.” She answered, kicking the desk at the blue oni. Biggs tossed it aside and advanced on her, throwing out a string of powerful kicks. Amber dodged one, two but a third caught her in the gut, knocking the wind out of her. Without skipping a beat, Amber quickly grabbed hold of the oni’s leg, digging her claws into her calf before pulling with all her strength.

WHUMP!

<Quintpost!

Somehow she had managed to topple her opponent, giving her a moment to catch her breath. Biggs didn’t stay down long however, as she quickly recovered and picked herself up off the floor.

She brushed herself off, took off her glasses and placed them inside her suit jacket, scowling at the lizard woman. “When did you get the balls-!”

“When I fucked your alp husband! Come on!” Amber screamed. Biggs let out a roar, charging at her with a speed she had not expected.

WHAM! The two collided, Biggs ramming Amber into the wall with her shoulder. The lizard coughed up blood, the plaster crumbling behind her in a slump as Biggs stood upright.

“Not so cocky when I put you through a wall, are you, you damned skink?” Biggs huffed, wiping sweat from her brow. She took her glasses from her suit jacket and placed them back on her nose, adjusting them until they were straightened.

“Ha… that all ya got you stupid cunt?” Amber murmured. Biggs’ frown deepened.

“You really want to die that badly? You know how easy it would be for me to cover this up? Everyone already thinks you’re dead. You got no one left to ask around about you.” She spat.

Amber’s eye began to twitch again, the words pissing her off more than anything.

“So you did know. You knew what happened. You knew Jade was dead all along! You probably knew from the start, didn’t you?! Right down to how she died!” She shouted, having found her second wind.

Biggs scoffed. “Of course I did. It’s my job to know these things.” She shrugged, “but I suppose a fool like you wouldn’t know much besides brute force, or in your case, failure.”

“What else aren’t you telling me?!” Amber bellowed, pulling herself up from the hole in the wall. “Or do I have to beat it out of you?!”

“Oh my God, you actually do want to die! Haha! Alright, so be it!” Said the oni, taking off her jacket and tossing it aside.

“Been waitin’ all day for you to kill me, you cunt!” Amber taunted. Rage filled the oni’s eyes, causing her to rush right at the lizard. Amber jumped out of the way, Biggs slamming right into the wall before pushing off it to come at her again. This time the lizard was ready for her. She went low, diving into the blue oni’s legs. She flipped, falling feet first, the momentum sending her soaring across the room into her desk with a crash. Biggs let out a growl, more angry than hurt, but when she turned around Amber was standing there with her fists cocked.

Once, twice, three punches and more, Amber pummeled the oni’s head, sides and kidneys. Wherever Biggs put up her guard, Amber went for an opening, gut, chest, jaw. Nothing the oni could do would stop her. She continued her rampage until Biggs’ arms slowly slumped beside her. She was left bruised and battered, blood running down her busted lip, nose and a few cuts on her cheek.

“Ready… to talk?” Amber panted, massaging her knuckles.

Biggs glowered through her puffy eyes, unwavering. A wild laugh came out of Amber’s throat, her eye twitching fiercely.

“Proud ‘til the bitter end, huh?! Well I told you I’d rip off those horns, wouldn’t want to be a liar!” She shouted, grabbing hold of one and - with all her strength she snapped it clean off.

Biggs let out a scream that the whole block could hear, her hands weakly trying to hold her half-horn.

Amber tossed the other half and slapped her hands away before grabbing the remaining horn. Just as she was about to pull Biggs cried out.

“STOB… I’ll talg…” she whimpered through her fat lip.

Amber grinned, her twitch easing up a little. “Oh, so you… finally get it? Good.” She said between breaths, letting go of the oni’s horn. “So what else aren’t you telling me?”

Biggs held one hand on her half-horn, tears streaming down her cheeks. She hiccupped a few times before regaining some composure, “The whole thing… was a setub from the stard…” she sobbed out. Amber’s grin disappeared just as quickly as it came.

“What do you mean a setup?” The question came out more surprised than anything. Knowing this wasn’t a random act from one of those anti-Junko factions came as a shock.

“Thad girl thad attagged you… she’s a person of special interesd.” Biggs explained.

<Sectpost!

“So what, we were luring her out?” Amber asked, leaning against the wall. Biggs groaned her affirmation, which only irritated Amber more. Jade died as some kind of bait? Was that whatever that dummy hostage was for? Just what the hell was going on?

“If she’s a person of interest then who is she?! Where the hell did she go?!” Amber roared, pulling her up by her lapels.

“Her name is… Connor… Caffy Connor… they wend do… A… Alas… ga.” Biggs said through pained breathing.

“Great, fuckin’ great! How the hell am I gonna kill her now?! I won’t be able to fight her in the cold,” Amber grumbled to herself. Almost makes me wish I wasn’t born a lizard. The thought made her grin as she held the now defeated oni in her claws.

Almost.

“Who set us up?” She interrogated the oni.

“Migi…. Jun… ko.” The oni groaned out before losing consciousness.

“Migi Junko…? What the hell for?” Amber loosened her grip, letting Biggs fall back onto the pile of desk parts like a bag of rocks.

“Hey! Wake up! I’m not done with you yet!” She said, slapping the oni. She was out cold, not even budging from where she lay. Amber checked her pulse, which was slow. She was still breathing as well - barely.

Amber stared at the laptop she had thrown to the floor. It was a little dented up but it could prove useful. Fuck it, she thought before snatching it up and taking her leave. If this useless cunt can’t answer a few questions then maybe this will. Before she left the room she spotted the other half of Biggs’ horn and grinned, scooping it up into the palm of her hand.

Outside Cass was waiting as well as a few other nobody enforcers.

“Whoa. Looks like you took a beating.” She remarked. Amber spat blood out of her mouth and scowled, the other enforcers backing off under her gaze.

“You should see her.” She gloated, flipping the blue horn in the air before catching it. Cassidy’s eyes lit up as she smiled.

“Holy hell you actually challenged her and won?! BAD! ASS!”

“That’s why you don’t fuck with me.” Amber said, jabbing a claw at the grunts. They scattered, running past her to get inside the office building.

“Yeah that’s right, go tend to your bitch’s wounds.” She called as she began to walk back to her cruiser.

“Damn right! So what are you gonna do now? You’re not with Junko anymore are ya?” The minotaur asked, following after her.

“Fuck no. Bastards set us up according to Biggs.” The lizard answered, opening the door to her cruiser as soon as she got to it. She hopped up into the driver’s seat, Cassidy standing beside her holding the door.

“You actually got her to sing? Wow. You know, I knew there was always somethin’ I liked about you, Amber. Why, if I didn’t have Ben I’d let you bend me over and-“

“Cass, there had better be a point to all this fuckin’ brown nosing!” The lizard said, tossing the oni horn up in the air a few more times to get her point across.

Cass swallowed the lump in her throat before smiling.

“Take me with ya. It’s boring around here and Benny won’t be back for another month! I can’t stand this shit anymore.”

“You’ll have to quit Junko.” Amber stated flatly.

“Done!” Cass said, ripping her jacket off.

“Won’t your precious Ben be mad that you quit?” Asked the lizard.

“No way, he’s been wanting me to quit and move into his place for months! Says he makes enough for both of us! Been lookin’ for a good reason to and here you come waltzing in like you own the place!” The minotaur praised her.

Amber stared her down for a moment, looking over her like a piece of meat. Or perhaps a meat shield, she thought. “You could die.”

“Psh, everyone dies.” Cassidy shrugged with a smile. She pointed back at the Junko cronies carrying Biggs out toward the medical station.

“Won’t be surprised if she ends up dying. Seriously, how hard did you beat her ass?”

“Almost broke both hands punching her face in.” The lizard admitted proudly. She watched as Cassidy’s smile grew wider and wider, her ears nearly flapping with delight. “You know, when I grow up, I wanna be just like you!” She teased.

“Shut up already and get in.” Amber said, realizing there was no convincing her otherwise. Not after hearing that.

“WOOHOO, ROADTRIP! Fuckin’ BYE Junko!” Cassidy cried out, whipping her jacket around and tossing it away before jumping into the passenger’s seat. “So where to? What’s the job? We after that bitch that attacked you, right?”

Amber considered her options for a moment more before facing her new partner.

“We’re gonna need a few things first.”

____

<Septpost!

Owen watched Cathy leave almost spontaneously. Something was said between her and that gremlin Ellen, but he hadn't heard it whatever it was. Owen caught himself staring at her going a little too long, shaking it off as just being tired. Something was definitely up.

“Hey, beardie,” Ellen broke the silence. “Can you uh… hand me that wrench?” She asked, holding her hand out for him.

“Oh, uh… sure. Here.” He said, placing it in her palm. Ellen grinned, taking hold of it and reaching into the box. “Thanks, big guy. Nice to have somethin’ with a little HEFT to it, ya know?”

Something about the way she said that seemed suggestive to Owen, but he chose to ignore it.

“So, you and the goyle gettin’ along?” She asked.

“Uh, yeah, I think so.” He answered, wiping his hands off with a rag. Carla leaned over on the box and grinned.

“So you two a thing?” She blurted out. Ellen stopped what she was doing, almost as if she was listening from halfway inside the box.

“W-what? Who, Cathy? Us? Haha, uh… no, nothing like that.” He replied, hiding his face in the rag. Where’d that come from? First Charlotte and now these gremlins. This a lady thing or a monster thing?

“Carla!” Ellen berated her, pulling herself out of the box. “Don’t ask him things like that! Can’t ya see the man’s busy? Here, Owen, would you mind reaching in there and turning the wrench for me?” Ellen asked, pointing to the box. “I can’t seem to get the right leverage. AND CARLA STOP LEANING ON IT!” She barked at her counterpart. Carla stood up rigidly like a child caught in the act.

“Uh, sure, okay.” Owen said, leaning down to look inside. The wrench was fastened to a bolt inside the box that seemed to be holding some kind of gear inside the chamber. Slowly he reached inside, taking hold of the wrench before tugging on it.

“Careful, beardie! Don’t knock it loose. That’s it, just tighten it up nice and slow.” Ellen guided him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Slowly the bolt tightened under his force when Ellen stepped back and gave him a toothy grin.

“Atta boy,” She said before giving a nod to Carla. When Owen looked over he could see the other gremlin behind the box messing with the control circuit.

Aw shit…

POP!

The first thing Owen noticed was his hand had gotten stuck to the wrench, but that was the least of his worries. He felt a sharp tingling shooting up his arm and spreading throughout his entire body in an instant, followed by a numbness that he was all too familiar with. Electricity. He was being shocked senseless! Owen’s muscles locked up and soon enough he could feel his entire body almost shaking with the energy being pumped into it.

“That’s enough!” Ellen said to Carla, who quickly flipped the switch off. At once Owen released the wrench and was thrown onto his back. He found himself staring straight up at the ceiling of the lower deck, both gremlins standing over him with a glint in their eye.

“Whad… da hell dih you…?” He tried to talk, but his mouth was locked up from the jolt of electricity still coursing through his body.

“Sorry about that, beardie, we had to test the systems somehow.” Ellen said, leaning down to pat his head. “Carla, you got the lifters?” She asked, looking up at the other gremlin. Carla was putting some kind of harness that strapped itself to her shoulders and hands. An exosuit? Owen had heard of them, but never seen one up close.

“Got it right here, sis. Here’s yours!” She said, before tossing another to Ellen. Once both had their harnesses on they picked him up effortlessly and slung him over their shoulders. “Come on, big guy, we’ll give ya somethin’ special for bein’ our guinea pig!” Carla cheered, slapping him on the rear while they carried him into the halls.

<Octopost!

“Whadda hell… ah ya playin’ ad?!” Owen growled, trying his best to struggle in their grasp. It was useless, not only did his muscles refuse to obey but their hold on him was surprisingly strong. It had to be those harnesses.

Before he knew it, the two gremlins had taken him into a bunk room and threw him onto a bed. The room smelled like motor oil, dirt and… sweat? Something else? Owen couldn’t quite tell but regardless it was assaulting his nostrils. Ellen quickly shut the bulkhead door and turned the wheel until it was locked tight. Owen was slowly regaining the feeling in his body. He tried sitting up, only for Carla to grab his wrists with both hands and pin them against the metal frame of the headboard. She clamped the exosuit’s fingers down on them like a pair of handcuffs, smiling down at Owen.

“Sit tight, spanner monkey, we’re only gettin’ started.” She said, popping the gloves off and stripping her harness to leave him coupled to the bed.

“What the hell?! Lemme go!” Owen shouted, having regained control of the muscles in his mouth.

The gremlin stuck her tongue out at him, “Hey, don’t stress over it, beardie. We just wanted ta take a break and have some fun’s all! Just sit back and enjoy yourself!” She said with a wink. Ellen sidle up beside her, having already stripped her harness and opened her jumpsuit. Sweat glistened off of her lean body and dampened her tank top, the loose cloth clinging to her small but shapely curves. She slid her slender arms out of their sleeves to reveal a subtle musculature befitting of a mechanic her size.

“Howzat, beardie? Like whacha see?” She asked, pulling on her shirt to fan her chest provocatively. Carla followed suit, tugging on the zipper of her own coverall down.

“Ha, as if, he’s lookin’ at me!” She said, pulling off her whole jumpsuit and boots in one swift motion to reveal her own goods. Her body was more plump than Ellen’s, sporting a slightly more ample bust and thighs wrapped in a sports bra and boxer shorts. The gremlin’s curves strained against the brim of her underwear, practically bursting at the seams.

“I seriously doubt he’d want some pudgy pound cake like you! He wants someone who takes care of herself!” Ellen argued, ripping her own jumpsuit off to reveal her bare legs hidden only by the oversized tank top she wore.

“Yeah right! You think he would want a twig? He’d be better off with an alp!” Carla shot back, stripping her socks off and tossing them in the corner of the room.

Owen watched helplessly as the two clambered over one another to get to him first, Ellen getting to his chest while Carla landed on his lap.

“Alright, alright! Truce!” Ellen shouted, “I start here, you start there, mouths only, we’ll switch in five! Winner gets beardie in their ‘motor pool!’”

“DEAL!” Carla shouted, going to work on Owen’s belt.

“Hey! Don’t I get a say in all this?!” Owen shouted before Ellen grabbed hold of his cheeks.

“Oh quit your whinin’, you sound like a balding drive belt!” She teased him. “Now pucker up!”

“Speaking of belts, wow, guy, you got quite the SCREWdriver down here!” Carla hooted, having already stripped him of his pants. She was now tugging on the elastic on his boxers to inspect the hardware.

“WHOA! STOP!” Owen cried out, feeling the air hit his manhood.

“Nope! I’m gonna mess up this dipstick real good, beardie!” Carla yelled back with glee, licking her lips.

WHAM!

Both gremlins stopped dead in their tracks, looking at one another.

<Nonpost!

“Okay, we’re leaving!” Cathy declared, grabbing Owen’s hand and pulling him out of the room. “Come on, Owen!”

“Uh, yeah okay.” He replied, not really having any say. The two gremlins groaned loudly like spoiled brats, disappointed that their fun had been ruined.

Cathy marched out into the hall with Owen in hand, hurrying away from the perverted gremlins’ grease trap.

“Hey.” Owen began.

“What?” Replied Cathy. She stopped and looked at him, then looked at their hands and quickly pulled away from him.

“S-sorry!” She yelped. Owen smiled at her awkwardness, which only made her blush more.

“Thanks for uh, savin’ me back there. They tazed the shit outta me and dragged me in there to do God knows what.” He admitted. “If you hadn’t come along, I-“

“Shush, Owen. It’s done, I saved your butt and now we’re square, right?” She said, poking his chest.

Owen stood there dumbfounded for a moment before bursting into laughter.

“Yeah! I guess we are, haha!” He chuckled. “I save your life, you save mine!”

Cathy giggled along with him, “Hehe-yeah, real life and death back there! By the way, your fly’s down.” She casually mentioned before turning around to snort. Owen looked down and saw that it was much worse than that. A second later and he’d be walking with his pants down to his ankles and his ‘junior’ hanging out of his shorts.

“O-oh. Oh shit! I’m sorry!” Owen panicked.

“Sorry for what?” Asked Cathy, already walking away.

“I-, we-…” He stammered, trying to make sense of the gargoyle. Was she just as embarrassed or was she teasing him?

“Damnit, Cathy! Wait!” Owen called, chasing after her. He grabbed her hand and spun her around, finding her face more red than gray.

OWEN:

A. Just play it off, you just want to thank your new friend sincerely for helping you out of a bad situation.

B. Kiss her and see where that takes you.

CATHY:

C. Tell Owen to go back to work, Mavis is probably waiting for you. Make sure to take the gremlins back by yourself, Mavis said she wanted to punish them and you can easily overpower them.

D. Take Owen back to your room.:^)

E. Suggestions?

<Wew, sorry there's only one pic, hopefully it makes up for that being a twofer.

<CHOSE ONE OPTION FOR BOTH CATHY AND OWEN!

>>405548

No.:^)

>>405834

B, D, and E being Owen grabs a handful of thicc gargoyle ass while he kisses her

>>405839

Seconding this.

>>405834

B, D, and F which is really E but with Cathy molesting him back. Remember: four arms

>>405839

this nigga gets it, she may be strong as hell but owen is still the man in this.

>>405842

>Remember: four arms

does that mean owen is gonna get one HELL of a hug when he and cathy finally do it?

>>405834

SICK BASTARD

A and C, the Love Boat has only just set sail, let's give it time

>>405868

Last time Cathy didn't MAMONOMANA a potential love interest it resulted in the CYOA becoming Cathy: the clamjammed. Our winged MC needs to meet the rising challenge this time around else she end up collecting cats in a downtown apartment complex forgotten by everyone.

>>405829

strange how a lizardman is physically multiple times stronger than an oni

>>405834

>C. Tell Owen to go back to work, Mavis is probably waiting for you. Make sure to take the gremlins back by yourself, Mavis said she wanted to punish them and you can easily overpower them.

Also Cathy has to remain pure.

>>405914

If Cathy+Owen does end up happening, Cathy better spill all of the spaghetti from her pockets

>>405876

This is exactly the reason I voted the way I did. Listening to >>405868 means going through yet another CYOA without her finding love.

>>405945

>If Cathy+Owen does end up happening,

GNO

<Bumping again as there's still time.

>votes got tied up.

<I refuse to coin flip such a clearly IMPORTANT vote.

<If you THINK you voted but didn't write ABCDetc or make it clear like >>405840 that you are voting a certain way then you can either clarify or I'm throwing your vote out.

>>405927

>C

<What about A or B? You must choose what Owen does, too!

>>405868

>Heck, even have him go in for the kiss.

<Okay, so now that I have a moment of not retarded I see you voted BC

<So here's how it is:

OWEN:

< 1 A

< 4 B

CATHY:

< 3 C

< 3 D

If you guys don't fix this tie then I'll just come out and say [something different will happen] will result in both of them getting GREMMIE'D I swear to Christ

>>405926

<Stranger things have happened in this CYOA and who knows, maybe there's a reason for that? :^)

>>405945

<Spaghetti will be spilled either way at this rate.

>>405959

B D E homeslice

>>405914

i am voting for BD(E) but also with that other anon's idea of cathy spilling the spaghetti and trying to grab his ass but missing and touching the back of his knee

>>405962

I want this. Let the ravioli flow

>>405959

I vote for B D E as well

rip cathy's hymen

>>405834

B D E, same as >>405839

If the rumors of 8chan's demise are true will you be continuing OP? If so where?

I'm really, really going to miss Cathy and all her friends if this place dies.

seems like posting text works fine (for me at least) for now but posting images fucks things up completely

hopefully jim/ron fix this shit soon and find a new DDoS protection provider that doesnt give a fuck

I will post a page archive soon, just in case.

I archived this page as a precautionary measure. Hopefully it won't be needed.

https://web.archive.org/web/20190805030637/https://8ch.net/monster/res/391071.html

>>406233

<I’m not really sure. Any suggestions?

<I was thinking Picarto but that’s really only for streaming shit.

<I’m more worried about losing all your guys’ comments like >>406196 I love this shit and it’d be a shame if I lost it.

<I have all the art and writing saved so don’t worry about that! I just lack a place to put it outside of 8ch.

>>406255

<I appreciate it m8, saw you archiving other cyoas,

you’re a real MVP. I could draw something for you after next post if you like.

Also lmao 8ch dies to keep Cathy pure:^)