LogApocalypse World: Black Rain-Jason-12

Game log for the 2021/06/27 session of AW: Black Rain, as taken by Jason

Someone directs Fisher, String, and Sybil up to the roof, where they find Bento standing guard over the rope ladder down to the old office. She takes one look at them and tells them all to go back down the way they came. Fisher complains about the unfriendly welcome, String insists it's very important, and then Bento calls down to Captain Maxwell to complain.

Xander begins talking tech with Mr Whisper about how much lithium it will take to get the job done. They also talk about the journey between worlds. It's not just falling. Once you completely cross over the divide between this world and the abyss, all bets are off, unless there's something physically connecting both sides of the trip. When that discussion tapers off, Xander worries about where the Captain went, and begins talking about how their relationship has been hinky since certain recent developments.

Captain Maxwell arrives on the roof. Fisher explains what they want, the boss explains that they're having an interesting conversation, and Fisher offers to wait a few hours before "arbitrarily" killing him. String comes in and assures Maxwell that the doubles always lie, which pushes the Captain to ask why he should believe her. She could be lying too. Sybil interrupts String and Maxwell to say that she needs to see Xander, which is a no go. Eventually, the boss tells String and Sybil to leave, but allows Fisher to wait on the roof until business with this not-Fisher / Mr Whisper person is concluded. The Captain tells Bento to make sure Sybil and String leave the keep entirely, but tolerates Fisher waiting by himself on the roof.

Our friendly neighborhood hardholder returns to the office. Conversation stops and then not-Fisher says, "He's up there, isn't he?" He seems a little concerned that this guy who wants to kill him is so close by. Maxwell suggests that he should epxlain his full plan to Xander as an insurance policy, but this Whisper chap is smart enough to realize if everyone knows his plan, he becomes expendable. Maxwell counteroffers that they could send him back instead of killing him, but travel between worlds isn't entirely simple. The Captain tries to read not-Fisher to see if he's entirely on the level with his offer to cooperate, but he and Xander are so deep in technical jargon that the poor bossman can't figure out where he's at, except that he clearly doesn't want to get shot in the face by his double from another mother. Maxwell buys himself some time by sequestering them both in his office. Xander tries to read the Captain, but doesn't do such a great job. The boss figures that he can bump off Mr Whisper and Xander will still go ahead with the plan. For his part, Xander is pretty sure that the Captain was on the level when he said they could wait in his office.

Fisher, up on the roof all by his onesie, decides to ask the abyss whether his double needs to die. He finds himself in his earliest memory, listening to someone tell him what happened to his mother. He suddenly knows, for sure, that his mother is still alive on the other side.

Once they're alone, not-Fisher tells Xander that his time is limited and he needs to get through the door. The door isn't opening easily, and Xander explains that it can't be done soon enough and quietly enough to be an escape route. Not-Fisher is sad. Xander decides to open his brain and see if a solution presents itself.

Down in the great hall, String and Sybil observe the many wounded folks still there. She decides to try to help some folks, and allows Sybil to wander off. String goes around laying hands on people. Slingshot is in the area, keeping an eye on things, and Bento joins her just as Sybil tries to slip away. String attracts Bento's attention, and Sybil moves quickly enough, that neither guard notices that Sybil isn't around.

Sybil opens her brain to see if there's anyplace she can access the void without those dang bricks in the wall. It's right on the other side of the wall, but also, she feels like there might be another one out there. She goes to the kitchen and finds Cadbury settling accounts alongside Tinderbox, who's replaced Butters. Poor Tinderbox is not coping well with all her new responsibilities. Sybil tries to play it off like she just came through for some water, but Cadbury chases her out and tells Tinderbox directly that Sybil is not allowed in the kitchen. Unfortunately, the kitchen is where the brainer thinks that portal to the abyss is. It seems like the dumbwaiter to the old office might pass into that same part of the abyss. Cadbury will make it very hard for her to open that door, though. She leaves and takes some water back to String, to "help with the wounded." That lets her just hang out until she catches Cadbury leaving the kitchen.

The Captain goes back up and tells Fisher he's gotten all he can get out of not-Fisher, but that he could go into the abyss just as easily as get shot. As soon as they arrive, Mr Whisper looks at Fisher and says, "fascinating." Xander looks around and decides the dumbwaiter is his best escape route. If it's there, that is, because otherwise it's a four-story drop. He can tell by the look in Captain Maxwell's eyes that the gloves have come off. Xander tells Not-Fisher that the dumbwaiter is his way out and he should see if it's there. Mr Whisper begins backing away, hands up and open. Maxwell can immediately tell that Xander's got some sort of plan again, and says, "Other Fisher, stop, or I will kill you." Mr Whisper barrels through the dumbwaiter door, straight into a void. Fisher realizes that it opens into the abyss just soon enough to not go running into it himself.

Maxwell and Fisher can't quite believe Xander was conspiring with people again. Xander claims that he wanted to avoid an unnecessary death, but Maxwell reminds him that he wasn't going to order not-Fisher murdered, he was going to let him go into the abyss on his own. Xander tells the boss not to tell him how to do his job, at which point Fisher blurts out, "What the fuck is wrong with you?" Xander tells him to stop mumbling and open his mouth, at which point Fisher slaps him, shouts, "Open your mouth, motherfucker" and kicks him several times while he's down before the boss can pull him off.

Cadbury leaves the kitchen, and Sybil bamboozles poor Tinderbox into letting her alone. Sybil rushes over to the door and goes in. It's entirely black. She closes the door behind her except for a tiny sliver, to give her a sense of where the way out is. That's good, because it means she could hang on to the door, rather than just falling into the abyss. She expects this void to be a place of peace, but it's not. She hears things, like someone far away calling for help. She decides to climb out now, and pulls herself up. The doors are the only thing she can see. They seem to be anchored in nothing at all. She's just pulling herself out when Tinderbox screams.

In the great hall, Bento hears the scream. She and a couple other guards race into the kitchen in time to see Sybil crawling out of the dumbwaiter. String affects unconcern. Bento asks Sybil what the hell she's doing, and then tells the other guards to grab her. Slingshot and Wolfgang move to grab Sybil. The brainer grabs Slingshot's hand with her violation glove and commands the guard to let her go. Slingshot lets go and backs away, sobbing. Wolfgang looks around trying to figure out what the hell is happening, then looks to Bento for a sign, gets it, and moves to punch Sybil in the head. He gets her in the head as she's getting out. She tries to get away. There's enough commotion that Xander hears it in the office.

He orders Xander to brick up the dumbwaiter entrances on both levels. Xander asks about materials and the Captain promises to have someone bring them.

In the kitchen, Sybil is no longer being grabbed, standing in the kitchen. Bento tells her that if she moves a muscle, she will shoot her. Sybil puts her hands up. Maxwell and Fisher go through the great hall, with Maxwell complaining to the gunlugger about Xander's freelancing habit.

Xander does a spot of augury in the office, reaching through the void to not-Fisher, and discovers that ol' Mr Whisper is no longer connected to the world's psychic maelstrom. They enter the kitchen and find Slingshot sitting in the corner, fetal, sobbing, while Wolfgang has a gun on Sybil, and Bento has the brainer covered with an SMG. Maxwell can tell that Bento is one twitch away from opening fire. Bento tells Fisher that if he crosses her line of fire, she'll shoot him before Sybil. Fisher stands still. Maxwell goes looking for String, doesn't see her, and sends someone to find her.

Maxwell then asks Sybil what she did and why the dumbwaiter door is open. She explains that she thoughtfully checked it out for him. Also, someone in the abyss needs their help. The boss offers to throw Sybil in there, and she seems oddly eager for that to happen, which weirds the guards out.

String heads for the roof and then calls out to Xander, asking him to join her on the roof. He tells her that the Captain told him to stay put, but she convinces him to come up anyway. String complains about how unattended portals to the abyss mean dopplegangers coming through. Xander says we can learn from those doubles. String isn't having it. Anyway, it's moot, since Xander explains that not-Fisher took a header into the abyss. String's pleased and says they should go back to her place. Xander frets that leaving would be abandoning his tools. She says Maxwell's made him a slave. Xander doesn't see it that way, and asks what String wants from him. She wants an arm transplant, of course, and she doesn't want it in the courtyard. She talks him into trying to leave the keep with her.

Hotdog finds String and tells her Captain Maxwell needs to see her. When String queries her on the situation, Hotdog repeats herself and opens the strap on her holster. They go down to see Captain Maxwell, Xander leading String with Hotdog behind. As they get to the main floor, String mentions needing to take care of some stuff, specifically, getting medical supplies from the grotto. Hotdog thinks she should tell the Captain about that, and puts her hand on the butt of her gun. String figures her best way out would be to talk Hotdog into being chill, but that's no easy task. She tries explaining that she needs Xander for medical stuff, and that Maxwell's desire to see her is just him being a paranoid ass, whereas String's actually been helping people out a lot. Xander, for his part, figures he could escape by helping String talk her way out, or else he could just shove String into Hotdog and run for it. He decides to help String, and says, "She's right, you know," and then fakes a stumble. Hotdog agrees to let them go, but she's coming with them.

Back in the kitchen, an exasperated Captain asks Sybil why she thinks she's helping. She explains her curiousity about the void and how someone needs help. Maxwell says, "Fine, go back in." She says, "Fine! But it would be good if someone kept the doors open." Maxwell rejects Wolfgang's suggestion to tie a rope onto the brainer. Sybil jumps into the abyss. Maxwell closes the doors behind her. Bento starts wigging. Maxwell says that now, if anyone sees Sybil in the keep, they know it's a double, and they can open fire. Bento rogers that. The Captain moves on to the matter of String, who is missing, as is Hotdog. And Xander. And Cochise. Wolfgang wants someone to tell him what the hell is going on. Maxwell details Bento to make the explanations and goes looking for String, Fisher in tow. Oh, and he orders the necessary supplies sent to the old office.

Xander can't help but be impressed that the grotto is all tidied up. The holes in the walls are fixed, and there's a proper infirmary now. String leads him over there, tells him to pick up some stuff, grabs a cleaver, and cuts her own arm off. She tells Xander to attach the other arm right now. Sadly that arm isn't ready for transplant yet, so he's going to need to stop the bleeding and then get the arm fully assembled, while String gives him helpful tips. It goes really badly, with the new arm talking to him, necrotizing her nerves, and smoking, and he ends up cutting her arm off above the cuff. That's about when Maxwell and Fisher arrive. Fisher joins in and does some first aid. Aster freaks out and Kenzie asks where Sybil is. Maxwell takes off, Xander and Fisher chat while they work, and eventually String starts to get healthier. String starts babbling about needing fresh brains at one point, which is a little odd. Once she's completely stable, Xander thinks to go back to his trailer, but Aster will not allow him to leave until String is better, nor with "her" hand. Xander tries to tell him that the hand isn't what he thinks, but Aster's not budging. Xander just gives up and gives Aster the hand.

Some time passes! Fisher's AP ammo for the assault rifle arrives. When String wakes up, Captain Maxwell gets told, and comes to visit her in the grotto. For her part, String's not happy about what happened with her arm, and tells Xander he needs to figure out how to make the transplant work. She's so moto she's pulling out her IVs so she can go up to the keep. She insists that Xander shouldn't go without her, because she has enough juice to keep the savvyhead from getting trapped there. About that time, Maxwell and Bento turn up. Maxwell tells them all that Sybil went into the void. String explains that she thinks that a matched set of arms would let her reach into the void and pull Sybil back. As far as the Captain can tell, String's looking to destroy the other side. As far as she can tell, the only way to convince the Captain that she's serious would be to put the entire thing on a scientific basis. Meanwhile, Xander tries to suss out who's in control here, and concludes it's neither of them. Nobody is really in control. String figures that she could probably get Maxwell's blessing to Xander working on her hand if they both came to the keep and did it there, so that's what they do. String brings a couple of cultists with her as assistants.

Kenzie has disappeared.

Xander goes to work in another try at hand transplants. He can't get anywhere with the hand. Whatever was powering it before, it's not powering it now. He's going to have to figure out how to fix the hand before he can worry about transplants. He's going to need some wire from the other side to get that done, because the hand keeps baffling his understanding of electrical engineering. He explains his difficulties to String, who insists that her cleaver job was not rash. Then they start talking about the path between worlds, and conclude that the one in Maxwell's office, with doors on both sides, is one that they can make stable and controllable. They could probably get through there to reach the other side and get that wire. String explains the problem to her followers and asks for advice. They're worried, not least because people who cross over from there to here certainly get into trouble. Someone's going to have to hold the portal open at both ends. She'll need to take a small group and travel light.

Xander meets with Maxwell and starts setting out his plan. Maxwell's concern is that the hand doesn't do any good that he can see. Xander starts talking about the dangers of the void. Maxwell wants to talk about not-Fisher's plan instead, and Xander admits it's risky but feasible, whereas he can't really be sure of any dang thing at all with String's plan. They realize they don't know one thing - if all the not-Fisher plan needs is a nuke, why didn't they just get a nuke on their side? Maybe the bomb needs components from both sides. Xander starts reviewing the docs Fisher brought him from the lantern deep, looking to uncover the things he doesn't know. Sadly Fisher didn't grab every single thing. He needs the rest of the documents from that room. String gives him two-barter to further that quest.

String gets her cult amped up and ready to fight for her, then tells them to follow Xander. For the moment, he has his own small 2-harm 0-armor gang to work with. He's also bricked up the dumbwaiter voids, and the windmills still work, so it seems plausible that Maxwell might let him go. He gets Fisher to agree to take him to the lantern deep for 3-barter, and then the two of them go to get Captain Maxwell's permission. The boss approves the mission and offers up the use of a transport vehicle. Then he pulls Fisher aside and says that if Xander runs, Fisher should put an end to all this. Which is fine.