TWG XIII - Dark Matters: Crow's Best (Game Over)

[Kilgamayan]

A far-off region of space lay perfectly still. Out of nowhere, Dark Matter zoomed by, with a Warp Star not far behind. As quickly as they appeared, the two objects vanished, and the emptiness became still once more.

Kirby sighed to himself. This chase had been going on for what seemed like hours. Dark Matter's persistence sure was annoying.

Space is a pretty big place, and suddenly Kirby realized he wasn't sure where he was. He looked around for some celestial body, and his eyes came to rest on a large blue planet. He recognized it instantly, and almost lost control of his Warp Star.

Corneria?? Good gravy, have I really traveled that far?

While realizing he was in the Lylat System was a shock, it instantly brought an idea to his head. He quickly scanned the surrounding area for the Great Fox. And what luck! There it was, idling in orbit above Corneria, and right his flight path.

It was time to bring out the big guns. Kirby concentrated and thought as loud as he could.

---

In in the main bridge of the Great Fox's cockpit, all was at peace until Krystal was jolted out of a half-nap by a mental alert.

"Guys, I'm detecting something out there in space! It's...Kirby!?"

The name brought Fox to attention as well. "Kirby? What the hell is he doing here?"

"Apparently he's chasing something...something evil."

"Well, what is it?"

As if in response, a loud bang was heard as Dark Matter ran into the head of the Great Fox, not particularly caring that it was there as long as it got out of the way.

"I'm guessing that's it!" Falco said.

ROB immediately got to work, and in a few seconds, had Dark Matter on scanner. "Sensors indicate presence of an entity of unknown energy composition. Entity is traveling at high speed and was likely the cause of the earlier collision."

"ROB, that thing is apparently called Dark Matter. Kirby wants us to shoot it since the Warp Star is weaponless."

Peppy took command. "ROB, you heard the lady. Open fire on that thing!"

The Great Fox locked onto Dark Matter, charged up its lasers, and let loose. The hit was direct, and Dark Matter exploded into many smaller pieces that were flung in all directions. The Great Fox was hit by a few, and Kirby himself was nicked by a piece while swerving out of the way of another one.

"Damage report, ROB!"

"Great Fox appears undamaged by all impacts."

"Well, good, guess that's all over with," Slippy said.

But Kirby didn't share the same sentiments, and let Krystal know it.

"No, it's not over yet. Those shardes were still partially sentient. Even worse, Dark Matter can possess other beings, and that will likely be its best course of action now that it is greatly weakened."

"We've still got them on scan, right? ROB, get to work on calculating the trajectories of those things and let us know what you come up with." Fox said.

"Affirmative." A few seconds later, ROB was finished. "Trajectory analyses complete. Display results and most likely candidates for targets."

The situation didn't look good.

Falco whistled. "Damn, they went all over the place! There's one heading over to Brinstar, several to Earth, one to the space region of this year's F-Zero Grand Prix..."

Fox looked grim. "Krystal, tell Kirby to dock that star of his here. It looks like we're going to visit some old friends."

---

After traveling to various planets, the Great Fox population boasted an increase of 13. There was much discussion before Fox quieted everyone down.

"Okay, everyone, looks like we have a good-sized crisis on our hands. You've already all been informed of the situation, so it sounds like we've got some cleaning up to do. Slippy, Peppy and ROB are going to need time to do some investigation into how to solve this matter, so I invite you all to stay the night."

Roy spoke up. "Sounds like detainment to me."

"Well, the last thing we want is this Dark Matter guy wandering around while we're sitting around unable to do anything, right?"

With that uneasy thought in everyone's minds, they went to bed.

---

DISCLAIMER: The story has no bearing on who has what role. Note how I oh so cleverly left open the possibility that Kirby/Fox/Falco got possessed just so people wouldn't go "well he was never touched so he must he human". Yeah, you like that, don't you?

I apologize that the PMs aren't custom like I said they'd be, but I have to get up in less than 6 hours and I have an Engineering Analysis exam today.

Flux has been approved, 3 votes to 2, so he will play.

lightdarkness (Yoshi) - lightdarkness42
nforcer06164 (Roy) - nforcer06164
blahblah18 (Fox) - mastr414
flypie743 (Captain Falcon) - flypie743
JurseyRider734 (Peach) - Xtrialan Derrorx
Lupin_the_Third (Donkey Kong) - LEGAT0Bluesummrs
HansSky (Falco) - NotSoFarOff
Tasselfoot (Bowser) - Tasselfoot
evilbutterfly (Kirby) - evilbutterfly87
Tps222 (Ganondorf) - Tps7910
alainbryden (Ness) - NEIGH006
flux_ (Dr. Mario) - iunh606t6
QreepyBORIS (Pikachu) - QreepyBoris
deltro300111 (Zelda) - IlIke2SuCKchEeSE
stretchypanda (Samus) - iikearitz
Kefit (Ice Climbers) - Kefit42

It is now Night 1. Requesting PMs from all whom I require them of.

Look at that, flypie, you could've been a central figure in the story, but no, you had to go and change to a bit character. :p

[Kilgamayan]

Please note that I have come home for the weekend. If you wish to contact me over AIM, send a message to RabiEnRoll, because bjstrattonIM won't give you a response until Monday.

[Kilgamayan]

The new day began, and 13 guests slowly gathered into the main bridge.

Ganondorf was first to notice that 13 wasn't 14. "Wait, where's Bowser? If I have to be dragged along on this stupid expedition, then so does he!"

"He probably forgot to get up this morning. I've had days like those before," Donkey Kong said.

Peppy was on the situation immediately. "ROB, scan this ship for Bowser's location."

"Scans indicate that target is no longer aboard this ship."

Everyone was shocked by this news. Fox came to his senses first. "What? How? Check last night's activity log, ROB!"

"Affirmative." A few moments of typing passed by, and the bombshell dropped.

"Log indicates use of air-lock system. Unknown sentient being was jettisoned from the ship. All space suits remain in the ship - proper protection was not used."

"..."

Zelda voiced everyone's thoughts. "Look like this Dark Matter is willing to kill others to survive this ordeal..."

"Krystal, can you run a telepathic scan on everyone? Maybe you can tell who's been infected."

"Sorry, Fox, I did that once already when everyone arrived. All 14 scans came up clean. Whatever this thing is, it can hide itself from me."

Panic swept the room. Who was infected? Who wasn't?

Peach offered a solution. "Well, if we can't figure out who's infected the easy way, why not do it by trial and error? Get rid of potentially infected people until we're sure they're all gone."

Falco was not happy with the plan. "Wait, you want us to kill MORE people? What are you, nuts?"

"How else can we ensure the threats are removed? If you've got a better plan, I'd like to hear it."

Peppy spoke up. "She's right, Falco. As much as I don't like it, this looks like the best course of action..."

---

It is now Day 1.

lightdarkness (Yoshi)
nforcer06164 (Roy)
blahblah18 (Fox)
flypie743 (Captain Falcon)
JurseyRider734 (Peach)
Lupin_the_Third (Donkey Kong)
HansSky (Falco)
evilbutterfly (Kirby)
Tps222 (Ganondorf)
alainbryden (Ness)
flux_ (Dr. Mario)
QreepyBORIS (Pikachu)
deltro300111 (Zelda)
stretchypanda (Samus)
Kefit (Ice Climbers)

Tasselfoot has been killed. 15 players left, 8 votes is an insta-lynch. You have 72 hours to vote.

By the way, Peach saying "trial and error" was not an intentional pun.

[lightdarkness]

Holy shit.

[alainbryden]

wtf

I can see two things wrong with this.

1) After what happened last week the best players should have been guarded first day.
2) After what happened last week the wolves should have assumed 1 and not even tried.

I can't decide whether it's more likely this was done by a player with alot of guts or someone who didn't think any further than their nose.

~Ness

[flypie743]

Look at that, flypie, you could've been a central figure in the story, but no, you had to go and change to a bit character.

I couldn't betray CF. He is my favorite character.

EDIT: He is my best character, too :>

[lightdarkness]

Jay: EB
Jay: ATTENTION
Neigh006: yeah...
Jay: I'M GOING OFF OF THE FIRST
Jay: LIST
Jay: OK?
evilbutterfly87: hahahaha
Jay: //roll-dice1-sides16
Jay: lightdarkness42 rolled 1 16-sided die: 8
Jursey: o_O
evilbutterfly87: me!
Flypie: *hopes 8 is LD*
evilbutterfly87: how ironic
Jay: lol
Jay: it's tass
Neigh006: hehe
HansSky: haha that's Tass, isn't it?
Jay: re rolling
Jursey: Yes it is XD
Jay: //roll-dice1-sides16
Jay: lightdarkness42 rolled 1 16-sided die: 11
Neigh006: omg
Neigh006: he rolled tass
Flypie: *hopes 11 is LD*
Jay: lol
Jay: it's neigh

Ness, you get YOSHI!'s random vote.

[Lupin_the_3rd]

I suppose it was about time that the wolves got past that whole reverse psychology thing on wolfing the best player.

I have to disagree with you Alain, when you say they didn't think farther than their nose. There are 3 wolves, so it's safe to assume we have an experienced wolf "group". Obviously a veteran player isnt likely to be led by a newer player, so what the better/more experienced player says goes. This being said, it's likely that it was a good player who is willing to take a risk. This ought to narrow down the possibilities a small amount.

[nforcer06164]

I don't completely agree, Lupin. Any player, veteran or newbie, could've seen Tass's recent first-day strategy: tell the seer to see him as soon as possible to confirm his humanity. Now, in TWG XII, when he used this strategy and was a wolf, it would've been wise for the seer to see him first, but unfortunately, the seer was bumped off night one. Tass, who we now know is human, could've given the wolves an extra day to kill others while the seer wasted a day on him, if he or she chose to buy into his strategy.

I don't quite think you are right in saying whoever it was had to be a better or more experienced player, but whoever did it was, indeed, taking a risk. However, I think the wolves may have made a small error in wolfing him when they could've let him lure the seer into using up one night, as he usually does.

[evilbutterfly]

I'd bet it was somebody who knows what they're doing rather than some newb who just saw that the top dogs could die. People who have said in the past that they'd kill Tass night 1 (me, blah, alain I think) are most likely behind this. Of course, we can't instantly condemn all of those people because it would only take one of them being a wolf to get Tass killed. It's just something to keep in mind.

[nforcer06164]

Originally Posted by evilbutterfly

I'd bet it was somebody who knows what they're doing rather than some newb who just saw that the top dogs could die. People who have said in the past that they'd kill Tass night 1 (me, blah, alain I think) are most likely behind this. Of course, we can't instantly condemn all of those people because it would only take one of them being a wolf to get Tass killed. It's just something to keep in mind.

What I meant was, any newbie could've read any past TWG and understood the situation. It's highly doubtful that we have three newbies on our hands, but anything is possible.

Also, anybody that may have caught onto the idea of wolfing Tass night 1 could easily use that information to frame one of you that had discussed it. I think it was wise to get a jump on that like you did, but I don't necessarily think that means that one of you are behind it. It wouldn't be smart to throw around wolf strategies and then use them, it would make yourself too obvious. Then again, some reverse-psychology could be involved, but it's too early to rule out anything.

[Lupin_the_3rd]

Also, anybody that may have caught onto the idea of wolfing Tass night 1 could easily use that information to frame one of you that had discussed it.

I don't think would be really practical to place a vote for that reason, making that idea of framing them not the brightest one. Doing so makes you look suspicious, not to mention the fact that no wolf will get a lynch on one of the more experienced players this early in the game without a hell of a lot of evidence.

[blahblah18]

Ok, the wolves want to take this risk, good for them.. but let me say several things for future reference to maybe stop the bleeding in the future...
If the wolves want to try and take me or tass out night 1, so be it... lets agree that one of us should be guarded, and that it shouldn't be said who..
they have a 50 % chance of killing a main player, but that only helps them a lot, it doesn't guarantee a win (see last game)
On the other hand, they'll have a 50 % chance of GIVING THE GAME TO THE HUMANS... all roles will go to the acquitted and the game will be a cakewalk (see me guarding EB)

so although this sucks, and nothing can be done about it., hopefully this post will offer some protection to us in future games...

More to come when I have more to say

[Tasselfoot]

GL Guys... just gotta say that this is some unlucky bs for me:

Kilga told me the wolves initially picked someone else and switched to me.
Kilga told me the guardian initially guarded me and switched to someone else.

GL. See y'all in TWG XIV.

[evilbutterfly]

Oh, and I'd just like to say: Tass is not the god of TWG. Losing him does not mean we're screwed. In the past, sometimes people will lose a power player and feel lost and hopeless because they rely on them way too much. Don't take this loss as any different from the loss of another player, it's just as bad. As long as you people don't give up now, we can win this :P.

t wouldn't be smart to throw around wolf strategies and then use them

Seriously, I would have killed him. You thinking that is what makes presenting strategies you'll use such a great thing. Tass dying shows that the wolves have progressed to like...triple reverse psychology, so what makes you think they'd stop there?

[stretchypanda]

Hm.

So, there's a lot that I could say, but I'd hate to be yelled at for repeating what's already been stated.

We've got a good enough mixture of vets and newbs that ANYONE could have gone for Tass, whether knowledgeable of his high status or not, so there's actually not a lot to go on there, but I have to say I definitely expect this more from our vets (such as a certain someone who keeps pointing out that he and a few others have said they would go for Tass first).

SIGH, I finally get to play a game with Tass and you people kill him. Jerks.

EDIT: Slightly related: If there is a chat going on on AIM, I don't think Trillian will allow me into it. :/

[deltro300111]

Originally Posted by evilbutterfly

I'd bet it was somebody who knows what they're doing rather than some newb who just saw that the top dogs could die. People who have said in the past that they'd kill Tass night 1 (me, blah, alain I think) are most likely behind this. Of course, we can't instantly condemn all of those people because it would only take one of them being a wolf to get Tass killed. It's just something to keep in mind.

True, but the logical converse of that is that you are all wolves, and we should condemn you all. It's just something to keep in mind.

[JurseyRider734]

Well I guess after seeing in the last TWG that a huge player was wolfed night one, I guess the wolves tried to do it again. Although they lost last game, I don't think it will do that much as long as some type of alliance is formed.

Eb, you would have killed Tass? Maybe you did.

[evilbutterfly]

May be. I'm not one to act like it couldn't be me. I tend to present possibilities (even if they're self-damning) and nothing more. I'm surprised more people don't already know this about me.

[Kefit]

Well, Tass is dead. I'm not all that surprised, especially after last game.

I'm thinking this move was made by a long time player. Why? Well, look back at the first few TWGs that were won by the humans (specifically, the games that were held before the introduction of the master wolf). If memory serves me correctly, all of those games were won by the seer forming an alliance with Tass, and letting it grow from there. As far as I could tell, that sort of alliance, when properly run, is pretty much uncounterable by the wolves. Maybe I am missing a key flaw in that strategy, in which case this whole post is pretty much worthless, but I don't think that I am.

Now look at this game. We have no master wolf. In other words, an alliance like the ones in our early games is a perfectly sound strategy. How does the seer start this alliance? By seeing Tass, of course. It could be that a successful seeing of Tass as a human would be all that is needed for the wolves to be screwed. It is imperitive for the wolves to stop such a thing from happening, so they go after Tass. It's unlikely that he will be guarded anyway, as even if the guardian decides to guard one of the "valuble" players (ie, Tass, blah, alain), which itself is unlikely, the guardian will still have only a one in three chance of guarding Tass. If the wolves manage to kill him, then yay, they get an actual game to play. If they don't manage to kill him, then they were probably screwed anyway.

Now I know that I have expressed my annoyance with the view that Tass is TWG god or whatever, and that this post seems to contradict that. However, the fact is that Tass knows what he is doing in a basic game like this. Furthermore, he has the experience necessary to avoid making mistakes. Sure, others would be capable of leading an human alliance with the seer, but I doubt that any would do it nearly as well as Tass.

Besides this though, I am not ready to start speculating on who among the vets I could suspect. I think I'll let things go on for a bit more before looking into that.