FOG Prologue: Third Impact

Beretta Pietro is the daughter of and heiress to an arms manufacturing mega-trust. She’s polite, prim, proper and perfect. But by night she leads another life: that of the Stampede King, a rough and tumble rodeo renegade who wrangles ruffians as the leader of her own gang.

## Characters

### Major Appearances

* Beretta
* Sarissa
* Mallow
* Cassius
* Teach
* Arche
* Dodge

### Minor Appearances

* Song
* William
* Sam
* Hyle
* Harpe
* Atreus
* Poplar

## Summary

### Extended Summary

The scene opens three days before the disappearance of Beretta Pietro. In a junkyard, Beretta the Stampede King fires off against Sarissa the Red in the midst of a foggy storm. Sarissa handily takes out the grunts between them, but is quickly interrupted as Gallav intercepts. Though the two are evenly matched in terms of size, Gallav is deflected just as easily. Lamenting the absence of their third ally, referred to as "Joker," Gallav dives in again, only to be tossed aside. Sarissa approaches Beretta and reaches out a hand, and places a hand upon the Stampede King's head, chiding her on her lack of experience. As she does, however, a sickening feeling that she hadn't experienced in months begins to rise, a vision flashing forth of the city shrouded in darkness, dyed red. And in an instant, everything fades to black.

The scene flashes forward two days as Beretta lies in her room, thinking back on the past few days. She had gathered with her allies to discuss how to approach the increasing Tempest occupation before the leader herself, Sarissa, had appeared. However, the 24 hours since then were blank, and Beretta now rests, recovering from whatever "episode" had caused this. She thought that she had gotten over those visions of "the labyrinth," which she notes with no small amount of frustration. After her time resting, however, she now feels well enough to move, immediately opting to neaten her bed and check her schedule.

Already swinging back into a productive mindset, she hears her father, William Pietro, (very loudly) approaching, ecstatic to see her feeling well. He, just as loudly, asks what happened to her, as he recalls her being brought home days ago "carried like a sack of potatoes." Beretta admits she'd been keeping a secret from him: that she'd taken up "an extracurricular in tutoring economics." Somehow satisfied with this answer, William says he'd like to show her something he'd been working on while she was out. He takes out a gun and begins shooting the keys on the piano nearby, proclaiming it "piano-proof bullets." Beretta is touched.

William also mentions how her teacher had been worried about her, and she promises she'd catch up on university work as quickly as she can. After expressing his worry one last time, Beretta decides to head back out to the University for her last class, despite how late in the afternoon she'd woken up. Stepping out of her apartment in Pinion Tower, she soon runs into a rather intimidating figure named Fisher Magnus, whose attitude towards fishing (and most other things) is... rather intense. Beretta notes this is not the strangest thing going on in Indigo and continues, knowing she was not the person he was seeking.

The rest of her walk uneventful, she arrives at the University and enters her class, a math class run by one Professor Song: one of her favorites. This completes one of her Scheduled Tasks, bringing up her attitude. As class ends, her friend Mallow takes notice to her presence, to which she explains she "had a flu." Sharing a moment of mutual exhaustion, they begin to talk, Mallow expressing appreciation that Beretta was helping her out. Beretta offers to teach Mallow how to shoot a gun. Mallow puts a pin in the thought. They talk briefly about homeroom classes before Song approaches to put in a good word for Teach's class. As Beretta was already in her homeroom, she suggests that Mallow join in as well. Thinking it over, Mallow genuinely considers it.

Starting to leave the class, Mallow asks if Beretta is *truly* okay, attempting to Empathize with her. Beretta admits she'd "been better," but quickly deflects, saying that Mallow seemed preoccupied as well. The two of them bond over their mutual exhaustion, Mallow explaining that something was around the school that she couldn't talk about and she seemed to be the only one who could see it. Beretta, going through something similar, shares her own experiences, including the reason why she disappeared. Knowing they weren't speaking in private, they opt to share numbers in case either of them got into serious trouble. Bond up! Serious emotional heart-to-heart complete, Beretta promptly begins to teach Mallow how to shoot a gun.

During their lesson (that checks another two tasks off her Schedule,) Beretta receives a text from "Bill," simply containing the words, in all caps, "They got Jaku!!!" Sensing trouble, she texts back to get the boys together, as it was time to "go moseying." With that, she begins to head off to the Warehouse District Junkyard. As she reaches Hull Street, she quickly changes into her Stampede King outfit out of sight (putting on a hat so that nobody recognizes her,) muttering cowboy-isms to hype herself up. Before she gets too far, however, a figure calls out, attempting exhaustedly to stutter out a name before pointing to Beretta, handing her a package. She knows it must be from her father, considering the bullet hole in the side. As the figure exits the scene, she opens the package to find an intricate gun.

Examining it, she notices a citizen eating a donut. Recalling her schedule, she requests that he throw up a donut. The citizen, unperturbed, agrees, tossing one of his many donuts into the air. Drawing quickly, she fires it, aiming to shoot through the center. She fails, destroying it instantly. Flatly, the figure gives her another chance, tossing another donut into the air. She whiffs that attempt as well. Suddenly feeling incredibly embarrassed due to missing two skill shots (and firing a gun in public,) Beretta quickly runs off.

Finally arriving at the Junkyard, albeit a bit sullenly, she meets up with her boys: a group of people with ten-gallon hats and beautiful pompadours. Beretta's mood instantly picked up, and they greet her with a resounding "howdy!" Blancho Bill, her second in command, updates her on the situation: Jaku had been captured by the Gaillardians. Mulling the situation over, Beretta notes that planning tactics would be a smart decision... but not her style. It was time to mosey.

On the bridge to Seaside, they run in just in time to see Sarissa handily tossing Tide's grunts into the water below. The stampeders quickly take cover to watch as a figure, Harpe, motions them over to hide. The fighting ceases, all of the Tide being swept out of the way effortlessly, and Sarissa begins making her leave-- making direct eye contact with Beretta. Sarissa greets her in a chiding fashion, intrigued, and Beretta responds her in kind, saying she couldn't be kept down for long. Switching her approach, Sarissa says that it was "awfully unkind" of Beretta to have a meeting without inviting her. Unfazed, Beretta simply replies they "did not have enough snacks." Harpe begins laughing. The menace in her demeanor dying down, Sarissa begins to leave, asking Beretta to let "Queen" and "Joker" know that she was coming for them next. Looking at Harpe, she simply remarks that she "thought all the clowns were in Seaside," and leaves.

Harpe, admittedly afraid, says that he "deserved that," and congratulates Beretta on standing up to the leader of the Tempest. She simply says that she had to protect her boys, looking across her still-terrified squad. The two introduce themselves-- as another Tempest member mutters that their stunt was a "bold move." He admits that he can't stop them, but advises that they be careful and leaves. Harpe is a bit unsettled by the ominous nature of their words, but quickly realizes the people in the water needed help and dives in after them. Beretta, thinking quickly, also gets her boys to help. In helping these people, she crosses another task off of her schedule.

As they go, Harpe mentions he was a college student in Teach's class, to which Beretta states she "hadn't been" to the university yet, but would see him around. Harpe, unperturbed, simply says her words were cryptic and leaves. The Tide, now safely out of the water, thank her for giving hell to the Tempest and making their jobs easier, and also take their leave. Task completed, they continue on their way to Seaside.

Passing through the streets, they're stopped by a Tempest captain, who points out Beretta as "the one who disappeared with Boss." asking how she pulled it off. She replies that she has her ways. The captain, Anset, off duty, mulls about how similar the stunt was to the disappearances lately, curious of how she managed to "poof a person." Beretta doesn't share any more information. Unable to do much more, the captain, Anset, asks that she not take Sarissa with her whenever she "poofs" people, and to just disappear on her own. Evidently, when Sarissa came back, she'd come back covered in blood, delivering Beretta to Pinion Tower. Intrigued, Beretta admits she knew none of this, seeing a new side in Sarissa.

Noticing their seeming disdain about their job, Beretta offers to help their investigation of the disappearances if they joined the Stampeders. Exhausted, they admit money was less of the problem, and rather the lack of fulfilling work and communication. However, they were impressed with her professionalism. Beretta notes this, and asks her boys to get her "at least four" waters. It was good to stay hydrated. Now that they were alone, however, Beretta levels with them, saying they could cut the formalities and share information face-to-face, saying she had a bit of trust in them. Anset relaxes with the change of tone and agrees, and they begin to swap information.

Anset reveals that, for a while, the Tempest thought the Stampeders had killed Sarissa. Then, when she's spotted next, she doesn't head to headquarters, but rather to bring Beretta to Seaside. In turn, she tells them what she knows, as they say they wouldn't report it to the Tempest due to them being off duty-- and also due to the fact that it was the first time they'd been treated like a professional in a while. Before they part, Beretta offers to share contact information, and Anset obliges. Beretta tactfully avoids mentioning that the only other number in their phone was a work contact, and rather offers to get snacks with them later, if they'd like. Flustered, they quickly accept, and scuttle off. Beretta feels accomplished. Her boys return with a handful of waters, a cactus, and a turtle. She lets them keep the turtle, drinking the waters and crossing another task off her schedule.

Heading to the Gaillardian district, they take a gondola over to the fleet, a small city made of interconnected boats-- a place they weren't exactly welcomed. Digging for information, they find that Jaku had been taken to the Admiral's boat-- and "things weren't looking too good." No one was allowed on that ship at the time. Their plan secured, they quickly head inside the boat.

Inside the boat, they run into their first obstacle: someone at a piano. Having just the thing, Beretta fires at the piano with her Piano-Proof Gun, creating a distraction and allowing them to sneak past and through the kitchen. Past that, they find two more people, planning their next move. Bill peeks in to check their stances-- and is immediately dragged into the next room. Abandoning their stealth, Beretta and the Boys quickly jump into action to rescue him, bursting into the room to find him stuffed into an oversized net held by a mouse-like figure. They complain about having to take him to the brig due to them being on break-- and runs off before the others can do anything. The boys lament the loss of their ally. The second figure, a sailor, doesn't engage, but rather tells them that the brig doors are unlocked, and Bill would likely just walk out after being put in. Opting to get him later, the Boys continue.

In the brig, Bill and the figure, Poplar, admit there wasn't much they could do from their standpoint, but agree to make the inevitable escape sound "as cool as possible."

Beretta and the boys make it to the top floor of the ship, they notice a person coming down the hallway and dive into a nearby room-- which is surprisingly nicely furnished. After snooping about, they steal a diary off of a table to decide what to do with later, their morals and priorities completely straight. Continuing on their way to the end, they kick open the door to the Admiral's office, who seems rather unperturbed by their entrance. Beretta, addressing them, asks for the location of Jaku. The Admiral reveals that their missing boy was not taken unwillingly, but rather of their own volition, and leads them to their location.

In a different ship, namely the clinic ship, they find Jaku in one of the rooms, who seemed excited to see her. He updates the squad on their situation: he'd been on his way to assist Beretta after her disappearance, but had been caught by the Tempest, kept in a room for questioning. After Sarissa's reappearance, however, he'd been taken elsewhere and given an injection before being set loose. He'd felt sick for a few days before the Gaillardians found him, wanting to know what the Tempest had done. After a few days of testing, however, they could find nothing wrong. Even so, he wanted to continue coming back, apologizing for scaring them. Beretta, glad to see he was all right, allows it.

The boys take their leave, but before Beretta can follow, the Admiral, Atreus, mentions that Jaku had been acting rather erratically, but didn't seem to recall it. They were unable to discern anything from it, but request that she return if she finds out any more information, giving her his office number. Making a promise of mutual honesty, Atreus and Beretta obtain the world's most tense Bond Up! Exchange completed, Beretta rejoins her boys and heads off.

Everything seemed normal until they made their way back to their side of the docks. Suddenly, a familiar sickening feeling dawns over Beretta as she looks at Jaku, his eyes suddenly seeming empty as something changes. He begins muttering to himself, breaking into a panic and falling to his knees, As Beretta asks what's wrong, Jaku quickly says that he isn't who she thinks he is, that he's with the church, and begins to mutter about things he can't tell her. When she continues trying to console him, he bolts, saying that they weren't safe. Thinking quickly, Beretta makes chase, the sickness continuing, and all at once, reaching a breaking point.

The scenery flashes again, the familiar scenery of the red city and long tunnels returning-- and suddenly, she was somewhere else, the scene she'd seen so many times before, with nothing to go off of other than where Jaku had disappeared into the darkness. Finding that this was no longer a dream, she runs after him, entering a room that he'd run into where he sits in a corner, the floor scattered with broken glass. In an instant, something large sweeps over him, a sweeping, slug-like mass of tendrils, and Beretta steps back, danger senses blaring.

She remembers a red city of towering statues and blaring floodlights, barely managing to drag herself forward through the mess of tunnels-- but someone else was there as well. Things lurch through the shadows towards them, and they travel back to back, barely managing to keep themselves alive-- and she suddenly remembers her face. Sarissa. And Beretta was back in this strange place, but this time, all on her own. Seeing this new threat, Beretta does all she can: she runs.

As she goes, however, something bursts forward through the darkness-- or rather, someone. The mail girl steps forward, delivering her a package: a flashlight. A bit confused, Beretta asks if she should be here. The mail girl, Hyle, seems ultimately unperturbed, and explains they were "underneath," somewhere you walk around and sometimes slip into-- and only sometimes slip out. And she leaves, giving the final tip to "be careful where you step." Tension returning with the acute sense of the creature following after her, Beretta continues, unsure of what to do next.

Continuing forward, she stops as she notices something in the periphery of her vision, the flapping of wings filling the air. Small, bat-like creatures that look like winged masks begin to approach-- and they can see her. Unintimidated, Beretta stares back at them. It approaches, eyes fixated on her, more of them approaching in kind, a presence beginning to build. It feels as though the maze has noticed her-- an unsettling feeling. She attempts to call out to the creatures, but they immediately respond by darting towards her. Thinking quickly, she draws and fires, nailing all three of them with well-aimed gunshots, her confidence returning.

The creatures staved off, however, she feels the presence of something behind her as something pokes into her leg. A spiny tendril almost seems to connect her to something just out of sight in the darkness as a heaviness dawns over her, the entity beginning to approach. Her vision begins to fail, but something else rockets into the scene, a streak of red light tackling the entity to the floor. Metallic grinding fills the area, but she can't quite make it out in the growing darkness-- and it approaches her in the final moments of her vision, a towering figure with a weapon she can't quite parse out, and it places a single claw upon her hat. And in an instant, Beretta feels herself being pulled violently back-- and finds herself somewhere completely different.

Her vision returned, she finds herself in an alley, another figure standing with her. They offer her two bags, the faintest notion of a smile on their face. Looking inside, she finds a hamburger, and the figure leaves. The rest of their encounter fades to fuzz, but she does remember one thing: whenever she enters the labyrinth, the man would also be there to offer her food. But just as quickly as she remembered, that memory fades as well.

Beretta wanders the streets, removing her hat before another whistle catches her attention. Hyle returns with her final package for the day, specifying it's "the most important one," handing her an envelope. Her allowance. Shift over, Hyle leaves once again, leaving Beretta to wonder if she was quietly losing her mind. Beginning to wander again, she runs into a familiar face-- one Martha Teach, spacing out outside of a bar. As Beretta approaches, however, she snaps back to attention, wondering what she was doing out so late. Beretta says that she was tutoring. Teach, seeing that she looks, quote, "like shit," is a bit suspicious. Passing that over, Teach explains that she was at the bar with another student and offers to buy her a drink for a talk on the topic of "school safety." Beretta agrees, needing a calm moment after the preceding events.

Teach introduces Beretta to the group (consisting of Arche, Dodge, and Cassius,) and she quickly notices Mallow present as well, and they begin to talk amiably as the group moves over to a booth. Mallow vouches for updating Beretta on the situation as Arche yells for Cassius to join her and spare her the pain of Small Talk. With everyone accounted for, Teach explains the presence of the monster in the university, to which Mallow contributes, "School's haunted." Beretta muses that it was likely not just the school, but likely the entire city. She admits she'd thought she was dealing with the weirdness all on her own, and updates the group on what she'd seen in the Underneath.

Hearing that she met Hyle in the Underneath, Arche begins lamenting that Hyle did not teach her how to enter it, and offers no further explanation (much to the confusion of Cassius.) As Beretta finishes talking about her experiences (and after mulling about the strangeness of the situation,) Teach starts a group chat with the rest of the group to keep updated. That secured, they talk about how much information to share outside of their circle, deciding to try and keep the number of people aware of the situation to a minimum. Everything said and done, they decide to get some rest and meet up in the morning after Teach's homeroom for an investigation.

After chattering about their plan for the night, Beretta offers to let Mallow stay at her apartment to avoid heading back to the University dorms. In turn, Cassius lets Teach stay over his place for the night, though she admits she likely won't get much sleep after the events of the day. With a final, inspiring call to action, the group disperses, ready for whatever hell may come next.

As Cassius and Teach, the last of the group in the bar, are about to leave, Cassius shakes Teach's hand, activating Red String of Fate. And as he does, he sees a myriad of strings attached to her-- and a bright, red tower that encompasses the entire group. A terrible and frightening sensation, yet comforting.

A beacon of safety, despite the odds.

End of Session.