TFR/Off-Season 5

The fourth Off-Season of TFR. Janny plays through the game of Troubleshooter, a more plot driven X-COM.

Plot
The (Korean?) City-state Valhalla, a state co-funded by the three world powers, cannot have an army of it's own, and as such crime is rampant. The government, in the revolting chaos, allowed a group of private security to investigate and arrest criminals, Troubleshooters. To become one, you must obtain a licence, which requires 3 months of field training with a troubleshooter company, under a more experience troubleshooter.

Albus Bernstein studied under troubleshooter trainer Jean for 3 months. Despite the gruelling work, Albus was able to keep focused on his goal thanks to the support of his aunt Lilly, who was his last remaining family member, and could never since she never had a chance to visit. His goal was actually accessing information only available to troubleshooters, but to his disappointment, only Mithril access level users were allowed to see information about the mysterious "disaster" that had happened 10 years ago.

He ends up recruiting Sion into his company along the way when battling a terrorist group known as "Spoonists".

He gets a request to rescue civilians from Road 113, a road connecting the East Alliance with Valhallla that passes through the Iron Forest that often gets attacked by Tima beasts. There, he meets with a traveler caught on the incident called Heixing Alley, who offers his help if he is not arrested for possessing no ID. After rescuing all civilians, Heixing takes a working car nearby and Albus informs him that that will make a criminal, but that he will not stop him as he's not strong enough, to wich Heixing responds that it will never happen. After Heixing leaves, Albus and Sion promise to become stronger for the next time they meet.

Albus and Sion receive immediate back-up orders at Crow-bill Station, where a group of policemen are being sieged by criminals. Along them arrives Hero Irene, and they meet with Inspector Isaac Gorden, and they take control of the situation. However, after the fight, the roadblocks stop the medical team from making it and Isaac contacts a girl known as the "Blessing" of the city, Healer Anne Macy. However, policeman Joel's wounds are too heavy, and despite Anne's best efforts, she doesn't manage to save him.

Even despite that, Anne refused to let go and continued trying to heal him. 『Dead』. Irene leaves in a hurry without feeling like talking. Sion decides to take the day off and go to Pugo Shopping District, when the "Militias" that ask merchants for a cut appear. Marco Bardo appears to boss them around, and mention this is the territory of 『Angry Bull』, one of the main powers of Wind Wall District. Meanwhile, Ray Alley, Leton Alley and Carter Alley are being chased by thugs. When Sion goes to buy food, he meets with Heixing Alley again. After some thugs steal some dumplings, Heixing tells Sion that a troubleshooter like him should care about this. Despite Sion trying to deny it, the malleants hear him say the word and all hell breaks loose. While beating some thugs, Leton sees Alley and calls out his name. While cleaning a street of thugs, Carter crosses his path with Marco of Vendetta, who asks him to pass. Despite sensing him being really strong, he stands in his way and barely defeats him, but Marco manages to leave. Heixing and Sion team up to beat the enemies. The boss, Scott The Angry Bull, then is helped by the Darkspoon Sharky, a bigshot of the spoonists, in thanks for giving a home to his brethren. After the fight, Heixing meets up with the other Alleys, who tought him dead, and they finally meet after what is apparently a long time, and promises to stay with them.

Albus's company gets called to do a full raid on the "Magenta Back-streets", a low-life area that evolved near the district walls. Scott, one of the gang's boss, promises revenge on Foo and Trey for not backing him up, and on the Alleys too. Scott, leader of the Angry Bull gang, along with Foo and Trey of the White Tiger and Black Tiger gangs, had all lost their parents 10 years ago to the Silverlining Troubleshooter company. Meanwhile, Foo and Trey watch as the other of the three gangs is subdued.

After not seeing Irene for a while, Sion begins to get worried. Sion tells Albus that it's their duty to help Irene become a true hero and go ask her to join them. They go investigate Blue Fog Street where there have been reports of her, and after asking around, find her on a rooftop. Initially guilty and losing confidence on her actions after the Crow-bill incident, she wanted to give up. But Albus and Sion's cheering convince her to join them as a troubleshooter and become a real hero, as she has now friends to rely on.

After their next mission, Don's bar get's visited by a individual known as Marco. Getting bored of talking, Marco taunts Don by breaking some stuff, and remarks that as he can't report a criminal member from Vendetta to the police, 50 Vill oft to be enough. Telling of how the bar's name sounds like an awful company from some 10 years ago, Don takes on in his offer. Despite Don's strenght, Marco manages to defeat him. After the fun, Marco delivers a message from "Chris" and a District-Transit Permit, and takes 50 Vill and leaves.

After the raid on Magenta backstreets, the remaining gang members of Angry Bull go to Pugo backstreets, now in dissaray since the dissapearance of their boss and betrayal of the other two families. The flame of conspiracy begins to invade the members minds and a few of them attack the spoonists who had been providing weapons to them. After taking care of them, the Angry Bull's provisory leader arrives, and is offered a spoonist mask by Darkspoon Sharky. They then are raided by VHPD members and Albus' company.

Next day at Silverlining Bar, Don is met with Inspector Isaac Gorden, and they don't exactly have a good relationship. Don calls the police forces "incompetent" and hasn't changed in the 10 years they've known each other, he calls police a joke and mere pawns. Isaac goes to Albus' office, and explains that since the incident in Ramji Plaza, Spoonists from all over the place are going towards Wind Wall District searching for their "Promised Land". However despite that, no spoonists have been arrested near district checkpoints. He mentions that the economy has improved since Road 113 was cleared, and construction materials have become more profitable than ever, and due to that there was an increase of private unloading docks in the Ashen Harbor. However, they have already found the docks spoonists are using. Sion notices that there must be a reason why he's talking to them about it instead of giving it on a mission, and Isaac then reveals that there is a spy within the police lines. They need to recover information from the docks but without it being compromised. They need someone to defend the engineer recovering the data from spoonists.

Albus' company arrives to Hasan Island in the Ashen River where they meet Kylie Zu, the tech specialist for the mission, and protect her while downloading the data and defeating the Spoonists. With their help, she gathers all the information and leaves. Albus decides to take the day off. During his free time, Albus usually searched for people who knew something of him or his parents 10 years ago. For the information, Isaac gives him the possible whereabouts of his mother's grave, located near Ashen Harbor Street. On his way he crosses Anne Macy and Luna talking to a tech seller, and he ask him how to reach the cemetery. When Anne was running away the day of the Pugo Street incident, she found Luna Estina standing completely unfazed despite being threatened by gangsters, and before they attacked her, Anne scared them away. After that, Anne took an interest in Luna and they became friends. They make their way to the cemetery to check the view, as Don is seen saying goodbye to a flower-laid grave he calls "sister-in-law". As Albus reaches the location, from the distance, information of him being alone quickly spreads to Spoonists thanks to the merchant he previously met being secretly a spoonist. As Albus is quickly surrounded, he thinks to provoke the spoonists so they leave the children out of this, and Anne tries to put herself between them and Luna to protect her.

However, despite his best efforts, he was overwhelmed by the Spoonists. Anne tries to help Albus, but she is surrounded by them as well. Luna, seeing her friend hurt, cries out to Marco to give her "her doll", and promises to listen to him and never try to be normal anymore or see Anne again, and to please give her the chance to save her.

Her with her "chainsaw teddy" she viciously murders all the spoonists in cold blood. Marco calls Luna "his guardian" and says it is the end of the ordinary girl luna. Marco calls the police and they vanish without a trace. 3 days later, Anne cursed herself for not being strong enough, and Albus finished what he had come to do, and find his mother's grave. Finally, Albus reunites on a flower-laid grave with his mother, Alma Nox, after 10 years.

Some days later, a strange visitor appears in Albus' office; Anne Macy requested to join the company. Despite initial wariness by Albus, Sion and Irene convince him to let her join. On their next mission, Albus' team goes to Ashen Harbor. Before they get there, Troubleshooters Bianca LeBlanc and Alisa are seen there conversing. When Road 113 closed, people requested the harbor to be teared down for it's maintenance cost, but Bianca's grandfather maintained them, because Bianca didn't want to lose her father's special place, since it was a memory of him. Meanwhile, a surviving member of the Angry Bull gang named Jason, decides to escape Valhalla since both other gangs are hunting him and his team, and go to East Alliance. They are ambushed by opposite gang members and labelled traitors, but a third party shows up: Ryo Ryuzaki, an assassin from Yggdrasil District, who takes out the assailants, and despite Jason's efforts, also his men. Albus' team arrives and stops the rest of the criminals from escaping, but they also clash with Ryo, who proves a threat. On the abandoned Iron Forest railway, a group of spoonist receive a weapon contraband by Danny Law, leader of the 'Crow' gang and Carter Alley. However, the situation escalates when one recognizes Carter. Danny shoots the men running away, and executes the other two. With no witnesses, Danny orders Carter to disguise the situation as a Tima attack. Danny's plan is to weaken the gangs, Spoonists and Timas with conflict between them as revenge for exiling him to the East Alliance, now disguised as a weapon merchant between them. Soon, all three factions send reinforcements to avenge their lost comrades, along with elite spoonists Na-am and Turk, former 'Alleys' under Carter.

Albus' team arrives after police notice of possible spoonism activity in the area. Anne somehow recognizes the strange Tima, and calls it "Silver", who upon seeing Anne runs away from the scene. Albus team successfully defeated the spoonists and gangsters.

Inspector Isaac plans a surprise attack on a spoonist outpost by having Albus' team hidden in a truck of weapons. The raid is a success, but Isaac is suspended for a month due to his use of civilians in the plan. Afterwards, Spoonism is declared a terrorist act. 2 Week prior to the Crow-bill Station Incident, he and Isaac were talking under the rain after duty, and Joel offered to go eat with him. A week later, he is eating at Yusuke's street ramen shop, mentioning to the vendor that he prefers to be alone and Joel just joined by himself last time. 6 months earlier, during a mission, lieutenant Joel is reprimanded by Isaac for risking his life trying to save civilians before Troubleshooters arrived. Joel was trying to prove the VHPD could compete with Troubleshooters, but Isaac reafirns he should trust them. 3 Hours before Crow-bill Station Incident, Isaac and Albus find each other eating at Yusuke's place, and Isaac thinks to himself, that he hopes the new generation can take care of Valhalla. 10 weeks before, Joel had met Albus in a mission, and started to change his opinion on Troubleshooters. 2 weeks later, during the Ramji Plaza incident, it was Joel who had responded to Albus' call of backup. 2 hours before Crow-bill Station Incident, Isaac was again at Yusuke's place next to Albus, when he left in a hurry, Albus quickly left too, to arrive at the mission site. 1 hour later, on his way to the site, Joel thinks about helping Albus in the mission and hopes he can meet him. 30 minutes into the mission, they are surrounded and trying to save the civilians.

3 months later, on the station, Isaac apologizes to Albus, and mentions that due to complaints to the police, he might lose his position over the district soon. After the mission, Isaac remembers 2 weeks before his death, when he was with him eating ramen... On a camp on Magenta Street, Jason reports to Ryo Ryuzaki, who has made him his subordinate. However, he didn't notice he was being followed, and they are ambushed by most of the high-ranking Spoonists: Ralph the fine blade, Breaker Chang, Ferocious Kaze, and other members such as Inexorable Nevil, Manly Caohong, Hating Hasan, Cast Iron Bat Turk, Na-am the raging flame, Miraculous Julio. This is because Ryo is deemed the #1 threat to spoonism. However, before the fight begins, Marco and Luna show up and help take out the spoonists. However, once the spoonists are taken care of, Marco reveals he's come here to kill him for complicating his issues. Ryo barely manages to drive him away, but white tiger gangs appear. From the distance the White Tiger leader, Foo, and his second hand Kevin speak about the consequences of attacking Vendetta members in their area, but Foo has decided to stop hiding and face the storm. He gathers all the White Tiger members he can and calls the leader of Black Tiger, Trey, and he agrees to not interfere, but when he decides to not join, Foo states his 10 years alliance ends here. With the current situation, only Albus' Troubleshooter team responded to White Tiger missions reliably.

The dire situation requests Albus' team to rescue the VHPD squads that were separated and fall back from the area. With barely making it, Albus' team retreats and they leave. However, after the mission, Sion wants to have a talk with Albus about how he's handling accepting so many requests. They go eating to Pugo street and start discussing matters white eating. The next day, on Albus' office, he reflected on the fact that the more highly ranked a Troubleshooter company became, the more its members would be featured on the news like celebrities, and the more sudden revenge attacks would occur.

Heixing attacks Carter...

Heixing leaves...

Albus' team arrives on the scene after reports of White Tiger gang activity. After the mission, Albus mentions that he published job offerings for the company, but no one is turning up.

Next day, when Albus arrives to the office, he's met with his team mentioning they have a visit. Albus is surprised to find Heixing is here to make a personal request. Albus had done background research on him and found no reason to arrest him.

After hearing his request, Albus is unsure whether to accept or not. The request was to let him join the team, and after some thinking, Albus accepts. Although dubious at first, everyone welcomes Heixing into the team.