|
Post by Vesper on Sept 3, 2021 2:40:36 GMT
Classic big shot. Always leave it to people with power to be quick to insult and threaten. Wonder if all of those altered people are like that. Wait... Did he say cultists?
Was he talking about the other altered that now revealed themselves? No...they looked defensive too. Who was that kid yelling at?
Vesper hastily shuffled his way through the crowd, now noticing it's tranced nature. The hell? Was this normal? Was it the work of another Altered? Or was it..
The red head reached his destination about a dozen feet behind his former target, and peered through the crowd to see the hooded figure spicy cheeto was shouting at.
"Oh, you're not the bad guy," he quipped just loud enough for the kid to hear.
|
|
|
Post by Fell on Sept 3, 2021 14:36:33 GMT
The people that milled idly around Kai were easy enough to push through. They would crumple at his pressure, and as soon as he moved through them, they would rise again and continue their almost idle wandering. As long as his aura remained active, however, he would feel an exhaustion begin to settle on him, a heaviness weighing down his chest. Following the scream and where it had originated, Kai would see a building with a metal door hanging slightly open. It seemed the crowds thinned out near it, leaving the entryway completely open.
As soon as Lulu made the phone call, her phone would start to act up. It would make a high pitched squealing noise directly into her ear, and then it would die altogether. However, all around her, people that were close enough to hear the squealing would reach up and grab at their heads, blinking as they glanced around at each other. A few would mutter to themselves, asking what was going on, though nobody seemed to have an answer. It would, however, give Lulu a clear shot to Kai and the door he was heading towards.
The only people who seemed to hear Jasper and his instructions were the ones that were close to Lulu at the time of her phone call. They glanced up at him, blinking a couple of times before following what he said and beginning to walk in a straight line. It seemed the crowds around them responded, beginning to walk in a bit more of an orderly fashion in order to avoid running into each other. The cultist that Jasper approached, however, did not respond: they continued to mutter in their foreign language, face hidden.
Janiya would continue to feel the pull of exhaustion, even as she switched from a defensive Nen to an offensive one. It would seem the cause of the exhaustion was the use of her Spirit! The people she called to were unresponsive, continuing their idle, almost trance-like walk around. They were careful not to bump into each other, or her, but did not seem to respond to much direction.
WR managed to pin the strange, cloaked figure against the wall… However, all they would be able to see beneath the hood was an aging face and a strange, almost excited smile. The person’s body felt cold, and they would feel that drain grow stronger as soon as they touched them: it would feel as if their fire was being drained from them, swallowed up and causing no damage to the cultist or their clothes. The whispering would grow louder and louder in WR’s ears, until it was all they could hear, as shadows slowly crept up through their vision. <Roll a d20 and message Fell the results.>
Vesper managed to get through the crowd with general ease. They would shift around him, and the application of pressure would alter their course. By the time he made it to WR, they would have the strange, cloaked figure pinned against the wall, and Vesper would hear the whispering, the chanting, in some foreign language.
|
|
Kai
New Member
Posts: 88
Likes: 1
|
Post by Kai on Sept 3, 2021 15:40:08 GMT
His Aura would drop as he reached the door which he leaned out breathing heavily. The fuck... was that. He'd never felt so drained using his powers before... he took a deep breath and shook himself free from the feeling. This was no time to relax! He needed to find the girl that screamed!
|
|
|
Post by Jasper Florescu on Sept 3, 2021 23:17:00 GMT
A bit of sweat would form and Japer's brow would furrow as he focused hard on his Nen. It was only ever this strenuous when he was using his powers for much more intense and intricate uses. Regardless he would hold his spears in place, yelling out again.
"OTHER ALTERED, SPLIT. IF YOU CAN, LOOK FOR THE SCREAM. OTHERWISE, HELP GUARD AND GUIDE THE OTHERS."
|
|
|
Post by Lulu d'Arles on Sept 4, 2021 5:52:06 GMT
Lulu's head was reeling. Of all the times for her phone to stop working! No doubt another thing that was unlikely to be a coincidence... But, as for her conclusions: She still couldn't make any sense of it. Her intuition told her that the market may have already been set as the stage for a twisted play before anyone had even arrived, and what she saw now was only the first act. As Lulu dealt with her phone (either ditching it or pocketing it, depending on if it still made noise), she would notice a figure heading towards a building opposite to her. Following her intuition once more, she would break through the crowd and follow the figure ( Kai) through the doorway. Despite his unsociable demeanor and aura, she got the impression he was just as perturbed and investigative as she was.
|
|
|
Post by WR Harthe on Sept 4, 2021 6:10:11 GMT
"What the FUCK!?" They hissed, releasing their grip from the cultist and taking a few steps back. As darkness flooded their gaze, they allowed the flames to disperse into the air around them, growling as they strained to fight the darkness and whispers.
"Not my brightest idea," they mumbled, clenching their teeth in embarrassment. If this cost them their sight or sanity, they were gonna be really fucking pissed...
"Hey, deadshot," they called over to Vesper, "Make sure this thing doesn't kill me. Think you owe me one, yeah?"
|
|
|
Post by Vesper on Sept 4, 2021 15:57:14 GMT
Vesper chuckled. The words "Sure thing, boss" slipped out of his devious smile.
So we can't touch you, huh? the red head thought as he approached the hooded figure. Slipping off his jacket, he warned the mystery man, "Party's over bub, let's take your little seance elsewhere. You can either walk, or I'll drag you out myself."
Ves would stand awaiting it's response with his jacket in hand, very threatening in his posture. This was about to get uglier than this guy was already.
|
|
Janiya Isgrim
Player
Everyone deserves to be protected from the evil in the world. Even if it's in themself.
Posts: 115
|
Post by Janiya Isgrim on Sept 5, 2021 0:07:29 GMT
This isn't working, this is NOT working...
Janiya took a deep breath, feeling the strain of using a Nen that seriously shouldn't be taking any toll on her regardless of what construct she made... dispelling her blades as the crowd around her moved around like zombies, she looked around, trying to figure out what to do. It was clear to her that the cause of this exhausting strain was her Nen itself, and she wondered if anyone else that wasn't a tranced zombie felt this as well... although she couldn't quite see everyone from her vantage point.
"Alrighty," Janiya said to herself, resting a hand on her hip, "This is fine!" Creating a grappling hook, her motive now was to find the caster of this trance. It clearly didn't affect anyone altered. The people, at least for now, didn't seem to be in any danger, so aiming at a nearby building, she grappled herself to it, grabbing onto a ledge to steady herself, looking around.
From this high, she should be able to see everything. Despite seeing the hooded figures in conflict with other altered, she kept her eyes out for anyone else out of place. She needed to free the people. And she needed to do it before she was too tired to use her Nen or chi anymore.
|
|
|
Post by Fell on Sept 5, 2021 5:02:46 GMT
As Kai and Lulu (without her phone) made it to through the crowd and to the door, they would see two possible pathways: to the left was a hallway leading to a metal door at the very end, and to the right was a concrete staircase.
People continued to mill around Jasper, not seeming to pay him any mind. However, a few of the people that had managed to free themselves from their trance, thanks to Lulu’s phone, came wandering up to him. “Wh….what’s going on?” One of them asked, reaching up to scratch the side of his head. “What… can we do to help?”
As WR’s vision began to return, the shadows creeping back just moments after they released the cultist, it would seem as if the situation had changed. The cultist must have moved positions, standing near where Vesper had been only moments before… and it would seem as if Vesper had run off. He was nowhere in sight. Their hearing would be a bit impaired, filled with the echoes of the foreign language, rivaled only by the sound of WR’s beating heart. (Roll failed: WR is now unable to see the cultist. Instead, they perceive Vesper as the cultist. Effect will last for a minimum of two posts.)
The actual cultist stood completely still and continued to smile their strange, creepy smile at WR and Vesper. They seemed uninterested in him, his jacket, or his threatening posture. However, their strange muttering had fallen silent. (Roll failed: Vesper is now perceived as the cultist by WR. Effect will last for a minimum of two posts.)
Janiya managed to get to her perch and glance around. It would seem as if the entire population of Telluride City was in the Market in that moment: the streets surrounding the area were strangely empty. Everything seemed normal, aside from that, the cultists, the crowd… and a dim, glowing red light coming from a third story window of the building across the way from her. Two people (Kai and Lulu) were at the door to that building, but most of the crowd seemed to avoid it altogether.
|
|
Kai
New Member
Posts: 88
Likes: 1
|
Post by Kai on Sept 5, 2021 5:15:13 GMT
Kai growls under his breath and head sofr the metal door, kicking it in upon reaching it!
|
|
|
Post by Vesper on Sept 5, 2021 6:07:58 GMT
Vesper stood still, noticing the change. Could the guy be considering leaving?
Unlikely. Hell, he might have even been preparing to attack. Ves wasn't about to let him have the first one.
"Come on," the red head commanded as he stretched his jacket around the shoulder of the cultist, pulled it tight, and began to tug him away.
|
|
|
Post by Jasper Florescu on Sept 5, 2021 22:19:36 GMT
Jasper was not amused by this situation at all. The people who seemed to be broken from the trance were potentially useful though. He would speak to them, calmly as possible.
"Try and wake more people up and then immediately get them to do the same. Lives are at stake, every voice helps."
He would then stop focusing on his spears, letting them disappear in favor of something much more simple and less straining. Iridescent strings emerging from his hand would wrap themselves around the handle of the scissor daggers he bought.
"Fortunately, killing terrorists is of no concern to me." He would say with no small amount of venom in his tone before causing the scissors to lift and strike at the cultist neck in a fashion akin to a scorpion's stinger.
|
|
|
Post by Lulu d'Arles on Sept 6, 2021 1:28:10 GMT
Lulu entered just in time to see this tough guy slamming a metal door with the heel of his equally tough footwear... And well... Not every one of her intuitions were correct; now her thoughts of him were less "perturbed and investigative" and more "murderous intent at the fact his shopping trip is going poorly."
The loud reverberation of the door sent a chill run down her spine. The thought of it alerting people she'd rather not come into contact with didn't exactly put her mind at ease. But, she had no choice but to stay put. For the time being, she'd simply wait in the shadow of the doorway and see what happens next.
|
|
Janiya Isgrim
Player
Everyone deserves to be protected from the evil in the world. Even if it's in themself.
Posts: 115
|
Post by Janiya Isgrim on Sept 6, 2021 3:41:58 GMT
Looking around carefully, Janiya spotted the abnormal thing she was looking for: a very suspicious red light, glowing, and not too far away from where she was perched. Finding the door to the building, as well as a few others near it, Janiya steadied herself before jumping off, quickly creating a yellow energy glider as she glided over the crowd to the building entrance.
Landing with a thud, and flicking her hair out of her face as if she was just pulling up to a party she wasn't invited to, she took deep breaths as she dispelled the Nen she was using. "That's enough of that for now yeah..." Janiya said to herself, feeling in the mood for a nap.
Dusting off her blazer, she arrived to see an ajar door and the person who made it so. Instantly, she sighed.
"The cool, calm, and collected type... not..." Rubbing her temple, she knew this guy was number one on her list of "most likely to get themselves killed". Focusing on the task at hand, now was the time to see what exactly was going on, and she was sure the light on the third floor was the source.
"Are y'all here to see about the red light on the third story?"
|
|
|
Post by WR Harthe on Sept 6, 2021 7:48:31 GMT
WR growled and shook their head like a rabid dog, their eyes wide but narrowed, and their muscles tensed. They harshly clenched their fists, straining through their obviously tampered sight: flashes of deadshot and the cultist, to darkness. Their concentration was inevitably broken by the foreign whispers shrilling in their ears, and they found themself unable to think. All they could perceive was the son of a bitch cultist standing in front of them, mockingly. And in an instant, their body was shrouded in flames, and they lunged at Vesper, extending a burning fist right for his gut, a crimson trail of fire following!
Abilities:
Primary Ability - Conflagration ;; WR channels heat to a desired portion of their body and can choose to set it ablaze, enhancing their spiritual prowess and unlocking the rest of this skill set. For as long as part of them is engulfed in flames, they can manipulate any and all fire, regardless of the source. Damaging effects scale with 100% SPR, increased to 150% against Seared targets. Additionally, they are completely immune to fire damage.
Damage:
Punch: 10 (Physical) Afterimage: 20 (Spirit)
|
|
|
Post by Fell on Sept 6, 2021 23:40:00 GMT
Kai managed to get to the door without much of an issue, and kicked open the metal door with ease. On the other side was what looked like a decrepit, abandoned apartment: it was dark, the furniture looked and smelled dusty, and what was most likely a coffee table in the living room had been kicked over. There was what might have been a haze or fog seemed to settle over the area.
Vesper managed to get the jacket wrapped around the cultist with relative ease. However, he would feel a chill pass through him, and the smell of death and decay seemed to waft up from his victim. The longer he held on, the more dark shadows would begin to cross his vision, darkening it. The cultist merely smiled at him.
The people that had come to Jasper all nodded, though they obviously didn’t know what they were doing as they milled away from him and back to the crowd. Their efforts were in vain. However, it did free up enough space for Jasper to get a clear shot on the cultist he attacked. The scissors swiftly and easily met the perfect place, right where their neck and shoulder met. It pierced, deeply, and remained stuck inside for a moment. However, as Jasper pulled it free, no blood sprayed; instead, there was a strange, black fog that flowed upwards, like a swarm of flying insects, before it dissipated into the air around the cultist.
Lulu did not have any pressure to move from her spot in the doorway. Luckily for her, Janiya arrived to the doorway in that moment.
WR continued to see Vesper as the cultist. The use of their Nen would continue to exhaust them, making it more and more difficult to focus through the chanting in their head.
|
|
Kai
New Member
Posts: 88
Likes: 1
|
Post by Kai on Sept 7, 2021 0:27:48 GMT
Kai turned around to see a girl and a woman had followed him. He stormed over to the girl and looked her in the eyes. His own dull Grey eyes seemed to burning with Rage.
"You. Go in that room and hide."
Then to the woman.
"Third floor. Good. Stay with the girl."
Then up the stairs he would go, as fast as he could!
"IF EITHER OF YOU TRY FOLLOWING I WILL KILL YOU MYSELF!"
He called back down. Ah, the things he would to just to protect others.
|
|
Janiya Isgrim
Player
Everyone deserves to be protected from the evil in the world. Even if it's in themself.
Posts: 115
|
Post by Janiya Isgrim on Sept 7, 2021 0:52:13 GMT
“Hold on now, I’ll be damned if I just let you rush in there by yourself—“ Sighing at the death threat, she watched as he raced inside. “Men...” It’s gonna take a lot more than idle words to stop her.
Gesturing for the other girl to follow, Janiya quickly made a small bright ball of white energy in her hands before chasing the guy.
“C’mon, you! It’s not safe out here, you can wait on the first floor if you gotta.”
|
|
|
Post by Lulu d'Arles on Sept 7, 2021 1:21:08 GMT
Lulu's heart raced in her chest as the man advanced towards her with a look of pure malice. Her instincts screamed at her with two options: flee, or try to judo flip her attacker into the next century; but alas she couldn't do either. Her mind was frozen, unable to process what was happening around her. And... Wait a second. Hide in the other room? Huh?
Lulu was left completely confused at the sudden courtesy—and then even more so again when he referred to another woman who had just came in from the streets.
This new person—a fair-haired, porcelain skinned beauty whose battle hardened appearance only seemed to aid in the increasing amount of information fizzling away in her mind like a raw egg dropped on hot pavement—had arrived right after Kai slammed the door down with a kick.
Unable to process anything else in her flustered state, Lulu would be easily swayed into following what Janiya suggested: following the both of them to the next floor without even contemplating a counter option.
|
|
|
Post by Jasper Florescu on Sept 7, 2021 21:14:51 GMT
Jasper would furrow his brow a bit. Stabbing them in the neck did literally nothing to stop even one of them. attacking with his Nen felt like too much to handle right now. So instead, he would focus on where the people were going, attempting to see if maybe he could stop this nightmare there.
|
|