23 - Crazy Cat Shuffle

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Crazy Cat Shuffle
When: September 20
Where: Shibuya & Ikebukuro, as well as the Far Shore
Summary: The new Crazy Cat mascot keychains are sparking real passion in Tokyo's hot spots. Brawls have broken out over the extra-rare versions, and all of this angst is attracting ayakashi. The gods have been asked to step in before things get out of control.







Crossing Crisis

The Shibuya scramble crossing is always busy, but it's especially wild today. Ten new Crazy Cat vending machines have been installed at the mouth of the alley across from Shibuya Station's exit. Rumors are flying that these machines have extra Blue-Star Cats in them: the very rarest kind! A crowd of hundreds of excited fans have gathered, but the people at the front of the lines are buying lots of cats, and the mood is starting to grow sour as the people at the back of the lines begin to wonder if there will be any left by the time it's their turn.

This crowd needs crossing guards... or just someone who can snag some of those ultra-rare Cats and sell them to the back of the line for crazy cash. Everything a god does is righteous, after all.

Sunshine Struggle

Crazy Cat machines dot the Sunshine City complex in Ikebukuro. The machines here are attracting some particularly nasty ayakashi: jealous little purple creatures with too many legs that stoke buyers' envy and need for more and better collectibles. Under their influence, it's not just the Cats going fast. The local stores are selling out of everything cute on the shelves.

Worse, some of the ayakashi victims are turning to theft when they run out of pocket money. Time to exterminate those bugs before they start a new crime wave.

Taking Stock

Accident? Sabotage? No one's telling, but a delivery truck carrying boxes of new keychains to restock the machines blew a tire and overturned on a major street. Under the influence of those greedy little ayakashi, collectors are descending on the wreck to snag their favorites before the police show up.

The dazed driver doesn't know what to do, the crowd is starting to get violent, and those Cats do look amazingly cute. And appealing. And, for that matter, valuable.

Bad Kitty

The cat keychains are super cute! Even gods or shinki might be tempted to buy one and take it home, but taking these keychains back to the Far Shore will give away their hidden secret. It's not just human envy that's attracting ayakashi to the Crazy Cats. There are ayakashi hiding inside this batch of cute kitty dolls, and bringing them through a shrine to the Far Shore will force the hidden creatures out of their plushie prisons.

They're big, they're mad, and they're hungry. And the Heavens are full of souls that smell delicious.

The ayakashi escaping from Crazy Cat dolls on the Far Shore resemble gigantic (taller than a person at the shoulder) versions of the cute plushie cats, with very real and sharp teeth and claws. They run and attack at random once released from the dolls, so even gods and shinki who did not bring the toys back could be faced with a fight. The patrolling shinki will do their best to hold them back with borderlines, but they need help to rend these crazy cats before they do too much damage!

In Summary:

• Placate the crowds
• Squash bitty ayakashi
• Struggle with temptation
• Defeat the cat invasion
• Have fun~

Comments

[frankensteins_moe]

[Berserker doesn't seem entirely convinced - at least not right away. She spends a few more moments suspiciously side-eying the lion before she turns toward the encroaching ayakashi horde. She does fire one last quick look in Keith's direction before charging her mace and planting her feet, though, as if to say 'I'm watching you, buddy.']

[yousaytron]

[Well that's... not a reaction he should find totally unexpected, but it is still pretty annoying to get lumped into the same category as a bunch of ayakashi. Still, if she turns that brute strength away from him, it might no be so bad to have this kind of backup.]

I can't take on all of them myself, if we can split the group, I can stop at least some of them.

[No chance of rending them, but there's bound to be some gods pairing up with their partners who'd be willing to clean-up the rest.]

[frankensteins_moe]

[Stop looking like the Cat Boss, then, geez.

But all the same, Berserker nods, charging her mace and firing a blast of lightning into the group of ayakashi before taking off at a sprint.]

[yousaytron]

[It's not his fault the safest place for him to be during a cat-shaped monster infestation just happens to be a cat-shaped robot! Goodness.

The aforementioned cat-shaped ayakashi bristle and hiss at the incoming attack, and while some of them seem to want to keep their attention turned to the super appealing target floating overhead, a few of them dart out of the way, ready to engage with the new combatant. It's not much, Keith thinks, but maybe it'll give him enough of an opportunity to pick off a few and whittle their numbers down.

Time for the red lion to zip down, taking a mighty swipe at one of the cats who's diverted their attention to Berserker in an attempt to knock it away from the rest of the group.]

[frankensteins_moe]

[Berserker growls as the robot descends, but when its paw hits the ayakashi instead of her, she seems to recognize on at least a basic level that the swipe wasn't meant for her. And since there's more targets in front of her right now, she continues her own rampage instead. She's taking plenty of hits as she goes, but they don't seem to be slowing her down at all.]

[yousaytron]

[Honestly, for as nerve wracking as it is to see someone taking on this sort of hoard with little more than a hand-held weapon and pure rage, having some form of backup in a situation like this definitely makes him feel a little bolder.

Taking advantage of the clear divide in the group thanks to Berserker's efforts, the red lion continues to swat down and batter the beasts, and while many of them still seem to be trying to swarm around the mechanical cat, enough of them are diverted away toward Berserker that Keith can keep them mostly shaken off.]

Is there somewhere to go around here?

[Somewhere, perhaps, that would be a safe spot from these pests.

... It might be a bit difficult to find shelter for the lion that the ayakashi can't also squeeze into, though.]

[frankensteins_moe]

[Berserkers gonna berserk. It's what she does. She might need to rest after the battle, but for now her strength and endurance are holding. Any ayakashi Keith sends her way, she either knocks down, smashes, or hits with lightning. At the question, though, she's looking for a place they can escape to, and eventually points before taking off running.]

[yousaytron]

[As long as she can keep this up long enough without succumbing to the beasts chasing them, then that's going to be plenty to get them out of this situation. Hopefully.]

Ah-! [There she goes-!

Luckily, whatever speed she can get away with, the red lion is more than fast enough to keep pace, which in turn allows him to continue providing cover from the ayakashi with swipes, bites, and roars.]

[frankensteins_moe]

[Ask her about the time she ripped her own arm off and nearly choked someone out with the wires hanging out of it. Except don't, because she doesn't remember. But yeah, she's good.

Anyway, though, back to the matter at hand. Berserker heads for a narrow passage between two temples. If he can provide air support, she can bottleneck the ayakashi and take them on one at a time.]

[yousaytron]

[Maybe someday you'll remember your badass exploits, Berserker. Maybe someday....

Today's not that day, at least not right now for certain, as the two of them head toward a pair of buildings. Picking up what her plan is pretty easily, Keith drops his altitude enough to not tempt most of the ayakashi to simply leap over the temples in an effort to catch him. Individually, the cats are largely swift enough to maneuver themselves into the gap with little to no hassle, though their sheer speed as a group makes actually getting into there without creating a mess a bit of a challenge.

All according to plan, while one or two squeeze themselves in, the majority of the group is left behind, attempting to squirm into the space to keep the pursuit up. A few do smarten up fast enough to simply circumvent the buildings all together, but that's where Keith can turn and fight them back.

A good plan and winning combination all around...! Incredible!]

[frankensteins_moe]

[And meanwhile, Berserker takes up her position in the gap, shooting lightning at the ayakashi that approach and smashing any that get too close with her mace. They won't be able to take any of them down permanently without a god around, but their combined efforts at least manage to thin the herd significantly.]

[yousaytron]

[And, as long as the ayakashi are down for the count, rending them can be taken care of by someone properly equipped for it.

With so much of the group picked off, the red lion lets out a fearsome roar at the remaining beasts. With so many of their companions knocked out, the ayakashi are finally starting to change their judgement of the situation. Perhaps.... perhaps other targets would be far less dangerous to pursue. With a few lot grumbles and growls, the cats bound off.

Mission accomplished?]

[frankensteins_moe]

[Once she sees that the ayakashi have scattered, Berserker plants her mace straight into the concrete, letting out a long sigh. It's accompanied by the release of steam from some of her more mechanical-looking features, and an audible crackle of electricity dying down. Afterward, she looks up at the cockpit of the red lion again, giving a nod.]

[yousaytron]

[With the remainder of the ayakashi having moved on to find different targets, and the coast seeming clear enough, the red lion lands with a surprising amount of carefulness for something of its size and build. The other cats are doing enough damage, he doesn't want to contribute to it any further.

Berserker's sigh is echoed by Keith's own, and while he doesn't feel that coming out of the lion is a wise idea just yet, it's easy enough to continue to communicate from the inside.] You got someplace to go? Staying outside with those things swarming around doesn't sound like a safe plan.

[frankensteins_moe]

Yaaaaaaa.

[His question is met with a nod, though she does tilt her head as if to ask the same of him.]

[yousaytron]

[Can't you tell? He's already technically inside. It did absolutely nothing to deter the ayakashi earlier, but it's what he's working with for now.

Whether or not he actually understood the implied return question, he doesn't answer it, instead opting to focus on her for a bit longer.]

If you want me to cover for you so you can get back, I can. I don't think there'll be many more swarms like that one, but it might be safer to have backup.

[frankensteins_moe]

[There's a moment's consideration at that, followed by a brief nod. And then she's off running in the direction of Freyr's temple.]

[yousaytron]

[While he doesn't know exactly where she's headed for, and the sudden takeoff is a little surprising, keeping track of her isn't too difficult with the red lion's speed.

Thankfully, with the assault the two of them launched earlier, there won't be much of a problem with random ambushes coming their way on the trip back. Maybe the ayakashi that took off decided to let the others know it wasn't worth it to chase these two down, or maybe the rest of the ones brought in have other things to do... who knows? It makes for a pretty easy retreat, regardless.]