009 | Where Your Demons Hide

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Emergency demon fighting
When: Late May 5-Early May 6
Where: Just outside of Tokyo
Summary: The demon from the school has reared its ugly head again and needs to be taken down.



On the evening of May 5, the Heavens suddenly receive an influx of prayers from people in and around a certain town just outside of Tokyo. There seem to be a lot of people in the area that have suddenly stopped responding normally (or at all). The situation continues to spread as the night goes on until not only is the whole town suffering from this malady, but the neighboring towns are starting to become affected as well.

With so many gods and shinki on hand - including new ones that have just appeared - the Heavens have issued a request for any available gods and shinki to go investigate what might be happening down on the Near Shore. New gods and shinki will be given the low-down on what's happening, but not much more than that.

The situation will continue to expand until just a little before dawn, when the demon finally has enough power to revive.



Drained Humans

Many humans in the affected areas are walking around despondently. Oftentimes, they are just walking into things or getting hit by things. There have been a few car-related incidents as well. Anyone who was present for the high school incident will recognize these symptoms as something that was happening to people in the school. The glazed looks, the spiritless responses and reactions. So this should be fairly familiar to some.

No One's Safe

Unfortunately, being in the town will start to wear on anyone who is there. Gods and shinki alike will find themselves growing more despondent the longer they spend in the town. All of their energy will be slowly sapped from their bodies, and shinki in particular will feel almost like their existence is draining away.

Hellish Circle

There is a large park in the center of the town. Drawn all around this park is a magic circle, large enough to encompass the whole park. There are candles around the edges of the circle, and in the center there is a cup filled with blood covered by a mask with a swirling eye pattern on it. Stepping into this circle will not only make you extremely tired and suddenly drained, but it will also bring bat-like ayakashi bearing down on you.

The Demon

The Demon itself rears its ugly head just a little before dawn, springing out from the center of the magic circle and looking right pleased with itself. It stands about 5'8" tall, so it is largely unimposing, but there is an aura about it that makes it undeniable that it is powerful. The demon will gladly fight anyone who comes at it, though most he will just shove out of the way without a second thought.



In Summary:

• Help the drained people
• Try not to get drained yourself
• Be careful about being corrupted
• Fight the demon
• Have fun~

Comments

Drained Humans

[oneblackcat]

Omi sees the bicycle crash, and with no way of knowing what other forces are behind it, simply reacts to what he sees. He rushes over to the elderly woman in horror and concern. He's always had a soft spot for them, people like Momoe, and a fall like that can be really dangerous for someone at that age. He kneels at her side.

"Are you okay?! What a reckless cyclist...!"

As he talks, he's trying to assess the damage by sight: how much pain is in her face, is she bleeding anywhere, are any limbs at weird angles.

Re: Drained Humans

[volksdaemon]

It's Japan; there's plenty of elderly folks out walking around and plenty of bicyclists to crash into them. He's mentally keeping track of points by combining the ages of the crashing cyclist and the crashed-into people. The one Omi witnesses is a lower point total, but that's mainly because the elderly woman is only in her 50s and a teen ran into her. The teen's awoken from Schuldig's control and freaked out, then booked it and left his bicycle behind completely.

Meanwhile, knowing it's the little Weiss that found her, Schuldig pinches nerves and twists pain points in her mind to make her think she's a lot worse off than she actually is. She clutches at her chest, struggling to breathe as if the handlebar went completely through her. She looks at the young man and tries to answer, but can't.

'Looks like you found another innocent to look after,' he called out in Bombay's mind.

[oneblackcat]

Oh, heart-clutching was never good! That has Omi freaking out a little, because he knows basic First Aid, but he's not trained in CPR. It's worrisome that her breathing seems difficult, too. Teleporting would be a fine option, except he doesn't know where the nearest hospital is (or even if it's possible to teleport with someone not from The Far Shore, but that part wouldn't stop him from trying).

Then a too-familiar voice interrupts his thoughts and chills his blood: Schuldig. Why, oh why, did he always have to appear at the worst times?!

'I don't have time for you right now!' He protests, and after a desperate look around for some sign of a near clinic, simply pulls out his cell phone to call the emergency number for help. He'll just have to make sure they dispatch the car while he's still on the phone. He doesn't want them to forget before help is even on the way.

He doesn't connect the dots that Schuldig's presence could be related to the woman's plight.

[volksdaemon]

'Too bad,' Schuldig responds immediately. 'I'm here anyway.' It was kind of funny, in fact, that he couldn't even come up with a solid thing to threaten the kid with right away. He'd started his evening with no plans except to be randomly awful to people and - lo and behold - one of the Weiss Gods fell into his spiderweb. Not his fault he got so blessed with one of his favorite toys and couldn't decide how to play with it.

'I could always stop that phone call from working, or stop the emergency vehicle from arriving.' That might tip his hand to Bombay a bit - he doesn't have an agenda so much as he's bored. He's waiting for the demon and causing chaos for chaos's sake. 'Although I guess the easiest thing would be to just freeze you in place though. That way you could watch that old woman bleed out in front of you.'

Okay that's not entirely true. The easiest thing would be to just teleport behind Bombay and snap his neck. That wouldn't get him into Nagi's good graces though. He wanted Nagi to come to him willingly. He had to prove that Bombay didn't - couldn't understand him the way that he did. Without Nagi around, he was both free to openly mock the young Persia and restricted by his desire to stick to the long game.

[oneblackcat]

There's a momentary flare of outrage and disgust at Schuldig's suggestions before he has to ask himself if the man is really capable of such things or just bluffing. Interfering with functionality of cell phones and vehicles would be Nagi's fields wouldn't they? Technopathy and telekinesis. Unless the power Schuldig got here related to it... god, what if it did?

'You're such a coward! Do you have to hide and pick at people's minds from a distance because you know you can't beat me in a real fight anymore?'

[volksdaemon]

'Your whole concept of honor is lost on me, you do realize that right? It doesn't matter if it's a fist fight that I win or a battle of wits - so long as I win at all.'

Of course, he was pretty amused that Bombay hadn't connected what he'd said to the way he could stop those things by happening using the people who were connected to those actions. 'One big game of chess, Bombay, that's all this is. If I'm ten steps ahead of you, that's not my fault. I could leave those people you're tending to alone, but I'd need a payment in kind.'

He grinned to himself as the thought grew. A little plan, nothing more. An idea. One he doubted the kid would go for. 'A little of your time in exchange for their lives. Seems pretty fair, doesn't it?'

[oneblackcat]

Here was a conundrum. Of course Schuldig didn't care about honor or the lives of others, and to that point Omi questioned whether a deal would even mean anything in the end. Why would someone with no value for honor-- only winning-- respect a promise made after getting what he wanted? Omi didn't believe him at all. And that was unfortunate, because this would be an easy choice otherwise. Of course he would endure some punishment at Schuldig's hands if it meant the lives of innocent people.

On the other hand, could he afford to refuse? Furthermore, wasn't any time spent focused on him time that wasn't spent focused on them? At the very least, it would distract him for a few minutes, maybe give the people some time to come to their senses and help each other.

'What do you want?' He finally asked. I'm listening, was the implication.

[volksdaemon]

If he were any less imaginative in building up to deals like this, he'd have gotten bored a long time ago with how easy this situation was to set up. Bombay was one of the easiest to trap too. However, he knew he couldn't bring Nagi into this. That wouldn't go over well - those hesitations and feelings that Schuldig wouldn't hold up his end would only strengthen to a fever pitch. No, he needed something far simpler. Something vague and open-ended he could twist to his advantage for completely unrelated reasons.

'Just to give you some directions to a spot down on the Near Shore some day in the future. You show up. That's all I need.'

And knowing him, that would be a trap too. But one that the young Weiss could actually prepare for. Hopefully over-prepare for and then get a huge surprise when Schuldig uses him for some much more innocuous purpose.

'Nice and easy, right?'

[oneblackcat]

'Fine. What's your place?'

Omi was immediately suspicious of this. Giving out directions was quick, which meant either barely a distraction at all or a chance to make sure Schuldig actually held up his end of the deal. To meet at some point in the future meant not now which meant he could still stay and help in the city. And why would he ask for so little and then honor that? The most logical answer was, it wasn't so little; he just hadn't dropped the other shoe yet.

[volksdaemon]

'I said some day in the future for a reason. I don't have a use for you today, but maybe tomorrow I will. Or the next day.'

Emphasis was placed heavily on use because that's all Omi was to him, of course. Moreso than anyone else, because this young man was aware of all of the things Schuldig could get up to, and agreed anyway. He wasn't about to drop the other shoe that easily. Had to keep up the suspense.

'Have fun with your little friends, Bombay. Keep those kitty ears open and I'll see you soon.'

[To be continued here]