EVENT: The Attack of the Clowns

[soul_mods]

Early in the morning, those who had brought one back would find the bird keychains they brought back from their trip to that skii resort doing something...strange. The small eyes on the things started pulsing with a faint light that might go unnoticed at first. It doesn't stop though, and keeps right on pulsing for the rest of the morning.

Shortly, before noon, the light stops pulsing and shines bright enough to be uncomfortable.

Two things happen at once when it does.

One of these things is this: within a 50 meter radius of every keychain, strange ripples appear in the ground. From these ripples, something that is barely humanoid in shape slowly ascend. Their colours range from red to silver to yellow to purple. When they've materialized all the way, the Clowns immediately spring into action, attacking anyone nearby and, if there is no one, move in whatever direction they were facing, seeking victims.

The other thing that happens is a voice, young, lilting and feminine, being projected through the keychains.

""Thank you for all that you have done: none of this would have been possible without your contributions. I would thank you all in person except I don't believe I am really welcome here. Which is a pity as I hadn't gotten to meet all of my lovely victims the first time around. Please accept these children as a token of my appreciation instead. They are a little, ah, crude, but I do hope you will all play nicely~."

((OOC: Please put [Character Name | Location | OPEN/CLOSED ] in your subject header! Event information can be found here.))

Comments

[vintage_magic]

[At the sudden appearance of the red wavelength, Lily tried to stop to keep herself from crashing into the wall of energy. But forward momentum was a bit too much and she lost her balance, falling to a heap on the pavement.]

[Was the monster doing this to trap her? An anxious glance over her shoulder showed it wasn't as the clown crashed into the opposite side of the sphere and was knocked back. Also inside the sphere was a young man whose name she didn't know but who she had seen around the park often and seemed to be in charge of the training there. Was this some ability of his?]

[awokentospring]

[The attack was exhilarating. Lee did not have much control while in this form, but the connection to Neji allowed him to feel every movement so much more than in his typical weapon form. And at the same time, Lee could also feel each buffet against the enemy's flesh, like he was really fighting in tandem with Neji. And that was the best feeling of all.]

Neji! Check on Lily-san! I will keep an eye on the enemy!

[heavenly_earth]

[Neji snapped back to reality, and honed his vision in on their opponent. It was down, but not permanently, and the Meister ran for the woman they may or may not have protected with that unexpected defense.

But she looked unharmed, and he's relieved she appeared to have been inside the ability, though the sudden force had sent her back. He reached a hand down to help her up]

Lily-san, are you alright? I apologize for the sudden use of force. That ability was.. unexpected.

[vintage_magic]

[There would probably be a bruise on her knee later but Lily was otherwise unhurt and she got to her feet with a little assistance from Neji.]

I think so but what was that? [She wasn't sure how he knew her name either but there were something else more important than introductions at the moment anyway.] And I need to get to the clinic. My partner's probably there.

[awokentospring]

Lily-san! [Lee spoke directly to her as they neared, glad it seemed she was relatively unscathed.] I am glad we reached you in time! We will escort you to the clinic as soon as we can but...

[Lee kept his sight attuned on the monster lying on the ground. Already it seemed ready to stir, grunting and pushing itself up.]

Neji! We must stop it!

[heavenly_earth]

Kaiten, defensive manuever. [Neji blinks, briefly distracted by Lee's observations, then frowns. She likely meant the clown]

These strange clowns are attacking the city.. We'll escort you to the clinic as soon as possible. For now, we'll need to finish this opponent to keep it from giving chase.

We'll do our best to protect you until then, but be careful. We don't know all of their capabilities at the moment.

[vintage_magic]

[That voice seemed vaguely familiar. The Weapon?]

Lee? Is that you?

[Actually, she did mean that sphere of energy rather than the clowns.]

Yes, I've noticed. One tried to set my clothes on fire earlier.

[Meanwhile, the clown had gotten back to its feet, and seemed to be shifting, its arms becoming blade-like. And since there wasn't much Lily could do to help fight that thing on her own, she would just back away and try to keep out of the way until they can beat it.]

[awokentospring]

It is! And this is my partner, Neji.

[But they didn't have time for more than a short conversation before the clown was returning to its feet. If Lee weren't immobile in his weapon form, he may have been trembling with the need to fight.]

Neji! Move now!

[heavenly_earth]

[Neji lurches forward, calling on their reserve of speed to reach the clown before it could get too close to Lily. He watches the blades through grayed vision, narrowly avoiding them as they come down and strike solid concrete. He uses the opportunity to duck behind the clown and infuse its calves with a burst of Soul Menace in an effort to hamper its mobility]

Be prepared for another burst of speed, Lee. We need to immobilize its arms, and can't afford to take a direct hit.

[vintage_magic]

[Lily ducked behind a mailbox, biting her lip in concern as they battled the clown.]

[The silver creature stumbled at the attack on its legs, dropping back down to one knee. But it wasn't going to allow itself to be beaten that easily. Digging the blades into the pavement for leverage, it rose again and quickly pulled the blades out, whirling around to attack once more.]

[awokentospring]

Speed ready!

[Lee hardly needed to explain everything to Neji; they were already linked, after all, but sometimes a verbal call was helpful when one had to devote so much time to thinking.]

Jump now!