EVENT: Witch Attack on the City!

[soul_mods]

Characters: Everyone and anyone
Location: Anywhere in Death City!
Rating: PG-13
Time: August 23
Description: There's a Witch attack on the city and, to make matters worse, there's a dangerous individuals while Meister powers go completely out of control



The evening before there had been a PSA going around the network and the radio to watch out for an individual causing trouble in the city and a reminder to please stay indoors if possible.

Then around midnight something distinctly...strange happens. At first, Weapons probably won't notice, because it's only Meisters who suddenly find their powers flaring up for no apparent reason even when they're not trying to use them.

There's a two hour window where the abilities become stronger until it's practically impossible to control before the alarms in the city sound.

Kishin Eggs have been spotted entering the city in droves and this time they haven't come alone...


((OOC: Please put [Character | Location | OPEN/CLOSED ] in your subject header. Also, please specify in the subject header if you've signed up for a Witch encounter!))

Comments

[motherofthesun]

"I don't believe resonating less will help in this case."

As the Meister ability just floods out. Resonation wasn't really required for its uses. The egg was pushed back by Soul Menace which seemed stronger as it punctured the offender multiple times. Calming Wavelength was momentarily halted until the attack faded.

[loveanddreams]

"Yes, you can think of it that way." But D's incense back home had been capable of much more back home, helping his customers to see their exotic pets' human forms.

The kishin egg was drawing closer, hungry for souls, and what better targets than the injured, unable to put up a proper fight? In anticipation, it licked its lips with a freakishly long tongue.

D made an expression of distaste at the creature's crude behavior. "The butterflies seem to be waiting. Why not try commanding them?" As he had unleashed his pets on those who crossed him back home...

[bloodinbloom]

Rosalia watched the eggs come closer and steeled herself. She planted her feet as she learned at least shoulder-width apart and narrowed her eyes... as best she could. Her knees were still shaking a bit.

"Y-Yeah. I'll do that." Chewing on her bottom lip, she kept her eyes on the egg. With the butterflies at her side, she yelled. "Don't let it come any closer!"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

M-maybe... [Shinji remains personally unsure, but it isn't exactly his place to decide, is it? He'll just have to keep his mouth shut on the matter, not wanting to dampen Takuto's enthusiasm. One of them has to keep optimistic, after all!

Unquestioningly, he continues to follow the Meister's lead.]

[loveanddreams]

D could sense her nerves. It reminded him a little of Chris when he told the little boy he was the only one capable of taming Honlon the three-headed dragon. "You should be more confident, Miss Rosalia." If these butterflies were anything like his pets back home, that creature would soon be devoured.

The butterflies no longer hovered waiting but fluttered towards the creature, trying to block its path. Perhaps not the most intimidating considering their small size, the kishin egg swatted at them and walked through them, destroying a few as it came into contact.

[bloodinbloom]

"I know. I'm still working on that."

Rosalia, though unnerved, held her ground as the kishin egg walked through. With all the butterflies swatted and walked through, the exact number of flower bruises appeared. So many at once, the edges immediately began to bleed.

[loveanddreams]

Perhaps not quite the same as his pets tearing into the flesh of enemies and feasting on it but the butterflies seemed to be working in their own way, causing the kishin egg to bruise and bleed as the virus quickly worked through its system. Interesting... He wondered if he could summon some of his other pets this way.

More smoke had gathered in the air around Rosalia but still lacked definition. "Why don't you try summoning more butterflies from the smoke?"

They would need them if the approaching screams were any indication. Still a couple of blocks away, some locals were running from a pack of kishin eggs.

[bloodinbloom]

The egg was crumpling to the ground before it could touch them, blood pouring from eyes, mouth, and nose as it tried clawing to the clinic, Rosalia, and D. It was so sad, there was a pang of regret beneath resolve. They had once been human after all.

The screams caught her attention shortly after D spoke to her again and she nodded hard. Looking at the smoke, she willed it purposefully this time to become butterflies. She pointed at the kishin eggs. "Stop them, please!"

[loveanddreams]

Was that regret? Although she claimed such creatures killed and devoured souls? Did she not wish to punish them for their crimes? D had little love for humans who acted in violent, selfish ways and cared little about how the creature thrashed on the ground, bleeding to death.

The smoke swirled into the shape of butterflies and flew down the street towards the approaching group of kishin eggs and their would-be victims.

[bloodinbloom]

Rosalia did want them defeated, but curing or making their death swift would be far kinder. The kishin before them stopped moving shortly and shriveled, a red soul with black tar left in its stay.

Watching the butterflies go to 'attack' the other eggs, she became scared. They we really close to the unturned. "Don't hurt the civilians!"

[loveanddreams]

"So, this is a soul?" he asked, observing the glowing red sphere left floating in the air.

The butterflies tried to change course but it was too late. The panicked citizens ran with little regard for a few insects in their path, brushing against some or outright crashing into a couple. The butterflies that made it past landed on the monsters, creating more of those strange bruises. As they dissipated, more smoke curled into butterflies around Rosalia.

[00110010_00110011]

Psii's thinkpan cleared all at once, and alarm quickly rushed in to replace fog of calm.

Am so sorry! Have been terrible Weapon.

To make up for it, charged up large amount of energy to send to Amaterasu, and waited for her word.

Should use outward blast, like before?

[bloodinbloom]

"Yes. That's what a kishin's soul looks like."

There would be more explained were it not for the people running into the butterflies. "No! Don't touch them!" The eggs were still up; she couldn't not make more butterflies to attack them, but the same bruises were appearing on the citizens.

[loveanddreams]

Like how monarch butterflies knew how to fly south from the time they were born even without guidance, the new butterflies swarmed towards the kishin eggs even as the locals continued to flee.

"Miss Rosalia, do you know something about those strange bruises?" She seemed frightened by those oddly shaped markings somehow and now they were beginning to appear on normal people too...

[bloodinbloom]

"Yes! T-They have to be closed off in the clinic. They can't spread it!"

But she wasn't helping, nor were the new butterflies. In their panic, more locals were contacting the butterflies just as the eggs. However, it was only the eggs hitting the later stage fast, their black blood spilling onto the ground before they too became souls.

More butterflies, more bruises, more blood. "Everyone! Come into the clinic!" But it was only more butterflies and blood and bruises. One of the civilians hit the ground.

[prosecutory]

Edgeworth, on the other hand, could no longer see Genesis. The earth was shaking in a terrible quake, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead as his vision threatened to dim. He knew that if he didn't stand his ground, he would faint, and be of no use to anyone, least of all Genesis. His knees trembled as his world was rocked by an earthquake, and as if that wasn't enough, his surroundings darkened as if a shadow had been cast over them, and the sun was switched off like a lamp. Adding more insult to insult, the darkness fused into the inside of a still elevator.

He was sure this was an illusion. A small part of him was sure it was the reason why Genesis had been running around aimlessly. But fear was washing over him now, more like a wave breaking onto the shore than a trickle, and it made concentrating difficult. Edgeworth put his hands over his face, and sank to his knees, which had given way at last. The earthquake raged on, the walls of the elevator beginning to crack.

Desperately he reached up for the buttons and pressed the one that would open the elevator, but to no avail. To anyone else, it would look like Edgeworth was kneeling and raising his arm in an odd gesture. He jabbed what he thought was the correct button over and over, his breathing becoming ragged. Right now, he was too terrified to speak, to say anything lest he trigger another facet of the illusion.

He couldn't be in an elevator right now. He was saving Genesis, right? He was supposed to be in the same place as before...

[rosso_fantasma]

"Always," she confirmed.

Her lingering concern over Mami's behavior is apparent in the fact that her enthusiasm isn't really the same as the previous time she resonated with the blonde, with her focus more narrowed down on getting rid of the problem quickly rather than seeming to enjoy the situation. Her soul flares up as the Egg approaches the two of them, ready to go into combat.

[loveanddreams]

"But bruises aren't normally contagious..." Although it was obvious these weren't ordinary bruises. "Do you know the treatment for them?" He remained relatively calm despite the chaotic scene developing before them, blood staining the pavement as more of the creatures fell and turned to glowing red souls.

Smoke continued to form into butterflies and left without kishin eggs to target, they fluttered aimlessly around the area among the frightened citizens.

[cardfortress]

Understood.

[If Mello is ready, then there’s no point in delaying this. Near increases his focus on their resonance automatically when they finally leave the building, and it’s a good thing he does, too: the scenario is as chaotic as he’d predicted.

He feels his Meister hold on tighter to their resonance, as if bracing himself for whatever is about to happen, so he returns that same mental grip, making it quite clear that he’s anchoring him like always, even though he knows he doesn’t need to remind Mello of that.]

Roger that, [he says in reply when Mello takes aim, silently agreeing with him that they should save the firepower for then they really need it. He focuses on keeping a steady laser beam, strong enough at this point to pierce neatly through most kishin eggs, and keeps it going while Mello moves his hand and swipes the beam across the creatures.]

[motherofthesun]

"It's fine, Psii. The Witches have done something; I can't contain my ability as usual."

Taking in the energy, she charged forward to take on the next eggs and familiars with a roar.

"Yes! Let's do that!"

[want_the_world]

[The beam cuts a very satisfying swath through the kishin, and Mello turns to look for more as soon as Near cuts off the blast, while bits of the creatures are still dropping to the sidewalk. He knows they can't afford to waste a second.

He doesn't need the reminder that Near's there to steady him any more than he needs to remember to breathe, but it's calming in a way that being conscious of his breath has always failed to be for Mello.

It's as annoying as ever that there's no strategy to the attack other than to damage as many people and buildings as possible; it makes formulating a defence strategy impossible. But Mello forces himself not to spend any mental energy on being irritated, and finds another batch of eggs attacking a civilian.]

There's our next target.

[prosecutory]

The trickle of panicked locals instantly caught Edgeworth's attention. He was breathing heavily, stopping every so often to catch his breath, and trying not to speak up unless he needed to, such as when there were panicked citizens who had to be told to get to safety in an orderly manner.

But instead of taking his own advice, he sprinted toward wherever the citizens had come from, pausing as the feeling of exhaustion continued to wash over him, and sprinting again. Rinse and repeat, until he came to the scene where Rosalia was holding a ceramic bowl of some sort. Edgeworth was still some distance away that he could not properly identify it.

He did not need to identify the bowl, because what was more important were the butterflies. Creatures that looked like a harmless magic trick, or a manifestation of someone's power, were everywhere. They came from the bowl and the girl, and when they touched people, they left bruises. Anyone touched by the butterflies was afflicted with some sort of disease. Edgeworth gasped, and he quickly covered his mouth to keep from saying anything. His words were dangerous.

Still, those butterflies were dangerous too. Why weren't the Weapon and the Meister doing anything to stop them? Maybe they underestimated the strength of Meister abilities today? Whatever the case, despite heaving as if he had just run a marathon, Edgeworth leaned against the building, took a deep breath, and cried out, "Stop! Those butterflies are causing some sort of plague!"

And as soon as the words left his mouth, he dropped to his knees, clutching his throat. He had never felt so exhausted in his life. The fearful citizens froze in place the moment he had said, "stop".

[bloodinbloom]

That was the thing: Rosalia didn't know. The whole point of living in isolation was helping her dad find a cure by enduring his exams. At least, he wanted the cure-all, turning the destructiveness of the virus against all other invading diseases. It was happening again though...

"Please stop..." But she couldn't stop resonating and couldn't stop making butterflies. Kishin eggs easily fell to the disease. Bleeding, going mad and attacking their own allies before finally bleeding out. The street was a mess, red and black blood. Without eggs or familiars, the butterflies just hovered, but people still connected with them.

The sudden yell made her jump and she almost dropped D. The smoke dissipated and any formed butterflies disappeared. The citizens had stopped panicking and somehow, she had stopped making more infectious insects. Red souls hovered around and her pink eyes just watched everyone, bleeding.

"... I'm sorry..." This mess here was completely her fault. People needed to get into the clinic, but she couldn't order them like that man could. Shaking and trying not to make any more butterflies, she called out. "C-Can you tell them to go into the clinic? They need to be treated."

[cardfortress]

[Slicing kishin eggs is as unpleasant and grossly satisfying as always, so Near doesn't pay any more attention to the now dead creatures than he absolutely has to; just like his Meister, he focuses on their surroundings all over again.

It is annoying that they can't formulate a defence strategy, ridiculously so, but Near has stopped thinking too much about that a long time ago, chalking it up as yet another item on the huge list of "reasons why the Witches and their creatures need to die already". So when Mello finds a different set of kishin eggs, his Weapon wastes no time in targeting it, getting the laser ready for when Mello takes aim.]

Go for it.

[this_is_keron]

[He scoffs.]

I know that.

[But wouldn't have stopped him anyway.

The sight of the two-headed dog gave him pause though because it looked like...]

It has feet...so it can't be a ghost. [Mostly he was just talking to himself. Don't mind him.]