⇨ INVASION!

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone! But especially HARBINGERS!
When: S2:D16-22
Where: All over Wismuth!
What: As the Harbingers reveal themselves, those among the carnival that Creation has chosen will start to discover new powers within themselves. It's because they're magical girls, yo.
Warnings: Harbingers being assholes.

HARBINGERS OF VOID↴ On Day 16, the Harbingers begin revealing their new selves... in the form of wreaking havoc on the city! CY-Ren isn't looking for mass panic or serious structural damage - instead she wants constant annoyances and distractions, of the sort that will keep those that might be on her tail distracted from her true plans. However, when Creation is faced with the threat of twelve new Harbingers, it will have to fight in kind... ► HARBINGERS: Your job is to use your powers to create messes for other people to clean up! CY-Ren gives no specific instructions outside of a general framework... flex your powers! See what you can do. Don't destroy the city or anything, but give Creation a run for its money. She needs these civilians alive for her later plans. ► STAR GUARDIANS: Twelve members of the carnival have been chosen by Creation to fight in its name, even if they don't realize it yet. When confronted by the Harbinger's chaos, their Sparks will make themselves known in whatever form is appropriate to the character - and they will be asked if they are willing to use the power of their soul to fight the darkness. How this scene plays out can be flexible, but essentially they will find themselves faced with the question: are they willing to fight for the preservation of life? If they say yes, their Spark will emerge, and they will be able to trigger a magical girl transformation, as you do. ► CHARITY CONCERT: While everyone else is busy with the sudden rise of the Harbingers, CY-Ren's PR team is releasing a statement -- they will say that new information has revealed that there had been bomb threats made against the canceled concert, which are now being blamed for the damages. CY-Ren will make a personal statement, saying that in order to apologize for the failure of her previous performances, a new free to attend event is being planned for the near future - people who had tickets to the previous event and had to go home early get top priority!

Comments

[worldlyafflictions]

"Pff, how likely is that actually?"

[exaomori]

"Not likely. But I'm givin' ya a choice like this~ I'm not going to be so generous if ya force me ♥"

[worldlyafflictions]

"Well, the thing is, whether ya've got me or not, the world's still gonna end. I'm apparently on the low end of the spectrum, powers wise, so I'm not needed for that."

"So there's not really any need ta be trying ta drag me anywhere."

He'll give people a hell of a time if they try to force him! And speaking of a hell of a time.... he thinks Shura's been hanging around his his sphere of influence long enough that he can work some more complicated perception tricks... The air starts to feel a little chillier, smelling cold and winter-y.

[exaomori]

Really, dragging him anywhere was going to be more trouble than it was worth. But in the end, he was Rin's friend and if nothing else, she might feel vaguely guilty for leaving him behind.

"Oh, you're just underselling yourself! There's plenty of trouble a kid like you could get in--" Abruptly, Shura cuts off as the chill hits her shoulders. This was the feel of Aomori in winter, all it was missing was the endless piles of snow. First she wonders if a storm was suddenly rolling in--her instinct is to assume demonic activity if it wasn't a sudden shift in weather, but no, everything looks just fine. Normal.

Except Shima.

This little shit. Her eyes slim, and she takes a step forward. What kind of game was he playing? "Ah, now you're tryin' ta make me mad, arentcha?"

[worldlyafflictions]

He doesn't reply, just giving her a wink (through the blindfold. somehow). If she tries to reach for him, she'll find her hand passes right through him--a gust of wind hits her hard enough to obscure her vision, and by the time she looks up again he'll be gone, and she'll be standing in front of a frozen lake.

Her clothes are back to normal, but if she looks, her contract with Hachiro is back too. And out on the lake in the distance stands Hachirou in his humanoid form.

[exaomori]

This kid was slick, winking from behind his blindfold aside, she knew that even if she had never tried to directly fight him. It's not surprise that he slips through her grip so easily--she has to consider that he's somehow been an illusion the entire time, which meant he could be anywhere, really. As soon as her hand passes through him, Shura pivots on her heel to scan the area for him. The gust catches her off-guard, enough that she has to raise her arms to protect her face from the wind.

She hears the crunch of snow under her boots as she shifts before she sees Towada in front of her. She doesn't have to open her eyes to know where she is--she knows the smell of her childhood home, the cold biting and sinking into her skin, inside her lungs as she inhale sharply. This was where her nightmares took place, a place she could never let far from her heart. The wind is making a mess of her long hair; and Shura doesn't have to look down to know that the blood seal is engraved on her body once more.

No--

No. Drawing in a shaky breath, Shura drops her arms and looks up. There he was on the ice, the god who loved her ancestor so much he cursed her descendants in order to keep her with him. This couldn't be...

"This ain't funny..." This wasn't real, right? No, it couldn't be. It was probably going to be Shima's voice coming from Hachiro's form. Something was going to be off somewhere. She just had to find that loose thread and pull, and the illusion would break... right?

[worldlyafflictions]

"Tatsuko..."

Hachiro's mournful rasp is unfortunately exactly as Shura remembers it, easy to hear even all the way across the lake. It's the same sad cry he made as he was pulling Shura into the depths with him as Rin and Yukio tried desperately to subdue him. But this time he doesn't do any of that, just standing out on the frozen water and holding out a hand.

[exaomori]

Maybe it's because she knew he was captured by the Illuminati and some part of her feels responsible, maybe it's because she cared for Hachiro in her own way, but the sound of his voice pierces though her. Her heart pounds in her chest, and she just laughs.

"I toldya before, that ain't my name."

Why was she talking like this? Why couldn't she ignore him like this when she knew better?

[worldlyafflictions]

Hachiro drops his hand. The sense of distance between them seems to blur.

"We miss... Tatsuko..."

It's hard to say whether or not he actually comprehended Shura's complaint. Perhaps he had, since he's no longer looking at her, sounding lost but also resigned, tired of the cycle he didn't quite understand and of his own long life.

[exaomori]

"I know you do," Shura replies with a sigh, crossing her arms over her chest. She doesn't blame him for not understanding how humans worked. She didn't hate him for what he did. Maybe that's why she can't break away from this conversation. She knows it's not him, but even still, even as he seems to come closer to her, she doesn't turn from him. "It's lonely out here, bein' so strong and unable to leave."

[worldlyafflictions]

"We have... no where to go. That which we treasured has already left us..."

The illusion looks up again, solemn and unspeakably sad, reaching again carefully.

"Stay with us as you promised, until we fall asleep."

[exaomori]

Shura smiles, just the smallest curl of her lips.

"I never shoulda promised you that. I'm sorry."

[worldlyafflictions]

"Why?" The wind wails in response. "Stay with us!"

The cry has some of the same pained betrayal that it did before, but here in calms again as he lays a cold hand on her shoulder.

"We wish for you to stay. Just for a short time."

[exaomori]

"I can't." The answer is as simple as that. She doesn't shrug his hand off, lifting her hand to rest on his forearm.

"But spring will come, that I know. Even for someone like you, winter won't last forever."

[worldlyafflictions]

If demons can experience heartbreak, it's definitely there in Hachiro's expression--but Shura hasn't given in to the illusion, so as she rests her hand on him, the illusion gives in to her instead. Hachrio's form shrinks, dissipating until all that's left is a small, snow white snake with too many eyes, slithering away across the frozen water into the forest.

The ice creaks underneath her, the illusion making one last attempt to hold on to her as it shatters beneath her and she drops into the darkness.

[exaomori]

She never wanted to hurt him. She just wanted her freedom. It's why she watches him as he shifts to his weakest form without moving from her spot. It's why she doesn't notice the ice cracking beneath her until she's falling. Oh, that's how we're playing this? She's going to fall on her ass at this rate, and she's not going to forget it if she does.

[worldlyafflictions]

The water tries to press her down, tries to drain the hope of escape from her, but it's probably nothing against what it had been like in the real Aomori, especially with her resolve so cemented against it. If she struggles against it, or pushes it from her mind, she'll find the illusion of darkness slowly starts to crack, until daylight pours in and the pieces break, dissipating into nothing.

She may or may not have fallen on her ass in the process though, I mean, there wasn't much up or down in the water...

Either way, when she looks around afterward she'll find her normal clothes and short hair are back, the contract marking her torso is gone, and if she pokes her head out of the alley she'll find confused pedestrians patting themselves down as if double checking their own clothes are real and back to normal.

[exaomori]

She can feel the pressure in her ribs, the suffocating kind that would have taken her with Hachiro. But it's different this time--this time, Shura has the strength to keep moving forward without hesitation. It's instinct to reach up and try to swim up and out of the lake, but the only real place for her is down. Right down on her ass in the most ungraceful manner possible with an ugly squawk. She fell hard enough to bruise her ass, thanks Shima.

But the state of her tush isn't the most important. She lost time, and she probably lost Shima while she was stuck in that illusion. He's not stupid enough to try her in an actual physical fight--crap, where did he go? Checking out on the, as well as looking herself over, finds that the illusory lingerie has vanished. And the kid... Well, Shura can spend a few minutes tearing the alley apart to see if she can find a trace of him, but she knows it's probably too late to find anything.