lostcarnival | ⇨ WYLD HUNT

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⇨ WYLD HUNT

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 100
Where: Shabondamashii
What: The Wyld Hunt unexpectedly crashes the Shabon's dimension, leaving chaos in its wake. Those that have been with the carnival for a while might recognize it as the personal army of a fae called the Huntsman - also known as one of the Ringmaster's age old rivals, whom she dethroned thousands of years ago. The last we heard of him, he was pursuing the carnival, and it turns out he found them faster than anyone thought.
Warnings: Violence, theoretical cannibalism.

THE AUTUMN MOON↴

There isn't any warning. You might not even notice what's happening at first, with the approach of the threat happening as spontaneously as a zombie uprising. You're minding your own business, enjoying Shabon, when a random alien charges you on foot with sudden and aggressive intent. Whether or not you can throw them off or defeat them, you'll soon find they weren't alone. An entire army is descending upon the city now, and the carnival is the target.

► THEY ARE LEGION: The Wyld Hunt comes in all shapes and sizes, with beasts and men from all kinds of different universes having been caught up in its sway. Those that have been in the Hunt for a long while have more or less completely lost themselves - they now function only as part of a pack, hunting whatever the Huntsman wishes and consuming what their prey leaves behind upon death. Some members of the Hunt are newer and more unsure, but they are all a part of a psychic hive mind that compels them to move as a unit. Everyone in the Wyld Hunt instinctively know what the Huntsman wants them to do, even if they never speak to him.

Their skills, powers, and physicalities are all over the board, but there are a notably large quantity of Wyld Fae among them, often being used as mounts by more powerful humanoids within the Hunt. When NPCing members of the Hunt for threading purposes there is a lot of flexibility to what you face, including entities and beasts from your own worlds - provided they are creatures capable of functioning independently.

► HUNT OR BE HUNTED: When set upon by the Hunt, it is easy to become overwhelmed. Unfortunately, in that situation, the only way to beat them is to join them. Beginning to hunt alongside the others will immediately pacify them against you. As soon as you start to follow, the thrum of the Huntsman's will will start to take over - the more you hunt, the harder it is to turn away from it. If you do stop, or successfully oppose the compulsion, they will be quick to set upon you again. Like the others, you will feel the craving to consume any individuals the Hunt has felled - you must resist this, because once you have eaten the prey of the Hunt, you'll be trapped within it indefinitely.

► WORN OUT WELCOME: The people of Shabon are used to crisis, but this is a bit beyond what even they are prepared to tolerate. The Hunt will be causing collateral, both of the human and the material sort. While the workers in Shabon have very well practiced escape procedures in the event of something like this, the other guests are not as fortunate. Plenty of them are capable of fighting back on their own, but they will not always be capable of avoiding the hordes. The longer this goes on, the worse it will get. Eventually, the Shabon workers will realize who the Hunt is after and start actively trying to turn carnival members over to them in order to make it stop.

► IN TWO PARTS: Tragically, this turn of events and the realization that she's managed to put everyone in danger once again will be what finally causes the Ringmaster to split in two. One side will immediately become disinterested in using violence to counter this problem, while the other will be desperate and reckless. This will also completely screw her ability to get anyone back to the carnival in time. There will be at least one Megathread dealing with her actions during this.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a conflict the carnival is meant to survive, not win. The main point of this is to get the plot rolling in a new direction, so don't worry about figuring out how to defeat the Huntsman, because in this moment it basically won't be possible. Have fun threading out the crisis, and see where it leads. I wanted to be up front about that, as opposed to letting everyone grasp at straws to prevent a result that will be inevitable, even if the details will shift.

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Sans really doesn't want to follow. This seems really stupid. They know that fae is lurking somewhere, waiting for them, but they are going in anyway. Sans keeps low to the ground and at a distance, focusing on taking in their surroundings while the others focus on Yuya in particular.

This is starting to feel too familiar - chasing after someone who is already probably a lost cause. The entire scenario is starting to feel nearly identical to what happened in the Manor, and every part of it is leaving his ability to think rationally more and more in shambles.

"Don't," he says in a low voice, mostly directed towards Strange. He doesn't like this. He wants to go back.

The mist is, well, mist. It's not very corporeal. Strange blows it (along with a bunch of trash) back to the dead-end of the alley, where the wind pushes it up, tiny particles floating in the air above Yuya.

And then it happens in a rush. Driven by sentient force, the mist boils down towards Strange and out of the alley, chilly tendrils trying to cram themselves into his mouth, nose, and eyes.

Yuya also teeters in the wind, suddenly lacking the stability of his own body. He drops to his knees, then sways forward to crumple against the ground.

He's alive. His soul is definitely still in his body. But it's like cutting strings from a puppet, with no ability for him to regain control of his limbs.

He can do that trick too, asshole. As the mist boils down towards him, cramming itself in his mouth and nose, it sinks into his body for a second before Strange turns into his smoke form. The slightly poisonous Nightshade smoke is mixing with the magical fae mist as Strange attempts to float back towards Yuya, away from the direction the mist is currently swarming.

Turning into smoke, to no one's surprise (certainly not his at least) means the connection is cut. It's too bizarre a state of anything, even if he connects directly to the soul.

And his first instinct is that something is wrong. But of course something is wrong, everything is wrong, and jumping tp see for himself won't help.

"Gh....lost Strange," is all he mutters for Joker, forcing himself not to move.

Ahh, but what about Yuuya? He can still sense him there, still alive! So he reaches to him, with the feeling of reassurance.

Marred by worry, and fearful questioning of course.

Yuya's felt so trapped since this started. It's like he's been disconnected from his body, but without the luxury of being truly unconscious as something else seeps into him and takes control. Everything's a little hazy, but he knows enough of what's happened. He dragged them here. It was a trap. He's caused so much trouble.

Now that the poison isn't as active, Yuya has a little clearer grip of himself. He still can't move, but it isn't like he's sensing everything through a dizzying veil. That's when he feels the presence of Gongenzaka within his soul again. He couldn't respond before, but now.

Now, he pushes as much feeling as he can out. It's faint, weak, like he's struggling through the connection--but the emotion is direct enough to be understood. It's urgent, and a warning.

Leave him.

A second or two isn't much, but it's all the fae needs, her poison mingling with Strange's smoke and leaving a delicate trace of her presence behind. Whenever Strange turns corporeal, a faintly familiar feeling will hit: sweating, feverish, the world becomes disjointed, tilting oddly on its axis as a feeling of euphoria (or is it anxiety?) thrums through him and makes his heart beat faster as he starts to hallucinate. You know, Yuya's head turning into a pineapple and that kind of thing.

In the meantime, the mist rolls around the alley and, upon at least spotting Gon and another familiar form, will attempt to breeze through them in the same way, to the same effect. A sharp, nose-searing scent comes with it.

Okay, that's the fucking worst. Sans growls only grow louder, blue and gold energy crackling in his jaw. His massive tail swishes back and forth, its stinger ready to strike.

"GET OUT OF THERE!" he yells at the three of them, but something already strikes him as it being too late. His legs won't move. He physically can't make himself get any closer.

Gon doesn't even seem to think properly in that moment. He hears Sans, and his desperation. But he feels Yuuya's first, and it blinds him like a curtain. Choking on whatever shout he was about to make, he doesn't run away.

"...I'm trusting you-!" Is he speaking to Joker? Someone else? He doesn't even have time to say what with, or how.

Instead he thrusts his arm forward to shoot a blast from the repulsor while charging, holding his breath and hoping to hell a concentrated 'gust' can succeed in splitting a hole enough to avoid being poisoned as he runs for Yuuya as fast as his legs can manage.

All he needed to hear was "Strange is lost" for him to get ready to get airborn, wings tense and quivering while he stays on the ground. Sure, he edges back a little bit, looking around him to make sure nothing tries to get at them from behind. Just still on the ground. His wings make noise, after all, and his invisibility isn't like that of the other Joker from that one universe. He can't make himself silent, unfortunately, which ruins a whole lot of plans he could make.

At least he's prepared, when the smoke comes rolling out of the alleway, and he launches himself up into the air immediately. Shabon's streets are cramped, but he's flexible... And it helps that Gongenzaka is the one to charge forward, attempting to clear the way. Joker drops the invisibility almost immediately, biting back the urge to yell and instead just focus on getting higher and higher.

Time to see the reach of this thing, and if this will help him at all... and just what kind of report to make so that no one is left wondering where any of the taken are.

Strange only lingers in smoke form for a moment or two. And when he reforms, his experience with being mad and already slightly fragile mental state means that the magical madness hits hard. He staggers backwards slightly as his mind settles into the familiar state of madness.

Hmm. The candle in Yuya's head is almost out. He should fix that.

So as Gon lunges towards Yuya, Strange idly lobs a grapefruit sized fireball in Yuya's direction. He looks like he's about to burst into a fit of giggles as he does so. On the one hand, he's not aiming well at all and there's a good chance this fireball can go wide. On the other hand, grapefruit sized fireball.

Although the fae is remarkably agile for mist, it also means she's not particularly solid. As before, when wind is directed at her, she scatters and parts, allowing Gon a clear path through to Yuya ... well, for the moment.

Direct confrontation with this many individuals at once -- she's surprised, because she was expecting to lure only one more like she had with the skeleton -- isn't something she's accustomed to. So the mist swirls in the alley mouth for a second, regathering itself after being parted. Go after the ones who've clustered around her already paralyzed prey, one of them holding a fireball, or go after the lone winged beast that's taken to the air?

There's no question, really. The mist climbs up quickly after Joker, and above him ... and in the middle of the air, it coalesces into the form of a lithe, somersaulting girl with white hair.

Who's promptly going to attempt to land on Joker's back and try to force him to land. The alleyway is safe from her attentions, for now.

'For now' is what Gongnezaka needs. Bears are fast. Horses are fast. He's got the power of both, and a healthy boost of terror and adhrenalin to go with it. Idly, the part of his mind still working to process information is reminding him of The Plan.

Wait for the fae to be distracted. Get Yuuya. Run like hell.

He's certain he's doing these out of order, but he doesn't let it give him pause- instead Gongenzaka reaches out with vines to snatch Yuuya from the ground as he goes, hauling him onto his back.

"SffFFFHKGN!" ...Which is naturally when fire strikes part of him. The vines, fortunately, aren't quite as flammable as his leaves would be. But fire is fire, and fire hurts. He pulls his friend upon his back to be bound in newer vines, but with a terrified eye toward Strange pulls the crown of flames from inside his mane to his head. If there's going to be fire thrown around, he's using protection.

No shouting for now though. It's eyes ahead, and KEEP. RUNNING. Back around in the alley, and back toward Sans. Don't look up. Don't look to the side.

Don't look. Don't look. Don't look-

Yuya's hauled up limply on Gon's back, disappearing within the red foliage. He can't direct his eyes, but he can still see through them even unfocused. Recognition breaks through his thoughts as he realizes that Gongenzaka has him. He doesn't know where they're going or what's going on exactly, but he knows this is a place far safer than left on the ground or in the arms of the Fae, and Yuya feels a little bit of hope. Maybe... maybe he won't die. Maybe he'll get out of this okay.

Gongenzaka's here, and he'll always keep Yuya safe. There's others, too, he just can't quite make them out...

The good news: Gongenzaka's trick worked.

The additional good news: it seems this particular fae needs at least a hot second to get her wits about her, a fact that's probably not helped by Strange flinging fireballs around.

Well, it's probably as good as things are ever going to get, so Joker takes this second to keep going and flicks the radio on. It's not a long message, not by any means. There's a whole lot more he wants to say, and unfortunately he has to stick to the most important parts. Strange flinging fireballs? Definitely the most important. However, so is Zaka's success. He just doesn't have enough time for that, not when the mist suddenly shoots upwards. Joker tries to suck in a breath, for all the good that will do him, which turns out not to be much at all.

Not when there's a woman suddenly above him and driving her feet right down into his back , expelling every bit of breath out of him. He doesn't have much of a chance to right himself, although he's trying, and his next breath might be his last... So, with it, he uses every bit of his lungs to shout, "Sans!"

He's the strongest out of all of them. They can't have him freeze up now.

Gongenzaka charges off ahead, Strange loses his mind, and Joker becomes the next target. The feelings of frustration and terror become nearly unbearable for Sans as he watches, unable to run and unable to pursue. Strange - Gongenzaka - neither of them would listen to him. Why don't people ever listen? What is the point of being in charge of something if nobody listens to you? Even when you've seen this all before and paid the price for it once already?

With Strange and Gon, he's already practically ready to cut and run. One by one, they're just going to get poisoned, and then none of them will be able to do anything by give in and die. Thoughts like this race through his mind on repeat, crowding out his ability to put together a strategy, or even think of what spell to use.

Joker, though. He's calling for his help directly, and he was trying to get away - it just wasn't good enough. They shouldn't have come. They knew what this was going to be.

Finally, his legs start to move, and so does his magic. He teleports through to hair to the rooftop overhead and uses his kinetic magic to do everything in his power to pull the Wyld Fae and Joker apart - and if that works, his next move will be to dive through the air and grab Joker in his mouth.

Then, he's going to run. And he's not going to stop.

Fortunately, madness is irrational. At the moment, there really isn't anybody around to be victim of Strange's hallucinations: Gon's leaving with Yuya while Sans, Joker, and that faerie are up in the air. As such, nobody else gets set on fire. He looks around before a different wave of the hallucinations slip into his eyesight.

Turns out that Sans isn't the only one to discover a brand new fun trigger today: Strange starts to hallucinate leeches. His expression shifts from a man about to have a giggle fit to someone who looks utterly horrified. The memory of those disgusting little things attacking him in the Athenaeum comes back to the top of his mind as Strange tries to visibly push down a bit of a panic attack.

It's a good thing Sans and Gon plan on running. Because, with a muttered incantation and a sweep of his hand, Strange summons even more fire, as the ground and a few nearby barrels burst into flames.

Not just any feet, either -- they're deerlike hooves, and she lands with a strength that belies her delicate frame. The good news is, unlike most other parts of her, they aren't poison. The bad news is, they hit hard enough that something underneath them audibly breaks.

Fortunately, Joker gets a bit of a break. For the second time tonight, Sans's magic catches the fae up and manages to fling her away from the other Carnival worker, startling a yelp of dismay out of her as she's ripped away from the prey she was just about to lock her fingers around. Instead, she falls ... though halfway through, her form dissolves into mist again as she rises to take stock of matters.

It's all going terribly awry. She isn't injured by any means, but her clever plan -- which she thought Feather would be proud of! -- didn't account for prey that could scatter so quickly. Nor ones that could light up an entire alleyway with fire. That, at least, is easy to dismiss: she's got no interest in drying herself up with flame. Nor does she have the desire to run after slivers of skin and bone, the latter of which has already caught her off guard twice tonight.

But the one who's taken the one she's marked? That's worth bringing down. She'll have to be careful this time, be smarter, take proper advantage of its distraction, not lose them again.

If she had lips to lick, she would -- but for now, she'll silently trail off after Gongenzaka and Yuya, keeping her distance.

Edited 2018-09-28 05:24 (UTC)

He's not fool enough to assume they're 'free'. Gongenzaka keeps running (he has the stamina, he trains daily, for a reason), and if not for the vines at his disposal he would surely fumble with the radio clipped on his shirt.

But somehow he doesn't, which means he can snap lowly as he mashes that button down- "Syrlya," he wheezes, heaving breath betraying his panic despite the oddly 'quiet' voice, "Koi fish market street; north the drop off, POISON VICTIM, STAT!"

He got here somehow, and now that he's running he's getting them out of here.

He hopes.

...God, he hopes.

Edited 2018-09-28 05:52 (UTC)

Syrlya's had his radio on quiet permanently this whole affair. Most of the carnival is holed up in the fortification, where Syrlya's finally bunkering down to help with defense. He knows there's still pursuit of the Ringmaster, and a rescue party, but they can't have all their warriors out and about and not defending.

That's when he gets Gon's radio call, and urgent location--and he knows exactly what that's for. Escape.

Thankfully, he knows exactly where it is. It's in the next two seconds that he appears, sword and shield, just ahead of Gon.

"Where--there you are." He turns quickly to take him into view, before moving quickly to meet him halfway and set the portal under his feet. Gon knows how this works. "Are you all--no, tell me later."

When they're safe. The only problem it is won't seem to work the first time.

While she hadn’t expected the Beast’s changelings to give up running, she could afford to be patient — or so she’d thought. The humanoid plant appearing out of nowhere, the scent of magic sharp in the air, makes the fae realize her dinner’s about to be stolen.

“No!” Unable to move swiftly in this form, she drops out of the air and lands as a unicorn, hide flashing bright under the streetlights. Quick as a blink, she’s beside them, hooves skittering on the stone, and she flings herself bodily towards them.

Rather than impact, though, she bursts into her mist form halfway through, this time aiming to come at Gongenzaka from behind, where he can’t so easily aim that blast at her again. A sickly orange cloud envelops all three of them, and where it’s breathed in or meets eyes, a burning sensation will follow.

And wherever her mist touches, plant life withers and dies, shriveled in an instant as the debilitation spreads. Leaves will be the first to deteriorate, but given the chance, it will also soak through wood, warping and rotting the surface as it tries to penetrate deeper, deeper.

He runs at it. He runs, and expects to pass through easily.

That does not happen, and when he crashes, unable to pass, the poisoned Horn makes her strike.

"NNGGGAAAAUH!" If there's one thing going for Gongenzaka in all of this It's that he's paranoid. As soon as the cloud even slightly singes his tail, he moves to pull Yuuya to his front. He holds the boy tightly, arms a vice, as he shouts warning to Syrlya. "Syrlya!" He yells, "Their poison granted control over him, I suspect! I, the man Gongenzaka, cannot afford to release him!"

Even as he speaks he toes the ground, itching to run at the portal.

Syrlya stumbles back as Gongenzaka throws himself down to the portal... which isn't necessary to trigger it, but this isn't really a time to clarify that. Because he can't get through, and Syrlya's eyes slowly widen with alarm at the realization.

He can't actually see Yuya until Gon pulls him free and admits he was controlled. Oh.

"Hold o--" He coughs as he breathes in the mist, and it burns. So he stops talking, hovering his hand over the portal to reconfigure it--to allow the Hunt to pass through it as well.

That's dangerous, if any fae follows them through. He'll need to make sure they won't, because it's the only way Yuya will pass.

"Go now!" Right now, because the longer Syrlya has to hold open the portal, the riskier it is. Including to him, the edges of his leaves already browning and withering as he tries not to breathe too much.

There won't be any need to tell him twice. Ignoring the burn against him, Gongenzaka rushes through with Yuuya immediately, collapsing some feet on the otherside into the temple. He gasps, and he chokes, yet all he can think to do is prod Yuuya through his bond to ask how he feels. ...Even if his own pain radiates with it.

Of course, seconds after.. "S...Syrlya..." He rasps, coughing. "Syrlya...are you?" He, at least, is more flesh internally than plant.

But Syrlya...

Edited 2018-09-28 21:24 (UTC)

The mist blows back, then re-coalesces like an angry bee swarm, readying itself for another attack. She's furious, seeing Gon and Yuya disappear through, and so she directs her attack towards the last target left -- Syrlya.

As the mist rushes to him, he'll catch a glimpse of her angry, pale visage in the haze, coalescing into a form about ready to tackle him.

⇨ WYLD HUNT

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Mobile sent it early :[

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