//EVENT023.EXE

[reparator]

Who: Everyone + the ghosts of Christmas past the ghosts who aren't the ghosts of Christmas past
When: OOC: 12/16 to 12/23 ; IC: 4/22 to 4/26
Where: All around Cerealia
What: We have some new friends visiting.
Rating/Warning: PG-13 for violent and dangerous situations; please let the mods know if the rating needs to go up or the log needs to be locked!

---

//event023.EXE

The metaphorical sun is shining today -- until it isn't. All of a sudden, there's a creeping sensation up your spine, and the sense that something bad is coming. The day seems a little darker. And those closer to the source who are in their homes in the residential district will understand that sensation better than anyone. The pure of heart throughout the city who have been feeling under the weather lately will suddenly feel a terrible sense of all-encompassing dread overcome them. A loud metal groan will echo throughout the city as once again, the city undergoes surprise renovations. But today it is not what has been keeping the residents in – but rather some surprise visitors who have wanted out. And there's a message on the wind, one that might be heard for anyone who listens hard enough... Murderers. Murderers. Murderersmurderersmurderers.

//SCENARIOS.EXE

PHASE I [ 900 ] The peace of the morning in the Residential District shatters just as the wall caves through. It’s a small segment of wall -- no more than five feet across at most. And yet the crash and groan of the metal being stretched is ominously accompanied by the distinct piercing screech of metal and another sound. A raucous noise, a combination of ungodly wailing and sharp, victorious laughter spills forth from the hole left in the wall as a myriad of ghosts and spirits erupt from the newly created exit. Characters with any type of spiritual sense will find themselves nearly overwhelmed by the amount of negative ghostly energy that suddenly floods Cerealia and characters with no sense of preservation will find any attempt to enter the hole blocked by the fiercest of ghosts, met with deadly force if they try to pass, as the ghosts won’t hesitate to do things such as reach straight into your body to try to stop your heart. These ghosts are out for blood, and they don’t seem to stop no matter how you try to talk to them -- they just hiss out, over and over again, “Murderersmurderersmurderers.” From there, the ghosts move on. Their true target, after all, is CERES… but to them, there’s no difference between the character players and CERES. They’ll go for whoever gets in their way, phasing through walls and becoming tangible long enough to reach for characters before fading away again. Characters with special abilities will find themselves in a similar state. Their abilities may increase and decrease in power sporadically, or be completely gone. They may attempt to cast a spell only to find that the wrong spell is cast instead, or an attempt at healing may end up a more dangerous spell. Be careful with your own magical skills! Those with items or powers specifically intended to ward off spirits will still fulfill their intended purposes when used – unless malicious spiritual energy gets to them first. PHASE II [ 1400 ] It seems the ghosts have more tricks up their sleeves. It seems that a not-so-friendly ghost has decided to play a game with you. It doesn't matter where you are, or what you're doing, because a moment later a voice calls out -- Hey. Can you see me? -- and once you turn your head, you’ll come face to face with a surprise. Who is it in this world (or your world, or any world) that you have managed to disappoint the most? A family member? A friend? Yourself? They face you now, eyes full of sadness, and they say, “I need you to do something for me.” Without another word, they’ll turn away and begin to walk. Your vision grows foggy, focused solely on the need to do whatever this person wants – they need you, after all. Your legs move to follow them, unless you manage to somehow resist. But you apparently don’t seem to notice that you’re the only one who can see this person – or that they’re leading you stray toward that monorail track with the sound of the train coming closer, or that busy intersection, or right off the sky bridge. PHASE III [ 600 ] Other ghosts don’t feel like borrowing faces in order to inflict damage. No, they’ll inflict their damage on a far more personal level. They manifest suddenly and without warning – then all it takes is a simple touch. A ghostly hand reaches out to you and it feels like the cold wraps around your heart, and your vision skews, and then... they leave just as suddenly as they came. Those who have been around for awhile may very well recognize the ghosts, at that. But the damage has already been done. Depending on a character’s assigned sense, they will feel one of the following changes: Sight: Hopefully you aren’t in the habit of bending the truth. Dead men tell no tales, they say. But what happens to a living person unable to tell lies? Any attempt at telling any lie or falsehood will cause the character to feel as though their throat has closed off, and they can do nothing more than choke. Smell: The cold passes, but in some way that it never really leaves. And then everything seems perfectly normal. Nothing has changed, right? You're fine -- except that in a short period of time with how crazy things are, it becomes apparent that you're unable to feel pain. The damage to your body is the same as ever, but dangerously, you can't feel a thing. Taste: It would appear as though the ghosts have a sense of humor. From those who rest in eternal slumber, try a few days of being unable to sleep. Everything seems fine at first... but slowly but surely, that lack of sleep will start to take its toll. Hearing: Most others would feel relief once the ghosts left, finally a moment of peace. But you? You don’t feel anything – nothing kind, anyway. Rather, you have been left unable to feel joy. Everything seems either bleak or as though it simply has no emotional impact at all. Touch: How many deaths have been caused in the name of heroics? Apparently in an attempt to keep future casualties down (or perhaps for their own laughter), the ghosts have left you unable to be brave. Suddenly, a situation you'd face fearlessly is one that has sent you running, panic sharp in your chest. These effects will last throughout the event, if a character is caught by them. PHASE IV [ 1000 ] While chaos erupts throughout the city, some of the more misguided ghosts (but still bloodthirsty, so very bloodthirsty) just happened to run into the wrong part of town and don’t know how to give a proper scaring. One ghost seems to think that it was a great idea to possess a masseusebot from the Spa. You’re grabbed suddenly! You fight for your life but can’t seem to get yourself out of its metal grip! With expert precision that only a robot can mange, it finds your pressure points – and releases all that tension from this Incredibly Bad Day. The ghost inside the robot is confused, distressed -- why is this human suddenly so relaxed? It only wants to murder. But the only illegal thing happening here is how good this massage makes you feel. Maybe later you’ll walk down the street and get stopped by the ghost that possessed a balloon dispenser. Perhaps a ghost has possessed the friendly McCERES mascot, and is now handing out coupons with murderous intent. And of course, there are always the hug bots... Look, they tried really hard, okay. Of course... they might end up possessing technology a little closer to home as well, at which point it's not so funny. BONUS [ xxxx ] Hopefully you have friends who have ghost-fighting skills. Or ghost-taming skills. Or ghost-bellydancing skills, who knows, we won't judge them if you don't. But what of those poor people who come from worlds where the supernatural is some weird television show? Worry not, poor souls, for CERES is here to provide! Some time after the ruckus begins, characters will find what looks to be a hand-held vacuum cleaner situated innocuously in their rooms (only one per person, you greedy gus). The logo on the side will helpfully inform you that this is of CERES make, because the paper pamphlet beside your new device? Well, it's more like a picture book. Observe Stick-Man Sully as he uses his vacuum cleaner to capture ghosts! Learn from his stellar example! Do not stick the hose in your mouth or attempt to give the vacuum CPR, there's a big X over that picture. Also of the one where Stick-Man Sully sets his captive ghosts free once more, we don't want that, do we? Your new ghost vacuum should prove effective against any ghastly ghoul that shoots your way, but beware! Should you capture a ghost and not turn in your vacuum to CERES for weekly ghost disposal, your ghost will serenade you in the wee hours of the morning with its song of choice. If you capture a whole horde of ghosts, well, congratulations. You have a boy band living in your vacuum. [ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ]

//RUN.EXE

Welcome to Cerealia's DECEMBER event! Please visit the OOC information here, and should you have any questions, feel free to ask them here! You can also check the FAQ for more general inquiries. This event will last from 12/16 to 12/23, or IC 4/22 to 4/26. Should this event log hit Captcha, there is an all-purpose overflow here. Thank you!

Comments

ota;

[zerotohiro]

Phase I

[He hasn't slept well in days from the combination of looking after his friends, doing research on their illnesses, and the noises from beyond the wall Korra had told him about. The nightmares started coming again in the later days, and he finds himself falling out of one as the wall caves through. The noise oddly reminds him of something he'd heard inside the tower but just different enough to not be afraid. Without a second thought he suits up and bolts from his apartment with Baymax to check what's going on.

And maybe he wishes he hadn't because he was not anticipating this.

So for parts of the morning others may find Hiro and Baymax flying and outracing ghosts that are just a little too pissed off to leave the teenager alone. The pair soar, dive and turn through the air. Sorry if they lead a ghost right to you.

Later, as the words catch up to him though someone may very well hear something he didn't quite meant to say.]

But I didn't murder him! [And he dives out of sight, Baymax and Hiro splitting apart and Hiro suddenly finds himself bolting. Various spirits seem more interested in him than Baymax, it seems.] Seriously, bug off! [How's he supposed to get out of this one?]

Phase II

[Trying to find Baymax is a whole other story. But it seems like he's found him because he hears his robotic best friend a moment later. Rattled by everything happening, he doesn't even think anything of Baymax's speech pattern and begins to follow. For all he knows, the robot's really picked up on his speech pattern and he's trying out new things. Hiro would follow Baymax anywhere though and he picks up his pace, calling out for the robot to stop but continuing to follow. He tries to stop when he realizes Baymax isn't listening and finds that he can't. That's okay. Maybe his magnets are acting up and pulling him in.

…no. No that's not it, will someone please grab him before he walks himself right off of the sky bridge? Someone thinks he can jump on the robot's back like usual and be just fine.]

Phase III

[Still no sign of Baymax. He's grown better at dodging the ghosts and running to help where he can, letting those with better skill to fend them off take care of things and using his big brain to keep himself alive. Things are fine until he rounds a corner and skids to a halt right in front of one of the ghosts. Before he can back away the ghost reaches out to him, chilled fingers barely grabbing his wrist before he stumbles back.

At first, it doesn't mean anything to him. It's fine. This is fine.

…a short while later though it's not fine. In fact, a short while later some of his friends might get a text.]

SOS. I can't do this. GET ME OUT OF HERE.

[For anyone else, you might wind up walking down the sidewalk and trip over someone's foot. Hiro's crammed himself into a corner in an alleyway, curled up into a ball with his CereVice in his lap. There's a yelp whenever somebody else touches him and he backs away further, looking up with wide eyes from inside his helmet. He relaxes slightly upon seeing it's not a ghost, but the tone's still slightly shaky.]

You weren't followed, were you?

Phase IV

[It takes a lot of coaxing before he can start patrolling the city again. He has to find Baymax either way. He can't just let his robot wander alone, after all.

Unfortunately, someone finds Baymax before Hiro can. It's hard to tell that a ghost has inhabited the robot's body, seeing how he's wandering around as usual. If you're not fast enough, you might find yourself being hugged (a little harder than usual) by a red armored robot. Or being picked up and carried off somewhere.

At some points, Baymax will chime in that something feels wrong even if he can't explain it. At some points, he might just fire his robot fist toward someone.]

Oh no.

[Sorry, everybody. Heads up!]

Bonus

[Okay you know what. At some point he's had enough of these ghost shenanigans. As much as he hates CERES and as much as he distrusts anything given to him by them, this can't be any worse than dealing with the ghosts on his own.

Still shaken and uneasy, he's out and around Cerealia with the ghost-vac in his hand, creeping around corners and checking crevices to capture these guys. Eventually he'll stop and weigh the device in his hand, turning to whoever's nearby.]

How many do you think this thing can hold anyway?

phase iv

[dereban]

[ There's no movement when the robot hand flies over, and nearly hits her face, but just flies near the side of her cheek, barely gracing her (look it missed, but just nearly!) as she just... blankly stares at Hiro with an expressionless face, her voice matching her empty expression. ]

... Is this toy yours?

[zerotohiro]

[It's a good thing the fist doesn't make impact because it's hard to say if Inaba would even still be standing there if it had. Still, Hiro looks up and he looks mortified by this fact even if she doesn't seem to be reacting.]

It's not a toy. [He has to stress that a bit.] It's a weapon and usually he doesn't actually shoot at people unless I ask him to.

phase i!

[refuses]

[ the other teen, he briefly recognizes from the video as he flees from his own group of ghosts, from a few passing glances in his brother's workshop as gengar's ball was in the process of getting fixed. hiro doesn't go ignored, and neither do the ghosts that torment him. them, because silver's had his own fair share of overlapping whispers of murderer when he's never killed anybody, he's never been responsible for anything like that.

( yet the faint gnawing at his conscious wants to twist and turn his perception. has he been responsible? there are things he'd rather not remember as a child, and while he hadn't a single thing to think of it rationally, he does. his father was a crime boss, and he knows of far too many things he'd rather not— ) ]

Don't lump me in with them—

[ he hisses out, batting the entities away with growing frustration, and the weasel like creature at his side is just as fierce, fangs bared and hissing, spitting wildly like a cat would as he swipes and yowls at the ghosts to leave his trainer be. it gives enough time for silver to move away, for him to go to hiro and grab his shoulders, quickly pulling him to the closest wall along with him and flattening against it as much as he could, an arm held slightly upwards for any potential blocking needed ( he isn't above firmly holding hiro there either, if he thinks about moving ). he isn't particularly gentle or warning about it— he just knows to get out of the way, and desperately wants to be free of them— even if it was for a few moments.

and to leave hiro there, despite knowing so little of him— it felt wrong.

as he said, don't lump me in with them. he wasn't like his father and he never would be. ]

Punishment!

[ weavile gives a threatening yowl, a lunge forward as claws are out to his sides, glowing a faint purple— until he lacerates the air, and propels to the ghosts a wave of energy that cuts through their bodies and immediately makes their darkness disperse.

only then would silver let him go, when the chants of whispers go silent and the air, despite the eeriness and tenseness in his shoulders, goes still. weavile quickly dashes back to them, checking them up and down to make sure they're both okay. if silver cared enough to help, it's more than enough for weavile to pay attention. ]

[zerotohiro]

[There's a strangled sort of yell when he feels himself being hauled off but it's quick to die down when he recognizes Silver and watches Weavile spring right into action. Without Baymax, Hiro's currently defenseless against the ghosts and he's definitely not stupid enough to move until the creatures dissipate from sight. He's barely breathing, visor of his helmet flipped up to get a better look but standing still until Silver releases him and Weavile darts back to them. He doesn't speak at first, letting the Pokemon examine him even as he looks up at Silver's face with a mixture of gratitude and slight confusion.]

...uh. Thanks. [It's an awkward thank you, but it's no less sincere. He's keeping his eyes wide for more ghosts though.] You okay? Doesn't look like they're letting up on anybody out here.

III

[braavado]

[The moment Korra sees the message from Hiro, she finds some secluded niche out of the direct chaos to clutch at her CereVice. Whatever she might be feeling at the moment isn't relevant--Hiro wouldn't be sending something like this if it weren't urgent.

Hands shaking, both from exhaustion and worry, she types out a reply:]

Where are you? What happened?

[zerotohiro]

I c an't get rid of them fast enough and they keep chasing me down and I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING, WHY ARE THEY DOING THIS? [If he notices his own typos he doesn't say anything. He's too focused on trying to remain hidden and as small as possible.]

Korra, this is what was behind the wall wasn't it? What made you black out.

ii.

[undaunts]

Hiro!

[Ruby has no idea what's going on here, really, but she doesn't have a lot of time to think about it, either. As soon as she sees him come closer to the edge of that sky bridge as if to step right off... well, it doesn't look right to her. Maybe he has a backup plan, but in that case, he can scold her, because she's not hesitating.

She activates her Semblance, moving from point a to point b in the blink of an eye and the flutter of rose petals, and then she tackles him to the bridge.

Seems legit.]

[zerotohiro]

[Three things happen all at once. First, he feels the very brief sensation of almost falling seeing how one foot was already hovering off the edge of the bridge. Secondly, he finds himself in a whirlwind of dizziness and rose petals before he feels his back collide with the bridge and a loud "oomph!" escapes him without meaning to. And lastly, he looks up and realizes that Ruby just tackled him to the bridge and now she's hovering over him and he's not entirely sure what that was all about.]

What're you doing out of bed? [...yes. Of all the things to ask, that's his question for her. He's already looking to the side though, clearly worried about the Baymax only he can see.]

iv

[zenryokuzenkai]

[ The Rocket Punch bounces off the side of Nanoha's head, the normally sharp woman distracted by a wailing in her head that she hasn't quite managed to get rid of. Thankfully for everyone involved, she's built tough, and the fist's impact is marked by a small pink flash of magic, her automatic barriers keeping her skull from being caved in. ]

You should play safe with your toys, y'know. [ That's about all she can manage right now. They're her true feelings at least! Nobody got hurt so she's not going to make a fuss. ]

[zerotohiro]

[Considering the fact that it's a fairly large fist made entirely out of different metals, it's a very, very good thing the magic deflected it from really actually hitting her. Not only would Hiro have felt horrible, that probably would have killed her and been a real mess. Still, he can't help but glare slightly even as the fist returns to Baymax and the robot's moving on his own, not quite understanding why.]

He's not a toy. And do you really think I'd just let him launch at people? [Normally he's a lot more calm about these things, but he's a little too heightened at the moment.]

III

[borntorebel]

[Leia looks around a corner on her own way home and stops. Something isn't right about the shoes that are peeking around the corner of that wall. With a deliberate sort of movement, she heads that way, face set in a rigid line.

When she spots the young boy, she kneels down to check on him. He's scared and she's practically swimming in his fear as it fights with that of everyone else in the city.]

No, I don't think so, Hiro. Are you okay? Where's Baymax?

[zerotohiro]

[He should be out there. He should be out there helping everybody else but instead he's hiding and part of him is ashamed he's hiding and the other...well, he wishes it were a better hiding spot. When Leia approaches him he flinches in surprise before relaxing again. He doesn't know how to answer the first question, so instead he shakes his head and focuses on the second.]

I don't know. Earlier we were being chased and we got separated and I haven't been able to find him. He's not responding to me either. [He taps his helmet. Communicators keep him in touch with his team, and right now Baymax's isn't working or he's ignoring his companion.] Leia, how are we supposed to get them out of the city?

phase iii;

[flaredo]

[ ... Well, of course Yang's not about to let her student and Ruby's maybe future boyfriend come to any harm, so when she gets that text, she takes off running. Where-- she's not sure yet. ]

where are you right now?

Phase I

[allergictoloveletters]

MERCURY AQUA RHAPSODY! [The ghost that was chasing Hiro was now promptly gone, water and small trickles of ice on the ground where it had been. Bright blue boots stepped into the puddle and Eternal Sailor Mercury gazed at Hiro calmly before offering out a gloved hand to help him up.]

Hiro, are you alright? [She checked for injuries, the visor scanning his vitals and then smiled.] No serious injuries. I'm glad. Come on, let's see if we can find somewhere safe.

phase i

[psycholawgy]

[ you get out of this mess in this manner: an arm stretches out from an alleyway and pulls hiro. 'course, it might scare the living crap out of the young boy, but it's not dark or anything, so he should immediately see that it's athena who's pulled him into this surreptitious-looking alleyway. in actuality, it's just the back of the cosplay cafe, and she overheard the word "MURDER" (it's a ping for lawyers) so she decided to check what's up. ]

Shh— [ she covers hiro's mouth before he can say anything, looking out for any ghosts rushing by. it looks like they've lost the one chasing hiro for now. ]

Come on inside, quick. [ athena shows him the way to the back entrance of the cafe, but she ends up sneezing and tripping on a rock. oops. ]

Ow...

[ so much for a heroic entrance. ]

ii;

[adminproof]

Are you sure you want to do that?

[Saiduq asks, curling one of his wires around Hiro's waist and yanking him backwards (why are his wires always involved) before the boy steps off the bridge, as he himself floats in mid air, hands in pockets.

He's also slightly terrifying right now because his powers are on the fritz, but that comes later. Hiro first.]

III and maybe a bit of wildcard

[faithfulflame]

[A text that is answered within a span of heartbeats. Rei's been concerned for him but hasn't had the time to really focus on anything but fighting and protecting the people who don't have a robot. But that message?]

Where are you? I'll be there in five minutes, no matter what. Where do I need to go?

bonus!

[cryptologic]

The capacity is definitely up there. I've been sucking up a lot of these guys but it doesn't seem like it's running out of space anytime soon.

[ There's a little backdoor bragging, though Hiro's question does make him think. These ghosts didn't have a physical form, so theoretically, they shouldn't take up any space inside the vacuum. But at the same time, they had temporarily assumed physical forms to attack people. So couldn't they turn solid inside the pack and break it?

Sure makes him feel safe wearing it on his back, full of bloodthirsty, murderous spirits.

Then he sights another gang of ghouls approaching them from over Hiro's shoulder. ]

On your six! Or - twelve! Whatever - behind you!

IV

[definingfuture]

[The nightmares are kind of par for the course with Tony, and while he's been a bit down, he's not as bad as some. Definitely not enough to keep him from acting once the ghosts start flooding in with a wave of negative energy. Unusual is what the scans read. Tony is midair when the robot fist comes at him. The alarms go off just in time to let him know there's going to be an impact, and he tries to dodge sharply, throwing himself off-balance and almost losing his momentum. He has to take a moment to right himself before turning to see where the fist came from.]

Well, that was rude. [He gives Baymax a curious look through his faceplate.] Where are you going? It's dangerous to wander around out here.

phase i

[undauntingdawn]

[what a way for things to go to hell. possibly literally since these ghosts feel like they jumped right out of the place. riku's been trying to fight them off (in vain, mostly) while helping out others not as battle savvy. well, okay, maybe helping mostly involves running and using some powers to try to escape but hey, it's something.

in the midst of running around is when a familiar armored marshmallow and genius kid catch his eye. hiro running by baymaxless a few moments later and with ghost hot on his tail also catches his eye. can't just leave the gaming master to fend for himself, right? right. best way to help is by drawing big, dark and creepy's attention onto another target: himself. trying to fire off a dark firaga to do precisely that results in... balloonga?? riku blinks as a giant balloon pops up directly in front of the ghost. well... that... works???]

iii

[playboyknight]

[Oh look Hiro, it's Angelo. And on his way home, he trips over Hiro's foot but doesn't really react to it. He does also turn his head to see where the boy is, especially when he's spoken to.]

If I was followed, I'd know. It also appears we meet again after all.

III

[bewrightback]

[Phoenix was trying to make his way back home amidst all this chaos, but he was stopped when he tripped over something.]

Whoa! [He stumbles for a moment before he regains his footing and looks down to see a familiar tiny teen.]

Hiro? What are you... No, of course I wasn't followed. [He frowns. The poor kid's really shaken up.] ...As far as I can tell, anyway.

III

[digiteyesed]

[Are you absolutely sure this isn't a ghost? She's floating just like one and definitely doesn't look quite human, but at least she's not malicious like them. Instead of touching him she floats upside down right in front of his face. Ene always goes more for distraction and silliness rather than any sort of sincerity or seriousness. This kid looks like he needs his mind taken off of some things.]

Oiiii, kid, you okay? Don't worry, I wasn't followed, I'm better than that!

iii I CHANGED MY MIND

[covenantal]

[ It's like a bolt to his blood to get that text. There's a lot that's going wrong right now, isn't there?

But to get something like this from Hiro - GET ME OUT OF HERE in all caps - is a brand new level of ice in his veins. Yu had a ghost reach into his chest too, and it was no small thing, making him seize up in temporary dread, but since then, he's had little trouble. He's been on edge looking for signs of anything amiss, but until he keels over, his other friends are his priority.

And he has to make sure Hiro is okay. That Hiro is alive. Watching so many people he knows almost walk into traffic or off of bridges has his nerves so painfully on edge he feels like he might rip apart.

He tears through the city until he can find his friend, slowing only when he finally spots a curled up figure in a corner. He's got no weapon, because his katana won't help him right now, but he also hasn't got a Persona out, like you might otherwise expect him to have. His abilities have been acting a little... scattershot.

Yu doesn't hesitate at all. He immediately goes to Hiro's side, absolutely overwhelmed with relief to find him alive and (relatively) well. He'll kneel down, one arm over his knee. ]

No, I wasn't.

[ Why is he even asking? ]

Hiro, what's wrong?