PHASE I [ 9 00 ] 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. ] |
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Kristoph!
[ The yell echoes louder than it should, yet Kristoph doesn't turn around. He looks distraught to see the face of his jailed brother here, because that was the last thing he wanted to see here. ]
Kristoph wait! You haven't told me --
[ All his mind could focus on was the fact that Kristoph was walking away from him, without giving him any proper answers. Klavier reaches out but before he can even extend his arm, Kristoph is beyond his reach. He really didn't want to deal with this again, but he couldn't run away.
So he gave chase. But no matter how fast he walked, Kristoph was just beyond reach. Klavier didn't care, he just had to reach Kristoph and talk to him.
Unfortunately, Klavier's not noticing that he's actually walking along Cerealia's brightly lit and elevated sky bridges. This area of the bridge was normally cordoned off for repairs and it was with a dull awareness that he registered the sign, but he saw his brother walk through here! He had to be here.
He just about manages to remove the barricades, but he doesn't realise that what awaits him at the near end of the bridge was a steep fall. ]
bonus
[ Klavier, is of course the member of a boy band. Not just any boyband, but the lead of Law and Order. The ghosts have inflicted previously unknown horrors onto him. So instead of being put out, he's instead opted to drag his vacuum cleaner (because that's what it is, honestly) full of ghosts. There is no way that a bunch of ghosts are going to upstage him, so instead he's going to do a free performance. A guerrilla live! That's what you call them.
He's just going to drag the vacuum cleaner to the recreation district and start performing on the street corner in his flashiest and mostly purple leather. Why are those ghosts as loud as him and his microphone? Nobody knows. ]
♩♫ I'm doin' this tonight,
You're probably gonna start a fight.
I know this can't be right.
Hey baby come on, ♩♫
[ At least Klavier knew the lyrics to this song. He's gyrating his hips with a microphone in hand, small boom box with him pumping the backing track. The ghosts, happily fill in the rest of the vocal. ]
♩♫ I loved you endlessly,
When you weren't there for me.
So now it's time to leave and make it alone
I know that I can't take no more
It ain't no lie
I wanna see you out that door
Baby, bye, bye, bye... ♩♫
[ And it's just going on like this with Klavier and the ghosts alternating verses until the song finishes. Enjoy. ]
II
Gav--[A split-second to correct himself.] Klavier. Are you out of your mind?!
[He's already high-strung from the spirits' first attack. Seeing an ally from home almost fall to his death rattles him more than he wants to admit.]
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[ he yells, struggling against Apollo's rather firm hold. It's a good minute of this push and pull before Klavier's expression changes and he seems to come to. ]
I... huh?
[ There's a hint of confusion as he looks at the sky, then the fall below, then Apollo grabbing onto him for dear life. ]
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You were about to walk right off the bridge, Klavier. [Apollo tells him flatly, using the shock to cover up the flare of anger.] Why the hell would you be following Kristoph after everything he did?
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[ sputters out Klavier, clutching onto Apollo's arm with a tightened grip as he slowly edges back towards the main section of the bridge. ]
Scheisse, Apollo. If you weren't here, I would have...
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Squeezing his eyes shut, Apollo lets Klavier's sentence remain unfinished--he's still way too shaken to even consider what might have happened if he'd been too late.]
Let's move away from here. [A change of topic seems the safest.] Before he--before whatever it was comes back.
bonus
She's not entirely sure if she should clap? Especially with him dancing too? Um.]
That was...interesting?
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Alright she's going to do it, she's going to clap!! And--]
That was a wonderful performance! Very...original! [She is mostly honest though, Klavier did put up a very cool performance if not for the situation.]
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[ He bows. ]
But I couldn't be outshined by some paltry ghosts.
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I think you did give a much better performance than the ghosts, no matter how strange the situation.
ii
Tenka was using the sky bridges to get an elevated view of the city, trying to see exactly what was going on and making sure that none of his kids were out in the danger of it -- and then there's somebody yelling for a Kristoph. The playful part of Tenka's mind is about to respond, "That's not my name!" before he realizes exactly where the guy is.
So he's wheeling over to Klavier's side as fast as humanly possible, trying to get his attention.]
Whoa, whoa!! Hey, man! Don't take another step!!
[And once he's even remotely close enough, he's reaching out with his right arm to grab Klavier's arm to pull him back.]
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[ But he feels himself being pulled back, landing on his butt next to Tenka's wheelchair. He's still out of it, but Klavier looks like he's snapping out of the daze that he was in. ]
Who are you?
[ says Klavier as he looks up to the figure seated next to him. ]
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Kumou Tenka, 14th Head of the Kumou Family. [He introduces himself almost a little robotically before he blinks.] But call me Tenka.
[He then offers a hand to Klavier. Since he pulled him down, might as well help him get back up.]
You okay?
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[ He stands up, brushing off the dirt from his shirt. ]
I don't know what would have happened if you weren't here, so please accept my thanks - as meagre as they are.
[ And Klavier bows, a little awkwardly at his height. Because that's what you do in this situation, right? Tenka was a Japanese name, or sounded like it. ]
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Hey, don't worry about it. Not like I could just watch you jump off this thing in good conscience--
Something must've spooked you bad, huh?
[Though he looks more concerned than anything. Wanna talk about it, bruh?]
Bonus
Standing casually at the stage, she waits for him to finish, and then grins at him.]
Have you been ghost-training, Mister Gavin?
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[ He says with a little pout, finally relaxing his pose. ]
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[She waggles a finger at him.]
You know I liked it or I wouldn't be smiling. That was good!
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[ Klavier picks up the vacuum cleaner and holds it up, the ghosts inside humming at a low frequency. ]
Though I would rather schedule my performances next time. Without ghosts.
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[She thought they used to be people...]
ii
[Not that she needed any to see the pain in Klavier's expression and the frustration in his voice.]
...who's Kristoph?
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My brother, the source of all the darkness in my life... the darkness that hid behind Phoenix, Trucy and Apollo...
[ He's still in a daze, but he feels himself stopping before he even reaches the dangerous part of the bridge. ]
He's... there, beckoning.
[ Klavier's so very nearly out of that trance. ]
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[Iris barely had time to be hit with the familiar parallel--very familiar--as she alternated between...whatever it was drawing him to...a bridge. Because of course it was a bridge. What else was her life, besides dangerous bridges and evil siblings?]
No. He's not.
I don't know what you think you're seeing, but...it's not there. It's not real.
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[ Klavier feels himself coming to more and more, and those words bring him back to the actual reality of the moment. He looks around and gasps, not entirely sure what was going on. ]
Fraulein Iris, why are you here? Why am I... here...?
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