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[reparator]

Who: ? ? ?
When: OOC: 11/03, IC: 11/18
Where: Cerealia
What: Well, that sure went wrong quickly.
Rating/Warning: PG-13 for dangerous/scary situations

---

//event???.EXE

The quiet of Cerealia is interrupted almost all too suddenly. Things were broken and not working before, sure, but that was before the sky opened up -- and the clouds part. And then, above the planet, hovering almost innocently...there’s a ship. The peace only hovers there for a moment. Because then...then the Flamines come. There’s a debt they have to settle. And the time has come to pay up. We're here. :)

//SCENARIOS.EXE

PHASE I [ ❓❓❓ ] And then the Flamines are there. They just appear, suddenly, as if from nowhere. They’re a race of mercenary aliens, and fighting is all they know -- they’re definitely not going to be easy to kill by any means. They seem to have a natural resistance to magic: aside from very specific types of magic (in particular, light magic and anything highly spiritual), they absorb it. Light magic and spiritual magic can harm them, but it will take a lot to take one down. They can be stabbed, if you can get that close. But good luck. Of course, they look like nondescript black shapes with masks until you knock the mask off...and then you can see the true shape of the Flamines. They’re here to kill you all. :) PHASE II [ ❓❓❓ ] As if that isn’t enough… it seems the Flamines’ arrival was the last straw for Cerealia and the Nexus Code. There’s a tear in the sky, and from it… the Nexus Code, where all of the lost friends from before, can be seen. It can be entered, even, though remaining there too long can be detrimental to your health. But people are there. Old friends, strung up and lifeless, can be seen there, unmoving. And… Then some of them move. They open their eyes. They remember how to breathe. And they’re able to return, able to stagger their way back into Cerealia and take their first breath of air in a long, long time. Welcome back to the chaos of Cerealia, friends. Unfortunately, you’ve got nothing but the clothes on your back while murderous aliens are rampaging, so hopefully you’re able to think fast. It’d be unfortunate to die so soon after coming back. As for spiritual and magical characters who were not in the Nexus Code...well, when they return, they’ll find that they’re covered in old, dried blood, and their clothing might have tears in it, as if from a knife. There are no scars, though, and they’re otherwise fine. Strange. PHASE III [ ❓❓❓ ] As if this chaos isn’t enough… there are also the masks. Regardless of whether or not characters were around to receive them the first time, regardless what they did with them before, the masks will suddenly reappear in your characters’ hands. They can be tossed aside, but they’ll reappear again eventually, unable to be truly shaken. Characters who received them before will receive the same mask they had before. Characters who didn’t receive them before will receive a mask according to the trait that’s more prominent for them. Either way...it’ll have a profound effect on the Flamines. They will go after any character with a broken mask in a bloodthirsty rage, intent on murdering them. Characters with a barcode mask or bloody mask will be the next likely to be chased down intently by the Flamines. Characters with a :( mask will be killed if they get in the Flamines’ way, though they will not go out of their way to chase them down. Characters with a vine mask or feather mask will be treated with wariness, though they may still be attacked if they get in a Flamines’ way. Characters with a grey mask will not be killed unless they are first the aggressor, as will characters with a bloody fingerprint mask. Naturally there will be exceptions to every rule, but the masks will change how the Flamines’ generally act towards characters! PHASE IV [ ❓❓❓ ] But something’s not quite right. Regardless of the battles against the Flamines, it seems Cerealia’s just been under too much pressure lately. Something had to give -- And it’s the code building up the characters that really suffers. Their code has been hanging on by a thread without CERES to maintain it, and now… it’s finally giving out. The glitches that afflicted characters before will be even more prominent now; they might glitch from place to place, or have their powers go totally awry in odd ways. There may be a lack of powers suddenly, or a sudden difficulty staying on the ground as gravity stops working on the character. They might suddenly be unable to breathe, or go cold, or very nearly die -- But it can be controlled, too, with effort. Characters can learn to control the glitches, gaining an ability to almost teleport, or ways to tweak their powers in exciting new ways. With a lot of effort, they could even possibly reverse a death -- but only their own, and only once. BONUS [ ❓❓❓ ] There are also… birds? Flamingos, to be exact. Who knows where they came from, but either way, there are plastic flamingos chilling all over the place. They’re just normal plastic; they don’t move, they can very easily be destroyed -- But if you touch one with your bare hands… it’ll have an interesting effect. Characters will suddenly find that they have the abilities or the last person they touched -- but without any of the practice or ability to control it, of course. Still, it might help with that pesky Flamines problem, right? [ 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 the beginning of Cerealia's endgame 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 begin 11/03, or IC 11/18. Should this event log hit Captcha, there is an all-purpose overflow here. Thank you!

Comments

[adornmental]

Ugh—! I can't believe this stupid place is still giving us trouble even with Bellona as good as dead!

[Kashuu doesn't like being 1) a sitting duck and 2) useless, both of which he is right now. He scrambles to try picking his blade up from a different angle, swinging back a little when a Flamine gets close enough to be slashed away.

Fortunately(???), when his hand accidentally grazes the business end of his blade, that's when it decides to become solid again. The side of his palm is cut but THAT'S FINE, at least he can pick his sword up again.]

—Got it!

[pure_havoc]

[that's the signal he was waiting for. Cao Pi swings to bat away another attacker and then spins on his heel, lunging to loop an arm around Kashuu and haul him to his feet, spiriting him away. Here's hoping he doesn't glitch right through that arm.]

That imbecile only made things worse for us. I don't believe he's going to help us at all. Come, let me get you to one of the safe spots.

[adornmental]

Wah—!

[AND UP HE'S SWEPT. Fortunately the rest of him doesn't seem to be glitching as badly as his hands, so he won't wipe out and become a pavement skid.]

Hang on, hang on - I don't need to go all the way to a safe spot! Just like, put me in an alley or something. Those guys ignore me, mostly, and I just need a little time to... stop doing the hand thing.

[pure_havoc]

...fine.

[it's not like Cao Pi doesn't know Kashuu can take care of himself, but he still worries. He makes for the nearest alley and double-checks that they have a way out before slowing to a stop and releasing Kashuu]

What was that? Has it been happening often?

[adornmental]

[Kashuu appreciates the concern, at least! Better to be worried over than to just be dumped in an alley with no consideration. Once they're there, though, he'll straighten his clothes a little and frown down at his own hands.]

I dunno... I think it might be a glitch or something? That's what it reminds me of, anyway. It didn't start until about an hour ago, but it's happened a few times since then.

[pure_havoc]

A glitch... [his frown deepens, remembering being unable to communicate with anyone, only Koumei could decipher his writing. Ah Koumei...now he's sad.]

Just what we need on top of everything else. In that case, if it happens again, let me pick up your sword and carry it. It wouldn't do to lose it in the middle of a fight.

[adornmental]

[The lost comrade struggle... He feels it. But after a second of consideration, he nods. The battlefield is no place to be picky about these things, for one, and he trusts Cao Pi enough to feel comfortable handing over his vessel.]

Okay. Just gimme a little time to see how bad this stupid glitching is gonna get...

[He flexes his fingers and they look solid enough, but he knows better than to trust that fully.]

[pure_havoc]

[he nods, although he can't stop looking around in case some Flamines come sniffing into one end of the alley or the other. Cao Pi crouches down beside him, resting the point of one blade on the ground to support himself.]

It won't do well to stay put too long, but yes. Take what time you need. I would rather we had a better handle on the situation, even if it means sitting still for a bit.

[adornmental]

Trust me, I'll be moving as fast as I can as soon as I can. Staying in one place like a sitting duck drives me crazy.

[And there's not much that's more sitting duck-like than this, just chilling with his useless hands.

At least when he shakes them now, and then reaches for his vessel again, they don't pass through.]

Mm... This might have to be good enough.

[pure_havoc]

[yes good. Cao Pi straightens up, looking both ways for the best exit, and then up in case there's a fire escape they can reach. No such luck.]

I will stay with you. Where were you intending to go, Master Kashuu?

[adornmental]

You sure? I don't wanna hold you up if you were gonna keep fighting. For now, I was planning on scouting out the area to see how many we have left to deal with here...

[A district-by-district cleanout seems best to him, honestly.]

[pure_havoc]

[he shakes his head quickly] My sole mission at the moment is to ensure that people are safe. The civilians must be evacuated to where they can be warded, while people like us who can still fight protect the weak.

Besides. [the slightest smirk] Fighting in pairs is the wiser tactic.

[adornmental]

[Considering that seems like a fair alignment with his own goals, he smiles.]

Count me in, then. I'm used to fighting in a pair, anyway!

[He's also used to fighting with more certainty that he won't drop his blade, but hey, you can't win 'em all.]

Ready?

[pure_havoc]

Let's move.

[he is so on for this, even if his blades don't do much. Their enemies fall back, and even fall down, but they don't stay down. As long as they can cut a path for themselves while they scout around, it'll have to do.]

[adornmental]

[Despite his whole hand struggle thing, Kashuu's able to help cut a path through without any trouble this time, too. He's counting his blessings...]

Careful, to your left!

[pure_havoc]

[the warning comes just in time, so Cao Pi can pop his weapon apart into two separate blades and bring the left-hand one back to fend off one coming at him. They may be tough to cut, but they can be cut, and that's all he's counting on right now.]

Don't let them swarm on us. Keep moving.

[as long as they don't stop and get bogged down in the sheer numbers, they can keep the upper hand]

[adornmental]

Got it!

[That's one thing Kashuu's good at no matter what the situation is, at least - he's light on his feet and quick, so outrunning Flamines is still doable for him.

Of course, he'll stop to cleave paths through them when he can though, just in case thinning out their number is more advantageous in the end.]

[pure_havoc]

[thinning out numbers is always wise, Cao Pi follows up by cutting right behind Kashuu and making sure anything he hits goes down. He's equally fast and fluid, alternating between two swords and the joined weapon, back and forth from one form to the other. Of course, the more they attack, the more diligently the Flamines attempt to counter - they're in more danger now than if they'd kept their swords at their sides.

As long as they can get through and around the corner, maybe it won't be so bad down the next street...]

[adornmental]

[The only saving grace for Kashuu here is that he doesn't get tired easily. Still, even he's feeling a bit of the wear once they get around the corner...

On the other side there are far, far less Flamines, but the ones behind them are still pretty doggedly following. So:]

Let's just make a break for it!

[pure_havoc]

Aa...

[dammit just go away, Flamines, these are not the CERES puppets you're looking for! Cao Pi lowers a shoulder and plows straight ahead, rejoining Pure Havoc into one and keeping it to his left just in case he needs to use it to finish clearing a path.]

[adornmental]

[Kashuu's also helping out with the vigilant path-clearing, though the ones ahead of them that they haven't outright attacked yet don't seem keen on joining the fray. Good to know, at least...]

Almost through! I think I see a break up there.

[pure_havoc]

[he follows Kashuu's lead to see it, and then...] Xiàng zuǒ...

[oh shit, not again. Not again. Cao Pi grits his teeth and decides to keep his mouth shut. He can still understand everything but the glitch that will forever plague him is the ability to speak anything but his native tongue. So instead of saying so, he points leftward with the tip of his sword.]

[adornmental]

[That's gonna be one hell of a glitch, goodness.]

Eh— Over that way? Got it!

[And to the left he goes! Hopefully it isn't a trap filled with Even More Flamines, he needs to rest.]

[pure_havoc]

[no, not this time, left seems to be where the gap has opened up even wider. So long as they spot Cao Pi's fingerprinted mask, the Flamines who didn't see him fighting their own earlier leave him be, hopefully Kashuu can follow safely in his wake. There's a door hanging open behind the next building, maybe they can duck inside for a bit.

The last time this glitch happened, Cao Pi had better luck drawing kanji characters for those who could understand them. It worked on Koumei, so he's not even going to bother trying anything else and will do the same for Kashuu, if they need to communicate more than pointing.]

[adornmental]

[His mask definitely doesn't draw anywhere near the same ire as the bleeding or broken ones, that's for sure. Ivy is a pretty safe bet...

He's quick to slide through the door that's pointed out, though. Once inside, he turns back around and eyes it warily, waiting for more Flamines to pop through, but... It's silent, for now.]

...You think we shook them?