Advertised around town on available bulletins, a carolling group has been requesting volunteers to join them. There doesn't seem to be any catches--it's just a fun little opportunity to spread some Holiday cheer while making some new friends! Of course, you don't have to if you don't want to--maybe, instead, you're the sort to chase carollers off your doorstep?
He'd been able to avoid the requests to join the church's caroling group. He'd been able to avoid any groups from Romano's. It wasn't just the fact he found the concept humiliating and very boring, but carolers had a high tendency to also be very, very annoying.
That night, as he moved around over rooftops, trying to ignore the odd crystals in the snow, he was trying to focus on easy targets to help fill his quota... never mind trying to keep a read out for energy signatures. It wasn't a possible fight he caught ear of though, and it wasn't an Order signature that made his face contort in a grimace. It was singing. Caroling. Why.
Oh he was getting better with not being such a uh, well a Scrooge as he was used to being called over the years around this bitter memory filled holiday season, but there was just... something he couldn't quite just let be about these often off-key, annoying carolers.
Which meant, that as he moved across the roofs and spotted a decent group of them, he moved down to the street silently as he could, trying to watch for an opening to grab someone and begin to drain their energy. He had to be close to do it, but didn't want to scatter them... Instead, he watched from an alleyway as they sang their songs, wincing as a few were definitely way off key, waiting for them to travel close for him to focus on draining their energy.
Strickenized
This is such a BS opener but HERE YOU GO
Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2016 7:44 pm
There was but one day in the year when anyone would wish tone-deafness upon themselves, and luckily, Morpheus was one of those blessed few who needed no wishing. Naturally unable to carry a tune himself, Morpheus took no notice of the utter failures of some of the carolers that night. He proceeded blissfully unaware through the rooftops, pausing only when he found an isolated gathering torturing the double doors of some poor soul. He skipped the houses where their denizens stood outside listening, facing the carolers, and instead chose the locations where the homeowners relied on their walls as bastions against the auditory offense. Only then did the Mirror Senshi pause to usher out a wraith.
Mostly the evening went smoothly - his draining hitched but once, and that was for the Very Important Appearance of one candied chestnut vendor. He ushered his wraith into one of the shards immediately and dropped his duties to purchase a large bag of the delicious treats, and went about his evening with the delectables tucked under one arm.
A sickening wash warned him of the proximity of someone else about, but Morpheus cared little. Carolers were free game, he figured, and any Dark Mirror or Negaverse agent was welcome to partake in the feast. Not like he could drain the lot of them to the floor or anything. Besides, candied chestnuts put him in a good enough mood to share (the carolers, not the chestnuts. Morpheus never shared chestnuts).
He descended from the roof of a three-story victorian carefully, as last time he dropped the chestnut bag and a few of the treats spilled out into the snow. When he reached the bottom, the bag was again tucked under his arm. A shard came out of his pocket, a wraith came out of the shard, and energy came out of the carolers as the wraith darted about their unsuspecting gathering. Here, they sang 'Deck the Halls' in one of those Round Robin deals that Morpheus remembered from school assemblies. Briefly he considered singing along, then immediately decided he proved too cool for that. Besides, that would draw attention to himself.
So instead he popped a squat next to the adjacent brick retaining wall and watched his wraith do all the work. Damn was he glad he never needed to drain energy directly.
Seraphinite felt the prickle at the back of his skull when another energy signature came into range. It felt like Chaos, but sure as hell wasn't an agent or corrupt senshi--it felt wrong. He'd encountered a similar aura before, and bristled, not thrilled to encounter another Dark Mirror while on patrol.
Just his luck when he felt the energy settle in his proximity. No, he couldn't pin-point exactly where the senshi was, and a part of him debated hitting the rooftops to try and tract them down. He'd no reason to trust them, no reason to be at ease with a senshi around--Chaos-aligned energy or not. It meant no kinship between the two forces, and sure as hell didn't negate his previous piss-poor experience with one of their ilk.
It only made matters worse when he realized there was something moving between the carolers he'd been waiting to pass his way.
At first, Seraphinite wasn't sure what he was seeing--a trick of the eye? Moving clothing? But the longer he watched, the closer he looked, the more he began to realize there was something moving between them. Wasn't a youma, but the hell was it?
Oh he could imagine it had something to do with his unwanted guest, but he'd no proof, and certainly nothing--or anyone--to act upon. So instead he waited, wincing and rolling his shoulders in aggravation as they continued their horrendous singing.
At last they seemed content with the torture they'd inflicted on the household, and had begun to at last head down in the direction of the alley he'd hidden within. A few of them yawned, a few looked less peppy and as full of holiday cheer as when they'd begun--he wondered if perhaps their off-key singing was having a negative effect on their health. Remaining in the shadows, he waited till the majority were walking past him when he reached out towards the back of a straggler.
It took a small moment to focus and begin to pull the energy, and he only had so long to drain before the caroler moved out of range with their group--though looking definitely far worse for wear. He immediately retracted the glowing orb of energy back behind the cover of the building, eyeing it for a moment before sending it off to wherever collected energy went for the Negaverse quotas.
It'd been extremely little, a paltry amount and definitely requiring him to keep tailing the group for now. Grumbling, he got back up to the rooftops, looking for the next shadowed recess to hide himself in for another draining attempt--preferably on another target, if he could. As he moved however, he kept his eyes out for the source of the additional energy, expecting it to be a foe.
Strickenized
Not the type to share his nuts huh??
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:25 am
From where Morpheus crouched, he watched the caroling group. They wrapped their song, still unaware of the wraith in their midst, and started toward the next house down the street. Morpheus himself stood, dusted off from all the snow, and leapt to a rooftop adjacent to the carolers. It afforded a better view of the mass, and from there, he spotted an interloper that threatened his energy-draining project.
Someone with an actual chaotic influence tailed the stragglers of the group, and Morpheus surmised that he was one of those Negaverse assholes that he was warned about. He reached out toward the back of one of the members, and at first Morpheus thought he intended to foil Morpheus' energy operations by telling him off. "Dude, what gives." Instead, no interaction occurred between the caroler and the agent at all - the agent simply lowered his hand, and a glowing ball thing shot off into the air like it stole something. Was this guy trying to drain energy too? "Dude, what gives."
Morpheus waited only until his wraith finished its business before he dismounted from the roof. Darting over to the carolers in a roundabout fashion demanded a little more time, but drew none of their attention to him. They continued to march along as Morpheus came up behind, and retraced the legion of steps that marched from one door to the next. As he approached, more of the agent came into focus - Morpheus couldn't tell what kind of an agent he was, however. He knew they had ranks, but he didn't know what the ranks were or what they meant in relation to his own power level.
But, he did know that this guy was ******** with his energy operation. His wraith hadn't yet drained to the maximum, and this a*****e stood to ruin his good fortune.
Reaching down, Morpheus brushed soot from his sash onto his palm. He called to get the attention of the agent ahead of him. "Hey, dumbass!" He blew the pile from his hand, and hoped the agent turned around in time to get a face full of the stuff.
kaefaux
sorry about the wait!
Sailor Scout Attack: Morpheus' Cinders
Range: 6~-8', dependent on wind conditions Duration: 30 seconds Use Count: Useable 3x without energy replenishment. Miss Chance: Morpheus' attack can miss based on wind blowing the dust in the wrong direction, a character jumping out of the way, or shutting their eyes / shielding the face. Effect: Morpheus can either wipe his forehead or touch the dust-laden ribbon of his uniform to summon a handful of soot. He then throws it toward the target (hence the variability on range), and if it strikes them in the eyes or face, the attack will take hold. It does not sting the eyes as one would expect of soot. From then on, the afflicted character will interpret the world with blended elements of stream of consciousness / dreaming. These elements are entirely up to the player - for example, they may see someone's face taper into a trombone, or watch a battle taking place upon a lake that's dripping upward onto the clouds, or that Destiny City has become a sphere encasing the entire battle, and looking upward reveals the rooftops of buildings on the other side. Any blended elements are free reign here - sights, sounds, tastes, feelings, and smells are all viably manipulable components in Morpheus' attack.
However, this magic can only augment parts of people - it cannot change the whole.
He'd figured that at some point, Seraphinite would come across the lingering other Chaos aura. He'd expected the worst, and when it came, well. On one hand, he wasn't surprised by the attack. Senshi were senshi, and like hell had he encountered a single one he'd trust at his back.
On the other, he'd likely never get used to dealing with senshi magic. He was forming one hell of a bone to pick with whatever forces out there in the cosmos came up with the bright idea of creating combatants like this.
When Seraphinite realized the senshi was behind him, he didn't really decide to go for the maybe we can talk this out route or whatever. Nah. Soon as the jackass called out--really?--the agent turned and lunged for the senshi all in one movement.
And got a freaking face full of dust for his efforts. Great.
Whatever momentum he had going was unknown to him as the world around him shifted and blurred. Buildings melted and swirled, the stars dropped down on strings and chimed like bells, dancing among the swirling buildings and distorting them into even more strange shapes. Brick and concrete formed trees with skeletal branches illuminated with those hanging stars, and Seraphinite wasn't entirely sure his feet were even on the ground any more.
He swung with his fists though, hoping that just maybe he was still going in the direction of the blasted senshi. This was why he never believed anyone who claimed any senshi could be trusted. Zero proof of claim.
Strickenized
Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2016 12:39 pm
His attack scored, and Morpheus found glee in that. He expected to watch the agent trundle about staring at his surroundings like the rest of the civilians he struck, however, and reality struck him straight in the face. Morpheus loosed a grunt, face stinging, and went down in the snow. He sat up almost immediately out of the cold, snowy death to massage his soon-to-be-numb cheek and felt a loosened premolar in his ginger ******** ********. I'm gonna lose a tooth to this guy? That ain't kosher, yo. I gotta do something about this b***h. While he laid on the ground, Morpheus kicked a foot out in front of him and hoped the jackass would trip and eat snow for a minute.
The carolers drifted further down by now, and Morpheus felt his inclination to energy drain dwidnle with every second he spent on this Negaverse lieutenant. Teaching assholes lessons was something he liked to do, though, and demonstrated that he had heart - a lot of it. Plus, who ran away from some d**k who punched them in the face? Pussies, he decided, that's who. Morpheus was no p***y, snow be damned, and he would exact revenge for his loose tooth in short order, even if it meant casting all his magic on the man and dumping him in a trashcan. In fact, that sounded like his best idea yet.
Plus, he could totally emulate Malcolm X and curb stomp the dude. Maybe. Nah - he knew he had to bust this dude up first to send a message.
Busting him up sounded easier said than done, however.
Well there was one good thing. He'd felt his fist making contact, but with what exactly, Seraphinite's eyes weren't totally sure. The senshi wasn't really... there, instead a mix of purple dust and cracked glass shards floating in the vague shape of a person.
But he'd hit it, and the mixture went down. So maybe he'd aimed right despite this ******** going on in his head?
Not that he had that upper hand--of sorts?--for long. Something caught between his legs as he moved, still unsteady on his feet, the visions not clearing no matter how many times he blinked his eyes or shook his head. He tumbled backwards, landing in the snow and cussing when his head snapped back and hit the ground. Wincing, he clutched at the back of his skull, feeling a sharp throb forming. Maybe it'd been what was needed to knock the magic away, or maybe it'd just begun to fade, but the warped world began to twist and bend back into place.
At least enough that he could figure out where the ground was as he pushed himself to sit up, then at least into a crouch so he was a bit less unguarded.
Strickenized
Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 10:02 am
"Dude, don't make me kick your a**," Morpheus huffed out as he scrambled to his feet. The other guy was still in a crouch, which meant he had the upper hand. He looked like he had the upper hand, at least. "Cuz I'll whoop you all over this sidewalk, b***h." Morpheus feinted at him, hoping to scare him off.
Hoping.
If it didn't work, Morpheus would have to call on his magic again. It distracted the lieutenant somewhat, at least, and that meant Morpheus had a better chance to make it out mostly unscathed. He was still pissed about his tooth, especially since he tasted warm metal on his tongue. If he needed dental work from this b***h then he was getting a grill, and the Negaverse was going to pay for it. Somehow.
Distantly, one of the carolers shouted at them. "Hey," she called as sharply as she could, "get out of here or I'll call the police!" Inwardly she hoped these hooligans could manage a modicum of holiday spirit and quit their s**t until the new year rolled in. Even world war 2 incurred a break for Christmas. Couldn't these damned gangs do the same?
One of her partners caught her knit-adorned arm and whispered something in her ear. She shrugged off the grasp. "I'll give you until three! One…"
"With what? That drug you call a magic?" Seraphinite snorted, watching the senshi from his crouch. He forced his expression to smooth into one of bored dismissal instead of showing the pulse of adrenaline rushing his system, urging him to fight.
"Go sell your magic to junkies, make yourself useful that way. Stay out of my way." Was Seraphinite willing to tangle with another Dark Mirror? Yes, yes he was, though he wasn't sure how much he could do against that reality warping magic. He guessed he'd be left wide open for physical attacks by the senshi, if he couldn't make heads or tails of the world around him, and that was not something Seraphinite was remotely ok with.
When one of the carolers shouted at them, Seraphinite didn't move his gaze away from the senshi. If anything, he only lifted a brow, a silent challenge to the Dark Mirror. But when she began to count, a rather ridiculous threat to him, he proposed, "I can easily rip out her starseed, all of theirs, and we can continue this. Or you can go along your way and stay out of mine."
He was... curious how the senshi would respond to that. Dark Mirror Senshi were Chaos, like the Negaverse, but they seemed entirely incompatible with their goals. This would only be a minor, very minor, test to view more of that for himself. He rose out of his crouch, taking a few steps back towards the carolers, still keeping his eyes on the Dark Mirror Senshi.
Strickenized
Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 3:55 pm
"You think you're so ******** tough?" Morpheus held his arms outward, asking for a continued fight. "Bet you can't do s**t to me with my magic on your a**. You best be steppin', boy. You go tellin' your Negaverse homies that this is Dark Mirror territory now." He flashed an M, with index and pinkie parted outward from the pair of ring and middle fingers. He jabbed it in an upside-down matter to indicate his alliegiance.
The caroler, however, spared them no further warning. Before she bothered counting to two, she pulled her cell phone from the pocket of her coat and briskly dialed 911. She would have no further bullshit on this side of the block, especially during Christmas season - and she knew that none of these hooligans would dare overstep her here. Not in full view of many houses, and the remaining group of carolers. "Will one of you start recording this? We need it on video so the police will know what to look for. If they try anything, I want a record of it." She held her phone to her ear while she waited for dispatch.
Morpheus never heard two or three from the girl's call, and his back remained to the carolers, so he figured they were safe for another moment or two. "You want some more of this? Huh?" Whatever the guy mentioned before, Morpheus figured it was a joke. Starseeds sounded like some kind of superfruit anyway.
The idiot actually got Seraphinite to laugh. Genuine, amused, laughter. His eyes shut briefly as he shook his head, amazed that someone would strike a makeshift gang sign and dare to claim this was Dark Mirror territory.
"You have nothing to back up that claim," Seraphinite chuckled, perhaps the first time he'd laughed this much in months. "Keep trying to say that to people. Let's see how long you still have your tongue, or your fingers." Slowly, he rose out of his crouch, looking towards the collection of carolers with a bored expression.
"Congratulations on ruining a ripe chance to harvest energy." Because, so far as Seraphinite was concerned, things were fine until the senshi decided to attack him.
Though he refused to turn his back on the senshi, Seraphinite cast the Dark Mirror a final, dismissing look. If they crossed paths again, it would not end on this laughing note. It was tempting, really, to bring along a Captain or a General next time, and see how the idiot tried his luck then. Against those with real weapons, real blades.
Didn't take much energy to hit the rooftops again, not wanting to deal with the police though painfully tempting as it was to stay around to take that woman's starseed. Another time. This was a ******** up night as it was--there was no point adding to the catastrophe.
Strickenized
Fin on your post???
Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 9:29 am
Well damn, this a*****e called him out on his bluff too. Morpheus figured they were both out of bluffs at this rate. "Fine dude, you're on." Morpheus formed a fist and pounded it into his other hand in another attempt to look tough. He watched Mr. Way-Too-Serious cross to the rooftops and waited until he couldn't see the other man. At that point, Morpheus felt pretty proud of himself. He got some energy, started a fight, and probably lost some teeth. But homies get some serious cred out of battle scars, right? So maybe he came out better than he thought.
And that lady never counted to three. Wait…
Morpheus looked back, and the carolers were gone. In their place, the snow flashed red, then blue, then red again. "Oh, s**t!" Morpheus exclaimed suddenly. Immediately he turned, slipped in the snow, and fell. Picking himself back up was a matter of scrambling, and the Dark Mirror senshi left in a much lower level of dignity than his adversary.
Fighting on the streets proved far more difficult than he originally thought, even with magic on his side. Maybe next time he'd pick up a knife or something.
