bravenewworld | Event - Confrontation with the Enhanced

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Event - Confrontation with the Enhanced

With the revelation of the presence of the Enhanced, Union was able to quickly mobilize. As the strange conditions continued to worsen, the Trainers of Union once again set out to bring order to the chaos.

This time however, they do not walk entirely alone. A small, dedicated team remains behind in Union, sorting through the dossiers and information that Crystal and Rory have collected. Connected to those in the field via Warp Band network, hopefully they can identify the Enhanced and find a way to calm them before a tragedy occurs.

[OOC: There will be a thread for each active team based on the sign-ups. Any areas that did not have any sign-ups will not be present and will be addressed later. As per our usual standards, moderators and NPC helpers will progress the log at least once every 24 hours. The Union log will work somewhat differently from the battle logs in that the participants will be collecting information concerning the Enhanced; when enough information has been accumulated, they will be asked to tag into the battle threads to provide guidance and support to those out in the field.

Characters participating in the Union log will function as support staff for this event. They will have their own log interacting with Rory and Crystal and as characters in other logs encounter the Enhanced, they can use the observations made to try to find out more about the Enhanced in the field and help the people in the field determine an appropriate situation. Because of this, players in the Union thread may threadjack any ongoing log to relay information as needed.

The outcome of this event will depend very much on player decisions and the ability of the characters to respond to the threats at hand, so we would highly encourage you all to tag as regularly as possible. Thanks!]

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Yuuna, looking up into the weirdly distorted ruins as well, was walking close to Merrill and giving Eluvian a rather guarded look. It's presence meant, at least to her, that it was expecting a snack...and she was not going to let that happen if she could help it. The Ranger kept a bit of space between her and her girlfriend, enough to be supportive but not close enough to present a tempting double-target for anything that might be setting up an ambush.

Her own Spiritomb, Kintsu, curled around her shoulders, his spectral form seeming to flow from his trainer's back. It was an odd relationship they had, but the ghost seemed beyond loyal to her, having literally shrouded her from harm more than once. Flanked her ever-present companions, Gouken and Kyo, she cocked her head at Isabela.

"Front door's as good as any, I guess. You guys ready?"

All these Ghosts. It's like everyone's expecting Psychic trouble - though Haruka brought her Honchkrow, so she can't really comment. (The Pokémon in question is flying above the party, hoping to redeem himself after the Wooper incident by playing watchmon. Anything starts looming, he'll sound the alarm.)

"It's rude to refuse an invitation," Haruka points out; Isabela's taken vanguard, so she's fallen into line towards the back of the party, where she can take her time trying to sense the enemy. Just because their opponent isn't a God doesn't mean she should start getting cocky or anything.

But Michiru's here too, so she's not that worried.

All these ghosts indeed. Spiritombs no less. Helios wasn't really an avid hater of pokemon, not really, but Spiritombs put him slightly on edge. It's almost noticeable as he walked up to the entrance of the ruins. Helios' own Goomy and Phantump were with him as well. The Goomy more or less looked rather underwhelmed by the ruins, while the Phantump snickered almost insidiously as it floated around the area.

Helios would definitely have to keep an eye on him. It was prone to playing the worst types of pranks lately and with these ruins, well, it'd practically be like a kid in a candy shop really.

"Ah. Everyone be on guard, yes? We don't know what might be inside." But there's no sense in standing around outside when there's loads to explore in there. Creepy ruins are totally the best places to explore, amirite?

Michiru falls into step next to Haruka as her Milotic hovers on her other side. She wasn't exactly expecting all these people, but well. She'll make do.

No comments from this corner, but she has no complaints either.

[[OOC Note: 24 hours we will be moving on. If you have not tagged in, please do so at your leisure.

As an added note, if you are using a character power please put the typing that it is associated with in your reply (preferably in an OOC comment), as this will may become relevant. Please note that player character typings may change as the log progresses.

Have fun! =D]]

It was rude to refuse an invitation, Haruka was very right. Should they move toward the entrance, they will find that the interior of the ruins are very different. Rubble floated in place by some unseen force, and a mosaic that was once destroyed appears to be reconstructed, somewhat. It looks wrong, as if someone filled it in without further knowledge, looking more militaristic in design--and significantly more bloody. The artwork is disturbing to say the least.

There is a staircase before them, which splinters into two directions on top (right and left), each likely leading to a separate wing of this illusionary tower.

Those blessed with the Analyst ability may be able to determine if one or both wings are even real, otherwise the party may have to figure it out on their own.

Edited 2015-02-01 04:25 (UTC)

This wasn't here before. None of this was.

[Merrill's gaze is drawn toward the mosaic, head tilting just slightly to the side as she studies the images. Slowly, she walks over to the wall, lightly tracing her hand over some of the bloodier depictions. She's certainly no stranger to bloody histories, and perhaps some of this is resonating with her. She doesn't linger long, though, and soon turns her attention to the staircases.]

Which way do we go?

Quick to follow, Yuuna enters and looks up and down the mosaics with an unhappy, skeptical look. This sure is different, and she's read enough histories to shudder involuntarily. Her camera comes out and she snaps a few quick pictures before she stows it and moves on towards the stairwell too. Gouken narrows his eyes at it and Kyo grumbles unhappily...but the Hitmonchan and Tyranitar join her.

"Not sure." She looks back to the others. "Thoughts?"

"I can't make heads or tails of how this got here," Isabela replies. "For all I know, this is just an illusion and we'll go falling through the stairs once we step on them."

She does go for the low-tech option to test that, though, and tosses a small coin from her pocket at the lower part of the staircase. In the meanwhile, she warps in her Zoroark (currently in the guise of her Ludicolo) to see if he had any insight as an illusionist.

The invitation continues. Haruka flicks her eyes toward her Honchkrow, who wheels to try and fly up the staircase. If there's an illusion, it might waver from a different angle.

She's more worried, though, about what else they might trigger if they step on the stairs. But what choice do they have? If their quarry's waiting up top - and, frankly, anyone who puts this much effort into interior decorating probably has a flair for the dramatic - there's only one way to proceed.

"It's not here for nothing," she points out, but she'll wait for the results of the illusion tests. Just give her a sign it's okay and she'll be heading on up.

Unless Michiru says to wait. Michiru is usually right about that.

This is quite an interesting reception. Is whoever it is trying to make their own home?

Michiru is no Analyst, but she's still going to take a moment to see if her usual Psychic intuition will work in this place.

Haruka's instincts are right, there was indeed tomfoolery afoot. The stairs leading to the west wing shimmered slightly at an angle, and, upon closer inspection, weren't actually there.

The coin that Isabela tossed hits something solid on the third stair, bounced, then, as it flew left of center, clipped through and fell to the ground, revealing the staircase to be far more narrow than it actually was.

"Just a bunch of nosy Nancies, aren'cha?"

The voice echoed through the ruins, a condescending lilt to the tenor's tone. The staircase splintered, illusionary pieces falling away, revealing more of a spiraling pathway up.

The interior decorator was inviting you into his home. It would be rude not to oblige.

Oh! There's the way.

[Merrill seems genuinely delighted about this, rather than dismayed. She probably should be, at least a little, but that's just how she is.]

Should we go and meet him, then?

"I had a feeling you'd be chipper about this," Isabela said. "I suppose you want to have a nice talk to the Enhanced here before we inevitably get in a big fight, right? See what he knows, that sort of thing?"

Isabela, for her part, takes the lead up the staircase, eye open for any further tricks. It is more or less her job, or tended to be. Her daggers, her Zoroark, and after a quick summoning her Aegislash are all at the ready.

Yuuna doesn't even bat an eyelash at Merrill's enthusiasm. She's come to expect it, and it's one of her most endearing qualities. She reaches over and gently squeezes the Dalish girl's shoulder before starting towards the stairs, following Isabela with Hitmonchan and Tyranitar in toe. She's ready and able to pull out more, and her hand rests on the hilt of her sword at that.

"Well, hopefully we'll be able to skip that whole...fight...thing. I mean, wouldn't it be great if we could just move right on to having tea and a chat? Merrill's got the right idea."

She turns and grins at her girlfriend, to show that she's genuine in the praise. She's starting to pick up on sarcasm better, after all, and she doesn't want to hurt her feelings.

"C'mon, let's check it out. It'd be rude to keep our host waiting."

"Optimistic, aren't we?"

That's not always necessarily a bad thing, not from Michiru's tone. But from the way Milotic is bristling at the voice, her Trainer might have trained her to be cautious.

And she'll follow along, keeping an eye on the group's rear.

Haruka doesn't have any comments to add; she and Yuuna have talked this over already, with the mutual understanding that they won't hold back if negotiations fail. So she just sticks close to Michiru, head up, every nerve on alert - and calling Honchkrow back to hover over the party while she's at it for extra coverage. He's actually inviting them up now. This guy is going to be a pain.

This was all turning out to be a bit strange, even for Helios. But his focus on the ruins and the etchings in the walls has been subdued since that voice spoke out to them. He's been quietly listening to the conversation going on ahead of him.

"It would be nice if there wasn't any fighting to be involved." Helios wasn't much for it, but when he had to he would. He was a pacifist at heart though. He wasn't very sure about all of this but there were a good few of them so it...might be okay?

"But if he's capable of illusions like that...I think we have our work cut out for us if we do fight."

[[BGM ]]

As they begin to ascend the staircase, the party will see that whoever they are dealing with has a flair for the dramatic, if that wasn't terribly obvious from the displays downstairs. The walls appear to be splattered with what was likely blood--whether it is actually real is sight unseen, but they are more than welcome to check.

The staircase is impossibly long, and likely is actually some kind of trick of the eye to make it feel like they are ascending toward their doom. For added measure, their interior designer friend has decided to keep them company, his voice echoing through the Ruins.

"They doubted me, you know, said that I was useless. That I couldn't do anything of any real worth. I was less than human to those disgusting organisms they called humans.

"They were afraid."

After what was likely an overly long staircase (that was certainly not a means to save money on animation), the party is led into a long hallway, the properties of the Ruins shifting and changing again where they stand. It would seem that this person has no idea how old, ruined architecture worked. Everything was pristine, albeit still a bit red.

The voice continued.

"They underestimated my true power, and for that I made them suffer! They called me a monster, and that was what I became! I became the thing of nightmares, ripping the very life out of them! I was death incarnate!

"They locked me away, and yet they could not contain me;" A chuckle, low and sadistic, that turned into a full-bodied laugh, which echoed through the hall. "And now they try to send heroes to silence me. I CANNOT BE TAMED!"

"You've been working on that speech for a while, yes?" Isabela asks to the air. She steps forward carefully, testing the floor to see what was solid and what was not - there could still be the same trick as on the stairs.

"And anyway, if you're looking for heroes or silence, whatever group I'm in is probably disqualified," she admits. "Why don't you step out, we'll have a nice chat, maybe some tea, and we can discuss these problems you're having with people we don't like either, eh?"

Oh...boy. A radio drama villain, giving a speech not even Haruka would deliver. She follows Isabela, her feet stepping in the same places as a precaution.

"Oh definitely. We're a chatty bunch, us. And not particularly heroic. Nice maybe, but not so much the heroes of legend."

Ahead she goes, making sure to be as noisy as she can.

"I've got snacks if you want to share, too. Bela's right. Let's chat about mutual pains in the butt."

And here we go. Haruka lets the others attempt to catch their host's attention, flicking her own eyes around the changes to the setting. What's at the end of the hall? More to the point, is there anywhere here the Enhanced in charge of this façade could be hiding?

"Take the left," she murmurs to Michiru. If they divide their attentions, maybe they can have the whole place covered and provide backup for the would-be negotiators. That should let them, in turn, focus on sweet-talking their new, ah, friend.

Her lips curve upward into the ghost of a smirk at that.

Whether or not the Enhanced actually heard their banter or has chosen to ignore it goes entirely unanswered. But one can assume that, yes, he has been working on it for a very long time, and that he doesn't care how smarmy Isabela and friends are.

The hallway itself is straight and somewhat narrow, with a number of doors, all of which are surprisingly nondescript considering the kind of loving detail this man put into the rest of his dramatics. Haruka will find that there is little room to really hide until they reach the end of the hallway, which filters into what appears to be a giant atrium, punctuated by a spectacularly tall, ornate glass dome roof.

Unsurprisingly, the interior designer sat toward the far wall, lounging in what looked to be a very garish, almost uncomfortable-looking chair. A Hypno stands to his left side, its pendulum swinging just slightly; fellow psychic types might feel that it's doing something, but it is unclear as to what.

"Ah yes, welcome. You did take your time, didn't you." He stood, looking over each one of them meaningfully. All told, for the parlor tricks he had been doing, he was rather unremarkable; his hair, which laid limply just below his chin, was beginning to thin and gray, his eyes small and his nose was just a bit too large for the rest of his features. But what he lacked in personal style, he certainly made up in flair.

"I suspect you heroes are here to take the great Gino down. Well," He grinned, eyes flashing. "We shall see about that, won't we?"

[Merrill walks along seemingly unfazed by the taunting speeches and bleeding walls. Thanks to a certain Spiritomb that seems very taken by the whole display, she's both seen and heard similar things in her dreams on a nearly nightly basis. And speaking of Eluvian, his ghostly body seems to be pulsing and whirling even more enthusiastically than normal the farther in they get.]

Oh, I like this one. It's a shame he wasn't the one to release me. Maybe after he kills you, I can make friends with him.

Quiet, Eluvian.

[By this point, Merrill's manner has gotten more stiff and guarded. In his excitement, Eluvian has been sending all sorts of evil thoughts into her head, and it's finally starting to wear on her. She grips her staff tightly as Gino addresses them, trying to keep her emotions in check.]

...Yes, I suppose we shall.

Yuuna enters the room, keeping a close eye on Eluvian just in case. The changes in Merrill's attitude aren't lost on her, and she mentally has Kintsu slip out of his usual spot and come up on her side, standing with Hitmonchan and Tyranitar. All outward attention is focused on Gino, however.

"Depends on if you and your buddy make us or not. Honestly, I'm here to check out the decor more than anything fight-y related."

She folds her arms and rests more weight on her right hip, trying to seem nonchalant as she chatters. "I mean, you're kinda adding a lot of color to the place. The ruins were so drab before."

This is more than mildly ridiculous. Then again, if anything they've heard is true, she could see why he's doing this.

Theatrical hijinks aside, she's still not about to let her guard down.

"It does take a certain level of finesse to pull that off." Surely not just anybody can splatter walls with blood - or paint.

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