tornheart | APPLE ORCHARDS AND TORN DREAMS [OPEN]

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APPLE ORCHARDS AND TORN DREAMS [OPEN]

Who: Open Log (All)
Where: Around the city (one prompt at the Green Valley school
Summary: Welcome Ceremonies, Dreams, Stirring a shadow hornet's nest. No big deal.
Warnings: N/A

"Are you ready my black lambs? Let's get to work..."

Apple Picking (General Prompt)

As September begins, the apple orchards of Greenfield Valley school are bursting with thousands of apples of various flavors and colors. There's even an experimental breed that's blue!

Those who have been attending the school know that this means a few important things. The first (and most important of course) is that it means that fall vacation is coming in just a few weeks (despite school having started just a few weeks ago), the second is that the school's menu is going to have a high number of apple-themed dishes until winter, and finally, the opening ceremonies.

The opening ceremonies are - well - one would consider them mostly boring for typical schools. And truth be told, Green Valley is not an exception. A single camera posed at the school's main gymnasium, a large podium in the center. For those who can't be physically there, the school's televisions all synchronized to a live broadcast as does the audio feeds. You can't quite escape it. Yet most people don't - after all it's one of the rare times of the year where the principal appears to wish students good fortune.

The person who stands in the front, Ms Michelle Andersen, is the very definition of an ice queen. Her face is perhaps locked forever into an emotionless stare. Bright blonde hair with blue eyes, both contract to her orange and black outfit.

Behind her, three men, the vice principals, who tend to play the good cops to her bad cop routine and insist that most students call them by their first names unless something really bad has happened; Norman (the most average man on campus that no one would know who he was if it wasn't for his name tag), Jeremy (the tallest staff member standing at over 195cm, thin, a bit of a lisp but he always means well), and Felix (possibly the hairiest man on campus as far as the rumors go, muscular, and a black beard that matches his scowling face when he isn't laughing - which is usually all the time. In fact, he's holding back himself from doing so when Ms. Andersen speaks.)

The presentation is short, as the Principal wishes all the students a great year, gives a bit of data on the number of students (they are up 300 new students from last year), the number of important guests that have passed, then as quickly as she was there, she leaves, explaining that there are additional meetings and events she will explain in greatest detail in the upcoming months.

Afterwards the students are treated to the vice principals singing a welcome song (it goes as well as one would expect it to go), telling the students that they are free to pick as many apples as they want as long as they all get eaten, but everyone is limited to two of the new apples and report to the hospital wards if any of them feel anything unusual after eating them. Just in case.

When the ceremonies are done, students and staff can return to their day...although some of the staff can be heard commenting that the Principal seemed even more...cold this year. Of course asking them for details would just cause them to shoo anyone away and pretend they didn't say anything.

[OOC: Players are welcome to speak to themselves or go have some apples. It's a general school mingling prompt! Additionally, it will be possible to email the vice principals during that week should the characters want to talk with them or ask school questions. Typical school stuff.]

Sound the Rebellion

(Special Prompt for the Unawakened, Monday the 4th)
The school's opening ceremonies aside, the Unawakened’s Monday was rather...strange. The night was plagued with restlessness as they heard the voice of someone laughing. Waking up feeling 'odd', although that differed between all of then - some would feel sick, others have a headache, or some just deciding that wearing a piece of clothing they haven't wanted to worn would look great right now. Perhaps they got a few comments from their relatives about how strange they were acting that day, or a worried glance if they felt sick. It might get dismissed with a wave of a hand.

After all, how can you explain that when they sometimes look upwards, they hear the sound of a child laughing and briefly see a symbol above their heads? Or that this somehow feels...fine?

Maybe in their new state of mind, they might not even notice the people that keep following them around...

Better than a GPS

(Awakened prompt, Monday 4th, day and night.)
"Alright Lambs, time to get to work."

Luci's voice echoed in their phone, laughing. Was he doing a peace sign?

"There's only a few but they'll be useful. I want you to find them and see what you can do. Who knows! Maybe you might be better at this than me, although I doubt it heh heh heh…Now remember what I said! You have to get them to fall asleep...but there's no real rules for that!"

For the Awakened, the symbols above the Unawakeneds’ heads will be as clear as day - Luci will even go so far as play little musical tunes when the characters are close by or distract them using electronics. "Come on! Stop wasting time and do something!"

For the Unawakened who have a relative, it will be somewhat easy. It is the others that will be a pain. Maybe that's why Luci asked for help. Or maybe he just wanted to see his 'lambs' struggle. "Get them to bed! It's not that hard! If you have trouble, just show them the program I've put into your phone and toaster! Or knock them with your toaster first if you want, I don't care! Just go in teams when you go after them, got it?"

It's obvious that 'sleeping' as far as Luci is concerned, is when someone is unconscious - he seems to almost want someone to knock an Unawakened out and then drag him into a room and let themselves go to sleep.

Once the task is done, and the place is secure, the characters will have to do the same. While the hypnotic wheel from the program is the easiest way, there's no hard rule about knocking oneself out either.

MINDJACK
Once the characters get inside, they'll be in the person's mind and dreams. Eddan's memories are predominant, and the unawakened will be standing there wandering around. It will be up to the Awakened to peel back the fabric of reality, much like curtains and show them the true memories of their past...

But beware. Shadows lurk here, and transforming will be necessarily. And if a character dies in someone else's dream...they might never wake up. So be careful...

The main mission is to showcase the person a few memories. Give them an idea that something might be amiss...it can be a little or a lot. Just be careful that the more memories, the stronger the shadows become... When both are done and awaken, ten minutes will have passed. Perhaps it will be time for question afterwards.

[OOC:The Unawakened characters need to be isolated for the program to run, and so do the players, so half the 'fun' will be setting up the traps so that the characters will be alone.

Awakened might decide to have someone stand on guard while the others go to sleep with the Unawakened, or just all stupidly go together, or find an area where they won't be disturbed - everything is up to you.

The dreamscape can be anything the Unawakened desires! It could be good memories of their time in Eddan or bad memories, a mixture of both, or just silly dreams. Whatever it is, the Awakened will need to 'peel' those memories away - for example showing them that their mother was someone else in their other life, or even directing the person to a mirror so that they can see their true selves. But for each memory - both good or bad, shadows will start to attack both the Unawakened and Awakened. Be careful and let the mods know if a mission goes REALLY bad.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Maybe you should try thinking on why a little more." With Ran here listening, he didn't want to go into detail if he could avoid it.

He turns to look at Ran. "Ran, when did you meet before?"

He was very concerned on that topic.

Christina had meant 'some' less in the quantity of photos, which were a little excessive, and more that there were other subjects. Namely the young boy and woman. She can see why the two would be distressed. Someone was clearly prying into their lives. But Christina still doesn't see how she fits into the picture, other than renting this room.

Her confusion is only heightened as Ran starts shooting off questions. Jodie-sensei...? She has no idea who or what that means, with no Japanese language skills. Everything getting thrown at her is too much.

The last question definitely gets her attention. She shakes her hands in front of her defensively, eyes open and honest despite being clouded with confusion. "Wha... I haven't hurt anyone!"

Shinichi's suggestion quiets her down for the moment, if only because she has no idea what to do with all this information. Thinking over it couldn't hurt. She stares down at the messy surface, trying to look more closely this time.

Ran presses her lips together, answering Shinichi's question -- which will in turn touch on Christina's statement. "I followed Jodie-sensei when she took Ai-chan. The car stopped, and then I heard shots, breaking glass . . . I called the police. When it had been quiet for a while, I thought it might have been safe to come out and check and make sure that everyone was okay . . . but when I opened the trunk, she was there. Pointing a gun at Ai-chan, ready to shoot."

She lifts a hand to rub at her temple with the back of one hand, as though the memory somehow aches in her mind. "I went over the car to get to Ai-chan. I guess there was someone shooting from the rooftop, too, but I made it to her. I tackled her. She--" Her eyes flick back to indicate Christina, shoulders tightening inward. "She screamed at me to move and get away. So she could shoot Ai-chan."

Shinichi turns his head quickly and stares at Ran with alarm.

"You were there that night? You were shot at?"

He knew exactly which night she was talking about. And how had he not known about this? Why hadn't anyone mentioned to him? Ran could have died, and he hadn't known. Had slept through it all until he'd woken up from his own sedative.

Christina glances towards them as she catches their conversation. Her eyes are filled with alarm. Since when was Ran involved in something so dangerous?! Even if the rest makes no sense, it tenses her shoulders to hear such a story. Someone shooting at her darling niece... How dare they endanger Ran like that... Who would do such a thing?

Her fingers grip the edge of the vanity tightly. Her head is pounding, whether from anger or confusion she can't quite tell. As she squeezes her eyes shut, a single word crosses her lips, a name barely whispered.

"Calvados..."

The rustle of wings can be heard from outside the hotel walls. Most likely a bird taking flight nearby. Christina scarcely notices, her head spinning. Was that... an answer? How did she know?

What on earth was happening?

He knows about it? . . . Had Conan told him?

There's no time for full attention to this thought, though; the panic in his face and voice sends a dart of guilt through her brain. She wouldn't have done any differently, but . . . she'd gotten too caught up, could have told him better.

Probably could have told Christina better, too. She's just managed a bare nod back to Shinichi, guilty, when the name from Christina catches her attention. Outside, the sudden rustle of wings, too loud, punctuates.

Not even thinking, she pulls back closer to Shinichi -- this time with herself in front. Something feels wrong.

Much as Shinichi wanted to get the full story out of Ran, there was no time for this at the moment.

Calvados. An Organization member. She'd remembered something.

He fights back a moment of frustration as Ran stands in front of him. Something was going to happen soon. He was sure of it. And she picked this moment to stand there? He readies himself to move.

Christina spares one hand to clutch her forehead as faces begin to match to names she can barely recall. Jodie... she looked an awful look like her. Ai was young... right? Did she have an older relative that Christina knew? No... that wasn't it.

The other hand steadies her, the only thing grounding her at this moment. As her mind is being swarmed though, things are changing. The light within the room begins to shift, casing new shadows. From one of the corners, something shuffles.

Rising onto its feet is a Shadow in the shape of a man. However, he has no defining features outside his face, which is twisted in a nasty scowl. In his hands is a metal pipe.

When it notices them, the Shadow lunges forward, swinging the pipe in their direction.

As the shadows shift, Ran tenses, her own heartbeat loud in her ears. For a few moments, that's all she hears.

When the Shadow peels from the corner, pipe in hand, she doesn't hesitate. With a breath, she's on the move, the pipe swinging downward onto her forearm, blocked without a flinch. Fist gathered back, she plunges it towards the Shadow's stomach.

Shinichi's feelings or not, this is right where she should be.

As the light shifts, Shinichi does not remove his focus from Vermouth. Her expression had changed. Had she remembered something?

When the shadow appears he breaks off his attention to observe it, making a motion to step toward it, only to quickly abort the motion as Ran charges toward it.

As much as he would like to protect her from things like this, he knew perfectly well how strong Ran's karate was. Was there really anything he could do at the moment?

For the moment, Ran has this handled. The Shadow lets out a guttural groan as her fist makes impact. In a rush to get back, it drops the weapon.

Unfortunately the sound draws Christina out of her daze. The visions quickly fall to the back of her mind once she notices the source. She takes a step back, arms in front of her in alarm.

"What... Who is that?!"

That is the least of their problems though. For although the first Culprit seems hesitant to strike, two more shadowy figures step out behind him. Similar to the first, they also carry blunt weapons.

"Stay there!" Ran's voice is sharp, the words for Christina. "Just don't move."

One attacker disabled, she's immediately headed towards the other two. She doesn't even give the first a chance to raise its weapon; a kick to the head sends it reeling backward with a gasp. The second becomes harder, having had a chance to raise its weapon -- this one a crowbar. Ran yanks back for some space, eyeing the bar, then snaps up with another kick to send the weapon flying.

While she's quick and efficient, she's also one person and can't be everywhere. The first Shadow that she hit is recovering, trying to pull itself back to its feet to regain its initial path. Ran can see it, but she can't yet get to it. "Shinichi!"

Shinichi is already on it, kicking his soccerball at the first shadow's head. As it rebounds back from the falling shadow he catches the ball on the top of his foot as he turns to look for other targets.

Christina freezes in place at Ran's orders, her face lined with fear and worry. It feels so wrong leaving this to her niece and friend, but what can she do? She has no idea what's going on.

The Shadows dissolve upon impact, leaving the two victorious. Shinichi has good instincts to check for more though. Another handful of figures emerge from the dark corners to replace their fallen comrades. This time they lunge all at once.

Too many.

Way too many all at once.

For a bare moment Ran's mind jolts back to the rats, swarming and hissing, diving for her with bared teeth. Panic surges through her nerves until she cuts through it.

"Zepar!" Her voice rises, sharp. "Cleave!"

A woman, winged and enormously tall, emerges from empty space as though stepping through a misty curtain. Her face is impassive, eyes blindfolded, her hands folded over a massive, heavy broadsword set with a great, gleaming eye. At the word, the sword sweeps into movement, the blade hurling down on two Shadows. They shriek once, dissolving into dark clouds of mist.

Zepar folds her hands over her sword as before, vanishing with a last gleam of sword-bound eye and smoldering feathers.

Ran is already after a third Shadow, ducking under his pipe and diving her fist deep into his stomach. But that still leaves at least a couple bearing down towards Shinichi.

Shinichi turns quickly, sending the soccerball at the first approaching shadow. He spots two more, approaching too quickly for him to react with his preferred method.

Reluctantly, he gropes for the spells lying at the bottom of his mind. He hated having them there, and he hated having to rely on them. But when it came down to it, he was too much of a pragmatist to ignore them when there were few other choices.

"Andromalius!" he calls out. "Dormina!

An immense dark hound coalesces out of the shadows behind him, a snakelike tail hissing behind it. It lashes out at the approaching shadows, casting the sleep spell at them. As they waver and fall, the hound howls and vanishes again.

Christina leans back against the vanity as she watches the battle. Her alarm only worsens at the appearance of the Personas. Too much, this is too much. What on earth is happening??

The incoming tide of Shadows stops for now, leaving only the remaining yet sleeping foes.

Ran's eyes dart to Shinichi as soon as she finishes off her end -- only to breathe relief as she catches the great hound vanishing back into empty space. With a breath, she returns back to them both, eyes flicking back next to Christina. The woman definitely looks drawn, fearful. Certainly nothing like the woman leveling a gun towards two girls on the ground.

She doesn't ask if Christina is okay -- only because it's obvious that she isn't.

"Maybe . . . we should move?" The words are to Shinichi. "If there are more . . ."

Shinichi casts a glance at Vermouth and conceals a frown at her state. There was something really discomfiting about seeing her like this.

"I don't think moving will stop them from coming, but we may be able to find a better location."

Christina keeps glancing back and forth between the two, increasingly unnerved. Why are they acting so indifferent towards this situation?!

She draws in a shaky breath, trying to steady herself. It doesn't really work.

"Move? But... There's only one exit," she stammers.

"Then that's the exit we have to take." Ran isn't liking this idea -- not at all, not with that blood on the floor -- but what choice do they have?

She only really, really hopes there isn't a body behind that door.

Biting her lip, Christina steels herself and straightens up. As an adult, she really should keep it together so as to not worry Ran and her friend. Yet they seem to be doing much better than her. In fact, the main worries they appear to have seem to center around this bizarre room. The sooner they all leave, the better.

However, as she turns her attention towards the door, her stomach drops. Christina lets out a sharp gasp, covering her mouth.

"Is that blood? Did one of... those... leave that?"

Yeah, she hadn't noticed it before now.

Shinichi glances at the floor and inspects the blood calmly.

"From the color, it most likely is blood. Figuring out the source would likely require further testing than we have access to here."

"Shinichi."

Because how can he be so calm and analytical about this, especially when they don't know what's behind this door?

Drawing a breath, steeling herself, she twists the door handle . . . and nudges it open.

Christina holds her breath subconsciously as the door swings open, dreading what might be on the other side.

No gory scene is waiting for them however. The door doesn't even lead to a hallway like one might expect. Somehow, by dream logic, the doorway instead goes straight outside into a Western style cemetery. There is a small stone pathway surrounded by grass and tombstones. A few trees are nearby, though most of their leaves have fallen.

The sky is grey, as though it might rain at any moment.

Christina stares at this from the doorway. "This... isn't what was on the other side before."

APPLE ORCHARDS AND TORN DREAMS [OPEN]

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