Personification Life IC IX - [Semi Open]

[Morlodania]

Minerva threw herself at Jorgen and knocked him down. It was a nod to her other-than-human qualities that she was able to accomplish such a feat but, luckily, she had. A large column shard struck the wall where Jorgen's head would have been.

"Gods damn..." Jorgen looked at Minerva in surprise when he was knocked down, then in disbelief at the piece of column that had flown past where his head had been. "Well... Thank you would be the proper thing to say now, I think, considering I'd likely be dead if you hadn't done that..." Jorgen looked to the room where the chaos was happening, trying to discern what was going on as his mechanical eye struggled to process the sheer number of people before just giving up, waiting for something more specific to memorize instead of what he was seeing. "Shall we investigate, or shall we simply stay down here?" He asked Minerva, knowing the first answer to be the one she would likely give, but wondering how she would react to the second answer.

[The BranRiech]

Being about to say something to Dora, Bran then started to listen to Hans' voice. He didn't know who the guy was, but his accent suggested Cultist. He even slowed his breathing, marshaling himself to only breathing through his nose. He started to listen around for anything, but the other guy's shouting about Saren or whatever wasn't helping much.

--

Oh shit!

Kei looked around, wondering why the kid just started crying out of nowhere. She didn't know what to do, having not really been a good mother to her kids way back when. Hell, she didn't even know where Tony went even. She didn't care much anyways, He could handle himself, didn't need Kei hovering over him all the time, but a crying kid was something Kei didn't deal with for a good long time.

"Uh . . ."

She scooped him back up. If dangerous things were happening in the dining room, then it probably wasn't the safest for Saren. "Hey . . ." She tried a soothing tone. "Your dad's going to be fine, he's awesome." She said, somewhat lying, she didn't even know him.

"And no, this is just my lazy outfit."

With that, and the dangerous situation materializing itself in the dining room, Kei's armor melded onto her from seemingly out of nowhere.

[TotallyNotEvilLand]

Oh shit!

Kei looked around, wondering why the kid just started crying out of nowhere. She didn't know what to do, having not really been a good mother to her kids way back when. Hell, she didn't even know where Tony went even. She didn't care much anyways, He could handle himself, didn't need Kei hovering over him all the time, but a crying kid was something Kei didn't deal with for a good long time.

"Uh . . ."

She scooped him back up. If dangerous things were happening in the dining room, then it probably wasn't the safest for Saren. "Hey . . ." She tried a soothing tone. "Your dad's going to be fine, he's awesome." She said, somewhat lying, she didn't even know him.

"And no, this is just my lazy outfit."

With that, and the dangerous situation materializing itself in the dining room, Kei's armor melded onto her from seemingly out of nowhere.

Saren started to sniffle and curl up into a ball, trying to hide himself in her arms. "Papa!" He yelled, trying to find him. "He forgot his gun and claws! He doesn't have any weapons to beat up those rat people trying to kill him!" He said, assuming that this was another Reiltam assassination attempt. He started to shake wildly and just kept on crying. "I told him he shoulda brought Uncle Veilet! But no, he never listens!"

[New Aksarben]

Sterling almost instantly freaked out, his blue eyes going wide and searching around in the darkness for anything that he could see. He immediately started a simple magic he had learned years and years ago, which basically would lead to his horn becoming a source of light. It would glow brighter than it normally did as a ball of his blue-colored magic collected at its tip, sending light in every direction it could, almost like a miniature blue sun made of unicorn magic. Hopefully this would help the now terrified unicorn see what was going on.

While his magic was attempting to light up the room some, his ears were flicking around, attempting to pick out any odd sounds, his instincts of flight and listening to predators taking control of their movements. In his terror and anxiety at the sudden explosion his front hooves were also starting to 'paw' at the floor of the room, and he was getting very jittery in general. He finally found his voice and called out, "What in Celestia's name is going on!?" He was absolutely terrified and he didn't know what he could do, or where to even go right now. Then he heard the instruction to be quiet and listen, and did that, putting more energy into his spell to keep it running, and hopefully casting light.


Meanwhile, Albert had a very different reaction to the explosion and sudden darkness, as did Jacob. Their ingrained fighting instincts were flipped on by the possible prospect of having to fight, seeing as something had just caused a pillar to explode. Albert moved to make sure Ray stayed near him by grabbing onto his arm carefully and securely, wanting his boyfriend to know he was still there in the darkness. His ear twitched and he nodded(like anyone could see it, anyway) in response to listen.

His sensitive ears were almost made for this kind of situation. He could listen to everything or close to it, and pick up little movements and noises most humans couldn't hear. Jacob was doing the same, too. Both listened carefully from different parts of the room to pick up sounds for any possible attacker, and to warn the others of any attacks.

"Got it," Albert said to the person he heard across the room mention shapeshifter, and did his best to continue listening around the room, his ears swiveling on his head as they tried hearing the fainter sounds around the room.

[Swith Witherward]

A terrified scream emenated from Tora's corner of the room. The exploding pillars caught her off guard, and her proximity to them resulted in her being blown to the floor with great force, shards of stone peppering her side and shoulder with blood-red wells and scratches and pricks. Tora wasn't hurt too bad, however. Overall, the worst of her injuries were a splattering of small red dots around her arm, and a scratch here and there.

The impact alone nearly knocked her unconscious, but she was still dazed. The room was spinning...wait, where was the room? Everything was black, but she could still hear people. The lights? Everything that she could [barely] see was spinning and blotting. She felt numb, and a little sick.

Her heart was racing. She was too scared to move. She curled into a ball on the floor and closed her eyes tight, and she hoped that it was just some accident. Even the sounds of others being startled like her was reassuring, knowing she wasn't alone, but she was starting to sweat already. Didn't she just tell Flint about how it was safe here?

Katya's hand slipped into Torii's. "Are you okay? What the hell happened."

The girl was kneeling next to her sister, shivering slightly and trying to stare into the darkness. "I think I twisted my ankle trying to get over here."


--

"Bran!" Rylli's frightened voice came from close by. "What happened? Where's Rachelle?"


--

Minerva coughed away some dust. "At the moment, let's assess. If Hans is correct, we're up against a cunning bastard or two. Shapeshifting beings. They can become anything and anyone. Immortal, to boot. You can't burn them or slice them. They just keep coming."

She peered into the darkness and a small snarl curled her lip. "I'm guessing it's already on the move."

[Giovenith]

"Shh," Giovenith grabbed at Mandi's wrist, hissing an insistence at silence. She had heard what had been warned. "Get down...!" Her tone screamed emergency.

Willow, who had also caught the alert, immediately plummeted down, throwing one of each over Sterling and Cerril's mouths. A curt hush hissed from his mouth, as his eyes struggled to adjust to the lighting. This was bad. Sterling was jumpy, Cerril was a father with a missing child, to say the least of the situation. Willow's own fault in paranoia pushed him into cautionary action.

He carefully assessed Minerva's words. "What can we do?" he asked, quietly and steadily.

[Morlodania]

Minerva coughed away some dust. "At the moment, let's assess. If Hans is correct, we're up against a cunning bastard or two. Shapeshifting beings. They can become anything and anyone. Immortal, to boot. You can't burn them or slice them. They just keep coming."

She peered into the darkness and a small snarl curled her lip. "I'm guessing it's already on the move."

"Immortal? Oh, that makes it all the more fun. I must have something that can stop it. Fire, ice, lightning... One of my inventions should have some kind of effect, do you not think so?" Jorgen smiles, looking where she looked. "If it's on the move, we should pursue. After all, what is one who is running without one who is chasing after it, no?" He waits for her to get off of him, not all that worried about hurrying.

[TotallyNotEvilLand]

So they were dealing with immortal shapeshifters... Joy. So the usual tactic of sneaking up behind them and poking their eyes out wouldn't work. And today had to be the day that he didn't bring his rifle, or his metallic clawed gloves... All he had to do was stay silent, and hope to god Saren had wandered much, much further away than just a few feet. All he had to do was remain calm and hope to hell that somebody would bring a flamethrower or something of the like in order to scare them off. Was that how they worked? Were they like the thing? God, he hoped not.

[Swith Witherward]

Minerva continued to squint, trying to discern sounds. "We move. Carefully. The theriomorph is intelligent but doesn't know what it can't possibly know. It can reshape itself into one of us, so chances are high that there might be more than one of someone once we leave this room."

Her eyes caught sight of the Astartes' own. Let's hope we don't have an extra of him.

"We also need to make sure the things don't follow us. Clear out, close the door and send in a team to contain it and figure out where in the hell it was hiding. There could be a damned nest for all we know. Elements won't work on it, Jorgen. Willow, where is your Pony companion?"

[The BranRiech]

"Saren, please." Kei pleaded, holding the small Foal closer to her. She didn't know Saren, or his dad, but she did want him to stop crying, and her old memories started flooding back to her. "It'll be alright, but we can't risk getting you hurt, the adults will take care of it, trust me." She smiled down at him warmly. "They're a very talented group of people. Your father's in good hands."

--

"Wait . . ." Bran whispered.

Rylli!

He wanted to shout, wanted to sneak over to where his wife's voice was coming from. "R-Rylli?" He asked aloud, making as little noise as possible. He didn't know what any of this was about, but Rylli and Rachelle weren't even at the party when he remembered it, but . . . They might have shown up, and was the shapeshifter the same thing that made him shoot Naomi a long time back?

So many questions though . . .

[TotallyNotEvilLand]

"Saren, please." Kei pleaded, holding the small Foal closer to her. She didn't know Saren, or his dad, but she did want him to stop crying, and her old memories started flooding back to her. "It'll be alright, but we can't risk getting you hurt, the adults will take care of it, trust me." She smiled down at him warmly. "They're a very talented group of people. Your father's in good hands."

Saren whimpered and nodded meekly, his crying eventually slowing down and stopping entirely. He sniffled and wiped a tear away from his eye, still shaking a bit. "Okay... I hope daddy beats those guys up anyways." He said, smiling a bit wickedly as he finished calming down, confident that his father would be fine and his new friend would protect him.

[Morlodania]

Minerva continued to squint, trying to discern sounds. "We move. Carefully. The theriomorph is intelligent but doesn't know what it can't possibly know. It can reshape itself into one of us, so chances are high that there might be more than one of someone once we leave this room."

Her eyes caught sight of the Astartes' own. Let's hope we don't have an extra of him.

"We also need to make sure the things don't follow us. Clear out, close the door and send in a team to contain it and figure out where in the hell it was hiding. There could be a damned nest for all we know. Elements won't work on it, Jorgen. Willow, where is your Pony companion?"

"Aww, how sad. There must be something that does. Anyway, could you get off of me? While I don't truly mind being pinned on the ground by a woman, it makes moving incredibly difficult." He pondered for a moment, and his mechanical eye resumed scanning the individuals, learning them nearly perfectly. "If it does become one of us... It had better be damned perfect. One bonus of having half of my head replaced with a machine is that I can perfectly remember any person I see, given enough time to scan them." He tried to remember just which of his inventions were on his person, but at the moment, he failed to do so.

[Torsiedelle]

"Huh? Huh?"

Her sister was here? It must have been loud then, and she had found Tora? The girl was overjoyed. Even if her pregnant state, her big sister was there for her. She really hadn't been around form her lately though, so Torii was also a little relieved just to have her sister with her. "God you heard that from our room?", She said. "It scared the hell out of me! One minute, I'm talkin' with Yuna and Flint, and then everything exploded. How did you see in here?"

Then, as more of an instinct, she did something she didn't normally do in public-she snatched Katya into a big hug for comfort. She was still shaky and sweaty. "I'm glad you came.", She told her. Hearing the adults' speaking was worrying. "They said there's some shape-shifting thing from the upper floors here. I'm scared now. Did you see anything? Come on, let's team up like Minerva said. We have to find it."

.....

Meanwhile, the real Katya was still lying in bed. She had been watching TV all day, and didn't care to leave the apartment. She just wanted to mope and be alone for today. Not even MB could cheer her up.

[Giovenith]

"Right here," Willow confirmed, glancing to Sterling at one of his sides. "He's calm. He can create light with magic, but if magic attracted it, should he cut it?"

Willow was reminded of the changelings. Not like Cerril and his similarities, no, Chrysalis' legions. At least they were pony-like... the natural terror of an unseen creature chilled deeper.

[Swith Witherward]

"Saren, please." Kei pleaded, holding the small Foal closer to her. She didn't know Saren, or his dad, but she did want him to stop crying, and her old memories started flooding back to her. "It'll be alright, but we can't risk getting you hurt, the adults will take care of it, trust me." She smiled down at him warmly. "They're a very talented group of people. Your father's in good hands."

--

"Wait . . ." Bran whispered.

Rylli!

He wanted to shout, wanted to sneak over to where his wife's voice was coming from. "R-Rylli?" He asked aloud, making as little noise as possible. He didn't know what any of this was about, but Rylli and Rachelle weren't even at the party when he remembered it, but . . . They might have shown up, and was the shapeshifter the same thing that made him shoot Naomi a long time back?

So many questions though . . .

"B-Bran?" A loud thunk and some complaining indicated that she'd barked her shins on an overturned chair. She squatted down in the dark and rubbed her legs. "Bran, is Rachelle with you? The lights are off all over the Building."

--

Minerva slid off the cyborg and moved over to give him room. "They're very near perfect at what they do. Come on. Let's head out. I'm willing to take the window at this point."

Her eyes flickered onto Sterling. "No, no magic. They feed on it."

--

Katya held her sister for a moment. "I think the whole town heard that explosion. Are you hurt? Did anything hit you?"

[Terintania]

Todesfall had dropped into a squat in the hallway near the stairs. His head turned toward the Wolf and he pressed a finger to his lips. "Remember yourself, Wolf. Keep a hold of who you are and if you meet yourself, make every effort to kill that other being."

Wolfgang tilted his head, unsure of what Todesfall was talking about, but taking note of his words, nonetheless, as he felt they were important. The words also brought the feeling that they weren't safe, and the fur along his neck began to raise again. He crouched down and let out a quiet whine, fear beginning to fill him. He wished Leroy were here right now. The cold human may have been a jerk to most people, but when things were dangerous, Wolfgang always had the feeling that he could be relied on.

Upstairs, Leroy was completely unaware of anything going on. He was merely sitting on the couch, staring and thinking.

[Mandicoria]

Mandi and Scandi were down on the floor, both close to a state of panic. Scandi dropped his lighter and match nearby in the period of alert. He looked around, still pitch black out there "Can't see a damn thing still!"

Mandi was trying to keep himself calm. He was obviously still crying, having another set of flashbacks of the war. "I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die." He whispered to himself "No, I won't die, never, ever, ever will I die."

[New Aksarben]

"Oh, got it!" Sterling responded, his magic flickering of and fading, removing what light it had sent out. He squinted a bit, trying to pick things out of the darkness, along with through his glasses. He definitely couldn't see very well right now at al, but if it would keep them alive he'd keep his magic to a minimum. He did have the magic still within him, though, it was just being suppressed and not expressing itself in the outside world right at that moment.

"So we're going to try leaving?"

"I would hope so, this dark is quite unsettling with something wandering around in it..." Jacob chimed up, his bright blue eyes scanning the darkness for anything, as his ears did the same, hoping to pick something out of the darkness that shouldn't be there normally.

[Mincaldenteans]

"A shapeshifter, you say," Mezran literally spat to his right before speaking, "I dare it to face me in combat! We know of their tricks, we fought a war against meddlesome changlings! Honorless dogs, I do not fear you! My blood rages for the chance to crack its bones and drink its blood!" Mezran bellowed, feeling the cry of the warrior in him as it over took his instincts and yearned for glorious victory.

Dan rolled his eyes, if only anyone saw it would likely have shared his reaction. The oaf was going to get himself hurt, or worse yet, killed. And if the oaf even realized that shapeshifters likely didn't have bones or blood, not in the sense the klingon likely had in mind. The fae had their share of shapeshifters, all devious, all dangerous and each populated both sides of the fae courts.

"I'm all for leaving if we can," Dan piped up finally, feeling a little absurd hiding under a mere table. The illusion of safety was better than none in his opinion, to which he buried down deep as the unsettling darkness did little to ease his nerves.

[Swith Witherward]

Mandi and Scandi were down on the floor, both close to a state of panic. Scandi dropped his lighter and match nearby in the period of alert. He looked around, still pitch black out there "Can't see a damn thing still!"

Mandi was trying to keep himself calm. He was obviously still crying, having another set of flashbacks of the war. "I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die." He whispered to himself "No, I won't die, never, ever, ever will I die."

It came without warning. Most unpleasant things usually do. It started with a gentle brush against Scandi's cheek, as if caressed by a the long edge of a kitten's whisker.

Hello

A sweet voice that spoke without words. The warmth of a mother's embrace as she soothed her child. Goosebumps which formed unwanted and blistered up the arm to drive the hairs at the back of the neck to stand on edge.

It's time

Scandi's other cheek was tickled and then a cold hand latched onto his ankle and yanked him back with inhuman strength. He was hauled from his hiding spot, perhaps kicking and screaming or perhaps stunned into silence, and drawn into the darkness surrounding his group.

[Tiltjuice]

"A shapeshifter, you say," Mezran literally spat to his right before speaking, "I dare it to face me in combat! We know of their tricks, we fought a war against meddlesome changlings! Honorless dogs, I do not fear you! My blood rages for the chance to crack its bones and drink its blood!" Mezran bellowed, feeling the cry of the warrior in him as it over took his instincts and yearned for glorious victory.

Dan rolled his eyes, if only anyone saw it would likely have shared his reaction. The oaf was going to get himself hurt, or worse yet, killed. And if the oaf even realized that shapeshifters likely didn't have bones or blood, not in the sense the klingon likely had in mind. The fae had their share of shapeshifters, all devious, all dangerous and each populated both sides of the fae courts.

"I'm all for leaving if we can," Dan piped up finally, feeling a little absurd hiding under a mere table. The illusion of safety was better than none in his opinion, to which he buried down deep as the unsettling darkness did little to ease his nerves.

"I second that," Dora muttered, completely heartfelt. The recent mess with Aegis had unsettled her, and she wished she could be somewhere quiet. Like Chaos. Stick to what you know.

[Morlodania]

Minerva slid off the cyborg and moved over to give him room. "They're very near perfect at what they do. Come on. Let's head out. I'm willing to take the window at this point."

Her eyes flickered onto Sterling. "No, no magic. They feed on it."

Jorgen stood, the gears and pistons in his lower legs whirring and hissing as he did so, and he nodded to Minerva. "Yes, let us go." Jorgen reached into a pocket and produced something akin to a flashlight, however, somehow, it managed to run on Steam rather than electricity, and he coupled it to his mechanical arm, locking it in place. "Lead the way, I don't know the building well enough yet."

[Torsiedelle]

"Nah, nothing bad.", Torii told her sister. She wasn't hurt at all, really. "Just scratches and bruises, but I'm okay. So, let's go?"

She steadied herself and took her sister's hand again. It was reassuring to her. "Are you coming?"

[The BranRiech]

Slowly tracking the voice, Bran started to make his way across the room to Rylli. He didn't care anymore, but the thought that anyone in the room could be a doppleganger unnerved him, but Rylli . . . She had to be real, right?

He crawled across the room, over to her.

"Haven't seen her, thought she was with you." He said, confused.

--

"You're very brave, Saren." Kei soothed. She was quite proud of the child, actually. He was staying calm even though his father was in danger. "It's a very princely quality." She praised him, smiling down, holding the Foal.

[The Factory of Spike]

Mortimer had fallen flat, and now was wondering what to do. There were evil immortal shape-shifters. "Evil" and "Immortal" weren't a good combination. And sense he didn't usually come into contacts with immortals in his previous line of business, he had no idea what they would be like. He was, however lucky that the cake thing had blown over. What was he supposed to say when offered food?

Javer carefully restrained himself from snarling. He hated the very idea of shape-shifters. They could easily commit a crime, leave all the evidence in the world, and get away without. Probably incriminating somebody else with fingerprints. He sniffed around, but unfortunately they probably smelled like normal people. There was some cake spilled all over the floor, though. Pity, that. The scent of the other people from the rooftop caught his nose. He couldn't trust them.