Carnevale della Notte Rosa

[Skald of Storms]

Hrōþiwulfaz felt rather angered that he had so suddenly been once again ignored. These people, if you could call them that, seemed to have no care for his skill at arms or anything. Most of them seemed to be as the alfar and the jotun, perhaps even of the blood of the Vanir.

He trembled uncontrollably, such insults, and he was trapped in this Hel damned cage. And now as he looked outside men were gathering, strange ones, different ones to each side. Some carried strange looking objects and he moved away from them towards the side where the men were arming themselves with golden swords, those he could handle, he didn't want to get involved in thrice-damned sorcery, that was the realm of the gods, not of the Einherjar or any mortal warrior.

The little child spoke and he turned with a maddened grin his eyes seeming to vibrate rapidly with anger. "Damned right some will go without two, I plan to take as many as I can lay my axe upon." He stopped shaking and then shivered realeasing a slight groan, his eyes seemed to be glazed over, his breathing was becoming more laboured, and he snarled barely coherent, "Stay away from me." His glazed eyes fixed solidly on the men wielding swords.

[Somefreakoverthere]

"I swear, the second this cage comes off I'm heading up and dive-bombing them. I may only be half banshee...But the natural weapons I have at my disposal are good enough for me. I wonder...Who'll be stupid enough to go against me first?"

Sfot smirked, as her body sorted itself out. Claws, fangs, wings, somewhat stretched-out body, she was good. Tophat-thing...Check. She croutched, facing the nearest group and grinning madly.

The corpse checked her pockets, and inwardly groaned. Nothing but sandwiches! Oh well, she could use them to blind the damned humans while the others fought. It seemed she was cursed to always have random sandwiches in her pockets.

[Kazumaru]

Kazumaru scratched at his head, trying to figure out how to prevent a painful re-death.

A bolt of lightning shot across his irises as an idea came to him.

He directed a burst of thoughtspeech at the child in the mask. ~C'mon, now. Surely you're not going to just stand around and watch the nice people get caged, right?~

[KC11]

KC trembled with anger once again. She was almost about to burst into dragon form when Demetris nudged her.

"No!" whispered Demetris. "Let's just get outta here once they lift the cage! You look perfectly normal now!"

"I have to fight Demetris." Said KC. "We all do."

"Okay, but just wait until the cage comes up." said Demetris quietly. "Use the element of surprise."

*****
Jesten had finished his work. He was now completely covered in a thick layer of dust. He would blend in with the floor in low light.

He walked slowly through the now open tent, keeping low to the ground and trying to make sure no one stepped on him.

(I assume the tent is open through the animal pen. How else would the collectors get here? But if this is somehow not right, tell me and I'll change it. I just wanted Jesten to be involved somehow.)

[Shaon]

Scurvy dutifully picked up her weapon, strewn across the floor from her attack on the Ringmaster, all three bullets missing her entirely.

"So, you're releasing me from the cage I could easily destroy? I am human. There's nothing for me to hide."

[Taxim]

The one called Zeus looked at Scurvy and smiled. "Go on then." He said before fiddling with the many dials and buttons while his associates armed themselves with police flick-truncheons.

Taxim looked up at Wulf as he snarled "Stay away from me." Taxim only narrowed his eyes and tutted before saying quite loudly, "rude man." He sighed once before a sharp pain indicated that somebody was trying to talk to him. He clutched his head and yelled "OW!" as loud as he could. He tried patting his temples to make the pain go away before looking at Kaz and speaking back. "~Do not do that while we do not expect it! Six voices all talking at once is loud enough!~" Through the temporary link, he was sure that Kaz could hear the strange sound of all the masks talking between themselves and screaming all at once. "~No we do not wish to see these people caged, if you are blind then you will not have seen that they are going to cage us too.~" He was slightly vexed by the pain so when he recovered he quickly sent back "~Sorry, you are not blind.~"

The men with the golden swords stood still for a few moments and muttered in what seemed to be praying. This went on for a few minutes before the leader, easily indentified as the one with the golden crown, smiled at the group. "Do not worry children, we will cleanse you all soon enough."

[Somefreakoverthere]

Sfot had to admit, the zealot idiot disturbed her slightly.

"C-children!? Do I LOOK like a child to you?! I'm over 5000 years old, little one, I am no child. I need no cleansing, either, for I am perfectly clean. Are you looking in a mirror or something?" She shouted out, barely containing her rage. He'd get a sandwich to the head for that remark.

"Besides, your the ones with the fancy-pants crown and stuff. Doesn't that count as greed or something?" She shot back. She wasn't really into religion, and having both husband and daughter near worship technoligy in all shapes and forms was enough for her.

[Zerrer]

Ashael looked towards the ringmaster and grinned as she suddenly turned into dust.


She fell and landed on the lake. The surface of the water was solid, as usual. She ran to her shack and started sending a broadcast through her computer.
[There have been several kidnappings at the Carnival of the Rose. The following beings have been taken; Kazumaru, Scurvy, SFOT, Maraha, KC, Demetris, Wulf, Taxim, and Angel. Respond to this message if you wish to help.]

She called Zed using the small black phone. "My name is Ashael. This is about your Shellan. She's been captured."

While she was talking to Zed, she was trying to establish a connection to Kazumaru's lab. Then she remembered the card he gave her. She pulled it out, and used it to send a message to Sentinel. [Kazumaru's been captured! Tell Markus if he's there!]

[Taxim]

(Once Maraha posts, we shall start.)

The zealot with the crown merely smiled at Sfot and rested the flat of the broadsword on his shoulder. "It represents God as the King, and you are all sons and daughters to He." He ignored all of the other comments and did not retaliate in kind. He held up his hand and said "Go with your God."

Taxim immediatly pointed at the man with the crown with his whip-hand and shouted "We call dibbs on him! You all heard us! Bagsies!"

[Skald of Storms]

He turned slightly to look at Taxim and grunted, "Call what you like, if I get there first they are all mine..." he snarled once more returning to a more feral state of mind as he turned his head back towards the men with the golden swords. And all he could do is snarl quietly as his body temperature increased and he began to sweat more, the anticipation of battle was unbearable.

[Angel]

*Angel breathes deep as Ashael disintegrates. The fine grey dust floats on the air, briefly in the shape of the woman. Letting the air out of her lungs in a sigh, she looks around at the situation. What chaos this fight will be...

She hopes Zed can get here in time to share, and that he hasn't done anything stupid. A vague feeling creeps over her that she has been terribly rude to someone but the heady rush of feeding has knocked her off track. The blood finishes the job of repairing her wound and its just a pale pink graze now.

She squares off in front of the over-confidant looking GI Joe types, eyeing their cattle prods with dark glee. *

~~~~~~~~~

Zed snatches up his phone, seeing Angels ID, with shaking hands and flips it open.*

Angel! What ha-

*He is cut off by a voice that he doesn't recognise, and is definitely not his Angel. The woman's voice is hard and steady, so he listens rather than asking the obvious questions. The word Shellan makes his eyes pop open, only Angel could have told this Ashael that. And only willingly too. *

How long? wait, never mind. I'm coming to you, keep the phone turned on.

*He snaps the black plastic close, ending the call. His computer obligingly pulls up the GPS after a few clicks, and he pounds out of the compound. Launching himself off the edge of the runway, he soars over the slopes of the mountain. With a brief flash of blue light, he's gone.

The Dojo stretches out beneath him in that instant, coming into focus on the lake. He decelerates with a sharp crack, like thunder, as the lightening dissipates around him.

He takes a dive towards the small building on the shores, wings snapping out sideways for steerage. He lands on the dirt, a little ways out from the building and steps towards it, feeling out gently with his mind for this Ashael.*

[Somefreakoverthere]

((Maraha can't really do anything: Her character is hiding in her hat, which in turn is on Sfot's head. And because Maraha's inside it, Sfot will fight like a berserker before she willingly lets another touch it as anybody could pull Maraha out of the hat. ))

[Maraha]

((*Sigh* And it was so comfy in there aswell...))

"Say, Sfot..." Maraha said, still inside the hat. "How do you think they'd react if the only thing that came out of the hat was a plain ol' white rabbit?"

[Taxim]

The Ringmaster sat down in his chair and sighed. "I need more money for doing this." He managed to remove the bracelet from his wrist with some difficulty and pressed the button in the middle.

Over on the stage, the obelisks on the corners began to hum. The shield beeped and powered down. Nobody outside the cage moved, Zeus said "Calmly walk towards the owner who is closest to you and nobody gets hurt, freaks." All of the collectors rose their weapons.

The child flicking the coil of whip into his hand and charging towards the crown-wearing zealot shouting "Ours!", trying to race Wulf to them. Zeus sighed, "I really hate it when they do that. Open fire!"

[KC11]

KC growled at the zealot, then quickly retracted her now sharp teeth.

"I spit on your god." she said, spitting on the dirt. "I answer to the Great Ones only. The world can't be run by one god. It doesn't make sense."

"By Great Ones, you mean Great Dragons, right?" whispered Demetris.

"Yes, but don't mention that to them just yet." whispered KC. "I want them to think I'm harmless. Element of surprise, remember?"

"You might get them angry." said Demetris.

"All the better." said KC. "Anger can be a disadvantage."

The cage rose. KC looked over at the owners. She smiled, and calmly walked over to one, with Demetris clinging to her leg.

She looked at her owner, a bright blade in his hand. She smiled slightly.

"Hello." she said.

The owner looked puzzled.

Suddenly, KC's hair changed to snakes. Her nose became two slits. And her eyes lost their pupiles.

"Do you like Greek Mythology?"

The snakes snapped at the owner's face. One latched hard onto his nose.

(I assume that the owner is an NCP, correct?)