PLOT: WISE SNAKE'S EMERGENCE

[theearth]

Who: OPEN.
When: March 9th, Sunday, daylight hours.
Where: The business district of Locke City.
What: An enormous snake monster is pissed.
Warnings: Violence.

[The alien explodes silently - but it explodes.

First in a small cloud of hot (rose-scented) gas - those there to watch its final moments will want to step back.

A ripple in the air pulses - heavily - from where it once was, with absolutely no sound and color, but penetrating force. Anyone standing within two miles of the point of origin will feel a push, with those closest guaranteed to be knocked off their feet and temporarily dazed. Cars swerve and crash. Staff in the nearest office buildings launch into disarray. There’s no shielding from the blast - it can be felt through walls, through structures, in the air, and underground.

And it is felt underground.

The entire business district starts to shake, abruptly, jarred to a stir by some movement. It rises over the span of a long half-a-minute to the magnitude of December’s earthquake.

Tuning Towers experiences the worst of it - windows are smashing and objects are shaking loose and falling from the upper floors.

It finally ends - with screaming - as the head of an enormous pink snake breaks the lobby floor.

It flows its way quickly out of the hole it’s made, breaks itself another hole ever so politely through the main entrance doors, which were not meant to accommodate a twenty-foot-tall-and-wide exitor, and as it draws the last of its tail out after it, the quaking dies down.

It’s now roaring its way through the streets of Locke City’s business district - all several hundred meters of Wise Snake, emerged in the flesh (or stone?).

No regard for the walls of buildings, streetlamps, civilians, stopped and blindly pulled-over vehicles, anything else on its course - in a frantically-awakened, unrestricted rampage.]



[ OOC: This is part two of the Season 1's finale. The first - the assault on the farmhouse - is here; pertinent plot posts one and two. ]

Comments

[OPEN]

[keywarding]

[The pulse knocked her from her feet, knocked her straight into the side of a building and then onto her butt where she was left staring around her at everyone else.

Was it another earthquake? Glass rains down around her and her arms are thrown up over her head to shield herself, curling into a ball as others run panicked past her.

What was going on?

Then she hears it, and no matter how scared she is, she looks. Immediately upon setting her eyes on the pink head she feels that familiar drop, her stomach feels like it's flipped and suddenly before her are three more cards. They're just like the Firey, the names in the same places, just as pink and she could almost smile at the familiarity of them.

She'd thought to take the staff with her today, to try out Firey again in a less curtained area so she knows what she can do with these cards.

Grabbing them she's up and running. Maybe she can help.]

[TAGGABLE!]

[Holly is racing to help people, trying to convince those too scared to move to at least get out of the road and down into some sort of shelters. She's got her pink star staff out and four tarot looking cards in her hand but she's not using any just yet.]

Re: [OPEN]

[enchants]

[ There's a boy Holly's age just outside of the public library. He's frozen in shock and staring toward the cloud of debris and dust rising from the snaking mass several blocks further downtown. He's definitely too frightened to move. There's a deafening buzz in his ears like they've been subjected to a bomb going off. Cat's stomach has dropped beneath him and it doesn't seem like he's remembering to breathe at all. Something about this feeling of power surging back into him feels familiar. ]

—!

[keywarding]

Hey! [She's calling to him as she runs up the street. She's tried to call her mom and couldn't get through so a text had been hastily sent with the simplest of phrases 'I'm okay. I love you'.]

Hey! It's not safe here! [Finally close enough, she grabs his arm.]

[enchants]

[ The boy's shoulders stiffen suddenly, but he doesn't turn toward her. The memory of his own magic slams into him, and he stumbles with it. Cat staggers until the phantom weight of a dragon vanishes from his arms, and the girl's voice is no longer screaming at him. "Cat! Stop that!" Startled out of his pulse, he turns and lashes out as someone grabs his arm. ]

"—It's mine!"

[ Everything about what he's just seen and felt is gone again except the memory, though his face still feels and looks reddened as if newly sunburned. His eyes flit over her quickly in panic as he remembers to breathe again. The anger and confusion on his face quickly turn to alarm and concern. ]

I-I'm sorry! My magic—

[ Wow! His face really hurts. Although one hand is still hovering in the air toward Holly, the other raises to his burned cheeks and nose. ]

[keywarding]

[Her hand is knocked away and a hurt expression passes over her face but then he's talking more and her expression changes to something more curious.]

Oh, oh you had an echo right?

[She's come closer again, pulling out her cards to check if any of these could possibly help heal his face.] I'm Holly, don't be scared. I'm... just going to try something.

[Holding the card out she spins the staff she was carrying in one hand like a baton, letting go of the card which floats in front of her so she can point the staff at it and say it's name.] The Watery!

[They're hit with a wave of cool air as a watery form appears before them, looking somewhat like a mermaid. The form tilts is head at Holly, much like The Firey had when she'd summoned him.] Can you help with his face? OH- is that okay?

[enchants]

[ He winces. HE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO SAY ANYTHING! In all the chaos, a burned face hardly seems that important. With his mind back on the present, he can feel the ground rattling from that monster and his eyes dart back to the buildings, and then quickly return to her. I've got to warn her- But she's so composed, Cat's shoulders droop. She might not have seen the snake, but she must be numbered to mention 'echo' to him. ]

[ She's a few inches taller than he is, which is incredibly embarrassing. He's relieved his face is already burning or else he'd be pretty mortified. While still cradling his cheek with his right hand, his expression changes to awe. He can feel how cold the air is around the figure. ] H-How? That's amazing, Holly!

Sure. [ He puts both hands back to his face. The air being cooler, he starts thinking his face must be healing. ] It's a little cooler now.

[ Of course, Cat's own actions and thoughts have their own magic, and his face is slowly becoming less red on its own. It'd be easy to mistake it for Watery's doing. ]

[keywarding]

[Watery doesn't smile, unlike Firey which was mischievous and seemed to just like to have fun, Watery is serious and reaches a hand forward to run over his face. Clean, pure tasting water running over the burns as they heal. It's not her doing, but she still tries to help.]

It's nothing, it's my magic. When this is over I want to talk to you more if it's okay. [Holly says, smiling at him before Watery is turning back into a card on her own, floating until Holly grabs it out of the air and puts it with the others in her pocket.]

Right now though, we should get moving. That snake doesn't look nice!

[enchants]

[ He doesn't feel burned at all anymore. It's amazing. Cat wants to dwell on it more, and ask a dozen questions, but that monster is so alarming he can't focus on anything. He's only able to respond with a rapid nod, brows knitting together in concern. His concentration is shot as he tries to quickly feel around his pockets, patting at his jacket, and then his pants. He nearly drops his cell phone as he gets in into his hands. ]

I need to call my mom!

[ His fingers are shaking, and he keeps glancing up to make sure Holly hasn't left him behind, but he stops dialing when he hits the six, and his head turns upward. Alarmed, most of the birds are flying away from the destruction downtown, and Cat's eyes have focused on one barren tree with a nest that's close to falling. ]

[keywarding]

[They'd gotten a few feet down the side walk when he stops and glances up. Her eyes are drawn upwards and she frowns at the way the nest is so precariously sitting on it's branch. The monstrous snakes movements must have dislodged it!]

Um... hold my staff! [She's shoving it into his hands, and before he's even grabbed it she's climbing up onto of a mail box, balancing easily while inwardly thanking her gymnastics lessons when she was ten.]

It's okay little one...

[Holly's tall enough to reach the nest now, she wants to grab it and maybe help it more firmly onto it's branch but then a large rumble goes through the city. The snake must have hit a building, all that matters right now though is the fact the fledgling bird has fallen from it's nest and she jumps to catch it.]

[enchants]

[ OH GEEZE! Cat's already clumsy enough, but he jumbles the phone into his left hand and takes the staff with his dominate hand. With every bang and boom, he's ducking and his shoulders are curving inward while clinging to the very pink staff. He'd have mistaken it for a child's toy. He's doing the antsy dance beneath the tree, watching Holly try to get to the nest and the bird. Then, of course, she jumps— !]

HOLLY!

[ OH MY GOD! The girl he just met is going to plummet to her death! Cat panics and tosses her staff down to raise both hands. PLEASE CATCH HER! ]

[keywarding]

[Don't worry Cat! She's got this! Or well she hopes she does.

With her arms outstretched she manages to catch the baby bird, cradling it close to her chest as she lands, safely in his arms with a nervous laugh to follow.

Glancing down at the bird, that sinking feeling comes and a card comes fluttering down to her feet next to them.]

Oh, another. Thank you... uh I don't know your name.

[enchants]

Holly, that was dangerous!

[ Worry is very nearly his middle name, and on that note, he lets out the breath he's holding and fishes down on the ground for her wand-toy-thing. ]

Um. "Cat". Cat Baker.

[ He leans closer, clinging to her wand and looking over the edge of the car to see it clearly. ] Do you jump out of trees a lot because you're working to give me a heart attack..

[keywarding]

Don't worry, Cat.

[Laughing, she lets him hold onto the staff for a bit longer and instead picks up the card.

Huh. The Fly, the cards so far have been pretty straight forward, will this one make her fly?]

I'm on my schools track and field team. Besides, heights never have bothered me much.

[Taking a breath, she adjusts how she's holding the bird. She'll have to find a safe place to stash it.

She picks up the nest and sets the little peeping thing in it before looking around. There's a balcony just above them, she could put it up there. And she's already climbing the escape ladder to slip it up there now.]

Okay, we need to go. [She says before hopping back down to the ground.] This place is not safe at all!

[enchants]

[ Oh man he's doing the nervous shuffle with his feet as she gets back to the concrete. Cat holds out her wand, offering it back as they start jogging. He can't focus on his phone while running to dial his mom's number, but he's worried. He's following her without really paying attention — but wow isn't it a stupid idea to go toward the giant snake?! The sight of smaller snakes attacking people makes him shriek in panic. ]

Holly! [ Cat's rapidly pointing in the direction, and his feet are rapidly retreating in the other as he backs away and finally takes notice of where he is. ]

My house is that way!

[ But he can't leave her if she's defenseless? ]

[keywarding]

[Oh Cat, right now she's not that defenseless.

Glancing the way Cat needs to go which is actually away a bit from the danger and the way she was heading she smiles back at him bright and energetic.]

You go and get your mom. Here, let me give you my numbers. If you need help, contact me through that. If not, when this is over I want to talk to you about magic okay?

[She still had her bag on, which she's originally had her staff shoved into it. Pulling out a piece of paper she writes down her home and cell number, and hands to him when she takes her staff.]

Be careful, okay Cat? I have to help the people still stuck down there.

[enchants]

[ Wow. She's amazing. He's not that brave to go rushing down there... He can't help the slight flush of awe in his cheeks. Hopefully she'll consider it an aftereffect of his burned face. Cat takes the paper with both hands, holding it between his forefingers and his thumbs while his cell phone is juggled to his right palm. He nods in response. ]

Be careful!

[ Although he turns and starts down the shortcut, seeing familiar streets approaching, he does turn around and hop a bit, yelling back over the sound of crashing cars and chaos. ]

I-IT WAS NICE TO MEET YOU!

[ It just would have felt wrong not to say so. Cat twists back around and goes jogging off, his face tilted down as he tries to dial his mom. ]

[keywarding]

[Holly stays long enough to see him turn and then yell back to her.

Laughing, she waves back to him before he's gone and she's turning towards the downtown area. Okay, Avalon.

Time to take on a huge pink snake!]