savetheearth | when the crypt doors creak and the tombstones quake [open]

Who: Rachel and any and all guests and trick-or-treaters
What: HALLOWEEN PARTY
Where: Rachel's brownstone
When: Starting in the evening on Thursday, October 31.
Warnings: Halloween things. Power flareups. Drinking. Probably people misbehaving.

Rachel has been finishing up preparation all day. With the current condition of the city, it hasn't been easy to get everything, but it's done! Outside, the brownstone has jack-o'-lanterns glowing on the steps and stoop to welcome guests and visitors to the door.

Fake cobweb is stretched above the door and the atmosphere is right. Inside, music is playing, decorations are set, there are games to play, there are tables of food and drinks and a large bowl of Halloween candy by the door. The fun even extends to the backyard!

On the second floor, there's a room with a flatscreen TV and a big couch playing classic monster movies. Finally, there's a wet bar that she's trusting the adults to keep the kids out of.

The invitation is out, so all there is to do is wait.

[ooc: subthreads up! go forth!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If she did swear, she would be swearing at herself at how ineffectual she felt. She was a damsel in distress, not able to do much of anything except run like the coward she should have been. But for some reason, she wasn't afraid. Instead, she stared off into the dark of the night, an orb of prismatic light already forming in her hand.

"I'm staying."

In less than a minute, the fence had changed entirely. Some of it reached to the sky, higher than it was before, while some of it continued to writhe against air or sudden fire, stretching towards anyone still close to it. The rest bent down all the way, laying flat to the ground and making way for the... thing that began crawling up and over it.

It was human-shaped but hunched, its silhouette ultimately made unclear by scores of spiny or hairlike protrusions- all covered in a layer of jellylike goop that was, while dried in some places, still just runny enough to drip to the ground off shaking limbs. The puddles were pink where the liquid fell, not quite glowing but somewhat shifting like iridescence.

It was injured, imperfect, body and arms and legs marred by rough but ineffective restraints. Every movement was punctuated by a cry of misery, as it swung a head with too-large, all-white eyes to look at those staring back at it.

But the sight lasted only a moment. The beast screeched, crouching and burying its hands into the ground with alarming ease. All at once, leaves and bits of gravel or wood began to rush forward and up, forming into a flowing sheet like a veil- a shield.

The ground began to shift.

Sam let the power in him flow out, and the effects appeared so quickly you might miss them happening if you weren't paying attention.

Where before had been an unimpressive young man in a devil outfit, there was no a seven foot tall hulking figure in a torn devil outfit. His shoulders were broad, he was rippling in muscle, and almost as an after thought he had cloven hooves bursting out of his shoes and elaborate horns sprouting from his head, though one of them was broken short. His eyes glowed red.

He pawed the ground, then sprang directly at the beast with great speed, one fist held back and ready to punch the...the Vermaxi before it could finish its shield.

Oh, hey, another shapeshifter...and he was going to have all the fun. The bugman couldn't have that, and he gave a bellow of challenge as he squared his shoulders and charged after Sam. He tried to clamp down on the part of his instincts that was getting all angry at something else getting involved in the fight and instead tried to direct all that pent-up aggression at the creature itself. Once Sam had finished off whatever his attack would be, Hajime intended to try to stab it with one of his wrist blades.

Perfect. As the duo of crazy people with crazy powers moved forward, Ez gave Luci's arm a quick reassuring squeeze and went running to the side, launching bolts of magical energy from his amulet at the monster.

The other two changing in front of her eyes seemed not to phase her, the blond throwing out that same ball of light in her hand at the Vermaxi. She could at least make it easier for the two to see in the darkness; she wouldn't be doing her job otherwise.

A hand instinctively clasping over his, she watched the blond run past, taking a deep breath. This wasn't right. She should be fighting. She should be standing by their sides instead of in the doorway, watching helplessly. She needed something, a weapon, maybe she could at least do some kind of good if their front lines failed, heaven forbid. She looked around--there had to be something there, something she could use.

Sitting, leaning against the wall was a walking stick, unimpressive in appearance, save for the glass orb poised at the top. A strange feeling transpired in that moment, and without realizing, she reached for it, drawn to it, taking the thing from its rightful place. She couldn't put it into words, but it felt right in her hands.

Running back, orb still hanging, she focused. How did he describe it? Focus your energy through the item, then let it go. She stared down into the clear orb, lining it up with her orb.

Concentrate.

And release!

Upon command, the orb began to spin, resonating with a light hum before popping with frightful force, leaving a bit of a shockwave in its wake.

As it turns out, the attack by the owner of the residence gets there first, the monster screaming as its makeshift shield was partially ripped apart. However, in the next moment, things began to rapidly change. The air began to grow hot, the ground trembling, and growths like a mixture of grass and vines made of stone snaked up the legs of the tables and chairs standing nearby. That furniture began to move.

Sam, Hajime, and Luci's blast should have reached the beast, but suddenly all the light in the area seemed to darken, and an instant later... the thing was simply just visible there any more.

And at the same time, another beast flung itself at the assailants: something like a cross between tortoise and large cat, warping out of its original form of table and chairs snapping together even as it leapt through the air with a scream like shredding metal.

Sam stumbled to a halt, his punch whiffing on thin air, the fumes of holy water fire making him dizzy. He could feel his energy reserves draining quickly, and knew he had to finish this quickly before he ran out completely. Spinning around, he reached out to grab the chairtortoisecat out of the air midleap and slam it into the ground.

The first enemy's disappearance, along with all the sheer power Hajime's monster senses was picking up, was a bit much for Hajime to handle. There was a bit of furious swiping at nothing before he turned to face in the direction of the new threat. His monster instincts were all riled up now. He charged at the whatever-it-was that was attacking them. If Sam was able to slam it to the ground, then he'd be on top of it and trying to pry it open with his blades in two seconds. If not, then he'd try to tackle it himself.

Moving nimbly on his feet and seeing Sam's stumble a bit, Ezreal dashed to the side for a clear shot and unleashed a barrage of magic bolts at the odd tortoise-feline-thing, trying to put out as much damage as possible while Sam threw it down.

While Sam, Ez and Hajime were focused on the the strange tortoise cat creature, Luci turned her attention toward the furniture constructs. It would be bad if their front-liners were flanked, and focusing again, she flung another orb of light in that direction. Should it hit, the light would continue to travel in a line, hitting others around it and locking them in their places. It wouldn't last long, but holding them in place was all that she could think to do at that particular moment.

when the crypt doors creak and the tombstones quake [open]

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