[plot] Water in the desert I

[theearth]

Who: Cultists, an alien, and YOU, the (un-)invited numbered!
What: Gossipping. Weird lobster worship. Speeches. Fingerfood and other snacks. Dealing with cultists in general. The beginning of the geographical changes in Las Vegas and appropriate PANIC.
When: 22nd
Where: Thomas & Mack Center; The University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Warnings: People from the ranks of the cultists have committed murder and other crimes in the past; those deeds will, if mentioned, be treated in a glorifying manner or at least be condoned.



The cultist gathering takes place on the evening of the 22nd at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. The cult has rented the large multipurpose Thomas & Mack Center. The entrances are controlled, the guards cult members who will check the membership of everyone who enters. Numbered with invitations will simply have to either show their invitation or prove that they are the numbered in question; numbered that are not invited but not on the anti-invited list will be let in if they announce interest in their purpose or in learning more about themselves.

There is a large lobster statue in the middle of the hall, a high stage behind it. A pool of water surrounds both, filling the whole center.

A. Arrival and first stage
Snacks and drinks are handed out everywhere and the cultists chat happily with everyone who is around - they will happily talk to numbered as well, calling them "special ones", "superheroes" or "children". Some are rather excited about them being there, others less, but there is clearly nobody that doesn't think positively about it.

B. Ceremony/Worship and Announcements
As the lights go out, people will stop talking and put down whatever they are holding. What follows is a ceremony of roughly an hour that mostly includes singing, meditation and some short speeches on cleansing oneself and being true to oneself, and one on how those that don't do it will fall and burn. Cultists will be happy to give numbered pointers re: what happens next and what they should do.
Afterwards, what seems like all head cultists - those with the sign that causes echoes step on the stage and one after another address the gathered public, some longer, some shorter. Some are of more technical nature - number of members, funds, expansion plans -, others very philosophical, and yet others religious. There is talk of the city being lost and impossible to clean, but that the those who trust in Refined Shell will be saved. That all members may take it into their own hands to clean themselves and help the world be cleaner, but that soon, Refined Shell will be with them, and her children with her. Her children will guard her and be guided by her, as they all should be; and though it is harder for them to see their true core than it is for normal humans, and many will be lead astray, those that succeed will lead the world to a better future, and those that follow Refined Shell now will be the first when that time comes.

At this point, they'll call out to all numbered in the audience, and cultists sitting nearby numbered people will encourage them to get down to the stage, wade through the water and get up there to introduce themselves and say hi. The whole audience will cheer for those that dare to go down, and they'll be offered a seat on the stage.

C. Aftermingle and Panic
After the official part is done, there is general mingling and people are slowly starting to leave... just as the first earthquake hits the room. And then another one, and then steam rises from the water in the middle of the hall, and after a bit it starts to boil. The handful of cultists that is packing up on stage screams in terror at their only way off it suddenly being made up of boiling water, and most of the cultists leave the building in similar panic. FUN ALL AROUND.


♒ You may play cultist NPCs yourself, but if you'd like a mod-npced cultist to talk to your character(s), please indicate it in your subject line when the thread starts and/or preferably notify Fae here.
♒ Please put up your own thread starter under the appropriate heading A, B or C.

Comments

C - Aftermingle and Panic

[theearth]

[jasminebloominginshadow]

Jasmine had expected all of this to go absolutely tits up, but she expected it to come from the cultists suddenly turning on everyone. Jasmine hissed as she looked around, trying to shield the people closest to her with her wing.

"EVERYONE!" she cried. "Come on over this way! I'll try to blast us out of here...!"

[peacefulwinter]

There's a bright flash as Winter shifts into Diamond with no fanfare whatsoever. "Jasmine, wait! If we go outside, something's going to fall on us! For now, this place is safe!" She shakes her head, and holds out a hand, light coalescing above it into her Love Heart Arrow, which falls into her waiting palm. "If that changes, blast away, but for now we need to keep everyone we care about in one place!" The cultists are worth saving, of course, but if the choice is between her precious people and the lobster-worshippers, it's not a choice at all.

"Hey, you on the stage! I'm going to try to keep the water cool enough to move in! When it stops b-boiling, run! Leave everything else, we can get it later!"

She has a plan. But she also knows that no plan survives first contact with the enemy, and right now her enemies are time and nature themselves. Still... her other will have words with her in heaven if this all goes belly-up and she didn't even try. "Precure... Diamond Shower!" The ringing of the tambourine, eerily audible even over the deafening sound of the earthquake, heralds the coming storm. Which heads for the pool bearing the cultists, and then into the water itself. Hopefully they're willing to listen to reason.

[alilyinthemoonslight]

There's another flash not terribly far away, and Cure Moonlight is behind them. She touches the brooch on her chest and a shimmering cape sprouts out over her shoulders. She wasn't flying away just yet, but she was damned well prepared to scoop up Winter and do that the moment necessary.

She still holds a look in her eyes that shows nervousness, but the chaos is oddly helpful towards focusing. "Right, we can't just leave a bunch of people to die," she murmurs. Even if they are crazy, homicidal, and likely responsible for the deaths of people they knew. One hand clenches into a notable fist, but she casts her glance at Jasmine. "If we need to get out, neither of us are going to have a problem doing so."

As another tremor ripples beneath them she has to brace herself a bit. "I'm a little more worried about what these earthquakes mean!"

[savethenpcs]

Having heard Cure Diamond's warning, most of the cultists were prepared and were in fact scrambling on to the stage. "For the record," one of them called out, "this was not planned!"

[dragon_blossom]

There... isn't a flash at all because Marina's always got her powers, even if they're a little less impressive than being able to punch holes in buildings or whatever, but there is a call of "Icicle Blades" followed by that exact thing storming into the water and, hopefully, melting fast enough to not harm the containment.

"Just keep stuff from falling on me while I'm distracted guys..."

[jasminebloominginshadow]

"... Fine," Jasmine said to Winter as she bit her own tongue, begrudgingly accepting it. But she narrowed her eyes and focused on the cultist that had spoken up.

"Do you think we honestly believe that?! I swear, when this is over you and your buddies are answering some QUESTIONS!"

And she eyed Marina next.

"And for the record, no one hurts the girl with blue hair, understand?!"

[savethenpcs]

The cultist, a tall man, gives her a look. "You seriously think we're stupid enough to pull something like this with us in the building? Really? We're not going to hurt anyone--we want to help!"

[alilyinthemoonslight]

"Jasmine!" Moonlight exclaims, shooting a pointed look towards her sister that clearly says 'save it.' "Now is not the place and certainly not the time. I would hope they're not suicidal enough to pull something like this with themselves in range of being hurt by it."

Another rumble, and she frowns. "More than likely it's--" Right there, her mind grinds to a halt. The light. Vermini. Earthquakes. It's happening quicker, but... the pattern was undeniable, wasn't it? "Oh my God! No, no I'm pretty sure they're not behind this...!"

[peacefulwinter]

"I expect you to match actions to words!" Diamond shouts, most of her attention admittedly on the water. The temperature's coming down now; even her power can't keep it that way for long, or reduce it to anything less than a fairly warm shower, but that's quite a bit better than what they'd had before. "Save yourselves first! Your equi-equipment can be replaced, but you can't!"

Lily, close by, represents something else she needs to concern herself with - that edge of nervousness is a little more than she's ready to deal with. "Nobody deserves to die. Nobody else needs to get hurt. We can do this. Right, Moonlight?" Taking a deep breath, she shakes her head, eyes not leaving the water she's still working with.. "It's just like I thought. We're run-running out of time. Once this stops... the final hour is almost at hand." Significantly more quietly, just for Lily's ears: "I have no desire to fight a city-sized lobster."

[squicksilver]

Because he's ostensibly a "non-numbered" — as far as the Children of the Shell know, anyway — he'd been ushered out of the hall by his CotS minder during the ceremony proper, which was fine with him. It promised to be long, boring and unimportant. Besides, anything of interest would likely turn up on the Network afterwards, and he could read it at leisure. He'd come here anyway simply to chat with the cultists, and look for common threads or anything easily overlooked. So he'd spent the time texting his professional contacts, returning emails, and talking to his agent about a potential project in LA.

When he's let back in, he makes a bee-line for the bar, easily losing his minder in the crush of people. And then, just as he has finally scored a (free) vodka tonic...

The earth begins to shake and people start shrieking. The glass falls from his hand as he sinks to his knees, gasping, as two echoes pulse through him.

[savethenpcs]

The shrieking is distracting but his minder is able to find Alex with little problem, seeing him fall to the ground in pain.

"What are you doing?!" She goes to help him up, pissed and annoyed that she got stuck with babysitting duty. "Get up and get out of here, it's not safe!"

[squicksilver]

It's that hollow feeling, once again, as if everything around him is suddenly unreal. His heart skips a beat and turns over and a ka-thunk sounds in his ears. His minder's voice sounds very far away, although the shrieking overlays with the sound in his memory.

He can feel someone helping him — he feels it before he sees it — and then his fingers close around her wrist and he snarls, "Headhunter!"

[savethenpcs]

"Whoa!" The girl starts to pull away. "What the fuck, dude, I'm trying to help you here!"

[squicksilver]

Alex Mercure has never before remembered anything substantive about his old life, merely whispers. But now he's recalling two very powerful memories, and they overlap and intersperse and muddle themselves up with what he'd privately believed about the cultists: they are being controlled and... they are insane.

He stands, yanking on the girl's wrist. "You," he breathes. "You're mad, all of you. You're destroying the world, can't you feel it?"

[savethenpcs]

....okay, he was sane a minute ago. What the hell happened?

"You mean the earthquake that is currently bringing the building down? Yeah, I can feel that but that's not our fault!" She starts trying to pull away again. This freak can die for all she cares--and she is getting out of this batshit cult asap.

[squicksilver]

A chunk of sound-absorbing ceiling falls a few feet away from them, jolting him out of his confused memories. "Isn't it? Armageddon's what you religious idiots pray for, right?"

The whole bar keels over, causing an almighty crash of glasses shattering and bottles breaking open, spewing their contents everywhere. He lets go of her and shoves her away. "Be careful what you wish for!"

[savethenpcs]

"No dumbass, it's enlightenment." And while she should take the hint and get away and out, she grabs at Alex's shoulder so he comes with her. "Or some shit, I just wanted to meet seedlings."

[senseandcecilbility]

This not so respectful hero was not invited, but he has parked his USPS truck outside based on the empirical conclusion that bad things happen whenever cultists are gathered, and when bad things happened, someone needs to be carried to the hospital. The quake has given him echoes of his own, so he almost misses the familiar entertainer stumbling outside.

He throws the door open and shouts at him:

"For heaven's sake, Mister Mercure, what the dickens are you doing amidst this anarchy like a lob? Come in immediately!

[squicksilver]

The ground is still shaking, because it's still moving. Staring out into the night, he can see the lights of the Vegas sprawl, and they seem to be receding, as if they were somehow rising. The wind whips up. It's chilly, colder even than what one expects at nighttime in the desert.

Alex looks up, hearing his name called, and moves automatically towards the voice. And then he stops and stares into the back of Cecil's postal van. And baulks.

"I'm not getting in there!"

Because climbing into the back of a van in the middle of a cultist rampage and earthquake is still unacceptably creepy.

[senseandcecilbility]

"Would you rather take a stroll around the neighborhood? The last gentleman who tried met an unfortunate fate at the Merriott's pool! For attempting to save a defenseless lady! Moreover, would you rather wait for that?"

He points frantically at the darkness beyond. Who knows what is coming? Giant snakes? Giant lobsters? Whatever it is, it is gigantic, and it is changing his city.

[squicksilver]

The shaking, amazingly, has smoothed out to some extent, and is now more of a smooth rumble, like an old service elevator rising. He rakes his fingers through his shaggy hair, and thinks about madmen, the end of the world, and decapitation-obsessed freaks.

"Whatever that is, I very much doubt a postal van is going to keep me safe. As for our murderous cultist friends..."

He jerks his head back towards the Thomas & Mac Center; terrified people are still pouring out of it, as well as clouds of steam, illuminated by the lights.

"A number of them are about to take after their precious lobsters, whom they admire so much."

[senseandcecilbility]

"That is ludicrous! I am quite certain my van is much safer than the streets!"

Especially if the van's driver can manifest barriers of magic crystal, but he is not mentioning that, for Alexander has seen the youtube video and that is terribly embarrassing. Instead, he turns his attention towards the clouds of steam.

"Good heavens, have they finally boiled the horrors?"

He has never cared about the cultists and their deity, but that is a bad way to die.

[squicksilver]

"Not on purpose. But the earthquake, or something, set their precious baptismal font to boiling. And — "

He stops, listening. The earthquake, of course, has affected not only the University of Nevada campus, but surrounding areas as well. Screams can be heard off in the distance in the vicinity of nearby resorts. He pales.

"There are... there are one hundred thousand tourists here on any given day. More on the weekends. This is a disaster."

[senseandcecilbility]

"Please sir, come in. It is not safe."

It is practically a plea. He doesn't wish anyone to die under his watch. Jovan's murder was bad enough, and now, everywhere, people are getting hurt, in the city he has always considered his home.

"T-they...might inculpate us."

He doesn't know when he started thinking in terms of "they" and "us", but here it is, at the worst time possible.