San Lorenzo, Cornelia's Shop

Cornelia sighed in relief as the hunters left her shop, this was definetively not her best day, but at least it seemed it wouldn't be her worst either. She grabbed the First Aid kit, better to finally get that splint on her leg now so she could move again. Oh how much she hated those stairs, she really needed that cargo elevator to be able to get up safely again but after this mess here she'd expect the'd have to use some of the money she saved to get everything back in order again. The centauress sighed, deciding to for now try to forget this matter and concentrate on what was important.

Cornelia's Shop

Hildegard resisted the urge to grin. Mina Van Helsing had agreed with her. Maybe Hildegard had even managed to impress her.

The dullahan from last night (Patrick, if she remembered right) had shown up; Sloane was explaining what had happened.

"The Van Helsings were going after the guy who started the riot, but since it was an accident, their grandma called them off."

Hildegard again resisted the urge to grin, this time in fondness. Sloane noticed her looking and winked at her. Hildegard looked away, blushing, and caught sight of the centaur limping away. Hildegard grabbed her backpack off the floor and approached Cornelia.

"Do you need help? With your leg, I mean. I may have already mentioned that I know first aid."

Cornelia didn't stand up again by the by ;^_^

San Lorenzo, Cornelia's Shop

Cornelia nodded "Ja, if you'd help me get a spline on my leg that would be great, I need to clean this mess up." She showed the leg, and while it didn't look as if it was broken it definetively was swollen by now.

edited 30th May '17 9:12:27 AM by Sergey_Smirnov

Patrick started to come inside, leaving his horse outside. "That limp looks bad. Need some help with it?"

Cornelia's Shop, upstairs

Seawell stared at the computer screen for a few moments in a thoughtful manner. But suddenly, he grinned.

"I have an idea" he told the Siren.

He began working on editing a new video. In a few minutes he was done.

"OK, this should be safe enough" he said after finishing. "Now we just need to test it. Don't worry, I haven't uploaded it anywhere- it's only inside this computer. We will need some subjects, however..."

((This is the music in the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKluHHFK5bk))

((Those who listen to it will become relaxed and nonviolent regardless of the circumstances.))

((Note: music-magic users will be not be affected, but other monsters and humans will be.))

((As mentioned above, this will only be heard upstairs.))

edited 30th May '17 7:43:29 PM by Sijo

Lark, Upstairs

Lark went upstairs and watched and listened to the video. "Good choice." There clearly was something, since she could feel something tugging at her, but nothing huge. They really did need a test subject. "You certainly do have some kind of magic. I'd suggest you stop making videos until we can sort out more." Lark smiled kindly at the fawn, remembering vividly the first time she sung after becoming a siren. It was a disaster.

Cornelia's Shop

Hildegard knelt in front of Cornelia. She pulled her first-aid kit out of her backpack and got to work. Five minutes later, splints were affixed to the front and back of Cornelia's broken leg.

"There. You should probably stay off that leg for a while. You may need surgery. At the very least, you should visit a vet. Not because you're a- a transformed human, just because a vet would probably be more familiar with horse legs than a human doctor."

Sloane looked up from her phone. "Everything Google tells me is that horses with broken legs usually get put down because broken legs are super hard for horses to recover from. If you're lucky, it might just be a simple fracture, which is easier to recover from. So, yeah, you should see a vet."

If anyone looked at the stairs in that moment, they would find Seawell there- with his face, again, overcome with fear. But this time, it was not for him.

It was for Cornelia.

He had heard Hildegard's words. He had a vision of Cornelia being- put out of her misery- because of something he did!

NO! SNAP OUT OF IT YOU IDIOT! he castigated himself. That will not happen. IT WILL NOT HAPPEN!

His face changed, he smiled, thought it still looked kinda forced: "Ahh, guys, we need a, well, volunteer upstairs. To test a new video. A harmless one, I swear!!" he quickly added. "This is just to determine, once and for all, whether I have magic or not. The worst that will happen is that you will feel relaxed" (he hoped.) "So. Who will it be? Oh and it cannot be someone with music magic abilities of his or her own, Lark said."

San Lorenzo, Cornelia's Shop

The centauress groaned as she heard that, her legs really could be quite a problem, but she already knew that part. "Ja, I'll have to, and don't worry, I know its gonna hve to be a vet, I've accepted that my lower half isn't human." She sighed before trying to get up again, this time with a bit more success. seeing Weawell come look down she gave a small nod "I guess I could, relaxation would be really nice at the moment."

Patrick shrugged his shoulders, and offered his help. "Here, let me help her up."

He walked over to Cornelia, and reached his arm over, trying to help support her.

Meanwhile, his horse was wandering off. It was sniffing the air, suspicious. There was a faint smell in the air, only something like could detect. Something....toxic.

Outside San Lorenzo

A police cruiser was sitting quietly next to the highway, hidden behind a billboard. Inside was Officers Stallone and Hardy. It was quiet right now, with very little traffic coming in. Hardy, having not gotten enough sleep last night, was trying to get some shut eye, resting her eyes. Whenever Stallone caught her, he would prod her awake. Hardy was groaning as she sat up, having just been prodded awake.

"God, you're such an ass sometimes, Stallone," Hardy told her partner.

Stallone shrugged. "Hey, we got a job to do. So, stay alert."

Hardy groaned. "Yeah, yeah, don't remind me. As long we don't have to listen to Ironfoot, I'll be happy."

The two laughed at the joke, when Stallone glanced out the car window, and blinked. "Do you hear that?"

Hardy scrunched up her face. "Hear wha-"

Then she heard it as well. The sound of footsteps. No, wait. It sounded more like...like...a horse, and yet, there was something wrong with it. It did have the distinct clip-clop of a hoof, but there was an undeniable wetness to it. Well, perhaps that was the wrong word. It sounded very...fleshy.

Hardy got out a book. It had been given to each and every police officer since the M-reactor overloaded, and dealt with different types of monsters. She began leafing through it, looking for information on what this might be as Stallone kept his eyes on the road. The slow, fleshy clip-clop was getting closer now. Something was coming. Something unnatural....

"Any clue what we could be dealing?" he asked Hardy.

Clip'clop, clip'clop.

She shook her head, perplexed. "I haven't found anything yet. I'm looking through everything, but I've never had to actually deal with a monster before. Christ, Stallone, what if it's a centaur?" She shivered.

Clip'clop, clip'clop.

"Trust me, it doesn't sound like one at all," Stallone explained, trying to reassure her. He wasn't sure himself. And then two new sounds caught their attention, traveling with the clip'clop in an unholy rhythm. A shiver went down their spines. They were new to the force, and inexperienced, not prepared for this.

Short, raspy moans, sad and lonely, yet undertones of hatred, sadism and darkness. It almost sounded human. The haggard breathing of a horse was unmistakeable. Whatever this was...could only be described as pure evil.

Clip'clop, clip'clop.

Stallone got on the radio. "This is officers Stallone and Hardy, on 580. We got something coming in. Could be a monster, but we don't know what kind yet, over."

Hardy was watching the road. She turned the pages of the book slowly, her breathing slow. And then she it, appearing on the far side of the road. She let out a moan of despair. Stallone's quiet curse let her know he knew what this was as well.

The horse's head had a single, glowing red eye, and like the rest of the body, was devoid of skin, exposing the muscle mass. The hooves were coated in fins, and black veins ran over it, yellow blood flowing through them. Long, powerful arms dangled down the sides of a man fused with the horse, wicked claws trailing across the ground. He two was devoid of skin, and his head seemed to be much too big for the body to support. It rolled about on his shoulders, moaning and wailing. And then, it stopped. The horse turned as well, both heads now staring right at the police cruiser.

The Nuckelavee had seen them.

Officer Stallone turned on the radio again as Hardy started up the cruiser. "Shit, it's a Nuckelavee! I repeat, Nuckelavee!"

The monster wailed as he charged at them. Hardy barely managed to get the car started as it did so, and hit the gas. They screeched onto the road, hoping to outrace it. A futile endeavor.

The dashboard camera was recording everything, including when the Nuckelavee slammed into their side and overturned it, causing to spring loose and go flying into the side, thus preventing it from being able to capture any footage. The sound of ripping flesh and the screams of officers Hardy and Stallone made it clear what was happening to both as they began coughing and gagging. Blood and other black liquid splashed onto the dashboard from just offscreen. Bones were being crunched and snapped, limbs torn apart.....Hardy and Stallone faintly gasped and choked their last.

When it was over, the only thing which could be heard was the Nuckelavee as he let out a soft, strangled chuckle. Then he was heard walking away. The dashboard camera captured a fleeting glimpse of him as he headed straight down the road.

edited 2nd Jun '17 9:14:26 AM by Vampireandthen

Cornelia's Shop

"NO!" Seawell suddenly snapped, then caught himself. "I mean, err, no, Cornelia might hurt her leg further if she tries to climb up right now. How about you miss, uh, Hoffman?" he asked Hildegard. "You seem to have experience with these things."

Road outside San Lorenzo

And old, but well-kept Camaro was zipping along at a nice, but safe speed towards the city. Two figures could be seen in the front seat.

The driver was a middle-aged Hispanic man. He seemed serene.

Next to him was some sort of reptilian humanoid.

Mexican music played on the radio.

The lizard man sang along: "Para bailar La Bamba!"

"You're awful" the conductor commented.

"I sing better than you!" the lizardman responded.

Then they spotted a Police Car in the distance.

"The Fuzz, better slow down"

"I'm driving OK, if anything you're the one who needs to behave, the cops are jumpy about monsters in this city."

Then they noticed the car wasn't moving.

And they saw the bloody remnants of the policemen.

"SANTO DIOS!" the driver said, stopping.

"Stay here, Luis!" the lizard said, and got out of the car.

"What the Hell you think you are doing??"

But the lizardman ignored him. He examined the bodies and confirmed they were dead. Then he went around the car, sniffing the air.

There. Whatever killed them went in that direction.

He went back to his car. "Luis, call the police, tell them about this, then GTFO of here."

"What about you?"

The Lizardman smiled.

And pulled a purple luchador mask over his head.

"It is time for" (beat) " El Lagarto Verde to spring into action!!"

And then bounded in the direction the Nucklavee had left.

edited 2nd Jun '17 9:07:11 AM by Sijo

San Lorenzo, Cornelia's Shop

Cornelia actually shortly flinched as Seawell snapped all of a sudden "Its..." She fell silent, looking around "But... my bed, the kitchen and the toilet are up there, I will need to get up there at some point."

Patrick actually thought Cornelia was rather attractive. More attractive than Lark, for some reason. He decided to try and help her in anyway he could.

"I could go upstairs for you. Do you mind?"

The horse didn't snort like it usually would. It was gazing in a single direction.....and Patrick could feel it was worried. He gave a brief glance, confused. What could worry that thing?

The Nuckelavee

The Nuckelavee was slowly marching down the highway. As his head rolled on his shoulders, his sickly green eyes scanned the area around him, searching for prey. He wanted to kill some more. To kill anything he could find. He made sure any planets were rotted and wilted, any animals slaughtered if they didn't run from his coming.....

The horse sniffed the air, and grunted. It had found something. The two heads swiveled in the direction of the new smell.

The smell of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Oreo cookies, juice boxes, milk, sweets, the tired exhaust of a diesel engine and the sweat of small children and their care takers. Sweet, innocent school children.

Wonderful... the Nuckelavee began to march towards the school bus, its mouths opening unnaturally wide as it began to giggle a sweet, strangled laugh.

Cornelia's

"Oh" Seawell realized. Yeah, it was best to let Cornelia rest upstairs while a doctor- or a vet- could see her. But he was still adamant in not letting her climb by herself. "You, Headless Guy" he said (Note: he doesn't know the proper term for a Dullahan) "Can you help me carry her upstairs? After we do the music video test of course."

Road

huff puff huff how far ahead is this thing? Lagarto thought, as it ran as inhumanly fast as it could. But soon he spotted it.

What the Hell is that? it blinked upon seeing the abomination, never having even heard of a Nucklavee. Ok, let's not jump to conclusions, after all he was a blood-drinking lizard himself. Let's try talking with it first-"

Then he saw the schoolbus.

F*ck that.

Then he sprang, and landed with a *thud* on the back of the centaurlike monster, immediately putting his arms, legs and tail around its own in a wrestling hold using all his superhuman strength. And to add insult to injury, he shouted:

"HOLA SENOR! You are having the honor of being tackled by San Lorenzo's greatest Monster Wrestler, El Lagarto Verde!! I'd give you my autograph, but my hands are kinda tied at the moment!"

edited 2nd Jun '17 10:18:26 AM by Sijo

Patrick nodded. "Yeah, that works. And by the way, I'm a Dullahan. And you can call me Patrick." He bent down to help Cornelia up, blushing a bit about being so close to her.

The Road

The Nuckelavee simply turned its human head, and then wailed right in the lizardman's face, spewing his toxic breath at him. But not enough to kill him. Oh no. It wanted him to suffer for trying to play the hero. It would make him watch as it played with the children. Each and every one of them. It would leave him broken.

The horse kept its eye focused on the school bus, and began to race for it, trying to shake the wrestler off.

"EEyuck!" was the scaly wrestler's response. "You got some bad breath there, you know that? Want a tic-tac?" He felt slightly ill; with his luck, the thing probably did have some kind of poison breath. But then, the metabolism of a blood-drinking lizard isn't like a regular human's, either. Hopefully he could stand it long enough to take it down.

He was more worried about those foot-long claws of his. He had its arms pinned so far, but he could not do it forever, and who knows when help would arrive?

Which reminded him about the children. "HEY PEOPLE!" he shouted, "GET THE F- I mean THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!" (gotta keep his image) This caused the picnickers to finally notice the struggle, scream, and run away.

OK. Strategy, the wrestler thought. This thing has organs, he could see blood pumping through its skinless muscles. It was alive, not some kind of undead. There was a way to both take care of its breath and take it down: choke it.

Lagarto switched his legs' grip from the horse body -leaving only the tail wrapped there- and instead wrapped them around the humanoid abdomen. And then squeezed with them, HARD. Hard enough to break a normal man's ribs, in fact. Hopefully this would at least prevent it from breathing, and eventually cause it to fall.

edited 2nd Jun '17 2:46:24 PM by Sijo

Cornelia's Shop

"I'm willing to help in any way I can," Hildegard said. She stood up and walked towards the stairs.

Before going upstairs, she turned back to Cornelia.

"My mother often has issues with mobility herself. She's a magician, so maybe she could make something to help you get around until your leg is healed."

Cornelia's

As Hildegard came up to the second floor, she would find Seawell sitting again in front of the centaur's computer, with Lark standing close by.

"Miss Hoffman? Before we begin", the faun suddenly said, "I want to thank you. And your family. For all you have done for me." A beat. "Last night, you took me, a stranger, off the street into the safety of your home. Today, you're helping me correct my mistakes... even after causing possibly the biggest chaos to hit the city since The Change." He sounded quite pathetic.

But he shook himself out of it. "OK. Here's what we will do" he began to explain. "I'll play the new video. Only the three of us should be able to hear it. If it is, in fact, enchanted, you will feel totally relaxed, but that's it. We will just ask how you feel. And then I will turn it off. Is that OK?"

And with that, he hit play.

edited 2nd Jun '17 4:24:44 PM by Sijo

Cornelia's Shop, Second Floor

Hildegard wasn't used to being thanked, especially not by the monsters she was supposed to be hunting. It was kind of embarrassing. She really didn't deserve this; it had mostly been Myrna's idea. She didn't think he sounded pathetic; she was too busy trying to come up with something polite but blunt. It hadn't been anything personal. This was purely a case of an alliance being the best course of action for everyone.

It died on her tongue as soon as the song started to play.

What did it matter? The important thing was that they were working together. Hildegard, Seawell, Sloane, Lark, Patrick, Myrna - they were putting aside their differences to defend this wonderful city. Their home.

Hildegard had enough self-awareness to recognize it as artificial. Even if it wasn't necessarily unpleasant, Hildegard still didn't like it.

She blurted out the first thing on her mind.

"Is this what drugs feels like?"

Lark, Shop

Lark nodded as Hildegard watched the video, happy that it seemed to be working.

The Road, Remember The Protective Kelpie? Here She Is

The bus stopped, and faint sounds of "no!" could be heard, then the doors opened a young, lean figure stepped out. It was a tealy blue, and clearly female. Young, and pretty. There was a gold collar around her neck, and she stood there, in the middle of the road, stock still, except for the eyes flicking between the Nucklavee and the bus.

Then she made a decision. A hand reached up and released the collar. Then she lifted her head, and grinned. A bloodthirsty, evil grin. She leapt, and changed forms. The Nucklavee got hit by a very angry horse. With teeth that bit at him.

Cornelia's Shop, second floor

"Uh, I wouldn't know" Seawell responded kind of ambiguously to Hildegard's comment about drugs.

But then he realized: It WAS working! He did have magic!

For a moment, he forgot all about the current situation and dreamed about all the things he might be able to do- even with no music skills. Could he enchant his Ipod?

But then he came back to Earth, and turned off the video. "OK then, it looks like that answer is yes" he commented. "So. Thanks for your help, you two. Lark, I'll look you up later for, uh, training. But now I will help Cornelia get upstairs." And he went downstairs to help Patrick carry her.

Road to San Lorenzo, but might as well be to Perdition

As Lagarto continued trying to subdue the nightmare he was riding, he saw what had to be another monster get out of the bus. An attractive one, at least. Hey, he might be a Chupacabras now but he was still a man inside. She came at them, hopefully to would help him. Not that she seemed strong enough-

-and then she turned into another monster horse!

"Holy sh*t another one!?"

edited 3rd Jun '17 10:03:27 AM by Sijo

Patrick just helped Cornelia up the stairs, if she needed it.

The Nuckelavee

Roaring, the Nuckelavee swung his claws up at the lizardman, the horse still bearing down on the schoolchildren. It was bucking and kicking the whole time as well, trying to shake off the annoyance.

But then the kelpie attacked. The horse part roared, and began breathing its toxic fumes right at her, opening its motion unnaturally wide to do so.

San Lorenzo, Cornelia's Shop

Cornelia was thankful for all the help managed to get up without much problems this time. "Thanks." She sighed "So, what did you find out with the test? Do you have magic?"

Lark, Shop

Lark nodded. "Definitely some kind of music based magic." she answered.

Maia, Road

The horse changed, becoming two streams of water that went around the poison breath and slammed into the Nucklavee. "Don't touch the children" She changed back into a horse, except her legs were now blades, wickedly sharp and pointed that attempted to stab the Nucklavee.

Cornelia's

"Yes!" Seawell said, a bit too excitedly. "Err, I mean, apparently. But this will never happen gain, I swear!! And I'll delete the video I just made in your computer, don't worry. Thanks again for letting me use it by the way."

Picnic Site

Despite the Nucklavee's best efforts, he could neither reach nor dismount the Chupacabra; he was just too strong and too practiced in the arts of wrestling. Unfortunately, the female horse-thing presented a new problem: while it sounded that she was trying to protect the children as well, and formidable enough, she might hit him in the process. But he dare not let go of the killer monster- he had to hope she would be careful! So he continued to squeeze and hope that his plan to cut off its breath worked. It had already spent a lot of it trying to affect its new opponent.

edited 3rd Jun '17 10:28:42 AM by Sijo