Coco Adel- City Hall Board Room
"I'd like to remind our local business owners that while not part of the government, the City Chamber of Commerce provides a variety of services and provides business connections to its members, and collaborates with City Hall for official business and events. This office can only directly address city matters, laws, ordinances, and provide information," Coco quickly commented on the microphone while waiting for the next speaker. Aside from the public library, so far it wasn't looking too much like anyone had much to say about the city itself. Giant rat excluded. Which... probably was a good thing.
2 Spooky 4 U
Andddd of course the snark flew over her head. Still, her reasons didn't sound criminal in anyway. No, they only sounded crazy. Garrus for his part only asked her "...........And this voice of your's. Does it always tell you what to do?" and replied with, "Very exciting. After all, not many other places where you can meet a human woman that hides under a stage because a voice in her head doesn't like being in a crowd."
As for the Ainz and his assistant, Garrus said with a snarky, but clearly not upset, tone "Now, I prefer to think that I'm more of a idiotic upstart than a mindless cretin" and then a large avian creature entered the meeting. Duck was it? What do they feed Earth animals? Of course, once Tim followed after him Garrus knew who the two were. He had to take a few visits to Tricky T's because of some calls from people who took the establishments existence poorly to say the least.
Then the talk about defense started up again, once again from the rat. Transwrap cells? The thought of allowing a AI some kind of energy source wasn't exactly what Garrus would call his happy place. "If you own any weapons you are free to open carry them. If you want one I'm sure there is a legal business around that sells what you need" explained Garrus to Rattrap. For Alya he put on a softer tone and looked at her, telling the child, "And no, please and thank you's will not get anyone weapons. We need those weapons for those that we know are trained and trusted to use them. That way only the best are protecting everyone."
Done with that, Garrus looked up from her and that was a big mistake for his eyes took in the sight of Swarm. Plenty of calls about this guy but that wasn't the bad part. The bad part was the visions. A large dark gray monster, head missing it's jaw and a body covered with metal, lights, and tubes. Roaring and stomping, the sounds of his fellow turians being butchered by the freak of nature. The head of his kind looking uncaring at the bloody bodies.
Snapping out of his trance, Garrus found himself standing and his sniper rifle drawn but only pointing at the ground. Didn't happen every-time but it happened enough. So deep was the trance that Garrus missed both Monica's and Coco's speech but he only got up at the tail-end of Coco's.
edited 20th Aug '17 4:57:53 AM by LightToAll
Jaroline-City Hall
"Ah, I see. I've just never seen a clown personally during my travels, and you'd think they'd be less of a concern given how you guys have military near here."
She leaned forward into her chair, as a girl and a giant bug took the stage.
"Still, though, It seems this city is pretty airtight, especially if you have police to go with that military. And at least it doesn't seem boring here. This city meeting certainly beats anything my school sent me on."
Nepbike-Parking Lot
"...Nep Nep Nep...."
Nepbike was surprised Jaroline hadn't come out yet. She was sure that she'd be bored by now, and after her attempts to get a rise out of a bicycle got no effect, she was overcome by dullness herself.
And so Nepbike waited.
edited 20th Aug '17 9:19:40 AM by Boomer75
Well, no, not always. Tira said. A lot of the time she just lets me do my own thing, Like now!
Then the man she was speaking too went really quiet, and started drawing a gun.
Hey? Hey, mr? Mr bird man? Are you ok?
It was about this time when Tira's personalities swapped places. Tira's eyelids, which were wide open with energy until now, suddenly drooped, and her happy smile reverted to an angry snarl. She pulled herself out of the stage, and as she got to her feet, her whole upper body hunched over, as if she was a puppet who's strings had been cut off.
Hey, fuckface! She yelled as Garrus came out of his trance, her voice having changed from the happy, high pitched one she had before to a much lower, gravely voice. She was having a goddamn conversation with you, why the fuck did you start ignoring her? At least tell her you're busy first, that really hurt her fucking feelings, and now I'm the one who's going to have to hear her whining! You have any idea how fucking annoying it is to have your other half be a whiny girl who tries to make friends with assholes like you?
Near Lakeside, Southwest Checkpoint
The big red truck would eventually come to a stop at one of the city’s inspection points, sitting along the western edge of the farmlands southwest of the main city.
There were five of these checkpoints, each one guarding one of the major highways leading into the city. Officers, usually members of the military or the Lakeside Police Department, would rotate in and out to inspect the people going in and out of the city.
This checkpoint comprised of a pair of concrete towers, functioning almost like an old fashioned city gatehouse. Each one had a number of gun turrets and batteries, and peepholes in case those failed to work. Along the road flanked by the towers were a series of thick roadblocks, with a spike strip right in the middle of them, which could be raised and lowered at will.
Early on in the war, the Alliance forces built these checkpoints to help protect the city in the event of an outside Clown attack. These defenses obviously were not foolproof (anyone could try going off road, sneaking through the vast southern fields or slipping through the forest at night), but their main purpose was to serve as watchtowers for any clown attacks that might threaten the city. In the event of a large-scale Clown attack, the longer ranged guns could potentially focus their fire on most areas surrounding the city (or those even further out). Yet with recent Clown developments, some feared these measures might soon prove obsolete.
When the red truck stopped a few hundred feet or so away from the checkpoint, a few of the cars behind it beeped impatiently. Highway 151 was two lanes wide in each direction, but roadblocks were put in place so that only one vehicle could approach the checkpoint at a single time. There were also a few turnaround lanes, in case any vehicles did not met inspection standards.
A large turret, perched underneath a bridge connecting the two towers, whirred down, aimed straight at the driver’s seat of the red truck.
From what the people inside the towers could see, the driver did not seem too suspicious an individual. He was an old, somewhat portly man with a balding head and a long, tangled, white beard. His face was remarkably clean of any blemishes or age spots, and although it was difficult to discern from the cameras mounted on the twin towers, his ears had a slight point to them.
A four-legged gyrocopter, resting on a concrete perch about fifteen feet above ground, lifted off and began to hover its way towards the red truck. It had a mounted-on camera and microphone, whereby the people inside the towers could communicate with drivers waiting at the checkpoint, similar to a fast food drive-thru lane. A transmitter on board the drone would communicate through one of the tower’s antennae, concealed or conspicuous and allow he people inside to control it directly. The drone could move around more freely to check areas that might be concealed from the towers’ eyes, and even though there was some cost to manufacturing these things, it was certainly a better alternative to getting shotgunned in the face by a manic Clown, and officers were in short supply.
When the drone came close, the driver lowered the window.
“Present your identification, sir,” a voice would say from a speaker mounted on the tower.
This was, of course, a somewhat meaningless gesture. A number of people who had come to Lakeside didn’t even have identification, and for those that did, often times this information was falsified. Without access to the old census records, an inability to tell who was already dead, systematic corruption, and the widespread acceptance of strange individuals, it was not often easy to verify if people were who they said they were. But procedure was procedure.
The man in the truck reached for his pockets and pulled something out resembling a driver’s license. Upon a closer look, however, the man appeared to be wearing some kind of exoskeleton, sprayed a deep, jet black. Considering the man’s stature, however, it wasn’t much of a surprise to see why he was wearing such a thing. Resembling something of a Tokien-esque dwarf, the man could barely reach the pedals on his own, and he needed to be elevated a bit to get a better view of the whole picture.
This raised some eyebrows, but the man certainly wasn’t the strangest thing Lakeside or the Alliance territories had seen.
Once the drone (and the people inside the towers) had finished inspecting the driver’s identification, the voice said, “Open up your compartments.”
The driver did as he was told, not saying a word. The side compartment didn’t seem to have much except for whatever manual came with the truck.
“Alright, step out so we can begin cargo inspection.”
The white-bearded man opened the truck door and climbed down as the drone hovered just out of reach. He then began making his way back, cars some distance back honking for him to quicken his pace.
A square hatch, which had been hidden flush along the top side of the truck’s trailer, opened up facing the checkpoint.
-BOOM!-
The cacophany of beeps behind the truck fell silent. As the cars past the mouth of the funnel began to register just what had happened, some attempted to drive back, before veering offroad to avoid whatever was about to occur, though others strangely stayed put, inching just enough to let the other cars through.
A figure dressed in purple, red, green, and yellow flew from the trailer’s hatch, riding what appeared to be an oversized whoopie cushion. A dazzle of greenish light shimmered and then crackled from the point at which the shell struck, just several feet away from the front-view window.
The Clowns’ use of magical shields (in absence of all other explanations) was a well-observed phenomenon for anti-Clown forces across the world, though this was probably one of the first times it had been used on something like a box truck. Unlike the shield matrix that guarded the Flying Circus, shields on smaller craft would dissipate after suffering enough damage, but they were enough to give them an edge against human-made weapons.
In any case, the Clown arced high up in the air, using the gases spewing forth from his giant whoopie cushion, and dove straight for the central turret mounted under the bridge.
-KABOOM!-
The hatch atop the truck closed, but from within, the tune of Cotton-Eye Joe began to play. The Clowns within let out a plethora of whoops and yells, all shrill in tenor, though few others had been close enough to hear them.
As the concrete bridge and turret crumbled onto the road below, gunfire rained upon the box truck, only to be deflected and absorbed by the Clown shields.
The exhaust pipes on each side of the truck suddenly cranked themselves into a lower angle, just sufficient to hit each of the turrets along the walls facing the road between them.
-PLOOP-PLOOP-
-KAPOW!-KAPOW!-
The turrets were not completely destroyed, but they would require much repair work before they would be functional again.
As this was going on, the truck’s wind deflector suddenly raised itself up, connected only be a series of metal beams. The beams then extended and rotated, lifting the deflector over the truck’s entire front frame before then reattaching itself to the truck’s grill and front bumper. Parts of the wind deflector then began to recede into itself, until it formed a sharp, hardened wedge/makeshift cowcatcher.
Underneath the space concealed by the wind deflector, there appeared to be a large stunt cannon.
The white-bearded man leaped onto the back of the truck’s trailer. The door rolled up, and a pair of white hands lifted pulled him inside. While the drone seemed to idle as the people inside the checkpoint responded to the situation, the barrel of a gun peeked around from behind the new opening, and shot it out of the air.
Despite having no apparent driver, the truck’s engine stirred to life.
The cannon in swift succession fired a pair of thick, cone-capped cylindrical capsules, which seemed to stop and realign themselves mid-trajectory and then plunge into the top of each tower.
A pair of hidden ports on the sides of the trailer slid open. Guns from inside opened fire upon the towers, and although they did nothing almost nothing to the hardened exterior, they did land a few shots on the cameras mounted on the side.
The truck drove forth with thundering speed. With most of the guns that could hit the truck out of commission, there was little the officers at the checkpoint could do to stop the truck’s charge. The makeshift cowcatcher proved its worth, allowing the truck to plunge through every single barricade its path, and miraculously uplifting the spike strip before they could so much as brush the truck’s underside. Even the new pile of rubble, standing much higher and thicker than the barricades already in place, was pushed aside.
As the truck zoomed past the checkpoint, a pair of Clowns perched in the back of the truck took aim with the rocket launchers in their arms. There seemed to be other things lurking within the dark cargo space, but whoever was watching the cameras or controlling the back-side turrets didn’t have much time to make note of these things.
With hideous laughter, the Clowns launched their cargo, and the towers’ rear turrets were destroyed.
It was hard to tell at this point how much further damage the truck’s shielding system could take, but it had carried them through their first major obstacle. Even with some of the other stations taking potshots, the truck seemed to navigate its way on the road to success.
Now, with the residential areas and city coming within sight, it was time to do what Clowns did best.
It was time to party.
Back near the checkpoint, the remaining cars waited where they were. Seeing the Clowns up close, they were afraid to act, but now that the Clowns were a safe distance away, many of the cars would then awkwardly file themselves through the path the Clown truck made for them, before going wherever they originally intended to go. The paperwork would have to be filled out later, it seemed.
Lakeside Army Reserve Base
Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Richards had just received the news. Checkpoint #2 had just been breached, and a heavily armed Clown truck was making its way to the inner city.
The message hadn’t been very long, but it was enough to understand the nature of this Clown incursion.
The whole base was on full alert, and everyone began preparing for city deployment. The armed forces stationed at Lakeside were only a few hundred-something strong, but under most circumstances it was enough to keep the city under relatively safe guard.
The airfield on the other side of town had also been notified. A few Apaches were already on their way to assist the situation, though city fighting was always a delicate problem.
The warning siren would soon go out, though judging by how many goofballs had sifted into the city in recent months, some people would probably try to fight the Clowns themselves like a pack of lunatics. Not like there was much choice but to accept their help; the Alliance probably wouldn’t have made it as far as it did without their help. God knows how many of them there were out there.
The mayor was having one of those meetings today, right? She could probably handle things on her own, but he’d keep the line open for her anyway. He still didn’t feel all that comfortable with all this superhero stuff going around, but it’s not like there was much he could do.
Still, it was strange to see a Clown attack all the way out here. If they came in from the south, it’d make more sense to hit one of the larger cities where they could do more damage, and that still begged the question of how they got through the front lines in the first place.
He’d figure this all out later. Right now there were Clowns to kill and a city to protect.
His subordinate, Lieutenant Logan Lovejoy, turned to face his commander and said, “Colonel, what are…”
“Deploy it now.”
Lakeside City
A loud emergency siren blared throughout the city as a voice calmly attempted to explain the situation.
“A Clown truck has been spotted nearby. All people are advised to seek safe shelter or cover. This is not a drill.”
City Hall
A young woman with long blonde hair sat in the hall of strange individuals. She was dressed in a faded blue gown that seemed neither too elegant nor too plain.
For the most part, she did not speak much, and most of the time she turned her head to listen as others spoke, with not much expression on her face. She did not venture out from where she lived very much, but something about the prospect of today’s meeting drew her here today.
She seemed to carry herself somewhat inconspicuously throughout the whole meeting (as contradictory as such a statement might be), partly to avoid drawing the attention of a certain womanizer.
Though, when the sirens rang, the woman seemed visibly shocked, even if this expression was a bit subdued.
As people began to react to the news from outside, the woman stood up, and, looking towards Garrus and the mayor, began to speak.
“W-what are we supposed to do?”
edited 20th Aug '17 1:55:29 PM by CathariSarad
Coco Adel- City Hall Board Room
"Remain calm, people. Get to safety and let us handle this, okay?" Coco said from the podium, tossing her head back so the lock of hair on her right side went behind her shoulder. "Don't panic, get to safety, and stay safe. We already took this back from the Clowns once, they are not getting it back as long as we're here."She gave a nod towards Garrus.
"Meeting adjourned."
Happy Box Hater
City Hall
While Tim had entered a bit of a stupor due to a lack of anything to hold his interest in the meeting, he immediately snapped to attention at the clown warning. Scrooge locked eyes with him and said in urgently "We've got to get back ta the restaurant lad!"
"I know," Tim said back to his avian friend. "I can't let them just ruin the building again after all the effort we put into it."
They would both try to depart from the building by bike and head to Tricky T's as fast as they could.
Why is a yam attacking me?
Jaroline-City Hall
"Clowns!? Of all the things I could jinx... Damn it!"
Jaroline got out of the building.
Parking Lot
Jaroline hopped onto Nepbike.
"You heard, Jaroline?" Asked Nepbike
"Me and the whole city."
"We should go get shelter, we're not safe right now!"
"Right, go find anyone who can't get to shelter, enter shelter, stay safe."
"Right Jaroline."
Jaroline revved the engine up.
"... Wait, Jaroline!"
"Anyone need a lift!?" Jaroline called out.
The second he and his strange companion got done, she took a step toward the podium...and stopped when a woman and her giant demon monster stepped up to advertise...pest control services. Not what she expected, but at least it was brief. Dear Lord, she couldn't imagine what it would be like to be a rat in that circumstance.
Then, even if there was a blue-skinned woman in line first, she didn't immediately move. Flaunting the rules of a normal, sane society, Bethany finally got up to the podium! Ignoring the loud whispering that seemed to come from under the stage, now she just had to stand and be the first person to not advertise something.
After putting down the folders she was carrying, she cleared her throat. "Hello! I'm Bethany Misaki, and I'd like to bring to attention—"
Warning sirens. Bethany's eyes went wide, and she froze in place. Yes, right now had to be the exact time for one of these attacks.
Bethany, lacking any other option, resigned herself to her fate.
She took a step off the platform, slowly walking past the evacuating people while keeping a pained smile on her face. She figured going out to the other side of town in the middle of an incident wasn't the best idea, so let's just wait here. Maybe they'll let her talk after it's all done, that'd be amazing...
Calmly taking a seat near the blonde-haired woman, she put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, this is probably the safest place in the whole city, outside of the army base. Like she said, let them handle it."
Gloomy had to stop and laugh out loud as the alarm went off, a reaction likely to stand out from the norm.
Good, wonderful, I needed something to kill right now! This meeting bullshit was stupid anyway! It's time to kill some stupid ass clowns, who's coming with me to butcher them? She yelled to the room at large as she circled around the stage and started making her way for the door.
edited 20th Aug '17 3:30:55 PM by Meanken
someone
Luna, Town Hall
Luna turned around as soon as the sirens started, knowing what they meant, and hurried out of the room. She had to help, she had to help, she had to help.
There could be children in trouble.
Oh, and probably some adults. As soon as Luna exited the building, she took alicorn form, throwing herself in the air to try and get to where the Clowns were.
[TOP SECRET]
City Hall
When spoken to, the woman briefly looked at Bethany, closed her eyes, and then nodded.
She got up from where she was, and then began follow the others through the door, presumably down to wherever they were going.
Once she was about midway to the exit, however, she turned to glance at Tira for a second or two before turning back forward.
edited 20th Aug '17 4:16:51 PM by CathariSarad
"Pest control?!" Rattrap hopped off his seat, jabbing one of his pink digits up at Monica. "Lemme tell ya somethin' about what its like ta be a rat in this kinda-"
Whatever Rattrap would say next was lost to history, as the sudden shriek of a siren cut through the still air and a voice began to blare about clowns. The Maximal looked from one person to the next, shrugging resignedly with his forepaws.
"Well. We're all gonna die. Any last words before we go out, Your Worship?" he asked Coco, sarcasm thick in his voice.
edited 20th Aug '17 4:50:33 PM by Locoman
Stop Killing My Titles
It's Pest Control Time, City Hall
The blaring siren and the following announcement quickly put an end to any semblance of peace or normality they had here in Lakeside. The Clowns were coming.
Monica wasn't worried about her family; the Rambles knew how to survive well and both were pretty good with coach guns. Ol' Carrington was probably bunkered up in the scrapyard too. For now however, it was time to clear out some parasites. "Come on. We need to assess the situation." She gestured at her bodyguard. The Swarmlord replied with a short "rr" as it prowled right behind its charge.
The rat in the audience had some earlier grievances with her, but its defeatism was getting on her nerves. "You must be fun at parties." She commented dryly. The creature behind her looked at Rattrap, gave it a cursory look and went back to more important matters at hand. "You either kill all the Clowns, or you go down kicking and screaming." Speaking of... going out with the crazy with the ringblade didn't strike Monica as a sound idea. She'd much rather join the Mayor club.
So she turned her attention to Coco and Garrus. "Do you need a pest control specialist?" This time, judging by the predatory smile, "pest control" would be something else entirely. The Swarmlord remained right behind her, eyes set on the security officer rather than the Mayor (that was Monica's job).
grah
Ainz and Shalltear - City Hall
Ainz sat down in his seat. As soon as he did, Shalltear predictably burst out again although much quieter. "I'm sorry Ainz-sama, I didn't mean..." "Its okay Shalltear, do not worry about it I know you meant well. Just don't do it again here, we are not trying to make enemies. It should not have hurt the message, in this culture my message would be agreed by just about everyone but it is something they've all heard before. They have other more immediate concerns." "Hmph, if they knew what was really important they would heed your words."
Suddenly, there was panic with the announcement of clowns incoming. Shalltear silently repented her actions and considered how to improve while Ainz surveyed the crowd. Many ran off as soon as the mayor said to get to safety and others stayed here or simply froze in panic. The ones that stayed to ask Garrus and the mayor if they needed help seemed to have the right idea. I should keep as much distance as I can from serious fighting here. I'm practically at the power of a level 1 mercenary, but Shalltear could still fight. But should I send her to help with this incursion? This could seriously bite me in the back if she gets out of control, especially if I'm not there to stop her. But this would also be the first chance we've had to fight the Clowns since our arrival to this world. I know she is restless from only practicing with a handgun..
"Shalltear." "Yes Ainz-sama!" "I'm going to offer your assistance to the city in dealing with this clown crisis. You'll go out and kill as many Clowns as you can until they are all dead or retreat. But you are not to harm anyone else unless they harm you. Even if they do, I want you to leave them alive. Understood? Do not fail me in this." "O-of course Ainz-sama! You have but to command and I will carry out your will." Shalltear looked extremely pleased as Ainz proceeded to follow the moderately sized insectoid creature. "Excuse me, but I would also offer my friend's service. While she may not look it, Shalltear's power and battle experience would be valuable in dealing with this incursion."
edited 20th Aug '17 6:16:16 PM by StephanReiken
Coco Adel- City Hall Board Room
"Welcome to Lakeside, talking rat," Coco said to Rattrap as she hopped off of the stage."We don't need pest control, I think he's perfectly safe," she added to Monica, giving a minor nod towards the giant rat. "That said, if you're not going to stop until you have something to do, you can help make sure people aren't wandering the streets, and your big Tulpa friend over there can reinforce whatever the army is fielding."
Just another guy
Zul & Alya I City Hall Meeting
... Alya.
Right.
Without any words spoken between them, Alya's expression grew more serious while Zul looked on at everyone. And just when he just said that it's probably safe here in Lakeside, too.
Taking out a familiar, a blui-sh crystalized bird, from her pocket, Alya silently gave it a command before it slowly rose upwards and eventually fly outside the City Hall and up on the sky above it.
"Let's follow everyone else to the shelter, Alya. It's not safe here." The man grabbed his daughter's hand to make sure she wouldn't get lost and separated from the crowd as they made their way outside the hall along with the blonde woman.
"All riiiight~" came her reply, her previous serious demeanour disappearing as she followed after her father obediently.
New Hope Restaurant, Second Floor, Alya's Room
Up on top of a table near her bed, one out of the two familiars float itself into place upwards before making its way outside the open windows of her room.
Its initial command was given as thus. Began flight above East Central and seek out any Clowns. If Clown is found, follow it as discreetly as possible from the safety of the sky. If detected by Clown and is attacked, attack Clown until it is no more.
Meanwhile, within the senses of Alya's first deployed familiar
Even as her father is trying to bring them to safety, Alya closed her eyes and began looking through the sight and hearing of her familiar that had flown above City Hall, on the lookout for anything suspicious or of note around said building as various people make their escape.
Right now, she has two new pair of eyes to look from; one from which she is currently seeing from and the other one in East Central. Assuming that there's no troubles or anything of note detected anywhere near the City Hall, she would quickly switch her sense to the other one and proceed to direct its movements from there, prepared to override its previous command if need be.
edited 20th Aug '17 9:40:27 PM by JustSomeGuy732
"A post per day keeps the GMs away!"
Tira's scowl only deepened as no one seemed to really care to join her, too busy fleeing in fear and seeking safe shelter.
Cowards. Gloomy thought to herself, not seeming to take any note of the blonde woman who had given her a look, no doubt she was far from the only one who had done so. And they wonder why they lost most of their world to these things, when they all run and hide at the first sign of danger. By all rights, I should slaughter them here and put them out of their misery
Tira's thoughts were interrupted as one of her ravens, who had been stationed outside the building, took advantage of the large flow of people fleeing to fly into the building. Tira held out her hand, allowing it to land. She reached out to pet it.
I have new instructions. She whispered to it. Go out there, find the clowns. They should be very easy to spot, look for explosions, gunfire, loud noises. Watch them, see what direction they seem to be going in, see if you can figure out if they have a target.
It was of course completely possible that this was a random attack and that these clowns had as much of a plan as Jolly had today when she decided offhand to attend this meeting, but Gloomy was well aware of how far within alliance borders this town was, and something was telling here that the clowns wouldn't have bothered ranging so far in to attack some shitty small town unless they had an objective. With the orders given, the raven left the way he came, taking to the skys.
edited 20th Aug '17 8:06:24 PM by Meanken
Jaroline & Nepbike-Parking Lot
"Jaroline, we can't keep waiting!"
"I know, I know. As soon as everyone leaves, we're going."
Jaroline and Nepbike have been in the parking lot for quite a bit, waiting for anyone who needed a lift to safety.
"Come on, does anyone need a ride!?"
edited 20th Aug '17 8:21:24 PM by Boomer75
"Clowns... I HATE clowns..." Contrary to what people would believe the man would do when confronted with the warning siren, Johnny Bravo simply stayed put, face as inexpressive and taciturn as carved marble. The dark glasses only served to make the pompadoured man look even more oddly serene, a calm boulder amidst the sea of panic. Standing up and using sheer breadth of shoulder to part the sea of humanity like Moses, the man walked out of meeting area with grim purpose.
"Time for Johnny to do his job then." Swaggering outside against the chaotic and screaming horde who was trying to escape the clown menace by rushing within, the man with a do glanced around before his gaze fell upon the stuntdriver and her strange talking bike. Ah well, he's met plenty of talking vehicles before and this wasn't nearly as annoying as that orange weirdo Put-Put.
"Yeah, mind giving me a lift, babe? Preferably towards where the most trouble is- Johnny Bravo has to do his job, uh-huh." Performing a pose that would make a Pillar Man proud, the bounty hunter then gave Jaroline a once over with a quirked eye, not caring at all that she was sans one arm since she looked like a nice girl. "And uh... you doing anything after this, miss? I can flip a pretty good flapjack."
edited 20th Aug '17 9:37:42 PM by Makaioh
Joseph - The First of (Possibly) Many
Joseph didn't really pay attention to the meeting itself, more curious about the bipolar jester talking to some reptile in armor and the giant bug-creature looming over the stage as well as a duck in a rich man's attire. Then, the alarm blared throughout the city, signifying a clown breach. He questioned the thought of a group catching on to his disguise and tailed him. However, this was not the time to ponder on it any further.
He looked at the oddities before him, some planning an assault, some planning an evacuation for the citizens, some just arguing. He walked on over to the clown-esque lady, hoping the people here know what they are doing. He spoke to the woman with the giant hula-hoop, "Alright, I'm game. I got a few tricks for these clowns." He trusted her enough not to kill him right away (or kill him if he gets in the way), which was good enough for him. Plus, some payback for a friend of his would be much appreciated.
"I treasure every day with you, darling." "No need to be so sappy, love." "You know that's how she is, Nia." - AU!Pyra, Nia, Mythra
2 Spooky 4 U
So. That was the other voice. Great. Having another Jack around wasn't his most desired thing but at least she wore clothing that was more than a bra and pants. The alien officer was about to explain his trance to Tira and address any remarks from the crowd about his actions but fortunately for him and not so fortunate for the rest of the city, sirens roared to life and the automated announcement system started to inform the populace of Clowns. Towards this, and Coco, Garrus said, "And I was just starting to enjoy my break."
He walked to the edge of the stage and took assessment of those in the room. Hmmmmmm....most of the common citizens had rushed out which left just the people that Garrus needed. Time to take a page from a certain commander and form a squad. "You know, my bosses would want me to inform everyone to not engage the Clowns at all cost and let the officers handle this.......but my bosses aren't here to tell me to do that" announced to all the people in the room as he dropped from the stage, amusement in his voice.
He then casually moved to the door that the crowd had quickly left through and turned around to face the remaining few in the room. With calm on his face and sniper rifle in his hands, he told them "Anyone that wants to find shelter and wait for all of this to blow over, you know what to do" and then gave Rattrap, Shalltear, Monica, hesitantly Swarm, Joseph, Tira, and even Coco a glace. "But If you want to deal out some justice to these clowns, just follow me" and with that done, Garrus marched out of the room, keeping a steady pace so that he could conserve his energy and so that anyone who took his call to arms could catch up to him, and he would soon arrive outside of City Hall.
edited 20th Aug '17 10:55:50 PM by LightToAll
Gloomy turned to look at the man next to him, the sole volunteer to join her. Better then nothing, she supposed.
Make sure you keep up. I won't tolerate slackers. Now, my plan of attack-
Whatever she was going to say was lost as the alien from before marched to the front of the room, telling everyone who wanted to fight to join him. To Gloomy's mind, this provided one very tangible benefit.
Meat Shields. Distractions to occupy the clowns while she did her work. She worked better from the shadows, and that was easier when they clowns did not have the time to check them.
The plan is that we are going to follow him, get to the clowns, and slaughter them. Very simple.
With that said, Gloomy jogged forward to catch up to Garrus.
In a few minutes, I should be getting a report on where these assholes are and, hopefully, where they may be going. If we can figure that out, then we might be able to head them off. Knowing clown mentality, they'll take the longest route possible for shits and giggles, that might give us time to catch up and cut them off.
Stop Killing My Titles
We The Magnificent (number) Now, With Garrus
Out of two proposed options, Garrus' was much more appealing. Monica followed without pause, the Swarmlord stomping behind her. The two gave each other cursory looks and nodded in unison. It was a good time to deploy scouts.
Once outside, something on its armor skittered about; three small - relatively speaking, they were still about 30 centimeters long - creatures seemingly made of nothing else but teeth and chitin. "I've a van to ferry you there, Officer." Monica gestured to her Chevy parked by the city hall, an old 80's square on wheels. "Probably a few more people too, if they don't mind sitting back-to-back with a giant space bug."
The toothy creatures meanwhile swiftly dispersed upon receiving orders; scout out the approaching Clowns, particularly their number and weaponry, then return with information. If found, fight and carve out a chunk of a Clown for procession, then return. Should return prove impossible, kill the aggressor or die trying. Most unfortunately, the Rippers couldn't just feed the Swarmlord information via synapse, at least not yet. Still, it seemed it wasn't just them who were sending out scouts, so they should know of Clown force soon enough.
Satisfied, the massive Tyranid approached the two with a quiet rattle of its tongue, a hint of urgency in it. "Soon." Monica called out to her brother's Tulpa patiently.
grah
The Girl And Her Space Bug, City Hall
Well, everyone was doing, so she could do some advertisement as well. Hey, pest control was as important these days as a good meal or a good read. Just because they lived in their current status didn't mean they had to throw away the luxuries of a privileged citizen.
Such were the thoughts of one Monica Wierzchowska as she made her way to the podium once Ainz left in mild disgrace, forced to admonish probably a friend or associate of his. Behind her, seemingly out of nowhere - the crowd was strange enough, apparently - prowled a massive eight-feet-tall creature, a mixture of a bug, a piranha and something else that screamed "alien" as much as it could. Despite its size it moved deceptively quietly; four sword-like things hung by its hips and on its back together with an actual zweihander slung over its shoulder.
Monica reached the podium and tapped the mike idly, checking if all is good. Her bodyguard - the Swarmlord - elected not to do that, but its eyes sharply assessed the crowd in search of anything even remotely threatening. "Hello, fellow citizens. Since everybody is doing that, I've figured I can add my two cents in too." The blonde bundled up in a thick jacket produced a small sign that read "Wierzchowska Pest Control". It was a simple affair, devoid of flair or decorations, meant to do its job properly. "The two of us are running a pest control business. While Clowns are a primary affair, nobody said you have to accept a hive of hornets under your roof or a nest of rats nearby your storage. We handle all kinds of insects, rodents and other undesirable characters for a modest fee." She smiled at the crowd. She never was good with speeches, and the Swarmlord over there was likely a little intimidating too, but Monica hoped to get the message across anyway.
"Most clearings are devoid of pesticides and near-completely organic in nature, too." She added, trying her best "earnest beaming smile". "We will be handing out fliers by the entrances once the meeting is adjourned. Thank you for your attention." Having said her piece, she freed the podium for the next person in line, that blue-skinned lady over there, and went back to her place.
"...r" The Swarmlord followed right after her, but not before giving a glancing look at Garrus and a mild rattle of what could possibly be interest. Fascinating creature, this officer.
grah