Glory to Arachnos
Alright, keep it cool. Keep it co-OH COME ON!
Ivan groaned loudly as Marina grabbed him nonchalantly before he had a chance to get away from these weirdos.
WHY DO THEY WANT ME TO FOLLOW THEM?! DO THEY WANT ME AS A SACRIFICE TO THE SCHIZOPHRENIC KID?! I DIDN'T EVEN TOLD THEM IF I READ THE CULTIST NOTE! Would they force a random bystander to do this?! These guys are psychos!
Ivan started to readjust his glasses before she told them if they understood her orders.
"Yeah, I guess I get it. I imagine you prefer communicating entirely through a series of lifts and squat thrusts, but yelling works too." Ivan said annoyed, before starting to follow the schizophrenic kid by walking to where he was going.
I feel like when we get to the library, the kid and this midnight cultist are going to be there, standing together in a dark hallway ready to sacrifice me. Come play with us, Ivan..forever...and ever..and ever. I need to call 911 when they're not looking to get away from them.
-Spider Lizard Noises-
Yui appreciated Marina taking charge, she could only handle so much yelling at once. Especially when she was already confused. That didn't stop her from grumbling under her breath at the order directed at her, but she couldn't argue it was probably smart.
Even though most people wouldn't think it wise, she stuffed them into her pants pocket (carefully). She couldn't help but want her scissors close by, just in case.
Just in case of what? She shook her head. Still too confusing.
"Look, I'm not really interested in whatever some voice in someone's head told them to do," she announced, "you guys have fun at the library, I'm staying here." She just wanted a minute to herself, was that so wrong?
I say that aloud too sometimes, just: "man, no life."
AKA Nixer
The Park
Mob didn't run immediately after the others—mainly because he knew he wouldn't be able to catch up anyway. Seeing Yui stick around gave him pause anyway, and he wondered if it'd be the best course of action to just ignore it as well—only for a sting to rush through his mind at the mere thought of it.
Ritsu.
It was too important to ignore.
“Gomen, Yui-san,” he muttered, frowning again at his use of honorifics and the slight accent he was attaining before shaking it off once more and continuing determinedly. “I know you're upset and it was bad for us to crowd around... but this does feel important. Even if you don't come, maybe... I can still find you later on and tell you if it was anything really bad, right?”
His body jolted, and something deep within him urged him to move. With a reluctant final look towards Yui he gave her a small and apologetic smile, before turning to where the others were heading and beginning his slow game of catch-up with them.
Hopefully they hadn't gotten too far ahead.
Maybe there I can find out why ‘Ichirō’ sounds wrong.
Edited by Enirboreh on Apr 7th 2020 at 8:48:15 PM
bork
The Ice Queen
Ariana
With a quick glance in Kaito's direction, Ariana gasps. "I know that name. A few minutes ago, I had some sort of..." She was still reluctant to accept this was, in any way, real. "...hallucination. There was this woman talking to me through this earpiece, telling me to 'finish someone off'. That's what she called me. Killer Frost."
Though she wasn't a psychiatrist, Ariana knew that shared delusions were very uncommon. Which meant there was likely a grain of truth to this.
Was she destined to be some sort of killer?
Library
Marian Booker
was a reasonably attractive woman- curly blonde hair, a stern but not unwelcoming face, and a conservative but still flattering fashion sense. She was used to being flirted with by library patrons, putting up with kids who didn't understand how to be quiet, and virtually anything else a librarian could be put through.
What she was decidedly less used to was an increase in people checking out older, dustier books- books with strange titles like Most Potente Potiones and Secrets of the Darkest Art. Weirder still, she couldn't remember where these books had originally come from.
Regardless, she tried to put it out of her mind, until a large group of patrons made their way in...
The Light That Blinds
"Spread out," Jules murmured. "We'll cover more ground that way..." He ran his finger across the book spines, hoping for a sign—a spark of warmth, or a feeling of recognition, or...something.
"What am I looking for?" he asked the voice. No response.
With a sigh, he began wandering the shelves, searching for something that stood out.
"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."
Rhinestone Cowboy
Victor was utterly confused by what he was seeing and hearing, but it seemed he was not the only one who was having strange and vivid recurring dreams.
"Wait...you all been having nightmares too? And you guys each got a note? Something's going on here."
Before Scaletta could get his thoughts together, he then noticed everyone else was heading off to the nearby library and had dispersed. Unsure where to go or what to do, the young man decided to head to the library on his own and maybe meet up with the rest of them as well.
If they all got a note after these dreams, maybe I did too? I might need to stop back at my place on the way back from the library...
Edited by NinjaGoth on Apr 7th 2020 at 5:48:43 AM
Lover of anime, video games, old-school Rock & Roll music, yaoi, horror, motorcycles, classic cars, trains, and historical fiction
Heya there! I'm West.
"So she called you Killer Frost? We might need to discuss this since we seem to have both seen the same person. I kinda guess you are starting to look like her more because your hair is... whitening. Finish who off though?"
Kaito entered the library and wandered while staying near Dr. Glace. He grabbed a book from a shelf and started looking at it.
Superheroes. An essay about the superpowered world and its inhabitants.
Chapter 2: The Origins of the Heroes.
There are things sure about heroes. They all have an origin. Be it the death of a loved one or the gain of powers, there is a moment when they choose to protect the world.
Given out that most heroes have powers, some people relate the gain of powers directly as the origin. But this is not always the case. What if the hero was driven mad after gaining their powers and started being a menace? What if they decided to use their powers to get fame?
"Driven... mad?"
"Hold still, fool. You merely prolong your inevitable defeat!"
"I'm no hurry, Sammy. Besides, while I keep you occupied... Cyborg's got a chance to do this! Surprise!"
Kaito screamed. Not as loud the librarian could scold him, but he screamed. He had been in Samurai's place again, and was hit by a sonic blast by the man called Cyborg. The man in green, who he respected... acting as mad as a villain? What was the reason for this role change?
Edited by JTTWlover on Apr 8th 2020 at 2:52:43 PM
If there's a book you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it. Toni Morrison
The Park
"Has anyone else been hearing a voice? Like, in your head?"
Jules's question visibly bothers the masked boy. He didn't know why, but something didn't feel right about trying to relegate it...him to a mere (and possibly just insanity-driven) extension of his consciousness; for Yuu, it downright felt as if that would diminish his sense of self entirely.
But despite this, Dr. Glace's sudden outcry, and the whole reveal about everyone else having nightmares too, Yuu soon recovers on hearing Marina's mini-speech. "Hey, it's like we're starting a quest!"—likening their situation to one of his video games, although to any normal person it probably just either sounded nerdy or jarring.
Not everyone exactly followed.
A little disappointed, he waves a short "bye for now" at those deciding to hang back in the park, then hurries on to fall in step with the rest following Jules. ...uh, including the one guy who happened to get quite literally dragged along with them.
Library
Yuu's pretty enthusiastic about searching for explanations in a place like this after figuring out it could just be one big scavenger hunt—"Doesn't it give you a mysterious feeling?"—maybe they'd even find something straight out of the lands of fantasy there. It was just the perfect setting for it, after all.
That is, until he hears a horrified scream.
Cutting through the maze of shelves in the direction of the noise, he comes across Kaito standing stock-still (in the way he had for most of the short time he'd known the man, in hindsight), mouth gaping open in pure shock. Yuu's about to ask if something happened when he notices the book he's bent over.
"What are you reading...?"
Well, that’d be jus’ a waste. Why would ya want to deprive the world of such anomaly as yourself?
The Light That Blinds
Jules whirled around to see the shellshocked Kaito. "M-Mr. Tanaka?!" He started towards him.
Not...here...
Jules slowed to a stop at the sound of the voice—though it was more a weak whisper at this point.
Back...shelf...
Jules was still for a moment. Then, he turned around and slowly walked to the back of the library, as though in a trance. As he walked, the books on the shelves looked less and less familiar, some written in strange languages and others caked in years worth of dust.
Finally, he reached the back, and instantly coughed—it was like a bomb had gone off in here, only the bomb was made of and filled with dust. Jules's eyes started watering, and he backed away.
Find it.
The command gripped his heart, and Jules hesitated..then walked towards the shelf, hand over his mouth to keep from breathing the dust.
"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."
Heya there! I'm West.
Kaito put a hand in his forehead while still holding the book with the other hand.
"Sorry, just another vision. It was quite... jarring."
But the book was right. Maybe it was some temporal madness stuff. Or brainwashing. Kaito didn't read a lot of comics, but he had seen a bunch of cartoons on TV while channel-hopping.
"It's Superheroes. An essay about the superpowered world and its inhabitants. I guess it's okay for me, my dreams and visions are all superhero stuff."
Edited by JTTWlover on Apr 8th 2020 at 6:33:36 PM
If there's a book you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it. Toni Morrison
AKA Nixer
Library
Mob eventually caught up, but even then by the time he'd entered the library he was pretty sure the others had split up already. With a somewhat helpless air about him he shyly approached the librarian at the desk—a little red-faced due to the relative awkwardness of the situation.
“Um... excuse me...” he mumbled, barely able to keep even his dulled eyes in contact with hers. “I think some of the others have come through already... do you have anything on...?”
What was he doing? He didn't know what he was looking for. Did he? His mouth was inclined towards saying something, but it was like his brain was numbed to whatever it was. Deciding to bite the bullet, he forced out what he felt like he was going to say naturally.
“ESPers. Do you have anything on ESPers?”
Mob wasn't even sure he knew what that word meant, but it sounded somehow familiar. Perhaps he'd heard it in an anime, or something. One that–
...One that his brother would watch.
But Mob knew Haruto didn't watch anime.
Edited by Enirboreh on Apr 8th 2020 at 6:56:28 PM
bork
The Ice Queen
Ariana
Whitening?
Ariana pulled her compact mirror from her purse. There was a noticeable white streak behind her ear, and another, much larger one towards the front of her hairline.
And then, starting at the roots and working its way down, another lock of hair faded to white.
Whatever Ariana was dealing with, it was clear that medical science was out the window.
"She...the voice.." Ariana said, replying to Kaito. "This is going to sound ridiculous, but I think she was asking me to take down Superman. But that's crazy, right? It can't possibly be real." Part of her still wanted to believe it was all some kind of nightmare...
The pounding in her head resurfaced; Ariana clutched her temples, trying to ignore the pain...
The blast of fire came straight towards her, engulfing her in flames. When the smoke cleared, she felt...warm. Finally. For the first time in so long.
"I'm me again..." she said. Holding back tears. Firestorm had cured her.
But then ice once again crept across her skin as it lost its color, and her veins grew cold...She let out a scream.
And Ariana kept screaming, at least until the librarian hushed her.
Noting Kaito's interest in the book on superpowers, she peeked over his shoulder.
"What else does it say?"
A shiver rushed down her spine.
Madame Libraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarian
"ESPers, huh?" Well, add that to the list of weird things patrons wanted to know about. "Well, it's mostly theoretical, but you'll probably find something in the religion and supernatural section." She disappears briefly, and then returns, holding a thick volume entitled Awakening Your Third Eye.
"Now you do realize this is all pseudoscience at best, right?"
The Light That Blinds
Every single book on these shelves looked the same: black, bound in leather, and caked in dust. Jules violently coughed as he pulled yet another book off the shelf. He flipped through it, then sighed and added it to the growing pile. How long would this take?
He walked down the aisle, running his finger across each leathery spine. Each one was as cold and rough and dusty as the last...until he felt a spark of warmth under his fingertip.
Jules froze. He pulled the book out from its place on the shelf and brushed the dust off its cover. Unlike all the others, this book was a deep shade of violet, with a black dragon printed on the cover. With some strange mix of excitement and fear, Jules opened the book.
Nothing happened.
Jules deflated with a frustrated sigh and reached up to scratch his forehead. Well, that had been a grand waste of ti—
WHAT THE HELL?!
"AAAAH!" Jules shrieked, grabbing his head in shock. "Wh-what—?!"
This shouldn't've happened! I should've— How did— The voice was crystal clear, and very panicked. Julius, what is going on?!
"Th-that's not my name!"
Of course it's your name! I've been with you since...since...
For ten long seconds, the voice was silent.
Then it screamed, JULIUS WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOUR MEMORIES?!
"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."
Yui waved Mob off and said, "I'm not going anywhere until this Midnight shows up. Who knows, maybe you're all going to miss 'em while you're at the library."
It did seem smart to make sure they didn't try to pull a fast one. For some reason, she felt like people tried to weasel their way out of giving her straight answers way too often.
Of course, these unidentifiable feelings were just what was making her so annoyed, so it only added to her frustration. She started pacing around her spot like a caged tiger, gripping her bat tightly.
Just when she felt like she was getting somewhere, she felt like she was somewhere else.
"This'll be one game, and one game only," the announcer yelled over the screaming crowd, "who's gonna serve first?"
"I got your back Ryuko!" Mako called from the audience, reminding her of just why she agreed to this insanity. She did owe her for giving her a place to stay, and needed those answers from that pervert of a teacher.
Still, as she tugged on the strings of the tennis racket she was given, she was feeling pretty uncertain. She knew she was way stronger than the thing could handle. She really wished they were just fighting, kicking the tennis captain's ass would be a much better use of her time.
It turned out she was right, she went through racket after racket, trying and failing to score even a single point. It was painful and embarrassing, not helped by the outfit she had to wear.
After far too long, trying and failing, Senketsu spoke up. "Ryuko, use your scissor blade!" he instructed, "trust me, it's the only thing strong enough that can hold up against our power!"
Yui was brought back to the present after watching... herself? destroy the uniform of her opponent and stood tall in front of the crowd.
What the hell was that?! Tennis?! While wearing about 10% of an outfit?! And who the hell was that voice she heard in her head?! How did she destroy those tennis rackets with just a ball?! Was that even real?!
Pissed off beyond belief, Yui let out a scream and swung her bat at the nearest object, a tree. It sounded almost like a bomb went off, and once she opened her eyes, she saw why.
The tree she had hit was obliterated. So were the trees around and behind it, leaving a trail from her spot to the rest of the park. Looking down at her hand, she saw the aluminum bat was broken in two from the force.
In the sudden silence, it was easy to hear her growling to herself as she gripped the broken bat tighter and tighter.
I say that aloud too sometimes, just: "man, no life."
Transcender of Gender
Park
Though the bespectacled man's comment about Marina only thinking with her muscles was clearly disparaging, her response was a proud guffaw, followed by her releasing his neck to instead attempt to heartily slap him on the back. "Too right! What's the brain but just a big squishy MUSCLE?"
While she was careful to make sure that he followed them to the librarby, she was willing to let Yui's lack of attendance slide. Before Marina left, however, she made good on her word and hustled some paper and pen out of Yui's backpack so that she could pass on her mobile number. "In case those punks come back!" she explained with a vigorous thumbs-up, before hurrying along with the book-bound group.
Librarby
Mob was not the only one who thought to stop by the librarian's desk, though Marina had a different goal in mind. Indeed, the mission to obtain information fell to the wayside (not like she had any damn clue what she was supposed to be looking for anyway!) as Marina propped her elbow up on the desk, greeting the librarian with a confident smirk. "Pseudoscience, huh? Sounds like you got some interesting opinions to share. I'd love to hear them~"
they/them || "Forgive me, regent of queer amphibians" - Lt.BGob
AKA Nixer
Library
“Hai. Thank you,” Mob nodded, ignoring the pseudoscience comment and instead taking the book and clutching it to his chest like a lifeline. “Um... Ms. Marina, I'll be over there. Gomen.”
And then he scurried off into the library, finding someplace more quiet and secluded to read.
It was with shaking hands that he set the book down on a table, once he had found such a spot. Something felt like it was gravitating him towards it. Something at the basest parts of his mind, arduously clawing its way to the surface. The book flipped open, jumping out of his hands. He too jumped nearly out of his seat with surprise.
He didn't notice the aura around his person. Or the aura around the book itself. He just watched, fascinated as it flipped through to a specific page. A page that was a little too specific, and his face went a deathly pale as he picked up the book and read it.
It was a transcript. A simple one, yet it looked completely out of place. His brain itched, and he found himself thinking back to his dream. It suddenly felt closer. More attached to him than ever before.
“Hey! Give that back! That's our New Years money!”
“Shut up, brat! Unless you don't wanna wake up tomorrow!”
“Ritsu!”
“Stay away from him, punk!”
“BROTHER, NO–”
An impact to the head. Blackness. Desperation. Unconsciousness. Wakefulness.
Blood.
He'd hurt his brother.
He'd hurt them all.
He hadn't even been awake.
There was a young ESPer in the library.
Even though he hadn't gotten the full picture yet, he'd gotten enough to realise something was horribly wrong. His blank face was straining to remain stoic, and tears were leaking onto the pages of the book. He knew his name felt wrong. He knew his home felt wrong. He now knew for sure that the brother he knew here was wrong.
【79%, 87%, 95%】
Most of all, though, he knew that he was a horrible person.
【100%】
An explosion in the alcove he'd picked out for himself. A rising scream of anguish, with more passion and emotion than had ever before come out from the boy. His dull eyes were glowing with a bright crimson light, and his hair sparked up with static and an invisible wind that rocked the very shelves nearby. Books flew about, trails of multicoloured lightning arcing from surface to surface. He'd bent double, body being wracked with sobs and buffeted with small items as his despair and confusion was finally let out.
His aura too had exploded. A colossal beacon of spiritual energy, only detectable by those already inclined. He remained unaware of this. He was too caught up in his emotions.
“Ritsu... Ritsu...!”
He knew now why he should never let himself feel too much.
Edited by Enirboreh on Apr 8th 2020 at 9:27:29 AM
bork
The Light That Blinds
"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Jules cried, gripping his head in confusion.
How do you not know?! What happened to you?! What are we doing here?!
Jules was about to answer when—
BOOM!!!
An explosion rocked the foundations of the library, and Jules screamed in fright. He dashed out from the back to see...
"I-Ichirō...?"
It both was Ichirō and wasn't. His eyes were glowing crimson, his hair sparking with static. Jules stepped forward, but was instantly knocked flat on his back when a sudden strong wind slammed into him.
It appears we have interference, the voice said, and Jules was shocked at how calm it had suddenly become. Shall we draw first blood?
"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."
Heya there! I'm West.
"Superman? Hey, this might seem weird but oh wait oh heck now you're having the visions."
Kaito waited till she started screaming and then stopped again.
"It's superhero origins. Just had the vision that I, in the role that was given to me in the vision, was mad and acting all villain-like, but I guess it's just a temporal madness thing. Oh, and before you having the vision, I was going to say that I also have seen Superman in my dreams. This... is getting very awkward."
Kaito put his hand in his face again and sighed.
"Do you have some idea on what superhero wears red and yellow and has his head on fire? I saw him with the Killer Frost I saw in the visions. I don't really know too much about specific heroes except maybe Mega Man?"
Kaito grinned a bit. He really didn't know that much about heroes. He could recall the appearances, but names? They all seemed to been forgotten.
Suddenly, an explosion ensued. Kaito was flung over fly by it and landed in several books. What did just happen?
If there's a book you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it. Toni Morrison
Glory to Arachnos
Yay...a library. Normally I would like being in a place like this to remind me of my M.I.T days, but this crazy group isn't much help and a motivator.
Ivan entered the library lazily as he was being watched by miss muscles.
You know, I could ask the lady about this...whatever they are looking, but I just want out. I'm just going to act busy searching for whatever, look out for any back exit and get out when my babysitter isn't looking.
Just before that though, that is when suddenly some explosion happened, and the kid with the weird haircut was the cause of this and made things go...weird.
"What?! Psychokinesis is real? I thought mind over matter was just bullshit! IS THIS REAL? I JUST WANNA GO HOME!" Freeman started yelling as he started to get up and look at the situation with Mob, trying to be as far away as possible from a gory death with this kid.
EVERYONE IS CRAZY EXCEPT ME!
Edited by Darkomega245 on Apr 8th 2020 at 1:42:58 AM
-Spider Lizard Noises-
Library
"An essay?"
Superheroes - An essay about the superpowered world and its inhabitants. With such an unoffending title, Yuu couldn't see what the book could have done to send both of the adults into a breakdown. But only at first. Pulling another from the shelves nearby revealed a more traditional comic, and skimming through it without bothering to check the title, he comes across a familiar visage.
Looking up for comparisons, he finds that the illustrated woman on the pages eerily resembled the one right in front of him, if only with cropped white hair instead of brown.
...Hold on, what was he thinking? Of course she wasn't the—then again, it did seem as if her hair was on the brink of turning the very same shade, the unnatural colour beginning to creep downwards like frost—no, Yuu decides.
It wasn't even possible.
Was it?
"Dr. Glace? Could this mean—"
Yuu was cut off by a deafening explosion surging through the library, followed by a howl of sheer agony. Its source: exactly where Ichirou looked like he was heading off to from the front desk earlier.
Chaotic swells of iridescent light already overwhelming where he and Kaito stood, the boy gets up to try and fight his way through it, but would be caught up in the gales of the gathering energy and get violently smashed back against the bookshelves. At that, a white-hot bolt of lightning shoots down his right arm.
Snap.
Yuu muffles a strangled cry as he feels the break.
And as if it had served to open floodgates, new memories fill the corners of his throbbing mind.
"You saved me. ...Thank...you."
The mask towering over me merely nods in response, expression unreadable.
"The others will be coming back soon. I wish you the best of luck."
Silence. Then there was the hard wooden floor pressing its dust against my cheek; the copper sting of blood still dripping from my mouth; the lingering feel of a pair of hands inches away from crushing my windpipe.
"...Paca? Can we be friends...?"
"Have you always been here by yourself? Were you lonely...?"
Pushing down searing pangs of pain and forcing myself to look at the man, I reach my good hand towards him in vain when he turns to disappear down the hallway.
A desperate offer of hope. Some would call it pitiful.
"I...I'm really good at escape games, you know? So let's get out of here together..."
He doesn't turn around.
"I'm afraid we can't do that, Master Iride."
"Why not?" My vision blurs with tears now, but it's hardly because of my broken arm.
"I made a promise, a long time ago."
Well, that’d be jus’ a waste. Why would ya want to deprive the world of such anomaly as yourself?
The Light That Blinds
"Wh-what do I do?!" Jules cried, bracing himself against the strong winds.
Open the tome.
Jules clutched the tome with both hands and pulled it open.
Now cast the spell!
"How do I do that?!"
Just feel it! Try really hard and don't try at all!
"That's contradictory!"
I don't care!
Jules swallowed hard, clutched the tome to his chest with one hand, and held out the other, willing something, anything, to happen.
Cra-KOOM!
"AUGH!" Jules shrieked, stumbling forward as a dragon—well, more a purple apparition of one, but still a dragon!—burst out of the tome. It roared, sweeping across the library, and then started flying right towards Ichirō—!
"NO!"
Jules's hand jerked upwards, and so did the dragon. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! roared the voice. DO YOU WANT TO DIE?!
"I-I don't! But I don't want him to die either!"
You can have one or the other, and personally— Pain suddenly exploded in Jules's head, causing him to scream and fall to the floor— I need you alive!
"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."
Glory to Arachnos
Oh man, I so want out of this, I am not ready to deal with psychokinesis kids who want me de- wait, what?
That is when suddenly a Dragon thing came out of nowhere.
"What the hell, dragons exist too? Did I just drank too much vodka?!"
I told them, but nobody believed me! Dragons aren't real, Frohman, you're just being paranoid! I'd like to see their faces now seeing this. Also, WHY DON'T I HAVE A DRAGON?!
Ivan started to go near a corner of the library, mainly to avoid a brutal death via dragon or psychic.
Edited by Darkomega245 on Apr 9th 2020 at 10:46:13 AM
-Spider Lizard Noises-
The Ice Queen
Dr. Ariana Glace
"I remember the name 'Firestorm' from one of my visions. Could that be it?" she says, looking at Kaito.
Ariana takes a closer look at the comic Yuu pulled off the shelf.
The resemblence between her and the woman on the page is uncanny. At this point, the evidence is making the possibility that she is this woman impossible to deny.
Before she can respond properly to his question, there's the sound of a massive explosion, followed by a friggin DRAGON appearing.
"Jules, for the love of God, stay away from that thing!"
Madame Librarian, Marian
Before she can begin to form a response to Marina's flirting (which would have been somewhere between "I'm flattered but I don't swing your way" and "Why are people constantly trying to check me out instead of all these books"), an explosion sounds in the corner of the library, accompanied by some sort of...massive....reptilian...thing. A dragon, perhaps? Eh, only the second weirdest thing that's happened this week. The explosion, on the other hand, well...that was cause for alarm.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. We don't tolerate explosives in this establishment." Suddenly very stern, she begins calling the police.
Still, she quickly slides Marina a piece of paper.
"I'm not into women, but I've got a friend named Sabrina
who is. She's single." A phone number is written below.
"Alright. But before I go..." Ariana brings the comic to the front desk and checks it out with her library card.
Marian peers over her glasses, a look of exasperation on her face. "Have a nice day."
Edited by Spottedleaf on Apr 9th 2020 at 1:13:57 PM
AKA Nixer
Library
Mob couldn't help but hear the snap. Which would've been horrible on its own, but he'd felt it too. A short cry of horror rang out amidst his broken sobs, and his head whipped up tearfully to see who he had hurt. The boy with the mask, who he'd spoken to earlier...
...No... it's happening again...!
“Stay back!” he cried, heaving another sob as he curled up even further into the corner. “Please... please stay back...!”
He didn't know what to feel. Confusion, perhaps. Anguish was definitely at the forefront. How much of this was a lie? Were these people fake too? What if they had been tricked as well?
It angered him to the core. His distressed sobs tightened into a growl from the depths of his throat, and he felt his energy change to reflect his shifting mood.
“...Ritsu... they took me away from him... they took away my brother...!”
His fists clenched to the point of turning white, and as his eyes snapped open once more they brightened into an even more intense shade of red. It had completely overtaken his iris by now, the light spilling out past the sockets. A spike of warning flashed through his mind as he sensed a sudden aura, and he looked up to see some sort of draconic spirit approaching him.
Not even thinking as to where it had come from, he raised his hand on instinct and expunged a potent blast of psychic energy at it.
Even then, he was still mindful. He made sure it focused only on his target, and wouldn't damage any of the surroundings or people around him. It was a simple exorcism, he told himself. Treat it like any other. Focus his power into one spot, and let the thing evaporate. Nothing more.
He hadn't realised he'd stood up, hair still whipping about and eyes narrowed in determination as he aimed to destroy the summoned dragon. A slight distortion was around him, the occasional shimmer of light indicating the presence of his barrier. It all felt familiar. His name, which he was amazed he had been so unsure about before, now definitely felt alien on his tongue.
He was Mob, until he found out who he really was.
“...I hurt you,” he suddenly spat, venom in his tone as he turned his gaze away from them. His eyes were still burning with anger, and he grit his teeth. “I didn't even mean to, and I still hurt you... damn it, I...”
He slowly sucked in a breath, his hair falling limp as his eyes dulled back into their usual brown. Tears pricked the corner of his vision as he looked towards Yuu.
“...I hurt you... I'm so sorry...”
bork
JTTW, I'm pretty sure it's still morning. It's a bit early for the library to close.
"Well, I guess we'll just have to run." And so, Jules turned and dashed out of the park, following one of the only leads he - or anyone else for that matter - had.
"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."