Halloween, 'Charms-Style

[Secad MS]

(OoC: This is a Halloween ‘Charms-based RP. I'm going to leave it open-ended, so it could either be a social one, or somehow end up with some Halloween-themed murderer going around killing people )

‘Twas a chilly fall afternoon on the Pokecharms grounds. Most people were either inside next to the nice heaters, braving the cold and decorating the grounds for Halloween, or something in-between, such as decorating inside as well.

Secad, being the weird one, decided to help decorate outside, but she enjoyed the brisk air.

It also helped to be symbiotically bonded to a pyrokinetic gerbil. That certainly kept one toasty.

The outdoors around ‘Charms were decorated for Halloween, varying from the cutesy Pokemon-based decorations that wouldn't scare a first grader, to horrifying haunted houses filled with your classic blood-and-gore fare to more sophisticated, psychologically thrilling areas all on a gradient from one end of the grounds to another.

Secad was bundled up in her favorite blue-and-black plaid fall jacket (with fluffy pockets for Fi), a long sleeved grey shirt underneath a green PokeCharms t-shirt, black skinny jeans, and fluffy dark brown boots that Fi could hide in without being squooshed. She was even wearing the grey beanie (that for some reason, many people hated) over her dark-brown ponytail, squishing her side-swept bangs into a mass above one eye. Fi, the pyrokinetic white gerbil, of course, was wearing nothing. The only time she wore something was in the winter, and even then it was only a tiny, hand-crocheted sweater and a tailwarmer. Both of them were in a more intermediate area of the Halloween-decorated grounds with others, filled with haunted shadows, signs of ‘monsters', and places for people to pop out and chase you with rubber-bladed chainsaws, but not extreme blood and gore.

"Fi, hold this bit, will you?" Secad asked, struggling to get a rubber blade on said chainsaw. Later that night, it was her turn to chase people with a chainsaw. She loved freaking out people. Fi was going to surround the blade with fire as well, making the effect even creepier.

Sure. Fi said, hopping up from her bit of wood chew in Secad's pocket to nip on the rubber blade at a precise spot.

"Gracias, my little rodent." Secad replied, pressing the chainsaw base against a tree to get better leverage on putting on the tip.

De nada. Fi said, after Secad put the rest of the blade on, hopping down. By the way, is that mask going to fit our muzzle?

Fi was talking about the special hockey mask that they commissioned one of the artists here to make for them. In return, Secad gave them a packet of original poems. Ever since that ‘Charms haiku contest (which she won-She was insanely happy), Secad had been working on some poetry on random topics, from refrigerators to what goes through one's head in various situations. Some of them had potential, while others were kind of…odd.

"Yep, it will. It even stretches slightly, see?" Secad demonstrated, rubbing her pale, reddening hands afterward to prevent hives. She hated her chronic uticaria. It always seemed to be induced by cold. "It'll most likely fit when we've merged."

That's awesome! What's it made out of?

"I don't know, but it's probably got some sort of spandex material in it." Secad responded, now stretching it a little repetitively.

Spandex? Fi mused. Does it burn easily? she joked, picturing the possibilities while grooming her tail. It was getting mussed from a wet leaf.

"I don't know, but please don't try." Secad said, laughing.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

"Oh, in the name of the Balance. Did we REALLY need another one of THOSE?" StellarWind Elsydeon murmured as he noticed the unnatural changes to PokeCharms. He's seen these happen before - and last time, it resulted in godawful pink creatures screwing with everyone's emotions.

"I swear, if we're going to have to deal with fucked up Pumpkin Pikachus trying to kill everyone this time, I swear to Zod I will end someone. These Special Event RPs NEVER end well."

He stretched, gazing out the window at the slowly transforming landscape. Halloween. It completely mystified him. Another one of those holidays that started off as some kind of pagan ritual and became commercial-fests involving pumpkins, cheesy undead and ungodly amount of candy.

Hn. Candy. This may have been the reason people were so obsessed with it.

Shrugging it off, he wondered just why the hell was he standing in the top floor of a control tower and observing the surroundings on a screen in the form of data instead of doing something more productive like working on his assorted projects. Charms never had one of -those- before. But then, the geography of PokeCharms tended to shift around fluidly anyway, only keeping a vague forme of organization (if you want to call it that) due to the loose association of different boards.

"Well, I suppose, at least, that green goes well with orange." he shrugged, and turned back to whatever the hell it was he was doing. He had more important things to deal with than ANOTHER cheesy holiday special.

 

[Sem]

"This is all the candy?" Sem asked, glaring at whoever it was he was speaking to. "Some of this isn't even candy!" he took a fistful of some of the sweets and shook them before dispelling them back into the bowl as if they were red hot. "Whatever you did, you did it wrong. I demand that proper candy be used, and that there be more of it. It's Halloween! Whore yourself to the supermarket employees if that's what it takes."

With that the aquamor hopped off of the table and walked away.

Halloween was one of the otterfish's more favored holidays, second to Christmas. A time of fun, dressing up, getting scared, scaring others, and getting diabetes. Sem himself was dressed up, showing his support for the holiday. On top of his normal top, (which was a sleeveless black and coal-gray garment with some buckles and an assortment of zippers, to satisfy the aquamor's zipper fetish.) he had a cloak, sized perfectly for his not-so-large figure. On his head sat a wizard's hat that seemed almost too big to be able to stay on his head, but it did. The end of his snout only barely stuck out from under the brim of the black hat, which had its tip bent back crookedly. Around the hatband was an aqua-blue sash that caught the wind as the little creature trotted along. A sort of pendant was pinned to the front of the head-wear; a raindrop and a snowflake that seemed meshed together. It was a symbol of his hydrokinetic abilities, like the raindrop pendant around his neck, which had a green clover inside of it.

Sem stopped by a tree, looking at the decorations and their progress. Everything seemed to be coming along nicely, which pleased him and made him look forward to the night to come. For right now though he would retire to one of his many Sem, or, Emo Corners, as many of the residents liked to call his various hiding places. He didn't care what they were called, really, as long as there was a pizza there waiting for him.

 

[Power Metal Maiden~]

"EEEEE!!!" A loud squeal emitted from within the haunted house. Rain came tumbling out of the doorway, fake spiderwebs strewn about her black and pink hair. "GET'EMOFF!!" She squeaked, running towards the nearest person, all the while waving her arms furiously. A crack in the sidewalk caught her foot, and she went down. "Owww.." She groaned, sitting up slowly and looking to her arms. The arm warmers to her tiger costume were ripped now, and the skin beneath them was scraped, a few drops of blood trickling down her arm. "Awww..." She sniffled a bit, shakily standing to her feet. She looked down to see that the tail of her costume had fallen off as well. She sadly picked it up in her hands.

"Someone help..." She said quietly, and began to saunter towards the main building. "I think I need a new costume.." She whimpered, pushing her bangs from her eyes. She had completely forgotten about the fake webs in her hair, and so there they stayed, making her look even more pathetic.

Her eyes then met a bowl that someone had left sitting near a pile of decorations. "Ooooo..." For some reason she began to tiptoe the rest of the way towards the bowl, then stopped when she was close enough to see the contents. "GUMMMMMEEEEHHHHHSSS!!!" She cried out, snatching up the bowl and proceeding to sit in the grass. "I WIN!"

The nomming commenced.

 

[Chadwyck]

Chadwyck walked across the PokeCharms grounds, everything was being covered in Halloween decorations. "Ah, the sweet smell of All Hallows Eve... Or it's just the sweet smell of candy. Either way, good stuff." He looked at the transformation taking place and sighed, this would be the first holiday that he spent actually active on 'Charms. Next it would be Christmas, he smiled at the thought, his favorite holiday in his favorite season. For now, though, he was happy that it was Halloween. Now he just needed to find a place that he could be some help. Maybe one of the haunted houses could use a pyro/electrokinetic.

He wasn't really in costume, mostly for the lack of an idea, the only thing that he had was a black opera cape and a white mask that covered half of his face. If anyone asks, I'm the Phantom of the Opera. He chuckled at his horribly constructed costume, at least no one would be able to say he wasn't dressed appropriately. After all, capes made the best costumes, and he was really only looking for an excuse to wear one. Aside from the cape and mask, he was dressed normally in black jeans and a white dress shirt. Unfortunately the mask made it difficult to wear his glasses, which were currently tucked away in his pocket.

Chadwyck stopped to take another look around, the chill in the air didn't bother him, he actually preferred it to the awful heat of the summer, and if it ever got too cold he could just warm himself up. He started off in the direction of the haunted houses, the best part of Halloween was scaring other people as much as possible, it was like a sport. "When hinges creak in doorless chambers..." He began reciting the beginning of the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland as he walked. All of PokeCharms seemed to be shifting to be in the Halloween spirit. Chadwyck couldn't help but smile again when he saw it all happening. He grabbed a handful of candy as he passed by a bowl left laying about.

"Hn. Some better selection would be nice. Ah well." He opened one of the wrappers and popped the candy into his mouth. Mmmm. Watermelon flavored. He continued to eat the various candies as he walked along the path.

 

[Tangrow]

"Gyack! Ew, it's Halloween, isn't it..." Tangrow was just entering the entrace to Pokecharms when he noticed the decor of the place. He shuddered at the look of the place, stopping every few seconds so he can remind himself it isn't real, and so he didn't faint on the lane every time he saw something move from the corner of his eye or even his own shadow. He himself was dressed for the occasion, as Taokaka from the game Blazblue, except he wore pants and some red shoes instead of...what the cat person wore. The irony was that he looked at bit frightening, as the hood gave him the appearance of having two eyes and a grin not unlike the Cheshire Cat on it.

After a couple more yelps, screams, and terror-driven runs escaped him, he was driven off course, heading towards a hill with a lone tree, tripped on a rock, fell and rolled the whole way down the hill until he knocked into a rather tall foreboding house. Getting up, he felt like he had done just what he just did. Looking around to get a bearings on himself in relation to the other places, his heart rate immediately increased as he saw that he had lost his way. Standing up, he looked over to his left...and did not see a pleasant sight.

Through his eyes, he saw, through his eyes, a women with a chainsaw and a rat, although for the most part he focused on the classic Halloween scare weapon, and his body told him it had had enough. With one last yelp, he fainted straightaway, luckily falling on the soft grass, and not the likely to be giving a concussion walkway.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

He was actually getting to like the control tower. Almost.

Of course, he applied some changes to the general decor. Now, partially technological and partially organic cables seemed to grow all over the place, merging into crystal formations and plants. He himself was now standing in the center of the room, lightly tapping touch-screens and sliding between control pads, his mind almost synchronized with the devices. A malicious little smirk came to his face as he noticed the life signature of that annoying Tangrow creature fade into 'fainted' status.

"One down, several million more to go." he muttered softly, reaching out with a biomechanical blade-tipped tendril that seemed to emerge from his right shoulder-blade and touching a few more consoles. Azure searchlights along the sides of the control tower flared up, slowly changing their hue to a shadowy purple. The biometal developed a dark, corroded hue, and the crystals faded from brilliant azure to deep amethyst, and from that to orange.

"So. If it's true terror they want... It's true terror they will get."

From under the tower, metallic twitches could have been heard as a cloud of biomechanical blade-winged bats released, swooping across the countryside, eyes and crystalline cores on their chests glowing a deep malevolent orange.

StellarWind smirked.

Now it begins.

 

[Secad MS]

"Oh, crap." Secad said, looking up from her chainsaw as she heard a thump. "Someone's fainted. The chainsaw isn't even on yet!"

Fi scampered over and peeked underneath the person's mask. It's Tan! Tangrow! Fi exclaimed.

"Oh, more crap." Secad called, louder, for her benefit. "Check her out, okay? Let me stash the chainsaw somewhere."

Secad stuffed it behind a rotten bush and ran over next to her gerbil friend, picking up Tangrow's head.

"Tan? Tannnnnnnnnngrow…You all right? It's just Fi and I, Secad."

Can I scorch him? Please? Please? Just a little…I won't hurt Tanny. Fi begged mentally, while squeaking adorably.

"All right. Only his arm, got that? Lightly, too." Secad gave in. Geez, auditory and mental assault!

Goody! Fi exclaimed, quickly letting a rather cool (for fire, that is) fire whip burn Tangrow's arm. Nothing serious, but it'd be sore for a bit.

 

[Sem]

"Bats, Stel?" Sem asked, walking into the room. "It is rather dramatic I must say, with the lights and all." The aquamor took another bite of the slice of pizza in his hand, holding the box in the other, he offered it to the armbladed-one almost reluctantly, but figured it'd be rude not to.

Actual events would start soon, but there was nothing wrong with setting the mood; Sem had been hearing various screams on and off all day. "It'd be good if you actually, you know, didn't stay in your tower all night," he informed as he took a seat in a place where he felt he wouldn't be in the way. Sem took another bite then thought to himself. Maybe there was a good reason, mainly, the event that was Valentine's Day. Sem himself wasn't there for that but after a few days he felt he hadn't even needed to be there- everyone else filled him in, they made sure of it.

"If you come out you'll get to see close up views of people running away from the holographic ghosts," Sem tried to tempt him. "They even make howling sounds."

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

"O hai, Sem." StellarWind nodded at the Aquamor with a little smile, as a few of his tendrils disconnected from ports in the ceiling and plugged into other ports quietly "Yeah, I thought they'd be quite appropriate for ze occasion. And thanks for the offer, but far be it from me to infringe on your pizza." he chuckled.

He then took a look outside, emitting a little sigh "I don't know. After LAST time I popped out of the shadows for one of these special events, I was... pretty messed up in the end of it all. I think that this time I'd rather watch from the side-lines."

he smirked "Besides, these Bats are made from recycled bits of Nega's code and orange paint. And their visual feed is relayed directly here. Someone need to keep the fuckers under control."

There was a blood curdling scream and a life-sign that faded. Just a random n00b. The bats got to him.

"See? A Stel's Job is never bloody done." he said, connecting another pair of tendrils to the ceiling, his eyes assuming a strange orange undertone. "My dog, Black and Orange are NOT my colors."

 

[Chadwyck]

Chadwyck was drawing nearer to the haunted house area, various screams echoed from nearby. "Oh come on, it isn't that scary," He sighed. Then he heard something different, someone was eating something. The first thought that came to mind was someone in a cannibal costume who got a little carried away, let's hope it hasn't come to that. He turned along the path and saw Rain sitting with a large bowl in her hands.

Her costume was a little worse for wear, and she had fake spider webs hanging from her hair. "Hey, Rain, you all right?" He asked as he walked over to the girl. It was a shame, the tiger costume looked good, minus the various tears. "Looks like you were on the losing end of a battle with a spider, unless the webs in your hair are part of your costume. You could be an undead tiger." He offered with a smile.

Suddenly the tower lit up, and bats began to fill the air, "Oh, spooky effect... Do those things have blade wings?" He asked as the things flew closer, one dive-bombed him before a zap of electric energy knocked it from the sky. He looked down the path a bit and saw one of the haunted houses, "I was just going to see if they needed any help over there," He pointed at the house, "But my insane restlessness forbids me from committing to stay in one place." He turned away from the haunted house, "Meh, maybe I'll just wander for a bit. Probably head in the direction of the tower, something tells me things will be getting interesting. Not to mention, those bats just scream Stel, the blade wings remind me of his infamous arm blades. Well, at least they aren't skree-ing."

He started to walk away, but stopped after a few steps, "You're free to join me, Rain. I'd hate to just leave you out here on your own, even if you do look quite content with your candy." He chuckled as he started to walk away again, stuffing his hands into his pockets. At least by offering, he wouldn't come across as rude.

 

[Reynald]

All of Pokecharms was celebrating the upcoming holiday the only way they knew how, with a new set of decorations and candy everywhere. Everything from the Hall of Justice to General Fiction was covered in Halloween decor. Out of all of the forums, however, the Artworks Forum had to be the most decorated. Everyone who has an ounce of artistic talent overloaded their topics with different Halloween themed pictures, except for one. Stamped with the moderately boring name, "More of Rey's Art", the very plain topic was squashed between the hotter, more often updated, topics that everyone seemed to love. Standing in front of the topic, Casey sighed and ran a hand through his soft brown hair.

He was dressed in his classic green button up shirt with his sleeves rolled up just past his elbows, dark blue jeans and white sneakers with some black and blue details on the side.

Y'know...Sometimes I wonder how I even remain here... Casey thought with a mild shrug. He liked drawing and updating his thread, but more and more he gets less and less responses. So he has reached somewhat of an art block.

"Well...no time to worry about it now huh..." He muttered to himself while flipping through his sketch pad. A few of his most recent sketches lay on the top of the stack of paper. He decided to not bother with decorations and look about the rest of Charms like he did at least once a day.

Casey's mind started to wander, which usually led to him getting lost, as he roamed around. Sure enough, when he finally snapped to he had no idea where he was. Looking around, he realized he had actually walked outside.

"Huh...I didn't know Charms HAD an outside..." Casey mused. His thoughts were cut short as heard a yelp, a thud, a familiar voice, and the sound of flames. He walked over to the commotion and notice Secad and Fi trying to wake Tangrow up...with bursts of fire...

"Hey Secad...hey Fi...um..." Casey scratched his head and shrugged, "What happened to Tangrow and why are you lighting him on fire?"

 

[Brendan Savem]

(I wrote nearly five posts for this, but scrapped them because they didn't meet my standards, I eventually settled in with this one)

The hunter played the classical game of ambush hunting. The hunted was a group of members that were strolling down Gored Alley, situated in the Miscellaneous Area. Each of them were about the age of fourteen and were wearing costumes, smiling, talking and almost ignoring the vicious blood marks, bones, and other gory details drawing images of death all over the alleyway. The beast stood on two legs and had brown fur all over, beady yellow eyes, curving black claws, and large, pointed, bloody teeth. The beast wasn't a creature purely of brute force, it also had the cunning to strike when the timing was right, it was in fact human in the sense. Then without warning, the beast of the night leapt from its sky lair and plummeted down towards the floor below. The impact of the seven-foot tall beast shook the earth in front of the unsuspecting group of men, and let loose a blood-curling howl. Then the werewolf, with its prey at the grip of fear, moved in for the kill.

No such thing happened though, the werewolf could only watch as from behind the children came a swarm of orange lights, they enclosed the group and in a matter of seconds, disintegrated them, leaving not one drop of blood to spare. The werewolf watched as the mysterious swarm moved off again, passing the bloodthirsty canine in its journey forwards and upwards into the night sky. The creature was not too happy on its prey being attacked by the unknown visitor. In one swift movement, it swung its hand round and grabbed one in midair. He then brought it to his chest to get a better look at it. It resembled a bat, but with the orange light in the center glowing like a jack-o-lantern, it instantly gave away its mechanical origins. The blade-wings, still struggling to flutter away from its captor, served the purpose of giving away the manufacturer.

"Damnit Stel, you couldn't wait five minutes for me to at least pump some fear into those n00bs before you destroyed them?" the creature spoke, surprising with a clear human voice. He then jammed two of the claws on each of his fingers into the orange core, putting the winged android out of its misery. It was nothing more than a minimal loss to the giant swarm that was dominating the side of Pokecharms that was set aside for the terror themes. The werewolf was once again alone.

Brendan let out a small sigh, and then jerked off the giant werewolf head that hid his own sweat-soaked head, which looked odd and small, compared to the rest of the werewolf costume. Holding the head of his Halloween monster ego under his left arm, he abandoned his alleyway, locking up behind him. A break should do him some good from the loneliness of his post; Brendan was not getting much business anyway. The streets were much more crowded however, with people gathered at the many scary Halloween attractions as the jack-o-lanterns above the streets and the semi-full moon towering above Charms itself cast eerie shadows all around. Brendan slowly moved down the ranks of the scary meter, eventually reaching the intermediate area. Upon reaching a crossroads junction, he became aware of a faint orange glow from around the corner, it shortly disappeared however. Curious, Brendan stalked forward to investigate the momentary glow. Turning the corner, Brendan looked upon a quiet street; the path behind him broke off into a grassy area with a large hill on which a sole dead tree stood prominently. Three meters ahead of him there was a familiar girl wrapped up on a large amount of warm clothing, including a blue and black jacket and a grey beanie accompanied by a brown haired boy with a green shirt and jeans. She was crouching over the lying figure in yellow robes and hood with giant cat paw gloves. Brendan was wearing a specialized night-vision contact lens over his left eye used for his position in the festival, so he was able to see under the hood and spot the unconscious face of Tangrow. The beanie was practically shouting 'Secad is wearing me'. It took Brendan a moment to remember Casey, still unaware of his alter ego Reynald, due to him only seeing him once. Moreover, unless there was a hundred of white pyrokinetic gerbils out there, the one perched on Secad's shoulder, sending bursts of flames at Tangrow's arm, could only be Fi. Feeling that he could at least do something worthwhile here, Brendan walked casually towards the group, despite the fact that he looked like something from a warped horror movie.

"Hey Secad! Casey! How are the festivities coming along? I hope that they're not as dull as mine are! How's Tangrow doing, did he get a fright?" Brendan announced so that his quiet approach could not be counted as sneaking.

 

[Secad MS]

"Oh!" Secad exclaimed, seeing the familar faces and hearing familiar voices. "Hey, Rey-er, Casey, hey, Bren!"

Errr... Fi said/sent frantically, stopping the flame. It's not what it looks like! Tanny fainted! I'm just trying to get him awake!

"Well..."Secad said, pushing the squished flop of bangs underneath her hat a little farther away from her eye. "I think Tangrow here was suddenly frightened by my chainsaw. I was going to merge and chase people around the woods with a rubber-bladed chainsaw, but evidentally I already made one person faint while doing nothing."

"Casey...er, I've seen you use magic before-once, I believe. Maybe you could wake Tangrow up." Secad asked, picking up Fi, absent-mindedly stroking her back, still kneeling next to the fainted body of the plant-Pokemon named 'Charms member.

Awesome costume, man. Fi said to Brendan, pointing in the direction of his werewolf head, still not overly concerned about Tangrow. That's pretty realistic. You make it?

 

[Shocari]

Fierce violet lightning pierced through the air, burning the area that it hit. A fog set in immediately after, blocking the sight of anything that was trapped within it...until the fog vanished as quickly as it came. Shocari was getting ready for Halloween this year, testing out all of the shadow and electrical manipulation that he could in preparation for scaring the living daylights out of anyone he could. But "living" was just what he wanted, for Shocari looked as dead as body could get before it began decaying. His skin, whiter than paper, looked as if it was merely stretched over a skeleton, showing just how thin and bony he was. Shocari's light gray hair hung in front of his sapphire eyes, which matched the cargo pants that he wore. But for Halloween, he wore a long-sleeve black shirt with an orange axe that dripped orange blood, and some matching Converse shoes.

Quietly, he started singing "This is Halloween" from his favorite movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas. A movie that was completely perfect for both of those holidays. Deciding to whistle it instead, he began to walk down the street, passing hundreds of people in some of the most creative, and strangest, costumes he had ever seen. "Pokecharms seems to be in good spirits today." he sang in tune with the song. His walk turned into a stroll, and with the stroll came a happy mood, and with the happy mood came a fog. Shocari didn't mean for the fog to come up, but he chose not to get rid. He liked it.

Turning the corner, he noticed a few people gathered around a body. Was it fake? Severely wanting to find out, Shocari walked closer, noticing the figures as Brendan, Casey, and Secad. He waved to them, but they were looking at each other and the body.

"Uh....hey guys. What's up? I'm really digging the dead body you guys have going on."

 

[Reynald]

Casey looked up and grinned to Brendan, "How's everything goin. From the looks of things he might have fainted." Casey shrugged and turned his attention back to Secad and laughed,

"I can see that." He said with a nod over to the partially rubber covered chainsaw, "I think it will turn out great if we can get the sheath on the blades. I mean...you already got one person scared to death." He laughed again. Halloween has always been a holiday he liked. It allowed him to get out and be weird with everyone else. Casey stretched and cracked his neck real quick as Shocari trotted up to them and waved, which he returned kindly.

"Hey Shocari. It's Tangrow and I sure hope he isn't dead..." He said with a quick grin, "though he does pass off for a good corpse." He was about to say more when Secad's voice made his ears perk and grab his attention,

"Huh?...Well I wouldn't consider my drawings magical buuut..." He laughed and gave a joking wink, "Yea I can do that. I'm pretty sure I'll fit in more anyways."

He stretched one last time before sighing. Closing his eyes, small licks of flames traveled over his body, "You might wanna stand back..." Casey said quietly as the flames quickly turned into a torrent of fire, concealing him from everyone. The flames suddenly exploded harmlessly outward as Casey changed. His hair flared brightly and changed to a brilliant silver as his skin darkened to a nice tan color. He opened his eyes and flames replaced the his irises. He grinned and the flames died down, leaving his eyes changed from the rich, emerald green they were to a brilliant crimson.

"Well that was fun..." Reynald scoffed as he walked up to Tangrow. He crouched and placed a hand on Tangrow's chest. The hand began to glow a soft red as energy flowed into Tangrow's body, trying to wake him up.

"Come on kid...time to wake up from your nap." He grinned and said more teasingly, "Wake up or I let the wolf over here eat you, ya hear?" Reynald sent a final burst of energy into Tangrow before standing up and brushing off his jeans.

 

[Tangrow]

Everything was kind of a blur after he fainted, but Tangrow still felt what was going on through his unconscious body, though through manners of dreaming. A hot flame overtook his vision, demonic shadows reaching across it, after which a figure came up and conversed with the shadows, and finally a crack of lightning was heard, dispelling all he was seeing, in which a red warmth of color slowly glowed, until a blast of it filled all his vision in which he awoke with a jolt, clutching his heart as well as he could with huge costume paws.

Looking around, wide-eyed, he relaxed after a few seconds after realizing the chainsaw wielding lady was Secad, and soon after recognizing that Casey, Shocari, and Brendan, albeit oddly dressed, were present. "Hey, like, when did everyone get here, Tangrow asked, scratching his head as well as he could, and added, "Is it still Halloween? Wait, don't tell me," He took a quick look at the scenery, noting the decor was still present, "Yes, it is."

As he absentmindly touched his arm, he immediately yelped, and noted the burn present on it, not without casting a look at Secad's little pet. "So, anyway, what's everyone doing-Oh look!" Suddenly turning and pointing at the sky, Tangrow pointed towards the multiple clouds of bats in the sky. "Awwww, they're so cute!" He jumped up and down and waved his paws wildly, hoping to attract some of the 'cute' creatures down towards them.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

... Over at the control tower, StellarWind Elsydeon twitched. One or two of his new 'eyes' have been blinded.

"Analyze final core transmission of units #1293 and #1092" he murmured.

The first unit was apparently destroyed by Chadwyck - which, he supposed, made some form of sense - the thing DID attempt to attack him. Silly Nega Cores. But the second unit...

That was just malicious. The unit was captured just so some douchebag in a furry suit could find out what it is and then destroyed for no good reason. And in a sense... It made him furious.

Tendrils shifted as he scanned the 'charms databases to find the offender. Brendan Savem.

A cold smirk appeared on his face as several new tendrils extended and connected to other ports in the ceiling. His eyes completed their color-swap into orange.

Within the mass of bats still slowly being produced, some of the constructs began changing. The other bats were simply designed to terrify. These were meant to hunt.

They were larger, sleeker, armed with far more advanced sensors, a weapon array similar to scorpion's stinger. And one final development - a hypersonic weapon, delivering an array of hypersonic waves of just the right frequency to disrupt the target's molecular bonds.

Shriekbats.

Another small batch was produced. And another. And another.

"You do not fuck around with constructs that did nothing to you and DON'T face consequences." Elsydeon growled, his voice distorted into a twisted disharmony of voices. "Shriekbat units. Lock onto Brendan Savem and slaughter the fool. Thoroughly. Then return to base. We have no quarrel with the others."

The Shriekbats disengaged from the mass, their wings expanding , and launched off in a flurry of black and orange. The hunt was on.

 

[Power Metal Maiden~]

Rain watched as Chadwyck stepped over to her, all the while still stuffing gummies in her mouth. She quickly consumed the remaining gummies, then looked up to him in shock. "What?! The spiderwebs are STILL on me?!?!!?" She shrieked,dropping the bowl and jumping to her feet to pull them off. She almost seemed to be doing some sort of.. panic dance.

She pulled off the remaining pseudo-web from her hair and fixed the mess of hair she had caused. She then smiled bashfully, her cheeks turning pink. "Heh.. I kind of fell over there.. And my costume got ripped." She sniffled. "My tail fell off too." She held it up sadly, pouting a bit.

Rain looked around, seeing tons of people surrounding Tangrow and sighed. All she wanted was attention and for someone to help her find a new costume.

Rain thought for a moment. "Yeah, sure, I'll wander with you! Maybe I can find a new costume!" She brushed off the back off her costume, where grass had been clinging from sitting on the ground, and skipped after Chadwyck with a huge grin.

She then giggled to herself, her mind shifting from the blade-bats to the idea of a tiger constructed the same way. "Oooo." She said softly, and any onlooker would just dismiss her as a bit high on sugar.

 

[Secad MS]

(OoC: *coughs* I smell a fight. )

"Um, oh, hi, Shoc." Secad said, still remembering the time she (ahem) ‘assaulted' (more like molested) him around the Pokecharms festival. She was insanely ashamed of that, and kneeling didn't help that. Secad stood up to her full 5'5 height, Fi jumping to her shoulder.

"Tangrow, here's the low-down." Secad said, liking the way that came out. "You fainted, Fi burned your arm trying to wake you up, and Cas-Reynald here woke you up with some magic."

Tangrow then decided to jump around waving for a cloud of bats near them, the style of design at least hinting Stellarwind, if not screaming it. Fi picked up the same thing from the tenor of Secad's mind.

"Aww, they're so cute!" called Tangrow.

Er...Cute, Tanny? Really? Normal bats are. These bats don't look natural. We think Stel made them Fi said, speaking for both of them, while scurrying around to cling to Secad's back, both knowing something was amiss. Stel probably made them a little more dangerous than the fare we have right here, so attracting won't be a good idea!

"Oooo."

That came from behind the group.

"Oh, it's Rain." Secad said, while moving backwards to get her chainsaw out of the bush. Not to threaten her with it, of course. "Exactly how much candy did you eat?"

 

[Brendan Savem]

"Haha! And I thought those things wouldn't scare a fifth grader, I clearly stand corrected." Brendan said in response to Secad's explanation. However, Secad had already moved on to Reynald. Instead, Brendan found himself talking to Fi.

"Awesome costume, man" Fi commented through her mind talk, "That's pretty realistic. You make it?"

"Thanks for that Fi! Best thing I've heard all night." Brendan thanked Fi for complimenting the costume. "Yeah I did. It was actually interesting to make, despite taking a lot of time, effort, and drinks. Nevertheless, by using a mixture of soft and sharp hairs on paper-maché between a flexible mechanical frame, along with painted titanium for the claws and teeth, I ended up with what you're seeing right now. I just wish it wasn't so stinking hot in here." Brendan said, explaining the behind-the-scenes on the costume. "If you think about having one for yourself for next year, then forget it. All you need is a bad hair day and to sack your dentist." Brendan finished, pretty sure he was on to Fi's intentions. He then turned from the pyrokinetic gerbil and back towards the fainted Tangrow. Secad was watching while a certain red-eyed silver-haired magician, and Brendan's favorite artist, worked some magic on the unconscious Tangrow.

"Come on kid...time to wake up from your nap." Reynald said teasingly to the groggy plant-pokemon based member, "Wake up or I let the wolf over here eat you, ya hear?"

"Oh wait! Is that my cue?" Brendan exclaimed, quickly scrambling to get the werewolf mask back on his head. Tangrow however had yet to notice Brendan's werewolf costume; he was in fact more interested at the glowing orange lights moving about in the sky. One was just above them and quite close to the rooftops, so Brendan could see that they were the same robotic bats that had interrupted his Halloween attraction by dismembering the guests.
"Heh, that actually does make for a good dramatic effect, but isn't that in the wrong Halloween section? I'm pretty sure those bats are for the terror section." Brendan questioned, but as his eyes picked out the details, he began to see that these ones were slightly different to the ones from before. These ones were larger, their orange parts were a deeper color, and they made a faint sound, like the muffled screech of a real bat. Brendan's sweat then became colder; his instincts began to tell him things. The bats were definitely different, but they gave a much more menacing feel than the previous blade-bats Brendan encountered. The seemed hungrier for flesh than the ones in the alleyway, and was playing a game of waiting patiently for the opportune moment to strike, like a preying mantis ambushes its unsuspecting prey.

Something was wrong…

 

[Chadwyck]

"Well that didn't take long." Chadwyck said as he noticed the group gathered around not too far away. He'd seen some of them around the grounds, but he'd never actually talked to any of them. With the exception of Tangrow. "How's it going everybody? I'm afraid that I've never been formally introduced to the majority of you, my name is Chadwyck." He said with a slight bow.

The bats drawing near didn't look too different from the ones before, but there was something different about them. They were slightly larger, and they were... shrieking. "Oh, no. He didn't." He laughed softly to himself, something told him that the bats would be skreeing before the day was out. Stel adapted the bats, but for what purpose, Chadwyck wasn't quite sure. "Well, I'm sure the other bats are meant for the more terrifying sections," He said to the one in the wolf get-up, "But those don't seem to be made to frighten people." He said as he noticed that the bats seemed to be keyed into their location.

Chadwyck looked over at the tower, and he decided that it would be worth a try to get in. Though, he doubted that it was easy access, but it just seemed like so much fun. Later on he'd have to try and get in there. But for now he was content to keep on wandering, particularly away from the bats that were homing in on the group. This is why I stay away from large groups. One of these people attracted Stel's attention. He thought as he looked around at the group. He stepped away from the group, and leaned against a tree. "I'll be over here, watching. I don't feel like interfering with Stel's constructs at the moment." He laughed as he crossed his arms, it would be an interesting show, if nothing else.

"Rain, if you still wish to search for a new costume," He started when he remembered that the girl wanted to find a new costume for herself, "We'll leave any time you wish, if you still want to do so." He nodded, before he added, "As soon as the show is over." He stared up at the bats, I can't wait to see what those can do.

 

[Power Metal Maiden~]

Rain glanced sideways to Secad, giggling lightly. "Only a bowl!!" Her attention span quickly gave way, and she looked from the group to the bat constructs that fluttered above. Something about them seemed so bloodthirsty, and knowing Stel, Rain figured she was right.

She glared over at Brendan. She didn't like his costume one bit, and he seemed to be coping an attitude. However, Rain easily got grudges for no reason, and she pushed it to the back of her mind.

Rain blinked at Chadwyck. "Eh.. I'll figure something out, you just.. Errr.. Watch the action." She slowly slinked away from him, sneaking off towards the control tower. She had a clear intention of asking Stel for a huge favor.

Surprised when the sliding steel door opened for her without asking for any type of identification, Rain bit lightly on her bottom lip. "I hope I'm actually allowed in here. I would hate for anyone to get mad at me for snooping.."

She looked around, the bottom floor of the tower seeming to be void of any cool machinery... However, it was covered in beautiful crystals of some sort. She found the elevator and took it up into the top of the tower, smiling as she spotted the one she was looking for.

StellarWind Elsydeon, his eyes glowing orange.

"Stel!" She exclaimed, tiptoeing around the crystals that filled the room to get closer, looking around at the monitors that decorated the walls. She saw that many of them were showing live feed of Brendan. She immediately knew her instincts had been correct.

Rain brushed off the thought and smiled up at StellarWind. "I have a favor to ask you." She held up her arms, showing off her ripped tiger gloves. "I need a new costume.. Something scary."

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

"Welcome to my tower, mortal." Stel replied in his now disharmonious, ominous voice, turning towards her, several tendrils shifting location. Then, he chuckled softly, his voice losing the ominous echo (but not the disharmonious resonance) "Only kidding. I'm just oddly enjoying getting in the role."

"So." he said "You seek a new costume. Hnn. Give me a moment, I'll figure something out."

Several panels opened and released an array of scanner drones which fluttered around the girl, scanning her form, acquiring information and sending it to the tower's central computer for processing. Somewhere, servos clicked and whirred.

He had the form. He had the function - striking terror into the hearts of mankind. And finally - he needed the essence.

And the essence in question would have to be a tiger - StellarWind remembered that the girl had a thing for the creatures - even without the remains of her previous costume serving as testimony - and this new costume - or self-contained biomechanical combat armor, depending on how you wanted to look at it - would be modeled after it. Like a tiger it would be strong, fierce, and beautiful yet deadly.

He smiled as his mind compiled the genome data he needed.

"Okay, Rain, I want you to remove the tiger gloves, then hold your arms to the sides and... just stand still for a little while. This might tickle a little."

Tendrils shifted.

a panel opened in the ceiling, releasing twin biomechanical arms holding a small vial of black material each. As the arms reached position, small finger-like extensions unscrewed the vials' caps and emptied their contents over the girl's hands.

The substance had a strange, smooth feeling to it - like a form of plastic - but warm and soft, like skin. The substance adhered to the female's hands and began a rapid expansion against her physique, covering her form from the base of her neck to the tips of her toes.

"Biopolymer Matrix." Stel explained as he observed the process on a few of the monitors "It serves as an interface between your nervous system - specifically at its terminal points at your skin - and the compound neurocircuitry of the rest of the armor. It will allow you to control its secondary function with little more than a thought."

Finally the biopolymer matrix finished its expansion. StellarWind nodded approvingly, and more tendrils shifted.

Further arms reached from the ceiling, carrying bits of black plating which attached to the biopolymer matrix - base layers. orange veins spread out between the base layer plates, connecting them, vague warmth flowing through them as the network expanded. More and more arms descended carrying more complex bits of armor - grown specifically to match her exact body form - applying them bit by bit, fusing them to each other.

At last the process was complete - and the biomechanical arms ascended back to the ceiling. The result was quite a masterpiece - the female in the tattered tiger suit was now encased in an exoshell that emphasized a perfect balance of human and feline features. Its external layers were constructed of a bronze-orange material with tiger-stripes that seemed to have a vague circuitry-like quality to them in black and had a metallic glint to it. It was quite well-equipped with assorted defensive fields. From her knees to her toes and from her elbows to her fingertips, her legs and arms were encased in modules that terminated in tiger-like paws, complete with extendable claw arrays - The joint areas had minor black and silver segmentation - a biomechanical augmentation that allowed the wearer to move faster than they normally could without straining their real muscles. There were powerful looking shoulderplates - complete with a small array of thrusters for minor levitation and speed boosts. A collar formed around the base of her neck, a small round orange crystal in its center - the armor's release module, allowing the entire complicated array to be disassembled and reassembled at the girl's will. The torso and pelvic segments - made of a more flexible material as they had to allow much bending - had a white-gold hued 'underside', a thin V-formed illustration of what looked like Lily flowers framing its chest area - which, in turn, was further protected by another set of white-goldish armor plates. Constructs of bronze-orange and black stripes, like breeches, covered her thighs upper arms and were connected to the body segments via the same form of augmentation as the lower extremities. Further plating extended from the sides of the shoulderplates onto the sides of the upper arms - and - perhaps as a little trademark of the designer, small blades jutted from the sides of the lower arm segments.

All an all it was quite a piece of work - it subtly accented the female's natural features while at the same time meshing it with the power and grace of a prowling tiger. Even he was impressed.

"Now all we need is the helmet." He grinned. "Brace yourself, the change in vision can be a little disorienting."

Tendrils shifted, and the final arms descended, carrying in a helmet, and lowering a visor, the device snapping together over the girl's head. It was a perfect match - it had the look of a tiger, though one that emphasized a blend of organic and mechanical features. As the girl opened her eyes, the armor seemed to open its own eyes - swirling icy-blue orbs, little goldish-orange flecks occasionally floating through them - feeding an array of spectra into a head-mounted display - the girl could choose which spectrum she wanted to see in at a particular moment. When the girl would move her mouth, the tiger-helm's mouth would move appropriately. Plus, there was one more addition to the device - an internal resonance unit which could generate an array of frightfully realistic tiger noises.

"And... Voila." Elsydeon grinned, displaying a reflection of the armor for its pilot "What do you think, Rain?"

 

[Reynald]

Reynald would have helped Tangrow up, but before he didn't seem to need it. Secad started to give him the low down on what had happened when he suddenly jumped up and ran after a cloud of strange looking bats. ""Heh, that actually does make for a good dramatic effect, but isn't that in the wrong Halloween section? I'm pretty sure those bats are for the terror section." Brendan questioned, now once again in his full were wolf get up. Fi mentioned that Stel might be behind the new forms of bats. Reynald stayed quite while everyone seemed to gather around Tangrow. Secad moved away, back to her chainsaw, and said hi to Rain and to a new comer...Chadwyck was his name?...His thoughts were confirmed.

"How's it going everybody? I'm afraid that I've never been formally introduced to the majority of you, my name is Chadwyck." The kid said with a slight bow. Reynald nodded to him and gave a small wave, "Yo. I'm Reynald. I'll let everyone else introduce themselves." Reynald said with a small shrug, his attention returning to the bats. Something didn't sit right. How is it on EVERY holiday something crazy has to happen here... He thought to himself remembering the Valentines Day incident. Everyone seemed to have drawn their attention to the bats, making small comments and the like. Chadwyck had moved off to a nearby tree and Rain was no where in sight. Brendan looked like he was about to wet himself, Tangrow was clueless, and Secad seemed to sense that something was off as well.

"Ok...so who pissed Stel off this time?..." Reynald said darkly as he went over to Secad and more importantly, under some form of cover. His mind raced with possibilities, strategies, and other problems. He always thought it was better to plan for the worst and expect it, screw the best. And knowing Stel somewhat...this could end badly. Reynald bent down and helped Secad untangle the chainsaw teeth and rubber from the bush's clawing branches. "Here. Lemme help with that." He grinned crookedly, burning away the last clinging branches. In a softer voice he added, glancing up at Fi for an answer as well, "So, what do you think the larger bats are for..."

 

[Secad MS]

"Thanks, man. That rubber's pretty finicky." Secad said, fiddling with a caught branch.

"Ok...so who pissed Stel off this time?..." Reynald asked the two. It seemed he thought something was off as well. "So, what do you think the larger bats are for..."

"Well…" Secad said, conversing quickly with Fi mentally. "We agree that someone p'oed Stel, but we don't know whom. Someone in this group, of course, why else would they be coming this way? It wasn't me, as I have tried my best not offend hi-"

"SKREEEEE!"

One of the mass of bats let out an earsplitting shriek. It didn't look natural, and it definitely didn't sound natural, more like metal on metal with a hint of bat.

****! Fi cried. We're merging. I don't feel safe, and I bet they're here to get us...

Okay, we will. Concentrate, quickly! Secad replied mentally, allowing their minds and bodies to merge.

As Fi was physically hanging on Secad's back, it was a lot easier to merge. Fi almost seemed to comically stretch over Secad, melting over the human's face, arms, and legs, giving her a tail and making her about five inches taller due to the digitigrade feet. White fur quickly covered Secad's clothes (somehow they didn't get damaged or stay on at all-they bet it was part of the symbiotic spell) and body, her face grew into a rodent-like muzzle, and Secad's eyes turned red.

They were now a bleeping awesome anthropomorphic gerbil.

A pyrokinetic gerbil with a chainsaw (unfortunately without a metal blade, but possibly Rey could change that…).

In the thirty seconds it took them to merge, a few bats zipped from the swarm, and attacked Brendan.

"Brendan!" Secad/Fi called in their combined voice, a combination of Secad's lower, slightly gritty and Fi's higher, smoother voices. "Move!"

Secad/Fi didn't start the chainsaw yet, but they surrounded the blade in an oblong of fire, almost a fire blade, whacking away the bladed-bats, sending them spiraling off a few feet away. Their combined minds help keep the fire around it without melting the rubber blade.

This doesn't seem right. Secad thought. Why are they attacking us? We didn't hurt them.

Yeah, but they're going to hurt us! Fi responded. Stel probably developed a grudge against somebody here, we just don't know whom.

"Guys!" Secad/Fi called, taking a clawed white hand to wave it at the group. "Did any of you do something to Stel lately? If it's not obvious, these Bladebats are attacking us!"

In private, they sent to Reynald, Do you think you can change this blade into some sort of fireproof metal? It might have some effect on these bats.

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

A slight wind blew in the air, and with it seemed to be coming whispers. A foreboding but beautiful song, winding its way through the air towards the cause. A black cloak fluttered in the wind, billowing behind the feminine figure standing atop the tower.

A hood was pulled over her face, keeping it in shadow so it could not be seen. In her left hand she held a large scythe, perhaps to give off more of the Grim Reaper look she was going for. To hold the cloak around her shoulders, in the center of her chest was a pin, shaped like a skull and grey in colour. The rest was black, except for the white shirt she wore underneath the cloak.

From beneath the hood, cold green eyes peered over the grounds of Charms. It had become quite decorative with all the orange and black decorations, reminding her of the holiday approaching. A slight smirk pulled onto her lips, reminding herself that to her it was like two holidays in one.

She had seen Stel's handiwork, watched as the bladed bats dug into their targets. Now was her time to shine, to do what she was known for. She jumped from the roof she was standing on, dramatically falling to what would surely be her death.

However, that was not the case. The last few moments of her decent, she harmlessly floated to the ground, as if invisible wings had slowed her fall. She stood over one of the people who was very close to death, gasping for their last breath, looking fearful when she appeared in front of them.

"Are you... the Grim Reaper?" said the failing, choking voice of the person at her feet. She simply smirked a little bit down at her victim, making a soft 'tsk' sound.

"Grim Reaper?" she questioned, her voice slightly amused.
"Soul Stealer." she affirmed, in a more serious tone. With that said and done, she reached out her free hand, which suddenly began to glow a light green.

The green soon extended into tendrils of energy, twirling themselves around each other sort of like a helix design. Stel would be proud, she mused to herself, as the tendrils shot into the body of the dying one, doing their work inside of the body. They soon started to retract, the person giving a sort of a muffled shout as they coughed up blood.

What followed was a pretty sight, at least to the Soul Stealer. Caught inside of the green tendrils of energy was a glowing black sphere, made from energy itself. It was pulled slowly into her hand, which she quickly turned away from the body, earning another choked noise.

"This is my namesake, you realize." said the Soul Stealer, again in an amused tone.
"If Stel attacked you, surely you deserve to die." She smirked again, and with one final tug, she brought the orb up to her mouth, and bit into it like she would an apple. One last dying breath from the person before her, and the light went out from their eyes.

"Your soul tastes horrible." she mused, finishing it off without much more problem. Now, she was going to go show the same treatment to those who were already dead... and perhaps some who were still alive.

Just doing my job. thought Dwayna, the Soul Stealer.

 

[Power Metal Maiden~]

Rain was overjoyed when Stel agreed to construct a costume for her, but she never expected something so utterly amazing.

She held perfectly still while the biopolymer matrix covered her. She nearly burst out into insane laughter, because it really did tickle, as Stel had already warned her. However, she held it in, reminding herself that something cool was going to result from her patience.

Rain felt herself become a bit nervous as the bits of armor were lowered onto her form, but as soon as they were fitted, they felt amazingly comfortable. She grinned very slightly when she felt the paws fit over her hands. She took a deep breath before the helmet was put onto her head, and when she opened her eyes she couldn't help but to gasp lightly. She blinked a couple times, and saw the reflection of her armor that Stel had displayed for her.

Rain grinned widely, and the feline helmet sneered as well, giving her expression a vicious edge. Suddenly she felt her heart pound with pure excitement. The reflection of her armor gave her all of the confidence she never had. She could be powerful now, no one would take her for granted anymore.

She held her arms up in front of her, extending and retracting the mechanical claws multiple times. "This is perfect. It makes me look so..strong.. I love the lilies." Rain said to Stel, and was thrilled to find that her voice now seemed to be slightly amplified, and was accompanied by a low, growling tone. "I definitely owe you one!"

Rain turned a bit, focusing her attention on the monitor that showed Brendan, a now a Fi-merged-Secad, and Reynald. She grinned, feeling a strange emotion wash over her.

Always feeling like the weaker, less talented of the bunch, Rain wanted to be seen as powerful. She wanted to frighten someone. She thought of Brendan and the cocky attitude he had seemed to display earlier. She then thought of how the monitors had been displaying him, as if he had done something to agitate Stel. It was highly possible.

Rain turned her focus back onto Stel, the tail of her armor curling and uncurling as an idea played through her head. "Could you open up a window for me? I've got something I intend to try."

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

"Done... and... Done." StellarWind chuckled. Tendrils shifted, and one of the large windows simply dissolved.

Something caught his attention on the monitors - he was so focused on the synthesis of Rain's new armor, he didn't even notice the new players on the field.

Dwayna, for one. Absorbing the souls of the few dying n00bs left over by the bats. He chuckled softly - That's what Dwaynas did, although he always had to wonder how could she eat n00b souls and not die of food poisoning.

Then there was the strange synthesis of Secad and Fi. Why did she have to get involved? Fortunately, her pathetic flame weapons had little effect on the bats but knocking them away. The bats soon recovered and rejoined their assault on Brendan. Something told him that the others would try to protect him. Well, if they wouldn't get the hint, he'd have to keep them out of the fray by force. Perhaps...

His thoughts were interrupted by a growl-like sound as the armored girl dashed past him and leapt out the window, her thrusters igniting, leaving a trail of flame behind them.

"... What have I created?" he murmured for a second, his eyes widening briefly, before he noticed where the armor was headed - and an evil grin covered his face.

"Whatever it is, I like it."

 

[Shocari]

"Oh, the body is Tangrow?" Shocari asked as his question was answered, just to make sure. Reynald walked up to Tan's body and did some kind of magic thing that revived him, after which Tangrow to point into the sky. Bats, thousands upon thousands of mechanical bats, flew through the skies, spreading to every corner of 'Charms. Several of them came close, leading Secad and Brendan to get a closer look.

Suddenly, Secad had merged with Fi, and Shocari backed out of the way. He didn't feel like getting in there way at the moment; he was extremely tired. Sitting down on the ground, Sho put his hands together in front of his chest, then a black mist began swirling around him.

"Guys, I think I'll stay out of this for now. I still remember Valentine's Day, so those bats are really scaring me at the moment. Tell me when it's over." he said with a grin, the mist now forming a transparent bubble around him. Shocari closed his eyes and relaxed, attempting to fall asleep for the time being. But something told him that it was just a false hope....

 

[Secad MS]

The bats came right back to Brendan, their fire having no use.

"Rey!" Secad yelled in her own voice, as they whacked away the bats again as they tried to attack him. "Turn the blade! Soon!"

Maybe you could have him enhance our usual mind-communication to telepathy. Fi suggested semi-sarcastically. Nothing seems to actually hurt these things. It might take mental, or maybe physical, as in smashing, damage.

Fi, we don't know what would happen if we let these things touch us. For all we know, they could be coated with acid. Secad replied mentally, with a touch of her own verbal/mental acid, while trying to whack the Bladebats further and further away.

Fire was having no effect, as they didn't scorch or melt. However, they smelled something, something strange, but yet familiar as a mild gust of wind passed. It smelled like fire fueled by some unknown substance, something unidentifiable, and…"Rain?!" they screeched.

"**** this." Fi said, taking control of their body, arching their legs and back, ready to pounce. "I'm going to touch those bats."

 

[Reynald]

Reynald absorbed the information Secad and Fi fed him, up until an ear piercing screech tore apart the sky and made his ears ring. He rounded quickly and watched as the bats descended to Brendan. Several ideas blurred through Reynald's head as he watched. He looked to Secad, who was now a very large gerbil with a flaming chainsaw, and then back to Brendan and the bats.

"Wait!...Dont! I think I got..." He started a moment too late. Secad had jumped into the fray and was swatting the bats away with little to no affect. Shocari took the opportunity to hide away in his bubble of mist. Everyone else hadn't reacted to the new threat just yet. Secad was screaming at him to change the blade into something more powerful...but nothing really seemed to work to him.

"Got it...don't get your flaming pants in a bunch." Reynald muttered as he waved his hand idly, walking up to Secad. A crackle of energy shot from his fingertips as a large gust of wind blew the bats away temporarily. "Sometimes you have to think before leaping into certain death. I think these things WERE after Brendan...but you had to include us soo..." He muttered as he lightly tapped the chainsaw's blade, the flames licking against his hand harmlessly.

"Also..." He added with light sarcasm to Fi, "If the flames on the chainsaw didn't work, what makes you think your fire will?"

"I don't know what will work but I can always try." Reynald shrugged lightly before sighing softly. Tendrils of energy flowed down his arm into the chainsaw's blade. The blade began to glow a soft white as Reynald changed the molecular structure. The metal darkened to a near black, the tips slicing through the rubber with extreme ease. As he finished, Reynald sent a burst of energy into the engine to start the chainsaw up. It came to life with a might roar, the new blade spinning quickly.

Reynald grinned lightly, "Adamantine. If that doesn't cut them...well I can always blast them with magic or use a nuke. It's your choice." He looked up to Brendan, "Now, How bout you get out of the way before those bats decide to turn you into streamers for Charm's Entrance eh?" Reynald's eyes began to glow dark red, flames flickering in his irises as he looked up at the bats.

"Let's see what you got Stel."

 

[Brendan Savem]

(How I continue to live and breathe is beyond me, I am clearly screwed)

Brendan spoke to nobody else as he watched the swarm of bats, moving in perfect sync and tempo. It was almost like watching the static on a TV; orange and metal mingling amongst one another, forming an impossible to calculate pattern. Suddenly, without warning, the bats moved in for the attack. A chunk of the swarm broke away and began to soar down with their stinger parts pointing downwards towards their target. Brendan was caught off guard and froze on the spot. He was already feeling like he was losing himself.

"Brendan!" A voice that sounded like Secad and Fi performing chorus together called as Secad's Fi Fusion form leapt at the oncoming swarm of bats, "Move!" The word worked like a charm. Brendan immediately released his legs and sprung backwards. Some of the bats that had avoided Secad's fire-chainsaw blade curved upwards and once again lurched for the sheep in wolf's clothing. As soon as Brendan's feet touched the ground again, he pushed further backwards, turning the world upside-down. The bat drones zoomed past, one of them got its blade-wing caught in the side of Brendan's wolf head. Completing the back-flip, Brendan stood up and yanked the android out of its embed in the paper-maché.

Once again, Brendan had the bat in his hand, struggling to get its blade-wings free from underneath Brendan's pressing fingers. Brendan however was not so quick to putting it down. As he looked at the tiny machine of destruction, Brendan thought on the topic of why would it and its cronies be attacking him. Was Stel out to get him? It seemed likely. Brendan must have really misestimated Stel's temperament to believe that Stel would not have gotten irritated from the loss of one bat, let alone attacked him for it. What if Brendan spared this one? Would Stel somewhere from the depths of his cold heart find some sort of way to forgive him? There was a bigger chance of his own arm-blades getting rusty. Whether it was for this reason or reasons unknown, Brendan knew that as the remaining bats swerved around to try to impale their target, Stel has already made up his mind. Brendan, instead of killing this one in a similar fashion to the last, ripped off a wing and dropped the hapless drone on the ground. He then swung his claws and swatted the oncoming bats from the air. Stel was not going to ribbon him with these alone; he had to have something else in the mail for them. Unfortunately, for Brendan, Stel's latest creation; Rain's Tiger Warrior Battle suit, had appeared on the scene.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

"Deities damnit." he muttered. "What does it take to get these idiots to get the hint? Do I need to SPELL IT OUT FOR THEM?!"

Tendrils shifted. That will have to be the case.

Back at the battlefield, several of the normal bats veered off course, fusing with each other, their cores projecting an image. It was the image of him as he now appeared - connected to the computer core via a whole array of tendrils, eyes eyes glowing orange, their pupils missing. Circuitry patterns flowed along the sides of his face. And he gazed at the proceedings ominously.

"Attention." he said - his voice ominous and distorted again "My Shriekbats are currently set to slaughtering the Brendan Savem unit. I have no quarrel with any of the rest of you. I ask you to cease your attacks against my units and no harm shall come to you.

Don't make me do something I'll regret later."

he narrowed his eyes.

"And you're not making your situation any better, child." he hissed.

The torn-winged bat lashed out with its tail, sinking a pair of fangs into Brendan's leg. It lifted itself off he ground with its tail alone, and opened its mouth.

SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

The sound intensified from moment to moment. Soon the vibration effect would kick in... And the costume, at least, would lose a leg. If he was lucky.

 

[SineCosineTangent]

PRP Building, Room 117: Sine's home away from home. It was midday, and she was quietly replaying some of the scenes from her PRP, musing on how they could have been made better. This time, she was watching the first scene written for the story, noting all of the little errors that she made in her haste.

Suddenly, the scene faded away, and the main lights for the room blinked to life. The bespectacled redhead sat at the control panel, a small smirk playing across her features as she continued to mess about with the controls. It was too much of a pain to edit what was already there, but she definitely had ideas for the future.

The Pokemon Role Play building was definitely Sine's favorite place to be. It wasn't that flashy of a building, but inside lay rooms and rooms of holopads, each reserved for a specific RP. Most of the rooms would remain empty, or were filled with role plays that, in some way, had not met the 'Charms standards, and were therefore locked for all eternity.

Due to a lot of background research, her own RP, Pieces of Summer Color, had made it, and now had a holopad reserved for it. There was even a small plaque on the door that read the title. 'Fancy,' the girl thought when she first saw it.

Now, she had gotten quite attached to the room. Most of it was simply a large holopad on which to play out the actual story. The walls were all a matte black, except for one that separated the holopad and a small foyer that contained the control panel. This wall was basically a large window, so that scenes could be replayed as many times as any user desired.

With a flick of her wrist, Sine powered the console off. After replaying tons of different scenes, she was about ready to actually go outside for the day. As she turned to open the door, her sneakers scuffed against the black tile that covered the floor in the foyer. The tile really was a nice touch, especially due to the small, cybernetic lines that ran through each tile in a seemingly chaotic array. They pulsed green, and, even though they looked important, Sine had always wondered if they were simply there for decoration.

The young girl stepped out into the hallway, shutting the door behind her with a decisive click. The patterns in the tiles continued on, pulsing in their usual rhythm. The walls remained black, untouched by any Halloween festivity, while long strips of white light illuminated the path towards the building's main entrance.

After a few minutes of walking, Sine had reached the main entrance. It was a large, brightly illuminated area, still tiled in black, with all sorts of plushy couches about. Usually, it was easier to meet people in the open area for an RP appointment than to actually find them in the room.

The open area, Sine noticed, had not been spared from the festivities. Pumpkin lights were strewn about in a seemingly random fashion, candy was stored in any orifices in the furniture, and some clearly messed up individual had tried to make a lamp into a ghost by throwing a sheet over it and turning the lamp on. A small fire had even started.

The redhead sighed. Friends don't let friends let n00bs decorate for holidays. She grabbed a nearby sheet off of another "ghost" (which, before it was attacked, was actually just a well-meaning armchair), suffocated the fire, and pulled the offending sheet off of the lamp. Disaster averted. Time to go.

The second Sine opened the door, however, she really wished that she hadn't. The sky was filled with bats. And not normal, fun-time, "let's be all awesome and hang upside down in caves" bats. These looked like murderous swarms of angry, biomechanical bats. Which, she assumed, was probably what they were.

"If I can just get over to the main chat lounge, I'll probably be safe," Sine mused aloud. Usually, things that swarmed in such a way made her their target- she had no idea why, but it was close enough to scientifically proven that it could be named "Sine's Theorem of What Swarming Things Do When She Is In the Vicinity".

That's when she noticed a small group of Charmsians fending off quite a few of the little buggers. Her heart wrenched. Sine was a helper by nature, and wanted nothing more than to join their fight. However, with no weapons, and no special abilities, she'd be little more than cannon fodder. Plus, they seemed to be getting somewhere on their own. She'd probably do little more than get in the way.

Taking a long breath, she began running towards the general direction of the chat lounge. Hopefully she wouldn't be torn to shreds before she got there. It was only her first Halloween at 'Charms, too. Getting mauled by things really wasn't on her list of celebrations.

(OOC: Hope I didn't interrupt the action too much)

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

It wasn't long before she found the souls of the living. They were trying to fight off Stel's blade bats, but to no avail. Dwayna stood back and watched for a while, wondering why Stel might be attacking regular members. There's always a reason behind it.

After a little bit of watching, she noticed that the bats seemed intent on focusing on Brendan. Obviously he did something to piss Stel off, she mused, flitting closer to the group in the shadows of the buildings. She saw her good friend Casey in his Reynald form, starting up a chainsaw to try to combat the blade bats. She saw other people trying to fend them off, and shook her head in dismay.

"It won't work." she whispered, allowing the wind to carry her voice to the groups ears. This way, they would merely hear her instead of see her.
"They won't stop until they've finished their job," she affirmed, "They want Brendan, so if you want to live through this encounter, I suggest you let them have him." She smirked a little bit, simply watching from the shadows as the bats continued their assault.

Let me have him. she thought, licking her lips. She hadn't finished off the n00b souls as she found their taste repulsive. However, tasting the soul of a regular member would surely be a delight.

"I promise to give him a peaceful death." she said, the smirk turning into a malicious grin.

 

[Secad MS]

"Ha! We certainly feel like we're in a bad horror flick now!" They yelled, wielding their improved chainsaw, remembering that man from the Resident Evil flicks. "You're awesome, Reynald!"

Adamantine. Secad pondered for a second. That is so awesomely Wolverine. she thought, her comic book nerd side emerging for a second.

"Now, time for business." Fi said, again preparing to jump, when a familar, ominous voice reached their ears.

"Attention." Stel's voice boomed suddenly across 'Charms. "My Shriekbats are currently set to slaughtering the Brendan Savem unit. I have no quarrel with any of the rest of you. I ask you to cease your attacks against my units and no harm shall come to you. Don't make me do something I'll regret later."

"Stel!" They yelled, hoping he would hear them. "What did he do? Why do you want to slaughter him?"

Then the Shriekbat (not Bladebat) started vibrating after one swooped down and snatched up Brendan, looking like it would soon reach dangerous level. Secad suddenly got an idea.

"Brendan! Take off your pants!" The anthro-gerbil screamed.

 

[Tangrow]

For the most part, the conversation that occurred between Secad, Reynald, and Brendan went over Tangrow's head as he tried to get the attention of the pointy looking bats, so naturally he was excited when they came down to play with him and the others, although he did notice they were being a bit rough. Shying away from the fray once Secad merged with her little gerbil friend-which Tangrow did not like watching, he took to reaching into the side pocket on his coat and taking out a purple pocket purse and gripping it tightly with both hands, just in case. Shortly thereafter, he covered his ears when the first SKREEEEE came, and once the huge hologram of Stel came onto the field, he giggled a bit, and then yowled loudly when the second SKREEEE, louder than the first, resounded.

Once this happened, he became rather annoyed. "Why do they have to be so loooooud," the boy whined, continuing by adding, "It huuuuuurts!" At this point, Tangrow finally realized that his new best bat friends were going after Brendan, and as they lifted him in the sky, as he believed they were taking him to a nice place, he reached into his purse and pulled out a pair of pompoms. Putting the purse back into his pocket, he started to cheer on the bats, regardless of the words pointing towards Brendan's imminent death, like when an unknown identity's whispers reached him, he dismissed them as voices in his head.

And so, jumping up and down, he yelled in a happy manner, "GO BATTYS! RAH RAH RAH! YOU CAN DO ITTT!" Although he stopped for a moment when he heard a sentence which made him giggle.

"Brendan! Take off your pants!" Secad had shouted from the fight.

"Hehe, pants!"

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

"Oh get a room, you two." Stel chuckled on-screen "Why? Senseless destruction of a unit that did nothing to him. If the unit would have attacked him before he picked it up, his act of aggression would have been justifiable. But this was just malicious. Unacceptable. That, and the sheer disrespect. Couldn't scare a five-year-old, mortal fool? You're right. Death's too good for you."

The shriekbat ended its assault.

"You're going to SUFFER, you little bitch."

Several of the Shriekbats flew into each other, merging, as well, growing dramatically in magnitude.

The newly formed creature had an array of cores at the bases of its wings, its legs, its forehead, and its chest. Multiple eyes gazed menacingly, and the coiled helix of scorpion-like tails emitted a slight hiss. The creature swooped down, grasping Brendan in its talons and taking off on a flight in the general direction of the tower.

"If he's lucky, I might let his brain out of the jar every once in a while to get some fresh air." said the face, and the monitor-bats fluttered off as well, leaving the battlefield behind. The other bats cleared off. An eerie silence came to be.

In his tower, Elsydeon stirred slightly. He couldn't help the feeling that he forgot something...

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

Dwayna watched as the blade bats formed together into one gigantic mass, swooping down on Brendan. A slight pang of disappointment went through her person, at least at first. Then she remembered she could fly, face-palmed, and lifted off from the ground.

Out of the shadows she came, outstretching her arms to allow her cloak to billow dramatically behind her. She let loose an evil cackle that rang out, probably sending chills down the spines of the n00bs still living, and perhaps some of the others. She turned around over the group of regulars, her hood hiding everything about her but her wide grin.

"I told you it was futile," she mused, "Stel's temper is not one to be trifled with." then she turned back towards the mass of bats, following after it to have her delicacy of a meal among all the horrible n00b souls.

"I'll be back for you all later." she said in a sing-song voice, merely to creep them out even further before she left the vicinity.