Nightmare on Index Street

[keeperoftales]

Nightmare on Index Street—

---

After the final hours of Halloween are coming to an end and everyone is slowly beginning to gather their things and return to their homes to prepare for the clean-up to come in the later days, a strange, eerie silence falls throughout the Index along with a mysterious gray fog. It seeps over the ground like a veil dragged behind an invisible bride and soon engulfs the entire city. The sound of hooves clattering over the cobbled streets echo over every street like an army followed by a chorus of loud, high maniacal laughter. In the next instant everything turns pitch black, as if the light of the world had been shut off.

And then just as suddenly, the light returns. But the sight that greets those who bear witness sends chills down every spine. Pumpkins lay smashed along the streets, cobwebs cover almost every window and doorway, and scarecrows swing from nooses tied to various branches. A cold, black frost covers the ground, steam rising from the thin, icy sheet before a new sound echoes around.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

Big, heavy footfalls and then—

VRRRRRMMMMMM WHEEEEEEENNNNN

An ear-splitting roar of motor and metal as sparks fly from a giant chainsaw. The thing wielding it? A giant skeleton several stories tall, its mouth open wide as another shrieking laugh erupts, its eyes glowing fire. As it laughs, those closest to the abomination scream in terror before it suddenly swings its weapon out, cleaving everything and everyone in its path.

YOU THINK YOU CAN DESTROY ME, OUTSIDERS? YOU THINK YOU CAN BECOME HEROES? I'VE EATEN THEM ALL, DEVOURED THEIR SOULS AND TAKEN THEIR POWER. NOW I WILL TAKE YOU AND YOUR WORLDS! I WILL CONSUME EVERYTHING!!

From its open mouth a black vortex appears, growing larger and larger until it hurls outward to smash onto the street in front of it. At first nothing happens—only a gaping, black hole exists. But then the first claw reaches out, the first tendril, wing, tail, head. Black, hellish creatures rise up and locals scream the words,

"Erasers! It's the Story Eater's minions run for your lives!!"

By now the journals of each Aspect will have begun to burn, a loud buzz drumming in their ears as the Storyteller reaches each and every one of them.

Aspects! The Story Eater has sensed of your arrival and has breached the barrier of this world. It must be repelled, but there are only so few of you and it has grown so strong. We fear you will not survive if you face it now. But with the aid of the one known as the Father of Christmas, you may be able to weaken it enough. Quickly, find his gifts, use your powers, and weaken him until I can write a new barrier to expel him. Please, hurry!

---

§ prompts.

¶ I. Unwrap Those Presents! So what are our would be heroes to do? The Storyteller is utilizing the essence of—if you haven't guessed already—Santa Claus to create special presents that will help damage and delay the Story Eater. Again, it won't be enough to defeat it, but it will give the Aspects that extra oomph and time to chip away at that giant HP bar for the Storyteller to do its magic to reconstruct the shield and expel the Story Eater.

There are four types of presents:

1. Big Red. Big red presents will summon giant snowmen that will fall either on top of or around the Story Eater. They can't really attack, but they will create a lot of ice and snow in attempt to freeze the Story Eater place. It will also help make parts of the Story Eater a bit more brittle, so those who do try to do direct attacks can deal some damage and chip away some of that bone structure. Nothing massive, but at least some cuts and small bones can be hacked off.
   
   
2. Polka Dot Blue. Blue, polka dotted presents come in various shapes and sizes, but they all do the same thing when unwrapped and opened—create a lot of noise. Technically they're choirs singing various Christmas Carols, but doesn't really sound like it up close. Fortunately, they also come with special ear muffs and a small note saying, "Cover your ears before opening," but if disregarded then those who hear it will find themselves stunned and a little hard of hearing for a good while. Closing the flaps will silence the noise. What needs to be done is to direct the opening of the present towards the Story Eater. The "music" will amplify and stun it, giving a few precious seconds of vulnerability.
   
   
3. Orange Gift Bags. Large gift bags with black ribbons tying them close will unleash an explosion of pumpkins once opened. These pumpkins will rise into the air laughing before raining down in a wide area and explode on impact. So be careful! These will need to be brought over near the Story Eater to deal damage.
   
   
4. Black Envelopes in Black Stockings. These gifts are a bit harder to find, but it's also easy to notice a giant sock hanging from somewhere and a black envelope sticking out of it. They're up high, so some climbing or flying will be required. But once reached, opening the envelope will produce one of two cards. A card that is labeled "TRICK" can be used and thrown at the Story Eater. The card will expand in size and turn into steel to slice at the Story Eater, dealing a lot of damage. A card that is labeled "TREAT" can be used to help heal or boost those fighting, even allowing characters to immediately learn abilities that could help with the fight.

And around all these presents will be Erasers trying to reach and destroy them first. Some will be easy, but some may require a bit of fighting, so be prepared!

¶ II. Erase the Erasers. Erase the Erasers. The Erasers are pouring out of the black vortex and it seems as if there's an endless army of them. They are going after the citizens, so try to intercept them and defend the populace. They come in all shapes and forms, some even looking like creatures straight out of the lost stories themselves. Alternatively, try to see if you can plug up that massive hole. Perhaps a few well placed snowmen and pumpkin bombs? The gifts will also be effective against the Erasers, although it might be a little overkill.

¶ III. Help the Injured.The site where the Story Eater’s avatar landed has been reduced to rubble, and the monster is bent on more destruction as it plows through the city, any citizens caught in its wake bursting into torn pieces of ink and paper. Not everyone’s essence or heart is geared for offense, and there’s more than one way to help save the day. Those who still wish to help can try to save those who haven't been lost, or perhaps heal them if they have the knowledge or power at their disposal. Don't forget there are magical healing potions that everyone received on their first day, and it's not too difficult to find more, possibly buried underneath the rubble. Finally there are the "TREAT" cards that could also be used to help heal the injured.

¶ V. Wildcard. Make up your own prompt! Especially in regards to the festival, anything can really happen.

[Mod note: Refer to the accompanying Game Notes for more information!]

Comments

[starseeing]

A: Snowmen:
[ If the point of a present is to be gifted with a surprise, well, the Storyteller did it right. Giant snowmen popping out and then falling atop a femur, a clavicle, or a mandible is not what she expected when she opened the present.

Instead of being frozen in fear of a giant skeleton, Ophilia stands frozen in awe of them as they impede the Storyeater.

And then it occurs to her that it's actually working. ] --Now! [ She'll call out to anyone who is beside her, grasping her staff tightly. ] Let us strike it so that it doesn't take one step further--!

B: Orange Gift Bags
[ Maybe your character has decided to see what's inside one of the orange ones, reaching to open it. It's then that they'll see a black gloved hand take their wrist to stop them. ] ...Not that one. [ She'll tell them gently with a smile.]

At least, not here. [ Ophilia looks to giant skeleton still wrecking havoc just a few blocks away. She can feel the reverberations of its stomps even at this distance beneath her feet, and the brutal scream of its chainsaw. Her lips almost tug downward ] We should use them against that monster.

C: Oh No, You are Hurt:
--Wait! [ They're now on the defense for whatever reason. Maybe the erasers began overwhelming the fight against the Storyeater, or maybe you got caught up in a friendly fire of pumpkin explosions. Whatever the case, before you leap back into the battle or make a break for it, Ophilia will grab your arm insistently. ] You are hurt. [ Even if she's never met you, her worry deeply wrinkles her forehead. ]

You need help.

D: Black Envelope
[ Whether it reads "trick" or "treat", Ophilia will eye it skeptically. ] ...What do you think it does?

E: Wildcard: [ Have something in mind you want to play out? Put it here! Feel free to PM or ping me at drinksteapots

C

[chippedsoul]

[The sudden grab gives him a start. For a split second, there was a dark look in his eyes, but it quickly goes away.]

...I can still fight. [He says while there's blood on his clothes. It wasn't serious, just a flesh wound here and there. The Disciple may know how to fight, but this is beyond anything he's ever confronted. So he may have overdone it, even when he was trying to be strategic about it. One misstep with an exploding pumpkin has left him with the injuries he has, but he's still able to do something.]

[starseeing]

[ She catches that glare, but Ophilia holds her ground. ] Come, let our comrades handle this beast.

[ Her hand still hasn't left his arm yet, and she's eyeing the blood upon his clothes. Even small wounds add up, and if they are shallow... then that's an even better reason to treat them now before they get worse. ] Believe in them to hold their own, just for a minute. I can heal you.

[chippedsoul]

[But he wants more. He hasn't killed enough of those erasers.] . . .Fine. [There's less resistance coming from him now. If she can tend to him now, he's willing to wait. There were cuts on his arm, and his abdomen, some scorched by stray debris from a pumpkin explosion or two.]

[starseeing]

[ She looks around. It seems that with the last Eraser he's cut down they're in a bit of a clearing, but she knows that won't last for long. She'll have to work quickly. ] Let's start with your arm.

[ In her world, she didn't have to lay hands upon someone's wound in order to heal it, even though the contact would help. Here with her essence's version of healing, she's not sure how it works. So she'll begin with the basics of actually placing her palms just over the wound, gentle. ] Mm...

[ She closes her eyes and draws up the magic of her essence, recognizing its light because it's different from her own: Abe no Seimei's was far more refined that hers, partly perhaps because of how wise it was according to his legends. But there is a whimsy to them, and she knows it because of the way the light dances within her mind's eye, clever and with a flair of a trickster. She calls upon it, and within the next moment it's there, right in her hands, and then right from her hands into the Disciple's arm. Although the bloodstains remain and a soreness will linger, the wound itself will magically begin to heal, and rapidly at that. ]

....Ah. It... worked!

[ All that practice paid off! she practiced by giving papercuts to herself and healing them lol ]

A

[hatesviolence]

[...YEAH giant snowman suddenly appearing out of the box and hitting the giant skeleton was definitely not what he expected, either, and he'll also be staring an surprise before he hears her.

...Hm. With the snowmen freezing it over a bit, it does seem to be stuck there for a moment.]

We just need to beat it down, right? [He still has yet to figure out how to create his own weapon, but he's used to using his own bare fists and whatever else is around him. He can deal with that.] Okay, leave the heavy hitting to me!

[starseeing]

[ And as for her part, it's BUFF TIME. Attack up, defense up, hell yeah! One spell is cast right after the other, and she put a focus on re-learning those first before trying to master her essence's divination skill (because what good would that do in a battle?). Shizuo will feel as if his muscles are on fire, invigorated with a new power that's ready to be unleashed.

The Storyeater may be hampered by the snowmen for the time being, but they've got a hold on only one leg and one arm. The other is still raised to grab or strike at Shizuo while it also struggles to break free of its icy chains.

As for Ophilia, she's also lucky that this skeleton is seems to be an undead type? But she hasn't quite remastered her own light abilities just yet, so she'll quickly look for another present to throw at the monster. Oooh, look at this one. An orange one! ]

[hatesviolence]

[....Whoa, if he didn't feel like he was in some kind of JRPG before, HE DEFINITELY DOES NOW. Is this what support magic is like?? He honestly had no idea what kind of abilities the girl had, but this is apparently it.

Feeling invigorated, Shizuo will utilize his natural talents and the strength boost from his essence to deal with the Story Eater. To think all those years of learning parkour to chase after Izaya would actually be useful in fighting a giant monster. ...Then again, he never would have imagined himself doing something like this to begin with. In any case, he's able to avoid the grabs as he vaults over some debris and then give a roaring yell as he charges and rams his shoulder into the Story Eater's trapped leg. It shudders from the impact, and he swears he heard something crack. But was it the actual bone? Or just the ice trapping it?

He can't really stay long to find out, needing to move out of the way as the Story tries to swipe at him.


—And then has to suddenly jump away when a bunch of giant pumpkins hurtle down towards him, forcing him to roll and scuffle back to avoid the explosions.]

What the hell!? Watch where you're throwin' those things!!

B

[sparrowrain]

[ Well, she came here for a reason, and this is it. Admittedly though, Aya's used to using her bow and arrows to fight, not the presents. So, once she'd figured out how to best use the red ones, she'd focused on that, following up with arrow shots in the hopes that the cold caused enough freezing so she could knock off pieces of their opponent. And that... that's only been partly successful so far.

And then, Orange had been her next choice. But being stopped by Ophilia makes her pause. ]

That's what I'm trying to do..? Don't they work like the red packages?

[starseeing]

Not exactly... [ She'll tell her calmly. ] These ones are a bit more explosive, shall we say.

[ But Ophilia will pick it up nonetheless. ] And quite useful against the enemy. It is a present for them, not for us.

[sparrowrain]

Well, I know, but... what do they do, exactly?

[ All of this just makes her more curious to open it. Carefully. ]

D.

[slovenlyserenade]

[A suspicious black envelope sticking out of a suspicious black sock. He looks it over, flipping it around, and pondering whether or not to open it, when he hears a familiar voice. The card reads "TREAT."]

Umm... maybe it will give us snacks?

[Not really sure how that might be helpful in this situation...]

[starseeing]

[ She is not sure what to expect.

But she does know that sometimes with magical items (for these are certainly magical items), they don't aways mean what they say they mean. ] I had considered the red presents as gifts for us, while the orange ones were, ah, "gifts" for the enemy. [ To explode pumpkins at them. ] Treat... I'm not sure how to interpret it.

[ YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD BE USEFUL HERE? Her essence's divination skills.

Alas, she has not quite figured those out yet. ]

[slovenlyserenade]

[And his flute is of no use in this situation. Nor is his brain, it would seem, because he can only think of one way to interpret 'treat.']

Guess if these 'gifts' are for us to use against the Story Eater, then they probably won't hurt us...

[Probably. He looks at her.]

Do you want me to open it?

[You know, just in case something comes shooting out of it, or it explodes, or any number of possibilities. This place is kind of strange, and he would rather her not get hurt.]

B

[scrutinies]

No?

[Cyrus looks mildly startled when she stops him from opening the bag with one good tug of the ribbon. His curiosity almost got the better of him, in this case, as it so often does. He smiles wryly, then looks in the direction of that incessant noise, loud and roaring and threatening destruction, and his brows draw downwards as he frowns.]

You're quite right. We must move quickly if we're to make short work of him— though he may reach us soon enough, in which case, we may well have the opportunity to arrange an ambush, if we're swift.

[starseeing]

....That.... [ Of course he would think of a plan, and she suddenly claps her hands together. ] Oh, that just might work with these gifts! [ She leans in, her tone hushed and almost conspiratorial. ] When opened, these bags unleash a powerful attack that rains... pumpkins, flaming pumpkins down!

We could surprise that blasted Story Eater as it turns the corner... perhaps from its blind spot! [ It's a giant and they are tiny... if they can get to a roof beforehand and fire off one of these bags at the right time, they might be able to do some serious damage! ]

[scrutinies]

Excellent! You're as sharp as ever, Miss Ophilia.

[He's so very proud of her at this moment in time!]

Given my own encounter with flaming pumpkins upon arrival, I'm well-acquainted with how troublesome they can be— they may well stop the Story Eater in its tracks, long enough for others to join the fray at the very least.

[Their next course of action, then:]

We must find a suitable vantage point!

D

[twilightskey]

I don't know, but I don't think we really have a choice.

[Roxas was eying the black envelope in his hand skeptically, before he turned to Ophilia.]

I can open it for us.

[starseeing]

I will stand ready. [ Ophlia replies, holding onto her staff.

BUT DOES IT SAY TRICK OR TREAT?? ]

Your choice whether you want healing or ability gains!

[twilightskey]

Alright...

[He holds up the envelope, looking over the bright tag that reads 'TREAT'. Remembering his fiasco with the polka-dotted presents, he holds the envelope at arms length before opening it.]

[At once, a large, glowing orb of light flies out from the envelope. Roxas watches in awe as the orb circled around the two of them, spinning faster as it does, before flying above them and bursting into tiny particles of light.]

[Roxas blinks at the light show, before turning to Ophilia.]\

What was that all about..?

B

[her_rose_is_red]

Why not?

[Ib had heard that the bags were helpful. But now she's eyeing it warily.]

What's in it?

Re: B

[starseeing]

Pumpkins. Exploding pumpkins. [ She tells her gently, taking the bag from her hands. This is definitely not something she’d want a child to keep! ] ...And it’s quite dangerous if used improperly.

[ Ophilia looks around them, keeping her eye out for any shifts in the shadows of the streets around them, any strange movement or sound that could herald the presence of an Eraser. But a moment later she turns back to Ib, smiling softly. ]

...But good job finding it. [ Have a soft pat on the head. ] Have you seen any others?

C

[trustfallen]

[Therion's got a sword and a knife he stole in town picked up somewhere, and he's got a flock of birds, three squirrels, and at least one deer helping him fending off the skeletons. But even with the menagerie and his own quick reflexes, Therion can't predict the flow of battle, and he definitely can't do a thing about what other people are doing in the fight.

So a bunch of pumpkins wind up exploding right in his face, basically, sending him flying backwards, skidding to a stop through pumpkin guts, powdered bone, and ribbons. Stunned, he lies there for a few seconds before pushing himself up with a groan. He's covered in pumpkin bits, and he aches all over, but he's alive so that means he's fine, right? Don't mind the scrapes and bruises, and definitely don't mind the burns on his arms where he tried to shield himself or the cuts on his leg that're bleeding pretty freely where he got clawed by an eraser. Adrenaline's keeping him from paying them much heed for now, leaving him way more concerned about where the hell his sword went after it went flying from his hand.

Therion staggers to his feet, gritting his teeth as he squints through the smoke and the snow for the damned blade, ignoring the way a couple of the birds twitter in concern around his head.

But of course he doesn't actually make it more than a step before Ophilia's there, frowning at him.]

I'm fine.

[The insistence comes out reflexively, but he's battled alongside her enough to know better than to actually try to leave before she's seen to him. So, he relents with a sigh.]

... can you still heal, or did this place take that too?

[He's still mad about no longer being able to set things on fire at will.]

[starseeing]

[ She had been a ways away when she first approached him, and only now with getting a good look at him does she realize the extent of his injuries. How is he even standing? Those burns-- they will surely scar if she doesn't do something soon, making the skin tight and achy and rendering his reflexes all the less faster. And those cuts upon the leg, the bleeding hasn't stopped!

How is he still standing? ] Therion, you're... [ For a moment she falters as she takes it all in. Can she heal him? She would like to say yes-- yes, and more, because that is what she had been able to do before arriving here. She could have made him feel as if he had nine lives above his own. But in this place, where she's only just re-learned how to heal someone? ]

This way.

[ She'll try to tug at his arm towards the side-- and away from the thicket of the battle where more Erasers emerge from the crossroads of the streets. ] First, let us get you somewhere safe.

[trustfallen]

[This is the guy who got stabbed and shoved off a cliff when he was a teenager and somehow survived through spite and determination, so - at least while the adrenaline's still flowing - this is bearable at least.]

Did you see where my sword went?

[Perhaps that's why his priorities aren't really in order. He resists being tugged at first, still looking around for the damned blade, but the longer they stand there, the more the throbbing in his lake and the edges of the burns are starting to itch and sting and sear. So he gives in and lets Ophilia lead him away. The song birds continue to circle around them, alarmed but also keeping watch, ready to start in with shrill warnings if the Erasers get too close.]