realmofstories | Nightmare on Index Street

Entry tags:

Nightmare on Index Street

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:

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.
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.
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.
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!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

T'ch, damn pests...... [Just a very annoyed click of his tongue, a few bolts of electricity sparking off his shoulders.] You got a better idea, then?

[Well he had something rather explosive in mind, but first.] You can create electricity?

Huh? [He just stares at him dumbly for a moment before he hears the crackling around him.

Oh. Right. That.]

Apparently, yeah. Why?

[He grins.] Think you can charge up enough electricity to send some into the hole?

[Shizuo just looks at him like he's crazy before the idea slowly starts making some sense.]

...I could try. This is something that just seems to happen when I start getting pissed off. [And given how it just keeps crackling around him—fair bet to say he's been in this mood for a while. He's also never really saw it more than an annoying side effect.

But. If it could actually be useful...

He'll start walking over, anyway.]

When angered, huh... [He turns, slicing at an Eraser that had tried to sneak up behind him.] I'll keep the path open.

[Just a nod as he passes.]

Nah, you don't have to. You can keep a few off me, but I'm gonna need some to really get this going. Might wanna keep a distance, too.

[There's an audible crack as he rolls his neck before he glances and—ah yes this steel beam will do nicely. Don't mind him as he pauses just long enough to wrench it out of the nearby pile of debris and swings it over to rest on his shoulder as if it were a baseball bat.]

Don't wanna accidentally hit you.

[Already more Erasers are climbing out of the hole, and while Shizuo is already generating a fair bit of voltage, if he can just whack a few and get into a fight, that should really get it going. At least, he thinks. He's only figured out that that the electricity thing is linked to what was used to animated Frankenstein's monster, and that it only really "sparked up" whenever he was mad. So it's not an unreasonable assumption that fighting—something that quickly sends him in a rage—should give him the jumpstart he needs to try this crazy idea.]

[He gets the message soon as he picked up that steel beam.] Right. [He'll give him the space, weeding out a few of the Erasers. This is boring,why do we have to restrain ourselves like this? He's barely tapped into these abilities that awoken within him and he wanted to see what else he could do.

He glances in Shizuo direction. He needed to get angry anyway, right? So stealing some kills in front of him will probably speed things along.]

[With each swing of the beam, he can feel that rage building up. Stupid Erasers, messing with everyone's world and forcing them all here. Stupid Story Eater for destroying the lives of all these innocent stories. And now they're all coming in here and more lives were probably los—]

The hell—??

[Just as he was about smash down another Eraser, a certain RUDE PERSON up and decides that kill stealing is okay. He immediately turns at the other guy AND...]

Thanks, but I like I said, I got it.

[...Thanks him?? Well on the one hand it is nice to have someone have his back for once. On the other hand, he did say he could take care of it and he doesn't want the guy risking himself more than he needed to.

On the upside, there is a veritable electrical storm crackling around Shizuo now, so if Asougi isn't too careful, he might get accidentally zapped.]

Mmhm. [You're welcome. He's going to keep doing what he's doing and kill more Erasers before he gets to them. Maybe you need a faster weapon, Shizuo. The extra obstacle of avoiding getting zapped is revealing that he's a bit more agile than before.]

[Well. He can let the guy go on his weird kill frenzy. ...But you know it does kind of get annoying when he's about to swing down and IT'S DEAD AND HE BASICALLY HITS NOTHING OR WASTING HIS ENERGY—]

The hell is your problem???

[Okay, now we're definitely getting something. There's a loud crackle and a large bolt of lightning that strikes the ground near them.]

Maybe you should swing faster. [It's getting dangerously charged up here. Maybe he should...stand somewhere in front of the dark void.]

Or you could piss off and get out of my fucking way!!

[My, such language. But yeah that's...... Yeah okay if you want to get struck by the giant charge of electricity Shizuo's gathered up by now. Are they about to witness what Shizuo is like when he hits berserk phase???]

[He grins.] What if I say no? [When he does send all that ball of electric rage at him, he'll have moved out of the way so he hits the void instead.]

[He'll probably have to do that.

Or. Just run away entirely.

Something inside Shizuo just snaps and there's a loud crack of thunder in response followed a giant bolt of lightning that actually strikes Shizuo straight on.

THAT CAN'T BE GOOD???

But when the smokes clears, there's Shizuo, still standing there as if it never happened. But now there's electricity and lightning firing off directly from his body.]

You.....

[There's a slight change in his voice, something more menacing. One might think it's the Essence, but—it's just exactly how he is when he's hit peak rage.]

I'm going to smash that goddamned smirk off your face............................

[He holds out the steel beam with one hand and then with just a little effort it actually crumples and snaps in half under his vice grip.]

AND THEN SEND YOU DOWN THAT FUCKING HOLE WITH THE REST OF 'EM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[And then with another loud crack of thunder and lightning, Shizuo is like a bull and charges down at Asougi, the lightning gathering around him and already shooting out to immediately electrify any Erasers nearby.

Yeah he definitely plans on just outright punching Asougi. But the plan will still work even when he moves out of the way.]

[Dang he really pissed him off. Maybe he overdid it, but the rush he feels staring down a real threat in front of him, it's nothing he's ever felt before. It's just thrilling! He could feel the air go tense, the ground rumbling as Shizuo makes his charge, coming even closer. Though the Disciple manages to get out of the way in time, a few stray bolts manages to scrap the Disciple, burning parts of his clothes and skin. He's forced to seek shelter a ways away from the electric storm that's been caused around the area.]

[Shizuo had definitely aimed to swing his fist at the man, but alas, he would have to pulverize him another day. For now his hand is going to slam right into the edge of the black vortex, sending billions of volts of electricity right into it as the storm also slams down into it.

No really, from Asougi's point of view he'll be witnessing all those storm clouds and lightning bolts just suddenly dive into the vortex. The charge and force is enough to electrify the entire surface, bolts zapping this way and that as they electrocute various Erasers. It's as if Shizuo was a live electrical power pole that just slammed fell into a pond.

NOW how truly effective this fun light show is has yet to be determined. But so far it's only going to last a few seconds before it already begins to simmer down.]

[Asougi remains sheltered in one of the nearby buildings that hasn't been brought down yet as he observes. The immense power would have definitely been overkill if he made actual contact with him. Even what struck has left him unable to move. His left arm was singed, and so were his legs. He wince as there was this hiss coming from his burns. It felt like something was peeling off, but one look and he sees the skin was trying to mend itself at an unnatural rate. A wary bit of laughter escapes him. That's rather convenient, if not disturbing.

It'll still take some time before he can actually move, so he looks over the charred landscape, with steam rising and all the static in the air. No way any Eraser survived that.] Nice work out there! Is that hole nice and plugged up?! [Cause he can't tell from where he was. And boy, he's sure being rather casual as if he didn't spend the last few minutes taunting Shizuo.]

[...Asougi go get a real healer, bro, that's just insane. And gross.

Shizuo doesn't answer for a moment, his back facing him. Smoke and a few static charges rises from his body as he just stands there like a statue, staring out at the charred landscape. To think he really did something like that... Not sure if he should feel terrified or be in awe.

Eventually he slowly turns.]

Can't....really........tel..............

[His words fade into a mumble before he just sways, stumbles, and crashes to the ground, all of his strength leaving him.

Ah. Maybe he used too much power? Not that he really knew how this all worked to begin with, all just happened. Oh well... If he actually helped stopped them or at least slowed the tide, then he'd be fine ending like this.

(Not that he's actually dying, but boy does it kind of feel like it.)]

. . .? [He barely caught that. Testing his legs, he manages to get back on his feet and cautiously wanders out from his hiding spot. The air still felt charged and stink of burning...whatever those Erasers were made of. It was an unpleasant smell. As he wanders through the mist, he discovers that the hole has unfortunately not been destroyed. It does seem a little bit more distorted though after that massive lightning storm. At least no Erasers were coming out of it, for now.

He then finds Shizuo laying on the ground nearby. Well shit, he better not be dead.] Hey. [He cautiously pokes him with his shoe, just in case he still has a bit of a charge left. If nothing happens, he'll kneel and properly nudge him on the shoulder with his hand.]

[There's just a low groan, and while there are few low charge bzzts of static electricity, he's pretty much safe.

Also now officially unconscious.

HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY, ASOUGI.]

[...Well, he's alive. He'll take it over a dead guy. Can't leave him here though. He sighs as he proceeds to lift the man up from the ground and voluntarily carries him out of danger. He probably needs the time to get himself back together as well.

He keeps off the main roads, hoping to avoid any Erasers roaming about. He could take him back to his home, or he finds a general store that hasn't been destroyed. It be safer at the mansion, but it was still some distance away, and whomever's influence he had been under was losing it's control. His eyes were returning to their dull brown while his hair falls loosely. The extra strength that came with it was fading, though the Disciple was no pushover without it. Working on freighter ships certainly helped keep him in shape.]

[Although his skin and muscles are tough enough that they might as well be natural armor, at least he doesn't weigh more than the average guy of his height.

But good news—at some point, be it halfway or right near their destination, Shizuo will slowly rouse enough to realize that hey, he's not dead! But... Someone is carrying him?]

Ugh...what... ...You?

[.........Nope too tired to get pissed.]

[His head turns slightly at his voice.] How are you feeling? [There was less edge and roughness in his voice when he speaks. Could be from being worn down himself.]

[Just a moment of staring before he grunts and tries to move.]

I'd say like I was hit by a truck, but that didn't feel as bad as this.

[....Implying such a thing has happened before. (It has.)]

Think I can walk though.

[He feels some of his strength returning at least, although...it's strange because he also feels incredibly weak.]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject