Lamentable Nights: Act 01 - "You're Waiting for a Train..."

[Sentrovasi]

Date: Coalday
Time: Hour the Forty-Sixth
Weather: Maybe not raining
Location: The Train
PC: Randall Kayne
Other PCs: Martin Chang, Sophia (Oriole)

Finally falling back into the company of other humans (at least one probable human, anyway) rather relieved Randall of some of the fatigue he'd suffered over the time he'd been kept in the train; the fact that the new arrivals' bonded Ether stream kept the train's debilitating influence at bay also helped. While his body was still completely reluctant to move from its prone position, he was well able to mask any weakness that might still be lingering in his confident tone of voice.

After all, they were newcomers here, and he had to help them find their way around the place. Seeming like a weakling now just wasn't very becoming. Besides, what mail were they talking about? Was there a Super Secret Spirits Society he hadn't subscribed to? One of those fliers his landlady regularly threw out in the trash, probably. Although after all of this he thought he'd probably have to start paying attention to things like that.

The place had gotten slightly less dark, but the change seemed a little unwelcome to Randall. The classy, plush carpets and polished wood walls had been replaced by rows of plastic seats and a floor that seemed to be made out of some synthetic material as well. The grimy windows and harsh lighting (albeit dimmed by the Enomena) identified it as a subway coach, one of Randall's least favourite modes of transport.

Groaning inwardly, Randall tried not to focus on all these differences and instead see what other possibilities the newcomers had brought to the table. Chief among these was an over-large hammer that had been previously lying on the ground that bore a resemblance to a judge's gavel and was probably as heavy as it looked. It seemed suspiciously out of place among the office supplies that had crashed in, though.

"Out of curiosity, what's that hammer beside you?"

Randall winced as he imagined Martin the Salaryman taking a hit from such a hammer, even as he considered the remoteness of the possibility of such a situation ever happening. Well, it wasn't much weirder than everything else he'd been forced to endure.

It was then that Salaryman dropped the hammer, and the effect was quite remarkable.

Randall, his entire body still sprawled about the ground when the hammer landed, instantly felt perhaps a thousand reverberations echo through his body, forcing him to adroitly cushion his head with his arms to avoid breaking his jaw. It was the work of a moment, but in that second he knew, as probably all of them now did, that that was no ordinary hammer.

Crawling to his feet at last, Randall knelt over the non-descript hammer, noticing a few chips and scratches in such a manner which suggested that this hammer was one which actually saw earth-shattering action more often than would've been possible in a quiet town like Pebbleton. It seemed, too, from the polished surface and small dusty nooks that someone not very patient with cleaning had probably treasured this unique weapon quite a bit.

"Where did you get this thing? Do you know anything about its owner or what it does?"

[Pasonia]

Date: ??? (probably still 1 Jun, Tuesday)
Time: ???
Weather: ???
Location: In the Train blight
PCs: Martin Chang
Other PCs: Sophia (Oriole), Randall Kayne
================

"Where did you get this thing? Do you know anything about its owner or what it does?" Randall's voice was a bit louder than usual, but even Martin had to concede that anyone would react that way.

"I don't actually remember, to be honest!" exclaimed Martin.
"S... I mean, Mister Martin, why'd you have to be so surprised that you don't remember?"

Martin was surprised, because he usually recollects details like these easily. Maybe he took advantage of his good memory too much and it's backfiring on him at the most inopportune of times.

"Uhh... wait, no, maybe I do... but it's a really blind guess."
"So who's the owner?"

Memory images of the few moments before he was hit by the train flashed past his eyes very quickly; Martin didn't remember having the ability to store image memories so vivid and literally, previously it was just scores of text and sequential-play theories in Go, especially when it comes to tsumego questions.

"I see..."
"Huh? What on earth did you see, Sophia?"
"I see what you had seen, Mister Martin, but the details are rather blurry..."

Martin winced at the thought. "Just great. First you can see my thoughts and now you can see a memory slideshow. How do I ever keep secrets from here on--- hold on."

Martin suddenly felt this urge to run through his head to look for an imaginary controller, in order to sift through the images in his head. He gained sufficient enough control to slow this fantastic slideshow payback, but at the cost of his already embattered image...
...both Sophia and Randall, not aware that he's trying to achieve such control, just thought he was spacing out really badly, drool flowing out of the edge of his mouth and all. It was both disgusting and funny.

Martin, meanwhile, just wants to get to the images in his head. Finally, after cycling the images to the point where he first skirmished with the girl at the park in his bike, he noticed something hanging from her belt in her fantastic getup.

"Randall, looks like I found this... crazy bitch of a girl... uhh... shocking hair of red, that's bringing back a lot of youthful memories, dyed hair and all... uhh... scarf on the neck, flowy... of course, an attitude straight outta a shitbag."

Martin's drool just kept right on flowing, and the way he speaks very much resembles a sleepwalker. He didn't realise it, but the silliness of how he looks elicited quite a few giggles and stifled laughter from the two other onlookers.

"This gavel was somewhere on her waist, possibly a belt holster or something but who the hell holsters something like this...? Is she some magical girl character straight out of some wannabe cosplay or something? Jeez..."

[AYC]

Date: June 1, Tuesday
Time: 5:45 pm, Nearing Dusk
Weather: Clear
Location: Dawnview Park
PC: Mirto, Jacket
================

Apparently her stupidity knows no bounds. Honestly, whatever happened to thinking before acting? By the reddened color of her knuckles, it's pretty clear that she hasn't been doing much of it as of late.

The guy's made of metal. You've already learned that the hard way before.

Perhaps she should consider herself fortunate that she hadn't broken her hand as a consequence from her lack of insight. It's not like she was very strong to begin with, after all.

But even so, it hadn't been a particularly good idea either when she had, half-heartedly, swung her bag at him later for the same reason after leaving the library. To be honest, she hadn't been expecting that she would end up hitting his hat - she had only predicted that Jacket would either dodge or not dodge, not... half-dodge like what had really happened. Maybe the effort they put into things are in tandem now or something.

Regardless though...

In the end, Mirto isn't even sure how many ridiculous situations she's gotten into today - but this is probably the first ridiculously stupid one.

This is also probably the most she's ever run in one day.

"Don't tell me you have a complex about your hat too?"

Jacket briefly takes his eyes off his target to give her a solemn look. She takes that as a yes.

"This is your fault, you know!"

"Oh, really? You're just as guilty as I am, aren't you?"

In actuality, if there's anyone at fault, it's the cat who decided to be mischeivous enough to snatch up Jacket's beloved cap when it had been knocked off. But hey, it's not like anyone could've predicted that would happen.

She watches with a faint sense of awe as said cat sends Jacket crashing into a nearby tree with a quick leap and turn. Maybe she's imagining things, but it almost looked like the cat had smirked evilly at the loud thud that followed.

"Urgh..."

She eyes the cat with a vague look of scrutiny before turning to her fallen companion. "I think the cat's laughing at you, Jacket."

Against the dented, splintered bark of the tree, Mirto can make out a string of muffled curses.

[Pictor]

Date: 1 Jun, Tuesday
Time: Dusk
Weather: Clear Skies
Location: Lagann Street
PC: Jacket, Mirto

============

"I think the cat's laughing at you, Jacket."

Mirto's face is cynical as ever, but inside she's laughing at me. I know it. I can FEEL it. Freakin' teenaged girls... thinking they're better than everyone else.

The girl trotted over to the damned creature. As soon as it saw her approaching, it posed to run.

"H-Hey! Don't let it run off with that! Who knows what level of hell it'll take it to?"

"Oh please. Now you're telling me you hate cats? Come on, there's only so many complexes someone can reveal within a a few minutes, even a ghost!"

Mirto crouched gently and beckoned the creature over.

"C'mon little guy. I'm not going to hurt you. Just drop the hat and be on your way."

Magically, the demon beast did exactly as it was told. My hat flopped to the tiled park ground. Shortly after, the cat dashed off into the distance and disappeared without a trace. Mirto walked over and picked it up.

"It's safe now. See?"

Phew!

I spiraled down the tree trunk and hopped over beside her, snatching the cap out of her hand.

"Yea, yea whatever... freakin' cats... thinking they're better than everyone else."

As I tucked my hat safely back on my head, I noticed the vehement staring of a certain girl's eyes.

"... Can I help you?"

"You know... there's a bunch of things I don't know without you, Jacket. As a Crosser, I think I ought to know a little about what my Stray's problem is, don't you think?"

"Psssh, what do you think I am, princess? A pet? Please, I don't owe you anything."

Mirto turned around and sunk her hands into the pockets of her sweater.

"... Hmph. Fine. I was just being curious anyway."

Uh oh, dude senses tingling. Did I make her angry? Nah, even just having known her for a few hours, my suave women skills tell me that Mirto's not that sensitive. Still, I think I peeved her just a little. Heh, heh.

"Look, my ghost problems are my own business, okay? It's not like I expect you to pour your life's story on me."

*Kchak!*

That was the sound of a sneaker being planted at full force into my shins.

"Tch... ow. Okay. That one hurt."

Mirto smiled triumphantly at her successful attempt at bullying me.

"Heh. Serves you right! Jerk. Aaanyway, I'll pry it out of you eventually."

Mirto jogged on ahead of me and left me in the dust. Recovering from her attack, I was just about to throw another witty one-liner at her before...

GROOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!

Uh oh.

Mirto stopped in her tracks and spun around.

"Jacket! It's back!"

"I know! Damn. But where-"

There. The few meters of space between Mirto and I suddenly exploded into a pillar of grinding metal and smoke. I backflipped out of the way just in time. My clothes were tuffled and flapped around by the sheer velocity of the monster. As the last of the monster hurtled into the air, I dashed my way through the remaining fumes.

"Mirto! You still there?! You didn't get eaten, did you?!"

As the smoke cleared I was relieved to see the girl hacking and coughing, half kneeling on the ground.

"Y-Yea. I just had a little fall. Darn, that monster caught me off guard!"

"Same here... but it was clearly going after you. It's a good thing you reacted so fast, or else you woulda been train chow!"

As I quickly helped Mirto up, I kept my eyes on the Blight. It was twisting and turning irregularly in the darkening sky above us. Despite my compliments to Mirto, she couldn't have been able to dodge the train... not with that speed.

Something was off.

The train... it looked hurt. It wasn't moving properly.

Mirto tugged at my sleeve.

"So... we're gonna fight that thing?"

I smiled and anxiously cracked my knuckles against my palms.

"If you insist, miss princess! Looks like you're gonna get that butt-kicking you were looking forward to!"

[AYC]

(In which Mirto doesn't know what her ability is, crap happens, and the poor people inside the Train take one wild roller coaster ride.)

Date: June 1, Tuesday
Time: 5:50 pm, Nearing Dusk
Weather: Clear
Location: Dawnview Park
PC: Mirto, Jacket
Other PCs: And everyone else in the Train
================

The Train spirals above them like a wobbling snake. It's fast, but not as fast as before.

Mirto briefly contemplates the implications.

"So... we're going to fight that thing?"

A grin splits her companion's face.

"If you insist, miss princess! Looks like you're gonna get that butt-kicking you were looking forward to!"

Jacket looks much more eager to fulfill her suggestion than she'd like. It wasn't even really a suggestion to start with actually - more like a vocalization of her dread. It's not like she's particularly ready to trounce some Train butt quite so soon - but it doesn't look there's any other option for them at the moment.

Hopefully luck's on her side today.

The Train comes crushing down at them with an almost desperate burst, and Mirto barely has another second to breathe before Jacket grabs her wrist and tugs her away from the line of attack.

"Get your head out the clouds, princess! It's do or die, you know!" The cheeky expression on his face makes her give him a dirty look in response.

"Do you even have a plan?!"

"Do you?"

If they weren't in such a dire situation right now, she would have smacked herself in exasperation. Her brain tells her to think of something, anything, but she keeps coming up short with every single meter the Train gains towards them -

Mirto shoves Jacket down as the black wheels slice through the space their heads were just a split second before, and she feels the skin on her hand tear as her outstretched hand fails to gather the sufficient amount of ether to make the same glassy protection as before. The rushing air doesn't help either, and only causes the open gash on her palm to sting more as she fights back the urge to wince at the pain.

It's all wrong.

A familiar hand closes around her wrist again, and there's a loud crunch a second later as heavy bulk of metal smashes against the bottom of the Train and near bends the impacted carriage into a sharp, inverted V. The Blight stumbles in its charge and swerves hard to the side, sending pieces of crumpled iron sheets and broken bolts to evaporate into the air as a dark ether.

"You know, we're partners for reason, Mirto." She glances up, and Jacket flashes her a smirk before flexing his fingers in menacing anticipation. "So you can take all the goddamn time you want, princess, 'cause that just means more fun for me."

Mirto is not sure if she feels grateful or relieved, but she can tell that at the very least, some of her doubt has been alleviated. Whether or not Jacket can tell, she doesn't know, but his grin widens just a little bit more.

"You watch my back, I watch yours, eh? Now let's get this show started, Mr. Train."

[marcien]

Date: ??? (probably still 1 Jun, Tuesday)
Time: ???
Weather: ???
Location: In the Train blight
PCs: Sophia (Oriole), Martin Chang, Randall Kayne
================

"Mister Martin is looking very strange."

"Strange's not the word I would use, but you got it right..."

It was then Sophia realised that that she was seeing some pictures. Images flickered and flashed in her mind. Is this my link's ability? But he doesn't look very nice when doing that... So she decided to use his collar to wipe off some of the drool on his face.

Randall appeared to be somewhat amused.

WHUUUMM. The train did a sudden jerk. All three of them tumbled towards the furnace.

"Ouch!"
"Hot!"
"The heck, it's moving down now?!"
"You're heavy too! Get off me!"
"Mister Martin, you are going to squish Mister Randall that way," said Oriole who was floating above the two of them, seemingly unaffected. The two men groaned and separated themselves.

"This... This must be that god-damn furnace that's powering the locomotive. Taking the coals out should slow this bitch train down."
"How do you know that--"
"The mail, dammit!"

Already, Sophia had begun to pick up the coals piece by piece from a small door at the furnace and throwing them at the blackness of the train walls. It appeared random, but the the train's speed was slowing down.

"That's way too slow..." Randall clapped his palms to reinforce his hands. In a great show of macho, he forcefully ripped off the small door along with it's supporting frame and side. The coals began to pour out of the furnace.

"Woah! Gotta stand back!"
"I see! Thank you, Mister Randall, this is much easier now."

WHAAM! The train shook violently once more. The coals had started rolling down into a depression which appeared to have been caused by a familiar gavel.

"Well, can't let you guys hog all the limelight can I..." Martin was half-smirking, half-wincing in pain after having thrown said gavel into the middle of the spilt-out coals.

[Pasonia]

Date: ??? (probably still 1 Jun, Tuesday)
Time: ???
Weather: ???
PCs: Sophia (Oriole), Martin Chang, Randall Kayne
Others: Anyone right outside the train (that would be Mirto and Jacket)
===============================

While standing up from the messy tumble to the furnace, Martin felt a soft spot on the floor, in part because it creaks and makes a noise typical of weakened wood.

Huh? Hmm... Perhaps, the gavel is beginning to destroy the train from the inside out.

As Martin watches in slight horror Sophia picking out the coals directly from the furnace, he deduces quickly that whatever Sophia might be or might possess in ability, has natural tolerance to fire.

Fire... wood... a plan sprang to mind.

Martin took up the gavel again, it having tumbled with them and now sitting quietly. He raised it high, thinking, "This might just be my best tesuji yet. After all, the enemy's key point is my point."

He used all his might to slam the gavel onto the floor, and, after doing so, felt the impact of the gavel itself throw him off his feet. Already swept off his feet, he quickly held on to a handle bar by the side of the train before the force could throw him anywhere else, but enduring the shockwave himself in this manner caused him to exert much more extra energy than he had wanted to.

By the time the shockwave ended, he was rather tired and exhausted from it, his hand firmly fixed on the gavel that had dented the floor as a result of his "grab anything" panic response. But the effect was fantastic; the floor now had a huge dent in the gavel's impact epicenter, thanks to the purposeful hammering.

"Well, I can't let you guys hog the limelight, can I?" Smirked Martin in false bravado. "Sophia... tell me what you're capable of."
"Me, sir?"
"Is there anyone else here who could handle coals the way you did?" He asked, cocking his left eye up.
"Nope, I do not know how to endure such heat or start fires," blurted Randall, putting his arms up, as though Martin was asking him. Martin ignored Randall and focused his eyes on a slightly embarrassed Sophia.

"Eh... yes, sir... I do know how to handle fire."
"Not good enough. Do you make 'em?"
"Make... make fires, sir? Well, in a way, yes..."

Martin's smirk broke into a big grin, his best move waiting to happen.

"Well, Sophia, I just need you to re-heat these coals... or just take out whatever that's still in the furnace, and send them rolling into this hole."
"Okay, no problem!"

Martin watched as the coals began to sparkle to a red heap of life again in the middle of the train. Bit by bit, the heat ate into the weakened wood until it caused light to stream in from the underside of the train.

"Keep at it, you're almost done," pushed Martin as Sophia kept right on burning the coal. The train, being slightly sensitive by nature, jerked around a bit as though it was wincing in pain at the burn hole, and that sent Martin jerking forward towards the hole.

Wanting to avoid falling into the hole, Martin accidentally let go of the gavel; while it didn't actually strike the train floor (something Martin is mightily thankful for), it caused the coals to sink into the floor and break the floor through. Soon the train's underside was leaking coals to the outside like a bad day at the toilet.

"We did it!" Martin exclaimed. "This should give us a way out!"

But Sophia was clearly not sharing the joy, instead displaying a stunned-and-shocked look on her face. Martin wondered aloud what just happened, and saw the gavel, which fell out of the train together with the coals, flying swiftly and invariably in the path of...

"...a flying jacket and a girl? Uh oh."

[Pictor]

Date: 1 Jun, Tuesday
Time: Dusk - Sunset
Weather: Clear Skies
Location: Dawnview Park
PC: Jacket, Mirto

============

(Switching to the 3rd person for the sake of exposition. Might keep it this way.)

"TORYIAAAAAH!!"

A blur of black and yellow impacted the Train with amazing force, sending it tumbling wildly at odd angles. Few people could say that they have ever haymakered a train moving at full velocity, and at the moment of impact, Jacket felt like the king of the world.

"It's a good thing this monster's ethereal, or else I'd be making a big mess around here!"

"Jacket! Watch out!"

Mirto pointed behind the smugly gloating ghost just in time to warn him of a barrage of iron pegs hurling in his direction.

"WHOA!"

With a last-minute dodge, Jacket rolled unceremoniously into a bench, nearly smashing it into smithereens. The Train's artillery whizzed just barely over his head, and vaporized upon impact with the ground.

"Geez! It can shoot bullets now? What the hell is up with this thing?!"

"They looked like... railroad spikes. Are you okay?"

"Ungh... yea, just fine. Dammit, this monster's doing a number on me though. If I didn't have you, I'd be a nasty smudge on the ground right now."

Mirto paused for a split second to imagine a dark, hat-wearing, human-shaped pancake ground into the tiled floor of the park, then snapped out of the daydream as a familiar hollow roar rang through the air. With as little warning as ever, the Train was upon them once more, with the head of the engine looking more monstrous than ever. Jacket made another attempt to get away, but acted a second too late.

"Geh!!!"

With the loud clang of metal-upon-metal, a yellow tussle of clothing was sent flying across the park, tumbling a few meters before finally stopping.

"Jacket!!"

Mirto ran to the Stray's side and dragged him to his feet.


"Come on, get up! I thought you said my Ether or whatever would keep you healing!"

"It only does so much..."

Jacket cringed and pat the grime off himself as best as he could.

"Dammit... my jacket's ripped. I liked this one too. I'm alright. You need to worry more about your Crosser stuff. I can't do this alone!"

"Easy for you to say! I don't even know how it works!"

"I dunno... it's a natural ability. Just wing it?"

*PSHEEEW!*

Another volley of spikes, raining downward this time! Jacket grabbed Mirto's hand and lugged her to the side, with one of the spikes just barely grazing his shoulder. The Train was above them now, circling in for another attack.

"C-Close!! Dammit, we can't just keep running around like this! There's gotta be somethin-"

*Donk*

"Ouch! What the-"

Jacket reached up and snatched the object that had landed on his head, then promptly dropped it in a hurry.

"Ow! Ow ow ow!! H-Hot! Don't tell me it can breath fire too!"

"Wait a minute... that's coal! It's leaking coal?"

As Mirto suspected, all around them, golf-ball sized chunks of smoldering coal fell from above. As if realizing something was wrong, the Train slowed its own movements and snaked wildly around in the air.

"It's... in a frenzy. Jacket! This could be our chance!"

"Haha, alright! So I hit a weak-spot afterall, huh? Hehe, don't mess with the Phantom Jacket, or you'll get-"

*Donk*

Again, an object from above collided with Jacket's noggin.

"... UuuUuuuhh..."

With a dizzied groan, our masked hero collapsed to the floor. A complete TKO.

"J-Jacket! C'mon, this isn't time to be joking around! Hey!"

Mirto's iron-palmed slaps were no use. Jacket was out cold, his pale eyes spinning in the cut-out sockets of his mask.

"You can't be serious! What the hell is this thing?!"

Mirto clambered over picked up the object which had struck her Stray unconscious. It was small, but surprisingly heavy.

"S-Some sort of... hammer?"

Above the girl's head, the Train gave another roar, as if reminding her about its presence. As it twisted and coiled randomly around the sky, a shower of hot coal buffeted the surrounded area.

Mirto dashed for her life from the molten storm, with a drooling Stray in tow. As she did, Mirto opened her mouth and shouted something she never thought she'd ever hear herself say.

"DAMN IT! I JUST WANNA GO HOME!"


=/=/=/=/=/=

Not far from the chaotic escapades at the park, an untidy tussle of orange hair perked up.

"Super heroine senses tingling! My hammer... I feel it at last!"

With the a mighty leap, the scarfed figure bounded into the air, towards the setting sun. The night-air was crisp; perfect for the destruction of evil.

"Shadow Buster Lanette... AWAY~!"

[Sentrovasi]

Date: Coalday
Time: Hour the Forty-Sixth
Weather: Definitely not raining
Location: The Train
PC: Randall Kayne
Other PCs: Martin Chang, Sophia (Oriole), Jacket

Randall was definitely amused at Martin's strange behaviour, even if he recognized from the start that it was him manifesting his Crosser abilities. The vulgar cursing with every breath he expelled as he continued to describe the owner of the gavel didn't add anything to the impression he was leaving. Still, he realized that whoever owned the gavel wasn't going to be coming to their rescue anytime soon.

WHAM

Randall turned, almost in slow-motion, just in time to see what looked like a yellow jacket peel away from the side of the carriage they were in. An instant later the train's violent reaction had sent the three of them within the carriage hurtling towards one of its ends: now that the train had become a subway carriage, there were no walls between the cars.

"Ugh!"

Almost by reflex, Randall pulled the loose Ether hanging about the other two in an effort to reinforce his body - not a moment too soon, as the salaryman crashed down on top of him before the train finally levelled out.

"Wha, it's hot!"

After a brief struggle with the other man and their positions relative to each other, Randall finally managed to get up and away from the searing metal wall which had halted their progress. Fortunately, with the room's ether in flux now, he was starting to understand how he could use it to at least keep himself insulated until Martin got off him.

"This... This must be that god-damn furnace that's powering the locomotive. Taking the coals out should slow this bitch train down."

Randall turned to Martin, not really understanding how the sudden arrival could've learned so much about the train in such a short amount of time, but he hastened to help the other two now that their power had weakened the train's hold over him. Taking the Ether into his body and reinforcing his arms, he pulled away the door to the coal furnace.

"Woah!"

Perhaps it wasn't the smartest idea he'd had; he was also beginning to quickly realize, too, the limits of his abilities as a Crosser as he stepped away from the door, severely worn out but trying hard not to show it.

Meanwhile, Martin and Sophia seemed to be working on redirecting the train's Ether: Randall appreciated the shrewdness of it, even if he knew that Martin still probably only meant to apply this plan to a mundane train: the Blight's Ether was actually being channeled through the deception of an injury to overflow, with Sophia's innate ability to manipulate heat helping to channel the train's excess Ether into useless material.

"... Although," he reflected silently to himself amidst the rumbling echoes of the train, " turning the ethereal to the material means they'll probably be doing a lot of damage to the physical world about now."

Not that Randall minded. All he really wanted right now was to get back to the material world and get some rest from this strange ordeal. While he was now wholly in possession of the information he had sought, he realized now the danger such a knowledge might be.

[AYC]

(In which Graciel killsteals, Martin gets gavel-pwned... again, and Lanette arrives fashionably late.)

Date: June 1, Tuesday
Time: 6:00 pm, Dusk
Weather: Clear
Location: Dawnview Park
PC: Mirto, Jacket
Other PCs: And everyone else in the Train
================

To be honest, Mirto is quite surprised that the entire park hasn't caught on fire yet from the torrent of smoking rocks raining down. Of course, she could just say that it's due to the fact said flaming lumps are made of ether - but that doesn't necessarily mean that they have be so damn hot to the touch too.

As if on cue, a particularly large chunk smacks her on the forehead. Exactly where her bruise is.

Ow.

Now it's going to take even longer to heal.

...

Although her face is expressionless as she drags Jacket towards shelter, Mirto can feel something inside her threatening to snap. It's an unfamiliar sensation, and at first, she's not exactly sure what it is, but when she ends up tripping and falling ungracefully over a stray, still materialized piece of metal from the Train, it all becomes very, very clear to her.

She's reached her bloody breaking point.

"AAAAARRRRGGGHHH!!"

Mirto herself isn't quite sure what's happening, but she's just as surprised as the next person when her foot makes contact with dropped gavel on the ground and ends up kicking it in a perfectly angled shot upwards. Right back into... the hole from whence it came.

...

Thunk.

She suspects that that's the sound of the hammer hitting the ceiling of the Train from the inside. But she finds herself frozen with shock at the short, high-pitched scream that accompanies it, as well as the much louder THUNK and "Efff my liiiifffeeeeee~!" that follows it.

...

. . .

. . .

Um. It couldn't possibly be that there were people inside the Train, could it? As much as Mirto wishes to say that she was probably just hearing things, somehow she feels like she's already gotten a heads-up on that little fact before.

Hopefully she didn't just kill someone. Or else give him permanent brain damage.

...

Good thing is that at the very least, the rain of fire seems to have stopped. As for the Train, it seems to trudging along slowly despite the fact that its body is covered all over in dents, scratches and bullet holes.

Bullet holes?

Even though she can't tell where it's coming from, Mirto manages turn her head in time to see a high-speed bullet collide and penetrate the head of the Train with a loud bang, sending squares of iron to peel off the Blight in crumbled pieces. The sound of the gunshot rings clearly in her ears, and it takes all of her remaining strength to drag Jacket out of harm's way as the Train comes crashing onto the ground in wave of smoky black ether.

"Ugh... so... heavy..."

All that ether looks like really bad pollution. Amidst her exhaustion, Mirto vaguely ponders the identity of the person who had dealt the final blow to the Train.

"Ow..."

But all that thinking can wait until later, because there's more important things to worry about. Like... whether or not she actually killed someone.

"Sir! Mister Martin! Are you okay?"

"I think he's just uncon - Hey, wait... I see somebody..."

Through the rising black ether, Mirto spots an odd trio of people, one of which she recognizes to be the museum's missing security guard. Next to him sits a rather innocent-looking little girl, and a...

Man out cold on the ground. With what looks to be the the heavy gavel resting in the grass by his head.

Oh crap.

And then -

"Striking Gavel of Justice! Shadow Buster Lanette, at your servi - WH-WHOA, what happened here?!"

[Pasonia]

Date: June 1, Tuesday
Time: 6:00 pm, should be dusk
Weather: Not too sure
Location: Could be Dawnview Park
PC: Martin, Randall, Sophia (Oriole)
Other PCs: And everyone else outside of it
================

Martin wasn't in the least bit sorry that the gavel fell out and hit what was supposed to be an inanimate object. Curious, he had his head peeked out to see what is going on.

"Hmm, I think we're around Dawnview Park the way we're trudging along," blurted Martin, noting the relative lack of speed the train now has because of the coals they had dumped right out of the train. Though probably not the most environmentally conscious way to deal with the problem at hand, a solution is a solution.

"Nobody said a solution had to look good. The blood-vomiting game looked like horrid shit," mumbled Martin as the two other tired and crocked people in the train decided they didn't actually want to decipher what Martin just said.

It was then that Martin shirked his head from a high-pitch scream from a teenage girl probably still in high school. Something instinctively told him to watch out, so Martin did all he could to scramble away from the hole, screaming in an uncharacteristic high pitch as he did so.

What happened then? Well, just as Martin had expected, something came flying into the train. It crashed onto the roof of the train, causing loud vibrations as everyone tumbled onto the train floor, trying their best not to fall through the hole. The "thing" that came back then somehow reflected itself all over the roof of the train, as though it was playing pachinko with the railings and metal bars around it.

In a freak twist of luck, the "thing" struck a handlebar and headed exactly where Martin's attempt to control his momentum landed him at. Martin swore he could see the "thing" headed for his head, but like earlier with the train, he found himself utterly helpless, unable to even twist himself out of the hammer's path.

As the two others watched on in utter horror, the "thing" - which Martin now clearly saw as that same gavel he dropped out of the train - crashed into Martin's head, head-on, but not before he cried:

"Efff my liiiifffeeeeee~!"

Martin expected a blackout. He wasn't expecting an immediate power outage.

Having no time to think about losing consciousness, he went limp and collapsed face-first onto the train floor, playing no further part in this crazy fracas.

[Pictor]

Date: 1 Jun, Tuesday
Time: Dusk - Sunset
Weather: Clear Skies
Location: Dawnview Park
PC: Jacket, Mirto
===================

Lanette's eagerness to incite her heroic creed was suddenly struck aside by the sight she had stumbled into.

Smoke and people... absolutely everywhere. And what were those sizzling things all over the ground? Coal?

A-And where there's coal, there's a Train! Or... a barbecue... No! No! Stay focused, skipping lunch is no excuse for a heroine to be distracted!

Lanette quickly surveyed the area, immediately spying a stunned-looking girl kneeling on the ground amidst the thick black vapors. Ah, this feeling... she's a Crosser, and an awakened one too! She might know something!

"Hey, you there! Little girl!"

Lanette strutted as heroically as possible over to the girl on the ground.

"Wha-? Who are you calling 'little girl'... little girl?"

"Well... I might be a little girl, but I am also..."

Lanette puffed out her chest and crossed her arms as triumphantly as possible.

"... Shadow Buster Lanette! At your service, citizen! No doubt you've heard of me!"

Shadow Bus-a-what now? Oh. Yea. Mirto had heard of this strange girl. Apparently a real-life superhero that had been going around saving people from petty purse-thieves and whatnot.

"Ahem! A-Anyway. I'd like to ask you something, by the way. You're a Crosser, right?"

Mirto did a double-take in surprise.

"H-How did you know that?! Ungh... why does everyone seem to know more than me around here?!"

"Yikes, calm down... um, if you really wanna know, I'm a Crosser too. I just sensed your Ether, that's all."

Lanette made a mental note to herself that normal people, even Crossers, aren't all as sensitive to Ether as she was trained to be.

"Oh yea, I was gonna ask... er, this might sound weird, but did you see a train come by here?"

Mirto responded with an unamused glare and a raised eyebrow. Raising a hand, she swirled her index finger at the black smoke undulating the entire area.

"There's your train, miss super hero."

It took a second for Lanette to register what the kneeling girl implied.

"W-W-Whaaaaat?! You mean, it's already vanquished?! T-Then I missed the whole thing! Darn it!"

Mirto rolled her eyes at the strange, younger teen stomping the ground in frustration.

"Be glad you did. It was the most unorthodox, nonsensical thing I've ever had the displeasure of being a part of. Now since this whole crazy mess is over, if you'll excuse me, I'm just gonna grab my ghost and be on my way."

Mirto, straight-faced as ever, got to her feet and shook the dust and soot out of her hair. Taking Jacket by the arm, she began the task of dragging the Stray and herself somewhere that isn't half on-fire.

Lanette on the other hand, was still busy pouting that she had missed out on the action, but unfortunately, not enough that she didn't notice the appearance of a familiar face into the corner of her vision. She gasped aloud, causing Mirto to stop in her tracks.

Turning around, Mirto was greeted by a shocked Lanette, frozen in place, stuttering and pointing at her cargo. Mirto heaved an exasperated sigh. What was with these people...?

"What is it now?"

"I-I-I-I-IT'S HIM! THE VILLAIN! I KNEW IT, I KNEW HE WAS IN PEBBLETON!"

Mirto was nearly blown back at the sheer amount of yelling that came out of the girl's gaping mouth.

"What on Earth are you screaming about? You said you were a Crosser too, right? Don't you know about all this Stray and Ether mumbo jumbo?"

"Of course I know about all that!! But that has nothing to do with... HIM! What're you doing with together with him anyway... are you two in cahoots? Did you guys send the Train on a rampage?"

At this point, Mirto did not know whether to be offended or confused. What the heck was this hyperactive brat even saying?

"I... Look. I have no clue what you're babbling on about. You wanna know if I set the Train loose? No. And neither did this loser on the floor... at least I'm ninety-nine percent sure he didn't. If you wanna be a super hero... I guess you can be environmentally conscious and help clean up all this junk in the park. But right now, I need a bath, and then a lot of sleep. Ciao!"

Before Mirto could even take a step, she was instantly blocked off by a red-haired barricade with outstretched arms.

"H-Hold it right there! Um... if you'd please. I, uh, didn't mean to accuse you. But then what are you doing with my arch rival?"

"... Hah?"

An awkward moment of silence pierced the smokey air as Mirto stared blankly at Lanette. Still not saying a word, she pointed to the unconscious Jacket, then back up at Lanette.

"You... know Jacket?"

"Jacket eh... is that what this scumbag is calling himself now? Heh, no doubt trying to change his identity to hide from me! No matter, I've got him now!"

"Whoa whoa, back up! You're quite familiar with him, aren't you? How the heck do you know this guy?"

Lanette assumed her arms-crossed superhero stance once more. Clearing her throat, she began her epic exposition.

"Ahem! Well, ah, I caught this evil-doer doing... uh, evil one day and unleashed justice upon him, of course! But he got away from me, the nerve of him! From that day on, I've pursued him endlessly. Why, this villain and I have tussled practically across the country! But I got the better of him that fateful day, before he scuttled away like a coward, my last blow rendered this pathetic Blight material! Now he's that much easier to track... hehehe. A smart move on my part, if I do say so myself... kinda like how hunters tag their prey. Huh, wow that was actually a pretty good analogy, I'll have to remember that one..."

As Lanette giggled and congratulated herself, Mirto was having a revelation.

Unable to turn invisible... constant mutterings and paranoia of teenaged girls. Suddenly, it's all starting to make sense. Imagine that. Something about Jacket making sense.

"Y-You..! So it's you! That's why he's so... so messed up!"

Lanette snapped out of her self-gratification and turned around to come face-to-face with an irritated Mirto.

"And Jacket's not a Blight! He's a Stray, and mine at that!"

[marcien]

i seriously wasn't expecting to post so soon. but i caught a flu (4 hours ago) which escalated into a fever (0.5 hour ago) so i can't do my work now. shit. and my writing is just as cheerful as i am now

Date: ??? (probably still 1 Jun, Tuesday)
Time: Sunset
Weather: Ether bullets from everywhere
Location: (still) In the Train blight
PCs: Sophia (Oriole), Martin Chang, Randall Kayne, Graciel
================

Something is not right, thought Oriole. There is a hole in the train, yet we can't get out. Sophia had tried to get out earlier*, but found herself blocked by an invisible air pillow. Randall tried as well, with the same result. Her link Martin commented that it was probably fortunate, since the train and them were a good several dozen metres above ground and that had Randall succeeded he would have been flatter than a piece of naan.

*She was trying to go to Jacket whom she recognised.

It was as though the train would rather get hurt than to release its prey. Coals can get out, yet ether beings cannot. Even the hammer could fall out... and come back in.

"Mister Martin!"

And then they were riddled with bullets. Bullets that can hit a blight? A panzer is fighting it! Good, we are going to be safe-- And then Sophia felt their altitude dropping rapidly.

CRRAAAASSSHH!!!!!

[marcien]

i'm trying to tie things up here. seeing as to how it's gonna be evening, it's probably redmist's job. unless hailey will work overtime.

Date: 1 Jun, Tuesday
Time: 1814 - 1840
Weather: Fair, if you are a normal person. PSI 200+ if you are an ether-sensitive being with no fire resistance.
Location: Block 44 #12-108 → Dawnview Park
PCs: Z. Redmist, Graciel, Jacket, Mirto
Other PCs: Sophia (Oriole), Martin Chang, Randall Kayne
NPCs: Lanette Hindfell, Mrs Berry
================

Redmist was watching the train circle and rampage from his window. He knew that it was going to be messy, and made some preparations.

When the sun was finally close to the horizon, Redmist left for the scene. No sooner had he dashed off the bridge, when the train, finally substantially weaken, crashed to the ground.

"Wow, did you see that, Ratmist? That's my dear's subordinate for you!" came Sue's voice through the earpiece, "And yes, Mr. Kayne is in there, as with... another linked pair."

A linked pair? Redmist was not aware of any linked pairs existing in Pebbleton at this moment. There used to be some around, but... He grounded his teeth in irritation. He has sent out a mail to all of the Crossers and Panzers betting that a linked pair from one of the town's neighbours would arrive to help. A miscalculation on his part. Redmist underestimated this blight's strength- no- it was a bad excuse: he knew how strong it was from the start. What Redmist did not see coming was the incompetence, no- stupidity, no- bad luck... or the ability to aggravate the train that this town's crossers possess.

Looking at the ether mess that spread out around the area, he replied, "I certainly wish that Berry taught his subordinates restrain as well. All he needed to do was just hit the vital spot, not shoot a lot at anything that moves. What the about the linked pair?"

"Actually, there are two linked pairs here. And oh my go-- We have a problem. Ah, there you are... See for yourself."

Redmist jogged up to Mrs. Noco Sue-Berry and surveyed the crash site.

The youngest Hindfel chasing after what looked like one of the linked pairs Sue was talking about. He was surprised to see that he recognised the stray, the infamous Phantom Jacket, no less. On the other side.... Just black smoke. Nothing else.

"What is the meaning of this, Sue?" he queried.

"I don't understand this either. Look, I was just here, and train crash. Then I was talking to you while making my way over to help out the three of them, and then they just disappeared! I don't even know what just happened!"

It wasn't completely defeated. It is trying to recover. It... "The blight retreated in a last bid effort to survive. It is going to consume them to restore itself."

[SavviG]

Date: 1 Jun, Tuesday
Time: Dusk
Weather: Clear Skies
Location: Lagann Street
PC: Graciel, Jacket, Mirto

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[A while back ...]

"I think the cat's laughing at you, Jacket."

I looked up at the girl, then back at Jacket. The Phantom ...
Is he really that bad of a guy? He seems to be protecting this girl so to speak.

Murmurs came from the bushes. The girl came closer, I hopped and crouched slightly ready to run. Keeping a eye on her, a crosser with an unknown ability to me.

"H-Hey! Don't let it run off with that! Who knows what level of hell it'll take it to?" shouted Jacket.

Maybe I will keep it and wear it if I could? thought Graciel in response to Jacket.

"Oh please. Now you're telling me you hate cats? Come on, there's only so many complexes someone can reveal within a a few minutes, even a ghost!"

I watched her kneel down. Her hand waved me over like I was her toddler. I sat down and watched.

"C'mon little guy. I'm not going to hurt you. Just drop the hat and be on your way."

I sat there thinking, should I just leave them be? I'll keep a eye on them in case. Thought the hat felt warm, though too big for me. I dropped the hat and ran off round the brushes.

I can barely hear them talk now and I am out of sight so I guess I can report in about Jacket. Just when I was about to grab out my device I hear a loud rawring sound. Graciel looked up and spotted a rising black pillar with smoke. The Blight Train is back.

Graciel ran away from the Blight towards a mound of hill. Whilst he ran he changed back into his human form. Once up the small hill Graciel halted, spinned onto the ground flat with rifle in hand.

Graciel steadied his rifle and waited for the right moment. "Graciel, ready to snipe to kill!"

A couple of birds flew off into the skys ....

[Pictor]

Date: ???
Time: ???
Weather: ???
Location: ???
PC: Jacket
Other:A boy, A woman
===================

"Mama..."

The woman rose from her bed to see a young boy in pajamas standing by the doorway. The lights in the hallway silhouetted his nervous face.

"Salem...? Oooh... what time is it?"

The woman rubbed her heavy eyelids and shifted over to a clock on the nightstand beside her bed. It was an old-fashioned alarm cock designed to look like a large flower, complete with massive bell ringers on top. A Mother's Day gift from her eldest son...

"Salem, honey... it's two in the morning. What's the matter?"

"Um... can I sleep with you for tonight?"

Jacket was confused. What the heck was this? The scene was playing out in front of him... yet at the same time, he didn't seem to exist in this world. It was like watching some kind of movie.

"Where am I? Last thing I remembered..."

Jacket took a moment to recall recent events... but as hard as he strained his mind, nothing came.

"I can't... I can't remember... ungh..."

The woman gave a gentle sigh.

"Now Salem, you have to learn how to sleep by yourself sometime! Weren't you so excited to get your own room?"

"It's not my room though... it's _--_--_--_--"

Ack! Jacket shielded his donkey-like ears as a loud static noise pierced the atmosphere, as if someone had turned the audio on this "movie" to a wrong radio station.

The woman opened her mouth, but Jacket could not make out the words. Her face was serene... comforting. Somehow... familiar....

"GUH!!"

The noise grew louder and louder, to the point where it hurt. Jacket clutched his ears in pain in a feeble attempt to block out the terrible sound, but to no avail. It was coming from everywhere... all angles... impossible to mute.

The two characters in the scene continued to speak, completely unaware of the plight of the hapless Stray as he tumbled around in pain. The woman got out of bed, walked over, and held the child close.

"A-Aaaauuugh....!"

The static! It was unbearable! Jacket felt like the inside of his head was going to split. Through a single eye squinted with agony, Jacket saw that the woman's face was covered in tears. Again, the woman spoke, but Jacket was beyond caring.

Stop. Stop! Make it stop! I just want out! Haaaaaa---!"

The woman was holding the child tighter now, staining the shoulders of his pajamas wet with tears. The child looked confused. And then...

"Mama... you're hurting me..."

Even through the static, the boy's worrisome voice was crystal clear. The words echoed through Jacket's mind as he finally succumbed to the intense pressure inside his skull.

Darkness drifted into his vision, and the scene melted away... like an intricate painting doused in water. What was this place? Why was he here?

It was so foreign... yet... yet...

Jacket's last thoughts trailed off, spiraling into the same oblivion as himself.

As he lost consciousness, another noise perforated the world around him.

*GONG....!*

*GONG....!*

*GONG....!*

It was not like the static at all. This was crisp and calming. Reminding him of someplace important. Someplace... he needed to be.

[Pictor]

Date: 1 Jun, Tuesday
Time: Around 6:30, Dusk - Growing Dark
Weather: Clear Skies
Location: Dawnview Park
PC: Jacket, Mirto
NPC: Lanette
Other: Everyone else
===================

Sorry for all the Mirto-control I've been doing. It's more as a reaction to Lanette's antics, but I'm aware I may be stepping over the line.

Mirto took a deep breath as she finished her tiresome retelling of the worst day of her life, an ordeal which had took nearly five whole minutes.

"So that's it. You see now?"

Lanette leaned on the stone ledge of the park fountain as she rubbed her temples, trying to make sense of the massive exposition just thrown her way.

"Ungh.... Okay, okay. So you're saying... this guy... he isn't a bad guy?"

"Yes! Finally, we're getting somewhere."

Mirto was nearly dumbstruck. Finally, something's gotten through that dense head! She's only known Jacket for a day, and she hardly expected to meet someone even more thick-headed than him so soon.

"B-B-Buh... That doesn't make any sense! The Ether signatures coming from him... are clearly that of a Blight! Ever since the day that I clobbered him good, I've sensed it as such."

"Alright, you're losing me now. Why are you so sure?"

Lanette scratched her head modestly.

"Eh heh... well. Um, you see, I come from a family that's all Crossers. I've been trained since I was a kid to deal with all of this stuff. It's mostly boring crap, but I've picked up some neat tricks hear and there! One of which is that I can sense the Ether off others. Regular Crossers can't even do this."

Mirto only returned a shrug. What, was she expecting some kind of medal?

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised. I just found out I was a Crosser a few hours ago. Courtesy of our special guest here."

Mirto nudged Jacket lightly with the tips of her shoe. But she did learn something new... there are Crossers all over the place, apparently. This girl said she came from a whole family of them. Lucky... at least her introduction wasn't in the form of a crazy masked guy throwing her through a window five stories off the ground.

...Speaking of which, what was she gonna do with Jacket anyway? She couldn't just leave him... or could she? At least, Mirto knew that she can't exactly tow him all the way back home either. You've heard of dogs (ugh!) following people home... but handicapped ghosts? Her aunt and uncle would flip out.

Meanwhile, Lanette paced around the fountain anxiously.

"Nuuuh... but what you say could only be true! A Blight can't bond with a Crosser... that'd be impossible! So he has to be a Stray... but then that means..."

Mirto watched with what she would admit as mild amusement as the red-haired girl collapsed to her knees and began to ruffle her hair furiously.

"What have I been doing for the past month?!!"

Preoccupied with watching Lanette rock back and forth in frustration, she nearly fell backwards into the fountain when the sudden blaring of bells rang out from the ornate clock behind her.

As the baritone chimes were carried through the darkening, indigo skies, Mirto could not help but sigh. What a day. A day she could have spent delving into a good text, or perhaps even getting in a few extra hours of studying.

The looming finals were of no concern... Mirto was already certain she would pass each and every course with flying colours. But if she were to ask any schoolmate what they did on the night before exams, they most certain wouldn't have been running around, fighting a giant demon train of all things!

Out of the corner of her eye, Mirto spotted some more figures milling about in the smoke. Great. More contenders to this tragedy?

[SavviG]

Date: 1 Jun, Tuesday
Time: Around 6:50
Weather: Clear Skies
Location: Dawnview Park
PC: Graciel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[After Battle]

The smoke from the aftermath lingers on in the distance, slow rising and blown away yet people who are not aware of Blights, Crossers or any sorts cannot see this.

Graciel got up in a kneeling position and looked through the scope of his rifle, pointing directly at the smoke. It was thick, but clearing slowly.

He could see shadows, some standing and some still low. "So there was people in the Blight?" thought Graciel, but he rather watch the scene unfold than guess. Graciel watched the shadows dance about as the street lamps starting to flicker on.

A girl comes into view and straight to the survivors, "Who's she?" wondered Graciel. I think I watch a bit more. She looked hyper he thought ...

10 Mins later, mouth wide open and eyes squeesed shut... "Yaoooooorighh~" yawned Graciel and rubbed his teary eyes. It was time to great the participants.

He got up and put the rifle away and started to walk to the aftermath.

[marcien]

edited time of previous post to tie up with savvi's. also, M is not going to get away untraumatized by the train =DD


Date: 1 Jun, Tuesday
Time: 1842 - 1900
Weather: Fair, if you are a normal person. PSI 200+ if you are ether-sensitive with zero fire resistance.
Location: Dawnview Park → Pebbleton Subway Station → Telston Mall
PCs: Z. Redmist, Graciel, M
Other PCs: Those three still inside the train
NPCs: Mrs Berry
================

"What's going on?" said Graciel as he approached the pair.

"Good, you're here" Mrs. Berry acknowledged his presence. The two panzers saluted each other politely. She gave him an update.

At the same time, Redmist was having his face down against the surface of his tablet computer in his hands. If it wasn't for the gravity of the situation, Graciel would have chuckled at how much it looked like a new variation of a facepalm.

One minute and forty seconds later, Redmist raised his head. (And spoke with another variation of the facepalm - his hand over his mouth.) "The subway station. Of course, where else would a train stop at?" Then he noticed Graciel. "Will Flay be coming with us, Sue?"

"Yes."
" 'course I am." Graciel had heard about Redmist, but was still surprise to hear a stranger call him by surname.

Redmist on the other hand, was less than happy. As advanced as the panzer technology is, they have a horrendously sloppy record system. For example, this soldier: Graciel Flay - his family name was not even in their registrar! Redmist had have to search through genealogy records in order to find that out. He was disgusted.

-- -- -- -- --

The trio stepped out of Mrs Berry's Volvo C30 at the parking lot near Pebbleton Subway Station.

"Are you sure it's here, Redmist? My MPUD's not picking up anything."

"It's trying not to draw attention while it recovers."

"Ouch for the peeps inside."

"It is now stationary on empty transfer track north of the station. Unless you remove Kayne and linked pair, the train will continue to recover."

"You're not coming with us, Mr. Redmist?"

"No, he's not. He's less combat-ready than my Volvo. So he's sitting here with it so I don't have to pay my parking coupon."

Redmist sighed and nodded.

-- -- -- -- --

The train blight rested in the tunnel. A husk of it's former self, all that remained was it's front locomotive.

It had swallowed two crossers and a stray. While one pair of crosser and stray was difficult to digest, the other crosser was a much easier meal. He had been drained for a good three days, and very ready to be completely absorbed.

There's something else. The train started moving. It found another source of ether energy. A stray hanging about the mall.

-- -- -- -- --

When the panzers had entered the station, Redmist tore a parking coupon and placed it on the car's dashboard. He walked away.



QUESTION: i am not sure about parking coupons. are they used in other countries as well? i know they're used in singapore/malaysia/china.

[Pasonia]

Date: 1 June
Time: Should be somewhere in the evening
Weather: Unknown
Location: Inside the half-broken train.
PCs: Martin Chang, Sophia, Randall, Lanette Hindfell
Other PCs: Anyone looking for the train at the subway

==================================


"Ughhhhhhnuhhh.... Ouch... my throbbing head..."

The first thing that Martin felt was the repeatedly throbbing hurt on his head. The gavel really shook him up and Martin was left growling in pain for a good while.

"Mister Martin, you're awake!"

Martin's head began to clear quickly on hearing that "Mister" prefix on his name. At least, everything was clearing up very quickly again...

"My headache's vanishing," thought Martin. "Uhh, Sophia..."
"Yes?"
Martin gave a long sigh. "I'm not that old yet. Could you just call me Martin instead of Mister Martin? It's Mister Chang even if you want to say it, but I'm not really comfortable with that."

"Okay, Mister Martin!"

Martin winced. This is even worse than hitting a brick wall face-first.

"Well, never mind, just... do what you can, alright? What the hell happened anyway during the time I was knocked--- holy motherfucking shit?!"

That interjection came as Martin noticed a web of black things surrounding Randall.

"What the fucking hell?"
"It... it seems the train is trying to eat him up... Can you help him, sir?"
"Good lord, this is so uncool. Hell, it's almost like the bloody train's trying to digest him."

Martin didn't really have any reason to save Randall - after all, they didn't really talk a lot - but Martin knew he'll feel guilty if he didn't at least try to pry him away. But whatever he knows about Ether is still so pathetically little it's impractical, so he wondered what on earth made Sophia so sure he could help the poor sod.

Martin tried to pry Randall away, but the tendrils kept pushing him away. Every time he tried, all it did was to push Martin out while it continued absorbing purplish-looking material from the train.

"Sophia, can't you do anything about this?!"
"I can't, Mister Martin, it... it will eat me."

Martin lowered his voice; it seemed that his shouting is bringing Sophia to tears. Also, he forgot that not everyone aboard this train is a human.

"Dammit, dammit! Hey... hey, buddy Randall, wake up! Tell me everything you know about this Ether shit."

"Ugh... uhh... it's you... pedo?"
"...Pedo?"
"...never mind... listen... there are several ways for a Crosser to summon his Ether. One way... is to press hard on the wrist and... and draw a deep line from it to the shoulder."

Martin tried it. No use, nothing came out.

"Doesn't work! Any other way?"

After several minutes of trying just about everything, including clapping his palms, punching the air, chanting, or even jumping around, nothing came out.

"Dammit! Nothing works?"
"...huh... well, I guess that's that then. This train's had me in it for three days already. I guess I'm not gonna make it out of this train at any rate."

"No! Shut your bloody trap! I won't fucking allow it if I can help it! THINK, MARTIN, GOD FUCK THINK!"

Then, all of a sudden, the same golden spark that appeared during the earlier bonding pact thing appeared on his right index.

"Eh... what the bloody fuck?"

Soon the sparks were all over Martin's fingers, and he could feel something tangible flying out of it. It was actively eating at the black tendrils that were holding Randall.

"Here goes nothing then... take this, piece of shit!"

Martin decided to hasten the process and jabbed his fingers into the source of the tendrils; they immediately shirked away from Randall, releasing the knocked-out Randall from its previously vice-like grip.

"You did it, Mister Martin!"
"Save the talking for later," gasped Martin. "We need to get him to some kind of ether doctor quickly, he's breathing fine but he looks totally out. Where's the hole from earlier?"
"Well... It's fixed right back, Mister Martin..."

Martin is immensely furious. Although he doesn't know much about this Ether thing, he knows that, used by different beings and individuals, it has different kinds of effects. This god damn cursed train must've taken this ether from Randall in order to fix itself.

"This bitch train..." Martin began to quickly survey the train as fast as he could, looking for faults as he had earlier. Then...

"Hmm... a bullet hole thingy here. I didn't know this train was shot... hey."

Martin signalled for Sophia, who quickly rushed to Martin's side with Randall in tow.
"Hey, Sophia, could you do me a favor? Press this hole with me. Let's see if we could use our powers to amplify the size of this crack."

"Okay, Mister Martin..."
Martin sighed out loud again. "I can't change you, can I? Let's do this."

Sophia blinked for a moment in confusion, but complied anyway; together, the duo combined their ether into a heat drill and began to burn the crack. Martin had one hand on the train's handlebar in the event that it winced, but it didn't.

"Great! This train's not resisting as fiercely as it used to," deduced Martin. "We should be able to break out in one good stroke."

Momentarily, Martin began to reminisce about the games he had won simply by breaking out of the opponents' traps, and that filled his mind up with glee. As the glee seeped into his mood, so did it seep into his ether in the form of a stronger flow. It sparked an idea in Martin, who picked up the gavel and gave one huge swing at the hole they were trying to bust through.

CRASHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

With their combined efforts, the pair finally busted the side of the train open, leaving a spectacular gap of metal that can fit everyone.

"Mister Martin--"
"Sophia, seriously!" Martin is aghast that Sophia is still attaching that annoying prefix to his name. Somehow he's going to make her change the way she's addressing him at the end of this whole thing.

Sophia, meanwhile, was slightly apprehensive because the earlier hole they made didn't ensure that they were out of the train. But this time, she didn't feel anything pushing her hand back into itself as she stretched her tiny arm out of the hole.

"Mis.. Mister Martin... the train is freeing us. There's no invisible force anymore!"

Martin thought, "Great, we're outta this rut once and for all!"

In his euphoria, he quickly threw himself out of the train, not noticing that the train was actually quite a ways off from the ground floor. Just when he thought his legs were going to give from falling two floors down, Sophia quickly flew towards her link and pushed Martin by his feet in mid-air, softening the speed of his landing.

"That was a bloody close one. Thanks, Sophia."
"You're welcome, Mister Martin!"

Martin laughed, the loudest he had had for almost the whole year.
"Haha! Ah, hell! Maybe I should teach you how to play Go someday so you'll become a bit smarter!"

It was then that the train suddenly began to roar... almost as though it was roaring at them, Martin thought.

"R...run! It's going to come... come after us now!" growled a still-weak Randall, sprawled across Martin's shoulder.
"That's real mighty comfortable, dude," growled Martin, fireman-carrying the not-exactly-light Randall, "but..."

"YA---HOO------! Shadow Buster Lanette, on the path of heroic redemption!"

Martin recognised that voice instantaneously, although it had been some time. It was the sound of that bitch girl from earlier, that one who looked like a magical girl reject.

Although, the way she introduced herself suddenly had Martin think of SatAM cartoons, especially that of the old 80's cartoon variety.

"Evil Train Blight! You will not get away with swallowing my gavel---"

Lanette did her customary finger-pointing pose at the train, which by now was much more severely weakened but still enraged. Then she noticed the people she just ran past, and her eyes widened at the sight of the foul-mouthed bushman.

"Wait a minute, it's... you, Uncle Bushman? Don't tell me you were the one inside the train this whole time, old man?"

Martin was not sure whether to get angry or laugh, given the story between himself, Sophia, and this bloody gavel that belonged to her. He is pretty wiped, too, having spent quite a bit of his newfound Ether energy on the train.

"Girl... if you've got enough time to talk, you got enough time to deal with the Blight..." Martin growled, then suddenly his legs gave way, but not before he raised his arms out with Lanette's gavel in hand.

"I suppose this piece of shit belongs to you, hero girl?"