interstellar5555 | (no subject)

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Who: System Crash and mallgoers
What: ~~A ridiculous publicity stunt~~ A concert.
Where: South Vista Mall
When: Saturday evening
Warnings: Dumb eighties music? None really.

[It's a busy Saturday evening at the South Vista mall. Besides what appears to be some kind of minor construction project on one of the mezzanines, it's like any other day.

Or it is until all the lights go out. Then, an array of colored lights flare up, accompanied by a voice.]

Heeelllloooo South Vista mall~! We are....

[Then more colored lights, now focused on that construction project. Except, now it's a stage. Band, instruments, and all. People are starting to gather around curiously.]

SYSTEM CRASH!!

[They start playing. Not just one song, but an entire set. Mostly happy or playful songs like What's Goin' On or The Neverending Story. Run with us is pretty popular with the crowd and they close out with The Last Unicorn. The entire time, Trucy is putting the full weight of her two levels of music power into the performance, trying to influence the audience to feel excitement and fun. They are enjoying this, they want to see more. She's asked the rest of the band to try to push those feelings too. She doesn't know how many of them can do this, but it's worth trying.

When it's over, Trucy addresses the audience one last time.]

If you thought that was good, wait'll you see what we have planned for you next.

[And with a wink, she bows. And a flash of multicolored pyrotechnics obscures the stage. When it fades, the band is gone.]

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[Backstage]

[Before the concert, Pinkie seems anxious, fiddling with her keytar and shifting it on and off of her shoulders. Did it get heavier? Are her fingers more shaky than normal?

Her legs don't feel quite right under her, and she barely takes the time to find a seat before sitting down, hard. Once there, she folds her hands into fists and tucks them beneath her arms again. Deep breaths, now. She has to do this for Trucy and the rest of the band. It'll be okay.]

[After]

[In the end, it wasn't quite as bad as she thought.

Pinkie puts on a hoodie before leaving the musicians' area, mostly so that she can put her hands in the big front pocket. When they're in there, she can sort of pretend they don't exist. Trotting down the stairs, she goes out to mill aimlessly around near the audience area. She had rather not go out at all, but she has to leave eventually. Maybe some friends showed up!]

[While the mall isn't always Rarity's speed, they do have a few high-end stores, and she could use a little retail therapy after everything that's been happening lately. Her purple hair - which is something she still needs to get used to - is tucked up under a scarf that compliments her outfit, and she's wearing a pair of flashy red-rimmed glasses - without lenses, yes, as she doesn't actually need them to See, but it's enough of a disguise that she should be able to pass mostly unnoticed.]

[Or she would be, if it weren't for the bodyguard trailing a dozen feet behind her. Honestly, there's no such thing as subtle with them. She glances back at the bodyguard and turns front again just in time to catch the musician in the hoodie in front of her, and she offers her a smile.]

It was a lovely concert.

Oh!

[Something about the voice and the glasses catches at Pinkie, and for a moment her gaze darts up towards the scarf. But - no, that's stupid. God, she really needs to get over these horse things already, it's kinda making her crazy.]

Uh, thanks! [She keeps her hands in her hoodie pocket, pressing her fists together tightly. Her smile doesn't ring quite true, but she's trying.] We had a super-duper great time!

[Rarity sees the musician's face, and for a moment she can't help but think that she ought to know this person-]

[-but that's absurd, of course. She locks her smile back in place.]

I could tell!

[She holds out a hand for a handshake.]

My name is Rarity - I play violin for Defying Atmosphere. It's lovely to meet you.

[Pinkie looks down at the hand. Oh god, why]

I'm Pinkie! I'm the lead singer with System Crash, but I guess you kinda knew that! [She offers a fist. For something. She remembers she used to like giving people really energetic handshakes...] I also play the keytar sometimes, I guess, but singing is WAAAAAY more my thing! It's super nice to meet you too!

[Oh. Well, she can certainly do that too. Rarity makes a fist and bumps Pinkie's with hers. Greg was inordinately fond of the fistbump, which means that Rarity got good at it by proximity.]

[She gives the most subtle of glances - good, her bodyguard is still far behind her and there don't seem to be any more of them approaching - and looks back at Pinkie, lowering her voice just a bit.]

You know, it's the strangest thing, but I can't help but feel as though I know you from somewhere. [It's the voice - that voice she heard in her memory, singing and using laughter to defuse what should have been a terrifying situation.] You- wouldn't happen to be a fan of horror movies, would you?

Oh! Um - [Pinkie obviously stumbles. He hadn't expected Rarity to feel the same, much less say so.] Yeah, totally! It's fun to be a little scared sometimes! And it's not real anyway, so you can laugh at the special effects!

[She darts a glance around for her own security. They're around, but they don't keep such a close eye on her lately. It's Tiger they're all focused on.]

You know, I kinda feel the same way? We must have met somewhere!

[And she laughs at horror movies. It has to mean something.]

[For a moment, Rarity falters. She shouldn't be doing this - she shouldn't even think of doing this - she's going to get in trouble - this is a terrible idea-]

[She shakes herself out of the anxiety and steels herself. No. She needs to know. She looks around, shooting a furtive glance at her bodyguard - behind her - and Pride security - not terribly concerned - and speaks quietly before she loses her nerve.]

There's a cafe on the third floor in the north wing. [She'd passed by it while shopping - it didn't look like a terribly highly trafficked place.] Lose your security and meet me there in twenty minutes, alright?

[Rarity offers Pinkie a smile before turning and doing her best to disappear into the dispersing crowd.]

O-okay!

[Pinkie doesn't quite have time to process what's happening to her before Rarity is already off. Did she hear her? Should she call after her? No, no, she definitely shouldn't do that.

She doesn't like to leave her band - well, to leave Tiger alone anymore. But this...how can she not go look? Tiger only got hurt because he was being brave and trying to figure things out. She should do the same thing.

If nothing else, the situation around him makes it easy to slip away. She'll be in the cafe.]

[It takes a bit of dodging and cutting in and out of stores before Rarity is able to lose her bodyguard, but she manages it. She shows up at the cafe in a different outfit: her hair is tucked up under a wide-brimmed hat, and she's obtained a long, lightweight coat to wear over her sundress. She smiles at Pinkie - oh, good, she made it - and joins her at a small table in the middle of the cafe, surrounded by other tables full of people. Hiding in plain sight would probably draw less attention than trying to find a corner somewhere.]

I'm glad you came. I want to speak with you, but I don't want to do it in front of security.

[Somehow, it does not seem that unusual that Rarity managed to change clothes in that time.]

Oh yeah, I totally get it! [Pinkie giggles nervously.] I mean, who wants to talk in front of those guys?

No one, I should hope. They're unnerving. [It's about the nicest thing Rarity has to say about them, to be completely honest.]

[There's something to be said for tact; unfortunately, at the moment, Rarity can't remember what it is. After everything she's heard over the past month - after her friends were hurt, after everything Sans and Rei and Greg told her - Rarity is done pussyfooting around in the face of facts that don't add up. She leans in slightly.]

Forgive my forwardness, but where do I know you from?

[Pinkie leans forward as well, resting her elbows on the table to prop her chin up on her fists.]

I dunno... [But she sounds somewhat doubtful, because she has at the very least a strong inkling.] Hey, uh, this is kinda a totally weird question, but do you have purple hair under there?

[She's not quite sure that answer is on the level. The following question definitely makes her doubt whether pinkie was initially telling the truth. But if Pinkie is familiar with her from somewhere else, and Sans told her the purple hair was naturally hers...]

I do. It's a bit too recognizable in public; otherwise, I would show you.

Oh!

[Pinkie giggles a little nervously. It's unlikely that she could play off such a specific guess as random coincidence - more, she doesn't really want to. She thinks.]

So um...do you ever have like...weird vision things? [She waves her hands vaguely, looking a little embarrassed. She's only ever talked to one person about this before.] Artolo says lots of people do. Lots of us, I mean.

So it's happening at Pride, too. [It's as good an answer as any, and Rarity can't honestly say she's surprised. If it's happening all over at Virgo, then it's not too much of a leap of logic to say it's happening at Virgo's biggest competitor in the same industry.] I have, yes - that's actually what I know you from, I think. I recognized your voice.

[She goes quiet for a moment or two. There's really no delicate way to approach this, is there.]

I've...been told that they're memories, actually.

They say that at Pride too.

[Pinkie smooths curled fists over the front of her hoodie, looking down. She's not a person much given to social awkwardness, but talking about this always brings it out in her for some reason. It feels wrong.]

But I don't think anyone else has them like me. Like us. I know some people whose hair and eyes changed, and I stopped needing to dye my hair a long time ago too, but nobody else seems like they're like...y'know...

[Not shaped right at all.]

That...worrying, at best.

[Something about the awkwardness seems off, and she finds herself glancing at Pinkie's hair to make sure it's still curly.]

[...but why? That instinct makes no sense, even if seeing her hair unchanged is a relief.]

[She falls silent, considering Pinkie's words. She's never heard anyone talk about loss of balance as a side effect of the memories - is that what Pinkie's getting at?]

I can't seem to keep my balance - after a memory, that is. Most of the time it's fine, but something about them... [She shakes her head.] I just don't feel right afterwards.

Oh.

[Does she not realize...oh god she doesn't, does she?

Pinkie bites her lip. She'd hoped for Rarity to confirm that she wasn't just...weird, or crazy, or something. Maybe she still can, but it'd feel better if she saw the horse thing too.]

Yeah, that happens to me too. Sometimes I've just gotta lie down for a while until I stop feeling so tall and wobbly. Do you...do your hands feel weird, too?

[It's good to know she's not on her own when it comes to balance, but as for her hands...]

Not as such. I'd be in trouble if that were the case - I play the violin.

[But that's not reassuring to someone looking for help, is it. She does have more to offer - as long as she doesn't tell Pinkie who her source is, it should be alright, shouldn't it?]

I've been told that the...changes reflect who we're supposed to be - or rather, what we're supposed to be. That we're not from here. Given that I remember being friends with a dragon, I'm starting to believe it.

Oh. Yeah, I play the keytar...kinda...

[Pinkie curls her fists beneath her arms. Yeah, let's not talk about the keytar anymore.]

You remember dragons? For real? I don't - [Except she does, doesn't she? They're big and red and they don't like laughing, or sharing. They're scary; she remembers the other ponies putting their hooves around her, her doing the same to them.]

I do! They-

[They're huge and red and not at all interested in charm or manners, and it is a good thing that she has such good friends to help her face them-]

[She blinks and shakes her head, laying her hands on the table to steady herself. At least she's already sitting this time.]

That was not the dragon I was talking about.

Edited 2016-03-19 05:13 (UTC)

[Pinkie's hands are trembling a little, and she tucks them into the pocket of her hoodie.]

Woah, wait, you saw that too?

If what you saw was a large red dragon, then yes, I believe I did.

Woooooooah...how did we do that?

Oh, okay, let's try it again! [Pinkie shuts her eyes and tries very hard to remember something.]

I don't know-

[She blinks at Pinkie's plan. Oh, Pinkie.]

-But I'm not certain it works like that. Though if we keep talking, we might come up with something else...

Oh! Okay!

[...............usually she's better at this.]

Uh, so, you're new at Virgo, right?

In a matter of speaking - I've been there for nearly two months now. It's been...eventful.

[That's one way of putting it, at least. She pauses, then steers the conversation closer to what she wants to know.]

What else do you remember?

Um...I remember that I used to do a lot of baking! And I've gotten better at it again, but I don't remember all my recipes. And I used to sing sometimes too! But I don't think I ever really did it like this.

[She doesn't remember being on stage, or ever even really wanting to. She probably would've if she could...but only for fun, like a talent show or karaoke night. Not like the kind of dream that she thought brought her to Pride.]

BACKSTAGE AFTER THE CONCERT
Anyone who knows what to look for will realize that Tiger Universe is not well. The effort is there, but his handling of his musical portions are far more hit and miss than usual, even if he doesn't manage to screw up enough that most members of the audience could tell with any certainty. He almost forgets the lyrics a few times, and the closer it gets to the end the more it seems like he's just going to pass out.

The only things saving it from being obvious is the shades concealing his eyes, and the elaborate fashion design that seems to include moving pink lights into its structure - hopefully, the audience would never guess that those lights were a part of his very real skin, ever since his gem was broken. His colour is supposed to be yellow anyway. Isn't pink kind of off?

He tries his best to manage, and at some points the energy of empathic magic does begin to mingle with the others - only to fall away again when he stumbles. When they leave the stage, Tiger collapses onto the closest resting place he can find, just trying to catch his breath. He feels like he's going to be sick.

AFTERWARDS, WAITING TO GO HOME (FOR LAPIS AND OPEN)
Even a bit later, he's still wavering. He just wants to go home, but he's afraid to ask anything of anyone. He knows he didn't do good enough, and he's scared of what it will mean for him and everyone else. His perception of his own performance is becoming more and more critical the longer he's left to think about it.

The cracklines spread across his body with a thickness to match the intensity of his stress. He moves to hide around the backside of the stage, hoping that he'll be left alone. He only managed to talk to a couple fans because returning to his hiding spot, but what else is he supposed to do?

Edited 2016-02-22 21:45 (UTC)

She finds him. How exactly may be a mystery for the moment, but the reality is that suddenly she's there -- a sudden, soft scuff of ballet flats against the floor, not so far from him at all.

"Steven." And there's fear in her voice, fear in his name, because the cracks are very visible, and she's afraid of what they mean. Suddenly she's beside him, her skirt pooling in soft ripples as she's crouched beside him, fingers cool against his arm.

For the moment she's still Luna; she doesn't dare dispense with that.

The name surprises him, as soon as he looks over to see her face. Luna...that girl. She shouldn't know what his real name is? Did he mess up? What happened? He feels like he should run away from this, or hide.

His arms cradle the gem at his stomach protectively, as if afraid that someone will see the source of his illness.

"Luna...no, don't...I can't talk right now..." His voice is unsteady and somewhat pained.

But she doesn't go. Doesn't move. Her fingers never falter, cool and constant on his arm.

Her voice drops, no less anxious or frightened, but for his ears only. "Steven . . . I know things about you. I know you and Greg. I can't tell you how right now, but . . . I can promise you can trust me. I hope you can believe me. I won't -- I can't -- ever hurt you. I never will."

A breath. She's entering potentially dangerous territory, and once she does, she can't go back. Either he'll accept what she gives, or he won't, and she'll have to deal with the consequences if it's the latter.

"Steven . . . your gem. I know you have one. I have one too. Right now, I need . . . I have to know if something's wrong with it. It's part of you; it affects you. Please. It's important."

The lines on his skin, the color, the way he's reacting . . . it can only be his gem. And if it is, the situation is desperate.

He stares at her, and from this close, to the blankness of his eyes can be seen through his shades - the cloudy pink miasma within. Somehow, he believes her, because somehow part of him still remembers. The same part that kept imagining wings when he drew long after they'd met.

She knows about his gem, and his gem is something he' come to regard as a very secret and intimate part of him. He mouths a few words in silent surprise before finally managing to speak.

"You're...a gem too?" he mumbles. How did she get here? Is she trying to help him? I she like Garnet, and only remembers a few things? His mind spins, and in his current state of confusion, it's hard to keep it together. He leans forward, shaken by a feeling of nausea.

"It's...it got broken. They broke it."

Probably he can hear her small catch of breath. Her fingers tighten on his arm -- not hard, not hurting, but punctuating, tensed.

She doesn't need to ask who they are.

The next words still come softly, but flurried, as though her mind is racing and she's trying to fit in as many as she can. "Come with me. Come with me, please. You can't be here. Especially not like this. You need to come somewhere safe; we'll find a way to fix your gem. It's important."

She shouldn't be doing this. Not at all. Very possibly it will turn him off, make him afraid. Potentially it even compromises the mission. But knowing about his gem . . . she can't leave him, no matter the consequences. She'll face anything for that.

As he expected, her pleads immediately send a jolt of panic though the child. Leave? No - he can't! Asking him to come with her feel on par with the threat of torture and death. He's trapped here, even if she can't see the chains, even if they aren't real-

He tries to pull away from her, the whine of his voice hurting and afraid. He just starts shaking his head and huddling down, try to hide himself. Please don't let them see this happening - please -

"I can't - please, don't - I can't...I can't..."

He finds himself caught in a cycle of terror, the cracklines thickening across his shoulders.

"Please don't make me..."

What can she do? What should she do? He's so afraid, it hurts; she feels it pulse in her chest, twisting and pressing. He's broken, he's breaking, if he shatters . . .

What happens to a half-human, half-Gem who shatters?

"Please" The word yanks out of her. "Steven . . ."

You saved me. If you'll let me . . . -- even if you don't -- I'll give that back to you.

She promised. She can't ignore it.

He looks around, eyes wild with anxiety, searching for the body guards he knows must be looming nearby. If they see her doing this, she's going to get in trouble. They'll both be in trouble. He can't stand it.

"Please, they'll hurt you too." He feels like he should be crying, but the disconnect between feeling and function is still there. His sorrow can't manifest as anything but an oppressive fog. "Please, I'm sorry..."

She's afraid of hurt. Afraid of pain. Memories are so vivid, they sometimes almost steal her breath. Sometimes she's afraid that she'll fragment, shatter under the weight of them.

But they're still not comparable to the weight of this boy in this moment, small and fractured.

"I can't--" It's a whisper, and it hurts in her chest like the very words bite into her insides. "I can't . . . leave you. Do you understand? I can't. I'm sorry."

Compared to most Gems, she isn't physically strong -- but still strong enough going against a human child. Her hand seizes his, hauls him forward.

She has no plans, only desperation. She has to get out.

She might have succeeded, to whatever end, because there's not change that Steven is strong enough in this state to fight her. Maybe she could have even fought off the Pride Records guards that begin to take notice at the sound of Steven's startled cry. What turns everything in chaos completely, though, is the arrival of a posse of imposing looking figures - lackies that look much like the ones from Pride, with slight differences.

They rush out of the van in Lapis and Steven's direction, grabbing for each of their shoulders and trying to wrench them away from each other. Steven's fear is inarticulate - he has absolutely not idea what is going on.

"Hey!" a bodyguard from Pride shouts, raising their gun. They hesitate on the shot, though - there's to good of a risk of hitting Steven in the fray.

She'd had only an instant to change back to herself -- a foresight, anticipating being met by guards. She's been at Pride long enough to anticipate them. She can't worry about Steven's reaction; she only holds on as hard as she can, aiming to keep moving even as her coloring reverts.

But while the Pride bodyguards were expected, the van is not.

The Virgo group squeals to a halt and swarms so quickly that it's almost inhuman. Suddenly she finds them both surrounded, reaching, grabbing . . .

No.

She won't be captured. Won't be touched. Won't let them steal what she's taken. Her mouth tightens as she tugs Steven close, yanking outward with her power with full force.

More than ever, she misses her wings.

Water responds. From coolers meant to hold drinks, from water fountains near the mall doors, from the very sewers . . . water explodes outward, streams combining to ram into the Virgo force at full power with the effect of a battering ram.

Hopefully it's enough to blast them back. She feels the limits of her abilities like a ragged edge -- what should have been there torn away. She won't be able to rely on brute force alone; she'll only be able to use so much at a time.

Steven has no idea what's happening. The colours of the girl before him have changed, and as unseen assailants try to tear him away from her, he feels himself be pulled close as a mist of water pools around them. Suddenly, water is pulling towards them, and then firing through the thugs crabbing at their shoulders. Steven screams.

Someone - whether Virgo or Pride - takes a couple shots at Lapis with their stun gun. Attackers that have been swept to the floor with such great force get up again at alarming speed, and move to strike at Lapis with a strength presently far greater than her own.

Thankfully the stun guns don't get off a good shot; Lapis is moving, ducking among parked cars, making a more challenging target of herself.

But the Virgo attackers are already getting up. Fast -- too fast! they dart her way. She evades one strike; it snaps off a rearview mirror. Two -- a window shatters. But the third will hit Steven, and without thinking, she twists in the way. She yelps as the blow hits hard, knocks her knees out from under her, and she's down and rolling, Steven still clasped in her arms.

The water recollects, re-surges; it seizes the current attackers each in their own head bubbles, the bubbles yanking backward on their necks. At the very least, the bubbles will cut off their air, but the movement . . . the movement could likely snap a neck, if it doesn't already slam them into the nearby vehicles.

Edited 2016-02-27 22:20 (UTC)

The bubbles don't break necks this time, though - in fact, as opposed to the bone crushing effect they could have on a regular person, they mostly just seems to surprise and inconvenience the men that they attack. He dent the cars they hit, but they still thrash - grasping at the hoods of the cars to pull themselves free.

Steven screams as they hit the ground, still struggling slightly but ultimately too terrified to take any coherent action. He isn't scared of her, but he's scared of what she's doing - and the consequences it will hold for both of them.

There aren't enough bubbles to cover every attacker, though. A gunshot fires - from who it isn't clear - and a couple of the assailants can be seen fighting Pride security. As Lapis rolls, she's stopped by one of the van attacked making a grab for Steven while her water is busy elsewhere.

Steven yelps as he's jerked back painfully, the attacker's grip tight on her arm. From behind Lapis, another one comes in with a stun gun again.

There's too many. Way too many. They're brutally fast, brutally strong, and Steven is afraid, struggling against her; she has to go, has to get out, has to get him away, but they're everywhere, anticipating, closing in . . .

There's pressure in her chest, like the air being pressed out -- like sinking into the very depths of the ocean and watching the bubbles trail above in her wake. For a bare moment she is numb; she can feel nothing at all but the weight of the boy in her arms.

Then, suddenly his hand is jerked from hers.

His yelp resounds in her ears.

No.

The water surges again, viciously fast, smashing the captive guards against the parked cars with enough force to potentially slam them through doors and windows and hoods. It takes only an instant; it's racing back towards Lapis herself, bashing into the guard with the gun at full force, driving into the one trying to hold her on its path.

No!

She snatches for the lost fingers, the stretching arm. "Steven!"

The guards shatter the windshields of the cars, a metallic crack and screech accenting their fall. Something like this should really have killed any normal person. Even with whatever enhanced stamina these guards seem to possess, however, the strike is enough to put them down, at least for now. The three of them lay on the hoods of the cars with their legs twitching, occasionally trying to right themselves with shuttering, uncertain movements.

The guard wrestling with her is knocked down, trying to keep hold of her with a clamp-like grip even as it happens. Steven is being pulled away - unable to fight like she is, and his own body functioning as a shield against her wild blasts of water.

"Lapis!" he yells, not knowing why. The guard has wrapped their arm around his neck, pinning the child's body to his chest as they begin to retreat. Steven is held prone, his eyes shut in terror and confusion. Whatever this creature is, it could easily snap his neck.

Her name. He's said her name.

All the water gathers again -- all the sewage, the ice water, into one writhing mass. For a single instant it gathers, hovers . . . then dives into the inhuman thing holding her, ramming through its mouth, through its teeth, down its throat, in its nostrils, into its ears at full force.

She wrests against its grasp, shrugs and yanks as its grasp loosens, stumbles after the boy who knows her name, yanking the water in a small explosion out of her former captor's head. Her eyes are wild, not fully present.

She has one goal only.

Edited 2016-03-14 01:26 (UTC)

[ Ivan got a text from Trucy about System Crash holding a concert at the South Vista Mall, so he makes his way to the mall to watch. He leaves a note at the penthouse for his bandmates and attempts to leave Virgo HQ without a bodyguard tailing him. He walks into a bathroom in one of the ground floor museum bathrooms and leaves looking like a normal man in a business suit.

Once he's out of sight of the Virgo HQ, he ducks into an alley and changes back into himself, shrugging his hood over his head. He looks a little like a troublemaker like this. He hopes it helps.

Then he makes it to the concert and listens. This concert is really good. Ivan expected it, but something just seems so amazing about this one. It surpasses the one he saw at the music festival and Trucy's song at the charity concert. Had she been holding back? How could Pride even think about doing anything to this band?

The empathetic suggestion, combined with the enthusiasm he had toward the band previously, makes it easy for him to get swept away and waiting for a chance to talk with Trucy after. Or anyone else who happens to come across him. ]

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After

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TIGER UNIVERSE (OTA)

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Ivan Karelin - After (OTA)