☆TRACK XI: THIS FIXATION

[interdimanagers]

Who: Everyone! Especially Lapis and all musicians.
What: The Final Festival finally begins.
When: May 5th, 2055, at 5:55PM.
Where: Concert stages for both Pride and Virgo, as well as throughout the city.
Warnings: Lapis related violence.

“I think I'm drowning. Asphyxiated. I wanna break this spell That you've created. You're something beautiful; A contradiction. I wanna play the game. I want the friction.” ☆THIS FIXATION The start times of the festivals are very explicit. The first notes are to be played at 5:55 PM – no sooner, and no later. This has been enforced by every recital leading up to this point, and today the word is law. The audience view it as a peculiarity. How could both labels independently decide to do something so particular? Those on the stage will feel it in their hearts. There’s more to it than just another concert. Something is happening, bigger than all of you, and something deep down tells you that you are powerless to stop it now. There’s a momentum that’s been building for centuries, and only now will the show truly begin. the 55th minute | the 5th hour | the 5th day | the 5th month | the 2055th year Those with magical, spiritual, or musical sense will feel it strongly. The magic of it is thick in the air, enveloping the entirely of Vista within its breadth. The music begins, and a terrible tension in the air finally breaks. In that precise moment, something has been released – and there is no going back from here. ☆THE SHORT AND DIRTY The ritual has finally begun. So let's break this down. ► The same moment the festivals begin, and occult magical ritual has been set in motion. That special time window that the labels were waiting for? This is it. Why the number 5 is so important we may never know, but the key thing to note is that the force of musical power behind the labels are now multiplying, and will only be getting stronger the longer the ritual goes on. Those with Fame Power abilities will feel more and more potent as time goes on as well. Magical juice will come easier and they will get bigger magical effects for their effort. ► The festival will begin with the labels biggest acts, so only a few of the player characters will be on stage at that point. Veteran musicians will start things off on a high note, and the rest will be lined up and ready for a seemingly unending roll of music all through the night and into the entirety of Friday and Saturday. Friday has been deemed a city wide public holiday because that’s how seriously Vista takes its music. Fledgling bands with characters of Fame Power 4+ or Fame Fortune 4+ will have the honour of being part of the first wave of performances, all starting at 5:55PM. This is a seriously big deal. So don’t fuck up. ► Very shortly after the beginning of the festival, Lesedi Santiago is going to fuck everything up for you. ☆LESEDI FUCKS THINGS UP And this is how Lesedi will fuck things up: she's getting Lapis Lazuli to do it for her. Lapis was recently captured by Pride Records while trying to sneak out information to the rescuers. She has been powerfully enchanted by Lesedi to attack and kill Virgo musicians and Rescuers alike, and her water powers will be temporarily enhanced by feeding off of Lesedi's magic. Lapis is being sent to attack Virgo musicians first - ideally disrupting as many Virgo performances as possible and FUBARing Blanche's ritual right from the get go. Juno will quickly regroup and start sending Virgo's magical adepts to try to stop her, while keeping as many of them on stage as possible. Meanwhile, this is all occurring in broad fucking daylight. So what do the civilians think? Well, they'll be scared and try to save themselves from any attacks they get caught in the middle of, but otherwise...it's like they've been reduced to zombies. None of them seem capable of acknowledging that anything weird is happening - the only thing they can focus on is the music, and as long as it continues their minds are ensnared. Rescuers who have been heavily effected by the brainwashing of the musical singles may also feel entranced by the music at the concert as well, and may have a similar lack of survival instinct. They'll be drawn to the music regardless of all else, up to and including the risk of death. Lapis's player has been planning out a variety of fight threads in advance, but since Lapis as the ability to create a lot of collateral damage, people can also be free to assume that they are trying to save civilians from surprise water hazards as this goes on, or simply trying to survive themselves. We will be assuming there are no deaths caused by Lapis unless it is cleared with her player first. This includes random audience members. This will go on for a while, until eventually Lapis is chased away from the festival and goes to attack the rescuer warehouse with the chip removal equipment instead. Silver will sent out an urgent message warning the rescuers of this, urging them to get over there as quickly as possible and help to remove the equipment and take it to a safe place. Silver themselves will not arrive immediately, and Gold is still nowhere to be seen - at least, not until the very end, when they will make a surprise return appearance to help attend to the Lapis Lazuli problem. “Now that you know I'm trapped- Sense of elation. You'd never dream of Breaking this fixation. You will squeeze the life out of me.”

Comments

☆QUESTIONS

[interdimanagers]

For the mod, or for Lapis's player!

[eba02]

So I have this idiot with the ability to manipulate Music. To that end, I have a three-part question:

1) Would he even be able to draw music/musical energy away from the festival?

2) If so, to what degree would he be successful?

3) How long will it take for one of the labels to show up and destroy him for it? (Or would that be how his ill-fated fight with Lapis starts?)

[woomy]

What's security going to be like to get backstage/near stage/whatever else is there? Is this a chance to yank out musicians in the chaos? It'll be hard alone with the brainwashing being boosted with the music, but are they so heavily protected that it'd just be suicide to try?

[twoscompany]

For bands playing for Pride/Pride areas, would they be able to see what the heck is going on with Virgo's people? Or would word just kind of leak in and they would otherwise have no idea?

Usagi Tsukino || Rescuer || OTA

[lightthedarkness]

A: We are lead by the light of the moon

She wasted no time in turning into Sailor Moon. She had had less of the music course through her, so her ability to snap out of it occurred when there was all the screaming and yelling around her.

She knew she was going to upset Haruka and Michiru for this, but they couldn't expect her to be anything but herself. She'd never allow innocent people to be injured in the face of those who would do harm. She found a place to transform and then rose high into the air. With the panic below and the music playing, no one even noticed her.

Sailor Moon looked through the screaming crowds, trying to figure out where best to start. Only to see someone go for the musicians nearest the stage, she dove down from the air, calling upon her Tiare and a massive barrier of light appeared around the musicians and the people.

"GO! GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" she ordered, not allowing them to argue under the circumstance.


B: We meet by chance again and again

Sailor Moon was standing on stage, Tiare at the ready when she heard sounds behind her, spinning around and ready to attack. Only to pause her hand at the sight of the injured.

She ran over to them instead.

"Are you alright?" Without hesitation she put a hand on their elbow, they looked ready to fall over any minute. "What happened?"


C: The countless shining stars above us foretell love’s whereabouts

She didn't want to leave the festival when there were so many injured. But even now, she wasn't powerful enough to heal the earth. She wished she could, but Silver had said that Lapis was attacking the place where they removed the chips and she was flying as fast as she could to try an stop her, to protect the location, and to help where she could. She saw others running in the same direction and moved lower to the ground, flying beside them.

"Are you alright?" she asked, feeling like she's asked that question a thousand times today.


D: Born on the same Earth

She was exhausted. She was wobbling, trying to get home, hands on the wall to keep her upright.

"You can do it," she whispered, eyes focused on her feet and getting one foot in front of the other.

She had healed and strained herself. She was no longer as Sailor Moon, far away from the concert and the equipment and everything else seemed like a distant memory now. Her legs were shaking and she collapsed on the ground, back up against the wall.

"This is fine," she panted. "Just a small rest and then... then I'll head back," she didn't even know where she was anymore.

Her eyes were fighting to stay open, though she looked up when a pair of feet were suddenly in front of her.

D

[faithfulflame]

Rei wasn't sure what had happened. Not even a little bit. She'd heard someone was coming, and she'd done her part, yes. Hauling equipment, moving people, and generally preparing for and getting people clear of the place. She was sore, but weirdly the use of her flames didn't seem to slow her down as much as it would have before. Whatever Silver and Gold had done most recently worked wonders for her, and she could feel the magic more keenly...

But then, not everyone was so lucky, were they? Rei knelt by Usagi, offering a firm and steady arm as she stooped

"It's not fine. You're not going to pass out in the street."

BEGINNING of Lapis' attack: Please read OOC note!

[oceantier]

Minutes go by after 5:55, and all seems well -- the bands electrifying the air with sound, the crowd's energy a frenzy.

The music is so loud, so all-consuming, that it may be easy to miss it: The grumble of the earth under your feet -- the dull roar that announces an earthquake.

And then suddenly the ground awakens like a stretching beast.

It shrugs, arches, ripples like a heaving ocean . . . and then throughout the Virgo section, explodes. The pipes underneath the earth -- the pipes for water supply, for sewer -- have torn through the ground in response to an unseen call, ripping through metal and earth and erupting in great gushes of water and sewage throughout the Virgo section. Water and sewage rains down. All around the area, common citizens will shriek, fall into holes. Some will be injured, thrown by the explosions. Some will just stand there in the wet, vulnerable and unseeing, waiting for the bands to continue playing.

And then from the rain, from the puddles . . . figures emerge.

There are about twenty of them, and at first they're indistinct, featureless. But as they come, they begin to take shape. They take the forms of people in the crowd, of musicians. And they attack.

Pride musicians will remain untouched and will actually actively be avoided if they try to get involved. But these clones seem to know exactly who the Virgo musicians and the rescuers are . . . and don't seem to care what common citizens may be in their way.



((ooc: Anyone facing down Lapis' water clones should watch the video of them in action. Feel free to NPC them; I won't be able to do it. They'll be strong and fight quite well, but will be vulnerable to direct blasts of sound or electricity and will not be able to replicate powers. If you have questions, please feel free to PM or Plurk me!))

BEGINNING - Virgo musicians and anyone near the stage

[oceantier]

Water and sewage rains down in small torrents, and aside from the natural possibility of an earthquake, the source remains unknown.

--Until, that is, the water clones emerge from the torrent and begin weaving into the crowd. Shrieks punctuate the music even as the Virgo veterans are rallied to carry on, the music wizards clustering as many as they can gather onto the stage.

Taking this tactic may save the music, but they have potentially gathered themselves into a single target. Shooting from the gushing pipes in all directions, watery hands and chains wrap around the thick, metal framework of the stage's overhead lighting construct . . . and pull. Unless the music wizards or someone else manage to find a solution, the structure will twist and give away, releasing hundreds of pounds of light and rigging onto the musicians below.



((ooc: Please feel free to use this prompt and the one above as starting points or reference for threads!))

CLOSED - Marty and Oscar

[oceantier]

((ooc: This subthread is only for Oscar and Marty.))

Garnet/Cosmic Indulgence, Pride Stage Area: OPEN

[twoscompany]

[Garnet is front and center at the festival. She knows the drill. At 5:55pm, and no later, her set starts, designed to make a mark on the whole concert. She's supposed to do a long keytar solo, with backup from the band. Its meant to be recorded for a new live album. The name of it is 'Out in Space'.

She was expecting sounds from the other side, in Virgo. Probably trying to out concert Pride by turning up the volume in the woofers. The woofers could shake the ground like no one's business. That she knew.

She isn't expecting a giant water spout to explode out of Virgo's concert area just as she starts to sing. Her first sung words pretty much say it all.]

Out into space,
the human race
is what wh-OH MY GOD!?

[Parts of the crowd starts turning to see what's happening. Oh, nice effect! Its so big its causing an effect through the entire are, showering people in Pride's venue.]

Keep going! Garnet, damnit, start singing again, we'll edit it in post!

[Garnet looks over at her agent like he's mad. What the heck? Did he really just say that? Then again, people were looking ready to panic. And if they panic, especially with water starting to come into their area and turning the ground into mud.

Garnet thinks.]

...Out in space
the human race
is hidden in the rushes...

[She looks over at Terry, and Sabo. They need to figure out how to get people away from...whatever's happening...while making it look like its all part of the concert. Panic will do nothing. Judging by her expression, she'll take all the help she can get to salvage this mess.

Its got to be Lesedi. Who else could make water do that?

...

Wait a minute...

In the fracas, too, it's all too easy to jump up on the stage to get involved in the performance if you're not a physician. The robots agents and guards, this time, will allow it. Anything to give the show being put on power. They can handle this and any potential problems. Virgo can handle theirs.]

[traumatizing]

[Ah-- oh shit. Terry gives Garnet a bit of a panicked look and glances over at Sabo, wondering what to do.]

[Okay. Fuck. Time to make this a duet. Terry grabs the mic in front of him and starts singing with Garnet, trying to quell the panic in the crowd a little. It's surprisingly easy really, getting the crowd to move to safety, but he still frowns. It's probably not enough.]

[mildwildchild]

[Jamie's not quite in time to join Garnet in her opening number, what with Flashstep also being one of the opening acts for the festival, but there's plenty of chaos to last the evening, so that's all right.

He is, admittedly, a little leery of just jumping up onto the stage and insinuating himself into her performance. Garnet's manager is scary. Garnet herself is sort of scary. Her fans are really scary. But whatever mojo Garnet's using isn't enough to keep the stupid, eerily sheep-like audience members out of harm's way, so...

So here he goes, as one song ends and the crowd is applauding while they're drenched in water and - jesus, yeah, that's sewage. Oh god. A murmur ripples through the attendees as Jamie grabs a mic, rolls his shoulders and belts out the opening lines to what may or may not be one of Cosmic Indulgence's older songs.]

I do not understand
What it is I've done wrong
Full of holes, check for pulse
Blink your eyes
One for yes, two for no

[Jamie's focus shifts from the audience to the water still raining down on them; with a little effort he wills the torrent to dwindle to a light sprinkle and then to a heavy mist. It's not much, but it's a start, and honestly it's more than he'd expected to be able to do.]

Virgo Backstage & Audience OTA all weekend

[bass_instincts]

Shin is raring to go. He's completely hyped for this. He's been eager to get on stage since the festival was announced, and it seems like nothing is going to bring down his high on this. It's quite likely that excitement isn't the only high he's riding either.

He can be found wandering around backstage and in the rooms for some last-minute practice and warm-ups, with his nose to the grindstone more than ever. For once Stella seems to be pleased with him. Far more often she's shouting at him for sneaking off or shirking things, or sleeping in to 11. She had him on lockdown for a while week after he smashed all of the instruments during a practice session, but that hadn't completely stopped him from his recklessness.

But he's alive and here, and hasn't caused any major issues so far besides a lot of headaches for the people that are supposed to be guarding him and the band manager.

Sometimes he does head out to the VIP areas of the audience to check out the other people playing as well, though he'll have his hair unspiked under a hat, and be hiding behind a drink and sunglasses.

For his Pride relations, if they can't get into the Virgo side of things, he'll also be taking some time off for smoking on a pretty regular basis.

Middle - After Oscar and Marty

[oceantier]

The source of the chaos has made herself known at this point, and it may be surprising: A lady, small and slim like a dancer . . . and blue, a large, shimmering gem gleaming between her shoulderblades, watery shapes erupting from it in an echo of the wings of a bird. The rescuers will recognize her immediately: This is Lapis Lazuli as she is supposed to be -- not Luna, not any other guise, but the Gem herself, visible to the world.

Her eyes are blank as a void. She absorbs everything around her with them, taking it all in with quick flicks of attention, but she sees nothing. Familiar faces, voices, words . . . she responds to no attempts to get through to her. Her only interests are Virgo musicians and rescuers. Anyone she chooses not to engage will be slapped away either by a lash of water or smacked away by a great watery hand. Getting close is inadvisable.

Between her and any fights she has (let alone the clones scattered throughout the crowd), the damage she's causing is immense, and nowhere in the vicinity where there's water is safe. It's still erupting from the ground, showering down from the broken pipes that spear from the earth. The decorative fountains in the area flood and spurt dangerously. Likely there are being things thrown -- benches, park equipment, uprooted trees -- as Lapis attempts to get close to the stage and finish off more of the musicians. Equipment gets smashed, sending sour, screaming notes ringing through the air. Virgo musicians may notice an uncomfortable similarity in all of this to when their tower shuddered and flooded with waves.

The Virgo wizard-musicians are overcoming their surprise, re-organizing . . . There will be some kind of showdown soon.

Meanwhile there are still water clones and a lot of zombie-like citizenry to contend with -- defense, healing, and organization are definitely needed right now in the middle of the chaos -- and badly.



((ooc: Please feel free to use this prompt and the one above as starting points or reference for threads! Reference for Lapis' water hands here.))

CLOSED

[panspermia]

Altogether too many things become too pressing in too little time for one too busy mind. Mr. Universe's head spins from the overwhelming conflict coming from so many directions. He has to keep performing, everything is depending on this moment. He has to destroy this threat--Lapis, that blue little nuisance, he never should have indulged her. He has to keep his stage, his pedestal, his source of power up and running.

His breathing becomes tight and uneven from the conflict, but his hands on the bass don't falter for a single beat.

"Giant asteroid
Coming in from outer space
While the people look the other way..."

Marty's already abandoned the stage to help, but... the crowd still has their eyes on Mr. Universe, waiting for his decision. He can feel their power surging through him, the weight of their eyes charging up his power. That's right, the rest of the band... they can handle the small stuff. What matters is that he keeps playing, he keeps gathering what energy he can.

"What were they looking at?
Killing each other over faith!
What a bunch of stupid idiots."

He lets out a long breath. The lights overhead flicker, the supports groan, but the sound is muted, less worrying. Mr. Universe's hair begins to stand on end, debris and wires lifting off the floor. It's so easy. He can generate all he needs right here, and negating the damage done to the stage will cost him nothing at all so long as the crowd cheers. That Gem can throw whatever she likes his way, but he's at the source of his strength.

"Giant asteroid's not angry,
Giant asteroid's gigantic!"

FLASHSTEP

[mildwildchild]

The announcement that Flashstep will be one of the opening acts for the pre-tour festival is, perhaps, a bit sudden - not like they hadn't all had it pounded into their heads that the performances were due to start at exactly 5:55 PM, but knowing that they're among the groups that have to actually adhere to that oddly specific schedule just sort of ups the ante. Because the guys totally need some extra stress to go along with everything else that's been happening.

There may be pre-show jitters, there may be drama, there will definitely be Manish Patil keeping an unusually sharp eye on his charges to make sure they don't wander away too close to kick-off - but the boys have trained their asses off, and they are prepared. When the appointed time arrives and the lights come up, they will be ready to give the show of their lives.

[Individual prompts below]

Jamie - OTA

[mildwildchild]

A: THE PRESHOW
Dimly, Jamie can remember a time when he actually enjoyed performing and looked forward to it. Those months when things were merely sort of weird instead of soul-crushingly awful seem like they happened ages ago.

There's a tension in the air that's almost more than he can stand, a building pressure that leaves him jittery and anxious. He's not keyed up about the performance; there's none of the excited energy that characterized the concerts of the past. It's evident in the set of his shoulders, the look in his eyes, the slight tremor in his hands that's impossible to miss when he's actually holding still. Jamie is terrified, and he doesn't even really know why.

"Can you feel that?" he asks, twining his fingers together fretfully as he scans his surroundings. For what, he doesn't even know. "Or am I just freaking out over nothing?"

B: THE PERFORMANCE
The boys are in their places. The crowd is already shrieking with excitement. With a muffled whoomph, the stage lights come up.

Five fifty-five PM. It's showtime.

Dirty pop!

Sick and tired of hearin' all these people talk about
What's the deal with this pop life and when is it gonna fade out?
The thing you got to realize, what we're doin' is not a trend
We got the gift of melody, we're gonna bring it 'til the end
C'mon now

Already he can feel the crowd's energy surging into him and through him, stronger and headier than he's ever felt it before. It's so powerful that for a split second it threatens to overwhelm him, but then he wrestles control of it and feeds it back into the audience, urging them to greater heights of emotion in a gesture that's almost reflex.

MAXXIE / OTA

[notahobby]

PRESHOW

Maxxie's routine is the same as always. He bounces around backstage, constantly moving to keep his muscles warmed up, often drifting off as he bounces on his toes because he's busy visualizing the performance. They're ready, there's no question about that, but it seems like every show they have there's more and more pressure. Like they're getting closer and closer to the edge of something, and every time they get on stage they could topple right over into disaster, but Maxxie's not interested in letting that happen. He's going to focus 100% on the task ahead of him and do his absolute best, because otherwise he might get hurt, or worse, someone else will get hurt.

Maxxie's definitely not interested in letting that happen.

Still, he loves the music, so he's more cheerful than anxious. He's not lost in his own world just yet, happy to respond to anyone who wants to strike up a conversation before the show begins. Just because he starts getting himself amped up a couple hours before the show starts doesn't mean he's shut off to the world that whole time.

POSTSHOW

Maxxie's the type of celebrity who takes a few minutes in the dressing room to grab a drink (alcoholic or not, depends on the type of day) and then comes out to meet the fans right away. He spends the bulk of his time after the performance signing autographs and taking pictures with fans, pretty much confined to the Pride area. Manny tells him not to stray outside their designated space, and he doesn't see a very good reason to, so he stays put.

More and more, the commotion from Virgo becomes impossible to ignore, but with Manny watching over his shoulder, Maxxie can't very well go anywhere. Distracted, he keeps meeting with fans, but he retreats backstage on and off so he can shake the awful feeling that something is terribly wrong.

B - OTA

[killerbeep]

A - Backstage, before the show - Pride

Even with the recent rush of confusing memories and wavering convictions, B is still pretty excited for this. A little nervous, of course, but mostly just excited. A major performance, a big crowd! And probably no giant robots trying to kill him? He hopes?? That would be a nice change from the memories.

He’s practically bouncing around backstage, pretty much directionless but no less energetic for it, reaching up occasionally to make sure his sunglasses are still on correctly. Sure hope nothing goes horribly wrong tonight!!!

B - after the show

Okay yeah something has definitely gone horribly wrong. He can’t say what, not for sure, but he wants to figure it out.

Unfortunately, there’s a problem with that. He’s not supposed to be leaving this area at all, let alone heading for Virgo, and even if he’s not as inclined as he may have been once to just accept that… well, the security is pretty heavy. He really suspects that he just won’t be able to go check it out if he tries.

He makes little effort to hide his frustration with the situation; in the public areas, his usual friendly grin is a little strained and nervous. Whenever he’s backstage, though, his discomfort becomes that much more obvious… to the point that he’s effectively just stomping around and grumbling constantly.

“This is bullshit.”

HEY! MISSION! (Closed)

[eba02]

The Music has been getting heavier and heavier all day, and staying away from the labels' new singles does nothing to abate the pressure. J spends most of the day trying to avert the pressure somehow, to very little avail.

When the tension breaks, the Music rolls over him like a tidal wave, leaving him off-balance and staggering in his room.

They're battering down the Battery check the damages-

This is it, then. This is what the CEOs have been building up to. It's arrived, it's here, and he can't stop it.

We gotta stop 'em and rob 'em of their advantages
Let's take a stand with the stamina God has granted us-

But that doesn't mean he's helpless. This isn't the first time the Music has left him breathless with its strength, with the sheer number of voices involved in the song. He remembers the world coming together to fend off an alien invasion, and a beam of pure musical energy that finally did the trick. Maybe- just maybe-

Yo, let's steal their cannons!

It's a terrible idea. J can count on one hand the number of times that's stopped him, and this isn't one of them.

But he can't do it alone. It doesn't take long to find his friends in the living room - why did they ever split up apartments if everyone was going to be attached at the hip anyway? - and give them a quick rundown on what he plans on doing. It's going to be dangerous, but do they want to help?

The chorus of assent does his heart good.

It's not long before they make it to the outskirts of Pride's end of the festival, J in the lead with Agent 3, Papyrus, and Frisk in tow. The Music has been shifting all the while, power growing and changing with each new band that performs, each new bystander that gets involved. He's never channeled magic before - just the Music itself - but if they're running together, he should be able to grab one by using the other. Should be.

Either way, he's about to test that theory. He slides to a stop as one of Pride's bands starts to gear up for a song. This is as good a time to jump in as any. "Follow my lead," he'd told his friends - his team, now, "and keep in step. I'll take care of the rest." Time to put that into practice. He steps into the beat, striking a hard pose as the Music shifts-

If you're listening, whoa
Sing it back, whoa

-and he's in, moving with the Music, feeling the power it carries flow across his shoulders and through the lines of his steps. It's more intense than it ever was at home, but that's okay - he can do this. They can do this.

Agent 3, here!

[woomy]

After "chewing" him out a little about how proper teamwork is supposed to be like and relating it to being both a secret agent and a squad leader back home, Agent 3 jumps at the chance to help Agent J when he asks for it. He's learning! He'll graduate from the noob status she gave him yet.

She stays on the heels of J all the way to their soon to be stage. 3 is no stranger to dance. Inklings dance all the time. And of course, the famed Squid Sisters (and Agents 1 and 2) can sing and dance for a whole Splatfest. She can do this! Teamwork!

It helps that the feeling of the Music changing with J's manipulation and channeling feels much like the rush of motivation she got when "Calamari Inkantation" rang through her. She moves, and her body follows the dance routine, the rhythm J lays down.

String from your tether unwinds
(String from your tether unwinds) whoa oh, whoa oh

J & Silver (Closed)

[eba02]

"I need help."

He'd called Silver minutes ago, almost frantic, barely able to catch his breath. He'd gotten his friends' help and tapped the Music and used it to channel magic - he thought for sure he'd be able to burn it off into the sky, same way the Agency had taken down the Rhombulans - they'd been interrupted by Pride's robotic bodyguards-

And now he's stuck carrying the ball, magical energy that he was not meant to touch crackling in his body, burning in his chest and behind his eyes and under his skin, leaving him shaking and struggling to keep steady. It's like the world's worst caffeine high - he's trembling, barely able to think straight, and if he keeps this up for too long he'll burn himself up from the inside out.

So he called Silver, and got a meeting place, and is doing his best not to draw attention as he makes his way there. If Silver doesn't have a solution, he doesn't know what he'll do. Best not to think about it.

[interstellarebels]

Silver's response had been a little slow. Whatever is going on, they are clearly distracted with something, and more than in a little bit of a rush. They'll demand to know what he needs help with before coming over - but when he explains, it seems that they are willing to drop whatever they're doing to make it happen. J may hear music in the background on Silver's side of the call.

Silver will parkour down off of a nearby roof to meet him, moving with agility and strength that is obviously abnormal. They land gracefully.

"Wow. You weren't kidding!" they'll drawl in digitized tones.

END of Lapis' attack - Aftermath

[oceantier]

After the attack on Mr. Universe, Lapis departs . . . but she leaves a great deal in her wake.

The Virgo stage is nearly demolished from the assault, the rigging splintered and hanging, lights and stage equipment dangling dangerously over what remains of the platform below. From time to time the electricity fizzes, raining handfuls of sparks downward to the stage. Sound systems give off shrill protests of feedback. The stage itself has been impacted multiple times by heavy objects and downed metal; there are several medium-sized dents and holes, and one edge of the platform has collapsed entirely under the weight of metal rigging.

Beyond the stage . . . chaos. The ground is a thick slathering of liquid mud. The audience members who managed somehow to remain and watch the show stand dazed, blank-eyed, wavering and uncertain ankle-deep in ooze. Others moan distantly, trying to recover their senses, not quite yet aware of broken limbs or serious injuries. Water still spurts wanly from pipes spearing through the earth, making walking hazardous. Buried deep in the mud one may find broken glass, fragments of wood, nails from decimated vendor stands.

The whole place looks like the victim of a war. Music from Pride's stage floats over on the breeze. Virgo's stage may be decimated, but Pride plays on.



((ooc: Please feel free to use this prompt and the ones above as top levels or reference for threads!))

[closed to lapis]

[balletbattler]

Pearl knows there's no mistaking who caused the destruction at the festival. She knew it was a bad idea right from the beginning; Lapis should have stayed where she was, should have just focused on keeping Malachite at the bottom of the ocean until Pearl and Amethyst came back with the others. She just shouldn't have come.

So Pearl looks for her, trying to find her before she causes any more damage. It's tempting to stay and use the chaos to try and get to Garnet and Greg and Steven, but if Lapis is about to compromise the whole operation there won't be any point in any of it. This is the priority.

She checks around the Virgo area first, keeping her eyes sharp for the blue gem somewhere in the crowd. If she had been at the center of it all, someone would have seen her, so when she doesn't find her there she goes further into the city. She debates checking the Pride area, but Pearl hopes that Lapis wouldn't bring any of this close to Steven, so she goes with her gut and searches in the other direction. She summons her spear when she gets farther away from the festival. With the city so deserted she takes the risk of carrying the spear with her and calling Lapis' name as she slips down side streets looking for the gem.

Closed to Gold

[oceantier]

She moves through the nearly empty like a sleepwalker, like a wraith, like a doll that's been wound and set on a path, one footstep in front of the other, unyielding. She's scraped, she's dirty. Tear tracks are still visible on her face, though the water itself has long dried.

She knows exactly where to go. Entering through the side door, she trails her way into the echoing space of the warehouse.

The setup for the brain chip surgery, where Silver opens skulls and digs out remnants of the labels, is just beyond another set of doors.

[interstellarebels]

Or it would be there, on your average day, at least. Silver's reaction time has been slow - they were caught up in things that they couldn't avoid over in the festival area. Despite that, however, Lapis took a while to get over here, and her arrival wasn't without precedent. Lapis knew where the warehouse was, so the warehouse was no longer safe. Whether she took days or hours to get there, it didn't matter.

The medical machinery was too valuable to lose now. Who knew how long it would take them to track down another.

Silver has already mostly packed the machinery away by the time Lapis arrives - ready to be moved, but not yet absent. They really wish someone could explain what the fuck was happening here, but they can practically smell Lesedi's influence on her when she enters, which answers more than a few questions. Alright then.

Not wasting any time, Silver flings open the doors and stamps out a dance pattern that is magically echoes by a powerful, reverberating base. The shockwave will be enough to send Lapis flying back out the way she came.

Rarity and Sans

[sailorgenerous]

Well. A disaster was exactly what Rarity did not need today. Of course, that means that's what she, and everyone else, is getting. Of course.

She'd long since decided to avoid the festival - no need to make everything worse - and was at home when she received the call for help from Silver. It doesn't take much convincing to get Sans to join her - teleportation is the fastest way to move things, after all - and head to the warehouse, where stacks of boxes greet them.

Ah. Well, this is daunting.

She looks at the boxes, then over at Sans. "Shall we get started?"

[exhumerus]

It's weird that it's boxed up already - almost like someone got it ready for them already? But if Silver got here already, then why did they just leave the things sitting around? There is a bit of an edge in Sans's tone when he speaks.

"Time to see how much dead weight I can drag with me, huh?" he agrees, just in time for a street shaking crack to resonate through the whole building as Lapis tears the street up outside. The water can be heard gushing from where their are.

"...Well, shit," is all Sans can manage at first. "That sounds unfriendly."

She's here.