Multiple Settings Void Lights: Hope Between Worlds

[druidquest]

The Oblivion Needle.

A great spire dominating the landscape, ascending so high it seems to pierce through the sky itself. Said to be a spear cast down by the divine at the separation of heaven and earth, a lynchpin holding reality in place.

The stage for the last, true battle.

The mad emperor Constantine sought to harness the power of the spire to grant himself an army with which to conquer the world, silencing all his foes for good in one glorious march of iron. There, standing atop the Oblivion Needle, where no mortal should be able to stand and with stars above and below him, he was confronted by those indomitable souls who had worked to end his ambitions from the beginning.

A collection of heroes from across all lands, each bearing a Mark granting them power unseen in an age, every one resolved to finish things once and for all. They stood strong, bringing their all to bear against Constantine at the climax of a struggle that had seen them journey to places long forgotten at the furthest reaches of their world, all in an effort to save their homes and defend their loved ones.

Yet here, at the most critical of moments, a twist of fate they did not expect. Constantine, activating the Oblivion Needle for the first time since the age of Divinity, tore open a crack between stars, finding not the army he had intended to call, but another world entirely.

A world without magic, yet possessing boundless technology. A world devoid of the races which had united against his march, solely populated by the race of his own empire.

A world of only humans.

A smile, a laugh, a new, shining idea formed in the mad emperor’s skull. Here was not just a limitless army, but his birthright. He was the Emperor of Men, after all - why shouldn’t he be ruler of two worlds?

The heroes saw his plan, and knew they must stop him now, at any cost. They charged forth, but too slow- the power of the Needle was Constantine’s to control now, and with a wave of his hand, he cast them adrift, their souls separated and hurtling like lights through the void toward this new world.

Our world.

Arriving as mere specters, robbed of their physicality. If they were to protect the found world, and save their own, they would have but one option. They would need to find others to fight in their stead, until such time as they could make their way back across the divide and put an end to Emperor Constantine’s designs before he could launch his invasion in full.

---

Having failed to stop the mad emperor Constantine from making use of the Oblivion Spire, our heroes find themselves trapped in another world! And what’s worse, they’re trapped in this weird ghostlike state, and no one can see them - or, well, almost no one? They’ve discovered these human girls who can see and interact with them, and when they touched each other, its like they got ZAPPED and now they’re bound together! Is that crazy or what?

Some of the champions want these girls to help them fight Constantine, but how are they supposed to do that when they don’t even have powers? There was a big meeting to talk about it, but it didn’t really go anywhere - man, some of these girls are stubborn!

They better figure something out fast, though, cos Constantine’s up to something back on the Spire, and that can only mean more trouble is on its way!

 

[druidquest]

Mina Han stood on the side of the road, waiting for the light to change. She hadn’t spotted any stains on her uniform, but the soles of her shoes were covered in this gross film from the cistern that she did NOT want to have to clean off.

She sighed, tugging at the hem of her jacket. What even was all that? Creepy monsters, evil sorcerers, other worlds? A robot dinosaur carrying a baby? Infant not withstanding, Mina had to have been the youngest person there. If she had a slightly stronger sense of incredulity she might have taken them for some kind of college theater troupe pulling the world’s weirdest prank. Maybe they were, and she was just more gullible than she’d wanted to believe. Still, though…

"We may have no choice in who we bond with, but there is some reason we haven't discovered yet. We need you to help us at least protect your world."

"PE-E-E-E-OPLE ARE GOING TO BE HURT REGARDLE-E-ESS. I-I-I-IT IS MORE OF A MATTER OF WHETHER YOU WILL BE THE ONE TRYING TO STOP IT OR LETTING SOMEONE ELSE TAKE THE RE-E-E-I-INS."

“If there was a choice, it's already passed. The war will come, and you all will fight. It's only an issue of time."

Mina shook her head, trying to clear her mind. Where did they even get off? She wasn’t some world-saving hero, she was in middle school. If things were really so urgent, they could figure something else out and leave her alone. This wasn’t her problem.

She looked up to notice the crossing light blinking at her. She ran out into the crosswalk, kicking herself for letting those Halloween store rejects get in her head like that. At least they’d had the courtesy not to follow her out after their little sewer club meeting fell apart.

---

Mina sat on the curb outside the bookstore, head in her hands. Ugh, this whole day had to be some kind of nightmare. She was going to wake up any second, still stuck in math class with Mr. Hanohano looming over her. Aaaany second now.

.

.

.

Darn it.

“What?” she snapped at some kid from another school, staring at her as he passed by. He and his friends quickly hurried along.

Mina sighed, stepping away from the bookstore and wandering down the road toward home. She had hoped her bag would be waiting for her bright eyed and bushy-tailed by the time she found her way back from that storm drain, but nothing ever wanted to go her way. At least the lady at the bookstore had been nice about telling her she was banned now.

Mina threw her head back and sighed at the orange sky above her, half expecting it to open up with a sudden downpour just to spite her. The contrarian abyss overhead remained stubbornly free of clouds, however. Sudden streaks of light caught Mina’s attention, and she blinked in surprise. She hadn’t expected there to be a star shower tonight. She didn’t even know shooting stars could show up before it got dark. Maybe the day wasn’t a total loss?

Mina sighed one last time and stood, dusting off the seat of her skirt. She supposed she should start heading back home before the stars were out. And she should probably start thinking of excuses for how she lost her bag while she was at it. She turned down the road toward home, stealing one last look up at those shooting stars for luck. She wasn’t childish enough to believe in wishing on them anymore, but if grumpy crow dudes and macho goats were real, maybe there was a chance wishing stars were, too.

Almost on cue one of those fleeting streaks of light changed direction, and she nearly tripped doing a double take. Mina’s jaw fell open, eyes wide as the star banked at a ninety degree angle, careening directly toward her. She ducked down reflexively, letting out a yelp as it shot overhead.

Mina peeked up from where she cowered on the sidewalk, noticing after a long moment that the road hadn’t been cratered by a falling space rock. No one else seemed to have noticed anything, walking to and fro and casting odd glances at the crazy girl squatting on the ground.

“Oh no.” She almost hated how quickly the realization came, jumping back to her feet. “Oh, no no no, that better not be another of those-”

Screams echoed from down the road. What?! Those freak losers had insisted they couldn’t be seen! Mina ran toward the source of the noise, not really sure what she intended to do but certain she was gonna make that stupid crow guy regret screwing with her. “Yagi!!” She shouted, pushing her way past the fleeing crowd. “Yagi, I swear if this is one of your stupid friends I’m gonna…-”

Mina’s voice died in her throat as she slowed to a halt, then reflexively took a step back. That was not one of Yagi’s friends. At least, she didn’t think it was. They might have all been their own unique flavor of strange, but they weren’t…. They weren’t… What was she even looking at?

Some hundred paces down the street pulling itself out through a shop window was a twisted jumble of wires and poles, a mechanical stick figure crudely imitating human form with a flatscreen for a head. And when it scanned its surroundings, she saw its face was an ad for fried chicken. Only 19.95 for an eight piece bucket, biscuits and two sides of your choice.

Buy now.

One of its legs caught on the ledge of the window frame, and it stumbled to catch itself before rising up to its full… poorly postured height. It looked like its TV head was pulling its body down slightly, making it look hunched over. Weird. TV Head looked up and down the street, seemingly lost. It didn’t pay any mind to the people on the street, some of whom had run, others who stood staring at it as though its existence were a street performance.

Mina swallowed the lump in her throat. This was not her problem, she was not involved. One of those ghost weirdos could come collect their new member on their own. All she had to do was turn around and leave.

“Give me back my screen, you thief!” The chicken shop’s owner came running out into the street, brandishing a metal bat, raising it over his shoulder. Mina knew immediately that was a bad idea.

He swung hard at TV Head’s Ikea-thin body, causing it to stumble where it stood. The owner braced himself, raising the bat for a second swing. TV Head’s screen turned like a searchlight toward the man, the ad on its face flickering slightly. The owner hesitated, a deer caught in headlights, but fight won over flight and he swung again. The bat whistles through the air, briefly, its swing cut short by one mechanical hand.

The baseball bat groaned and bent in TV Head’s grip, the owner trying fruitlessly to pull it back from the mechaniform creature. TV Head pulled the bat to the side, like parting a blade of grass, taking a step into the man’s space. The owner lost his grip and fell backward, his round rear hitting the pavement. TV Head loomed over him, gazing at the crumpled bat in its grip before looking down at the owner.

Then it looked up to the orange sky, and a single beam of light shot from the center of its face. Mina followed its path, watching it vanish in long seconds until only a single mote of light hung over the street. A mote no one else seemed to notice, eyes still fixed on TV Head, even as that mote began to break down into a swarm of tiny wisps that rained over the shopping center in a flurry that seemed to steal into every window and dumpster they could find.

And everything hung in silence for a long, long moment.

And then everything was in chaos.

Toys, appliances, books, garbage, all manner of paraphernalia possessed by those lights erupted out onto the street, swarming to defend their “commander”. A coffee maker, wiring turned inside out like grasping tendrils and still dripping its latest brew burst from the cafe near to her, and Mina jumped aside to avoid it before getting knocked down by a new wave of panicked students and shoppers turning to flee. She scrambled along the ground, trying to avoid the crowd as she got back to her feet.

Mina made her way over to the wall of a building, disoriented from the fall. She looked up and down the road, trying to spot a way through the mess that she could escape down. Those things were densest around TV Head, but the rest of the center wasn’t much better off, swarming like angry wasps against anyone who got too close to them. Mina took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself as she worked out a plan. Maybe if she stuck to the alleys behind the stores-

Too late. A swarm of books came flying out of the book store, rounding on her almost immediately. Mina ducked and ran, the swarm launching its own component parts at her like a cannon. She ducked into one of the side alleys, trying to break line of sight - assuming it even could see. They came zooming after her in mere seconds, the air whipping through their pages sounding like a violent hiss.

Mina took off, diving for a trash can lid before whipping around to use it as a shield. Every book that struck against it made her arms shake - she wouldn’t be able to keep this up very long. Peering around the edge of the lid she saw the books were orbiting around one in the center like a core - some comic book about a sword guy with orange hair. Maybe if she got rid of that one, the rest would fall? Not likely, right?

Mina strafed around the book gestalt, trying to find a blind side she could get into, but its projectiles followed her without the core turning to face her. She had hoped it might run out, but no luck; spent books lifted themselves up after a moment, returning to the central swarm. Nothing for it then!

Mina let out a battle cry and charged, every impact of the book swarm’s assault rattling her arms down to the bone. If she got out of this, she was going to be so sore. The impacts got stronger the closer she got; The core was nearly within arm’s reach but every attempt to take another step was forced back by the force of the books striking her makeshift shield. Even worse, she could see the plastic warping from the punishment it was taking.

She grit her teeth, eyes screwed shut - she was NOT about to lose to a stupid comic book! She braced herself, then with a burst of strength she lunged forward, forcing herself off the ground. She landed hard, the core trapped under her. She felt it struggling under the lid, threatening to knock her off with each thrash against the plastic.

What was she supposed to do now?! She hadn’t thought that far ahead! At least the other books had stopped moving - separating the core had worked then? That didn’t seem right, though? Distance hadn’t seemed to matter earlier-

“Gah!” The comic book had apparently had the same thought, a light novel thudding against Mina’s shoulder. “Quit it already!” she shouted, throwing the lid aside and grabbing the core as it tried to rocket past her. She struggled to keep her grip on it, holding it tight against her body as it thrashed against her. ”I said quit!!”

In a flash of anger Mina pulled the book up to her face, biting into it hard. The book shuddered, almost in shock, and seizing the opportunity Mina tore it in half. She stood, panting hard. Her arms hurt, her jaw hurt, she was pretty sure her teeth were bleeding, but the book had stopped fighting. She looked down at the mangled stack of paper in her hand, reading the title on the cover. “Bleach”. Yeah, she was never gonna read this one.

 

[DarKnight36]

"Aika," Fiona said, trying to remain calm despite the situation. Unfortunately, Aika ignoring her wasn't helping. She repeated his name again, louder this time. "Aika. Stop it already!"

"Bah," Aika grumbled, only half-glancing at his human companion. "Why should I?"

"You're making a scene," Fiona hissed at him, flushing as she tried to ignore the other customers in the music store staring. Fiona had come to purchase new sheet music, but Aika had been sidetracked by the grand piano up on display. He had seated himself and began... well, he clearly had no idea what he was doing but he was managing to make quite a bit of noise. And since the piano appeared to be empty to anyone watching... Fiona had the distinct impression the other shoppers were beginning to get suspicious.

"I see why you find this fun!" Aika said, running his fingers up and down the keys for the fifth or sixth time in a row. "Still, music from this silly thing?"

"Excuse me?" Fiona said, forgetting for a moment her embarrassment. "You're just smashing your hands on the keys like a child. How would you like it if I took your sword you boast about so much, and smashed into a bunch of rocks outside?"

Aika's hands paused as he finally looked at Fiona. "My sword would not be dented by mere pebbles, but your point has not been lost on me. Very well, play me some music."

"W-well, I..." Fiona stuttered, but Aika had already deposited her on the piano bench.

"Play!" Aika grinned. "Show me the power of music!"

At this point, Fiona simply wanted to disappear but her hands touched the keys on instinct. She began playing one of the first pieces she'd ever learned: Gymnopedie No1, composed by Erik Satie. The music was soft & gentle, like walking home along the shoreline in the setting sun. Her eyes half-closed as she played the piece from memory. Aika remained silent for the few minutes it took her to play, a strange display of restraint from the man.

Fiona sighed and stood up from the bench. "W-well, we should get going..."

"I have learned a lesson today!" Aika said, clapping loudly (although Fiona believed she was the only one who could hear it). "You are quite gifted in your..."

A tremendous crash interrupted his statement. Fiona gasped as Aika grabbed her as if by instinct, hovering over her protectively. His helmet covered his eyes as usual, but she could tell from the way his head was angled that he was scanning the windows. He sniffed loudly, then a grin broke across his face.

"Ah, it seems we'll have company shortly! It's about time! I was beginning to grow very bored indeed!" Aika cried out, half-lifting Fiona as he began to stride for the door with his arm around her shoulders.

"W-w-w-what are you talking about?" Fiona stuttered, but she didn't have long to wonder as strange sparks began scattering around them. Whatever objects they touched began to rise, as if possessed. Sheet music, metronomes, and of course all the instruments - guitars, violins, flutes, and more. They began swooping and attacking the other shoppers, the shop quickly filling up with screams and a musical cacophony.

"We must find the source of the problem Fiona!" Aika smirked. "Defeat it and you will restore order! Such base magic trickery will be a good test for you!"

 

[PiePillager]

A crude tent had been pitched in the middle of a forest, covered in precisely placed leaves and hidden behind tall blades of grass so as not to draw any attention should it stop by. Within this tent was a beleaguered but honorable dragon and his somewhat unintentional charge. Tsurigi was wrapped in a copious amount of blankets in order to stay warm, her face poking out and observing her surroundings with uncommon quiet for an infant.

Ryugami, had he been made of flesh would've been sweating. This was no place for an infant, surely. But given the irresponsibility of the fool child placed in charge of watching her, he had no choice but to take her with him! He had no idea of the alternative. What could he do, leave the child at home? She'd starve! He couldn't leave her for someone to find. She had parents who would return to her. The whole situation was just complicated, more than he'd like. Truthfully, in the end, he had much more important tasks to do than watch over a baby and yet...

Who in their right mind, bound with honor or no would abandon a child in need.? Certainly not he! And besides, he had grown to like the little human. Even though his patience was sorely tested from time to time. Right this moment, for instance, the girl's calm demeanor was beginning to crack. Her face had begun to scrunch and tears began to well up in her eyes. Ryugami knew that it was time to hunt for food.

Well, hunt is not entirely accurate in this case. There wasn't much edible in this forest, for a baby anyway. No, Ryugami needed to procure food from a human establishment. A convenience store, he had heard it called. An apt enough name to be sure. He had grown accustomed to sneaking around, though he despised it so. Despite always attempting to find some way to repay whoever he took from properly, he'd much rather be upfront about it. Though, whatever curse he was stricken with upon arriving in this human realm would make that an impossibility.

Speaking of which, convincing Tsurigi to move about covertly was the most difficult part. Most people would simply see a baby, housed ina floating backpack giggling away. A prospect most assuredly as frightening for various reasons as it was concerning. So heading inside the store, his movements needed to be well timed and swift. Waiting for the opportune moment to enter the store. The door seemingly opening on it's own would drive employees to see what just occurred and in doing so, he would be free to take what he needed and leave.

He would gather fruits and vegetables. These seemed suitable enough as well as this yogurt product. Mashing them up would be a simple matter. Now if only he was certain which fruits she enjoyed the most. As he pondered this, a scream came from near the cash register. The woman there was holding on desperately to the register in question as it seemed to be pulling away from her, hovering towards the door. All the money inside flew out of it and smashed through the glass in the window.

What an odd sight. Ryugami pondered just what to make of this as Tsurigi reached over and managed to open one of the yogurt cups he had been gathering for her and began to eat away.

"Hmmm..." Ryugami muttered, scratching his metallic chin. "Most curious indeed..."

 

[Nellancholy]

"A-and if you s-sign a contract with our fiber internet partners, y-you'll get an SSD from us as a bonus..."

This is what Posey Lee had been reduced to, doing promotional work for the national division of a multinational tech company instead of sitting in a nice, dark office committing changes to the drivers for their next absurdly expensive graphics card. All because they didn't want to hire more marketing folk. She glanced over her shoulder at the table in the booth, where Sally from accounting was tapping away at her laptop, trying to finish the presentation they were going to give the public regarding their IPO. What kind of investors would be in the mall on a day like this?! Well, at least Sally was pretty cute. Maybe after they were done for the day, they could-

Actually, Sally looked pretty tired. Maybe she could invite her back to her place, and then they could-

An tap on the shoulder interrupted Posey's train of thought.

"Huh? U-uh, no. Fiber optics have nothing to do with the fiber in your diet. It's-"

A sudden squeal from Sally interrupted yet again, and Posey's head whipped around to see-

The laptop had come to life, wrenching its charging cord out of the outlet on the floor and using it to slither like a snake towards the flinching Sally.

It coiled up to strike, and-

A chair shattered its screen, swung by Posey with all of her might.

"S-sally, you okay?"

"Huh, I guess so...Ms. Lee, what's going on?"

"S-sorry, please excuse me." Posey glanced back and forth between Sally and the elderly enquirer. "I-I gotta go!" She yelled that last part a bit louder than she had to.

---

The door to the women's room swung open as the mall fell into chaos under the animate influence of whatever villain they were supposed to be fighting. The Emperor himself...?

Posey staggered in, twisting the tap at one of the sinks on and splashing water onto her face. And the moment she looked up...there she was.

"Huh, you're here already?" Phenex tittered, kicking her legs as she sat on the edge of the counter. "A bit ahead of schedule on 'cry in a toilet cubicle because the experience of human contact is too much to handle', right? Oh, who am I kidding? When was the last time you cried?"

"Phenex..." Posey bit her tongue. "...y-you see what's going on out there. W-we need to f-fuse..." She stood up straight, putting on a brave face as she made eye contact with her reflection in the mirror. Her hands gripped her hips and her feet parted slightly, like the start of a superhero transformation sequence. "So...how do we actually do it? Is there like a phrase I gotta say, or..."

"Ahaha!" Phenex stood as well, barely taller than Posey in her current state despite being literally on the counter. She leaned in, pressing a piping-hot finger to Posey's lips. "Don't be silly. All you have to do is let...me...in~♥"

"W-wait, that sounds really- ah...!" Posey's back arched as flames took her, Phenex's blazing wings becoming her own.

The interior of the washroom (momentarily) burst into flames, melting down the hand dryer just before it could come to life.

Burning Wing kicked out the door, her eyes bright as she did a cartwheel.

"Woohoo~! Alright, time to take care of business!"

 

[druidquest]

Mina slunk down the alley behind the shops, her arms sore and throbbing. She could hear people shouting out on the road, the honking of cars and chaos of people being attacked by all kinds of formerly-inanimate nonsense. Mina stuck close to the walls when she could; she could still see those wisps floating about overhead, looking for more stuff to possess and bring to TV Head’s defense.

How long would it take cops or the military to show up? Would the sewer squad be able to handle it on their own? Not that she would be of any use with that - she’d almost just died fighting a book. There was no way she'd be able to take on TV Head and its shopping street army.

She paused to catch her breath, leaning against the back corner of the old arcade. Just a couple more stores and she’d be out on one of the side streets, just a couple of blocks from home. She peered around the corner, back up toward the shopping street. Everything was in chaos, people running or trying to defend themselves. There were bodies on the ground - were they dead? No, they were probably just unconscious. Right? At least it didn’t look like anything else had noticed her; she just had to make a run for it, and then-

Mina felt a hitch in her throat. Was this some sort of joke? It had to be. A weird street performance or tech demo or- She swallowed hard, eyes locked on the flash of pink hair out on the street, cowering behind a car while a figure of melted wax and bath incense crawled down the street, closing in on the girl. No, this- this was Mina’s chance. She was so close, all she had to do was run down the rest of the alley and… and…

Why wouldn’t her legs move? Her arms were burning, her fingers turning numb, there was nothing she could do, she just had to take care of herself so- so-

There was a flurry of wings behind her, black feathers drifting through the air to announce his arrival.

Finally done running?” Yagi asked, his tone even.

“What?” Mina’s thoughts felt heavy and sluggish.

”The enemy has come. The war is on your doorstep, that girl’s life just one of countless others at stake. This is what Constantine would visit on your world.” Everything felt like it was running in slow motion. Mina’s mouth felt so, so dry, the taste of copper thick on her tongue. ”Do you still think yourself uninvolved, or would you join the fight?”

“I- I don’t know, I-” Her eyes were still fixed on that distant pink bob. She was becoming vaguely aware that she was shaking.

”Then it’s time to find out.” Yagi’s long fingered hand reached around Mina’s back, offered before her. ”Choose, girl. Our bond remains. If you want the strength to act, claim my power, and make it yours.”

This- this was crazy, right? She was crazy? She could barely fight a book, there was no way someone like her could ever-

The wax monster drew closer to the girl in slow motion, inch by torturous inch. Mina didn’t think, couldn’t think. She saw the thing spot that stupid pink soccer girl, saw the wicks forming its fingers ignite as it reached around the car, saw the bodies lying on the street-

Mina’s body felt lighter than she had expected. There was a lance in her hand, a rigid jousting thing, maybe six feet in length - no, shorter than that, just longer than she was tall. It pierced through the air like a bullet, impaling the candle man and snuffing out its flame. Moving that far so quickly - was it possible to move so fast? Mina spun in a circle, lance cleaving the air like a hammer and knocking away the other minions swarming toward the car. She flicked through the air one last time, candle wax splattering against the ground.

Mina looked down at the girl - at Tamaki. She looked back up at her, stupefied, unrecognizing. Panic maybe? Whatever. At least she was sa- Well, she was fine.

“Run for safety!” she commanded, before the stupid pink b- before the girl could realize who she was looking at. To Mina’s relief, Tamaki complied without hesitation.

Mina looked back down the street, toward the center of the Chaos. TV Head hadn’t moved, still staring up at the sky. The swarm of objects possessed by the wisps seemed to grow more dense with every minute.

”We aren’t done yet,” Yagi said, his voice echoing from somewhere behind her shoulder. ”Keep to the shadows - they’ll carry you where you want to go. Quickly!”

Mina wasn’t sure how thrilled she was to have this guy barking orders in her ear, or when exactly her clothes had changed, or what that jerk had done to her hair, but whatever. She’d already come this far, and at least her arms didn’t hurt anymore. She gripped the shaft of her lance in both hands. In for a penny, and all that. “Right, then!” she announced, and lunged forward once more.

 

[DarKnight36]

"What do you mean, a t-test?" Fiona stammered, as Aika's ethereal cape billowed. Wind circled around them, keeping the various instruments and other possessed objects at bay. Other shoppers weren't faring quite so well, trying to shield themselves from the craziness.

"We have a bond, you and I!" Aika rested a hand on Fiona's shoulder, large and warm, strangely comforting despite the chaos around them. "It doesn't matter why or how! Those things are superfluous. But what is important is that you can borrow my power as your own, and use it to battle! Do you understand?"

"N-not in the slightest," Fiona muttered, but in truth she did, somehow. Aika's hand on her shoulder conveyed the message more clearly than his words ever could. She could feel his emotions - an immense hunger for battle, joy and excitement. Her eyes glanced at the other people in the shop once again, and her lips firmed. If she could use Aika's strength to stop this, to save the others and herself...

Music began playing in her head as magic began to swirl around her. Aika's grin grew even wider before he vanished, somehow merging with her. She could feel herself changing - Aika's cape fitting around her as an oversized coat, and his sword fitting comfortably in her hands. She looked down at herself even as the title of the musical piece racing through her head escaped her lips: "La Campanella."

For the first time in her life, Fiona felt powerful. In her mind, she could hear Aika laughing with sheer delight, a laugh that her own voice echoed as her lips parted in a grin. It was time to fight!

 

[PiePillager]

Customers in the convenience store began to scream in terror, covering their heads as various inanimate objects began to encircle them above their heads. Judging from their reaction, this as far from common in the human worlds. "Young miss, I need to get you to safety so that..." Ryugami began when Tsurigi suddenly reached up for a fork that was flying amidst a swarm of utensils.

It lifted her into the air as she held on tightly. "Young miss!" Ryugami exclaimed, his eyes nearly bugging out of his cranium as he scrambled after her.

"Wheeeeeeeheeheehee!" Tsurigi giggled as the spiral started rotating faster and faster, seemingly converging on one object that hovered in the center of the swarm. A microwave oven that seemed to spew what amounted to hellfire. Ryugami knocked more than a few displays in a store in a mad scramble and with a leap, he grabbed Tsurigi by her shirt and pulled her away from the object swarm and skidded across the floor backwards. Tsurigi seemed unperturbed as she began to clap in amusement.

"Your bravery is commendable, young miss, but you cannot simply thrust yourself into danger! The battlefield is no place for a child, although I have seen many a-," He turned as the swarm of objects finally began to stop swarming and take a humanoid shape of a thin body, with the microwave oven acting as its head. It's spindly body slowly crawled over the counter. The employees of the store backed away in fear if the creature, though its heated metal rectangular head jolted at each of them with every movement.

It's thin arm, each finger made of forks, slowly reached out to one of the employees before a loud wail disrupted its activity. It was Tsurigi's. She had cried out upon seeing the creature. It had seemed to take an interest in her now. as it crawled over the counter completely and began to slither towards the infant.

"Gutless fiend! I recognize your ilk now...you would dare attack a child?!" the dragon growled as he lashed his tail out with as expert a precision as one wielding a blade....to no avail. His attack simply passed through the creature as it did with most of the humans that inhabited this world. "What! No! This cannot be...." he muttered under his breath. Despite finding his abilities wanting in this realm, he still curled around Tsurigi protectively. "It is my fault that you are in danger now, young miss, and for that I apologize. Though your life is at it's beginning, I ask that you do not weep as if it is the end. Put on a brave face, stay strong. For it is through the virtues of courage and steadfastness that we will persevere yet this day..."

It was odd enough the Ryugami's words seemed to go through to one so young. Tsurigi stopped crying. And in an instant, something even stranger occurred. Ryugami's body lifted into the air...and began to fold in on itself??! "What strange magic is this! A new trick?!" He grew smaller and stood upright as Tsurigi was lifted up as well. Where Ryugami's head once stood before it had folded in were a pair of levers, buttons and panels. A large seat slowly rose up that Tsurigi sat upon.

"What is...what is happening?!" Ryugami questioned as Tsurigi began to coo. This reminded her of something! The levers! It was like a big machine that her parents had in their house! They tried to show her how it worked. It looked fun. Now if only she could remember. A moment of silence....and then...."AHHH!" the infant suddenly screamed, pushing a lever forward cheerfully, which sent Ryugami forward in a sudden tackle, knocking the microwave headed creature off balance and into a pile of potato chips.

"What....well, I'll be..." Ryugami murmured, too shocked to fully assess the situation. "Young miss! It seems you must aid me in doing what I cannot! Onward then! Though I take no solace in it, it appears battle is out only option! Onward!"

"Go!" Tsurigi giggled, pushing the lever forward once more.

 

[obscured_light]

There was still a bit of Oreo cookie on the corner of his mouth. Nefarius noticed it as she and Ramza stared each other down, chaos all around them. A half-eaten cone of ice cream was beating its tiny hands against Ramza's leg but he just swiftly kicked it aside with his hoof. Nefarius had her hands held out towards him and he had his arms crossed over his chest. There was contempt and suspicion in his gaze even as people screamed, rushing to get past. She couldn't stop looking between Ramza and the people and the living objects... and he had his gaze glued on her.

"DO-O-O YOU SWEAR TO IT?" Ramza asked as he flung out his hoof as if he could throw it at her, he would.

"Yes! That's fine!" Nefarius said impatiently as she snatched it and shook it twice. The goat nodded and dropped his hooves all the way down to the ground, back legs tense. He dropped his head, Nefarius' eyes widening at the large horns.

"H-hey! Wai-!"

She was dead. She had to be. That amount of force hitting her all at once should have sent her straight to an early grave. But there was a rush, an absolute euphoria that overtook her as power surged through her veins. Her garments grew longer and deepened into an emerald color, a book and quill appearing in her hands. Nefarius had the sudden urge to flex and both her and Ramza's voices boomed from her small frame.

"JUSTICE RAMPANT IS HERE," the two of them, now one, announced as the chaos suddenly seemed to remember to eliminate any obvious threats. The items grew like a wave around them and suddenly crashed down, overtaking the newly formed duo.

 

[Nellancholy]

A wave of heat crept through the pathways and halls of the shopping complex as Burning Wing let loose, the aura surrounding her flaring up with the sensation of unfettered liberation shared by both sides of her, as much at odds as they were otherwise.

She reveled, she rejoiced. She flipped over a perfume counter, her whip slashing through the agitated cash register and several bottles. It was a nice coincidence that the fluid splashed on her and ignited harmlessly, the mingling fragrances adding to her fervid mood.

She dove through a housewares exhibit, where a tall lamp had amalgamated with several extension cords, fans, and squat lamps into an octopus-like mass. Quite unfortunately, it seemed to have managed to pull the grilles off the fans somehow.

"Ohoho?" Coming out of a cartwheel, Burning Wing eyed the creature, smiling with her hands on her hips. "Trying to beat the heat, smart guy?" Taking a few steps towards it, she cocked her hip, whirling her whip in a circle. "Too bad it won't work, because it's lights out-"

Her quipping was interrupted by several small lamps and fluorescent bulbs being hurled at her. Twisting and rolling gracefully, Wing slipped past all of them...but the last.

"Ugh!" With little choice, she braced her arm like a boxer's guard, letting the lamp explode against her in a shower of glazed clay and electronic parts.

"N-nice try, but-" Rolling with the impact, she narrowly avoided two spinning fan blades, each swinging by a thick, tentacle-like mass of wires.

Pulling into a crouch, she sprung up, landing feet first on the "octopus'" head. Her lash burned white-hot as she wrapped it around the central lamp and pulled hard, wire and brass melting away as its lightbulb flared up, sputtered...and burst with a great POP.

As the rest of the wires fell away, Wing huffed. "And that's what you get for interrupting me."

Dancing out of the department store, she found herself by an ice cream shop. She'd have no interest in stopping by here, if not for the...slightly familiar presence inside, buried under a mass of incidental animated objects.

Well,that wouldn't do.

Twirling into the shop, she kicked off and flipped. As she passed over the pile, her whip slashed left, then right, not so much destroying each individual item in the mass as much as sweeping them aside like a big broom.

Having momentarily relieved the other spirit and their host, Wing took the chance for more mischief. "Hey there, goat breath! You look sweaty. Is it hot in here, or is it just me?" With that said, she grabbed a scooper and a cone, pulling out a big scoop of peppermint (green like Ramza) and dropping it onto the cone. "Here, why not chill out a bit?"

As she handed it over, the ice cream had already almost entirely melted away from the heat she was emitting.

obscured_light

 

[obscured_light]

Justice Rampant stared down at the melting cone and looked back up at the heated being offering it. They tilted their head even as the horizontal slits of their eyes remained unmoving. Then a huge grin broke out on their face.

"COME ON FIRE FOR BRAINS!" Justice Rampant exclaimed jovially as they held out a fist instead, turning it to reveal goat cheese in the palm of their hand. It was perfectly round, soft white, and smelled slightly of ammonia. "THAT WAS CHEESY EVEN FOR YOU!"

In a swift motion, they brought their arm back, aimed, and launched it straight... for one of the other scoops that had decided it could sneak in. The scoop got booped back onto the floor. Another goat cheese ball appeared in their other hand but they tossed it onto the cone, covering the gooey mess that was left of the ice cream.

"DO YOU WANT SPRINKLES?" they asked as they began to sprinkle goat cheese all over the objects that had been momentarily swept aside. It didn't seem to do anything except make the ice cream place smell fresh and light goat cheese.

 

[Wing06]

"Hey, get a load of this!" a boy shouted from across the classroom as he pointed to his phone. A few students walked over; their gasps as they watched the events on screen unfold caught Hitomi's attention.

"This has to be fake. There's no way a book can attack people or a coffee machine can chase someone!" One student stated.

"Yeah, it's bad CG for some kid's horror movie. It's good PR, though; it almost had me!" another chuckled before going back to sweeping.

Hitomi took a few hesitant steps toward the remaining students huddled around the boy's phone. She peered over their shoulders and watched a TV-headed creature look toward the sky and shoot a beam of light.

"We sense the coming darkness these creatures will bring," Isfrid's dual voice echoed from over Hitomi's shoulder. "We must stop these creatures and stave off the coming darkness, daughter of Eve." Hitomi frowned; she'd begun believing everything the day before had been a fever dream. She looked at her classmate's phone for a few more seconds before grabbing her bag and racing out of school.

****

"This is crazy, this is crazy!" Hitomi panted as she ran down the sidewalk toward the chaos. Many people ran in the opposite direction as she got closer, cars honking and speeding down normally quiet streets. As she turned the corner, the chaotic scene unfolded before her. She could see a few of the girls from the night before had gathered already. Their Celestial partners must have urged them all to act, too.

"I don't know what I can even do to help..." Hitomi sighed, taking in the destruction and chaotic scene. "Tell me what I'm supposed to do, Isfrid!"

"Fight!"

Suddenly, the world went black. The air around Hitmoi grew colder as the wind began to howl and swirl around her. Ice crystals began forming on her exposed skin, the chill was seeping into her uniform, and the fabric quickly froze. Ice encapsulated Hitomi, cocooning her for an instant. Then, all at once, the cocoon shattered, and the world appeared before Hitomi again; frost hung before her face as she tried to catch her breath. She felt strange, powerful. Her body felt different and foreign, yet right.

"Our power is yours to wield, Hitomi. We are one. We are FRIGID VENGENCE."

 

[PiePillager]

"Tsurigi, slow....Tsurigi slow down!" Ryugami explained as Tsurigi cheerfully giggled upon toying with the controls. now displayed on his...neck...head...he wasn't certain at this point. He wasn't even certain how he could see but he could. He was able to maintain some control of his limbs, as Tsurigi steered him towards every isle as he attempted to halt himself from crashing into them and knocking them over. Wobbling back and forth, he struggled to get her to calm down as she was having what appeared to be the time of her life.

The Microwave headed creature stood motionless apart from its head moving back and forth observing Ryugami and Tsurigi's movements. It didn't do anything but watch for a time but there was a point where it apparently had had enough as the microwave began to heat up. It's face glowing bright red.

This was noticeable enough for both Ryugami and Tsurigi's heads to turn at it. The microwave fired a squared shaped beam from it's head, directly at the infant. "Tsurigi!" Ryugami shouted, having enough motion in his legs to dive out of the way. The beam had gone through the dairy isle, leaving a smoking square shaped hole in the wall in its wake.

"WAAAAAAGHHHHHH!!!!!" Though protected by her seat, Tsurigi began to wail in terror from the assault, sobbing as the microwave headed monster began to charge up yet another heat beam.

"Tsurigi! Hurry! We must get up! Young miss!" Ryugami shouted, but Tsurigi could not hear him over her own wailing as she slammed her tiny fist against a button, causing a ring shaped gun barrel to pop up around Ryugami's wrist. "What?!...Yes, Tsurigi that's it!"

Managing to aim his arm at the creature, the barrel began to spin. Tsurigi paused in her wailing as soon as she observed it. Sniffling, she murmured. "O...owooooo," and pressed the button again causing a hail of rapid-fire bullets to rain down upon the monster. They rattled into its body before causing it to fall to the floor in a smoking heap. The gun barrel stopped spinning, causing Ryugami to wonder if the beast had truly been felled.

 

[Nellancholy]

Burning Wing took a moment to observe the now cheesy ice cream cone, but then thought better of it. She tossed it aside, sending it flipping end over end and splattering on a table for someone else to clean up once...this whole affair was over.

"Eh, forget it." She glanced around at whatever was still animate and moving amidst the foul influence that had made this day take a poor turn for Posey. She glanced at Justice Rampant. "I think I'm gonna run now. How about you clean up here and see if you can catch up?" Crouching down, she unfurled her wings, the white feathers igniting with orange flame. With a roar like a jet engine, she burst out of the ice cream shop, curving through the air back the way she came.

obscured_light

---

Things had not gotten significantly better over at the exhibition area since Posey had run away. Sally had briefly considered replicating her moment of bravery, but had taken to instead sheltering under the table until whatever this was happened to blow over. They couldn't get away with this, right? Surely someone had already called the police? In any event, no one had found her under the table yet, for better or worse. Several devices other than the smashed laptop were still gamboling and making a mess in the general vicinity.

Thankfully, the brand-new sedan being displayed by the local car dealer didn't animate (or perhaps transform) into some kind of towering metal monstrosity, though the power steering, radio, and air-conditioning system had torn themselves out, battering anything that wasn't moving with an amalgamation of pipes and valves.

It stopped, then glanced over.

Crap, did it notice her?

Just as Sally moved to make a run for it, a flash of flames blasted the circuit beast away and drove her back under the table.

As Sally curled back up into a ball, her fiery feathered savior landed in a handstand, giving her an upside-down grin.

"Hey, just hold on a little longer, okay? Once I deal with these guys we can take the rest of the day off. Maybe you and I could get coffee and-"

"M-Ms. Lee? I-is that...you?"

Meeting Sally's confused gaze, Burning Wing's mouth snapped shut. "Like I said, hold still."

With that, Burning Wing swung into a cartwheel.

A crack of her whip carved a burning arc around the table, daring anyone to approach it.

The sound of battle continued.

 

[DarKnight36]

La Campanella rose into the air on a whirlwind, the possessed objects tossed about like the rabble they were. The shopping complex had multiple buildings and an outdoor plaza that connected them. From her height, La Campanella could quickly oversee the entire complex. Chaos was reigning everywhere, and she could tell others like herself were battling the strange magic all around the mall.

The magic was thickest near the bookstore, like the epicenter of an earthquake. She dove towards it, her tornado giving her a quick boost. Within a few moments, she had arrived, sliding to a stop and looking around with excitement. Where was this challenger hiding?

 

[druidquest]

The steady drone of rotating fans filled the darkness of the room, the only dim illumination coming from the wall of monitors. A man reclined in a cushioned ergonomic swivel chair, folded hands resting on his knee as he watched the screens.

“Sir, a large-scale emergence event is being reported at the Blackgate shopping center.” The woman was speaking before the door of the man’s office was fully open, her normally tidy black hair frayed by her rush to deliver the news. “Civilians are involved. Shall I order the-”

“No,” the man interrupted, not taking his eyes off the screen.

“Are you sure? They’re already standing by, you just-”

“No, I think that won’t be necessary.” An almost playful smile pulled at his lips as he watched a woman with a burning whip cartwheel down the street. “Stand by for cleaning operations instead.”

“Sir?” the woman tilted her head in puzzlement, unsure what his intentions could be before noticing what was on the monitors. Her eyes widened slowly, lips slightly parted. They tightened back into a line as her composure reasserted itself. “Of course.” She gave a bow before turning on her heel, leaving the room without another word.

“Now, then…” the man leaned on one arm of his chair, resting his head in his hand. His grin grew fuller, eyes sparkling with the joy of discovery. “What other surprises do you have for me?”

---

TV Head was turning out to be better defended than Mina expected.

“I told you to use the shadows.”

“I am!”

”You aren’t.”

”I am!!”

Mina jumped over another swarm of small poltergeists as they rushed her from the side, using a cash register as a stepping stone when it chomped at her feet. She thrust her spear at the ground, using it as a vault to push herself higher in the air as the rest of the mob came at her from behind, sailing straight through where she’d just been and crashing through the glass front of some fancy pants fashion store.

”Then why are we playing tag, girl?” Yagi sounded annoyed. As if he could do any better, the stupid jerk! How would he like it if someone made him fight a bunch of random junk that flew at your face with no training? ”Use the shadows, girrrrl,” “strike from the darkness, girrrrrrrrl,” as if they didn’t all swarm her as soon as she showed herself. Always acting like he knew better without ever offering any solutions. Her mom was right, men really were the same everywhere.

“It’s not tag…” she grumbled. Mina fell backward as the swarm burst back out of the shop, sailing over her face by a hair’s breadth. She disappeared into the shadow they cast, causing the poltergeists to stop. Dispersing slightly as they buzzed around to search for her. They were blown away in an instant by a sudden blast of wind, La Campanella touching down to join the fight. Yet more were caught by a wave of ice, freezing them where they hung in the air as Frigid Vengeance took the field.

The tip of Mina’s lance appeared before she did, emerging from the shadow beneath TV Head. “...It’s hide and seek!” She thrust her lance upward, driving the point into its back where its arms connected with the metal frame serving as its spine. Sparks flew as metal crashed against metal, Mina straining and TV Head’s beam of light sputtering before finally going out as it was thrust off balance, stumbling forward several steps before falling face-first into the street.

Mina’s metal boots clanked against the ground as she emerged fully from the darkness, holding her lance ready for another attack. TV Head lay still for a long moment.

In the supermarket, the microwave monster’s head started beeping, alerting its would-be owner that their meal was done. The steady, sustained beeps filled the store for several seconds, before becoming more erratic, varying randomly in length and frequency until finally settling into what was recognizably a pattern.

--. . -. . .-. .- .-.. / ..- -. -.. . .-. / .- - - .- -.-. -.-

.- .-.. .-.. / ..- -. .. - ... / ..-. .- .-.. .-.. / -... .- -.-. -.-

.-. . --. .-. --- ..- .--. / .-- .. - .... / -.-. --- -- -- .- -. -.. . .-.

The microwave monster attempted to pull itself up with broken, jerky motions, however in its damaged state it settled for pulling itself along the ground, arms dragging it across the store and back out into the street with shocking speed, like some sort of bizarre insect. All across the strip mall the poltergeist swarms ceased their aggression, abandoning the people in the street and buildings and flowing as a single mass back toward the chicken shop by the bookstore.

“Eh?” Mina looked around at them all, confused. “What’s happening? Did we not win yet?”

Several paces away TV Head began to rise, its stilted limbs finding their way under it and forcing it off the ground. It got shakily to its feet, wobbling slightly as it found its balance before turning back to Mina and the other girls. The ad on its face flickered, becoming distorted with static, before sorting itself into a new screen with one simple sentence.

COMING SOON!

They didn’t have time to consider what that could’ve meant as TV Head’s minions all rushed toward it at once, clamping onto it in a disorganized mass that saw TV Head’s head rise higher and higher into the air, the different poltergeists all fusing together and changing shape, rationalizing themselves into bulky arms, a chest, legs. The microwave monster crawled up the growing body of the beast, reaching the chest and shoving its own head into the center as a glowing, beeping heart.

The newly formed XL TV Head Plus placed a solid black hand on the roof of the chicken shop, using it to support its new body as it rose up onto its feet. Its face flickered and distorted again, changing to a new ad:

BIGGER AND BOLDER, WITH A BRAND NEW RECIPE!! TRY IT TODAY!!