2019.03.13: Dark Arcade
| Dark Arcade | |
|---|---|
| Brooke puts a call out for help to visit mall Arcade that has been negatively affecting people. | |
| IC Date | March 13th, 2019 - afternoon |
| Players | Atloe ST, Brooke, Merek, Mora, Yaretzi |
| Location | Local Mall Arcade |
| Spheres | Fera Gaian Garou Mage Shifter |
With repeated rumors and reports of people going in ok at this one arcade and coming out pissed off and upset, one of the Glass Walkers would go by just to get a general feel. A sense the wyrm done on the place does indeed show that it's stronger in that area than most other spaces. As such, a request was given to Brooke to gather a few people to try to find out what's going on. With the place being in a downtown mall of Prospect, it's hard to just casually go in, Garou blazing, so a more careful touch has been asked of those who are sent to determine what is the source and help to resolve it.
Merek is dressed up in his casual black attire with neon highlight rave gear on it. Both his hands are in his pockets as he draws a cigarette from a pack in one to his mouth. He has come to meet up with the others, a wizard in the mall also.
Mora follows with the group "I never been to a mall before, I am so expanding my American experiences are so expanding... Oh can we do tailgating after this?" the Irish teenager asks as if you don't know if she is being honest or just a Ragabash. She looks to Merek and ask "I should of worn the goth gear my boss loves to dress me up in."
Brooke dresses up in a more youthful outfit, in darker colors. Not wanting to stand out too much in the arcade. Gathering a few town people together to investigate, she waits not far from the arcade for the others. She sees Merek and Mora and gives a nod to them both.
Atloe, out on business, is of course dressed to the 9s. That 3 piece tux with the white gloves that seems like it was fitted to his exact look to a T. Most people passing by don't even seem to notice him, just some guy in the background as he'd stand near Brooke, waiting for this situation to play out. Atloe of course gives a polite nod in greeting to Mora and Merek both.
Merek looks to a machine and places a dollar into it, finding the soda he wants. He settles on it, and he opens that up to take a drink. People don't seem to notice him, but the team does. "How are you all doing?" he asks them also.
Do you know what the problem with ayahuasca is? You end up in weird places like mall fountains, surreptitiously trying to scoop enough quarters out of the water to pay for that cute little crocodile stuffed animal, because you are CONVINCED that it deserves freedom. She is not at all cognizant of any issue with the mall itself and she is also not the sort of person that the message boards reach. She is the sort of person that gets high and tries to rob mall fountains. Her red, heart-shaped sunglasses nearly fall from where she's perched them---a makeshift headband for the extremely messy bun she is rocking. Her romper is navy blue with white dots and her peach sweater was lost somewhere near the edge of the fountain. Her rain boots have lemons on them---this was a pre-meditated robbery and she came prepared. She scoops up another handful of quarters---Splash splash splash.
Of course, while it may have been premeditated for Yaretzi to go robbing the mall fountain, it's also something the mall security guards seem to have to deal with often. They look bored as two men come over to where she's at in the fountain. "Mam? Excuse me? Mam? You need to return the quarters and get out of the water please."
Mora gives a nice look over Atloe "Damn I forget how a well dressed man looks." she looks at the machine that Merek bought and goes to buy a water. She follows the others.
Merek looks to the side a moment and notes that Yaretzi is there, and rubs at his face. "I will be right back, oh... Do you hit on everything? It's alright, I do too," he tells Mora. He walks to the place the guards are, "I see you have met my friend, I was supposed to be meeting with her, she's... You know, how are you?" he asks her. "She isn't being a bother, really," he says, as he notes another place within the mall, "Now those kids there, they look like they are getting up to something interesting." Whether or not there is anyone there he actually means to reference, he does shift the feeling that this isn't worth the effort and people are doing much crazier stuff.
Brooke watches over and sees Security come by, and Merek go to help out. She tries to sense what he is doing, so she can understand what she is dealing with here.
"Boring. You aren't even using them. Selfish." Yaretzi complains, although she doesn't seem interested in resisting. The little Mexican woman makes as if to dump quarters out of her hand, but then Merek has invited himself to the party and she squints slightly as if she's trying to decide what is going on. Comprehension moves slowly through the fog, and she glances at the police officers, hesitating, waiting to see what will happen and if she is allowed to keep her hard-won loot.
The guards would eye Yaret, but when Merek points out there's someone else causing more trouble, they glance at each other and one nods to Merek. "Thanks. Both guards would start heading over the direction he said, leaving Yaret and Merek at the fountain for the moment.
Brooke looks to Atloe and then to Mora. "We should get to the arcade soon. I do not want to put this off too long. As soon as those two are ready.." she gives a chin jut to Yaretzi and Merek "..we should go in and see what we can find."
Mora nods as she gets a serious look for a change "Any one need quarters, I have a bunch for any one that needs some." She looks to the others and holds a bag full of the said coin.
Merek looks then to Yare, "You should walk with us, they will be back. I just made sure they keep attention on other things, I don't like to do that," he says, with a nod to the others. He then walks his way to them, "Anyone know what we're looking for specifically?" he asks.
Atloe nods to Brooke solemnly. He shifts on his feet as he watches Yaret and Merek, then nods a little to Merek as he comes back over. "Place has a.. bad vibe. We're trying to find out what's going on. It's been vetted as something in here. We get to go inside and see what. Pretty straight forward, right?"
Brooke nods. "We need to find out what is causing the bad vibe. So let's all take a section and check it out. People, games, everything. Keep it like we are just customers. Then we circle back to let me know the results. We decide what to do from there."
Mora nods "I am in to buying arcade machine myself, and I been told there are a few for our kind to avoid. It's because they came from bad companies." She wished they were in private areas for better details.
Yaretzi squints at Merek, but convincing her is child's play. All she needed was 'You should come---' and she is convinced. She wanders after Merek, looking completely lost. Completely. "Wait. What is happening? Vibe?" That seems to get a little of her interest. Although not her focus. Focus is an entirely different animal.
Merek picks up his walkman, and places on the Cabinet Man song, while he nods a bit to the others. "Arcades are my thing, I can manage a few people with some play," he tells them. He looks then to Yare, "I will let them explain to you," he says. He then nods to Brooke, "Understood, I will do what I can."
Brooke raises an eyebrow with Merek's choice of music, but dismisses it. And she thought she was a nerd. "We are in public. Merek, you know her? I assume she is in the know?" She thought those here all got the word and showed up. They are not about to pick up stray people. This is a Gaian mission.
Atloe nods a little to Brooke, flashes a wink at Mora, then he'd go to head in. Time to go mingle! As Brooke talks to Merek, a particularly rowdy looking group of teenagers come out, almost shouting at each other, they'd all but trample over Mora. with one of them glaring at her. "Hey! Watch where yer walkin!"
Mora gives a smirk as she walks in the arcade "Oh they have one I kind of want for my collection. Once in she takes a moment to shove all the sounds and things she wants to the side. She focuses on the forgotten and corrupted around her as she changes her olfactory senses as if she is looking for a strange unseeable force.
That's sort of the thing about Gaians; you can be in the know without being in the loop. You can also be Gaian and show up by random happenstance. Sometimes the spirits start talking to you about a certain place and you wander over in that direction and then one of the stuffed alligators needs to be FREED, man. Yaretzi blinks at Brooke, head cocking in a manner that dislodges her sunglasses---she pushes them back into her hair and tucks a lock behind one ear. "In the know of what? I know lots of stuff. What kind of stuff do you NEED me to know?" She asks, glancing after Merek, and then after a moment just following after him. She isn't really paying any specific attention to that sort of thing, but her ears are attuned to the other side more than this one (that's the point of the ayahuasca, it opens her ears to the spirit world).
Merek looks over to Yare, and since she does not introduce, he looks then to Brooke, "August's wife, Mokole... Yaretzi," Merek explains, "I figure it is best that she's here with us and not... You know, drawing attention," he says, while he pats the woman upon the shoulder a bit. He then takes a moment to put on his spectacles while he considers, "Stay with me." he tells the woman also.
Mora makes towards Brooke and gets close as if to say something low in her ear "Wyrm." and motions to a area she think is heavy in it and a places that seem lesser in it."
Brooke has walked away after a nod to Merek and Yaretzi, to go check out what she can. She hears Mora and nods. She whispers back. "Let's investigate further."
Brooke hmms, and heads towards the big bad fighting game. Something draws her attention to it, especially what seems a lack of people's abilities to get past the first screen so far. She waits her turn and watches it intently.
The spirits whisper---Yaretzi can hear them whisper though, and the overwhelming feeling of doom knocks her awareness to attention. She starts LISTENING. She gets this moon-eyed, far-away look on her face---her eyes almost seem to unfocus. She follows her ears, only marginally aware of her visual surroundings---she manages not to bump into anyone, but it's a close thing because she's listening so closely that her eyes have taken a sort of...nominal back seat. Toward the prize counter she goes, looking...concerned, maybe. Yeah. Concerned.
Mora stands next to Brooke "I am not good at games like that. Maybe Merek if you are not."
Merek offers up a little chant to himself, once he notes what is on the Umbra, he then speaks to Brooke, "I wouldn't look or touch the Umbra, it seems like the whole Arcade has been taken in by the influence, every bit." He pulls up a little shield about himself, while he speaks to the others, "I've put up some protection, I will keep a watch on all of you to protect you too, I can try... If you like," he nods to the game a bit. He reaches up to place a palm upon Yare's shoulder, calming her, "It'll be alright."
Brooke steps up to the machine, and takes her turn. She is not going to be a master the first time out, but she will try. There is obvious resistance and it will take her time and perhaps a bit extra to break through this and find any secrets it holds.
Yaret will find while the place has a lot of bad spirits, corrupted spirits, the prize bar at least seems not to be too bad. Merek, sensing as he is of the area, will get the feeling that as Brooke plays? She's getting noticed by whatever it is that's going on here.
Brooke plays the game and while it seems like classic Streets of Rage, something is.. odd. The guys are able to do more than they ever should. However, you're able to beat it, if barely! The machine itself seems to shake a little as that second level loads. There's already bad guys on screen trying to fight you too!
Brooke's ability takes effect and those sensitive to it will actively hear.. something, ethereal, on that other plane, react. A roar of pain, causing more than one person to stumble suddenly, although confused looking for why. The machine Brooke play reboots.. but when it comes up? It's looking normal now.
Brooke grins. One down. She has control of this one at least. But what is it that is taking control. Time to check out another machine and see what more she can figure out.
Mora walks to the skeet ball area "Ahh hello my old friend, your tickets will be mine.... yes all of them, that foam finger will be mine." she looks down and smiles "Oh I so love this game."
The little Mexican woman's sunglasses fall and luckily slide down slow enough that she can rescue them with her hands. Onto her eyes they go and she smacks at Merek. With the palm of her hand she slaps against his shoulder. It's the nearly universal sign for 'Fuck Everything and Run: Right Now'. Not good, not good, not good. She keeps listening, trying to puzzle things out further, but she grips the fabric of Merek's shirt as if to say that if she decides to run he is coming with her, no consent necessary.
Brooke heads over to the claw machine. She half expects to see a three eyed alien within it. She fishes out a few quarters and scans over it now to see what she senses about it.
Merek takes up his ankh from the scarf which he wears with him, then he takes a moment to offer supplication, even as he does feel Yare on him. He looks to the side in thought, then he walks to where Brooke is, "The shield seems to be managing though there are things that aren't too happy here." Within the Umbra, his wings spread as a holy force tries to drive away the foe from the presence of those he wards for also.
Mora looks down at the game "Oh you sassy bitch I know you like this." yes she is taunting the game.
Mora hackles madly as it hits her knee "Oh being feisty I like that you are going all maximum overdrive on me." she picks up the ball and gets ready for the next round.
Brooke stares now into the prizes of the machine. She blinks when she sees something in there. "What the? Seriously?" She pops the quarters in and is ready to try to get the 'prize' she is looking for.
Mora leans down puts the money in the games as she starts to sing "The video game says "play me", Face it on a level but it takes you every time on a one on one, Feeling running down your spine, Nothing gonna save your one last dime 'cause it own you, Through and through." she even gets a little dance to the old song she is singing, and she does not care if other people are looking at her.
Brooke tries to get that one prize, and her eyes open wide as it gets out of the claw on its own. Ok, something is really up here. She is going to try one more time and this try to do something to keep the claw closed.
Yaretzi grips harder, that moon-eyed look hidden by her glasses, but Merek is basically leading her around like a blind person and she's all but ignoring the people around her. She pats at his shoulder again. "They're...fighting. There's fighting. Banes. But there are the..." She gestures at him. "Aranas electricas..." She pauses for a longer moment. "Spiders of electricity. Fighting them. Trying to push them out. People are hooked in. It's a mess." She says, still sounding dreamy---like she's a 12 year old planning a future wedding with a Backstreet Boy and not a woman in a warzone of oogie boogie spirits. "Running." Helpful.
Brooke takes control of the claw now, after popping in some quarters. She uses one hand to make it look like she is using the joystick, and the other subtly directs the claw itself and she squishes the toy she wanted - that darn 3 eyed alien! The claw keeps shut this time, piercing its chest. After a bit of a struggle, she gets it to the prize chute, and she opens the claw. She realizes something runs off and she just leaves it there for now. Time to retrieve anything later. She will head to the center of the room to see what is collecting what now.
Mora looks to the top score as she just got it as she finishes her song. "Good night Prospect mall you were a blast." the Irish woman says as she does not care some of the boys here are not looking at her she gives them smiles and gives the tickets she won to the first kid she sees with tickets in his hands.
Brooke follows along to the center of the room, and finds... a power strip? Everything is plugged into this? No gifts needed for it she hopes, and she just casually knocks it out of the socket. Powering everything down.
Merek walks to the bathroom, and hopefully Yare isn't following him into there. A man is at one of the stalls, but he manages to keep his Arcane up and makes his way to a stall also. He writes sigils upon himself, while he takes a moment to focus. Reality doesn't seem to like it, but paradox isn't an issue where he travels to. As he sidesteps to the Umbra itself, so that he can walk to the main room without issue from the people in the room also.
Mora tries to keep the peoples notice of her to make it easier for Brooke to do what she is doing. Hoping she can walk away before the lack of sound will shift what they are looking at.
BLOOP! The entire arcade goes dark, blinking everything out as all games at once and even the lights above shut off. Immediately a dozen or so people start complaining and yelling as they lose their games. More than a few are peering over towards Brooke at her pulling that plug.
Merek sees the machines here crawling with the spiders. Webbing is all over, but there's plenty of staining corruption twisting the webbing. The lights in the machines, in the whole room suddenly blink out! The spiders start hissing in frustration and the baneling that was left out of the strip Brooke just removed rushes for the door!
Back in the regular world, Atloe's hot streak just got abruptly ended. Waving off the growing crowd of women admiring him, he'd slip into the chaos of everyone losing their game to appear next to Brooke. "Aah.. what just happen?"
Brooke feigns to those looking at her surprise. "I'm sorry, I did not realize. I'll plug it back in." She grumbles a bit about how stupid the designers were with this loudly enough for those around to hear, and then takes her time to plug it back in, doing a cursory check to see if the bane or whatever went into the power strip is gone before plugging it back in. She pulls Atloe closer to her and whispers in his ear. "Bad spirit went into the strip. Explain later."
Well there we go. Yaretzi is abandoned in the middle of the arcade like a sad toddler who has been left by their mom. She just sort of stands there, still listening, having a hard time juggling between the awareness of her eyes and the awareness of her ears on the other side. Something scrunches her expression up, but she doesn't ask anyone. She just listens. Listens and waits to see what her ears can tell her.
Brooke cannot seem to get the power strip plugged in right, and she focuses on it and there there is a little *poof*. "Oh no, it seems to have totally shorted out. Trust me, I know what I'm doing!" She unplugs everything from it, and as the employees are still trying to figure out what happened, she stuffs the infected power strip in her purse, and directs a employee. "I think your power strip went bad. Do you have more here? I can help." A brand new power strip is located, and between the employee and Brooke, it is all plugged in and the arcade starts up again. Brooke gathers up Mora, and walks to the bathroom with her. Together they devise a plan and go into the Umbra and seek the help of the pattern spiders to clean the Arcade up, and perform a cleasing. The Arcade is safe for now.
