Why German Cafes are Death Traps

Okay. Enough people had moved in. Time to do this.

"RI-"

He was interrupted by a coughing fit. A very, very long coughing fit, that eventually devolved into gaging. Removing a bit of his shawl, he bent over, and threw up, before shakily standing back up. Damnit. He felt terrible. A side effect of the ring. All power had its price, and the rings was his frailty.

He felt tired....So, so tired...

He gave a glance at the crowd shuffling into the community center. He then began limping towards it, and was soon inside the building. He.....would kill them all in the morning, yes. For now, sleep. And he vaguely recalled something about food being served. He could use some food. Hopefully nothing difficult to chew. Blasted needle teeth.

Sylas watched the kishin shuffle into the community center, silently cursing. He turned swiftly, coattails spinning behind him, and headed towards the door inside. "Dowan, I hope you're still good at balancing... I guess we're going to have to stake the place out."

She nodded, following after him. "I take it we're going to hide in the rafters until he makes his move?"

Sylas gave a brief nod. "Yeah. When he starts his attack, people are going to run away from him. Then he'll be isolated, and we can strike."

They made their way to the rafters, picking him out from the crowd and hiding over top of a fluorescent light fixture, keeping an eye on him.

Inker shuffled over to the fellow who was handing out cots and blankets, and then, he moved to a nice, dimly lit corner of the building, and set up his corner. He had the vaguest sense someone was watching him.....


Bah, he was getting paranoid. And hungry. Lets see if what he heard about food being served was true. He hadn't eaten in days. With that, he rose, and shuffled towards the other end of the building.

Sylas and Dowan kept an eye on the kishin, following him as he made his way from one end of the community center to the other. Dowan looked nervously at Sylas. "You're a little too into this."

He shook his head, noticing Spider as the man handing out blankets, recognizing him from the attack several days ago. "He put my sister in the hospital. Nobody does that to my sister."

Inker soon shuffles back to his cot with a chicken salad sandwich and a odd drink known as a 'coke'. Its wrapping was rather odd, as it was stored in a metal cylinder painted red. He would have preferred water, but they didn't have any left. He sat upon his cot, and took a few bites out of his sandwich, chewing slowly, before raising his 'coke' and fumbeling with the doo dah at the top before opening it. Hesitantly, he raised it to his mouth and took a small sip.


....


THAT WAS INCREDIBLE! Hands down, the most delicious thing he had ever drank! Tilting it further back, he began chugging it. Note to self, after this was all over, rob a grocers, steal as much coke as possible. He sat down the can, and continued eating his sandwich, before he glanced up at the lights. The darn things were to bright. Bah. He would rest easy when they called lights out. Though tomorrow would likely be a trial if the blizzard didn't let up. Why, he might have to postpone his pla-

Oh dear. Someone was watching him.

Doing his best to avert his gaze and act like he didn't see anything, on the inside, he was panicking. Was it that one meister from last week? Had she tracked him down? He only saw the silhouette, but he was reasonably sure they were looking at him. Blast it! His abilities were not designed for close combat! He would need to distract them, but how? How, damnit? He could see how far he could summon a construct, have it appear at the other end of the room. That could work.

Perhaps they weren't actually looking for him. Yes, he should wait and see. Pretend he didn't notice them, maybe they would lose interest and go away. Yes, that was what he would do. And, incase they did attack, he prepared ink for a quick summoning. If he had to, he would flood the room with raiders, and use the ensuing confusion to flee.

Sylas felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand somewhat on edge, and he turned quickly, leaping away from the light to a darker, more concealed corner. This was his soul perception. A feeling, normally aroused by one thing. A witch.

Dowan followed him with a well placed leap, looking at him curiously. "What was that about?"

Sylas gestured for her to be quiet, placing a finger of his mouth and mouthing "Witch."

OOC: Beetle, do you mind if I bring in a third character?

(OOC: I brought Spider in, so go ahead. 'S cool with me.)



Huh. They were moving away. Well. Perhaps they were after someone else then.

He then realized what that would entail. Horsefeathers.

So, either a VERY powerful witch was in the building, or a middling powerful kishin egg. Fantastic.

He continued to eat his sandwich. He vaguely wondered what would happen if he ate a witches soul. Would he be able to use magic, or would it merely count as several souls? Note to self, look into that. Magic would be very useful.

Charim wandered into the community center, brushing snow from her coat. The Board of Directors had decided to hold their latest meeting in the Berlin headquarters, and now she was stuck her. Not that it mattered. She enjoyed some time alone, and Berlin was one of her favorite cities. The only down side was the snow storm, which had made returning to Antarctica impossible. She ensured her soul protect was strong before approaching Spider. "Hello. Is it too late to get a cot?"

Sylas scouted for the which, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary. With soul protect he knew Dowan would never find her. All he had was a feeling, and that wasn't much to go on. He signaled for Dowan to stay by him, keeping an eye on the civilians from above, a strange pair of guardian angels.

Spider nodded. "A few, most are pretty patched up. All the good ones got taken fast. We have blankets as well, but those are even more shabby." Something was up with this dame, but he couldn't quite place it. He should have brought some of his gear. Bah. He had his pistol. Worst comes to worst he could just shoot her.

With that, he reached to the pile of folded up cots, and handed one to Charim. "Word of advise, some of the people cooped up in here are more than a bit irritated. Also, food and drinks are being served on the other end of the center."

She gave him a polite smile, taking the cot. "I understand. My car almost spun out about a block from here. I decided to get to shelter as quickly as I could. Thank you for your assistance." She found an unoccupied corner of the room, laying on her side on the cot and ignoring the creaking sound it gave when it accepted even her light weight.

Sylas and Dowan kept a look out for trouble, but Charim had chosen to camp right below them, and thus was more or less safe from their scanning eyes. The resolved to keep an eye out for both the kishin and the witch.

Spider shrugged, and continued to hand out cots to those who hadn't claimed one yet.


Meanwhile, Inker had finished his sandwich, and was licking his fingers clean. Delicious. Of course, any food was delicious when you had spent most of the past ninety years in a sarcophagus. Of course, he was no longer tired. At all. And, best part, he knew how to get out of this situation with both a multitude of souls, and little to no risk.

With that, he rose from his seat, and headed to the bathroom.

OOC: Want to timeskip to morning after this?

Charim felt a strong Kishin in the building, and she shivered lightly, pulling her coat around her, trying to ease herself to sleep. It took some time, but eventually she was happily asleep, ignorant to the rest of the world.

Sylas sat himself down, looking across the community center. He watched the kishin move out towards the bathroom, chuckling softly. Dowan sat beside him, snuggling up to him in the cold upper air of the room. "What's funny?" He waved her question off. "Just that kishin's still have to use the bathroom..." She chuckled as well, snuggling a bit closer and closing her eyes, resting while he kept watch.

(OOC: No. I have something PLANNED. Gimme a mo, and you will figure it out)

Inker reached the bathroom. Luckily, it was one of those small, one toilet ones. With, joy, oh joy, a lockable door, and a window. With a rather malicious grin, he chuckled. First things first, he locked the door behind him. He walked over to the window, and opened it up. Time to cause a little panic.

"Rise." He spoke. With that, over thirty raiders formed outside. They were bigger than last time, and more numerous. This would be fun.

'Five of you, go around back, kill what you might see. Be silent and stealthful. Meisters are afoot. Rest of you, use the shadows to your advantage. Move around front. Let no one see you.'

Wonderfull thing about constructs, soul perception didn't work on them. With that, five of his creations moved around back. The rest, using the darkness to remain unseen, moved around front.

Things were about to get interesting. Lets see how many people he could pick off before anyone noticed.

Sylas kept eager watch over the civilians, sure to notice should any commotion occur. He smiled, leaning his head on top of Dowan's and letting out a relieved sigh. Even with the danger present at the moment, it was nice to spend some time with his wife.

Charim shivered, not out of cold, but out of a feeling. Something bad was about to happen, she was sure of it, and she remained alert to keep sure.

How right she was! For, at the back, the raiders would have quickly killed and ate what few people were back there, while getting into position. The ones by the front door, meanwhile, were already in position.

'FIND THE CIRCUIT BREAKER...CUT THE POWER....THEY WILL FLOUNDER ABOUT IN DARKNESS.....' With that, one of the raiders out back approached the circuit breaker, and began ripping it apart with its claws, destroying it. Immediately after, the lights would fail, leaving the center in darkness.

Spider sighed as people began getting riled up, surprised by the power failure. "Its alright, everyone, just a normal power outage. Nothing to get upset over. We'll have someone head out back, turn on the generator." Damnit, he didn't get paid enough to deal with this.

Charim was on her feet the moment the power was out, heading towards Spider. "Allow me. I've got a degree in electrical engineering. I'd gladly help everyone here..."

Sylas shook Dowan awake, looking down into the chaos below. "Dowan, wake up. The power went out. We need to be alert... It could be the storm, or it could be that kishin. Or the witch." She nodded, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and letting her soul perception scout the world around her, finding the kishin as expected, but not the witch.

Spider nods. "Alright. Be careful. The damn thing is finicky."

Meanwhile, the raiders had used the opportunity presented by the darkness and commotion to move inside, and were using the darkness to conceal themselves. Occasionaly, they would reach out, and silently snap someones neck, and rip their soul out. All while remaining perfectly silent, of course. Inker himself was, at this juncture, climbing out of the window. Time to make scarce. The meisters could track him, or they could stay and make sure nothing happened to the rest of the people huddled into the building. Either way, he won. They followed, he had a massive payday, they stayed, he got away scott-free.

Charim nodded, making for the back door, opening it slowly and checking outside, finding nothing in the darkness outside. Regardless, she was cautious, preparing to drop her soul protect should the need for magic become apparent.

Dowan gasped softly, drawing Sylas's gaze. "What is it?" She looked somewhat pale. "Souls. There are 15... no 18 fewer people down there than there were. Something's down there." Sylas growled deep in his throat, shouting down to them. "EVERYONE, GET INTO THE CENTER! A KISHIN IS USING THE DARKNESS TO HUNT YOU!" With that he began to glow, stopping when he was transformed. Dowan took his form into her hands, jumping from the rafters and landing with remarkable ease.

The people, predictably, panicked, and rushed forward. However, this made more than a few easy targets for the raiders claws, as they grabbed those who passed them by.

"WELL WELL WELL. 18. A NEW RECORD. TELL ME, MEISTER. CAN YOU SEE IN THE DARK?"

Spider, meanwhile, strolled into place, deftly avoiding the rushing crowd. "Ey, either of you need another hand? Darkness Kishin sounds like it'd be a pain to fight. Also, names Gray, First name Spider J." He said to Dowan and Sylas.

Outside, Charim would hear growling, and would hear the sound of snow getting stepped on. It sounded as if something was nearing her location...

Dowan smirked a bit, feeling giddy when she felt the familiar sense as Sylas's soul guided her to resonance. The top of his weapon form became a single glowing disk, and she brandished him, the white-grey of the resonance casting a pale light throughout the room. "When I'm with my weapon, I am never in the dark." She nodded to Spider, saying nothing but silently accepting his help.

Charim heard the footsteps, looking thoroughly bored. "Attacking me would be a mistake. One you wouldn't be allowed to walk away from." With that she dropped her soul protect, her outer outfit vanishing in blue flames until she stood before him in a long blue dress with white detailing. Her forearms were covered in blue bracers, each with a fin jutting out the side. A hat colored the same aqua blue as the rest of the outfit sat on her head, the brim lined with white teeth. She grinned maliciously, waiting for the attack.

Dowan tightened her grip of Sylas. "That soul... I know that soul." He shivered in her grip. I know, but you need to focus on this. We can get her later. She nodded, readying for combat once more. "Inker! Come out and fight, you coward!"

"THATS-WHAT-I DON'T EVEN- INKER? THATS WHAT THEIR CALLING ME? THATS.....ACTUALLY SOMEWHAT CLEVER. VERY WELL. BUT, MADAME, GENTLEMEN, YOU MAY REFER TO MY CHRISTIAN NAME. IGNATIUS. AND THE THING ABOUT LIGHT IS...."

The room, lightened by Dowans resonance, would reveal over twenty raiders.

"IT SHOWS WHAT WE WOULD RATHER NOT SEE. HUMANS LOVE THE DARK. LOVE THE UNKNOWN. GIVES THEM SOMETHING TO BLAME FOR THEIR OWN FAI-"

"Oh shut up, you prat. Jesus, what is WITH villains and monolouging?"

"....WELL, I LOST MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT. BLAH BLAH, DOOM DOOM, FLOOD, CORRUPTION, EXETERA, EXETERA." With that, five of them would send out tendrils at the remaining civilians, grabbing a few and reeling them in, with another five would rush Dowan. On top of that, a few more would run at Spider.....who promptly drew his gun, and began firing. "Bang. Bang bang. Bang bang bang bang. God, I love the sound of gunfire. Gets my blood pumping like nothing else!"


And Charim would hear a noise like that of stretching rubber, as the Raiders in the dark sent a few tendrils her way.

Dowan did an arcing swipe, cutting through the constructs with ease, and Sylas's voice began to echo through the room. "You... Do you remember the meister you fought several days ago? She was my sister. And you put her in the hospital. And now you will face my justice, for before you stands not another weapon, but a DEATH SCYTHE!" After Dowan had completed the swipe, a shockwave seemed to follow it, further destroying the constructs.

It was quite sudden, but an aqua blue shark leaped from out of the ground, catching the tendrils in his mouth and pulling them into the ground with him, ensnaring the constructs. "I am not normally one of formalities when one starts to attack me, but I feel my victims should have some knowledge of who put them in their graves. I am Charim Griswald, The Shark, and you will fear me." With that more sharks began to attack the constructs, seeming to have no problem functioning in the dark.

Dowan and Sylases attack quickly destroyed the five constructs. Who were then replaced by five more. Making a gurgeling noise, they quickly projectile vomited three streams of blackish liquid at the pair. The liquid being boiling ink. The other two shot, from range, some tendrils.

"....NOT RINGING A BELL. THEN AGAIN, I'M OLD, SO I MAY BE GOING SENILE. COULD YOU GIVE ME MORE INFORMATION?"

Meanwhile, the constructs attacking outside would rip their tendrils off, and thus untangle them, and would attack the sharks.

OOC: Is he addressing Charim or Sylas?

(OOC: Both)