Lock One: Kisaragi High

[Deerpoob]

Several of the students are still missing, parents are thankful that the attack happened so late in the day, minimizing the effects.

The news reporter chirped on about the latest attack, Kisaragi high, the biggest highschool in town, was now considered an Off-Limits-Zone, police were on the scene and a swat team was preparing to enter the front gate. The school was large, it had its own soccer and baseball fields, the faculty building, tech wing and club buildings all were separate and could comprise nearly there own entire schools in themselves. The building had gone silent an hour before, it was suspected that over a dozen students and half as many teachers were inside when the "attack" happened.

It, of course, could only really be refereed to as an attack because there was no better word for it, the police had no explanation and those working to discover what was happening had so far turned up nothing. The school was enveloped in a thing layer of ice, which refused to melt despite the early spring warmth, icicles dripped from the roof like rows of razor sharp fangs, windows fogged up and tricked the eye, people who were watching often shouted about seeing movement in the windows as the scene played out.

So far none of the creatures had been sighted, but still the crowd was being dispersed as a precaution, there had been a few smaller areas of disappearance such as this, but never so large as this highschool, nor had there been so many victims at one time.

The others had been thwarted before a large police or media presence could be brought to bear, it was only anecdotal evidence that they had happened at all, the victims had no memories of the incident and the only way anyone else noticed them was the strange change in temperature, appearance and other physical factors, a corner store that leaked steam when the doors were opened, a small park engulfed in ash, the playground structures warped to appear like things out of a graveyard.

These events had been dealt with solo, a fledgling wielder of an extra sensory power who wished to fight for good and justice had defeated the creature inside and discovered the lone item that was in its original state, the spirit lock.

But this was a place larger and more foreboding then anything they had faced alone, they knew there had to be others, who was stopping the other events they couldn't get to right? it was just a matter of working together, together they could stop this new and more powerful threat.

[Entelechy]

approached the school in long, leaping bounds. Soaring over treetops, her feet only touched the ground every thirty-five meters or so, just long enough to kick off again. Etched in lines of light, a chrysalis of runic interfaces burned around her. A crystal lens was embedded in each palm, and from each ran lines of light that clung to her hands like a lace glove. A six-foot ovid made of hexagons radiated out from right hand. Her left held a cellphone.

"Hey, its me," she said, "Have you been watching the news? Something bad is happening at the school. You know, wierd stuff? I'm pretty much there now, but I would love to not be here alone, you know." Sweat dripped from her brow as the oppressive charge in the air weighed heavily upon her spirit. She reached the edge of the treeline, and glided over the police line. With a flick of the wrist, she dismisses the shield of hexagons at her side, and it reforms below her, protecting her from any pot-shots the police decide to take. She lands on the school roof and takes quick account of her surroundings, eyes sharp for enemies.

[The_Admiral]

"yeah I know, sorry I'm on my way, someone keeps beating my high score on DDR, overtaken him or her already." Samuella replied as she moved around the police presense , simultaneously rummaging through her bag and walking through the back gate into the compound.

Yeah, I get what you mean, I think we should meet up, main hall? she continued as she fishes out an old gameboy. Tapping a familiar sequence into it, she is enveloped in glowing energy and as it dissipates she stands there her skin covered in a black leotard with green lines reminiscent of a circuit board, bag in one hand and phone sandwiched between her ear and shoulderblade.

[jamieth]

Cathrine looked at the police blockade. Nope, there was no chance at all they would let a middle-schooler like her through. And for a good reason, too, honestly speaking. After all, they couldn't know she wasn't exactly a normal middle-schooler, could they?

Well, hopefully this backstreet was lonely enough. Cathrine unstrapped a small plush from her backpack. "Let's go, Kitty - it's time to get wild!"

Seconds later...

"Sorry, officer, coming through!" a short figure clad in a leotard exclaimed, jumping at said policeman and pushing off his head with her hands, just like in a PE class.

[Entelechy]

"Why didn't I bring a rope?" she mutters to herself, though doubtlessly Samuella can hear. She lifts her voice again, "Yeah, okay. That works. Not the best. I'm going in through the roof. I'll keep you on speaker phone. Give a shout if you need me, and I'll blast my way to you."

She tucks her phone into her top and turns her attention to the ice sheathed door. She tapped a sequence on the runic interface surrounding her, and several compenents of the holographic chrysalis rearranged themselves.

"Worldly Dissolution, Begin," an artificial feminine voice chimed. A dozen points of light on her array flared, and each emitted a beam of light that converged on the ice barricading the door. As the beams intersected, the light flared and erupted into an explosion.

OOC: [roll0]x2 damage ignoring object hardness.

[Nyan]

Jin had arrived at the site as soon as he heard about the attack on the school on the news. And being that he had told his sister to stay at home due to it being so dangerous he would be alone. Of course he would not tell this to his sister and would simply have something up to simply keep her home, probably ask his grandfather to keep her occupied while he would run off towards the site. Arriving at the site as soon as he could he would stand and watch the school from afar seeing the police barricade placed in front of the gates. Wearing a white pair of gi and a hakama from his dojo as he did not bother to change in to everyday clothing as he left. His blue eyes gazing intently at the cold foreboding scene which would send chills down his spine. For a moment he regretted leaving his sister as he was not very fond of the thought of going in there alone. "Alright. This must be it. Get ready, Kawatatsu. Lend me your strength once more." He said quietly to himself as he would gather up his courage, gripping tighter on to the white scabbard of his sword. But before he could do anything else he would spot several people already rushing towards the scene. Three girls one flying through the air and landing on the roof, a second one moving around the police barricade and a third one running straight through it! He was a bit shocked at first clearly they possessed similar powers like him and his sister but he had not expected to see this at all.

But he then caught himself in his trance and shook his head to regain focus. It was no time to daydream or think about what was going on since the three of them seemed to already be taking action. He brushed his long blonde hair back a bit with his hand before letting out a light sigh. "Alright ill guess ill take care of the police force first." He said as he would then be enveloped in a bright light which would burst out almost like an explosion and as the light would then vanish he stood the fully armored and his sword having grown a bit longer. Shortly after the cat girl had rushed through the police he would walk up there and raise his voice. "Everyone stay calm! Do not make any rash actions. I wish to speak with the one in charge." He would say as he walked in the casually and would not even care if somebody tried to stop him. His helmet covering his face being shaped like that of a dragons head but still letting his long blonde hair flow down his back freely.

If he would be greeted by the person likely leading this whole operation he would stop walking but would stare straight ahead towards the building without even meeting the eyes of the man or woman. "This is not something you people can handle. I must insist on you to not send in your troops in to that building. I-..." He was then interrupted with the explosion from one of the girls blasting through the ice. "...We, are the only ones who can handle this situation. Conventional arms that you wield do not work on the beasts that lurk within. So please do not, I repeat do NOT send in your men inside that building. Once we are inside we will get out the civilians trapped and once that is done you must take them and any remaining civilians nearby out of here." Even tho his voice was calm and smooth as a summer breeze it still had a surprising amount of authority to it. But before the officer even has time to respond however Jin would keep on walking through the crowd and in to the yard.

Sprinting up to the main gate of the school Jin would call out to get the attention of the two girls who would have probably reached the entrance at this point."....I think it goes without saying that we should aid each other in this am I right? I suggest we stick together. But lets skip introductions for later... We have lives to save..." With that he would then gesture with his hand for the two to take a step back before stepping up to the door. "Allow me." He said before he would then bust through the entrance by basically ramming through it with his body.

[The_Admiral]

Samuella stashes her bag in a bush, being sure to remember its location. Walking out to the front she runs into a guy who introduces himself rather wordily, to which she says to her friend on the other end of the line, "I think we have friends"


What's your charachter's name?

[Deerpoob]

The police stared at the young man, who looked partly like a dragon, even the one who had been knocked on his chest by the strange girl in the leotard was looking "What the heck are you kids doing?!" one of the swat officers shouted, clearly as confused as he was tense. Another approached the armored young man and removed his helmet, the way he carried himself told him right away he was likely the commander "I don't know what your doing...but" he looked to his men, as if debating, times were pretty desperate, no one that had been sent in came out again until they were somehow released, even the police officers, he had suspected something was amiss, perhaps they had there explanation.

"form a barrier entirely around the school, I want you to be ready to get in there if need be, otherwise..." he sighed, kids, he was suppose to trust the fate of the students trapped inside to a bunch of kids.

"Otherwise we focus on keeping it from expanding."

He glanced to the strange man in armor, the look he gave could not be seen as approving, it was more a "lets see what you can do" sort of thing, He looked at the girl, she couldn't have been older then his daughter and here she was about to run into this place with seemingly no weapon, this went against every protocol in the book and yet he saw no other real choice, if they claimed to know how to handle this perhaps they'd have more answers for him afterwards.

__________

The ice melted, dripping and sliding off the door freely in large chunks, soon the door was exposed and ready to be opened, but before the shield weilding girl could open it herself it did so of its own accord, a cold blast of air emanating from within the building, like the exhale of a massive creature.

After a long moment the air slowed and settled, leaving the door opened wide and waiting, inside the darkened room gave its best horror movie stairwell scene impression.

__________

Catherine was able to leap over the gate without much trouble, the ground had a thin layer of snow on it, but thankfully there was no ice to inhibit movement, several of the police officers shouted after her, some concerned others angered, but they soon silenced as Jin made an attempt at diplomacy, which the captain seemed to respond well too. After a few moments the ice encrusted gate opened and Jin was allowed to follow his cat-like partner "any other friends wanna join your little party?" the captain asked, looking around, something told him there were more of these weird kids.

[Nyan]

Jin would respond to the commander with a bow as he decided to let them pass and not intervene. "Thank you. You made the right choice sir. You do not need to worry about what we are doing. Just keep your men on standby and we will handle this." He would say as he would meet the mans gaze from behind his helmet before he would the proceed to the front gate. Hearing the man call out to him again he would stop and look over his shoulder for a second. "Not that I know off." He said in a surprisingly cheerful tone to his voice as he proceeded to then march to the front door and would then swiftly break the ice and enter unless the girl ahead of him had already done so.

[jamieth]

"Hey", Catherine - no, Wild Kitten - exclaims, dancing in place, unable to hold excitement, "Less talking! Let's get over with it quickly - I need to get back to arcade before curfew!" Spinning in place, she throws a roundhouse kick at the front gate.

[The_Admiral]

Jane you in? she asks over the phone as she takes glances at Jin and Catherine.

[Entelechy]

Jane pauses a moment to consider before answering. Unlike the others, she had no special costume. Just the sundress she had been wearing (shorts underneath, of course, since she does fly regularly), so she was much easier to identity. But her real name had already been used, so she might as well.

"I'm in," she says, and walks off the edge of the roof. She drifts down with her back to the officers to join them. "Let's do this."

[Deerpoob]

The frozen building loomed over the group, the frost covered windows did indeed play tricks on the eyes, movement could be seen whenever one wasn't paying attention. The front doors were stuck open frozen in place as everything else was. Oddly enough however, the air inside was not frigid as one might expect, in fact after the initial blast of cold Jane had felt up on the roof, the air coming out of the building was pleasantly warm. Despite this the inside was just as frozen as the outside, the shoes and umbrellas and the odd bag inside the main entrance hall were frozen to the ground and walls, there were 3 possible paths ahead of the group, left towards the administrative part of the building, library and offices and nurses station, right led to the first floors classrooms, and straight would take them to the cafeteria and upstairs to the second floor, of course there were also the club building and tech wing to explore out off to the sides of the main building as well.

The warm air did not seem to affect the ice any, it glistened where it hung as large stalactites and encrusted every edge of the walls, the floor a thing layer of snow ontop of tiling.

If there were students students still in the building they were likely in the library, the cafeteria, the tech wing or a clubroom, the group would find any of there effects they had at the time of there disappearance, but no people were ever inside one of these zones, still knowing where they were when they disappeared might give a clue as to what the lock was, as they often appear to be intertwined with the people in the area.

[Entelechy]

"We should check the nurse's office first. If anyone didn't disapear, the injured would head there, the sick might have been there before the attack, and the sick and injured need us the most." Jane says, gesturing towards the left passage.

[The_Admiral]

Got it cap'n she replied, saluting jokingly at Jane as she moves down the hallway just behind her.

[jamieth]

"Sure, lead the way, sempai!" Kitty exclaimed, nodding, in a high-pitched voice. Being a middle-schooler, she had an excuse for not knowing the school's layout.

By the way, yes, I know the setting's supposed to be Western, and yes, she said 'sempai'. :-)

[Deerpoob]

The hallway leading to the various administrative rooms was as one would expect, a school hallway covered in ice.

Save said ice there was nothing of note, the nurses office door showed no signs of entrance, the thin sheet of ice was unbroken, but gave easily when plied.


Inside were three beds cordoned off with white sheets, the sheets were stiff and cake in ice, all the medical supplies were frozen as well, a small fridge lay at the end of one of the counters, there was no sign of anyone having been in here since the school was out for the day, there were a few effects from the nurse and signs of use, but nothing strange.

The medical supplies were of course rendered useless by the cold, bandages stuck together, pills frozen solid or sealed closed in there bottle tombs, the tools all cases in a thick coating of frost.

There ultimately was little to see, some of the supplies might be salvaged but it would take time to sort through it all and figure out what needed to be done with them.

[Entelechy]

Being the nurse's office, there had to be safety material, including a map of the school somewhere. Likely a fire evacuation map attached a wall that would be visible through the ice. Jane searches for it. With the map, she could plot the epicenter of the magical effect, or at least the most effective search pattern to cover as much ground as quickly as possible. She adjusts a few holographic dials on her runic display, and the artificial feminine voice announces "Signal Amplification Online"
As she does so, a half-smile quirks her lips. "I hope you all agree that 'let's split up to cover more ground!' is a bad idea."

[The_Admiral]

"I think every horror movie has taught us that Cap" she replied, device at the ready.

[jamieth]

Kitten, unfortunately, was oblivious to the words of warning; retracting the claws on her feet, she was goofing around, sliding like a skater along the corridors. "Hm? What's that?" she asked curiosly, stopping nearby the counter and lifting the fridge, "Do high school students get ice cream when they visit a nurse? I'm envious!"

[Nyan]

Jin would simply follow the group while looking around at the ice covering just about everything around them. It gave him an eeiry chill as he would tighten the grip at his sword in the case of an ambush and as they would enter the infirmary he would quickly scan the area with his eyes and giving a light nod towards Janes comment about splitting up. "Yes that would not be a very wise choise. We should stick together...I suggest we go to the cafeteria. The students might have taken shelter there. If not there I say we should go to the library next." He would say as he took a closer look on the map to find its location. "Hmm...I cant really see it on this map tho..." He mutters to himself either cause it really was not there or maybe cause he was simply failing to see it at all.

[The_Admiral]

I don't think that's ice cream probably supplies that have to be kept cold, Cap you got something? she asked Jane.

[Deerpoob]

There were in fact little prepackaged cups of ice cream, along with several bottles of Medicine, the library was across from the nurses office, while the cafeteria was back the way they came, either could have held the students, as both were favorites spots for last minute study.

However as the group examined the nurses office, something sounded out in the corridor, something heavy that sounded like it was being dragged, followed by heavy footsteps, then more dragging.

The sound grew closer and closer to the door, a patrol? Or did whatever was outside know they were there?

[Entelechy]

"Livewires, engaged" the voice of her luminous array said softly her she raised her shield in readiness. Whatever it was, Jane was not going to make the first move, nor would she be unready for it when it arrived.

[Nyan]

As Jin would hear the noise outside in the hall he would turn towards the door and quickly but silently go up to lean against the wall beside it "Everyone heard that right?...We should get ready for whatever is coming." He whispers as he prepares to draw his weapon and bust through the door as soon as whatever was moving closer to the door was near enough

[The_Admiral]

"So who do I pick today?" she idly asks herself as she glances at her gameboy screen.

[jamieth]

"Oh, finally!" Cat exclaims as she starts stretching, "I was staring to worry that this place is somehow different from the last one..."

[Shimeran]

Maria advanced slowly down the hall, sticking to the walls as best she could. Skirting the police line hadn't been easy, but it wouldn't be the first time she'd gotten somewhere she wasn't supposed to be. So far the rooms she'd checked were clean, but she'd still powered up her armor, just in case. It sounded like that might pay off as a sound seemed to echoing around the corner. Switching her armor to "defiant mode" she slowly advanced toward the sounds.

[Nyan]

When the noise would up close to the door Jins eyes narrowed behind his helmet as he would then bust through the door and let out a shout, spinning around as he would partway draw out his blade only to stop dead in his attack when he noticed it was not the type of monster he had expected. "What the?...Another one?..." He said as he would straighten himself and look at the girl a bit confused. After what would seem like a minute of simply blankly staring at her he then seemed to catch himself as he shook his head to snap out of it. "Ah! I deeply apolagize! I thought you were one of the monsters that lurked around this school...umm..." He said as he would give her a polite bow before turning to look at the others in the room. "Um hey, do any of you know this girl?..."

[Shimeran]

Maria looked around the room, taking in all the faces before saying "I may have seen some of you before, though I wouldn't be suprised if you don't remember me. I stand out a lot less without this armor."

Glancing down the hall she continues "Have you seen any of those monsters yet? I've been hearing some noises, but no visual confirmation so far."

Perception check to pinpoint sound - [roll0]

[Entelechy]

"We haven't seen any, but we've only been to the main entrance way and here. I think the library is right across from us. Have you checked that yet? If not, we should probably head there next." Jane said.

[Shimeran]

Maria shook her head, "No, I only ran into a few classroom on the way here. I you know the way there, I don't mind following along."