Main Event Zero Hour

[Atomic Knight]

"Hey... Hey! Uh...!" Elliot's eyes went wide and he was suddenly frightened by this other boy. He had a desire to push Nathan away but something made him relent. He only stared at Nathan, a bit slack-jawed as his wrist was finally released.

"I'm sorry, but I think you're confused," he said, stepping up next to Bridgette as if using her for protection now.

@Space_Candy

Billy blinked at the photo. "No." He closed his eyes for a moment. "But something is telling me..." Mindful of the chaos back in the Arcade, he started to step forward. "Where are these people?"

@Jeremi​

 

[Jeremi]

"Hey... Hey! Uh...!" Elliot's eyes went wide and he was suddenly frightened by this other boy. He had a desire to push Nathan away but something made him relent. He only stared at Nathan, a bit slack-jawed as his wrist was finally released.

"I'm sorry, but I think you're confused," he said, stepping up next to Bridgette as if using her for protection now.

@Space_Candy

Billy blinked at the photo. "No." He closed his eyes for a moment. "But something is telling me..." Mindful of the chaos back in the Arcade, he started to step forward. "Where are these people?"

@Jeremi​

Bridgette finally gave Jianyu a hard enough push to get her back as Elliot came up to her. "I don't know what this is," Bridgette snapped looking at Nathan and Jianyu. "But we're leaving. Now."

@Space_Candy @Yun Lee @Everyone

---

Biscuit pointed towards where they were. "If you want a ride I can take you there quickly. The woman seemed to be very adamant about leaving with the boy. Jianyu mentioned making a distraction but I don't think that will last long."

@Atomic Knight

 

[Yun Lee]

"No you're not!" Great. Just great. They needed to just hold on a little bit longer... Using the same technique as with the couple, Jianyu would attempt to keep Bridgette and Elliot stationary from the knees down with Psycho Power. "Can you hold the fuck on for a few minutes?!" Her mood changed, as she now grew serious. "You're in a hurry, but so are we! We gotta help each other out!!"

@Jeremi @Atomic Knight @Space_Candy​

 

[Space_Candy]

Nathan was about to turn away an attempt to calm himself, but then the woman- Bridgette addressed him. His face turned slightly red- a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

"I don't have time for you're bullshit ma'am" he hissed, fists balling.

"I'm trying not to throw years of therapy out the window here, but you're not making it easy," Nathan muttered, before just folding his arms and letting out a sigh.

@Jeremi @Yun Lee @Atomic Knight @Everyone

 

[Sark]

Eyeing Sinstro, Clark called towards the alien.

"You want to come with us? Maybe you can share more of your philosophy with us?".

Maybe Lucifer was right. Maybe Thaal was all evil. But everybody deserved a chance.

Slaping his new friend, Giorno on the back, Clark turned to Touma.
"You okay? You've been very quite."

"As much as I would love to wax poetic with you fine gentlemen, I believe that my skills would be put to better use elsewhere." Thaal avowed with a nod. "You're capable men. I'm sure you'll do just fine without me.
View attachment 6488
"Besides. I doubt the games I like to play would be found in an Arcade like this..." With a backhanded wave, Sinestro strode into the wider city. He snapped his fingers and commanded his ring to form a barrier of light around his person. Bending any light beams that came his way, the Yellow Lantern rendered himself invisible to the naked eye. "We'll have to trade notes once we're done with this... charming city. Until we meet again..."

Bridgette finally gave Jianyu a hard enough push to get her back as Elliot came up to her. "I don't know what this is," Bridgette snapped looking at Nathan and Jianyu. "But we're leaving. Now."

@Space_Candy @Yun Lee @Everyone

"No you're not!" Great. Just great. They needed to just hold on a little bit longer... Using the same technique as with the couple, Jianyu would attempt to keep Bridgette and Elliot stationary from the knees down with Psycho Power. "Can you hold the fuck on for a few minutes?!" Her mood changed, as she now grew serious. "You're in a hurry, but so are we! We gotta help each other out!!"

@Jeremi @Atomic Knight @Space_Candy

Nathan was about to turn away an attempt to calm himself, but then the woman- Bridgette addressed him. His face turned slightly red- a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

"I don't have time for you're bullshit ma'am" he hissed, fists balling.

"I'm trying not to throw years of therapy out the window here, but you're not making it easy," Nathan muttered, before just folding his arms and letting out a sigh.

"Let's all take a deep breath..." Thaal cooed, flickering back into sight. Having rearranged the molecules of his hard light clothes, Sinestro looked deceptively normal. Clad in a bright yellow suit and hat, the Korugarian looked like any other sun-burnt tourist.
View attachment 6489
"There's no use in getting frustrated. You'll have to forgive my Niece. She's a little excitable, you see. She's off her meds, too. It's a nasty combination, as I'm sure you've seen!" He chuckled like a sub-urban dad. "Thank you for finding her for me. She scurried off whilst I was getting myself familiar with the beach-- a little too familiar, I must say, if my skin didn't already tip you off to that!"

Sinestro placed his hand upon Bridgette's back and stared straight into her eyes. For a split second, his yellow irises flashed with a hint of gold. He called upon the demon he had been harboring deep inside his soul. He called upon the might of Parallax, seeking to influence Bridgette with a hint of hypnosis.

"How about you let me buy the two of you something nice as thanks? Stay for 5 more minutes. Relax a little. What harm could it do?"

He turned back to Jianyu.

"You have to be careful in the city, precious," Thaal smirked. "Even cities as beautiful as this. I know your waiting for this holiday for years, but what would your father say to me if you got lost?"

@Jeremi @Atomic Knight @Space_Candy @Yun Lee​

 

[Capri]

GENTARO KISARAGI
@Atomic Knight @Jeremi @Yun Lee @Space_Candy

Gentaro was doing his own thing, he was dancing. He loves dancing you know.

He saw the commotion with Elliot and them, and he began to remember why they were there.

He’s an idiot, you see.

“Oi! Jianyu!” Gentaro said, maybe causing Jianyu to jump a little. “What’s with all the commotion! Come! Dance!”​

 

[Macy Moretti]

Chapter One
"Written in the Clouds"

Billy disengaged from the conversation he had been having with an odd look on his face. He moved he was some distance away from the others and the lamp giving off light. With his expression shrouded in darkness, his glowing blue eyes were looking prominent.

"It's time," he said, sitting down and crossing his legs. With his hands gripping at his knees, he began to speak. "To save the multiverse, we need to lower our enemy's strength and raise our own. I will use the rest of my power, likely the last of my power for some time, to take us into a loop so that we may save some of the individuals trapped inside. Disrupting the loops will lower our enemy's hold on reality, though he will likely have realized something is amiss by now."

Taking in a deep breath, Billy closed his eyes. "The Demiurge will lead the way."

Wiccan began to chant steadily, his words feeling heavy despite their mundanity. They were bringing forth magical energy.

"I want to take us to our next destination. I want us to be at our next destination. Our next destination..."

A blue-white light extended out from Billy and began to envelop everyone in attendance.

***

When the light dissipated, the first thing the group could sense was a light warmth and a gentle breeze that carried the smell of popcorn. All around them was sand and fanciful attractions. The sound of distant folksy music and chattering beach-goers could be heard. As far could be gathered, this new location was some kind of beachfront amusement park.

A billboard above read Battleship Bay and carried the phrase “Strength through leisure!”

Cullen found himself a bit in awe at first, but after staring at the various people in their old-timey swimwear, he figured this place was a bit off. "Are we supposed to be waking up all these folks?" he asked. "Are they even real?"

Billy was looking around himself. "Everyone you see is real, just going through their own version of events in this loop. But we can't wake them all, it's not possible. Besides, waking up a few will impact the majority of the loop, but it will resist change. Waking up everyone is likely to just have it reset prematurely, so we need to be selective... and in this case, the Demiurge brought us here for a reason. Just give me a moment to think."

"Ahuh..." Cullen crossed his arms. "Anyone up to go dancing?" he asked with a smirk.

"I wonder what that leaves us to do in the meantime. I don't suppose we could tango with anyone here and see what the significance of this world is supposed to be..." Touma murmured as he scratched the side of his head, indirectly bouncing off Cullen's quip while Billy spoke of needing a moment.

---

Character List
@Takumi as Azura [Fire Emblem]
@mintyy as Azure Kite [.hack]
@Jeremi as Biscuit Krueger [Hunter x Hunter]
@Gummi Bunnies as Blake Dormi [OC]
@Josh as Clark Kent [Smallville]
@Atomic Knight as Cullen Bloodstone [Marvel Comics]
@Indigo Al as Doctor Langa [OC]
@York as Emily Hayes [Amulet]
@Capri as Gentaro Kisaragi [Kamen Rider]
@Crunch as Giorno Giovanna [JoJo's Bizarre Adventure]
@Yun Lee as Jianyu [Street Fighter]
@Lucky as Lucifer Morningstar [Lucifer]
@Alex Azure as Mason Moretti [OC]
@Space_Candy as Nathan Prescott [Life is Strange]
@Neko Shogun as Senna [Bleach]
@Ottonomous Ghost as Siegward of Catarina [Dark Souls]
@Krieg as Spike Spiegel [Cowboy Bebop]
@Sark as Thaal Sinestro [DC Comics]
@Minerva as Triss Merigold [The Witcher]
@Ver as Touma Kamijou [A Certain Magical Index]​

"Strength challenge, huh?"

Spike spoke out-of-the-blue, his static nature of apathy shifting to a bemused grin. That sounded interesting. Among the atmosphere of vintage Americano the sleazy bounty hunter emerged back within the group with a small bag of popcorn. How did he get that? With fatigued yawn the tall spacefarer cracked his neck. His last Marlboro had burned out, and whilst there were no convenience store, surely finding a shop that sold tobacco in these archaic times would be possible, yeah?

"I am a follower of Jeet Kune Do...and I fought plenty of meatheads. I think I got this." the green-haired man spoke with a flare of rare hubris. Rolling up the sleeves of his blue suit jacket, the antihero gave a sincere bow as he accepted the hammer. "I hope you got a fistful of Woolongs, buddy. I'll break the bank first before scratching a muscle off me." Throwing the hammer over his shoulder, the man approached the plate, looking back with a flash of the faintest of fake smiles and a thumbs-up.

"By the way, name is Spike. Round of popcorn on me." the man spoke, oddly feeling...sociable? That was not him. Maybe resolving past sins and resolutions had changed him to see the present more. It was tough, but for a man as stubborn as Spike, he was unwilling to fully come to terms with himself.

With Herculean stride he arose the hammer firmly above his head, and as the very air around him parted from the sheer force of the hammer punching wildly towards the pressure plate...a stroke of bad luck hit a man who smoked his lucky cigarette.

His Jericho 941 handgun that he had jingled in his pocket aggressively before slipped out from manipulations of his torso and shoulders with his swing.. Time slowed down as the hammer made contact with the plate, and with the gun landing by it's magazine on the wooden floor below. A flash of light, the roar of gunpowder and the whizzing of a stray bullet filled the arcade.

BANG!!!

A confused but casual expression left Mr. Spiegel's face.

"...Huh. Might need to sew a new pocket up."

@Ver @Crunch @Atomic Knight @Josh @Arcade Lads
​

The sound of music drew the trio to the end of one of the docks on the beach where Biscuit already was. One man was playing violin, while another was on the piano. A group was dancing around, some clapping happily to the music. The group was trying to get Biscuit to dance while one boy pleaded with a woman to dance with him. The boy looked particularly familiar to Emily.

"I don't dance," the woman said brusquely.

"Why?!" exclaimed the boy, as if that was a crazy thing to say.

"Elliot, we gotta go."

"Ms. DeWitt, there's nothing better than this," the boy said. "This is the kind of thing I could have only imagined before!"

Some of the dancers took notice of the newcomers and tried to get them to dance as well.

@Takumi @York @Minerva @Jeremi

A distant bang could be heard from inside the building, coming from either the Arcade or Gift Shop. A few police officers left the blockade to go running inside.

"Exciting," Cullen said dryly.

@Gummi Bunnies @Neko Shogun @Capri @Yun Lee

The thingamabob burst upward from the force of Spike's display of strength and slammed into the bell of the machine, just as screams began to ring out around the Arcade. The muscly man cried out and cowered into the fetal position while the man who had been calling on people to try the motion leaped from the podium he had been standing on. His bag of coin went flying, the contents of which spilled out in front of Spike and the others.

Though the police who had harassed the group had left, others came running in to check on what had happened. Billy turned to them, his eyes going wide. "Pretend you're with the crowd!" he yelled.

@Ver @Josh @Krieg @Crunch​

View attachment 6487

"My rotten luck..." Touma mumbled as the man named Spike decided to do the do and attract attention to them all. The boy jumped in surprise as his gun accidentally unloaded, not even aware that the man was loaded until it was too late. As everyone began scrambling in the arcade, Touma wasted no time taking Billy's advice and attempted to blend in with the rest of the crowd... as much as he could, at least, with a face like his.

With that in mind, Touma ducked his head down to avoid anyone taking notice of him, before taking note of the bag of coins the other man had dropped. With that, the boy attempted to take his opportunity while he had it, and snatch the bag before anyone else could notice in the heat of the chaos.

Touma wasn't one for stealing, but hey, you had to do what you had to do. Hopefully once the multiverse was restored, the man's bag would be restored, but even if not... well, a few bucks surely was a good payment for the restoration.

@Atomic Knight @Josh @Krieg @Arcade​

Mason Moretti
@Atomic Knight @Josh @Krieg @Ver

Mason had been interested in the Arcade, but Spike's actions required a quick response. He gathered a few of the coins that spilled out onto the ground, with Touma taking the rest still in the bag, and fled into the Gift Shop to wait for the police activity to calm down. He tried to look inconspicuous, browsing through the shop like any other tourist.​

 

[mintyy]

Azure Kite​

When Kite came to, he was in yet another strange place. Where is everyone? He turned left and right, only to find that the people he was with had all went their separate ways. He was surrounded by sand and sea and typical beach-goers, having absolutely no bearing of his surroundings. Not to mention he felt completely misplaced under the odd stares from the people around him.

So, he walked about aimlessly, sending a few nasty snarls back at the people who stared at him. The sun felt nice on his skin, but he knew all to well that he had no leisure time to soak it in.

In the distance, he heard music. It was as a good a place to start as any, in this wide beach; maybe he could find people there.

He made his way towards the source of music, hoping to reunite with his group.

@Atomic Knight @anyone​

 

[Atomic Knight]

As Kite followed the music, he came across a scene of growing chaos as many of the group crowded at one of the docks.

Billy and Biscuit were coming up behind him to check out the scene. As soon as Billy got close to Elliot and Bridgette, a blue electric shock unconsciously shot out from his hands and toward Elliot. Elliot grunted from the shock and used Bridgette to support his weight, just as she got the shock as well. It knocked her out of the temporary hypnosis as well as freeing the pair from Jianyu's power.

"Guess that's the sign," Billy said, feeling a bit unsettled at the shock himself.

Cullen looked around to see that some of the wandering police were taking notice of their gathering. The men playing music even stopped in concern. "Mates, I think it's time we go," Cullen said.

Elliot began to pull away to leave. "You're right, Ms. DeWitt, I think we should get out of here." Whether he had even registered the shock seemed unclear.

@Takumi @mintyy @Jeremi @Gummi Bunnies @Indigo Al @York @Capri @Crunch @Yun Lee @Lucky @Neko Shogun @Ottonomous Ghost @Sark @Minerva @Space_Candy

The police surged out from the Arcade, starting to look for any suspicious sights. They took no notice of Mason and the others, seemingly now drawn to a commotion at one of the beach docks.

@Alex Azure @Krieg @Ver @Josh​

 

[Yun Lee]

It was probably for the best Jianyu never got any food, because hearing Sinestro call her precious made her throw up in her mouth a little. Though now it seemed as though they needed to get going. "Yeah, let's go!!" Not waiting around, Jianyu would try and carry Elliot over her shoulder before either could react. "Yo uncle, make yourself useful and grab the chick, yeah?!"

@Atomic Knight @Sark​

 

[Capri]

GENTARO KISARAGI
@Atomic Knight @Sark @Yun Lee @Anyone Else

Gentaro just followed Jianyu to wherever she’s heading.​

 

[Sark]

As Kite followed the music, he came across a scene of growing chaos as many of the group crowded at one of the docks.

Billy and Biscuit were coming up behind him to check out the scene. As soon as Billy got close to Elliot and Bridgette, a blue electric shock unconsciously shot out from his hands and toward Elliot. Elliot grunted from the shock and used Bridgette to support his weight, just as she got the shock as well. It knocked her out of the temporary hypnosis as well as freeing the pair from Jianyu's power.

"Guess that's the sign," Billy said, feeling a bit unsettled at the shock himself.

Cullen looked around to see that some of the wandering police were taking notice of their gathering. The men playing music even stopped in concern. "Mates, I think it's time we go," Cullen said.

Elliot began to pull away to leave. "You're right, Ms. DeWitt, I think we should get out of here." Whether he had even registered the shock seemed unclear.

It was probably for the best Jianyu never got any food, because hearing Sinestro call her precious made her throw up in her mouth a little. Though now it seemed as though they needed to get going. "Yeah, let's go!!" Not waiting around, Jianyu would try and carry Elliot over her shoulder before either could react. "Yo uncle, make yourself useful and grab the chick, yeah?!"

@Atomic Knight @Sark

"There's no rest for the wicked, I supposed..." Thaal pulled upon his lapels and scowled, all the while watching the cops from the corner of his eye. "A party of this size is conspicuous. Even clowns this city has employs as its 'protectors' are starting to catch on to our presence. Throwing a semi-conscious man over your shoulder doesn't make us look any more normal." Obscuring the flash of light the leaped from his ring with the bodies of his allies, Sinestro conjured up two, hard-light wheelchairs. He gently lowered 'the chick' into her chair. He looked back up towards Jianyu. "Put him in the chair, 'Niece'. If anyone asks, they're suffering from delirium and we are their strangely-dressed nurses..."

@Yun Lee @Atomic Knight @Jeremi etc. etc.​

 

[Yun Lee]

"What is it with you and using the 'they're crazy' excuse?" Whatever. Jianyu dropped Elliot into the wheelchair. "Come on, we gotta get out of here!"

@Sark @Atomic Knight @Jeremi @Capri​

 

[mintyy]

Azure Kite​

Kite recognized a few people from before, though he couldn't recall their names. He approached them, and as he weaved through the crowds of people, he noticed the dimmed-down atmosphere as the music faded when the men stopped playing. He made eye contact with a police officer from a distance away for a brief second and quickly ducked his head.

Were they somehow involved with the Big Bad Guy Mason told him of? Kite readied a hand behind his back, about to summon his weapon, when Cullen told them to start moving.

He reminded himself of their briefing earlier. Acting out would only cause trouble for the whole group, and could potentially lead to the failure of their mission.

"Go...? Go where?" he asked, pulling his hat down to cover his face more.

@Atomic Knight @Capri @Yun Lee @Sark @anyone nearby​

 

[Jeremi]

As Kite followed the music, he came across a scene of growing chaos as many of the group crowded at one of the docks.

Billy and Biscuit were coming up behind him to check out the scene. As soon as Billy got close to Elliot and Bridgette, a blue electric shock unconsciously shot out from his hands and toward Elliot. Elliot grunted from the shock and used Bridgette to support his weight, just as she got the shock as well. It knocked her out of the temporary hypnosis as well as freeing the pair from Jianyu's power.

"Guess that's the sign," Billy said, feeling a bit unsettled at the shock himself.

Cullen looked around to see that some of the wandering police were taking notice of their gathering. The men playing music even stopped in concern. "Mates, I think it's time we go," Cullen said.

Elliot began to pull away to leave. "You're right, Ms. DeWitt, I think we should get out of here." Whether he had even registered the shock seemed unclear.

@Takumi @mintyy @Jeremi @Gummi Bunnies @Indigo Al @York @Capri @Crunch @Yun Lee @Lucky @Neko Shogun @Ottonomous Ghost @Sark @Minerva @Space_Candy

The police surged out from the Arcade, starting to look for any suspicious sights. They took no notice of Mason and the others, seemingly now drawn to a commotion at one of the beach docks.

@Alex Azure @Krieg @Ver @Josh​

"There's no rest for the wicked, I supposed..." Thaal pulled upon his lapels and scowled, all the while watching the cops from the corner of his eye. "A party of this size is conspicuous. Even clowns this city has employs as its 'protectors' are starting to catch on to our presence. Throwing a semi-conscious man over your shoulder doesn't make us look any more normal." Obscuring the flash of light the leaped from his ring with the bodies of his allies, Sinestro conjured up two, hard-light wheelchairs. He gently lowered 'the chick' into her chair. He looked back up towards Jianyu. "Put him in the chair, 'Niece'. If anyone asks, they're suffering from delirium and we are their strangely-dressed nurses..."

@Yun Lee @Atomic Knight @Jeremi etc. etc.​

"What is it with you and using the 'they're crazy' excuse?" Whatever. Jianyu dropped Elliot into the wheelchair. "Come on, we gotta get out of here!"

​

"It's not a bad plan, but," What seemed to be a gentle tap had enough force behind it to knock Ms. DeWitt back into the wheelchair as she had attempted to stand up. "Maybe put some restraints on them in case they decide that they don't want to be kidnapped? Your little ring can do that can't it?"

The crowd was also not to Biscuit's liking. "Jianyu's got the right idea. We need to get out of here before the entire police force is on us." It wasn't that Biscuit was concerned that they were going to lose. It just seemed like a waste to throw all that dead weight around.

@Sark @Atomic Knight @Jeremi @Capri @Yun Lee

 

[Crunch]

One way or another, Giorno hadn't seemed keen on going to the Arcade. Whether it was because he thought there wasn't going to be any useful information in there or because the number of potential distractions would draw even his attention away from the mission, Giorno Giovanna chose another path.

Before Clark could turn back around to prompt Giorno again, he'd already vanished. Surely off to do something more productive with the time they had here, right?

***

Chew. Monch. Chew.

The slice of grease-soaked pizza dangled loosely in Giorno's hands, dripping a bit of oil on the wooden dock beneath him before he took another conservative bite. The taste at the tip of his tongue was not very good as the boy's face contorted into a displeased scowl. As he approached the docks where the gang had originally appeared, Giorno looked around before hurling the barely-eaten slice into a nearby trash can.

I don't believe I'll ever forgive America for this.

Wiping the grease on his fingertips off on his pants, Giorno glanced back up from his hands and was greeted with the sight of his comrades wrestling down a boy and a woman on the docks.

View attachment 6503

The color in his face almost immediately drained, like he'd witnessed a ghost. As fast as one would expect in a situation like this, Giorno began to fast-walk over to the scene - not before his peripheral vision caught glimpse of police officers surging out of the nearby arcade. Must have been Touma... good grief.

Without breaking stride, Giorno slinked his lithe body within the nearest crowd of bewildered bystanders, slowly surging through the sea of humans towards the docks where he spotted Cullen gesturing the gang away. Giorno rolled his eyes, exiting the crowd of bystanders once he got close enough and fast-walking towards the scene.

"What the hell is going on?!" Giorno asked Cullen in a harsh whisper, keeping his eyes trained on the cops and then to their supposed 'target', "Is that our target?"

@Takumi @mintyy @Jeremi @Gummi Bunnies @Indigo Al @York @Capri @Atomic Knight @Yun Lee @Lucky @Neko Shogun @Ottonomous Ghost @Sark @Minerva @Space_Candy​

 

[York]

Spoiler: Replies

@Atomic Knight @York

Triss bowed at the offer of a dance, and joined hands with another dancer.

“Why not indeed. When in Nilfgaard, as they say.” Triss said, with a smile as she wove past Bridgette and Elliot.

Nathan stirred, his body was sore and stiff.

He sat up slowly, his eyes still closed as his hands felt his surroundings.

Sand?

He blinked slowly, wincing at the sun. He stood, following the sound of music in the distance.

Was he dreaming?

@Atomic Knight @Anyone

As Nathan was drawn to the music,he would have seen a rowdy display of dancing. A woman was standing awkwardly in the middle of it all, her name evidently DeWitt. She was looking at Emily as if she was the last person she wanted to talk to at the moment. "That's... none of your business," she said in response to Emily's question.

The boy named Elliot winked at Emily and took a few playful steps backward amidst the dancers. He tapped along to the music, even as DeWitt shot him an unimpressed look.

"Bridgette," Elliot said, "just one dance. Please?"

He looked past the woman, catching Nathan's eye. "You too!" he exclaimed. "Come on, everyone!"

@Takumi @York @Minerva @Jeremi @Space_Candy​

Nathan's heart sank as the man- no, Elliot looked at him.

He hadn't seen or remembered him in years, but as soon as they locked eyes he knew. But, it didn't appear to be the hostile, hot-headed Elliot he knew.

"Wha- me?" He managed to mutter, his tone sounding a mixture of confusion and vague panic.

Okay, so definitely dreaming.

@Atomic Knight

Elliot laughed and continued to dance, seemingly have not heard Nathan at first. He eventually beckoned the boy on over with a wave. "Yeah, you!"

On the beach nearby, Cullen took notice at the group on the dock. "A lot of blokes crowded over there," he said. The dancers seemed to be having a great time, spurned on by the crowd they seemed to be drawing. The two men playing picked up the pace of their jaunty, folksy tune as the clapping continued at a rhythmic pace. It seemed they didn't even hear whatever commotion was going on inside the boardwalk building.

@Takumi @York @Minerva @Jeremi @Space_Candy @Yun Lee @Capri @Gummi Bunnies @Neko Shogun​

Nathan sighed, walking over to Elliot.

Might as well go along with it.

"Do you remember me?" Nathan asked as he neared Elliot's dancing form.

@Atomic Knight

Elliot's happy expression waned for a second upon Nathan asking if he remembered him. He paused briefly in his dancing to examine him a bit intently. "I... don't think so," he said, at a bit of a loss. "You might have me confused with someone, I've never really... known many people."

He gave the other boy a sad smile and was about to resume dancing when Bridgette grabbed him. "H-Hey, Bridgette!" He resisted against her, looking more flustered than cross. "This isn't fair! I just got out of that tower!"

Cullen watched as the woman started to pull the boy along. "Let's find Wiccan so he can determine if these are who we're looking for," he said, agreeing with Biscuit.

@Takumi @York @Minerva @Jeremi @Space_Candy @Yun Lee @Capri @Gummi Bunnies @Neko Shogun​

Nathan raised a brow in confusion and offense, watching as Elliot was dragged off some woman named Bridgette.

"Hey, hey, hey!"He shouted out to them, annoyed.

"You're name is Elliot right?" Nathan called out, running a hand through his own styled hair.

This was a very realistic dream.

@Atomic Knight @Everyone Else Im Sorry

❝ Okay, guess that's a start too. Yeah, lemme just keep something as reference... ❞ Blake mumbled once it was brought to suspicion that the boy and that woman could be their people of interest. A light flash came from his tech cube, letting out the sound of a subtle camera snap. Hopefully the picture results were visible enough to relay to the others.

❝ Okay I think I got a good pic.... I think? Anyways, so we just gotta show this to Billy, right? ❞

@Atomic Knight @Takumi @York @Minerva @Jeremi @Space_Candy @Yun Lee @Capri @Neko Shogun​

"CONGA CONGA CON-GA!!! CONGA CONGA CON-GA!!!!!!" If anything, Bridgette just made Jianyu get louder, and the girl kept an iron grip on her shoulders, refusing to let her go as she pulled her away from Elliot, trying to keep them separated so that they could stay here as long as possible.

@Atomic Knight @Takumi @York @Minerva @Jeremi @Space_Candy @Yun Lee @Capri @Gummi Bunnies @Neko Shogun

"Y-Yeah...?" Elliot stammered, looking back at Nathan. "How could you know my name when you just got here...?" Nathan had distracted him so he stopped pulling against Bridgette.

"I'm not sure a picture is enough..." Cullen began, but he trailed off once Biscuit was gone.

@Space_Candy

Billy had taken his own advice and began making a run for it. Amidst the chaos, no one noticed him leaving or Touma grabbing the bag. Billy ran right into Biscuit as he was coming out on to the beach.

"Oof!"

@Ver @Jeremi​

Nathan's brows furrowed, a heat forming in his chest and his temper started to flare.

"You don't remember!?" He raised his voice.

"The giant fucking robots, Emily, the Sargent guy? None of it?"He moved forward grabbing Elliot's wrist and looking into his cold blue eyes.

"Do you not? You fell off that cliff- I thought you were DEAD! What the fuck." Nathan dropped his wrist and covered his own face with his hands.

@Atomic Knight @York @Everyone

In the jumping, they could see that Bridgette had a pistol hidden in her inner vest pocket. "I. Said. Let. Go." She was practically fuming at this point, but it seemed like despite being in a hurry that she didn't want to start too much of a scene.

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"Hey... Hey! Uh...!" Elliot's eyes went wide and he was suddenly frightened by this other boy. He had a desire to push Nathan away but something made him relent. He only stared at Nathan, a bit slack-jawed as his wrist was finally released.

"I'm sorry, but I think you're confused," he said, stepping up next to Bridgette as if using her for protection now.

@Space_Candy​

As Kite followed the music, he came across a scene of growing chaos as many of the group crowded at one of the docks.

Billy and Biscuit were coming up behind him to check out the scene. As soon as Billy got close to Elliot and Bridgette, a blue electric shock unconsciously shot out from his hands and toward Elliot. Elliot grunted from the shock and used Bridgette to support his weight, just as she got the shock as well. It knocked her out of the temporary hypnosis as well as freeing the pair from Jianyu's power.

"Guess that's the sign," Billy said, feeling a bit unsettled at the shock himself.

Cullen looked around to see that some of the wandering police were taking notice of their gathering. The men playing music even stopped in concern. "Mates, I think it's time we go," Cullen said.

Elliot began to pull away to leave. "You're right, Ms. DeWitt, I think we should get out of here." Whether he had even registered the shock seemed unclear.

@Takumi @mintyy @Jeremi @Gummi Bunnies @Indigo Al @York @Capri @Crunch @Yun Lee @Lucky @Neko Shogun @Ottonomous Ghost @Sark @Minerva @Space_Candy​

One way or another, Giorno hadn't seemed keen on going to the Arcade. Whether it was because he thought there wasn't going to be any useful information in there or because the number of potential distractions would draw even his attention away from the mission, Giorno Giovanna chose another path.

Before Clark could turn back around to prompt Giorno again, he'd already vanished. Surely off to do something more productive with the time they had here, right?

***

Chew. Monch. Chew.

The slice of grease-soaked pizza dangled loosely in Giorno's hands, dripping a bit of oil on the wooden dock beneath him before he took another conservative bite. The taste at the tip of his tongue was not very good as the boy's face contorted into a displeased scowl. As he approached the docks where the gang had originally appeared, Giorno looked around before hurling the barely-eaten slice into a nearby trash can.

I don't believe I'll ever forgive America for this.

Wiping the grease on his fingertips off on his pants, Giorno glanced back up from his hands and was greeted with the sight of his comrades wrestling down a boy and a woman on the docks.

View attachment 6503

The color in his face almost immediately drained, like he'd witnessed a ghost. As fast as one would expect in a situation like this, Giorno began to fast-walk over to the scene - not before his peripheral vision caught glimpse of police officers surging out of the nearby arcade. Must have been Touma... good grief.

Without breaking stride, Giorno slinked his lithe body within the nearest crowd of bewildered bystanders, slowly surging through the sea of humans towards the docks where he spotted Cullen gesturing the gang away. Giorno rolled his eyes, exiting the crowd of bystanders once he got close enough and fast-walking towards the scene.

"What the hell is going on?!" Giorno asked Cullen in a harsh whisper, keeping his eyes trained on the cops and then to their supposed 'target', "Is that our target?"

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Emily Hayes
@Takumi @mintyy @Jeremi @Gummi Bunnies @Indigo Al @Atomic Knight @Capri @Crunch @Yun Lee @Lucky @Neko Shogun @Ottonomous Ghost @Sark @Minerva @Space_Candy

That wink from Elliot startled her a little. Though Emily had suspected he didn't remember everything that must have taken place after he had supposedly went missing, seeing him a bit more carefree, almost yearning to live life to its fullest was somewhat jarring, but not in a bad way.

Perhaps there was hope for him after all...

Though, of course part of her couldn't help but remember all they had discussed, about seizing power when it could be used for greater things. In some ways, that's exactly what she had done, thus allowing her more control over the very strength that could have turned her into a monster at any time.

It however didn't escape her that something about her changed since that foray through the void, and the strange mutual agreement she had formed with Ikol.

For now though, as she saw Nathan interact with Elliot, it more than confirmed her suspicions. It was only when Billy approached Elliot, and that spark occurred that she spoke to Nathan, breaking her silence. Elliot was the person they were looking for.

Those siblings, they must have known, somehow...

"Nathan... The place Elliot is right now, is destined to repeat itself. To save him, we have to break him out of this loop." She said.

There was an urgent tone in her voice now as she tried to be quiet about breaking this news. Her eyes made contact with the others nearby that had arrived in this place with her, and nodded at Cullen's suggestion.

"Yes. We should." She said, preparing to follow Cullen's lead.

Though she kept an eye on where Elliot and Bridgitte were; the last thing she wanted was to lose track of them, especially given that the former was the person they were supposed to be freeing.

Her attention turned to Billy, just for a moment.

"Are there more we must save here?" She added quietly.

It was better to be safe than sorry in her mind, she would rather not leave anyone behind.​

 

[Atomic Knight]

"What the--?!" Elliot exclaimed, jumping out of the chair. He reached forward and there seemed to be an exploding flash of light in front of him. He reached into the light, grabbing at something, then pulled back a baseball bat. "Stay back, I'm armed!" The light disappeared and he was starting to back away.

"I'm not sure what we're doing in this moment would be considered saving," Billy deadpanned to Emily. "Disrupting one or two people will cause ripples across the loop." He gestured to the fleeing beach-goers and rushing policemen.

"Put your hands in the air!" cried a policeman. "All of you!" He aimed a gun at the group while other policemen were still oncoming.

"Yeah..." Cullen said to Giorno, though clearly the situation was dire. "Listen up, everyone! The blimps!"

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​

 

[Capri]

GENTARO KISARAGI
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Gentaro nodded at before taking out the Fourze Driver and placing it on his belt.

Three
Two
One
“HENSHIN!”

Reaching his hand up, Gentaro changed into Kamen Rider Fourze, and turned towards Elliot.

“Uchuu...” he said, before running and scooping up Elliot.

“...KITAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

With Elliot in tow, Gentaro made off to the blimps.​

 

[Jeremi]

"What the--?!" Elliot exclaimed, jumping out of the chair. He reached forward and there seemed to be an exploding flash of light in front of him. He reached into the light, grabbing at something, then pulled back a baseball bat. "Stay back, I'm armed!" The light disappeared and he was starting to back away.

"I'm not sure what we're doing in this moment would be considered saving," Billy deadpanned to Emily. "Disrupting one or two people will cause ripples across the loop." He gestured to the fleeing beach-goers and rushing policemen.

"Put your hands in the air!" cried a policeman. "All of you!" He aimed a gun at the group while other policemen were still oncoming.

"Yeah..." Cullen said to Giorno, though clearly the situation was dire. "Listen up, everyone! The blimps!"

@Takumi @mintyy @Jeremi @Gummi Bunnies @Indigo Al @York @Capri @Crunch @Yun Lee @Lucky @Neko Shogun @Ottonomous Ghost @Sark @Minerva @Space_Candy
​

Biscuit nodded before turning toward one of the policemen. "Probably best to leave these boys kicking. Who knows how many will show up so there's no point in beating them up." Instead, her attention turned towards the blimps as she made her escape towards them hopefully with the others following.

@Takumi @mintyy @Jeremi @Gummi Bunnies @Indigo Al @York @Capri @Crunch @Yun Lee @Lucky @Neko Shogun @Ottonomous Ghost @Sark @Minerva @Space_Candy