( This is somehow Harry's fault. )

Video

[The video shows a woman with short blond hair and bright baby blue eyes. She might be described as cute except that there is currently an annoyed scowl shadowing her features.]

Hello, I'm Detective Sergeant Karrin Murphy with the Chicago PD. [It might not mean as much here but her jobs means a lot to her.] I arrived a short while ago and I have two questions. The first is that I'm looking for a wizard by the name of Harry Dresden.

[The way she punctuates his last name is very pointed.]

I know he's here somewhere. [She doesn't know but she has a feeling and Karrin's learned to trust her gut instincts.]

The other question is about this ticket I woke up with. [Everything else had been explained in amazing detail but not this ticket.] What's it for?

Any information would be appreciated. Thank you.

[With that she hangs up.]

( Rough Starts )


Video -- The Next Morning

(The video feed cuts on to show a relatively lanky man, long of face and in need of a haircut and a shave, sitting at a table in what much be one of the Commonspace apartments, with his hands in front of him, steepled, atop the table. He looked tired, grumpy, and all around annoyed.)

Good morning. (He doesn't sound like it's very good.) My name is Harry Dresden, and I showed up last night. Apparently there's nerve gas or something in the hologram that deploys when it shorts out. That's not cool.

(He yawns.)

It also calls the cops. That's a nice welcome to the neighborhood. "Hey, we just kidnapped you, and this is crazy, but here's the police! Do some jail time maybe?"

(He rubs his face with one hand.)

Is there anywhere in this place to get a Coca Cola? (He says it very clearly and slowly, as though making sure everyone hears the proper way it's pronounced.) Anybody know what that is?

[Okay, okay, he's a little late but guess who just got his hands on the last newspaper.]

Okay, so I turn my back for five minutes and we've suddenly got monkey people robbing everyone blind and making a mess of the windows?

[And why does that not sound too terribly out of the ordinary around here?]

Anybody want to fill me in? The circus in town or something?

Last week, concerns were expressed in the local newspaper that the weather might be too wet and gloomy for a charm quest. But those concerns were way off.

It was too wet and hellishly windy. Hopefully everyone dressed warm!

At the foot of the mountain, Imelda's tent looked like it was going to be blown away at any moment. The tethers that held it down creaked ominously, and the tent itself leaned hard with the howling winds that whipped at the cheap canvas and gaudy trappings. Even Imelda was starting to get a headache with her little bells and chimes clanging noisily non-stop. But a job was a job, and the fortune teller had to at least look like she'd expected this.

She hadn't, but that was beside the point.

Imelda huddled in front of her crystal ball, her wide shoulders buried in silks and furs. A portable heater was fastened under her table to keep her slipper-clad feet warm as she waited for the participants to approach. Ten men, ten women. It was almost like fate! Except one of the men was technically a robot, but he had 'Man' as part of his name, so it totally counts.

"Come come, children, hurry in! One person at a time! --No, not you ladies, stay out there." Bitch. "Come, and I will tell you the name of your soulmate who will guide you unharmed to the top of the mountain!" Or just whoever she decided to secretly ship that person with.

[OOC: Two threads below! One is for getting your partner assigned, one is for actually scaling the mountain. Each pair starts at a different point, and will be warped there after consulting with Imelda. Unless I really am psychic, no one is matched with their soulmate. Imelda sucks. But you have an opportunity to get a charm if you either A. Find your true ship which will result in a clear path and no monsters at all, or B. Fight to the top, defeat all the monsters, and kiss your partner like whoa. Some of you may get a boss fight if you say you're okay with one, but it's not guaranteed. Players can otherwise NPC the monsters and obstacles they face. Those who succeed each get an Everglade charm. Only those who signed up for the quest are allowed to participate, but anyone is welcome to show up and cheer/jeer on their favorite "couples". Those who would rather stay at home and watch the events on TV may do so, as it will be televised.]

As I'm sure you're all aware by now, Wily has been "elected" to a place of power in the city. However, I have evidence that he rigged the election. I tell you all this now, not because I want him overthrown, quite the contrary, really.

For now, I want him left alone. However, stay alert, and report any suspicious activity to me. So long as he plays by the rules, I will let him be. However, the moment he sets one toe out of line, I will be right there to correct him.

[And here's Harry showing up on video with the day's newspaper in his hand, specifically open to the story about Wily winning the Guardian election.]

[He's not a happy wizard today. No sirree.]

Like hell you did! I don't know what you did, but you pulled something!

[Mary has to send out a text, namely because she doesn't want anyone to see or hear just how bad off she was after trying to prove a point. She'd already bandaged her midsection and she wasn't looking forward to having to do that again. Ignoring the dark blood on her cheek, she decides there isn't a better time to send out a text to ask for training.]

Harry, I could use you or someone you could recommend to give me some help.

I need a sparring partner, someone to help get me trained back to where I used to be. It seems like a lot to ask, but I can't really do this on my own.

[And after the incident after her house getting blown up, she doesn't want to ask Dean or Sam, not with thinking it might inconvenience them...if they'd even do it.]

[Ruby had spent the last few nights thinking it over, but she had no idea what to do about the situation with Yang.

Sitting around the house wasn't doing her any good, maybe a bit of fresh air was what she needed.

Maybe talking to someone other than her teammates would do her some good too.

Sorry Harry, you're getting a late night phone call.]

[Audio]

[She tries to sound as casual as she can, but there's a certainly a hint of worry in her tone.]

Hey Harry, are you busy?

( ... and they suffocated us. )




Through the city, every communicator screamed out a deafening alert, which was followed by the voice of the AI.

“CORRUPTED ELEMENTS DETECTED. PLEASE ASSIST IN PURGING IN ORDER TO ENSURE THE CONTINUED SURVIVAL OF THE CITY AND ITS INHABITANTS”


[OOC: Subthreads are up. Post in them for combat, or go nuts with planning/reactions through the rest of the comments.]

[ action ]

[ Zeref slowly began to awaken. To be honest, that was the longest he thinks he's slept in months, the last time being the first night he was used to the idea of being in Exsilium; sleeping in a bed certainly beat against a (dead) tree, on some (dead) leaves, or sand on the beach (complete with the eventual smell of dead mollusks, crustaceans, and the occasional fish). But as Zeref slowly regained consciousness, it slowly began to dawn on to him how very, very wrong this was.

This wasn't Exsilium. It wasn't his world. And somehow, he doubts this is Edolas, even if he's never been there. ]

No... [ Not again. Did the Initiative send him here? Did they somehow sense his growing resentment of them, or his mounting rage against the United Earth that was just begging for a reason to boil over? Almost instinctively, Zeref reached up for the strap that connected the white, toga-like outer layer of his clothing to the black tunic he wore under it.

The pin was gone. And worse still, he had new memories. Memories that didn't feel like a dream to him. If this world continues to reject me... then I shall reject the world. He remembers himself saying, speaking to what appeared to be open air, as if he were speaking to himself. Obra had been staring at him, perplexed, wondering why Zeref was apparently talking to himself. This will be a gift from me... Zeref continued, finally getting to his feet. Rebalancing, and allowing the world to resurrect. If Zeref focused, he could feel a familiar presence that he was speaking to, even if he could neither see, nor hear the source. It was kind, familiar, friendly... and hurt. No, Zeref finally growled, feeling his eyes change behind his eyelids, seven years of pent-up rage and despair finally threatening to pour out. It will be a one-sided massacre. Not a single soul will be spared my wrath.

As if he had just woken up from a nightmare, Zeref realized who it was he was speaking to. Mavis Vermillion, maybe the only friend he had had for at least a century while he was on Sirius Island. He stared down at the medallion, before tossing it. ]

[ voice ]



Stay away from the Bay.

[ A simple, one-sentence message. It worked... somewhat similar to the device he had in Exsilium, so it only took him an hour or so to figure it out. Zeref had found a quiet corner of the large, domed structure. He needed to just... sit and think, for a while. Somehow, he had gained a few memories between waking up here and being in Exsilium, meaning his suspicions about Tartarus were correct. Now that he was fully awake, he remembered everything. He felt confused, and angry. It was all in stark contrast to his memories of Exsilium, mainly due to people like Lucy and Levy being so bizarrely kind to him, which he wouldn't have expected from anyone who knew who and what he was.

Zeref slumped back against the curved, stone wall of the dome. He honestly had no idea what he was going to do, now. ]

[There appears to be fog or steam rising up around the woman as she appears on screen, in reality it's because behind her is a field of ice leftover from when she froze the water coming out of the pod so she could walk across it without getting wet. Her hair is down, all adding the the abnormal lack of color and making the dark lips and shifting colors in her eyes even more obvious. Her eyes are only sort of in the direction of the screen because she is holding the brochure in her other hand, flipping it over to see if there is any more explanation for whatever god had the audacity to pull her away from what she was supposed to be. And only a god would have that ability because there was no way any humans even in large numbers could have managed the task against her will.]This is unacceptable.

[Gaze lifting from the device in her hand to the surrounding city the Queen looks... annoyed. Which isn't the best mood to have her in but isn't all that uncommon either.] Handmaiden. [Now that sounds more like a demand than a randomly thrown out word. And it is. She's calling for the Leanansídhe and is even more annoyed when the woman does not appear. She'd call for her Knight if she thought he wouldn't run the other direction just to be difficult, he generally had to be suborned into service. Her eyes narrow as she steps out onto a street with passing people and they barely seem to pay her any mind which is not common at all.] Creatures of this demesne, explain.

[And that's about the time things start going frosty all around her, it even crackles into the edges of the screen, icing up trees behind her and something cracks as it freezes so quickly then explodes in a shower of ice shards and wood. One of the lower branches of a tree off to her left side.]

WHO: Karrin Murphy, OTA but she's looking to find M. Bison, also a message sent to Harry Dresden.
WHAT: She's a cop, she couldn't stay out of it if she tried, so she's paying Bison a visit.
WHEN: January 4, 2014 - early afternoon
WHERE: Where ever she can track him down.

( Doing it on her own felt more familiar )

[Video message for Harry Dresden}
Hey, got some leads on Yang, going to try and dig some things up. Looking into this M. Bison guy everyone keeps talking about. If you get anything else let me know.

[When Ruby pops up on the video screen today she's a whole more serious than she normally does. Her sister is missing and she's gone into "Leader" mode for the moment. Ain't no one got time for silliness right now.]

My sister Yang hasn't been seen or heard from since the New Years Party a couple days ago. If anyone has any information on where she might be, please speak up about it.

That said, I'm putting together a search party to try and get and track her down, anyone interested can either respond to me here or meet me in the lobby of Tupelo Alley in next two hours.

-Oh! Right, and a big thanks to anyone who helps out.

[And after that Ruby can be found pacing around the lobby of her apartment building. Waiting for anyone to show up or get a hold of her.]

This is Pyrrah Nikos.

[A young woman with vivid green eyes and flame red hair looks into the video. She looks incredibly serious. From the picture you can see that she has a rigid stance, her back straight and her posture alert.]

I appear to have woken up... in this place and this pamphlet says I cannot return. Can anyone verify this information?

[She looks down at the pamphlet again as if doubting what it was telling her.]

Am I really expected to just live here?

[The video starts with a close up on Gamagori's face, glaring into the camera. He says nothing for a while, but when he does speak, it's loud enough you could probably mute the feed and still hear him fine.]

Whoever brought me here had better show themselves now! I cannot be away from Honnouji Academy, the Naturals Election is starting tomorrow, and I will not allow Lady Satsuki's faith in me to be broken! Show yourself, and I will not kill you. Prolong this, and I assure you, you will be begging for death by the time I'm done disciplining you!

WHO: Captain Hammer and his invited guests (i.e. no villains allowed unless you want to get Hammered)
WHAT: Hammer's rented a glitzy clubhouse for the New Year's Eve party, as a means of cementing the bonds between Genessia's true heroes, sidekicks, and fans. Time to show off those party dresses! There's food, music, and fireworks once the clock strikes twelve.
WHEN: December 31st, 2013 - 8pm and past midnight into January 1st, 2014 (forward-dated)
WHERE: Regency Apartments Clubhouse - Genessia City
NOTES: Mingle freely! If you want a specific type of thread, such as 'snack table' or 'dancing', feel free to start one up! I don't want to limit people.

( Five! Four! Three! Two! One! )

[She rubbed at her face and used the curled edges of her hand to try and work the sleep out of her eyes. She felt stiff and her body was slow and sluggish to obey the commands to wake up. When she did drift through the layers of sleep she realized something was very wrong.

She shot up like a bolt and caused a small box to tumble off her into the modified canoe thing she was in. A quick look told her she was dressed and she was armed, so all she needed to know now is where in hell she was.

Karrin rifled through the box, fingers turned over the pamphlet before they took up the pendant. Oh, this was not funny. She began the low seething hiss of breath that would let those who knew her ease back like anticipating a tea kettle about to blow. She picked up the com device and turned it on.

The screen would show a skeptical looking blond with a furrowed brow.]

Right. This isn't Chicago, or any other place I recognize, so I'm gonna go out on a limb here and ask where am I? And why am I here because I have to tell you waking up in a strange place is not what I call calming.

[Times like this she really missed being able to flash her badge and have at least that amount of pull behind it. Guess she'd just have to get by on her own natural charms. Yeah, this would be fun.]

[OOC: So this here post can be used for quick 'Character X got Character Y a new pair of _______________ for the holidays' lists, or play out the giving, or whatever. You can RP it out, just make note of it, or even post your own thing outside of this list if you prefer! HOORAY FOR PRESENTS!]