chroma | WEEK ZERO: PIZZA PARTY

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!pizza party

WEEK ZERO: PIZZA PARTY

SURPRISE!

Sunday morning starts peacefully enough, until around noon, when alarms start going off on your phones informing you of a Pizza Party taking place in the Central Node. You can snooze the alarms at first, but they begin to get a little more insistent after a while if you aren't making progress heading down there. If you're being stubborn, you can probably hold out until right at 1 PM, when an archway opens right in front of you and pulls you in.

The central node is comfortable right now, with blankets laid out on the grass and boxes of pizza are set out. Cheese, Pepperoni, Hawaiian, Meat Lovers, Veggie, I could just keep writing types of pizza all day. A few boxes even contain very weird varieties of pizza, but if you give them a try, some of them might be good! Some are as terrible as you'd expect. Otherwise, the pizzas are all warm and delicious, and there's enough for everyone.

The Residents are all already here, waiting for you! Have a fun and cool day!

... Unless?

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[ he's hears riff's audio playback, but doesn't bother responding until he's closer.

which... takes a little while because riff did put some good distance between them. but it's a dead end. where else are you going but the roof? when he catches up, damien slams the door open and just says a very belated: ]

No.

[ can't let someone else decide what he does. can't let someone else get in his head. he's in control.

he aims to try and shoot their phone from their hand to keep them from responding, not bothering to make himself any cover. (as if they were going to respond while someone is shooting at them to begin with?) ]

[well you know, they did not entirely think this through now that they're on the roof. they had the idea of bailing entirely but there doesn't actually seem to be enough time. they wouldn't respond while someone was shooting at them, but they do try to block.

the paintball smacks directly into their hand and the phone falls with a clatter, bouncing a few inches before tumbling off the roof. the only thing they have left is the gun and a stinging hand.

fine. you want to play, damien? they'll play. damien hasn't made cover for himself which means riff readjusts their grip on the gun, aiming and firing three times. three icicles zip through the air like bullets to try and knock him off-kilter as they step back to keep the distance.]

[ damien tries to dodge to the side, but those 'paintballs' move too fast.

being stabbed with icicles in his left arm and shoulder will definitely knock him off-kilter, yes. uhhh that's a lot of blood but it's probably fine. compartmentalize. could be worse. has been worse.

and he'll do better this time! this time, this time, he'll be in control. he'll kill riff like he wants to. alone, without anyone's help and without anyone's guilt and

and as long as he wins, no one can take him back to that place.

he's already injured, so fuck it. damien walks towards riff, shooting four shots at them as he slowly approaches. the pellets of paint fly at them hot - like magma, maybe, instead of paint. ]

[good.

it's what he deserves. this is exactly what damien deserves and for a moment riff almost seems triumphant in their stance as they aim to fire again.

it would almost be easier just to kill him and solve the problem themselves wouldn't it? they don't need the other three. they can take care of this themselves. if damien won't even listen, then the next solution is elimination. they don't need a team. they don't need back-up. they can do this alone.

there isn't much room for backing away or moving though, and they weren't expecting four shots in rapid succession. the paint flies, and as it splatters there's a hiss as it bubbles against the shadowed void. hm. apparently it's not a void. it's a very solid, shadowed figure that slowly begins to burn on its right side.

another flurry of icicles are shot out, more out of fury than anything as they finally rush forward.

damien's not going to win. they refuse. this isn't his place. if he wants to leave so bad? they'll destroy him for good.

so focused on damien that they are, they don't seem to notice there are green and pink cracks starting to filter through the darkness.]

Edited 2022-02-20 20:32 (UTC)

[the green cracks in the darkness begin to grow, starting to surround riff. they start thin and small, like the web of a spider or like thread, creating a pattern, and then something larger, brighter, verdant, like vines creeping around the edges of this dark space. the vines bloom out into a portal, and in the portal appears shale's statue, tall and focused, in the space closest to where riff is.

they look at riff and damien and call a ball of brilliant green light to their hands, swirling around. sparks like fireflies flicker around the edge of it. and then the statue's serene face becomes something more sinister, wrong-looking. the mouth that was never apparently there appears, widening, opening, and a spray of something sickly green shoots out of it. winged insects, a pale jade, pour out of the mouth, each picking up a green spark and carrying it as they go. they fly and become a dancing, flittering sphere, with jewel green wings, surrounding riff entirely and separating them from damien.

shale, still halfway in the portal, reaches a hand and tries to grab on to riff's somewhat intangible form.]

Edited 2022-02-20 20:45 (UTC)

[ the pink cracks ripple out like electricity through glass - intricate and delicate webs, holding in the air for a moment - before shattering into shards. The quartz portal appears, but for a moment, empty.

Another blinding flash crashes through the opening, more light than actual form, directly into Damien and sending them both backwards across the arena. He’ll feel like he’s been hit with the blunt side of a pole across his middle, flying backwards and hitting the ground hard enough to knock the paintball gun out of his hands. he’ll be pinned to the ground by what feels like the claw of a great predatory bird.

steel solidifies enough at this point to be seen - half beast-bird and half-humanoid form, crackling with that pink energy, poised over him.]

Enough!

[ The word is more crash of thunder than language. ]

Leave us alone!

[ "us?"

no, that should be "me." right. right. but really! excuse you, they were having a nice game of paintball? and it is so fucking rude of you to interrupt when he was so happy to get to do this alone.

damien is trying to reach for his gun, but it's a pretty feeble attempt, given that he's pinned. and in even more pain than before. also his stab wounds are really catching up with him, here.

so i guess he's just laying here and letting out a long, pained groan of frustration. ]

["us?"

they're a little more startled by the sudden appearance of the other two, and they still have their gun which means they not only swing at the insects to try and break free but also try to break out of shale's grasp. they seem to have caught riff by part of their void and even with the burning on their arm as magma drips down it they try to struggle out of it.

but after a moment they settle, even with a firm grip on the gun just in case.]

[outside of the archway, bass is rippling with color - the static is writhing with all the colors you all have given them, crackling. a buzzing sound, like a generator about to blow, starts building in their chest, and they pull their hand away from whoever is grabbing at them.]

Move back!

[and they turn to the monotone archway, grabbing it with both hands, and yank.

the monotone archway lights up like a pinball machine, the light of all the colors blinding. inside, it's a little like bass picked up a box full of objects and turned it upside down. steel, shale, riff, and damien all upend, and start sliding towards the open archway. bass moves out of the way just in time, enough to let all four slide out of the archway to the real world, safe and - uh, mostly sound.

and then, the monotone archway slams shut, and bass flops to the ground in a puddle of static.

wow! that's the end of that, goodbye.]

Edited 2022-02-20 21:14 (UTC)

[ UHHHHHHHH. i guess that's over!

damien sits up very quickly!

which was a mistake because he is in so much pain! so he immediately doubles over, bringing one hand to his bleeding shoulder.

and he's turning his head to look for riff. where is riff. ]

Idiot.

[ kazuma is over here to try to support him and stop the bleeding!! ]

Doctor!

[ uh, fuck you, he's pushing kazuma away??? ]

[ good luck doing that when ur stabbed ]

[ he still has one good arm! ... but yes admittedly the shove is not. the strongest. ]

Thank you, Master Kazuma.

Damien, stop - at least let us check your injuries before you start moving around and needlessly make them worse. [ haven't you caused enough trouble for yourself already?? here comes chang geng and jiuqing, now that all of that mess is over. ]

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countermeasures - 2022-02-20 21:25 (UTC) - Expand

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assogi - 2022-02-20 21:25 (UTC) - Expand

[the bugs swirling around riff fly back into shale's open mouth, and then they close the mouth. it's fine.

shale hurries about as much as a statue can to riff, scoops them up under one arm, and then scoops bass up in the other. and then a tired glance at the group at large.]

So, that was a lot, and I'm sure you have questions, but these two need some attention.

[and they're opening a portal and going into it! bye!]