Halloween Town

[Panda]

Nanako

Heading away from the Dojo with great leaps, Nanako wandered aimlessly for a while, stopping by Pine Garden for a snack and taking a ferry across the Divide, trying to cool off with the wind and the waves. Even thinking about Vega felt like fire in her veins as she tried to figure out how the same man could show mercy in one moment and seeming disregard for life in another. Eventually, the thought passed from her mind, carried away by the cool breeze washing over the prow and the bag of trail mix she'd been tearing into.

After some more wandering and a burger from Columbia, however, the squirrel girl found something unexpected. Insectoid creatures scurrying about near what she was sure was Halloween town, from the map on her phone, but something about these creatures was fundamentally off. Something about them simply struck her irrevocably unnatural. They were just really...weird.

Nanako took all of half a second to process this, then leaped down near one of them. It stopped cold and turned to face her. She leaned in with a questioning 'Hm?', her tail swishing behind her. It growled loudly, chitinous legs tensing and arms raising. Her ears perked up as she canted her head to the side. Finally, it charged at her with a piercing shriek.


Riding atop the beast's head, Nanako found that the creatures she'd met the periphery weren't just strange exceptions. Everywhere it took here, there were all manner of creatures, not all of them chitinous monstrosities like the one carrying her through the streets, but all of them oddly offputting. Even the land itself seemed to be more alien here, strange growths permeating through buildings and over roads. By comparison, the smoking craters and ruined husks of tanks seemed almost ordinary.

Every second that passed left Nanako more and more curious, the squirrel girl lounging atop the creatures large, chitinous head as she took in her surroundings.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke (even more later)

Yawn

There was nothing more boring than stagnation, peace really was an insidious little thing. It was beautiful and desirable, right until the moment you've got it in your hands. No... that wasn't quite right. He really did want to fight the hallow queen with everything he had back then, and some. Her fleeing so soon just left him blue balled, and now he was trying to laze around to avoid going in a rut. But more importantly, this meditation was important to sort out the memories that did survive the transfer. So let's see...

Serana was busy with god knew what.

Joseph was probably hitting the books.

Aruna... well, he didn't feel like getting shish kebab'd by her girlfriend just yet.

Valerie was probably playing with one of her fledglings.

"Man, I'm bored." It was shocking, but taking responsibility for this sad little district almost made him feel caring. Sure, he was working deceptively hard, getting all his boys to fix up the place, but in a way he almost felt like a dad watching over hid kids. That's fine and good, but no one really wants to be a parent forever. Sometimes, you need some spice... something! He couldn't just jump to the next phase just yet, so he was forced to kill time.

And killing time on your own is its own special kind of hell.

But that's when something showedup. A sound made his ears twitch and tingle. The sound of the plans he never quite planned falling apart and the gears of improvisation spinning madly again. Or more accurately, it was the sound of one of his children, crying and screaming for help.

"Hm? What's with the ruckus..." He connected with its senses quickly. and-


Eeee- eek! What's going on! What's going on!?

A chitinous beast of carapace and mud zipped past buildings and wrecked rubble, hopping and galopping to try and shake off something. He just came up to that girl to tell her that area was off limits and under construction! Why? Whyyyy!? Why did she just hop on him and straddle him like he was some kind of monster! This wasn't funny! It seriously smelled and it was way too heavy!

"Graahhh! Just leave me alone woman! I'm not your damn taxi!" Is what it said, but as it was a relatively early transformation, the words came out as guttural shrieks and alien screams.


Hmmmm. It'd probably take an hour or two for all of the old world organisms to get their vocal cords back to understandable frequencies. Maybe he should have tried a bit harder.

He looked down at the bumbling rodeo going on miles away, all with a lazy grin and his legs crossed. It's as if he were watching a comedy special on tv.

"Hah! Wait, I know her! What was her name again? Na...Na... Nanaya?"

A lot of the stuff that used to be Zeke's memories was wrecked trying to incorporate a human host and a grace at the same time, but memories are a curious thing. Like a fractal, you can make out the overall shape from just a speck of data. It might take him longer to remember everything, compared to his kids who were relearning communication - but this would be an educational experience nonetheless.

And there was something he did remember. The important memories, the ones considered essential, were vivid as day. So he didn't even need to try and remember to know... that beast woman had a grace too.

"Nice. Looks like I've still got something to do." His grin spread from ear to ear, and he jumped off the building like an excited kid. Without delay, he burst into searing plasma and soared into the skies like a comet. Zipping into the skies, he swirled - and finally approached the landing point. Right in front of the woman's path.

"Hey hey! It's been a while, hasn't it! Aren't I a lucky guy!"  He descended like a burning star, ready to smash Nanako like a pancake.

But instead, he missed the landing and slammed face-first on the asphalt, right in front of Nanako and her steed.

[Panda]

Nanako

If Nanako didn't know better, she would've sworn her steed was trying to say something, but the squirrel girl couldn't decipher any meaning from the guttural shrieking and screaming. She looked down thoughtfully at the creature carrying her, patting it reassuringly as they carried on, but didn't get to do much more before something else caught her attention. Her ears perked up and swiveled towards the new sound, Nanako turning to look up just after to see a searing comet rocketing down towards her.

The squirrel girl's eyes widened as she quickly pushed off her steed, pushing it out of the way, only for the comet to crash down in front of her and reveal a beast of a man. Tall, well-built, and oddly familiar.

"Huh, have we met before?" Nanako asked, canting her head to the side as her tail swished lazily behind her, "It'd be hard to forget someone like you, but I don't think we've met."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

"Mhphfhh hmfhhh...!"

As it turns out, it was hard to use human language with your head stuck underground. Yet with a single jerk, he suddenly ripped himself off the concrete. Stretching, he whipped the sky with his silver locks and revealing more of his powerful body. "Pwaaah! Hahahaha, this is great!" He was jovial as ever, but his eyes were a lot calmer and focused than before. He wiped the soot off his chin with a well-mannered grin.

I thought I was heading the right way. Did I... miss? No, that can't be right.

"What, is our new body that shocking? I'd figure a bombastic babe like you would be used to seeing things like this. I'm pretty sure we met, didn't we? Back when I fought that demon... Aruna I think?" He poked the black insect-like beast playfully and melted it back into his shadow in a heartbeat. He looked straight into the squirrel girl, this time a lot more calmly, but with that same placid playful smile.

"It doesn't matter. I'll ask that you don't do things like that to my crewmates though. If you made a mess, it'd make reconstruction more difficult for all of us."

[Panda]

Nanako

Nanako watched as the creature melted into the man's shadow, the squirrel girl striding closer and bending over to poke the shadow curiously, but to no avail. Shrugging, she popped back up, bouncing slightly with the suddenness of the motion, and listened to his explanation, frowning slightly for a moment before realization hit.

"Zeke?" She crossed her arms under her chest and leaned back, "How often do you go through bodies, anyway?"

"Wait, comrade? Wasn't very talkative, what are they?" she canted her head to the side, ears flopping over.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

Well, she said it, not him. Good thing he was riding on the right memory stream. It'd be bad if his acting was that obvious.

"What can I say? How often do I get killed?" He shrugged and took her hand, spinning her back to his shoulder. "As for my precious jewels? They're human! Like you and me."

Staring into her eyes, you'd think that he was hitting on her. But maybe that was also a hint. She could see that void, that emptiness...

It was different.

It wasn't the same darkness as back then at all.

"What brings you here anyway? Sorry if I didn't stick around longer, I'd have cheered on your match if I wasn't held up."

[Hibiki]

Nika

Sightseeing for familiar sights and landscapes, the bloodsucker with a terminal case of wanderlust continued her trek through Nexus, partly to pass time before the promised duel with the powerful rookie. She'd roam around anyway, not intent on idling through her first day since well... she's been losing track a bit. What exact year, day? No matter, present and future mattered as much as the past, even if she looked for something that looked nostalgic enough.

The ashen skinned woman seemed a bit absent minded, staring into her smartphone and browsing through an app with a map in search for interesting directions. The manner in which she just casually avoided bumping into people without seemingly paying attention was strangely graceful, as if crowds were no obstacle to her no matter what she did. One nearby location caught her attention finally. Halloween Town? If they went with that theme all year round, they must have had a dedication bordering with obsession. Those guys might be crazy enough to be entertaining in their own fashion. Besides, that festival was becoming as American as apple pie back in her previous nights. Worth a shot.

She dropped the pretenses about following any kind of gun laws and since visiting that Columbia placed she just open carried her Colt M1911, the holster firmly attached to her clothes. Wearing casual sportswear probably would stand out anyway against the whole theme of the place. Not much of a costume.

As she was sure she was on the right track, she started paying more outward attention to her surroundings. She could spot the orange, brown and green palette of the buildings from afar, the pedestrians wearing human masks (how eccentric), and hear the lively sounds of people having parties as early as this time of day. And smell vague danger in the air. Surely other monsters must have mingled in the midst of this carnival.

"Heh, maybe I'm standing out the most of all of them." The blonde vampire grinned with amusement. No costume, no pretense, she was probably too honest to mix with society like that, an oil poured into the Halloween sea. Were there any fellow creatures of the night in this town of eternal fall?

[Panda]

Nanako

"Hm. It only happens when you get killed? That's, ah, worrying," Nanako noted, frowning for a moment before stopping short at what he said next, "Wait, they're human?"

Before Nanako could inquire further, however, he grabbed hold of her and spun her around, pulling her back against him with a surprised gasp from the squirrel girl. Nanako looked up at Zeke, finally realizing something else was off. His eyes were different, not the same as what she'd seen in his last two bodies.

"Well, your friend brought me here," the squirrel girl noted, "But...you're different. The last two, their eyes were the same, but yours...who are you?"

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

...that was scary. Heh, guess an animal does have sharper senses, or maybe intuition was a better word.

But it just wasn't that simple.

"Who knows? I don't remember ever being anyone but myself." He rubbed his chin pensively and looked away, but gave Nanako a cheeky grin. He did find something strange though... why did she get worried? It's not like he was dead now or anything.

"You're a good person." He gave her a healthy pat on the head. "I guess we couldn't be any more different. I'm a pretty bad guy, you know?" 

His smile was as gentle as they come. "That thing on your back though, that one's pretty interesting. How did you get it anyway?"

Oh Zeke knew, he just wanted to hear her side. Might help refresh some of the fractal memory.

[Panda]

Nanako

The squirrel girl frowned at what he said, her concern growing for a moment before both were wiped away by the headpatting. Her ears perked up as warmth spread through her from his hand, the squirrel girl leaning into his touch despite herself. In the end, he was right, he really was a bad guy for taking advantage of one of her weaknesses like this.

Nanako pouted at him slightly, though the force of her pout wavered under the mighty power of his head-patting. Then his next question came, and the squirrel girl shuddered, feeling a sudden chill bloom in her chest like daisies from a grave.

"Mm, you know how, I told you," Nanako said, "Got them fighting this big angel thing, some of its feathers went into me. Looks like the stuff from the last few didn't stick around this time."

[Elf]

Forest

Something had come up for Taro at the office, but he gave Forest leave to go ahead to Halloween Town.  She parked her car at the appointed hotel and decided to walk around until Taro arrived.  Ugg, I can't believe I said that last night, she thought as she adjusted her duster.

She was wearing her steel toed boots, but decided on clothing that would catch attention.  There was a black, pleated skirt that ended right at her fingertips if she had her hands down to her sides, a violet corset top that showed off her arms, and had even styled her hair using bits of temporary violet hair chalk to recreate a look she was fond of during the 80's.

However, this place was fantastic.  She almost expected Marylin Manson to be piped through the town, and was a little sad that it wasn't.  However, she was fascinated and slightly taken aback by the variety of beings wearing "human" masks.

[Hibiki]

Nika

Huh, another stranger in this strangeland in this place? At least that's what she deduced immediately from the lack of one of those masks. And immediately picked up on that gal's vibe. She didn't mean the 1980s look, but she could readily feel there was another vampire in the midst. She wasn't one to beat around the bush, especially given the city's downright jadeness about the weird shit compared to her previous country, so she just approached the woman without much hesitation.

"Eh, took a nap and woke up in the future too? Or that's your style?" The pale woman in a hoodie commented about the other vampire's sense of fashion with a wide grin. "Heh, you probably fit here more than I. Unless there's a gym around." 

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

"Strange."

Zeke had rarely been this calmly surprised in his life, and the man in front of Nanako even less so. But the expression came so naturally, there was no doubt there was legitimate shock in his words.

"...Nanako? That was your name, right?" He scratched his back as if he wasn't sure what to say. No, that too was genuine. "I don't know how to tell you this, but that shouldn't be the case. Those things latch on to divine constructs to take shape or turn inanimate objects into relics. You're none of those things, so why would it have chosen you?"

His... their eyes narrowed.

"Well, I guess that's a mystery for another time. Isn't that right, seraph?" He didn't even turn around when he said those words, but his draconic smile betrayed him - and the sharp glance that trailed back.

A bead of sweat dripped down his temple. He had a familiar sensation chill his body, but he wasn't able to pinpoint it exactly. They were only certain of one thing.

The ache in his body, the throbbing in their heart... that winged marvel was the source of it.

[SINIB]

Nanako

The squirrel girl frowned at what he said, her concern growing for a moment before both were wiped away by the headpatting. Her ears perked up as warmth spread through her from his hand, the squirrel girl leaning into his touch despite herself. In the end, he was right, he really was a bad guy for taking advantage of one of her weaknesses like this.

Nanako pouted at him slightly, though the force of her pout wavered under the mighty power of his head-patting. Then his next question came, and the squirrel girl shuddered, feeling a sudden chill bloom in her chest like daisies from a grave.

"Mm, you know how, I told you," Nanako said, "Got them fighting this big angel thing, some of its feathers went into me. Looks like the stuff from the last few didn't stick around this time."

Zeke

"Strange."

Zeke had rarely been this calmly surprised in his life, and the man in front of Nanako even less so. But the expression came so naturally, there was no doubt there was legitimate shock in his words.

"...Nanako? That was your name, right?" He scratched his back as if he wasn't sure what to say. No, that too was genuine. "I don't know how to tell you this, but that shouldn't be the case. Those things latch on to divine constructs to take shape or turn inanimate objects into relics. You're none of those things, so why would it have chosen you?"

His... their eyes narrowed.

"Well, I guess that's a mystery for another time. Isn't that right, seraph?" He didn't even turn around when he said those words, but his draconic smile betrayed him - and the sharp glance that trailed back.

A bead of sweat dripped down his temple. He had a familiar sensation chill his body, but he wasn't able to pinpoint it exactly. They were only certain of one thing.

The ache in his body, the throbbing in their heart... that winged marvel was the source of it.

Ivanna

The petit blond angel stepped forwards relentlessly into the large empty lot. Her head was entirely covered by two of her immense white wings, draped around her shoulders and blocking the view of her face and protecting her torso. The remaining four splayed out in all of their divine glory, two meters each in length with a golden sheen surrounding her entire form. Still, she didn't seem hampered by the current arrangement, stepping forwards with confidence and poise.

This place brought sadness to her. There was such unnesseccary death and destruction that had been brought upon its people, people whom were already suffering under the weight of discrimination, whom were simply searching for a place in the world. Perhaps if she'd engaged in finer diplomacy she'd have been able to help them. Under a more competent leader, perhaps it'd have been possible.

"Perhaps not, Abomination." Ivanna replied to him with a cold, deadened tone to her voice—yes—this was far closer to her comfort zone. As ironic as it was, even Ivanna had to admit that their being here had relaxed her somewhat. She could allow herself to fall into old, nearly forgotten patterns and focus solely upon this most familiar of tasks-purification and culling. "The very topic you two are discussing is the reason for my excursion."


The angel reached out into the air towards Nanako, displaying her palms facing upwards in a show of good will. "You, child—Nanako. You have been thrust headfirst into something you know little to nothing about. You seek answers. I offer what little I know."

[Panda]

Nanako

"Yeah, of course it is," the squirrel girl said with an indignant pout, her tail wiggling between them, "How much did you lose this time?"

Instead of answering, however, Zeke seemed to freeze up, the squirrel girl cocking an eyebrow as she looked up at him before he finally spoke, not to her, but to someone- something else.

"Seraph? Wha-" she pulled away from him, confusion mounting, along with something else, when she saw it at last.

It's form was that of a small girl, but the wings, the aura radiating from the being, the faint chorus ringing in her ears when it spoke, on frequencies a human couldn't even hear. Nanako swallowed hard, her throat suddenly dry as she remembered the Morningstar. At least this one didn't have eyes in its wings, so far as she could tell. Stranger still, this one hid its face, though the wings were large enough that it hid a good bit of her upper body as well. If not for everything else, it might have been funny. Despite herself, Nanako couldn't help feeling that the being was sincere with its offer all the same.

"Hm," she took a single wary step back, eyes darting between Ivanna and Zeke, fluffy tail upright but utterly still, and ears twitching, "You're nicer than the last one, at least. Last one was just plain scary."