3881/IFOS: Bad Moon Rising

IFOS: Bad Moon Rising
Date of Scene:	05 March 2016
Location:	Amarillo-8 <A8>
Synopsis:	There's one last piece of alien technology to find before the aliens can leave Amarillo: it's located in the sewers under the city. But light-hearted weirdness belies the fearsome atmosphere brewing above ground...
Cast of Characters:	151, 165, 481, Tomoyo Daidouji

---

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUQiUFZ5RDw
    Bad Moon Rising - Credence Clearwater Revival
    Moon River - 1969

    It's one of those evenings where the moon is already visible in the cloudy orange sky of Amarillo, on a warm March day in 1970. It's 28 degrees, the atmosphere is electric, and you- yes you!- are down in a sewer.

    Hell of a way to spend a saturday.

    Ren Tanaka called the investigators in because, as it stands, there is a grand total of one (1) major piece of the crashed alien spaceship to retrieve, flagged for us by Maria Smith, who is currently a little worse for wear.

    It can be surmised that the community leader and somewhat waifish short brown-haired woman who some of you have met once or twice has been 'influenced' by this for some time, but to no real negative end.

    Which is just as well, because there's enough negativity in the city as it is.

    But underneath the city, all you have to worry about is the weird green ambience in the unpleasant smelling tunnels, the sounds of things crawling against the metal pipes, and dropping your flashlight.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    Ainsley is floating through the sewer, with a map of the tunnels in her hands and a flashlight held in her teeth so she can read it while they investigate. "The epicenter is this way..."

    Ainsley turns the corner in the sewer tunnel, squinting when she hears something scrabbling out of her periphery. She is tense, because she believes this could go wrong any second. That's just how these things go. She tries to find the right spot in the tunnel where the signal is coming from. She's scanned it with her Sight, and so she cannot forget its relative position, but she has a hard time referencing a map or even the physical world to pinpoint it.

    For what it's worth, she's made some noseplugs for Tomoyo so that she doesn't have to smell sewer, made on short notice. A morgue technician trick that she read about in a crime investigation novel. They smell like whatever pleasant smells she could scrape together that could overpower the sewer stink.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo's a girl from a high socioeconomic-class family, so it's a little strange that she's so eager to be down into the sewers. She's gone to all the lengths, having tied up her tie-dyed dress to keep it from getting stained. She also brought along a pair of waders and a miner's hat with the flashlight built in. She's quite thankful for the noseplugs too! Her plan was to just apply fragrant cream under her nose, but this is much better.r
    Due to the cramped environs, only one bodyguard is accompanying her today. The rest are waiting topside with warm drinks and a hose ready. The girl has her mirror in her grip, nodding to Ainsley as she leads the way. Her bodyguard stays at the back, arms tensed to yank the two away from any threats from the front that present themselves.

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
    "What did you say?" Ren jokes, because why not really. "You've got something in your mouth, I couldn't hear you."

    Ren probably didn't get noseplugs because he kept trying to make poor attempts at humor. "I'm glad you brought that, by the way, because otherwise I was going to have to bring a loaf of bread and trail breadcrumbs behind us, and that's just asking for trouble."

    Fortunately Ren can take care of himself, he doesn't need bodyguarding. Heck, he probably counts as two bodyguards. However, a better question might be how many alligators he counts as, because there's a couple of them up ahead blocking the intersection... gators, in a sewer? Who could have guessed?

    He glances at each of them, making a bit of a quiet, questioning indication towards them, and then at his fists, miming a bit of punching.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    Ains replies to Ren without her mouth moving. "I am a wizard that manipulates language and the fabric of communication itself. I could speak in a vacuum, if I wanted to, and in twelve languages at once," she tells Ren, though clearly she's amused by the joke. She pauses when she notes the alligators blocking their progress. She activates her Sight, and scans the area around them, and then the alligators.

    "That is just absurd," she remarks, her Sight deactivating. "Feel free. They're in the way." She can speak without fear of drawing the attention of the lesser reptiles, because her abilities also let her mask it so they wouldn't be able to hear her if she didn't want them to. "As cruel as it may be, we have bigger problems than getting chomped by predatory reptiles and they are not native to the sewers of a Texas city anyways." Pragmatic, mindful of concepts of conservation, and just a bit cold-blooded.

Kirika (481) has posed:
    Trudging through the sewers, Kirika is not unprepared this time. She's stuffed a lot of cotton in her nose, and while it's uncomfortable, it beats having to endure the stench down here. The kitsune has her katana drawn, and has remained silent so far as she listens to the others speak among themselves.

    "They are in our way." She agrees, sounding more than a bit like someone who does have their nostrils constricted, before she pops her neck and approaches the gators.

    She mercifully sheaths her sword, but she /does/ however proceed to grapple one of them until she can throw it out of the way. This is mercy. Do not press this. :(

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    In spite of the nerve-wracking environs, Tomoyo is staying chipper, and lets out a small laugh at Ren's joke.

    Her bodyguard seems much more tense however, clutching her baton in a white knuckle grip. The young lady gives the ensuited woman a gentle pat on the arm to soothe her. Only for alligators to block the path.

    "Let me handle this~" she says. "Make sure your feet are out of the water please." She gets hers high and dry and waits for the others to do the same before gently dipping her mirror into the filthy muck.

    BZZZZT!

    Electricty is sent conducting along it to zap the other alligator! Probably not strong enough to kill it, but hopefully enough to send it packing or reeling!

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
"Later today I'll make you a medal," Ren replies to Ainsley, equally lightheartedly.

    There is a brief moment of the two groups regarding one another: these large ex-pets who have probably never really encountered things this tall for many years, when the really big human flushed them down the toilet, and five people who really uh, kind of need to get through, please, with potentially as little biting and thrashing and crocodile hunter impressions as possible. Because nobody needs Ren's crocodile hunter impression.

    We might still get Kirika's, though! In order to speed things up, while she gets one of them to go to sleep or just out of the way, and Ren holds on to a pipe like a koala, Tomoyo tazes the rest like a well-prepared bargain hunter on black friday.

    "Well played."

    Moving on... well, let's just say this is a little awkward? Because I don't know how far away it was from the alligators, but I can /definitely/ hear a baby making noises somewhere around here.

Kirika (481) has posed:
    Kirika nimbly takes Tomoyo's advice and leaps to the ceiling, clinging to a pipe while the lightning does its work. She goes back to knocking out the other gator after that, making sure to subdue it non-lethally before it takes a nap.

    Phew. Breathing from her mouth, Kirika blinks as she hears a baby's cry. "...hn." She is suspicious, but opts to follow the sounds of crying regardless, sword ready.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo beams, even as her bodyguard offers her a wet wipe, which she uses to clean the grime from her mirror. Borrowed goods must be taken care of, after all!

    And then... the distant wailing of a baby. That certainly puts a dent in her chipper demeanour. "Um... Ainsley, you would be able to tell if this is a real baby's cry, right?" She looks to the lizard woman with a bit of a pleading look. Because yes, something that would mimic a baby crying would be preferable to an actual baby being dumped down here.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    "I like my medals in pink," Ainsley replies to Ren without skipping a beat. She watches the alligators get deftly dealt with, and raises her brows at the sight of what Tomoyo does to deal with one of them. It was quite clever, and it impressed her a fair bit. "Croikey." Damn it, Ainsley. She even got the accent down perfectly.

    She follows along the path and hesitates when Kirika turns to investigate the sound of crying. The lizard lady grimaces when she thinks of the many ways it could be a trap, and the many ways it couldn't be a trap. All of them seem to be unpleasant when thought about too much. She decides to follow Kirika, grabbing the flashlight to shine about to try to pinpoint where it might be coming from.

    She scans the air with her Sight, too, to see how 'real' this cry actually is, and uses her magic to try to decode the baby's cry. Emotions could be read from how stressed the cry really is. "What would be more comforting: A real baby, or something pretending to be a baby so it can ambush us?" she wonders to the others.

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
    Ren can't help it; he laughs pretty helplessly at that one-liner from Ainsley. Unfortunately, he ends up stopping pretty much immediately when he hears the same thing everyone else does: boy, that sure did kill the mood in a hurry.

    Kirika takes point: Ainsley will, in fact, be able to tell that what they're hearing is genuine, although goodness only knows how a baby got down here. We can only hope it wasn't actually intentionally left here, but it would probably be no small stretch to actually find him or her and take them with us...

    https://gyazo.com/f60cc57004115a82e1be0d1f6393bd86

    And possibly quickly? Because that's a weird, strangely fuzzy-looking figure in the shadows which slinks away as soon as someone's torch shines on it, disappearing behind a corner or somewhere-

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    "Oh."

    Ainsley follows the figure with her flashlight as best she can. She stuffs the map into a pocket -- she's memorized where they have to go in the layout by now, having seen how the tunnels branch for herself -- and tries to follow, seeking out both the source of the sound and whatever that fuzzy creature was. She didn't make much noise and moved ahead of Kirika without really thinking. Instead of being afraid, she was curious, and that is probably a bad reflex when in a dark sewer with things like alligators and mysterious dark figures.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    That 'oh' was all Tomoyo needed. That smile and optimism is gone now, replaced by a worried look and eyes constantly flickering around. Her grip on that mirror tightens as she follows the older Elites through the sewers, until suddenly...

    "What was that?!" Her head-mounted torch follows the shadowy figure until it vanishes behind a corner! Her scared breathing is amplified by the tunnels, carrying quite far... hopefully no one is out there, homing in on it...

Kirika (481) has posed:
    Kirika is wary of the figure, but she continues to try and track the sounds of crying further in the darkness. Her eyes are surprisingly effective in the dark, and despite her sense of smell being blocked up she does her best to figure out her sense of direction.

    She will remain with Ainsley like a bodyguard, sword in hands, and she remains stoic as she trudges through the muck.

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
    "Big fuzzy thing?" Ren replies to Tomoyo.

    "Fuzzy in a sort of weird at the edges way, not fur-"

    Ainsley somehow ended up getting in front of both of them, and next to Kirika- which means that the both of them will be the first to find whatever it was when the somewhat red-tinted huge thing ends up swinging down upside-down from just above them, waving its arms!

    And there are a few other sets of blocky eyes in other drains and shadows, too! And they make LOUD ROARING SOUNDS!

    ...did you run away yet? Because, uh.
    Because that's it, actually.
    They just sort of hang there after doing it. No attacking, or dropping down, or moving any more or anything like that.

    It's actually kind of strange.

Kirika (481) has posed:
    Kirika does not run. She rarely runs from a threat, not when she's in the middle of a mission anyways. The kitsune remains stoic, the flash of steel shining as she begins to draw her sword when the beast appears.

    She adopts a defensive stance, protecting her allies, before she realizes something very odd about this; The beast isn't attacking.

    WHY isn't it attacking? This isn't a haunted attraction for gullible patrons at a festival, is it not?

    "...hello?"

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    Ainsley recoils as if she is about to get attacked, but when not actually mangled for her trouble, her feathers stop their poofy startle and she gives a half-lidded look at the creature that just made the noise.

    "We are no threat," she tells the fuzzy figure, gently, a little sad that she would be seen as one. "Not to those that are no danger to us." She glances away to the direction of the poor alligators, since those stood a chance of /actually/ hurting one of them.

    "Are you a part of the crew that crashed here?" she wonders, shining the flashlight closer to the fuzzy creature with a gentle smile on her reptilian face, heard in her voice. Amazing that she can look pleasant in a sewer.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    "Yes, that! So I'm not-"

    She rounds the corner to see the shadowy creatures looming menacingly! She freezes, eyes wide in shock and fear. Her bodyguard moves in front of her, brandishing her baton...!

    And nothing.

    It's an awkward ten seconds, the two just standing there. The bodyguard remains stern, baton clutched while Tomoyo just goes from frightened to confused. Eventually, she peeks around the older woman and says, "Um... hello. Are you okay?"

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
    It does actually kind of feel like a fairground ride for a moment here, doesn't it? This is like that awkward moment when your car stalls in the haunted house and you see the animatronics and the pop-up ghosts repeating their routines over on a loop. Even Ren is confused for a moment! He looks around at the others, in this sort of 'are you guys seeing this too' sort of way.

    When Kirika points a sword at it, the ... whatever it is waves its arms and roars again, but in exactly the same... way it did the first time.

    It seems really like that's all it /can/ do, which means that whatever it is, then it's actually visibly kind of relieved when Ainsley and Tomoyo talk back to it. That's why, subsequently, a sort of hovering solid light panel appears right in front of it- and now the thing isn't moving it's plain to see that that 'fuzzy' around the edges is... sort of more like pixels or static, in fact. Both of them are some sort of solid light.

    GREETING is the message on the panel, rendered in the same sort of typefont as a local Amarillo newspaper. THIS IS THE CREW EMOTIONAL MANAGEMENT, CORE EMERGENCY AVATAR, PROJECTION SYSTEM

    PLEASE CONFIRM, RETRIEVAL CREW Y/N? AFFILIATED WITH AMARILLO SOCIAL SERVICE WELLNESS INSTITUTE AND PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT Y/N?

    A short distance away, there's an adorable baby sat on the floor, with rather big green eyes, chubby cheeks and a baby-sized deerstalker hat. Two more of the virtual monsters are standing either side of it, and let me tell you they're glad you're here because heck if they know what to do with this baby.

Kirika (481) has posed:
    There are virtual monsters who can do fuck all but roar and wave their arms. There is also a baby sitting there, and Kirika just...sheathes her sword before approaching the child.

    Kneeling down, she tries to shoosh the little one before she plucks him up into her arms, trying to maintain a smile in spite of these circumstances. "Shhhhh, shhhh, it is alright little one...you're safe with us, I promise..." Rocking the baby in her arms, Kirika hums a lullaby as she carries him away from the other virtual monsters. There is no way in hell any sane person would allow an infant near these things.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    An audible sigh of relief escapes Tomoyo's mouth as the panel comes up. "Oh... it's good to meet you." She reads the subsequent question and tilts her head. "Not really~ We're here to gather the ship parts so the crew can return home! So, less 'retrieval team' and more 'repair team.'"

    The next question also receives an answer that is neither a 'yes' or a 'no.' "We know Miss Smith! Has she been in contact with you?" A look beyond the creature to the baby. Now Tomoyo starts posing her own questions.

    "Has she been in contact with you? Did she give you that baby?"

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    "This is just cartoonish," Ainsley laments, finally deciding to land when it becomes clear the creature is just a projection. She turns to look at the monsters, which aren't really all that scary, probably by design. She looks directly at the panel and frowns for a second or three.

    "We are here to retrieve you, yes, and return you to the ship." Following what Tomoyo said. "Do you have a physical component we can carry back?" She looks at the baby, a little perplexed about the nature of its journey down here. Doesn't look to be in a bad state, and the hat is just weird. Why is that familiar, she wonders to herself. Her confusion intensifies until she can distract herself back to the reason they came down here.

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
The baby seems pretty pleased to grab at Kirika's top, and overall he seems to be a lot happier now that people aren't waving their arms and yelling at him and intentionally trying to scare him.
    ORIGINS OF LIFE FORM UNKNOWN, the virtual creature explains, although there's probably a trio of kidnappers right now who are being chased by another alligator, or freaking out at a bunch of worms attached to a wall, or the fatberg, or something.

    ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN MADE AT COMMUNICATING WITH SYMPATHETIC LEADER FIGURE, it continues, as it's happy to lead all of them from here over to a storm drain which corresponds to the route Ainsley should recognize as the one she already planned on going. COMMUNICATION DIFFICULTIES WERE CONCERNING. ALSO UNSURE HOW TO APPROACH ISSUE OF COMMUNITY LEADER'S DESIRE TO ACCOMPANY CREW.

    Ren winces.

    https://gyazo.com/fe7c9b1c620c48a1a6846227305dd148

    ...on that somewhat awkward note, you've managed to find the final piece of the alien crew's previously sundered spaceship: a vital computer core and part of the ship's overall crew interface. It's hovering in place unevenly, but nothing is going to stop anyone from taking it into their arms and carrying it away.

    Once that's done, there's nothing else keeping anyone here, so it's safe to leave the sewers.

    And well, let's just say it might be for the best that this was a bit of a farce.

Kirika (481) has posed:
    Kirika sighs. She doesn't dare get stern with the baby, but she does try and avoid getting her top undone thanks to the little tyke's efforts. She'll probably be taking care of him for some time, perhaps going out to search for the baby's parents once everyone is topside.

    One can only hope the little guy's being bottle-fed by now.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    "So a baby just wandered into the sewers? Well... we'll find its parents? And if they're unfit enough to just let their child wander off. I suppose we'll have to get the state involved." Tomoyo's voice shifts into a more businesslike tone towards the end. Child endangerment is nothing to speak serenely about!

    "She wants to go with you?" She did seem a bit of a space case, but to actually want to go into space... "Well, would it be that bad to let her tag along? If it's a matter of the ship being designed only for the crew it has, I understand."

    The core is found! Tomoyo takes it carefully into her arms, clutching it protectively. Who knows what the water would do to it if she dropped it! "Let's get out of here, I need several baths~"

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    Ainsley picks up the computer component once they locate it, her face stormy with the thought of trying to explain whether or not it's okay to accompany a bunch of aliens into space.

    Or wherever they came from. The toy universe, going by the aesthetic of the aliens themselves and their colorfully harmless behavior. She examines the computer component, skeptical of the modular design, because it really does look like a toy to her. She knows it serves a vital purpose.

    "Could you describe these communication difficulties?" she asks the hologram, while they prepare to leave.

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
    We can also now name the first part of this scene 'Three, Ren, and a Baby'.

    Said baby, who can be identified as a 'Hugo' if anyone checks the label sewn into his hat, is perfectly happy snuggling Kirika and patting his hands against her for the duration of the walk back.

    INTRASOMNAL COMMUNICATION OR SUBVOCAL INFLUENCE WAS THE ONLY VIABLE METHOD OF TRANSMITTING INFORMATION, explains the computer core as it's carried away. POSSIBILITY OF COMMUNITY LEADER ACCOMPANYING CREW IS PLAUSIBLE, HOWEVER.

    "Didn't you say something about Maria having odd elements in her voice?" Ren asks Ainsley. "Maybe the core was trying to work with her to try and talk to people?"

    When everyone gets out of the sewer... well, actually it's going to be a bit of an unpleasant sight they come back to, in fact. Making their way out of a manhole will be easiest, and by coincidence the closest exit takes them out close to City Hall, which is a plain, boxy building with regular grey slit windows.

    However, right now there seems to be a fairly irate group of people outside of it, shouting and complaining about something, and there are other small groups of people here and there on the lawn nearby: loitering, causing a ruckus, squabbling with one another and so on.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo muses on the whole affair as her bodyguard is the first up the ladder to push up the manhole. After all, Kirika and Tomoyo have their hands full, and Ren and Ainsley aren't that strong.

    "Wait, so those things were trying to steal her voice?" She actually sounds a little upset by this. She knows how it feels to lose one's voice after all.

    Anyway, up the ladder! Tomoyo is a bit slow with the core under one arm, but she eventually makes it to ground level and gets in touch with her other three bodyguards to bring the car around.

    However, the commotion draws her attention, and the words of the not!agents swim to the surface of her mind. Of buried tensions boiling to the surface. She looks around at the party, then to the core under her arm.

    "We should make ourselves scarce..."

Kirika (481) has posed:
    Kirika is grateful for the bodyguard's efforts, nodding to her when she begins to get the sewer door open. She does her best to balance holding the baby, who seems to be content snuggling up with his fluffy new friend while she carries him to safety.

    She is glad he's not making a fuss, while she climbs out to the surface.

    Oh dear. There's a crowd. A MASSIVE crowd. Kirika frowns, trying to keep Baby Hugo distracted while she just waits for the rest of the group to gather. "Oh dear, we might have a problem..."

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
    "Not exactly steal it," Ren says quietly. "Perhaps just influence it. I think they had their reasons. Remember," he says making a reference to off-camera adventures which we didn't RP out, "Some members of the community group did help us find other little pieces of the..."

    And he sort of trails off as the six of them come out into the middle of what seems to be some sort of commotion, perhaps even a disturbance. Thankfully, it seems as if the various people here are a little too caught up in themselves to notice the four of them emerging from the sewers with a big black cube and a baby for now.

    Ren looks at Tomoyo, then Kirika. "Do we- want to just see if we can slip through?" he asks, concerned. It definitely seems as if something unpleasant is happening. Maybe they're here to complain to city hall about babies going missing recently. Or maybe they're complaining about loud explosions taking place at the outskirts of the city recently, or the lack of punishment for fringe gangs, or weird looking people coming and going in the city in the last three months, or any number of things.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    "I suppose..." Tomoyo says, still not sounding totally satisfied. But there are more pressing matters at hand, like the angry mob. "I think if we push through, we'll draw attention. As outsiders, I don't think it will be very welcome attention..."

    Her eyes fall on Hugo. Could they try and break it up by claiming to be looking for his parents? Or would they just assume they took him? Maybe she could bring up some clouds to make sneaking by easier... no, that might cause a panic.

    "I think the best thing to do it wait for my guards to bring the car, and then make a break for it when they do."

Kirika (481) has posed:
    Kirika boops Hugo's nose gently, rubbing her nose with his affectionately as she rocks him in her arms. She's a surprisingly good caretaker for a sword-toting fox lady. That said, she agrees with TOmoyo's assessment. "Mayhap we contact the authorities? They might be able to help us with determining where we bring little Hugo." She suggests.

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
    Presumably, as much as it may pain Kirika to be seperated from him, then they'll have to take Hugo to the police and find out what's happening with regards to his parents and find out how he ended up in the sewer in the first place. And presumably, that's just what the four of them do once Tomoyo's got the necessary transport for them- Ren helps by adding in a bit of loud, rambling complaining about nothing in particular, adding in the necessary Bavarian fire drill element to things that will get them from point A to point B without anyone really looking too closely at them.

    And once that's done? Get the computer core to the aliens in Bushland. And once that's done? Well, that's when everything hits the fan.

    I hear hurricanes ablowing
    I know the end is coming soon
    I fear rivers over flowing
    I hear the voice of rage and ruin.

    Well, don't go out tonight
    'cuz it's bound to take your life
    There's a bad moon on the rise!