DS Post

Alice
Everything happened at once- A police car screeched to a halt behind the now downed bike with the contents of the police car spilling out in the form of a rotund policeman who had no idea what he was up against. Then to her surprise the Asian kid from earlier appeared on the scene in a huff. Next Alice had Ein whispering in her ear about yet another host approaching from down the alleyway.
She was trapped between a rock and a hard place. Of course she had also jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.
"Tch"
Alice mentally cursed her luck. Luckily the police hadn't noticed her but even if he did, he wouldn't see much that needed attention. Alice was covered by cuts and bruises curtsey of Fen and her well aimed plant arrow. The fact that she had a nasty scrape down her leg was not important- what was important was that she was trapped between three incarnates- two of them temporarily held back by a policeman but the third making a beeline straight for her. She didn't want another confrontation- firstly because it would tell all the nomads in the vicinity what she was capable of. Secondly, she didn't want to end up even more battered and bruised.
She needed to make up her mind fast.
Her gaze fell on several rubbish bins. Could she hide?
No, the host would find me anyway.
She had no choice, she had to wait this one out. It made her extremely uncomfortable but she banked on the presence of a policeman to deter the approaching host from any violence.
That's a policeman sandwiched between two hosts.
She gritted her teeth and waited for Ismael to arrive. Hopefully a better course of action would present itself soon.
Ein, you can take over if we get into trouble.
Don't worry Alice-chan, we will definitely get out of this

A whistle came from the other end of the alley, as the barefoot figure of Ismael became clearer, his two assistants trailing behind him, their gaze vacant. "So you're the one who got that bug-guy all rustled up?" He asked, grinning to himself as he stretched his arms. "I expected someone... bigger. More imposing, y'know what I mean? Not some teenage girl who probably has posters of some annoying teens on her wall."
And right behind the two assistants, there stood another figure. An old man, wearing gray robes, the lines all over his body faintly emanating a vaguely pink-ish light. His tired eyes set upon Alice... and widened in surprise, his brow moving for what seemed like the first time in years. He pulled up the hood in his robes, shrouding his face in darkness in what was clearly an act of shame, not because of the Host, but because of the Nomad.

Alice
Apparently there was no better course of action than to wait until Ismael arrived. Alice knew that there wasn't much point in trying to hide after Ismael whistled to get her attention. She took in his attire, his casual stance, the tone of his voice and the two people trailing behind him. The man was confident, his body language was practically shouting it. So the man thought he was better in combat- that would explain why he was approaching her with such carelessness.
So he had seen the fight with Samekh.
So despite knowing the danger he still came and from what he was saying, he wasn't here to chat. Alice had hoped he was. So in what lay his power? The ones trailing behind him obviously- two girls who might have been quite attractive despite their sorry state. Alice grimaced- fighting people you didn't want to kill was going to be that much harder. Alice made a guess that this man probably had some sort of psychic influence over the two- mind control? Alice wasn't sure exactly how Ismael's powers worked. She was starting to get very uneasy.
If his powers are mind based...I...
That's when Alice noticed something connecting the two people to Ismael himself- she couldn't see it before and even now it was like shadows dancing- there were these...things wrapped around the two girl's heads, Alice saw them very very faintly.
Ein, I'm going to let you take over....Ein?
The Nomad wasn't answering. She too was looking intently at the opposition but she was looking behind Ismael, at the hooded figure trailing wearily behind. The hood had been pulled down so she couldn't see the face but the faint pink lines that pulsed around the body, the appendages linking Ismael to his two slaves...there was something so familiar about it all. Ein decided that it was worth the risk.
To Alice's surprise, a form began to take shape beside her, collecting together like a soft shower of golden rain. Ein stood next to Alice, her clean white robes brushing the pavement and sending out a golden hue that had an unexplainable calming effect on Alice- suddenly, she felt that everything would be all right, fear and anxiety were thrown out of the window.
Ein was a petite form, barely matching Alice in height. She took a step forward and looked at the older nomad hiding behind his host.
"Eme?"

Ismael blinked, and then suddenly burst into laughter. "Wait, wait, are you telling me that..." He couldn't finish his sentence, as he burst into laughter once more. Eme stood behind him, turning around so Ein couldn't see his face. "Oh, man, this is just priceless! You know the old man? Well, isn't this a small world after all!"
And all Eme could do was clench his fists. Words echoed in his head. Their first meeting. Then we should do something! A hand, a smile. The evening is really pretty, let's go for a walk.
The Host held out a hand, as a pink gas flew from his back, swirling around his hand, materializing into a sword he quickly pointed at Alice. "I'd hate to cut this meeting short... no, I'm lying, I'd love to cut this meeting short... but I want to know who you are, what are you doing here, and why I shouldn't slash your throat right now."

Christine - Between a policeman, an ally and two Nomads
Christine licked her lips, and her mind was a literal storm of options as Pi considered the situation. The sudden appearance of a Host and the police had forced her to screech to a halt. She knew that her invisibility was still functional, but the taser was pointed right at her, and the policeman looked desperate enough to use it at any given time. Maybe Jeremy could help, but the current extent of 'Ayn's power was unknown to Pi.
While they were still processing this, another Nomad appeared. The first Nomad, Ein, materialized and started talking to the newly arrived, Eme. A flash of insight raced through Christine and Pi's shared consciousness.
Different factions. Things to discuss. Let's make a run for it.
Christine faded back into visibility. To the policemen, a young woman in a thick grey coat had just appeared sitting on the bike. Her hood was up, her hair under a cheap sports cap so as to not show her snow white hair. A pair of white sunglasses covered her eyes, and a surgical facemask covered most of her face. Visible, but still impossible to identify. Pi believed in being prepared.
And in the moment she was visible, she became intangible. At first, it was not readily apparent for the onlookers. But then, right in front of the eyes of the policemen, she just toppled forward, passing through the bike's frame and sinking into the road.
The dark asphalt greeted her without resisting, and soon Christine was swimming in the pitch black underground. Passing through the ground like this was some of the most taxing she could do, even with Pi's affinity for the earth. The solidity of her surroundings pressed on her from all directions, threatening to suffocate her the moment she slipped up. She floated in the direction of the buildings on the other side of the street from the police car, hoping to surface in some kind of empty basement.

Alice
Alice quickly took a step back, her eyes widening as the man in front of her pulled out a sword out of thin air. That was dis-quietening, just what could the guy do with his powers? This was bad what else could he summon? If this turned into a shoot out she doubted she would get out unhurt which would make her the target of opportunistic nomads looking for a way to eliminate early opposition.
She threw a glance behind her but saw nothing for all of her mind was bent on thinking a way out of this situation. Dammit she didn't want to...
Don't worry Alice-chan, they can't hurt you.
Ein spoke into her mind and suddenly...Alice saw her mind clear. The fear that clouded her vision dissolved.
What can they do? Nevertheless they needed back up. There was the bike and two other nomads. They needed to be dealt with.
Ein, tell Sadhe to watch the situation, we need that bike.
Ein answered with an reassuring glance. That settled it. Now she could address Ismael's question.
"I am simply, a concerned citizen. I came here because I was looking for a bike. As for the last question, you know already, it's not a good idea, you might get arrested."
Meanwhile Ein spoke singularly to Eme.
"Eme? What's wrong?"

Before anything else could be said, a noise tore up and down Symonds Street.
On the rooftops, Marina flinched, the force of the sound hitting her like a physical blow. At her side Tet’s projected form wavered and flickered, shot through with static for an instant like an old TV set with no signal. Something warm and wet was trickling down the sides of Marina’s face; dazed, confused, she touched two fingers to the skin under her ear and ran them through the wetness.
They came away slick with blood. She was bleeding from her ears.
“What the hell…?”
It manifests. Tet’s voice was distorted, garbled and oddly distant, almost like he was speaking to her through a cheap walkie-talkie. But even distorted as his voice was, there was no mistaking the urgency in his telepathic words. “Eme, withdraw! The entity is near; you and your Host are in danger.”
Above the car that Ciaron had been hiding under, the car that had mysteriously crumpled a few moments before as though some massive, invisible thing had settled on top of it, the air rippled and shimmered. Colours danced within the depths of this phenomenon, shining, whirling and dancing like brilliant fish catching the light beneath the surface of a pond, and sounds—strangely musical—issued forth from within, filling the air with a series of lilting, atonal chimes.
Onlookers catching sight of this strange display stopped to watch, their panic from a moment ago all but forgotten as they took in the dancing lights, watery distortions and curious lyrical notes. It was eerie. It was otherworldly. It was beautiful, impossible, enthralling.
It was merely a prelude for what happened next.
The ripples slowed, the distortion bulging outwards in all directions like a balloon. Points formed along its surface, dozens of them, like pins pressing against the membrane from within. The colours shifted spectra, reds and blues and greens becoming hues the human eye had never named, never experienced—hues that made the human eye ache and bleed, for it had never been meant to behold such things.
Then it burst—and the car was crushed completely flat as it fell out.

From her perch on the roof, Marina stared. Her eyes were wide, her hackles were raised.
She had no idea what in God’s merciful name she was looking at.
At first she thought it might have resembled a horse. It seemed to have the general shape of one, with powerful haunches, a long head on a thick, muscular neck, and a wild mane. But as she looked more closely, her eyes adjusting to what she was seeing, the teacher realized she was wrong. Deeply, profoundly and utterly wrong. What kind of horse had whipping chords of steel cable for a mane and tail? What kind of horse had stars and galaxies that danced in its coat, even when the horse itself was perfectly still?
What kind of horse had that many legs, with that many joints? What kind of horse had legs that looked like they belonged on a crab?
And what kind of horse was so monstrously large, that it could crush a car as flat as a wafer just by settling on it?
She swallowed, blinking. Her eyes were dry and incredibly irritated; it hurt to look at it for too long. “Tet… w-what is that thing?”
The Nomad didn’t answer right away. When he did, the dread in his voice sent a chill running down her spine.
I have no idea.
The people filling the streets stared at the thing that had just materialized in their midst. All were wide-eyed and slack-jawed; some had begun bleeding from their noses, others from their tear ducts, but few of them seemed to notice. They could only look upon it, transfixed, like deer in the headlights.
The entity looked back at them. Its nostrils flared. Its eyes narrowed, slits of blazing light in a churning starscape. Its lips parted, and sounds—harsh, grating and profoundly wrong—tumbled from its mouth.
   “Vrmn. Flth.”
It turned towards the alleyway where Alice and Ismael stood, and began to move. Where its limbs met the ground, pavement and concrete parted around them like water, and ripples passed through the streets and sidewalks with every step. It sank up to its haunches, almost seeming to swim through the pavement, little bow waves of liquid asphalt forming in its wake as though the street was fluid rather than solid. As it bore down on the two Hosts, its muttering filled the air:
   “Sms. Thts th nl nm yll hr. Sms. t mns th nd nd th dth. Sms. _ m Sms…”

Fen was already across a few Rooftops when it happened. A beast the likes of which she had never seen tumbled out of space itself and towed over Symonds street. Fen turned and fixed her eyes on it. While at the same time questioning Xiang on the nature of the thing.
"What is that?"
I do not know. Could this be what Samehka was trying to tell us about?
"What should we do?"
As Fen asked that question Xiang did the mental equivalent of clucking his tongue. It appeared a few of their allies had been cornered by that thing's appearance. Losing people at this point would be a greivous blow.
Watch it for now, but look for a way for our allies to escape in the meantime.
Nodding Fen began scan the area with her eyes.

Alice
The noise hit her like a knife in the back. It was so utterly...indescribable that for a few precious seconds Alice stood in a dumb daze. The figure of Ein beside her flickered like a mirage even as an expression of horror filled the little nomad's face.
This was beyond them.
   “Sms. Thts th nl nm yll hr. Sms. t mns th nd nd th dth. Sms. _ m Sms…”
The muttering tore at Alice's mind with it's low drone, it's intensity ever increasing even as the abomination approached. Alice couldn't stand it, her knees gave way and she collapsed onto the pavement.
I'm sorry Alice-chan but...you have to trust me from here on
Just...just get me out of here
Ein took over at that moment and Alice stood up. Inside her mind, Alice felt a morsel of relief knowing that she was probably in better hands now. A moment later this turned into disbelief as Ein began to run towards the thing. This was utter stupidity, was she going to fight it?
No, she realised a moment later that Ein was not running directly towards the slowly approaching...
Then Alice saw it, the sight of the beast itself actually rendered Alice incapable of thought so grotesque and unnatural was it's likeness. She screamed as she saw something never meant for human eyes. Inside her mind, Alice screamed for Ein to stop, turn around and leave. Then she felt someone hug her, it was Ein, wrapping her in an comforting embrace.
It's going to be alright
Ein had heard Eme's request. But Eme would hear not a reply from Ein. Then when he heard her speak again he would hear that something had changed in the girl. There was a tone in her voice that hadn't been there before- a tone that told more of resignation than hope.
"I will try...Eme, I'll do my best."
Plus-sama, help

'''Beside the Alleyway'''

"On-"

And then a girl appeared out of nowhere. Payne's finger was stopped dead by Payne's eyes nearly leaping out of their sockets. She was glad-wrapped in white and grey. He was shrink-wrapped in a police uniform two sizes too small. Already she was leaping forwards, diving towards the asphalt like some suicidal coated lemming. He had but a second to take her down. But Officer Thomas Payne had been trained comprehensively in the secret arts of the St. Claire Metropolitan Police Force. A second was all he needed.

Option A: Taze her. Option B: Scream and then taze her. The choice was obvious.

"God have mercy on your soul, you goddamned rat-eaten son of a gun!"

He screwed his eyes shut and pulled the trigger. (He was really pushing it now, using the family warcry - the one his great-great-great-grandfather had used no less than forty-two times in the days when St. Claire was just a few shacks and a saloon on the lake's coast. Never lost a duel or an Indian, had Obadiah Payne. Been lynched by debtors at the age of eighty-four.)

The incongruity didn't seem to register.

There was a neat ''bzztzap''.

Payne opened his eyes. Nothing. The padded girl was gone. The Asian kid was still looking terrified, only he didn't seem sure if he should be terrified at Payne or that alleyway over there.

Gebbins stared, slack-jawed. "Dude."

Payne was about to let out every curse he knew when the horrendous note cut through the world.

----

It was like a pair of invisible fingers had reached out, caressed his face and then pulled barbed wire through his eardrums. Jeremy screamed and stumbled back, clutching his ears.

''make it stop make it stop please something make it stop''

He wanted to throw himself to the ground, claw at his face, his eyes, rip off his ears - anything that would make the noise ''go away''.  And he would have if 'Ayn hadn't tackled the control out of his body right there and then. It was like a bowling ball had clocked him in the head. Jeremy felt his limbs go slack. Numbness rippled in from his hijacked brain, taking the maddening sensation with it. The eldritch words clotted and oozed out of his subconscious in a great pulsating mass. He screamed. And then it was over.

Jeremy tried to reach for someone as he fell into unconsciousness. But his fingers fell short, and the arm he brushed was hollow and cold.

----

Jeremy-'Ayn (or, as things were, just 'Ayn) dusted off his arm like a tuxedo sleeve and straightened up. He had managed to halt his impending faceplant with a last-minute knee to the asphalt.

How inconvenient, he mused, glancing back like an unusually contemplative cat. One of those, here? True, he had expected his Host to show some weakness to mental assault - but never anything so violent. Taking the brunt of the damage had been all that he could think of. It seemed Jeremy Zhang had a sensitive psyche. Raw in all the wrong places - and rawness, of course, was a significant deterrent to elegance.

For a moment, he entertained fantasies about switching Hosts altogether. Then he dismissed the notion and set to dealing with the situation.

'Ayn walked up to Payne, who was still struggling to his feet. He put one foot on the bicycle. The Nomad seemed as calm as ever, but his ordeal had taken its toll. There was a shimmering veneer of sweat on his brow. Payne raised his taser.

"Stop right there."

''"I would advise you to put down your weapon, sir. You will only hurt yourself."''

Payne gritted his teeth. "Like hell I will, you freak. Gebbins, get out of here! I'll hold him off!"

'Ayn clicked his tongue. ''"Pity."''