idolpro | Heart Game: Talon

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!heart games

Heart Game: Talon

Was it this late when you stepped into the Game Tower...? Now the sky above is dotted with a few scarce stars, occasionally obscured by some light cloud cover drifting by. Most of the night sky has been washed out by the bright lights of the city which, by the way, is spread out far below the rooftop that characters find themselves on. There's a faint buzz on their phones. When checked, the screen shows a Game Notice:

Win Condition:
1. Locate the True Heart
Or
2. Leave a Lasting Mark

The skyscraper towers high above the streets, easily dwarfing any other building in sight. The city is some dozens of stories below, and the sound of the wind rushing by is louder than anything that can be heard from the streets. Occasionally the wail of a siren pierces the distance, but it's easier to spot the lights of an ambulance or police car zipping through the roads than it is to hear them. If you look closely enough, and for long enough, you might notice figures in the distance leaping between buildings, sometimes in pursuit of a siren or with an emergency vehicle trailing in the distance behind them.

The roof itself is expansive—the building must take up the better part of a city block, judging by the space available up here. A helipad (sans any helicopter) takes up the entirety of one side of the roof, complete with what looks like a freight elevator for moving things from the roof further into the building. The elevator itself has a keypad lock on it, but a staircase entrance beside it has no obvious lock in place.

The rest of the rooftop is empty save for a small, hooded figure perched atop one of the parapets along the edge of the roof, feet dangling over open air.

[ OOC NOTES:

1. Powers are on. THIS INCLUDES CANON POWER SETS.
2. Characters may keep any equipment they had on them when entering the heart, but there is a risk it will be taken away during the run. However all equipment taken will be returned when you exit the heart.
3. Significant changes/damage to the heart will reset each time someone new enters an area for the first time. For example, if Bob kills the sentry at the entrance of the heart, the sentry will respawn for Sally when she arrives. This way everyone can experience the different areas.
4. CAVEAT TO THE ABOVE: exceptions made for anyone specifically going through the heart with a partner(s), or anyone who requests to react to damage that's been done. The goal here is to allow everyone to have fun in the heart at the end of the day. ♥ ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Be careful.

[ She's close enough now to hear some murmurs from the room ahead. "...transmission strength... Now."

The feeling comes again, pushing her to take a weapon from one of the suits of armor.

Roll 1d6; 4 or greater will be able to resist. ]

[ -- oh

it's a 1.

she grabs the nearest weapon, looking a little like the floor got pulled out from under her.

but, without hesitation-- ]

-- get away!

[ She can struggle against it, but with a loss of control this severe she'll need a 5 or better to reclaim her own limbs.

The sword is heavy and cold in her hands, and this phantom force that has a hold of her is hellbent on turning her towards Talon, blade raised with obvious intent.

Talon freezes in place, eyes wide and darting from Nychta to the sword and back again. He takes a few steps back before stopping himself, shaking his head and tensing himself as he slides into a fighter's crouch. ]

I can't leave you here!

I said go!

[ snarls it, but it's a 2-- so she really just... can't. can't do anything to stop raising the blade over her head, limbs trembling with the effort to stop-- but this is less of a presence fighting for control, at this point, this is puppetry. ]

And abandon you?!

[ He spits the word out like venom, springing up and kicking off the wall to flip over the arc of "her" swing. It's definitely too close for comfort, but he's dodged being this this time.

The foreign presence is already turning her to follow after him. (Roll again). ]

[ a 4 this time; the feeling of being so, so close to regaining control is endlessly frustrating, and she makes a noise echoing that thought, eyes wide and a little panicked-- not for herself, but for Talon. ]

You're not abandoning me! I just-- need a minute to get a hold of this-- You're not going to regrow if I cut an arm off!

[ "She" lunges toward him, swinging the sword in a wide arc that leaves a fine cut just across his cheek—definitely too close!! He throws himself back into a backwards somersault, springing away even further when he comes out of it. He's wild-eyed too now, desperate and terrified ]

F-Fine. But only a minute!

[ There's distance to close now. The force lowers the sword and stalks toward Talon again, but he's thankfully hurrying down the hall to keep the space between them now. (Roll again) ]

[ 5.

She abruptly wrenches control back of her limbs and pitches the sword across the opposite end of the hall.

And she snarls again, turning to a guttural roar as she changes shape, dropping to all fours and CHARGING the door to ram with all of her weight. ]

[ The hallway has turned entirely to stone by the end of it. Nychta slams into the door, and it flies open and smashes into the wall, splintering down the middle. A gaggle of scientists in the room all cry out in alarm and dive under computer desks and behind workstations, already giving up on any hope of talking her down.

The room itself is lit with cold fluorescent lighting and the glow of countless computer displays. There's a complicated looking structure in the middle of the room, and a tall, regal looking woman is currently wired into it. She fixes Nychta with a cold stare, the corner of her lip twisting in disgust. ]

Well. The beast shows itself.

Mmmmmmotherrr.

[ despite the rumbling growl she somehow manages to spit the word out, those pupil-less yellow eyes bright and round, unblinking.

She only takes a second to take in the machinery-- doesn't bother to reign back the creature in her head's rising fury and panic-- before rising up on her hind legs to grab the nearest computer and just fucking wrench it out of the wall. ]

—NO!!

[ She has no faith in a machine that's been critically damaged like this, so she wrenches the neural crown from her head and storms down from the platform, palming daggers she had stashed beneath her dress ]

You will regret your interference, beast!

[ PITCHES THE WHOLE COMPUTER AT HER-- or, well, at where she was hooked up to the machine, anyway; even if she doesn't hit her maybe she can Cause Some Problems On Purpose.

Her voice is roaring, deafeningly loud. ]

TRRRRRRY ME, BITCH.

[ She shrieks in rage and hurls one of her daggers at Nychta as the computer sails through the air overhead, aiming right for her closest eye. There's no saving the machine now, so a little revenge is the next best thing.

The crunch of metal crashing into metal is quite satisfying. ]

Do you have any idea what you have done?!

Nnnnnnope!

[ ahhh, that feels good.

LESS GOOD is the knife sinking into her eye-- she gives a pained grunt, brief, but doesn't bother to pull it out, instead dropping down again and charging Talia. ]

[ Talia rushes forward at the same time, veering towards Nychta's blind side and springing up onto one of the computer stations, aiming to vault directly over her from the blinded side so she can take a deep slash at her remaining good eye ]

[ she snarls, swiping a claw out to grab at where she thinks talia is-- but being blind puts a damper on that.

she does stop moving to stand on her hind legs again, reaching up to yank the dagger out of her other eye.

and eat it, rumbling out: ]

Mmmooootherrrrr. Takes morrrre than that to hurrrrt mmmmmeeee.

[ the stab is deep-- and so is the slash-- but they both begin to knit back together.

While she's still blind, though-- might as well sink her claws into whatever she can and start shredding. ]

[ Talia grunts when that first swipe grazes her—not close enough to hold her, but defnitely too close for comfort. She darts for one of the work stations while Nychta's dealing with the dagger, grabbing for whatever she can get her hands on as a shield and turning back towards her—

There's a high-pitched grunt of pain, the familiar sensation of flesh coming apart under her claws, the coppery scent of blood—and Talia laughs.

As Nychta's vision comes back, she'll find one of the scientists flayed open. Talia's already let go of her unfortunate human shield, rapidly backing up towards the only exit in the room with her remaining dagger raised in front of her. The shadows in the corners of the room pulse threateningly. ]

You're more of a challenge than I expected, but I have no intention of falling to an abomination.

[ well.

she doesn't recoil, and only bends down to crunch the person's head in her jaws-- better than slowly bleeding out from mauling-- before galloping on all fours after Talia again, teeth bared.

shadows don't scare her; and neither does this woman. maybe she is an abomination.

still a better caretaker for a kid than that. ]

[ Talia turns to bolt for the door

And in the same moment, the shadows surge forward, bleeding soldiers dressed in impossibly dark shades of gray and black and brandishing gleaming blades. They clamor forwards, slashing at anything they can reach and rushing to get between Nychta and Talia ]

[ she snarls, shoving through anyone and anybody's slashing blades to get to the door-- to Talia-- first.

She can't stop here, not when Talon's still out there, not when that awful woman can take off and hide anywhere in this labyrinth-- ]

[ The horde is relentless in their onslaught, but that hardly matters when their opponent is constantly regenerating. Try as they might, Nychta forces her way forward.

Talia's fingertips have just grazed the edge of the door frame. She pushes forward, gripping tightly to haul herself through—and shrieks when Nychta sinks claws into her leg. She twists around with new rage, slashing furiously at whatever she can reach to free herself.

Behind Nychta, the horde continues to slash and stab, desperate to slow this beast and buy their lady the time she needs to escape ]

[ YES

She hauls back on that grip she's got until she can curl her other claw around Talia's neck, raising up to her full height to lift the woman as high as she can.

Not squeezing dangerously right-- not yet. But the threat is there, even as the shadows sink their blades into her flesh. ]

Ccccaaaall them off. NOW.

[ She refuses to relinquish the hold on her dagger but now, with a claw at her throat and a beast growling in her face, wisely chooses to keep it held carefully at her side ]

What reason do I have to believe you will release me if I do?

Nnnever said anythiinnnng about releasssse. Might not killllll. Ssstill deciding.

[ growls as another blade sinks into her, swiping her free claw at the shadowy figure and tightening her grip on the woman's neck. ]

Nnnnot going in yourrrr favourrrr, rrrright nnnow.

[ She curses, the sound a little choked under the weight of that grip, and makes a motion with her unarmed hand.

The horde sinks back into the shadows—all but a half dozen figures that stand back, at the ready should they be called on again. ]

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