imjustpicky | 05 - Spirit of the Season

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05 - Spirit of the Season

[Action A - Before December 23rd - Around Town]

[So what if he had been vanished? So what if he was supposed to be gone? He wasn't. He was still here, and Christmas was still coming, and he had still been saving the (rather generous) allowance that Key-Fu had been giving him. He'd get everyone presents, just as planned.

So you'll see Picky throughout the day, browsing through shops, trying to pick things out for the people he cared about. Maybe comparing ties at Bodine Clothing. Perhaps trying not to be seeing bringing a doll to the counter to pay for it. Tis still the season for shopping because darn it, his friends and family still deserved to have presents.]

[Action B - After this announcement - Streets of Mayfield]

[He should have stayed inside. Really should have stayed inside. If people were being told it was okay to kill the "fakes", then he was in lots of trouble. But... but... But he hadn't gotten Pokey's present. Even if Pokey was one of the erased and even if Pokey's replacement was kinda horrible.... well, he'd do it. That was what he had decided, after agonizing over it.

So here we have Picky, running home as fast as his legs can go and his lungs can manage, clutching a package wrapped in brown paper close to his chest. Every so often he has to stop and catch his breath, but he tries to duck behind a snowbank or a tree to do so. And then he keeps running.

If he can just make it home, he'll be safe, he knows it....]

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[From the roof of a nearby building, what appears to be an amorphous creature whose entire body was made out of tentacles, eyes, and fangs leaped down in front of Picky. It gave a piercing screech as it started dragging its body towards the boy, baring its shark-like maw. What would attack Picky wasn't any of Mayfield's townspeople, but a monster that a fellow replacement had summoned.]

[Picky had been expecting snipers, and crazy people with knives, and assassins, and ninjas, and generally people coming to kill him. He hadn't expected squishy sea-things. He didn't even know that Mayfield HAD squishy sea-things. There are several long moments while he stares with a petrified sort of incomprehension.

Then he clues in that it's coming at him.]

AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!

[He turns and runs in the opposite direction, spattering slush with every panicked step.]

[The creature gains speed as it continues dragging itself towards Picky. He would find that more creatures are starting to crawl towards him from corners. Caster has allowed some of his forces to roam free and feed as they like if to add a little more terror and spontaneity in his rampage. As Picky runs towards the direction of the next tree, another tentacled beast drops down and lunges at him.]

[It's getting hard to run so much. Picky's starting to lose speed, but he knows that he can't stop. There isn't just one of these things behind him, there's bunches and they're all over... he can recognize that much, even as focused as he is on running.]

H...help...!

[His cry for help escalates into another shout, and he narrowly avoids getting gobbled up by merit of slipping and falling on the snowy ground. He scrabbles to get away and back to his feet, still clutching that package close.]

[If there's one thing Pokey will always pick up on, it's the scream or cry of a Picky. There could be a hundred other noises, a thousand, bursting at the same time and Pokey would still be able to pick up on that scream for help. It's natural instinct, developed since the time he was five, and even after years, centuries, of being apart from his brother it hasn't dulled a bit.

Pokey didn't often given thanks for things in his life. But right now? When he saw the monsters surrounding Picky? He was thankful, even more than he had initially been, to have Josephine back online right now.

He wasn't sure Josephine would make it in time, at first, but he was able to push it, and the mech's leg came crashing down on the monster closest to Picky, piercing and crushing the demon into the snow and soil.

Pokey just looked over at Picky from atop the mech, his face blank. There was a lot he wanted to say to his brother: apologies, screaming at him for being dumb enough to be out, asking what he thought he was doing. Instead, he only says three words.]

Run home. Now.

[Before the mech turns to face the rest of the demons.

No one is fucking with his little brother. Not today. No one.]

[From the corpse of the demon that Pokey had crushed, new tentacles rose and attempted to keep a strong grip around Josephine's leg. The other creatures that Picky had recently escaped from screeched at the new inorganic presence that had prevented them from feasting. As if in response to their cries, their master finally reveals himself. Caster with yet more tentacled demons surrounding him like a barrier walks up the street and towards the two boys.

He studies both of them with his glass-like eyes and... gives both of them a wide grin.]

Ahh! Children... Boys. I'm terribly sorry to say that neither of you can go home tonight. Not until you play one little game with me, hmhmhm...

[He recognized that leg-thing that had just come out of nowhere and saved him.]

Josephine....

[So that meant that... that... that it was Pokey. Which made a new, different kind of panic rise in him. For Picky had convinced himself that it wasn't really his brother but a really angry awful clone that would REALLY want to kill him now that it was Open Season on Pickies. So he was scrabbling through the slush with renewed purpose and haste, up on his feet and still clutching that package, hoping it would all come down to sea-things versus spider-mechs.

Then Pokey spoke.

And that was the big brother voice. The "do this for your own good because I care" voice. Go to bed. Put that down. Run Home. Now.]

...Pokey! POKEY! Beat them all up!

[And he started to heat for home, started turning in that direction... but there were still horrible tentacled things in the way, and then some crazy guy who was probably in charge of them...]

Oh no...

[Eh. That was a cute trick. It was a surprise, but it wasn't like it was the most bizarre thing Pokey had seen in his life. He doesn't listen as Caster speaks, looking through the crowd of demons, seeing which spot is the least populated.

There. To the side. He looks to Picky again, his voice still commanding.]

Down.

[Before Josephine fires a missile at that area, attempting to blow a hole. And then, once more...]

Run.

[Josephine tries to bring it's leg up, struggling at first before finally getting it and trying to swing the demon off, to throw it at Caster.]

[Instinctively, the demons work to defend Caster by cushioning the impact of the throw. They're almost flattened under the weight of their fellow demon, but regardless, they all survive with relatively no damage. Caster escapes damage through the moving blockade he set around himself. In response, several of the other demons counterattack by stretching out their tentacles at the Spider Mech's legs, attempting to pull it apart before reaching their meal in its core.

Caster notices little of Pokey's strategy and continues his assault without much care in what he's planning to do or how he's planning to escape. They would find that to be quite difficult with all the other demons roaming around the streets.]

[Pokey says "down", and Picky throws himself to the ground immediately. When the explosion rocks the area behind him, he curls into himself a little. It's scary, and disorienting, and...

And now he has to run, because Pokey said that, too. Back up to his feet, and he's charging through the gap left by the missile. There's just one look back, and he can see the tentacled things trying to climb all over Josephine... But Pokey can beat them. He HAS to. He believes in his brother. And that IS him up there, he believes it, even if he looks and feels a bit funny.

No more looking back, no more lingering. Just running. Lots of running.]

[Pokey looks after Picky as he runs, trying to keep an eye on him. He'll continue to switch between looking at his actual opponent and Picky as the fight goes on.

Pokey isn't a proficient fighter, not even in his mech. He can destroy things pretty well, but that's all he can really do. But sometimes even he knows what is or isn't a good idea, and letting those demons stay on Josephine? Isn't.

The spider-mech starts rocking back and forth erratically, trying to shake the monsters off while sidestepping, trying to move the opposite direction of Picky while simultaneously heading closer to Caster.

Give him your attention. All your attention.]

[The demons begin losing their grip on the Spider Mech's legs. Considering how sharp they are, the more they rock, the more they begin to pierce through their fleshy skin. The demons feel no pain, but their grip starts weakening from beyond their control. Caster continues watching the sight with a smile and notices that one of the other boys had left.

He gives a smirk and sends one of his demons in his blockade away to find him. Whether the demon makes it to him or not is out of his control, but Caster is confident that little should stop it.]

You two look similar. Could it be that you two are brothers? Ahh, love between siblings is truly a treasured thing... Do not worry, boy! Your brother has strong legs, he will go far...

I certainly would hope that he does not run into another of my demons feasting around this town. Ahh, but he must have so much faith in his brother's word... how tragic!

[It's quite possible that one of the sea-demons could be making their way after Picky, still... there are an awful lot of him. He was making pretty good time, though, in the space between him escaping and Caster noticing.

Pokey's brotherly ears may well hear Picky-sounds in the distance. He's laughing. That's... probably a good sign, right?]

((OOC: Gonna drop picky from this, he's met up with Key-Fu below? Feel free to insert a monster there if it seems appropriate?))

[The laughter drives Pokey on a little. Goads him, even. By this point, it wouldn't be impossible to just teleport out of the area now that Picky is safe. But Picky also told him to beat the guy up. And with Picky's desire to see Pokey win a fight, and what just happened to Mindy...

Pokey's willing to fight, even if it's a stupid decision.]

Yeah yeah yak yak. Think you could do me a favor and shut up with the villainous goading today? I mean, hey I love evil speeches as much as the next guy but really?

Not in the mood.

[Caster gives Pokey a mocking bow in response.]

Very well! Then no longer will we delay your collapse into despair, boy!

[Once again, the tentacles from the demons around Caster reach out and attempt to grab Josephine. This time, yet more demons take the opportunity to leap down at the machine, hoping to pile more weight, preventing its movement. If fortunate, the creatures could then claw their way through the glass and consume the boy inside. Caster held firmly to his Spellbook as he watched the onslaught of demons continue.]

[Holding it down? Is working pretty well. Josephine's slow at the moment, even more so than usual due to having just been repaired, and the demons can easily weigh her down. Pokey frowns as some of the tentacles start to hit the glass, not breaking it yet but small, tiny fractures beginning to spring up.

This can't go on much further. And he's tired of despairing at the moment. Maybe...

Josephine's legs flail, as if Pokey's only thought is to make it appear like he's trying to get the demons off and away.

Really, he's trying to position himself to fire a missile at Caster without him noticing.]

[Key-Fu appears to be searching for Picky; on the way to Brooks Lane, Picky will be able to spot him on top of someone's fence, scanning the street for any sign of his not-so-nonexistent housemate!]

[Key-Fu has likely never seen Picky quite this out of breath and upset. And that's saying something, seeing that Picky is often prone to screaming and shouting and making a big fuss.

Picky slows to a stop in front of that fence, and is doubled over, trying to catch his breath. But his head is turned upwards, to look at him.]

K... Key-Fu.

Y... you've gotta go home. We've... you... there's... there's monsters...

[Like a hawk, Key-Fu's head snaps over to Picky's direction.]

I am most fortunate that my search for the shoddy simulacrum has concluded so close to home!

[Monsters, "Picky" says? Oh yeah. Key-Fu's seen them.]

Indeed, truly a flood of unpleasantness flows over the field of flour!

[Key-Fu leaps off of the fence, then points heroically in the direction of their house.]

Come! Let us return to the safety of the sanctuary!

[Picky would like to protest that he's not shoddy, but... breath. Tired. Oh man. He staggers over towards where Key-Fu landed, shaking his head. Then nodding. Then shaking his head some more.]

Yeah. Home. I wanna go home.

[Just another reason to appreciate Key-Fu. He's a good guy, and good guys would never kill a fake kid, ever.]

Then let us not waste the waist of the hourglass!

[Hey Picky, you better hold onto that package tight. Because Key-Fu is totally picking you up by the waist and holding you over his head as he starts running full tilt toward the house.]

[You may appreciate some fitting music. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBISfv-6hfo)]

[That is some fitting music. Picky is certainly reminded of this one game he played a bunch of, a while back...]

Aah!

[He does not really have it in him for a good scream at this point. He can manage to kick his legs a bit, in proper "being carried over a video game character's head" fashion, though.]

[Key-Fu might not have his usual superhuman agility, but boy he is crossing hat street in good time.]

Gadzooks! The leavings of Jack Frost form a formidable factor!

[He's also doing a good job of avoiding hitting any ice patches on the sidewalk, although with sudden jerks in direction as he does.]

[The urge to shout and yell and panic is giving way to amusement. This is kinda fun! Picky's actually laughing, now.

It's gotta be the stress venting itself.]

Ahahah! Don't slip! It's not so hard! Stay off the shiny bits!

[...but uh, is that a kind of a squishy sound coming up from behind them? According to the thread up above... yes. That's a squishy sound. One of the sea-thingers has broken off to follow Picky.

They seem to get pretty good traction on ice.]

[A sea demon whose body was nearly all covered with tentacles, green eyes, and shark-like fangs began crawling up towards the direction of Picky and Key-Fu. It recognized Picky as the intended target that the Spellbook of Prelati had directed it towards, but that didn't mean that Key-Fu wasn't on its menu.]

[Key-Fu definitely picks up on the noise once the sea demon reaches within a dozen feet or so.]

Harken!

[In one swift motion, just as he's about to run into an ice patch, Key-Fu slams on the brakes, digging his heels into the sidewalk and setting Picky down onto the ice in one motion. That may or may not cause Picky to continue sliding down the sidewalk on that particular patch, but Key-Fu has now completely turned his attention to the sea demon behind them.]

A sinister seafood shopping spree awaits me!

[With a snap of his waist, Key-Fu turns to face the threat in a martial arts kata!]

[ Even though there were supposedly fakes around.. Nadeko didn't want to sit inside all day, especially not when someone in her household was one of them as well. So she just hoped as much as she could that she wouldn't run into one of them, they sounded pretty scary after all, even scarier than normal strangers, so..

But when she gets around to the shops, she spots Picky. And that's why she freezes up, immediately trying to hide behind a rack of clothes, although she's hiding in a way that actually makes her presence even more obvious (plus it's not really hiding, considering she's easily visible). ]

[Picky was having a tough time figuring out what he should get Key-Fu. He didn't seem like the tie-wearing sort. Maybe a hat? He was looking at a shelf full of hats, trying to decide if any of them were sufficiently heroic for the guy....

Wait, was someone looking at him? He stopped, looked all around him... and caught a glimpse of a familiar-looking head behind a rack.]

...Nadeko?

[ At being spotted she makes a high shrieking sound, before attempting to hide more - after a moment or two she realises that won't work though. So instead she moves to the side, peeking her head out from beside the clothes. ]

... H.. hi.. [ There's something about her that seems more scared than usual, even if the nervousness is normal. ]

[Well... this was weird. Was there something scary behind him? He looked around... no. No, nothing scary. And he certainly wasn't scary. So he trotted over to where Nadeko.]

Are you okay, Nadeko? Is something wrong?

[ She's so tempted to just run away from the situation, but even in front of a fake that feels.. too rude to her, like something she shouldn't do no matter what. Nadeko tries to swallow and speak up, but her throat almost feels locked by now. ]

A-a little, you see.. [ it's even harder to find words than usually. ] U-um..

[Nadeko kind of struck him as pretty timid for a bigger kid, before... but this proved it. She was scared.

Scared of him?]

It's... it's me, isn't it? [He took a step back and hung his head.]

[ There's something a little painful about that, seeing him hanging his head like that, but at the same time.. he's just fake, right? She can't let herself be misguided now or surely Taiwan and the others would be mad, but still..

She nods, weakly. ]

Y-yes. I'm.. s-sorry, but I probably shouldn't talk to fakes..

...oh.

Well... okay. If you don't wanna talk to me... alright.

[He looks pretty hurt, but he's trying to hide it and be tough. Picky looks away, avoiding eye contact with Nadeko. She had been so nice, why couldn't she see that it was really him...?

He turns away, and goes back to trying to pick out gifts.]

[ Something hurts. Don't walk away.

She's scared. Walk away.

She takes a deep, shaky breath, before turning around. ]

S.. sorry.. [ and it almost sounds like she's about to cry - why, it's just a fake, right? then why does it hurt to be like this, so mean - as her voice shakes too. ] Goodbye..

[ and with that, she runs out of the store. ]

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05 - Spirit of the Season

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B - After Caster and Pokey

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Sorry for the delay! Ton of stuff has gone on.

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