Echo Incursion 01 - Jurassic Gateway (August 10th, 2016)

[raisednpcs]

It's a particularly hot day in the Gateway City zoo. What else could you expect? It's not like it's not to be expected, it is the middle of August, after all. But there's plenty of things to see here at the zoo, and the visitors' center is air conditioned well enough.

Just a normal summer day in a typical summer vacation spot. Right?

Well, that's when things change. Those in the visitor's center would find the building changing around them. There's suddenly a dinosaur skeleton in the middle of the place, with the banner "When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth" hanging from the ceiling.

That's not all. The animal enclosures are now different. What used to be a pen for the african elephants now has very large, very long necked reptiles in it. A gigantic, meat-eating dinosaur just tromped its way out of the lion habitat it's too much too large for, and unfortunately for the people around it, its vision is based on movement. The monkey house? Well, those are velociraptors breaking out of it. The aviary? Now filled with particular aggressive flying pterosaurs.

These are just some of the creatures making their sudden emergence, and it's not long until they spill out of the zoo and into the city proper. Dinosaurs are now walking the streets of Gateway City.

Yes, indeed. Just a normal summer day.

[OOC: The new event is live! Please see this post for npc information and just what characters will have to deal with.]

Comments

OTA

[alilyinthemoonslight]

[A - Entry]

While holding close to Winter's position for both obvious and tactical reasons, Lily's still a fairly noticeable figure heading into the zoo. The purple hair coupled with her height does still make her stick out like a sore thumb, after all.

It's pretty easy to see just what they're facing from afar though, at least as far as certain creatures are concerned. Some of which... well, their very presence is assuredly tearing the place asunder. At a point, she catches a glimpse of a T-Rex from a considerable distance away, and stops short of breath.

What comes out of her mouth isn't anything she should be focused on, really. There's civilians to save, and what happened to the animals in there? No, what comes out of her mouth is... well, she sounds rather offended when she blurts out: "Why don't they have feathers?"

...it's a coping mechanism. Bear with her.

[B - Precure]

Late to join his partner, having been... well, absently sight seeing around the city at the time, Cure Moonlight's fairy partner Cologne gives quite an awful shriek. Really, far, far more shrill than you'd ever expect with his generally deeper-than-anticipated voice. This is because as he comes down towards his partner, there's another cry as a raptor leaps out of the bushes right for him as he nears Moonlight.

She catches it, mind you. More specifically, him, as she bounces back and snatches him out of the air, flipping back through it and landing as she skids back along the ground, and the raptor...

Well, it gets a face full of energy before she leaps much further away, attempting to clear a distance while still keeping her allies in sight. "You could be a little more careful," she says.

He just... gulps, audibly.

B

[jasminebloominginshadow]

Jasmine may live half a world away, but waking up early and checking the news had alerted her to the madness that was going on in Gateway City. Oh hell. This was a lot heavier than slime everywhere.

After a bit of business elsewhere, and a bunch of winged reptiles deciding Jasmine's flying was a threat to their being in the skies, Jasmine heard a loud scream. A scream belonging to a voice she recognized, albeit in a form quite different from what she's used to hearing. Fretting, she races towards the sound, just in time to see Moonlight pullling Cologne to safety and then blasting a velociraptor in the face.

"Lily!" she cries, swooping down. "Are you okay? Is Cologne alright?!"

Jasmine may be more than a little concerned for the fairy. Her memories do contain her playing a part in something horrible happening to him,, after all.

[alilyinthemoonslight]

"Jasmine!" Moonlight's expression brightens a bit at the sight of her sister, while the raptor tumbles back from her blast. "Yes, I'm fine, I--"

The sudden outburst asking about Cologne takes her off guard a little. It makes sense of course, and having a moment to think, it occurs to her just why. A knot twists in her stomach... while Cologne wriggles from her arms, looking embarrassed.

"I'm... I'm fine. Thank you," he mutters, quietly.

Then, there's a screech. Ah yes, that raptor. That raptor is not happy.

[jasminebloominginshadow]

Jasmine breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank god," she said. "You need to be more careful, Cologne!"

Then, the raptor screeches, and Jasmine turns, snarling as if a switch had been flipped. "I have had enough of you damn lizards today!" she screamed, wasting no time in hurtling an energy ball at it.

Judging by the state of her dress, the scratches she suffered, and her hair, it seemed Jasmine had been through a lot already...

[alilyinthemoonslight]

Seeing Jasmine whirl around and flip 180 degrees in her demeanor like that... Something about it clicks something with Lily, and she feels a twist in her stomach again. Like she had when she and Winter had been rushing into this, and like she has every time she's lost sight of her wife in this ordeal. She tries to shake it off, even as Cologne gives a sidelong glance.

This really isn't the time or place for it.

Unfortunately, the velociraptor isn't stupid. Get the better of it, surprise it - sure. But upon seeing Jasmine's glowing ball of destruction flying right for it again, it... scrambles to the side, before charging right towards her.

Only thinking then about her sister's well being, Cure Moonlight thrusts her hands out, unleashing a torrent of small energy bursts in its direction. A scattered shot, it's much easier to dodge and it can't, which at the very least slows it down.

"Jas, we're out of our element here!"

[jasminebloominginshadow]

Jasmine's eyes widened as the raptor charged her, but then tensed as Lily unleashed a burst of energy shots at it. She held her ground, and as the beast was slowed down, she fired another blast at it, while simultaneously taking back into the air.

She was unflinching, and unhindered in this. This was her element, whether she liked it or not.

"They're smart!" she said. "I think they're even smarter than those damn christmas freaks from a year and a half ago! It's like they're from one of those dinosaur movies dad hates so much!"

She could also tell something was bothering Lily, but... she knew they had to focus on the attack leveled at them for the moment.

[alilyinthemoonslight]

Of course they were smarter than that, those Santas and Grinches were much more single-minded. They were created for one purpose. This was a thinking, living creature that...

...Lily blinks. Her eyes narrow a bit.

Wait a moment. She knows better than this. Why is there only one--

Her eyes suddenly snap wide, and she pushes hard against the ground. "JASMINE! AIR!"

That's about all she's able to get out before she launches herself skyward, snatching Cologne out of the air as she does so, and two more raptors taht had been flanking around them while their friend had her preoccupied sprung from the bushes at both young women.

[jasminebloominginshadow]

Jasmine was already hovering off the ground, but getting out of raptor jump height seems like a pretty good move. Jasmine rockets up until she's well out of their reach, and then turns to Lily, looking exasperated.

"Did we just get tricked by overgrown scaly BIRDS?!" she screamed, sounding absolutely exasperated. "That... how the hell did that happen?!"

[alilyinthemoonslight]

A smack of her heart brooch, and a shimmering cloak shoots out, draping over Cure Moonlight's shoulders. She finally releases a breath then that she'd been holding for several moments.

"Because the very last thing they are is stupid," Lily murmurs, eyeing the creatures. The velociraptors circle beneath them, staring up, hissing, clearly... contemplating. "...we've got to do something, though. If we just stay up here, they're going to go after others..."

Focus on the objective. Nothing else. Lily's attempting to focus on that, and just that, but it's difficult.

A

[charcoalfeather]

Dinosaurs, of all things, stomping around was a pretty clear call to action, And Rakka would sooner or later make her way onto the scene of the disaster as well. When she did, it wasn't too difficult to single out one of her allies.

"Lily!" She comes running up... just in time to hear that blurt. It makes her kind of stumble. "L-lily, did the dinos hurt you?"

[alilyinthemoonslight]

Lily blinks hard, and takes a half step back to glance in Rakka's direction. Only quickly though, as she's trying to keep her eyes peeled for any... well, unfortunate advances of these newly appeared animals.

"No, no, I'm fine," said quickly, as if that stupid blurt hadn't come out of her mouth in the first place. "But I'm glad you're here."

[charcoalfeather]

"Uh, okay." Rakka still wasn't entirely sure what Lily had blurted out... was actually coming from her. She knew that her friend could be quite the nerd sometimes, to rival her, but... Lily...

"Me too." She had seen the news, watched the confusion and panic going on, and had to get to Gatewater as soon as possible. "We have to make sure no one gets hurt, and keep these dinosaurs back!"

A slight pause. Then, almost alarmingly, "W-we're fighting dinosaurs."

[alilyinthemoonslight]

Lily's just going to completely act like she said nothing. She's got enough to worry about beyond her looking silly, and a lot on her mind from this, and the last couple weeks altogether. But... she has to keep herself together, and focus.

She gulps a bit, and nods.

"Yeah. Dinosaurs."

She lets out a little breath.

"Is that any worse than Santa Clause and the Grinch, is the question."

[charcoalfeather]

"Dinosaurs!"

It's beginning to fully dawn on Rakka how much is happening. Seeing it on TV hadn't really prepared Rakka for this.

"W-we're fighting dinosaurs." She scans the area ahead, making out the varying sizes and shapes of the beasts.

Is she shaking a little, or is that just the ground?

"I don't know." She swallows. "But, we just have to deal with it... right?"

[alilyinthemoonslight]

For all of Lily's own worries about herself, her friends and family, when she catches that little shake from Rakka something flips in her mind. She lets out a breath and extends a hand, reaching for Rakka's shoulder, trying to smile.

"Yes, we do. Because that's what we do, isn't it? When it comes down to it in the end... That's really all there is, right?"

She sighs. "It's not easy after all this time, I know."

[charcoalfeather]

Rakka appreciated the gesture, no matter how small it was. It reminded her who she was standing here with, who was a teammate that she'd fought alongside for a long time. But Lily was more then that, she was her friend.

She nods back at her. "I-it's not. But that's right, isn't it?"

...Sure would be awful if the moment was ruined by raptor screeching. Rakka turns her gaze forward. Sooner or later, she knew she'd have to punch a dinosaur.

"You ready?"

[alilyinthemoonslight]

Lily nods a little bit. "It is, but... to tell you the truth?" She leans in a little bit, her voice dropping a hair. "It kind of makes me feel a lot better to know I'm not the only one really nervous. I was beginning to think there was something wrong with me, there."

She straightens up then, just in time to hear that screech. She swallows, and tries to calm herself.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Be careful, and watch your back, okay?"

A

[peacefulwinter]

"What's that supposed to mean?" She doesn't get the non-sequitur, shaking her head after a second. "Never mind. We've got work to do - are you ready?"

As that comes out of her mouth, though, she considers her partner again. Lily is... not quite in the groove yet. Her own automatic response to something like this was that they had people to save and heads to knock around, but Lily hasn't followed suit, and she's a little worried at the moment. "Lily? Honey? You with me?"

[alilyinthemoonslight]

It means they're scientifically inaccurate, Winter, and that's a very important point! Or at least it might be later on, when Lily has a better grasp of everything that's going on. Or when she's had time to relax. Or when they haven't been eaten by said scientifically inaccurate dinosaurs.

She doesn't even notice her pause until Winter brings it to her attention. Here they are, about to plunge head long into danger, again. It's what they have to do, it's what they need to do. Lily is proud of who and what she is, and the duty handed down to her by her past self as a Precure.

Winter is as Winter ever is, and yet it strikes Lily in that moment this all seems too normal for her significant other. While the world at large had pressed issues upon them, they'd not needed to deal with this sort of thing for over a year. A year. Lily hadn't so much as thrown a punch since they left the invasion behind them.

Suddenly, all of her worries about something new beginning come rushing to the forefront, and faced with the moment she finds herself having a harder time switching gears. But she can't be having a crisis of faith in her power now, not when people's lives hang on the line. Right?

"I'm- I'm fine," she lies, instantly regretting it because she's pretty well sure it won't hold. "This is just..."

She shakes her head. "I'll be fine." Because she needs to be. "I'm just... a little shaken, here."

[peacefulwinter]

I'm fine. That tells her more or less what she needs to know, and she shifts gears. Protecting the city is important, but... not more important than Lily. She'd been so ready for everything, so prepared to start going to town at the drop of a hat, that she'd forgotten her partner wasn't as ever-ready as she is. Reaching for Lily's hand, she smiles up at her. "It's okay," she assures. "We don't have all day, but there's time enough to get your bearings. I know it's been a while since we had to do something like this."

Understanding and supportive. It was Rikka's role to Mana, and whatever else happens, it's her role for her own precious person. "We'll work out what this means for us later. Right now, there are people in front of us that need us. When you're ready, we'll start there. Everything else can wait."

[alilyinthemoonslight]

Lily shouldn't be terribly surprised that Winter turns on a dime to focus her attention like that. After all, hadn't Lily herself just been preaching what they'd both signed up for with regards to each other? Still, it causes her to falter a little bit, and she blinks, looking back at the park, then to her again. She sighs, squeezing her hand back and nods.

"People do need us, and... my own little issues are what needs to wait, because of that. I just..." Another heavy breath, and her grip tightens considerably. "It feels like we're diving off onto some long path again head first, and I... It's been a year. More than that. I thought it was all behind us, and... it feels like I'm throwing something away."

[peacefulwinter]

Winter can't help but sigh softly, pulling Lily close. "Our world is changing again. We fought so hard, and yet... here we are. It does feel like something new is starting. But I'm not worried. After everything, I've learned a lot about myself. There are things I can only learn when I'm fighting for my life, with important things on the line. Important people." She grins as she thinks about it. There were certain things she'd discovered that only came when she fought for them. Fought for herself, for her friends, for her city, for her world... for her most important person.

"I know it's hard, to go back to it after we'd set it aside for so long. But it doesn't change who we are, right? We'll be a little more careful, and everything will be okay." She doesn't know how to express everything she's feeling, but she has to try, right?

[alilyinthemoonslight]

Lily lets out a breath she suddenly realizes she's holding all the while Winter speaks. The closer she gets, the more she just sort of wants to wrap her arms around her, but... no, that'd have to wait for the night. When this is done. Just...

"For some reason, this seems a lot scarier than even what we faced before," she murmurs. "It's... we lost so many things then, Winter. We nearly died so many times... I need to do this, but I don't know how to just turn it on like everyone else seems to. I just... don't want to lose what we got out of everything."

She pauses a bit, before focusing her eyes on Winter's. "Just... promise me you will be careful."

[peacefulwinter]

There's a certain tension that Winter can detect even at a distance, but... she can't really help with that. Almost anyone else, sure. But not her.

"I don't think it's that this is scarier, but..." She frowns. "The rules have changed. We've changed. Everything's... mmn." All she can manage is a deep sigh, thinking on all this. "I don't know how to turn it off. Things happen, and I just... whenever something happens, I just have this burning need to do something, every time. That's the only reason I've been so hard to work with lately - I can't stop."

For a second, she can't look at Lily. "That's why... even if I make that promise, it might be hard for me to keep. I want to, I really do. But-" She cuts off; she doesn't like to make excuses to Lily, and that's all she's doing now.

[alilyinthemoonslight]

A part of her was hoping she could just say something simple, and that would be that. They could go to do what they need to do, but... It really isn't that simple, is it? Instead, Lily's worry only seems to be ratcheting up and try as she might, she can't keep it out of her face.

"Winter, you..."

She sighs, looking down at her feet. "You need to learn. Not just for me. But for everyone. You mean so much to so many people, even if you don't care about what happens to yourself, you need to... you have to think about how that impacts the rest of us... That's always scared me, but I always thought I could keep you safe. But we barely made it out of last year with our heads attached to our bodies, and now to just go rushing back into that as if it was nothing...!"

She tries to take a break, realizes it comes out as a sniffle, and curses her own weakness. This is not what they need right now. She knows that, but much like Winter, she can't stop that. "Saving people is what we do, and I'm your partner in that. In everything. But dammit, Winter. There's being selfless, and then there's not realizing how going too far in that can hurt everyone else if you can't even say you'll be careful..."