event: portal five | the carnival

[mayfield_mods]

The fifth portal is in the park, tucked away behind a cluster of trees; as usual, any drones walking past simply ignore it. The cheerful carnival that can be seen on other side of this portal may strike many of you as quite familiar.

The carnival doesn't seem to have changed much since the last time it was open. The street that had been behind the carnival has disappeared, but everything else remains the same, down to the sky looking like it's been completely deleted and replaced by a gaping hole of nothingness. Despite this area being the smallest and most enclosed environment so far outside of the blimp, there are plenty of places to begin your search, from the Ferris Wheel, to the funhouse, to the various rides and stands. Just make sure to avoid the large glitch holes that seem to be all over the place.

Oh, and you might want to speed this one up, because you're not alone here. The faceless drones from the blimp are having fun at the carnival as well, queuing up for the rides and playing the games. They'll ignore you for now, but they're not the only ones you have to worry about. Here and there, you may catch glimpses of hideous, mutated drones...and they don't seem very happy to see you.

Comments

[thunderace]

[As Nanoha examines the front, Fate moves around to the back. It's not like this place is completely wrecked, so there has to be some way the people who were stuck in this town got in and out...

Bingo. An entryway.]

Nanoha! I found a way in.

[guiding_starlight]

[ It's hard to be separate for even a moment. She pushes down the panic rising deep down, her eyes traveling to the space around her.

God, what's wrong with her? She's not new to field work. She's not a child anymore. She has to be strong, for everyone's sake.

Fate's call snaps her out of it and she jogs right around. ] Good work! Let's see what we can find... [ Taking a defensive posture with her staff, she heads in. ]

[thunderace]

[No need to worry, Nanoha. Fate is concerned about your safety as well, so she's staying well within earshot, no matter what.]

It's too dark for my liking.... Bardiche?

"Zanber Form."

[In a flash, Fate's device transformed into a familiar magical golden blade. It's bright enough to illuminate their surroundings, and a more comforting weight in Fate's hand. She could fight well enough with Bardiche in his standard form, but a sword is a bit more reassuring.]

[guiding_starlight]

[ That certainly did the trick. Shadows will move too much when that gets swung around, so Nanoha holds a magic ball of light in the air beside them on the other side, just in case. ] Good call.

[ Now, to venture deeper in. ]

[mayfield_mods]

[The rustling sound of movement from nearby would be loud in the darkness. A glimpse of bright white facepaint before a clown with only a mouth is leaping at the pair of them with a large knife.]

[thunderace]

Look out! [Fate was already on edge before entering the funhouse. So the moment the soft sounds of movement reached her ears, she raised her sword. It was long, almost as long as she was tall, but she could wield it as swiftly as any normal-sized blade. The monstrous clown - and its knife - slammed into it before it could reach Fate.]

[guiding_starlight]

[ At the sounds of a scuffle, Nanoha spun, the light spinning with her. But she doesn't need to do more than bring Raising Heart at the ready because Fate has already taken care of the problem. Or so she thinks. ] A drone? Are there more? [ She half-turns away, her orb of light rising and growing brighter to illuminate a wider area. If anyone else wishes to rush them, she is hoping to flush them out then get jumped quite like that again. ]

[mayfield_mods]

[Its limbs bend unnaturally at the elbows and knees, giving it a greater dexterity than is natural. It attempts to lean under the next sword blow to try and land a hit with its own knife.]

[thunderace]

[the clown may have better dexterity, but Fate is faster. She twists to the side at the last possible second, leaving the knife to merely shred through the cloth of her uniform, just barely knicking the skin beneath. She followed up the slash with a pommel blow straight to the clown's face.]

No, not a drone! Something different!

[guiding_starlight]

[ There is nothing she can do with that — clown?


Whatever it was, Nanoha steps back and away a few feet so that Fate has plenty of room to maneuver without risking any incidental damage to her. ]

[mayfield_mods]

[The pommel blow breaks something with a loud crunch. The clown gives a screech and scuttles back into the darkness.]

[thunderace]

[Fate doesn't chase it as it runs off, but neither does she lower her sword. She seems a bit... shaken, despite how brief the confrontation was. She's never seen something that terrifying this up close before...]

... It's gone. For now. [She takes a deep breath, turning to Nanoha.] It looks like we have to continue down that way, if we want to proceed. We might run into that thing again... maybe more. Are you sure you want to go ahead?

[guiding_starlight]

[ She tightens her grip. ] Yes. I believe it is nothing we can't handle and... besides. If they are attacking us, it could be that we are getting closer to something important. [ That is assuming that logic applies at all, and these are not just mindless killers roaming around. A frightening thought. ]

Let's continue on. [ Weren't there different rooms in here? That stands to reason, too. She keeps her eyes peeled for the stairs, or a door leading to the hall of mirrors. ]

[mayfield_mods]

[The door leading to the house of mirrors is up ahead.

The clown is standing in front of the door, almost as though he was waiting for them.]

[thunderace]

[It's a little suspicious, but there are times when you have to take risks. Fate approaches, sword raised, waiting for the clown to make the first strike.]

Step aside. I don't want to hurt you, but I will do what I need to in order to proceed.

[Yep, even with something that clearly isn't fully human, Fate tries a reasonable option first.]

[guiding_starlight]

[ Nanoha stands back, watching the encounter. She has no need to echo Fate's sentiment, because her determination is also clear; they will both do what is necessary so that their family, and others, can be free. Killing isn't in their playbook but that isn't the only way to incapacitate someone. ]

[mayfield_mods]

[The clown doesn't react to their reasoning. It draws a knife from inside its outfit somehow and throws it at Fate .]

[thunderace]

[Fate easily dodges. This, if anything, gives her even more of a reason to try to get through to... whatever this is. If that's the best it can do, it wouldn't stand a chance.

She takes a few more steps froward, but still doesn't attack.]

I'll give you one more chance. Step aside, and you won't be in danger.

[guiding_starlight]

[ Speaking of danger, Nanoha was really looking away at the wrong moment. Fate moved aside to let the knife pass her body and as it happened Nanoha turned back just in time to see the glimmer of metal an instant before it grazes the outside of her thigh.

She cries out and slumps against the wall. ]

[mayfield_mods]

[The clown lets out a shriek of victory as it injures Nanoha. It doesn't revel for long, leaping at Fate to try and throttle her.]

[thunderace]

[Bad move.

The only thing worse than hurting a friend? Hurting them and then feeling happy about it. Fate doesn't move when the clown lunges at her - she stands her ground, and before the clown can get its hands around her throat, her own gauntlet-clad left hand shoots out, grabbing the creature.

She doesn't put any pressure on its throat, though. Instead she channels her magic, electricity sparking out from her hand. Not enough to kill the clown, but it'll deliver a nasty shock, and - Fate hopes - knock it unconscious.]

Nanoha! Are you okay?!

[She doesn't take her focus off her opponent, but she has to make sure...]

[guiding_starlight]

I'm fine! [ She shouts back immediately. Nanoha doesn't want to distract Fate in case that clown is not yet out of commission. The woman glances around on the off chance anyone (or anything) else means to take advantage of the opening. ] It's minor.

Are they down? [ It should be, with that kind of a shock and, for its sake, it had best STAY down. ]

[mayfield_mods]

[The clown goes down as intended, leaving the way free.

There's a twinkle from inside the hall of mirrors.]

[thunderace]

[Fate notices the twinkling, but for the moment, she turns to go help Nanoha.] Yes, it's down... for now. [She's not sure if she killed it or not...]

Can you move? [She moves closer to her friend, checking for the injury.] We can stop for a moment, if you need to.

[The sparkling up ahead looks important, but so is the health of her friend.]

[guiding_starlight]

It's just a scratch. [ If she sounds insistent, it's only because she doesn't want to linger around this place longer than they have to. Nanoha pushes off of the wall and gives Fate a reassuring smile. ] This can wait. What's... that? Up ahead. [ Her staff rises and, for a moment, she uses her targeting skills to get a better view. ] Let's go in. I'll be ready if something jumps out at us. [ Having a shield spell primed and ready to go for just such an occurrence. ]