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

[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. ]

[mayfield_mods]

[Resting at one of the mirrors is a tiara! When it's grabbed this happens.]

[thunderace]

[Indeed, Fate reaches out to grab it. And not a moment later, the sounds of footsteps - a lot of footsteps - can be heard. Damn...]

We need to get out of here. Now.

[guiding_starlight]

[ There is relief in finding something that appears out of place. It must be what was spoken of, but of course that doesn't come without consequences. ] Yes. Let's go.

[ Nanoha is already formulating a plan, running out of the building despite the painful cut bleeding down her stockings.

Outside things are pretty ugly compared to before, but at least now she has few quarrels about putting down the hostile elements. ] You should take that and others to the exit. Getting that out is the most important thing that can be done.

[thunderace]

[Things do look ugly, and Fate has some reservations about leaving her injured friend to fight off those monsters herself while she runs back to Mayfield. But she knows that the tiara in her hand must be important, so they need to get it out as soon as possible...]

Okay. But as soon as I find a safe place for this, I'll come back and help you and the others who wandered in here.

[guiding_starlight]

I know you will, Fate. [ Even with this injury, there is a lot she can do. The glowing wings flare out from her ankles and she gives Fate a soft smile, a hand resting on her arm for but a moment. ] Go. I'll cover you.

[thunderace]

[Fate smiles, and nods.] Thank you.

[And then she turns and heads straight for the portal. She doesn't have any of her speed boosting spells, but she's still extremely fast. She doesn't even bother to slow down and defend herself from incoming drones; as Nanoha said, she'll cover her, and Fate has complete faith in the other woman.]

[guiding_starlight]

[ Nanoha says nothing more, for her actions will not betray that trust.

And by actions we mean lasers. ]