DARK ALLIES FINALE LOG

[afterlifer]

WHO: Anyone and everyone!
WHAT: Dark Allies Finale
WHEN: March 22nd-24th
WHERE: Anywhere and everywhere in this afterlife
WARNINGS: Potential violence, loss of sense of self, fighting, cussing. If you have anything else let a mod know to add it!
SUMMARY: The Programmer and Fantoche have increased the number of shadows in order to pursue the NPC, Ai, who has been trying to hide but cannot continue to stand by and do nothing. Meanwhile, many of the afterlife's residents have been turned into NPCs.. is there a way to reason with them or get their memories back? There are 3 parts to this log!

MARCH 22: SHADOWS
Shadows are difficult to deal with, and you've just been surrounded. It seems like the number of shadows have raised up well beyond half of the NPC population. Team up, fight off the shadows, try to follow them to find the NPC first! Ai will be around throughout this log and will reveal her Guard Skill abilities in a comment here. Feel free to attempt to apprehend her.

MARCH 23: THE NORM
A few people have been turned into NPCs. The shadows seem not to bother them-- the shadows ignore them and those turned into NPCs don't even seem to see the shadows. They can see you, even if they can't remember. Try to talk some sense into them or take whatever measures you think are necessary? Try to keep them company or say goodbye because if Ai isn't turned in, there's no known way to turn them back?

MARCH 24: CAPTURED AI
Ai's identity has been revealed since the 22nd, but she's been avoiding capture up until now. Come up with a plan, decide what to do. It might be a good idea to have a meeting and talk to her. She's surprisingly cooperative. The OOC poll revealed that Ai will be kept away from Fantoche and the Programmer, so if any characters have the intent to do otherwise they will not be able to be the ones to find her. Of those who comment, on the 24th the mods will RNG one character to have successfully captured Ai and she will reply to that thread. Other characters or teams may jump in based on what you as the players have decided to do.

Comments

Ai

[afterlifer]

A. ACTION
[ Multiple times throughout the day, there are huge flashes of light from a Hand Sonic or other Guard Skills and sudden large amounts of shadows being destroyed. At the center? That girl Ai.

Join her in the middle of a fight or wait until she's finished. Either way, she's done trying to hide who she is because of how many shadows have appeared and people have been turned to NPCs. This many shadows on the glitching system for reasons outside of their originally programmed purpose put the system in danger and the number of human individuals the system is suposed to help that are against it clearly indicate to Ai that it's unacceptable. ]

B. TEXT
Those in dire need of assistance, reply to this text with your location. Assistance will arrive ASAP.

A.

[extraordinarily]

[ Haruhi's not the type of person to just sit still while other people do work, even though it's kind of cool and she's certainly impressed. Which is why she's helping out, regardless.

But she's not going to say anything because she took the precaution to, well, wear earplugs just in case so if Ai does end up saying anything... Haruhi's not going to hear her.

Though she will destroy any shadow that's in the area for now. ]

[afterlifer]

Suzumiya-san!

[ Ai's not going to use Howling since the shadows don't have ears. It's pretty much pointless. She is, however, going to wave at Haruhi in a friendly manner after taking out one of the shadows. She wants to try something, but she needs Haruhi to get out of the way in order to do it. ]

[extraordinarily]

[ Even though she can't hear Ai, she can see her, and the fact that she's being so overly friendly is what causes her to cue in on what she's trying to do which is why she'll jump back and out of the way of the shadows, quickly unplugging her ears (for now, at least) so she can cue in on what's actually going on.. ]

[afterlifer]

Thanks! I take it you're familiar with what Tachibana-san programmed in? It won't work on the shadows. If you could come closer and help me concentrate their location, that would be very helpful, buddy!

[ She's not even trying to hide it anymore. At this point, she knows that it's been announced that Guard Skills go with the NPC. It seemed illogical to try to deny it after she's openly using them. It's beneficial for the humans anyway, it makes sense.

Either way, she's going to run over to one spot around the outside of the shadow group she's with now and drop what looks like a slightly oversized dew drop on the ground. ]

[extraordinarily]

Don't call me your "buddy". Just Haruhi is fine.

[ Her voice is slightly ticked as she says that, creasing her brow for a second or two before nodding. She knows exactly what she's talking about, and the fact that she's helping out with the shadows is good enough for her for the time being.

Which is why she's going to turn on her heel, her back facing Ai's as a sadistic grin slowly slips onto the girl's lips. She can play this game, but if it doesn't work, she's shooting them down, no questions asked.

To Haruhi, her soul is more essential than anyone else's, and she knows the best places to hide from the shadows. Of course, she's not the type of person to hide - and even though she may be selfish, this isn't the time to fool around.

Time to get serious. ]

Hey, heeey! Over here, guys!

[ She waves at them, speaking in her cheery voice. And the shadows seem to notice her, immediately turning their heads towards her before lunging in.

Just as planned, she thinks to herself, as she takes a hop and a skip back. They're all gathering in one location, which is actually perfect. The question is-- what exactly is Ai going to do? She didn't exactly hear anything from Yuri about this sort of thing, but then again, portions of Angel Player could have been reprogrammed just for this.

Which is why she's curious as she takes a quick hop and a skip back, still facing the shadows as she tries to calculate her steps close enough before she's finally behind Ai and yells out: ]

Okay, now!

[afterlifer]

[ This is the first time that anyone's corrected her on it, so Ai tilts her head. She'd make sure to ask about that later, since if her speech is off it could be a problem. Now wasn't the time.

While Haruhi gathers them up, Ai runs around them like she's just doing a circle, a few more things dropped. By the time Haruhi yells 'now' she stops and holds her hand out. ]

Guard Skill: Freeze Lattice.

[ At that second, between the points she dropped what looks like a blue, glowing laser grid quickly rises from the ground and stays at height of about three feet, then everything touched by it freezes in place as though time stood still. ]

B

[masturbatestoyou]

... Crap.

[Taichi had found himself surrounded in the gym while trying to gather some sporting equipment to use to defend himself and had come across some folding chairs (the ones used long, long ago during the graduation ceremony largely unknown to all but Yuri and Hinata at this point), and as a pro wrestling fan he decided that one of those would make an ideal weapon.

Not that it'd be much use against this many shadows. The gym had been clear before he arrived, but now he was cornered with no safe path to an exit. His phone beeped with a message.]

What's that?

[Still keeping an eye on the shadows, he checked his phone. Assistance, huh? Well, he certainly could use some. He replied with a one word reply "gym", not wanting to spend more time than necessary typing before a shadow lunged at him as he beat it back with his chair.]

[afterlifer]

[ It didn't take long for Ai to appear there. She did still have to move according to the laws of this world, so it took her a few minutes to get there. She wasn't too far from the gym, so it didn't take horribly long though.

So provided that he survives the short wait, there will be an Ai shoving what appears to be a light sword through the back of a shadow a scattering it. ]

Are you alright?

[masturbatestoyou]

Y-yeah, I'm fine...

[What's that, some kind of laser sword coming from her arm? Suzumiya said something about that the other day, right? The "Guard Skills"...?]

[afterlifer]

[ She's going to take care of the rest of them now, though she does get hit against the stage at one point but doesn't seem to cry out in pain or anything, quickly getting up afterward and taking the last one out.

The hand sonic dissipates into the atmosphere, then Ai brushes her skirt off. ]

If you attend classes in a normal manner, it decreases the chance that the shadows will bother you. It's not 100% foolproof, but it should decrease your chances of getting caught.

[masturbatestoyou]

So, to avoid turning into an NPC... you act like an NPC?

[afterlifer]

It's soooort of like hiding a tree in a forest, heh. It's not a guarantee, but if you can't defend yourself it'd be easier.

A.

[onewayroad]

[Did someone say helping out? Accelerator's got his handgun for taking care of smaller numbers of shadows, but he'll resort to atmospheric attacks (air flow, air pressure, wind, etc) and launching kicks at superhuman speed with superhuman force where he can, easily springing out of reach at each landing. He can only carry so much ammo on him at a time, so conserving bullets is a priority.

He's busy taking care of the smaller half of the swarm of shadows spread out across the area. The rest is all Ai's.]

[afterlifer]

[ Ai seems to be honestly trying to lure a large number of them into one area to take them out at once. She knows that because she isn't human, it isn't like she can get NPC'd, so it makes sense to have them as many of them after her as possible. Once she lures a group near her, she launches a huge series of attacks with Hand Sonic while spinning to try to knock out as many of them as possible at once. It does take some work, and she nearly gets cornered more than once, eventually getting her back smashed against a tree.

Just because they can't change her doesn't mean they can't try to capture her. ]

[onewayroad]

[A bunch of shadows in front of Ai while her back is smashed against a tree is perfect. Perfect for turning them into a large group target that won't pay as much attention to him. While they focus on her he comes charging over and blasts through the back half of the cluster from the side with an accelerated aerial kick. The action tears through the smoke-like shadows, causing them to dissipate as they lose what little substance they had.

Accelerator turns in place and aims his handgun at the remaining half of shadows that are between him and Ai. His gaze is focused on the shadows first, then it flits to meet her eyes. Well?]

[afterlifer]

[ She stares at him for a few moments after he takes care of the shadows, then moves away from the tree, reaching back to brush her back off and smiling at him. ]

Good job taking care of them. Sorry for the trouble, I wasn't able to predict this type of situation.

[onewayroad]

[quickly picks off a shadow with a gunshot before responding]

Of course they're going to gang up on a single target and restrict their movement.

[Even if that wasn't specifically what she was referring to, he'll comment on it anyway.]

You're trying to gather them into groups to make taking them out more efficient, aren't you?

[afterlifer]

I can freeze them if they're in a concentrated area for a period of 5 minutes. It makes them much easier to deal with, provided you have a long range weapon and don't touch the Lattice.

A

[frequent_flyer]

T-tachibana!?

[From a distance, the resemblance is striking, but then the girl stops and he gets closer and... it's not her. He's seen this girl around before... but all of the sudden, she started to draw his attention.]

You're not- [He cuts himself off mid-thought.] How... are you doing that?

[afterlifer]

[ Ai doesn't look at him right away. No, she has to take one of these shadows out, the flips back near Hinata.

Heh! Angel Player, though I'm sure you knew that. I wouldn't refer to myself as an "Angel," however. [ She smiles at him, bowing politely despite that they're in the middle of a battle. ] It's nice to meet you, Hideki Hinata.

[frequent_flyer]

[Forgive him for staring. That's... a lot to take in. Not only can she use Angel Player, but she knows exactly who he is? That must mean...]

You must be... the one he's looking for.

[But really, now is not the time to be sorting this out. He aims over her shoulder, shooting at a shadow rising up some distance behind her. There's only one thing he can ask that will be helpful here:]

Oi, are you on our side?

[afterlifer]

That's a difficult question...

[ She didn't so much as flinch when he shot behind her, though she does fix her hair a second later. ]

I'm what you might refer to as an automated self-learning anti-virus and repairs program created by the NPC many here have come to refer to as "Fantoche." Heh, but you can call me Ai! IIIII was made to repair the glitched data and maintain proper function of the Angel Player system according to the needs of the afterlife, but the individual you refer to as "the Programmer" rewrote my creator's programming without taking heed that I need a security protocol to be accessed or reprogrammed, which is what lead to this current problem.

[ She smiles and taps her foot on the ground for a moment before raising her hand in front of her. ] Guard Skill: Hand Sonic, version 2. [ Of course, she runs to Hinata's left to take out a couple of shadows quickly. Once that's over with, she turns back to face Hinata and bows deeply. ]

Geez, I'm sorry about the trouble, but since turning myself in would directly conflict with my ability to perform my job I must refuse, regardless of current losses.

[ Now for the question of whether or not she identifies herself as an enemy of Hinata or not. Because she'll wait to hear his answer before going to defend herself. ]

Do you consider this to be on your side?

[frequent_flyer]

[His eyes go wide at her explanation, head buzzing with things to report back to Yur- Oh. Right.]

[Thankfully, he isn't given the time to start moping, as Ai is cutting down shadows right next to him. He thinks of Kanade, he thinks of Otonashi, he thinks of Yuri... and he feels like he knows what to do.]

...I won't attack you, but... [He whips his head to the side as a few shadows start to rise out of the cracks in the sidewalk, gunning them down.] Fantoche offered a reward, I'll bet there are people who want it bad enough to turn you in.

[With the coast temporarily clear, he turned to look at her.] Have you ever thought of joining us?

[afterlifer]

[ Once they're all gone for the time being, Ai's Hand Sonic dissipates into the air and she looks over at Hinata again, brushing off her skirt. ]

The SSS is an organization known for the separation and distaste of NPCs, with a leader who refuses to speak to them unless absolutely necessary. It did not cross my mind as an acceptable group to join.