knightsoflegend | chicago mission ♔ the people under your feet are shooting stars in the night

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chicago mission ♔ the people under your feet are shooting stars in the night

♬ Dreamworld - Rilo Kiley

WHO || Gar, Kat, Mark, Dumage, Martha, Myri, Buffy, Sven, Spike, Desmond Descant, ??, ?? [Closed]
WHAT || The Knights infiltrate Nightscape to intercept a deal for the Eternal Jade. And... so does Des. At the same time. Hilarity ensues???
WHERE || Chicago. Nightscape.
WHEN || Friday, March 9th, various tiemes.
HOW || Actionspam; Don't sweat tagging order.

It's been a busy day. Following Gar's discovery of a message that seems to imply a trade for the artifact known as the Eternal Jade will take place at a location called "Nightscape" the next evening, several of the Knights headed out to the area outlined in Hoffman Institute files, only to discover the place was an office building that sold pharmaceuticals. However, as Myrilandel stared at a strange canopied fruit stand attached to the front of the building, she began to notice something, well, quite odd about it. A long line of people waited against the edifice to enter the stand, but none of them looked as if they fit into the commercial sector whatsoever, with their leather, vinyl, spiked hair, glitter, colored hair, etc. In fact, only by staring at the image presented and concentrating could the others recognize there was something wrong with the whole picture - something that caused theirs eyes to rebound off from it and find the entire scene innocuous otherwise. The line of people disappeared into the canopy - but none of the crowd ever came out again, defying any logic about how many people could humanly fit inside the tiny stand at a time.

It was clear that it wasn't just any fruit stand.

It was an entrance. They quickly surmised just what it had to be an entrance to. Myrilandel managed to note a number of guards emerging from the club after hours, dressed in some kind of futuristic looking armor that... looks a lot like Halo armor. She spotted the symbol on the side of the van they climbed into, and the surveillance team took note of it before heading back to the hotel.

Meanwhile, the research team back home (Kat, Buffy, and Sven mostly, since Gar passed out asleep in her chair) threw themselves into finding out what they could about Nightscape: and found rumors about an invite-only underground club, whose location was protected by magic, which seemed to mesh with what the other Knights had seen. The most interesting aspect of the club, however, wasn't just the fact that invitations to it come in the form of pills that implant directions into the subject's unconscious mind, but that supposedly it played havoc with the memories of those who frequent it. Every visit fades from the patron's mind when they leave, in the same way a dream does - they could remember a vague feeling of what it was like, but not any details about what actually occurred - and the more they attempted to remember, the more the memories would elude them.

Today, they've managed to look up that symbol Myri noticed on the side of the van and identify it as belonging to a private security firm that hires out to wealthy patrons in often underhanded deals. Which has allowed a plan of action to be hatched. :O

The Knights will coordinate efforts to plant a fake detour between the security firm and the club, derailing a van full of guards to lead to a stop light that will be controlled by Kat. And allow them to come up through a conveniently placed manhole to plant a device on the underbelly of the truck that will cripple its battery temporarily. At this point, the Knights will assume control of the vehicle, and Kat, Gar, Buffy, and Spike will don the armor of the guards and take their weapons, proceeding to the club as security personnel. Mark and Myrilandel will transport the captured guards to somewhere safe to keep them out of the way and possibly interrogate them. Dumage and Martha will drop off Sven at the club - he'll be attempting to bluff his way through the front door as a patron so that they can have an eye in the crowd as well, and then the ladies will park on the street to sit and wait as a getaway car / backup if necessary.

Obviously, nothing could possibly go wrong. :)

[ooc; subthreads to come!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[What a stupid name. Spike follows them onto the sidewalk, holding the gun against his chest.] Finally.

["Myers" hops out behind them, and then slams the doors shut with her shoulder, before cutting in front of them all, heading directly for ye olde fruit stand over there.

Bystanders on the sidewalk walk past them, completely oblivious to the huge guns in their arms, which is... eyebrow raising. Kat mutters:]

We must be dealing with some serious illusion mojo.

[ Buffy shifts her grip on the gun, clutching it tight as she follows Kat closely, looking around, careful not to bump into anyone. ] How does something like this work? I mean, you're magic gal, right? Couldn't you just use whatever they use on this place to keep normal people from seeing on us to keep, you know, the bad guys from seeing?

It isn't so simple. Without knowing what kind of defenses they have inside, they might be able to dispel illusions Kat would cast - particularly if they're powerful enough casters to weave them in the first place.

Plus, I can't so much... do those spells yet. [Whoops. As they close in, she gestures for them to be quiet. The guy right inside the canopy has a clipboard, which he seems to be checking people's names on at a leisurely pace. He merely waves the four past him, however, and the beefy scarface guard behind him removes a cordon and gestures for them to move past]

[Spike stays quiet until they're safely past. Then he exhales a bit, relieved.] We're in. Thank god for overly intimidating uniforms that hide the face.

[Gar hushes him, because, well, even inside they aren't exactly alone.

♬ I Dream In Colour - Conjure One

The room beyond the door is far from a club scene. It actually looks like a remarkably classy foyer, with a vaulted ceiling, white and marbled. Large staircases spiraling from the left and right of the rooms up to the balcony above, where two large mahogany doors stand closed. Straight ahead on the ground floor stands another set of doors, and there's a red carpet that leads directly from where they stand, to that entrance.

At the foot of either set of stairs stand a pair of guards wearing identical suits to the ones our heroes have on. And both are holding rather large guns, just the same too. Yep.

Gar moves forward down the red carpet towards the far doors, trying not to hesitate and look like she doesn't know where she's going.]

[ She mouths a soundless 'wow' as they step in, glancing surreptitiously around with her eyes and not moving her head lest the helmet budge and indicate her awe. They have to look casual. It's more important than gawking. She marches after Gar, straight past the other sets of guards without even looking at them. Please don't stop us ... please don't stop us ... ]

[The guards on either side watch them pass, but as Kat glances over at one of them, they offer no commentary - just a curt nod that seems like a greeting.

The doors at the end of the carpet open into a narrow corridor that's startlingly dark compared to the bright lobby, particularly when the doors seal behind them, shutting out any remnants of natural light. Runner lights along the floor outline where they're meant to go however, and the walk gives their eyes some time to adjust. The further up the hall they travel, the more a muffled sound of pulsing techno beats and shuffling feet fills the air, creating a bizarre feeling of disconnecting from reality slowly, step by step.

Or perhaps it's more than just that, as a Wisdom check of 15 or above might tell them. Something seems to shift, and the sensation washing over them is remarkably similar to the moment when one realizes they're inside a dream, but finds themselves unable to wake from it. There's a certain sense that reality is suddenly more transmutable, that things could flow readily from one scene into another with no preamble or context. And a very clear feeling of no longer having to adhere to the constraints of reality, a loosening that seems to want to take hold of them from the inside out.]

[Spike's Wisdom check of 7 means he's got no fucking clue. He walks forward warily, but doesn't notice much. There's a sort of creepy feeling, but he doesn't look into it too much. He's more interested in worrying that it's all been too easy so far. The other shoe has to drop sooner or later. He wants to be ready when it happens.]

[ And Buffy is apparently equally space case with her Wis13, leading an eerie, suffocating feeling to sink in, like she's disconnected, but it's hard to say if that's really something bad going on or if her gut is just saying this whole mission's bad news. But, the darkness is foreboding and the further they get from the music, the closer it feels like they're getting to something they really shouldn't be touching.

But, Buffy isn't afraid. Apprehensive, and alert, maybe. But as far as she's concerned: bring it on. ]

[At least... Gar rolled a 20 so maybe one of the team will have some idea of how to describe the phenomena...

Maybe.

~~crank dis shit~~ --> ♬ Heaven - DJ Sammy

When they finally open the door at the end of the dark hall, the scene beyond unfolds piece by piece, far too much to process all at once. The music hits like a tsunami of sound the moment the door is drawn open, and the sudden swell of neon lights is almost blinding after the darkness.

The club is, to put it in a word, massive, stretching back and back and back further than they can see. And as far as they can see there are people: people packed densely together, arms up, moving in one giant flowing mass, dancing and cheering, and laughing beyond a red cordoned line which is guarded by another bouncer. Hundreds of people. Thousands of people. An impossible number.

To the left of all that is a sea of tables, and on the far left wall, an electrically lit bar, with blue and purple neons dancing across it. There seem to be areas around the corner from the tables and bar further back, but they're obscured from sight here.

The two sides of the room seem divided between chaos and relaxation, as patrons sit idly smoking at the tables or booths that are offered on this side of the red, and revel in sensual pleasure on the other. Joining the two is a very large thrust stage, that splits right along the line of the cordon, and then feathers out left and right. There is no back to the stage: it's simply an immense platform in the middle of an ocean of people. There are smaller platforms scattered throughout the room, occupied by dancers in outrageous costumes, both human and Shadow.

The whole crowd seems full of a motley crew of species, and people in all manner of clothing - businessmen, goths, slutty club girls. Some sit in booths that are crowded tightly against the stage, all of them drinking and laughing, and straining their necks to look up at the platform expectantly, as if they're waiting on something. In fact, this seems to be a pattern they can somehow sense - that everyone here is waiting, that there's something preparatory about all the movements of the crowd. But it seems to do nothing to take away from the sense of total freedom, and everyone sure as hell looks like they're having a good time.

Gar freezes in front of them all so that they nearly bump into her, as she takes in the view.]

Oh my...

Edited 2012-03-13 04:23 (UTC)

Is it just me, or did this mission just take a stark turn towards impossible...?

Bloody hell. [Spike shakes his head, trying to take it all in. Then he glances at Kat.] This from the bird who does magic? I think we left impossible behind a few turns back. [Just saying.]

There's no way we're gonna find the ones cutting this deal in all of this. [ Buffy shakes her head, then steps out around Gar. She glances back. ] We need to split up. Cover more ground. Two of us can take the dance floor, and two of us can try those tables. It's the only shot we have at ever finding these guys on time.

I'm afraid you're quite right. [Her helmet swings left and right as she decides quickly] Myers and I will check the lounge. Langley and Molito: see what you can do about navigating the crowd. If it proves impossible, meet us back here. [She doesn't give room to argue - Spike and Buffy will barely be able to hear each other over the pounding techno beat, let alone snark effectively. She breaks to the left immediately, heading towards the bar.]

[Kat glances out towards the cordoned off sea of people once, then shrugs, which looks a little humorous in the get up. Then she heads after Gar.]

[...great. This will suck a lot. At least she probably can't obnoxiously warn him off eating people in all this noise. Like he could even if he had any desire to in this clunky get-up.

He glances at her for a moment, then pushes into the crowd, not bothering to see if she follows. The deal is more important.]

[ There's a barely audible, voice-altered scoff, but she doesn't hesitate, just gives a quick nod and doesn't follow Spike, but rather matches his pace and heads with him into the crowd. This would be easier if they could take off the bulky armor, helmet and drop the gun somewhere. But, she's guessing that's not a wise choice, or Gar and Kat would have given them time to suggest it as soon as they got in.

She has to shove her way past people as they navigate through the crowd, which is, well, easy given super strength, but they don't seem to appreciate it. Still, she barely spares them a glance. The mission is what matters. ]

[The crowd is hot, it's disorientating, it's loud, and even in the stifling armor, it's a complete and total sensual experience - even with Vampiric and Slayer strength it takes an effort to push through the writhing people.*

There's a growing sense of it being a bit claustrophobic, especially since the pushing seems to go on for endless minutes that feel like they stretch out into hours, as they move towards what should be the back of the club ... somewhere in there. They're given a tiny amount of buffer space, by people who seem to recognize their authority (the big guns being a dead giveaway probably), but still the people jump and bounce around them in an almost endless stream.

The club narrows out a bit as they go, which isn't really saying much as it's still enormous, and they began to see doors on the left hand wall. They're colored - neon red, yellow, green, blue…]

* Str check of 13 to not have too much trouble
**Spot checks plz, plus a will save of at least 15 to not feel a strong desire to just lose oneself in the crowd and join them in their strange dance of expectation.

[Spike pushes through the crowd pretty easily with his massive vampire strength check of 20. He's too irritable at the distance and the outfit and Buffy's existence to really want to join in the dance. Plus, will save 21. He's getting impatient, and he can't believe they're still walking. Honestly, the place seems too big to be real.

When the doors finally come into view, he lets out a relieved breath.] Finally. [He doesn't bother lowering his tone or anything. It's not like anyone could hear him over the music. He looks around. Spot check 11.]

[ She's a little more delicate about getting people out of the way than Spike is because, well, she has a soul. And also a str check of 17. But, still, it's easy to move them aside, and she doesn't lose sight of the mission thanks to her will save of 16.

Tempting as the dancing is, she knows better. And she has the hinky, creeping feeling that the only reason she wants to is because of something seriously wrong with this place. She comes up behind him, ] Thought I was gonna drown in people for a minute there. [ She glances past his shoulder at the doors. Spot 25. ]

♬ Disturbia - Rihanna

[There seems to be a little breathing room between the entrance to the rooms here, and the crowd, which is a definite relief at this point. A few patrons break off here and there to head towards the doors. Buffy would notice many of them slip a card out of their pockets, and slide it through a keycard reader next to the doors, which open momentarily, only exposing a flash of matching color as the person slips inside.

Each door also has a numerical keypad beside it.]

[ Buffy pushes past Spike to get closer to the doors to get a better look once she catches a glimpse of the cards, then looks back at him, grabbing his arm. ]

Security. Looks like they've got some kind of cards. We're gonna need to get a couple before we can get anywhere. [ As in ... get via knocking out patrons and taking their cards. She looks back at the rooms, then back at Spike. ] That ... and pick a rabbit hole to go down.

[Spike nods, watching the patrons go in and out.] Let's start by getting a card. Chances are, it won't even work with all the doors.

[He starts striding towards the doors.] Here, I'll distract, you knock 'em over the head. [He's not sure if he could hit them without getting a migraine or not. But it's not really the time to start experimenting, he thinks. Better to just let Buffy do the hitting.]

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