Tribulations

[Blaze]

The bombs went off at 12:47am on a normal night in Muffinville. They were planted in the territories of the Fourth Choir, a large gang consisting of angelic and celestial beings, as well as the Deep Southerners, a gang of demonic and infernal beings. Upon exploding, the ones in Fourth Choir territory released a wave of infernal power, killing many, making angels Fall and destroying multiple buildings. The Deep Southerners were blasted by celestial magic upon detonation, purifying their lands and adding a further lethality to the attacks.

In response to the attacks, each group blamed the other, claiming that the other gang had planted the other set of explosives and playing up their own death tolls. Tensions between the gangs had always been bad, and the explosions tipped each group over the edge, inciting all out gang war with Muffinville as the battleground. Each group expanded rapidly and aggressively, taking as much land as they could through force and bribes, neatly splitting Muffinville in two.

It's been a week, and Muffinville is under martial law. Each gang has been clashing, neither taking any decisive victories. The people of Muffinville have either gone into hiding or are pressured into joining a gang. Those with no powers are force-fed moonberries or uncarrots, converted into more of the kind of people the gang attracts. Those with skills or powers valuable to them are asked once. If denied, they can expect to be terrorized until they give in or lash out, at which point they are attacked.

What people of import are on what side? Will they join, defect to the other side, or run? Only time will tell...

[Alright folks, basically, you can be in hiding or resists and be forced into either gang, or you can play and say you joined them willingly for whatever reason.]

[Mendi-chan]

*Mendo sits at his desk in his office on the top floor of the Kage's building in Muffingakure... Tossing a stack of dossiers at the wall he curses under his breath.*
It's been awhile since we've had a bit of warfare around here... I should've known that it wasn't going to last forever.
*Glancing out the window he narrows his eyes. The ninjas of the Muffin village were doing their best to remain neutral... but skirmishes on the outskirts of the village were becoming more and more of a problem. Somehow he had to figure out a way to keep this war outside of the great walls of the village, while remaining totally neutral. Eventually he'd try to send envoys out to both sides, but right now everyone was so volatile... it was hard to reason with anyone.*

[Restless Lucidity]

Under the cover of shadows, a rather slim, small figure dashes between the places available to hide. He peeks out from the rugged wall that he's clinging to to observe his surroundings and makes another dash, clearly trying his best to stay out of the view of the gangs that scout the streets. He wasn't sure if they were there, but he had to assume. He takes a deep breath and tries to scope out the area ahead, carefully considering every possible outcome of making that decision. He had to get to the other side of the street... people who needed his help were there and he had to get to them. He checks the contents of his quiver and also to be sure that his short bow is still securely fastened on his back. Afterward, his large blue eyes focus in one direction: forward.

As quickly as he can, he runs across the street, ending his dash with a somewhat less than graceful slide. He stands not a moment after to dust himself off, taking another look at the area behind him to be absolutely certain he wasn't seen, heard, or followed. After he looks long enough to be sure, he continues along, weaving through the dark alleyways formed by the many houses in the area. He walked on with a fixed, determined gaze, his short white hair teased by the winds he could feel due to his fast pace. His animal-like ears twitched, and again he stopped in his tracks. The only way forward was through another wide, open area. He wasn't sure he could chance this one... but he would have to try.

Whether through determination, pride, bravery, or stupidity, he made the dash. But this time, he couldn't seem to keep his momentum... and tripped. He frantically gazes around to see if he's been spotted. Everything else was secondary...

(EDIT: A reference picture for those who care to see it. It does not, however, perfectly match the character.)

[Sam]

Sam finds himself in a pickle. Since the transformation of his body he now has the ability to utilize color energy without getting transformed (unless he is overwhelmed of course). However it is because of this newfound power that Sam now finds himself growing a constant need to devour color fruit. Due to this obsession, Sam has spent his time growing primary color fruit to devour. However, he has grown tired of the easy to get cocomelons and tomapples and now finds himself lusting for tertiary colors. Knowing both gangs have them in their possession, he has a choice of either joining one of the gangs, or steal from them and fight the good fight. Either way, Sam knows that either choice will lead to severe consequences for him.

[Blaze]

*Mendo sits at his desk in his office on the top floor of the Kage's building in Muffingakure... Tossing a stack of dossiers at the wall he curses under his breath.*
It's been awhile since we've had a bit of warfare around here... I should've known that it wasn't going to last forever.
*Glancing out the window he narrows his eyes. The ninjas of the Muffin village were doing their best to remain neutral... but skirmishes on the outskirts of the village were becoming more and more of a problem. Somehow he had to figure out a way to keep this war outside of the great walls of the village, while remaining totally neutral. Eventually he'd try to send envoys out to both sides, but right now everyone was so volatile... it was hard to reason with anyone.*

Among some of the reports he received, there was some distressing news. Apparently, the Exorcists had got involved in the conflict, but had split up. Jean and Logos had sided with the Fourth Choir, while Lucy and Okuni had sided with the Deep SOutherners. But as for Blaze... no one had seen her. Either she was assimilated, killed or has gone underground.

But even worse, Alex has been been waging her own personal war on both sides, launching attacks on both sides seemingly at random. Even worse, she wore her fodora as she did, the one with the Muffingakure headband attached. Should anyone notice, well... the village might not be able to maintain it neutrality.

Under the cover of shadows, a rather slim, small figure dashes between the places available to hide. He peeks out from the rugged wall that he's clinging to to observe his surroundings and makes another dash, clearly trying his best to stay out of the view of the gangs that scout the streets. He wasn't sure if they were there, but he had to assume. He takes a deep breath and tries to scope out the area ahead, carefully considering every possible outcome of making that decision. He had to get to the other side of the street... people who needed his help were there and he had to get to them. He checks the contents of his quiver and also to be sure that his short bow is still securely fastened on his back. Afterward, his large blue eyes focus in one direction: forward.

As quickly as he can, he runs across the street, ending his dash with a somewhat less than graceful slide. He stands not a moment after to dust himself off, taking another look at the area behind him to be absolutely certain he wasn't seen, heard, or followed. After he looks long enough to be sure, he continues along, weaving through the dark alleyways formed by the many houses in the area. He walked on with a fixed, determined gaze, his short white hair teased by the winds he could feel due to his fast pace. His animal-like ears twitched, and again he stopped in his tracks. The only way forward was through another wide, open area. He wasn't sure he could chance this one... but he would have to try.

Whether through determination, pride, bravery, or stupidity, he made the dash. But this time, he couldn't seem to keep his momentum... and tripped. He frantically gazes around to see if he's been spotted. Everything else was secondary...

(EDIT: A reference picture for those who care to see it. It does not, however, perfectly match the character.)

As he trips... a nearby group turns to look at him. It consists of a white-haired man with pure white wings, a miko and a nun. Members of the Choir. Normally, they might have not given the boy a second glance... but the way he looks around make shim look guilty of something, and the angel walks over to investigate, offering the boy his hand.

"You okay lad? Something wrong?"

Sam finds himself in a pickle. Since the transformation of his body he now has the ability to utilize color energy without getting transformed (unless he is overwhelmed of course). However it is because of this newfound power that Sam now finds himself growing a constant need to devour color fruit. Due to this obsession, Sam has spent his time growing primary color fruit to devour. However, he has grown tired of the easy to get cocomelons and tomapples and now finds himself lusting for tertiary colors. Knowing both gangs have them in their possession, he has a choice of either joining one of the gangs, or steal from them and fight the good fight. Either way, Sam knows that either choice will lead to severe consequences for him.

Well, needles to say, both gangs have been planting and growing the things, and the locations of their gardens is a carefully concealed secret. Destroying one could greatly cut into a gang's ability to recruit.

However, assuming Sam has been carefully observing, he soon learns that each gang has a main garden. It's a little known fact that moonberries grow best in high places, so the Choir has converted the top floor of a skyscraper into a greenhouse. Most of the upper floors have become occupied by some of the stronger members of the gang, so that they can still guard them off the clock.

As for the Southerners, they have apparently made their garden in a section of Neo-Muffinville close to the sea. The dank air helps the uncarrots grow better, and the single tunnel that leads to it is easy to guard.

[Restless Lucidity]

As he trips... a nearby group turns to look at him. It consists of a white-haired man with pure white wings, a miko and a nun. Members of the Choir. Normally, they might have not given the boy a second glance... but the way he looks around make shim look guilty of something, and the angel walks over to investigate, offering the boy his hand.

"You okay lad? Something wrong?"

The boy nearly jumps at first despite the appearance and comforting aura of the group. He looks on with some degree of bewilderment as the angel approaches him.

He blinks twice quickly, staring at the man's hand as if it was covered in some odd, horrific, foreign substance. Before too long, though, he's able to calm down, heaving a sigh and relaxing his shoulders. He gazes into the angel's eyes with his own.

"N-No, sir... I..." He swallows, his voice still shaky. He takes one more moment to compose himself before starting again. "I was just being wary of any gangs that might be around, sir. I don't want to be seen by them."

[Sam]

Sam positions himself on a rooftop far enough away neo-muffinville district to be undetected but close enough to see with binoculars. While knowing both locations due to some "dirty tactics", Sam knows that going alone in the garden would be suicide. So he decided to take turns finding a way to snag fruit from both gangs, and that begins with tracking gang members carrying fruit

"Today's mission will be to snag at least one uncarrot, or at least figure out if there's are other, less protected gardens for me to plunder"

[KonokoHasano]

[So you can basically just either be in hiding, get forced to join either side, or merely say you joined for certain reasons? Lemme give this a bit of a shot, and if I've screwed up in any way, I apologize.]

Konoko sits upon the outer wall of the Hasano estate, glaring about at anybody from the Fourth Choir or the Deep Southerners. She wasn't exactly fond of either, since they had both attempted to try and infiltrate the estate and grab members of her family for their causes, and she has had to bust a few asses. She had been offered a chance by both sides to join, but had denied them, and had to deal with constant attempts. As such, she has constantly had a doppelganger on duty to deal with any of the fools who even attempted anything.

"Don't any of you idiotic fools even THINK about it." And thus, she gave everyone the bird.


Meanwhile, Marco Soreli couldn't help but wonder just what was going on. Things were looking WEIRD. "Take a vacation for a little bit and come back to, like, stuff weirder than usual."

[Mendi-chan]

*Holds his head in his hands for a moment... What a mess... Alex was well intentioned, but likely didn't understand the ramifications of undergoing the kind of activities that she was arranging. Muffingakure could wage war, no doubt, but it certainly had no wish too. For all of his laziness, this was much less a moment of apathy and lethargy on the part of the village's Kage, but instead was much more patience on his own part. Wars were messy business, and if there was no harm to his own village, no clear enemy, and no reason to fight then he'd do his best to make sure that they stayed out of it. Slamming the door to his office he heads to the roof... Standing atop the building, he gaze traces over the horizon.*

But all of this fails to answer the question of where the hell you are Blaze...

[Blaze]

The boy nearly jumps at first despite the appearance and comforting aura of the group. He looks on with some degree of bewilderment as the angel approaches him.

He blinks twice quickly, staring at the man's hand as if it was covered in some odd, horrific, foreign substance. Before too long, though, he's able to calm down, heaving a sigh and relaxing his shoulders. He gazes into the angel's eyes with his own.

"N-No, sir... I..." He swallows, his voice still shaky. He takes one more moment to compose himself before starting again. "I was just being wary of any gangs that might be around, sir. I don't want to be seen by them."

It may be strange, but if you asked people whether the Choir or the Southerners were worse, many would say that the Choir was. The Southerners knew they were criminals, they they were breaking the law, they just didn't care. But the Choir? Many of the Choir believed that they were in the right, and that lets them do worse things with a clear conscience. As such, had this boy been caught by a Southerner, they would probably laugh, say he had every right to be scared and probably send him on his way with a cuff over the head.

But the Choir? They believed that the boy had no right to be scared... as long as he wasn't working against them.

"Oh? Why do you not want to be caught?" the angel says, his face hardening.

Sam positions himself on a rooftop far enough away neo-muffinville district to be undetected but close enough to see with binoculars. While knowing both locations due to some "dirty tactics", Sam knows that going alone in the garden would be suicide. So he decided to take turns finding a way to snag fruit from both gangs, and that begins with tracking gang members carrying fruit

"Today's mission will be to snag at least one uncarrot, or at least figure out if there's are other, less protected gardens for me to plunder"

Sam has to endure several long dull hours of people going in, but no one coming out. Demons and the occasional foolhardy adventurer head into the entrance nearest to the garden... when someone finally emerges. A slight wisp of a boy, a pair of horns atop his head. He is dressed in a baseball uniform and carries a sporting bag. He looks around and begins to walk in that way people walk when they have something to hide but try to act casual.

[So you can basically just either be in hiding, get forced to join either side, or merely say you joined for certain reasons? Lemme give this a bit of a shot, and if I've screwed up in any way, I apologize.]

Konoko sits upon the outer wall of the Hasano estate, glaring about at anybody from the Fourth Choir or the Deep Southerners. She wasn't exactly fond of either, since they had both attempted to try and infiltrate the estate and grab members of her family for their causes, and she has had to bust a few asses. She had been offered a chance by both sides to join, but had denied them, and had to deal with constant attempts. As such, she has constantly had a doppelganger on duty to deal with any of the fools who even attempted anything.

"Don't any of you idiotic fools even THINK about it." And thus, she gave everyone the bird.


Meanwhile, Marco Soreli couldn't help but wonder just what was going on. Things were looking WEIRD. "Take a vacation for a little bit and come back to, like, stuff weirder than usual."

Sadly for the doppleKono, if any gang members were nearby, they were well-hidden. The only person nearby was a schoolgirl who looks at Konoko funny before pedalling away on her bike. Both sides preferred those who had skills prior to the force-feeding, so the Hasano mansion was like the Holy Grail to them. However, Konoko's refusal to join-and her stopping their infiltrators-had lead both gangs to lead a campaign of terrorism. They had tagged the outer walls with slurs like 'Angel Humpers' from the Southerners and 'Undead Abomination and Family' from the Choir. Some scuffles had broken out from members of each gang coming to tag at the same time...

Like the one that is breaking out now at the east wall.

-----

As for Marco, he finds himself DEEP in Southerners territory. A group of succubi are walking down the street, one spotting him. She makes her way over, legs swaying and beckons him.

"Hey sweetie, lose your mommy~?"

*Holds his head in his hands for a moment... What a mess... Alex was well intentioned, but likely didn't understand the ramifications of undergoing the kind of activities that she was arranging. Muffingakure could wage war, no doubt, but it certainly had no wish too. For all of his laziness, this was much less a moment of apathy and lethargy on the part of the village's Kage, but instead was much more patience on his own part. Wars were messy business, and if there was no harm to his own village, no clear enemy, and no reason to fight then he'd do his best to make sure that they stayed out of it. Slamming the door to his office he heads to the roof... Standing atop the building, he gaze traces over the horizon.*

But all of this fails to answer the question of where the hell you are Blaze...

Looking out at Muffinville, a violet beam suddenly pierces the sky, hitting a cloud and causing it to rain tomapples. Mendo may recognize the beam as the ones that Alex's ray gun gave off...

But then more and more shoot out, some buildings near their origins starting to crumble. She must be in trouble...

[Sam]

"Well well well, looks like I found my target. About time too, for a moment I thought I was going to run out of color fruit"

Sam focuses his attention solely on the boy as he looks around for any possible gang members that may be hiding near him. While doing this, Sam is putting on a trench coat as he prepares for following to boy on the streets to his destination

"Can't be too cocky here. Last thing I need is to scare the boy off and have him call some of his friends to take care of me"

[Jello Shot Mischa]

Near the heart of Academy City, a somewhat nondescript building overlooks the grass, trees, and ponds of the Memorial Park. It looks almost futuristic in design, its gleaming steel and composite structure covered with blue-tinted windows, but that simply means it blends in with the surrounding buildings, each of which has an equally futuristic design. Within its shiny exoskeleton, however, the central command for the CTC's operations in the city hums. And, in a command centre buried underneath all of that, Commander Pleasance leans over a holographic display, a frown creasing her features as she studies a wire-frame schematic of the nearby city of Muffinville.

The sudden massive outbreak of gang warfare had caught the CTC off-guard -- while they had mobilized their own search and rescue forces to assist in the aftermath of the bomb blasts, the sudden increase in violence and the first wave of retaliatory strikes between the gangs had meant those very same forces were caught in the middle, their security contingents overwhelmed by gang members out for vengeance. For the time being the CTC had pulled their forces back until they could organize a proper response, but the violence escalated even faster than had been anticipated, and the CTC soon realized it wasn't properly equipped to deal with the chaos that was ensuing on this scale.

Certainly, they had enough physical force that they could have rolled in in an effort to restore order -- it would hardly be the first time the CTC had intervened when the city was in a time of crisis, whether it had been Marky's orange-fuelled outburst of city-wide devastation, the arrival of an oddly displaced Russian military force that occupied the city, the attack of a giant penguin kaiju, or the enigmatic disappearances of entire families and communities that had stopped as mysteriously as they had begun. There were those members of the CTC that still openly urged some manner of intervention -- tentative plans were being formed to at least occupy some of the more strategic locations and develop safeholds for those people trying to avoid the gangs, who were violently assaulting civilians in order to increase their numbers. But the Command was as-yet uncertain if such a heavy hand was needed, and exactly how effective it would be. After all, and the gangs were undoubtably masters of unconventional warfare. They certainly weren't facing an enemy that would simply stand up and fight. While the CTC likely had enough force to prevail, the question was how high the cost would ultimately be.

So, for the time being, the CTC had largely withdrawn to fortify Academy City instead. The border where Academy City met the outer suburbs of Muffinville had been heavily fortified -- the toll booths and bridges that normally marked the boundary had been reinforced with armored emplacements, and main battle tanks now stood parked alongside the streets between the two communities, an open warning to the gangs that any effort to venture into Academy City would be met with devastating force. Infantry in powered armor, missile turrets, and machine gun nests rounded out the fortifications. The rest of Academy City's boundaries, marked by chain-link fences and security zones, were regularly patrolled by drones, vehicles, and squads of soldiers. Even Academy City itself was under martial law, and while the citizens still went about their daily business, armored vehicles, drones, and soldiers in body armor patrolled the streets.

Of course, it was unlikely the gangs would simply take such a challenge lying down. If nothing else, Academy City did offer a refuge for the beleaguered citizens of Muffinville, and every day at least one or two families tried to escape down the streets and roadways to Academy City. But so far, none of the gangs troublemakers had managed to get far past the perimeter -- in fact, there was a rumor going around that each gang had tried to send some of their best and most powerful into the city, only to have them disappear entirely -- or to return, somehow reduced to utter mundanes. Of course, none of the gang members were brave enough to actually venture to ask their leadership if these rumors were true, but that only made the rumors spread wider, a situation the CTC was quite happy to encourage.

Still, it was a situation that could not be allowed to persist for long, but the CTC was still not in a position to effectively intervene on their own. If they wanted to try and stop the suffering... well, they weren't the only ones. A window opens up on her displays, calling for her intention, as it displays Alex's frantic blasts of energy and her apparently troubled situation. The commander nods to herself.

"Mendokusee... we haven't spoken much since our visit to the Kage village, but... that might be a good start." She toggles her comm. "Scramble Abel with an HTR team. Destination coordinates are to follow."

"Yes, sir!"

Satisfied with that, Commander Pleasance turns back to her display. As it stood, the gangs apparently blamed each other for the massive explosions that had rocked the city and wiped out members of each gang. But given that each gang had been hit... the commander couldn't help but suspect a third party had been behind the attacks, and provoked the rising chaos that had overtaken the city. What's more, with each gang increasing their numbers, any similar attack would likely be even more devastating.

Her gaze shifts to the one most prominent and newest feature of the Muffinville skyline -- the orbital elevator. If anything were to happen to it -- particularly an explosive blast higher up along its length -- the aftermath of its collapse would be devastating. For Commander Pleasance, it was the biggest threat the current anarchic state of Muffinville posed.

"Lily... get me the latest tactical plans for the strike forces. We may need to move up our timeline."

Meanwhile...

One of the CTC's vertol transports takes off from a small airfield located within Academy City, accompanied by two vertol gunships. They start heading towards the location where Alex was apparently fighting...

[KonokoHasano]

Sadly for the doppleKono, if any gang members were nearby, they were well-hidden. The only person nearby was a schoolgirl who looks at Konoko funny before pedalling away on her bike. Both sides preferred those who had skills prior to the force-feeding, so the Hasano mansion was like the Holy Grail to them. However, Konoko's refusal to join-and her stopping their infiltrators-had lead both gangs to lead a campaign of terrorism. They had tagged the outer walls with slurs like 'Angel Humpers' from the Southerners and 'Undead Abomination and Family' from the Choir. Some scuffles had broken out from members of each gang coming to tag at the same time...

Like the one that is breaking out now at the east wall.

-----

As for Marco, he finds himself DEEP in Southerners territory. A group of succubi are walking down the street, one spotting him. She makes her way over, legs swaying and beckons him.

"Hey sweetie, lose your mommy~?"

Konoko rolls her eyes as she heads over to the east wall and watches the scuffle some. "Hey guys? Hey, hey guys?" She asked. "Why do you all insist on keeping up with this complete and total stupidity? Both of you realize that all this fighting is getting you nowhere, right? Are all of you just so gosh darn dim and ignorant that you value your insignificant pride over the potential loss of so many people on both of your sides? I mean, you both are clearly trying to endanger the lives of innocents who didn't even have a part in this mess to begin with, right?"

Crosses her arms. "You're all nothing but children throwing a tantrum."


Marco blinks a bit as the succubus walks up to him. He didn't even really seem to register the swaying, or if he did, he didn't linger on it. "Huh? Oh, no, I don't think so. I mean, well, my mom is somewhere around here. Oh! I did lose my birth mother years ago when I was born! Then I got a step mother who was mean. Then I ran away from home..." He goes on a bit of a tangent about his life. "... and then I got adopted not too long ago!" He smiles brightly, but then tilts his head.

"So... are you a demon? If so, then that's cool, you know?"

[Restless Lucidity]

It may be strange, but if you asked people whether the Choir or the Southerners were worse, many would say that the Choir was. The Southerners knew they were criminals, they they were breaking the law, they just didn't care. But the Choir? Many of the Choir believed that they were in the right, and that lets them do worse things with a clear conscience. As such, had this boy been caught by a Southerner, they would probably laugh, say he had every right to be scared and probably send him on his way with a cuff over the head.

But the Choir? They believed that the boy had no right to be scared... as long as he wasn't working against them.

"Oh? Why do you not want to be caught?" the angel says, his face hardening.

The boy gives the angel a lingering stare, some of the discomfort from before reappearing in his thoughts. With all he knew about the Choir on his mind... it was probably a good idea that he handled this as calmly and as quickly as possible. He lets go of the angel's hand.

"Because most of the gangs out here are dangerous. If they didn't hurt me and force me to help them, then they would at least slow me down." He motions to a package slung around his side. "... and I really can't afford that right now. I'm trying to get these supplies to a group of my friends on the other side of town."

He backs away, bowing his head slightly. The expression he wears makes any fear left in him less conspicuous. "I'm sorry to rush this conversation, but I should really be going. Thank you for helping me to my feet, Mr. Angel." With that, he turns and makes an attempt to casually walk away. The quicker he got away and back on his route, the better.

[Mendi-chan]

*Mendo narrows his eyes, gazing at the rising dust and smoke in the distance... before seemingly disappearing from the rooftop. Dashing from building to building... he jumps off of the village's outer wall and begins to run at full speed, his eyes taking on a slight red hue as he tried to scan ahead. His cybernetic body wasn't always preferable to his old one, but in situations like this he appreciated having the added utility.*
Alex... Please don't do anything too foolish.