[center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1170081630887612468/1170156549650534470/55db9d55763b87bfdfeb2a3ad496683c.png?ex=65580435&is=65458f35&hm=18273165adfdc1dddf6f8f1c88891b3ea57222883974fcfe4ac447f5df5ada1b&[/img][/center] [hr][h1]Inokashira Park[/h1][hr] Before long, one of the roads leading through the park appeared to be filled with a long line of white vans. Several of them had the logos of different restaurants or other service providers, like those who would set up tents or stages and seating for events--that had to be related! Otherwise, why would so many of them, from different businesses, be all following each other? Miyuki pulled her hood down as she jogged down one of the nearby bike paths, following the vans' route as they entered the park proper. Now other people were starting to filter into the park. Some of them carried bags and looked around shiftily. More than once, Miyuki saw them stop behind large trees or near benches. They would don long white robes over their clothes, and remove their shoes and socks to put on simple leather sandals. They were definitely cultists! But there seemed to be some others within the park as well. [@The World]A girl in a yellow hoodie...and a large, muscular man wearing all black like some kind of creeper. Miyuki didn't particularly linger on these individuals, since her focus was on getting closer to the large field where people seemed to be setting up for an event...but, she unconsciously held her hand closer to her chest as the symbol began to throb again. It wasn't just a stage, or a tent with seats, or food stalls. The cultists were setting up strange figures of straw or wood. She had seen footage of a festival on the internet once, something in the United States called Burning Man, and while none of these structures were on par with the sheer scale of that one, they seemed to loom darkly over Miyuki as she passed under their expressionless faces. "Excuse me, Miss!" Miyuki barely stifled a squeal as a large man in one of the white robes stepped out in front of her. "Are you here for the Messengers of Hope event?" The man smiled at her--unnervingly so--but held his hands loosely clasped in front of him and his body language didn't seem threatening. "Y-yes, s-sorry! I've, um, n-never been to one of these before!" She pulled the wrinkled flyer out of her pocket and handed it to the man for inspection. He nodded, his smile widening to a disturbing grin, and held it back out for her. "Please, don't apologize, my sister! We are so very blessed to have you! Please, please, take a seat towards the front--we must be sure our newest believers are able to experience all we have to offer!" Nodding as she gulped down her fear, Miyuki clutched the flyer close to her and moved towards the seating area. Then, she suddenly stopped and shook her head! [i]I'm not supposed to go along with all this! I just want to know what's up with the demons, and these crazy dreams![/i] But, now that she was among the crowd, and listening to the laughter and chatting going on around her, the shy girl began to realize just who was in attendance. A model she'd seen in magazines and on morning shows was wearing one of the white robes, and speaking in a fast, enthusiastic manner to a stern looking man. The collar of his robe was a little low, so Miyuki could see the stiff neck of his business suit beneath it and part of his tie. She didn't know him by sight like the model, but he radiated a "CEO" kind of aura. And... "Ohmigosh," she dropped her flyer, and brought both hands to her mouth. Or rather, her scarf. "Is that Rei-kun!?" Though no one around her replied to the whispered question, Miyuki blushed with second-hand embarrassment. "Rei-kun" was the stage name of a member from her favorite male idol group, and the young man himself was gathered in a circle around one of the effigies--"And that's T-Takki, a-and Yuuya! N-no way!" Was the whole group involved in this cult? That put a serious damper on her multi-way crush, to imagine her pure and beloved idols could be involved with such a weird group... Someone called for everyone's attention, from the podium nearby. As spotlights were swiveled in that direction, Miyuki saw another face she recognized from the news. Satoshi Miura. Forced to step down by his fellow party members and embroiled in numerous scandals and lawsuits, the politician's appearance came as less of an unexpected surprise to Miyuki than the idols' had, but she was still confused. She had thought he would be in prison by now, or at the very least under house arrest pending one of the several cases being built against him. Even if he had enough money to get out of it, like all the other wriggling worms in government, to knowingly involve himself with a group as controversial as the Messengers of Hope didn't seem like the brightest move. Everyone else started moving to their seats. Miyuki faded into the background, finding a seat in the further rows near the side of the event grounds--not quite at the back, where they would look for stragglers, but [i]definitely[/i] nowhere near the front. And Satoshi's speech began. Protection? How could the Messengers of Hope protect people from demon attacks? How could Satoshi promise something like that, when he no longer had any such power? Besides, if someone was in danger, wasn't it better to call the police? And who were they supposed to be praying to? He hadn't said anything about who or what the cultists even worshipped... The chanting began. Miyuki's hand throbbed, and she began to massage her palm with the other. What was this strange feeling bubbling up inside her? Why...did she suddenly feel...so foggy...? The lights were too bright. No, wait, those weren't the spotlights, they were...what...[i]who?[/i] [hider=Dream Sequence 2][i]She sat under the kotatsu at home. At the [b]old[/b] house, the one they'd all lived in...together. The table was set for breakfast in front of her. The air was warm, so they had the door open to the side porch overlooking the small flowerbed and the tree with her childhood swing. She looked up, and across the table. [url=https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/935994562026016780/1180299163796258836/Emiya-san20Chi20no20Kyou20no20Gohan20-200620-20Large2013.png?ex=657cea41&is=656a7541&hm=46f9b666da0cce14be6773cecec20debfb2576f178359d5c345f40f0a0c76f53&]He was there[/url], cracking a raw egg into his fresh, steaming bowl of rice. "P-p...pa...Papa?" Tears began to well in her eyes as she sniffed, and pulled her scarf down from her face. He looked at her, and smiled his one-of-a-kind, lopsided smile. "Myu-tan, can you pass me the soy sauce?" He pointed. She nodded, numbly, as her chest and throat began to close up. She reached for the bottle-- Her hand stung. Blue embers began to glow around the strange black tattoo. She flinched back. "Ah! I...Wait! How did I...what is all of this...?" She looked at her father, and he looked at her...then he blinked, and looked down at her hand. "Oh, I see. You should probably get going, then." He looked sad, but set his rice down on the table. Then he took his chopsticks...and instead of laying them across the bowl, he instead gently stabbed them into the white, fluffy grains and let them stick straight up. Like an offering to the dead. "Sorry Miyuki. It's going to be a while longer before we can share a meal together again." His eyes rose to meet hers again, and once more, he smiled. "W-wait! Papa! Don't...don't leave me!" She rose up on her knees and tried to reach for him, over the table--and a blood red hand grabbed her by the wrist. "Now, now. Please, don't rush." Her father's seat seemed to slide further and further back, of its own accord, as he rose up from his knees. "There will be plenty of time, later. But for now...be strong, my princess." Then he looked over her shoulder, at the dark presence growing heavier and heavier behind her. "Take care of her, will you?" But then, he furrowed his brow and poked his chin out like he was imitating a Yakuza, and doing a poor job of it. He jabbed his finger at the entity holding Miyuki back. "But don't think I'm giving her to you, got it!? Any man that wants to hold my little girl's hand, has to beat ME first!" "Aye, m'laird." said the darkness, before yanking Miyuki away, through the black waves of a tossing ocean...[/i][/hider] Miyuki regained consciousness with a scream, tears running down her face. As she stood from her seat, knocking the chair over in the process, she saw that several others were in the same state--only, their tears were a dark, thick red. Eyes rolled back into their heads, other people among the crowd frothed at the mouth or convulsed in their seats. Gasping with revulsion, Miyuki groped for the tote-bag holding her bokken as she looked around at the rest of the cult. "JACK FROST!" someone roared. Miyuki turned to see that strange man in all black leap up, throwing off his hood as he whipped out--[i]a pair of nunchaku?![/i] And as he rushed the stage, she recognized him too! That was Xavier Wong, an international action star! Was he part of the cult too?! Wait, he was fighting with the cultists! And...was that a little kid in a snowman costume with him?! [i]Na, lassie. That be Jack Frost, a demon lik' masell. This be whit Ah spoke tae ye before--Let us jyne th'fray![/i] The girl started to protest--before Satoshi's chant continued, and two more monsters appeared! [url=https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/935994562026016780/1180305817925324860/1000.png?ex=657cf074&is=656a7b74&hm=c32f629658e1abec57878a094d118ac663f06f2b94a9b2995bd464922fb269c6&] A crystalline, angelic figure with a beating heart in its stomach[/url] and a [url=https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/935994562026016780/1180305847230935100/latest.png?ex=657cf07b&is=656a7b7b&hm=d647fc7b70c79e9da8a8d3dab1c225fd431a5266dd3acd013eda47bb628562ea&] blue giant with ox hooves and horns, but a singular eye in a human face[/url] arose from bright portals at Satoshi's feet! Just as Mr. Wong knocked out the two cultists with knives attacking him, the demons lunged for him! "LHAM DEARG!" [@Eviledd1984]Just as the Cyclopes was about to bring down its hammer on the martial artist's head, sparks flew! Steel clashed with steel, and the red-handed fae soldier managed to barely deflect the blow! As the hammer's head came down on the stage, an explosion of wood chips and dust rained over the comatose crowd! "Lass! Thay aren't a' oot cauld!" shouted the demon towards Miyuki. "What?" she questioned with a blank face, before a sudden movement close to her face caused her to whip backwards with shocking agility for a nerdy girl. One lens of her glasses cracked at its edge, a near miss! "The lord...The LORD our Elohim...is one LORD..." mumbled a cultist holding an extending baton. The man approached as if he was drunk, but with clear purpose. Miyuki's hand closed on the hilt of her wooden sword, and as she drew it the cloth tote was thrown aside. As it drifted on the wind, all ten of her fingers slowly flexed and closed on the weapon's grip. "S-stay, stay away!" But of course, the attacker didn't heed the warning. A new look entered Miyuki's eyes now--the look she had whenever she stepped onto the club mats to spar. With an unintelligible gurgle, the cultist lurched forward--! [url=https://media.tenor.com/AoTogiqx8kEAAAAd/the-god-of-highschool-anime.gif]Miyuki was two steps faster[/url], and with movements combined from HEMA and kendo delivered a flowing three-strike combination--head, body, and chest! The cultist was stunned by the heavy blow to his skull, and the next two drove the breath out of his lungs--he wasn't dead, but dropped to the ground all the same. Then the intense look on Miyuki's face was immediately replaced by one of confusion as she ran towards Lham Dearg, and by extension Mr. Wong and the Jack Frost demon. "What's going on?!" she blubbered, as all around them the seizing victims in the crowd continued to chant...