Just as Jun predicted, the lights didn’t leap to attack him. Instead, they came and circled around him in an up and down pattern, their appearance was distinguishable now that they were so close. They looked like soap bubbles, but more ethereal (if that’s even possible) and something… images seemed to swirl inside of them. They looked like the hazy memories of a child or a family playing in the park on a lazy weekend, a girl running, a girl jumping, a girl laughing, but in none of the images there was anything distinguishable, as if a mist clouded them.
Suddenly, a huge flash of iridescent light illuminated the night, coming from the Botanical Garden, upon it’s flicker, the bubbles disappeared from Jun’s view, and all he could get from them was a sideways glance of the bubbles going towards the garden. Perhaps, they were right and the mystery really there? There was only one way to know.
Kat would find that negotiation with the giant bubble of silliness before her was all but impossible, since just after hugging her, it set out to run around the playground, trashing everything in his path, with a happy smile stamped in its face. The only thing that stood as the sand ball run like a four-years-old on a sugar high were the swing, which it avoided by some reason. When there was nothing more to “play” with in its view the sand blob turned once again to Kat, running and jumping just a few meters away from her as if it wanted to dive bomb the Chaser.
However, just as it was about to crush (if she hadn’t done anything like to get out of the way/protect herself before) Kat in its happy glee, a powerful light flashed from the Botanical Garden and as the sobbing near the swings stopped, the sand monster crumbled, splashing a wave of sand everywhere. Kat’s shield would protect of any harm, but not without some sand getting in… inconvenient places. Anyway, despite the bizarre occurrence from a moment ago, the playground seemed safe now. Perhaps they were right about the garden?
Kat’s choices now were to try and get to one of the other on their respective zones, or try to approach the garden either as a team or alone. What would she do?
Kazuki would find as he picked the toy, that no, it didn’t turn into a worm the size of a bus and ate his head with extreme prejudice. What happened was actually that the song stopped altogether and a strong light flashed somewhere in the park, probably from the Botanical Garden. Perhaps, because he took the furthest place, he didn’t have much time to react before the event, even so the plush bunny wrestled itself out of Kazuki’s grip and flew toward the Garden.
With the theater dead as well, Kazuki was presented with the same choice as the others. His fate laid on his hands.
• • •
To the Chaser's woe, the flash in the Botanical Garden actually meant that a certain apprentice of the World's Strongest Mage had just finished her grandest scheme ever. If today wasn't the day when Harumi would catch an alien, then... she would just have to try harder next time. One-upping her own ploys was one of Harumi's hobbies, after all.
Either way, the reports in the park attracted Harumi like honey would attract bees and she had been camping here for the past couple days. The first one to step on the garden would be greeted by Harumi's fail safe Alien Catcher v 2.35 (aka, magical rope trap), and swept of their feet, before the esper jumped from her hiding spot on some nearby bushes.
"Hah! Got you, I knew it was an alien this ti... me?" Harumi trailed off as she noticed t was just another group of Chasers,
"Oh, come on guys, can't you see I'm trying to make a trap here? Stop wasting my time, gah!" She said while pacing back and forth in thought, not even caring to free whoever fell for her trap, after all now that it had been activated it was nothing but a normal length of rope, the could very well cut themselves off of it. Of course, it would mean a tree meters head first fall on the ground, but hey! If they are Chasers they can survive at least this one, not?
Anyway, a moment later, the true cause of the occurrences at the park would reveal itself as the bunny the sand and the bubbles combined together before everyone’s eyes, forming a giant bunny of doom, with an armor of sand and bursting bubbles from the mouth, such a seriously bizarre vision caused even Harumi to frown, though it was in annoyance,
”Are you serious? All this time and it was just a boring ghost? Ah… whatever, Reiko sent me here, if I don’t get this done before going back, I don’t know what she’ll do.” Harumi said, drawing a handful of ofuda from her vest and getting ready to the fight.
But not without one last quip,
”Hey, guys”, she said to Jun, Kazuki and Kat,
”You don’t happen to have a Holy Hand Grenade on you by any means, right?” Anticipating that they might not get the joke (‘cause seriously, who ever did?), Harumi finished with,
”No? Then I guess we’ll have to do it the hard way, get ready, here it comes!” And, after dodging a jet of bubbles, Harumi dived into the fray, with magic and martial arts.
Now, it was all on the Chasers and hers hands.
”Sorry, Rui-kun, it’s the Law of the Jungle, the wolf is a hunter and I sure am hungry, right Kiara?” Haruka said after intentionally pairing with Rui-Ling, despite both their motorcycles being about the same power, Haruka’s was much lighter, meaning that she could pass him easily if she wanted, though she didn’t had the ages long experience that the decrepit immortal had to use at her advantage so they were more or less ion the same level on the race.
”By the way, Kiara, wasn’t you who said you wanted some emotion tonight? You know, danger is the best spice for love~” As Haruka replied to her girlfriend’s question, she managed to get into a tight spot between two speeding trucks (one of them being an empty car carrier), and summoned her sword before slashing at the trailer controls, thereby lowering its ramp. One break and another acceleration later and Haruka was yelling at Kiara to hold herself (not that it was needed, since Kiara could simply use her powers to avoid the hardest bumps).
”Well then, Rui-kun, see ya later!” Haruka yelled, before revving a last time and using the truck’s ramp to jump to the top of a container carried by another truck.
Well then, if it wasn’t insane? Haruka used the advantage of her custom built “roof hopping” motorcycle to turn the race into a 3D contest, now that she had the option of jumping from truck to truck. Indeed she was mad, but that’s just how Haruka lives, Kiara should know it better than anyone else.
• • •
Meanwhile, Suzumebachi was putting more and more distance between them with his hyper-fast ride. Maybe this time was his chance for a grand victory? Who knows?
@Ashifili@GrafRoy Zeppeli@Rune_Alchemist@rechonq@TheWindel@McFazzer
CamiCat,
Ariamis,
Lonewolf685,
TheWendil,
mickilennial,
Scrawl Banditta
