2020-01-08 - That's not good

Finch and Ignacio had just curled up for a long winter's nap. Or you know, a catnap at Mallard House. So, to suddenly be awake and in the middle of downtown, with people fleeing like cockroaches when the kitchen light turns on? That is a big clue Finch is not awake in the reality sense. Then there is that strange lightning, and thunder crackling, and a screech that seems to shiver through her entire skeleton like a klaxon warning her to run.

"Oh shit, that sounds...big," she points out the obvious to Ignacio, grabbing his hand tightly.

August is downtown, fetching his medical records from the post office where they were delivered registered mail, signature required, etc. Or, he was going to do that. Now he's in Not-Downtown, which he doesn't realize until that sound hits his ears. He flinches, covering his ears and staring around himself for the source. "I'll take the Grease knock off," he says, mostly to himself.

Ignacio is out walking around. This should be clue number one. It isn't. His sneakers bring that plod up short. Hand in his pocket and eyes on the ground he feels it; the static of ozone revving up, the stillness in the rush, and the faint tremor in his bones. His hand squeezes Finch's looking up, "Inch, why are all the people running? I taste... panic." His eyes squint looking for the logical source. "Please tell me this is because we have a decent pizza parlor instead of that deep dish stuff."

Maybe it's the fact she's one of the few that is standing still rather than fleeing from whatever was coming. Or maybe it's that fact she had just cracked a cider and was rounding a corner, and instead of her streaming rig, she was now standing in the street being deafened. Really, any of these things could have tipped Abitha off that something isn't right. It's a strange testament for how many jump scare horror games she's played that she merely remains standing, eyes wide open, face frozen in a mask of confusion with a healthy sprinkling of fear. Words jar her from the moment, and her head whips around to look at whoever spoke, eyes a bit harried.

Where was the sailor headed, when this happened? Probably from living room to kitchen, honestly, at this time of day. But now he's out on the streets, and there's people fleeing in panic....and Joe's first thought is 'tsunami warning'. Some plate shifted off the coast and now there's a wave coming. But of course he doesn't just join the flow of traffic inland. No, he's turning to see what there is to be seen.

Finch stares, mouth agape, at the beam of burning energy melting through steel and stone like it is nothing. She might just stand there forever, agog, but that child's scream reaches her ears and she can't not acknowledge it. "Iggy?" she asks him with a worried look. "We have to help. But please don't get stepped on by some enormous monster, ok?" She squeezes his hand and tugs him in the direction of the screaming.

August takes a second to reflect that Alexander is right and he should just call 911 more often, if he thinks it won't land people in jail or the psych ward with a 48 hour hold. He doesn't believe in New Year's Resolutions, but oh boy, he's tempted just this once.

The crying child's voice amidst destruction hits a bit close to home, and he just starts running that direction. He's not really thinking too clearly about doing that. He does recognize Ignacio and Finch, at least, and also spots Joe and Abitha. But he doesn't stop; getting to the source of that cry is of the utmost importance.

Ignacio stands completely still. He can hear it and feel the panic of the city. Finch calls his name and her voice cuts through the din but he doesn't move. Dark brown eyes fall into the middle distance for a moment. Did he check out? No. His hand squeezes and tugs back. Looking around he points with his free hand large enough a gesture to broadcast far. "The sound's bounding. They're in the park or ...really near." His cheeks pulling in he bellows over the cars beeping all to move faster, "ROEN! PARK!"

Oh, Ignacio does weird stuff. This was a weird thing! Elves were a weird thing! August was part of the weird thing stuff! This all makes sense in Abitha's mind, the look of calculating decision making rolling across her face before she takes off running after him. Last time she had just run for her life, but dammit, things were different now she knew about weird things. Also, you never split up in scary movies or tabletop parties, so that means... Well, someone should follow him.

Faces he recognizes. Faces he doesn't. This is first time in a Dream with others who Glimmer. The first time that it isn't a solitary and bloody nightmare. But Joe's still got that stunned look. Hesitating a beat longer, but then he's finally moving. Towards the Park, though that cry wasn't pitched to him. It'll be away from That. Because he doesn't consciously realize what That is, not yet, but he doesn't have to. The instinct that has the fine hairs at his nape rising tells him enogh.

There may not be spinning high tension wires. But there's a purposeful grimace, and terrible sounds. Coming into view, head so far above the street even at a distance one must crane their head back if they want to see. A face both saurian and mammal in likenesses. An ugly blackened area marks its chest and part of it's arm, glassy like obsidian.

Pelting down the streets, and following Ignacio's nose - they don't find a delicious fruity breakfast cereal, but the sight of a child standing within a hundred yards of the way towards Addington park comes into view - outside of a comic and collectables shop. Toys are at his feet and two are in his hands.

Above, to the north, by way of the park a beaked head with metal visor glowing red as an angry sun. It walks bipedal, chest having something like a bio-organic sawblade down the center and when it's arms raise. past the elbow they're building sized scythe like blades, gleaming in the blue light.

Another roar from the south, a pressure, and then a pulsing beam of blue responds to the red before, crushing building roofs, exploding windows, and smashing into the northern creature like a glowing hammer that makes the air shimmer and warble with heat distortion.

Finch gives August a grimace as they near him, heading the same way, with Iggy leading them to the source of the screams. She skids to a halt a few feet from the kid and looks up, and up, and up, and up. "Son of a Bitch. That is totally Final Wars Gigan!" she blurts out. Yeah someone watched a lot of old monster movies instead of having a social life in high school. She blinks a few times, then pries her gaze back down to the kid and their toys. She reaches out with her Spirit sense to see if the kid is hurt.

August cuts a look at Finch. "So this is yours?" He casts sympathetic looks at Joe and Abitha, nods for them to keep close. He reaches out to the child, trying to calm him some, because odds are one of them is going to need to pick him up so they can run for it.

Ignacio jogs as best as he can trying to keep a bead on the kid so they can get there. There's the boy. "Finch, he alright? We can't stay here." Hearing a familiar voice he shoots a look back to Roen, "No. It's not. But she's not bringing this one home." Spotting Abitha and Joseph he points to the nearest safe path he can factor, "I think this way" God he's trying to keep his calm. His hand reaches out to hold one arm vaguely out like one does for a passenger in a car as if that'll stop anything. It's not something he seems to be aware of but it is helping. The glimmer shifts her way for a moment like a soap bubble and falls inert. "Pajarito we have got to move. Hopefully they'll stay toward the harbor. We need to get away from the City."

Jogging to a stop in the park near August, Abitha looks up at the flash, then intentionally down at the boy and the toys, eyes wide, intense. Ok, so everyone was just gonna pop off with stuff, that's what Abitha was picking up from this. So she... opens up... At least that's how she thought of it. Her eyes shut as she lets her mind wander around the area, steering clear of the others' minds around her, not trying to skim their emotions, but trying to get a sense of the proximity of other minds in the area besides the five of them and the child. She didn't want to look up. Nope. That was too much anxiety, which, likely, the other Mentalists would be able to read from her with even the slightest thought.

See, if they're all falling into roles for this....Joe is so the scientist who's so tempted to stop and take notes for his research that he gets stepped on. He knows they have to get away, that the titans battling makes the whole place as risky as if a tsunami really were on the way....but he's so tempted to just watch. As if the danger weren't genuine, and this is just the kind of dream you wake up from, sweating.

The child looks up to the adults coming right up on him, eyes wide, dropping toys that... look very familiar, but much smaller, screaming, "Strangers! STRANGERS! MOOOMMMMYYY!!!" before he cuts north west, a flying car and chunk of building barely missing, shooting up fountains of masonry and asphalt in his wake. Barely a block away south a massive clawed, and scaled, foot hits the ground, shooting glass and debris in all directions. Glass is hurled and the shockwave itself is enough to cause a municipal building to crumble and start to collapse as if destroyed with demolitions.

The northward creature screeches again, one of its blade arms partially melted, swinging it's limb and sending metal that glows white hot like gelatinous rain across the city, charging the reptilian. Both it's crimson eye beam, and the blue pulse of either monster striking as they're unleashed, forming a ball of kinetic impacts in the center that sets stone on building rooves on fire.

Finch shakes her head at August and points to the kid and the toys they are holding. "I think it's theirs, those are Godzilla toys." She moves to crouch down to see which ones in particular the kid is holding, already suspecting to find Gigan and probably big G himself, but winds up being thrown to the ground by the earthquake-like tremor of Godzilla's footfall. "Come on G, you're my childhood hero," she mumbles. Then she sweeps her eyes on the pile of dropped toys to see if she can get them some help, looking for the Queen of the Monsters, Mothra. If she sees the moth-kaiju she grabs hold of it and starts singing her song.

'Mosura ya Mosura
Dongan kasakuyan indo muu
Rusuto uiraandoa, hanba hanbamuyan, randa banunradan
Tounjukanraa
Kasaku yaanmu'

Before August can approach the kid to talk to him he's off and running, screaming about strangers. He shifts his shield to the child, dodging debris and trying to follow after him before he gets killed in some horrible, disaster/monster movie fashion. He calls over his shoulder, "Help her project that," at Ignacio, tapping at his temple, then focuses on chasing down the child.

Ignacio has his eye on the kid and then? "Mierda!"That's another tire! and a park bench. He dives out of the way catching tire #2. What is it with unattached wheels running him over!?? Thankfully as he's an airborne and not stationary object there's minimal collision but does slam him against the building with a very uncomfortable wince. Winded, not injured he pushes himself up. Looking sideways he tries to get a bead on their surroundings with a squint and trying not to let the screeching make his skin crawl. He needs his skin later here., on his body dammit! "Amplify the- No soy un Batsignal!" There's a frown but he hear Finch and blinks. Sloooowly it dawns on him. His hand reaches out to find her shoulder and with that? Closes his eyes. Talk about spectacularly unflashy glimmer users. He's sitting still. Woo. Look...at him not go. Feelings though? That's where the Spanish Peacock is a rockstar and he tries to catch that feeling off Finch and project her intent like a megaphone. Empaths man. Odd bunch.

Abitha's eyes snap open as she realizes something, staring after the running child in confusion, "He's linked..." she lifts her hands to her mouth, shouting after August, "His mind is linked to..." She trails off, her eyes dropping to the toys, then throwing her arms up to protect herself from debris, "That doesn't make any sense." She's staring at Finch now, actually able to speak the language the girl was speaking. She moves, skidding over to the ground, reaching out if the woman would let her to put her hands on top of Finch's and attempting to join in on the chanting. She could feel what Ignacio was doing and she opens her mind again, reaching out to at least try to... sync up? Imitate? Honestly, she didn't know, but she was just trying to help.

There's another faltering presence, reaching out. He's got no idea what on earth he's doing, but clearly do. It's like feeling someone else try to shoulder into a huddle, the sailor's joining the group. Physically, he's still heading for August, but Abitha's comment makes him ask, simply, "Linked to what?"

The song, sung at it is, with Finch's glimmer behind it, and with Ignacio's aid becomes louder, and there are twin voices carrying on the wind, echoing it. Manipulating the dreamscape, novel idea, by unorthodox method, following the rules of the Dreamer. Abitha's sudden addition makes the song sweet and carrying, Joseph's gives it a force like a gale wind against the shorelines.

The boy, protected by August's will, runs unaware of the stone, jagged glass, and molten metal deflected from him that may have otherwise caused terrible harm. Forcing him to halt and huddle as the boot like foot of the beaked creature slams nearby, the shockwave rolling around the willful projections wreathing him.

The titanic figures slam into each other, roaring and hissing, but they are drawn up short by a trilling sound that seems to cut the clouds. Golden sunlight knifing through the gloom, bathing the Dreamers and the monsters alike as wings like the sun flap in billowing waves, banishing the clouds, creating a figure that seems to be the sun itself, existing within the sky and not above it. Soft sparkling things floating down like diamonds made into snowflakes.

Finch feels the others join in with the song, and her heart swells at the feeling behind it. No matter what movie, no matter what other creatures were in it, Mothra has never, ever, been the bad guy. She is humanity's savior.

'Mosura ya Mosura
Yasasishasae wasure
Arehateta hito no kokoro inorinagara utaitai
Ai no uta'

The clouds are parted by the Titan's brilliance, the godrays she streams down amid them, and tears leak from the corners of Finch's eyes. "We need your help, get us clear of this disaster, save the child and August too, please," she asks the goddess.

August winces as the child makes his way through all that chaos, doggedly following after him. A piece of concrete hits him in the side, a chunk of glass gives him a nice cut on the arm, but nothing serious. He'd planned to be nicer about this whole 'picking the kid up' thing, but instead, he just ducks down, scoops him up, and heads back towards the group. "We'll get you back to your mom, kid, just hang in there."

Ignacio weirdly feels Abitha rolling up, sort of as another mind moves into radar as a sort of solid object in the emotional fluidity. Blinking he stares, still trying to focus and picks up on what she's doing, holds out a hand, hesitates for the "Senno ecto gammat." look. He rests his hand on the back of her shoulder there letting himself be a damn radio tower of a signal. Can he understand the language? Uh, no. He focuses on htis and the rumbling and tries to keep his awareness and purpose grounded. That's his role in these things: Pragmatic and hopeful radio technician? Sure, why not!

Abitha follows along with Finch's chant, able to match cadence as she "remembers" the tune from... somewhere... the final verse spoken, and Finch speaking her "prayer", Abitha tries to explain in the meantime, "I dunno, Joe, his mind was part of him, but it also stretched toward the monsters, so I'm just kinda going with whatever the heck we're doing, cause it feels like something is happening." She turns to look back to Finch, hearing the words, brow twitching as Abitha processes the translation, then closes her eyes and, still lifting her mind, translates the call, "Watashitachi wa anata no tasuke o hitsuyō to shi, kono saigai o meikaku ni shite, kodomo to otoko mo sukutte kudasai..."

There's another voice echoing hers. Someone else present does speak the language, and he's reinforcing it. "Linked," he says, in a weird stereo effect, voice and mind in concert. It throws Joe a little, that's felt, a ripple like a stumble in a horse's stride, but he doesn't fall out of the rapport, whatever it is. Part of him caught up in the wonder of it.

The boy, looking up at August as he is lifted sobs and tries to get his arms around the man, sobbing frantically. Something clicks, something seems right. There's not even the pressure one might feel with Them on the outskirts - as if planning to try and jump in. Like a golden thunderbolt, the winged figure descends as the reptilian turns, the beaked creature in its grip. Another trill cuts the air, victorious and wrathful, met with the roar of a king and the screech of an interloper.

The impact sucks the breath from the onlookers and it feels as if their lungs will be torn out through their mouths when the beast caught in the middle screams in fury and terror. No debris strikes August, or the child, or the summoners. Golden flakes rest on them, or become pools of light guiding August's steps.

The great wings rise and then come down like twin hurricanes... Leaving the Dreamers where they stood before. Dusty, scratched if injured in the Dreamscape... But with lingering golden dust in their clothes that seems to fade slower than one would think, and with it a feeling of accomplishment for the summoners, while a lingering sensation of deep welled appreciation seems to follow August.

Finch looks down at herself, and then at the others nearby, connected to one another by touch or minds. She looks at the golden dust still glittering here and there on her clothes, in their hair. She has wide eyes, as she whispers, "Best. Dream. Ever."

August pulls up short at the collision and screaming and everything--

And then, he's there, in downtown, gold dust on himself and the kid he's carrying, right arm bleeding and right ribs bruising. He slowly sets the kid down, glancing over him for injuries, and then taking a really good look at him. He kneels down so he's not towering. "Hey, you okay? Your mom's around here somewhere, right?"

Ignacio is riding the wave of euphoria in awe and splendor until things get bright... bright- TOO BRIGHT and he closes his eyes. He's still holding onto Finch and Abitaha and all of a sudden he's using either of them not to support but as support. "Shit... shitshitshit..." There's some teeth bit he catches himself. Yeah he doesn't have his leg brace on and he's still pulling physical rehabilitation on his recent foray into bad ideas. "This is cold. January is still balls cold."

"What the actual fuck," Joe's voice is mild, save for that vibrating undertone of complete shock. Then he realizes he was in earshot of a kid, and looks immediately contrite. He's also blinking like a rat who's just stuck his head right out of a hole, everything bright with afterimages. As they clear, he turns to look at each of the others, in turn. August is the only one he's really met, and he gives the arborist a nod.

August has injuries which means Finch is on it. She raises a hand towards him, fingers moving as if a puppeteer pulling strings, only the strings can't be seen as the move into his wounds and bind them back into wholeness. She also grabs hold of Iggy around the waist, slinging his arm over her shoulders, because well, they were in bed napping and he's not in his brace.

August nods at Joe, raises his eyebrows. "Welcome to the insanity," he says, smile wry and apologetic. He sucks in a breath to tell Finch not to heal him, but there she goes. He sighs at her. "Really. An ice pack and some stitches would have been fine." He doesn't sound or look ungrateful, though.

He stands, offers a hand to the kid. "Let's go find his mom."