Mallrat Madness - RPLOG
Participants
Date
30/6/2013
Log
There's a rumbling in the background that doesn't quite fit the lack of real overcast overhead. One block from the mall and hunkered down at the back passageway that serves as one of the rodent's emergency escape routes, a hooded rodent is mumbling anxiously to himself as he shifts from foot to foor with shopping bag in hand. The clothes felt far too itchy, his watch that he hadn't worn in ages felt too damn tight. Everything about this just seemed /wrong/. What was he doing? He could hear a crowd in the distance, but the rat is currently looking up and down the street for something..else. "C'mon, damnit.." The guard wouldn't be gone for too long before they start manning up every exit, even the hidden ones.
Pog is grinning like a devil, giddy as can be. For the mostpart she blended into the mutant crowd- she belonged there, after all. She had climbed to the top of the tallest pile of debris she can find, cheering on the crowd, "This is only the first step to truly breaking the chains of Prometheus! Those traitorous rats are in league with everyone who's ever harassed us, hurt us, killed us... Restrained us! They supply them with the means to do so! So I say we cut them off once and for all! Remember, patience is key- but once Charlie sends the signal, show them the true power of 'ferals'!" With that, she lets out a vicious, feline roar to excite the crowd all the more, then leaps down off the debris, striding her way around to meet her lieutenant. Once she turns into the passage, she nods towards him. "Lead the way, Charlie-boy."
Mickey's ears droop. This rat is clearly one out of place of the riot, but hey. If there's a party. "Yeeeah.." he squeaks, his voice drowned comepletely by the mob. "Hope you know what you're doin'," he chitters as he puts his paws on the piece of drywood that was apparenly secured along with the others; this one easily slides aside to reveal the parking lot of the mall. "I'll meet ya by the East exit. If you're on time," he adds with a mumble, then steps over the frame quickly to avoid the rush of mobs as he pulls out an airhorn and lets it blare.
The rabble were an entity unto themselves at this point, a teeming swarm of various mutants and borderline ferals that had become malcontent with the way the Mallrats were running the show milled about, anger, frustration and despertion fueling them.
They needed someone to blame for their troubles and a way to feed themselves and their children...if they gave a damn about what fell from between their legs at all. So when The tigress gave her little speach, the crowd answered back with a mixed roar of it's own! Yeah! Fuck those rats! Fucking corporate sell outs! Oh they couldn't wait....
Flying high above the scene below, Glein was armored and geared for combat. "Command, Dragoon here. Currently 250 feet AGL, and I can confirm, we've got a large group of creatures. One seemed to give a speech or something, becuase they're pumped up." Glein said, tapping the mic and earpeice combo currently in her left ear. "Can we get someone inside the mall in time to warn them?" Glein asked, wanting to get down there and calm teh situation, or stop it, but only could wing above it as an observer. It was agrivating.
UHSC command responds in piecemill text fashion. [Maintain line-ofsight. Mallrats have their own weapons and lookouts. Don't get involved unless assistance is requested. Both sides of conflict are your priority.]
Inside the mall the whispers of the mob pass from rat to rat in the classic game of telephone. Thankfully reception is good; it takes only a few minutes after the speech for word to finally reach the chilly top of Mt. Cool. Calmly, he filters down his own instructions. Stay chill, watch the doors, get ready to go on lockdown. He himself would go personally to the manager's office to access the PA system and alert the shoppers. "So like, there's a party out there that seems too hot, so if you're not done with your trip here then just start chillin' in the food court till it all blows over. Yeah?"
Xolotl has been hunting, stalking the city streets for prey, for the Blessing of Change. But now, a commotion, a flare of noise and crowd-scent, catches its attention. What's this? Gliding into the group as the mob gathers, Xolotl listens with fascinated curiosity to the tigress's speech, and the answering roars all around it. It has no care for these things - they are beneath its concern - but the sheer raw intensity of the emotion, and the concentration of pheromones in the air from so many passionate bodies all in one place - oh, it was intoxicating! The Hungry One would stick around, and flow with the mob, as one with it. Its forked tongue flicks, tasting the air repeatedly as it savors the crowd's mingled essences.
Edel passes a bit of tech to a rat in exchange for a few cans of the pop that the small husky enjoys so much. After tucking the drinks into her dufflebag, she turns to look out towards the exit of the mall, a frown forming on her muzzle as she draws her hood up. "Well, that doesn't sound at all pleasant." She shuffles off behind part of the scenery, reaching around behind her back to check that her new rifle had a magazine in it.
Cardison looks less than certain as her haggling for a book of old fantasy art is interrupted by the commotion in the lower levels. "Thaaat doesn't sound like normal squabbles..." She peeks out over the edge of the walkway, tail curled around herself to give her some semblance of decency - Though the implication of being dressed in naught but one's own tail may work against that goal. She perks at the squeal of the PA, making quick last minute offers for the book before hugging it against herself as she follows the instructions and heads for the food court. "Always a new adventure..."
Pog nods to Charlie and gets straight to work, looking along the wall and feeling against it for grooves or loose bricks or any of that silly secret agent stuff when she notices an indent in the wall that should've been obvious from how close she was. Feeling less than tactically genius she pries open the false wall, slipping through and leaving it open behind her, leading into what looks a lot like a slightly winding maintenance tunnel. Cautiously the tiny tigress pads down what is a lot like a grand hall to her, wary of bumping into a mallrat at any turn. There was a grate somewhere around here...
Glein growls at that. "Roger that Command. Maintaining aerial survailence of developing situation. Dragoon out." She states, controlling herself enough not to growl into the mic itself. This whole situation was just ASKING for it to explode by one group or the other overreacting. That's how so many skirmishes began, and usually erupted into much uglier, much larger conflicts.
Ruby roamed the outskirts of the mall, picking up the constant litter around the area. She could have passed as a janitor even, if she wasn't only picking up metallic scraps. "Ugh, too many cans to bother with..." This was not the most entertaing way to get supplies, and the yelling nearby made it worse. She would another lap inside if she could, and get out before something worse than screaming came up.
Within the rush back and forth of the rats it's easy to see the order in the chaos. A glossy black femrat is hurrying moving chairs to help barricade up the front doors, A pierced rat jingling like mad is helping close off some of the shops that they wouldn't be needing should it turn into a seige, and one hooded rat with a shopping bag is going about, helpfully dragging trash cans away from their places by the loungechairs and placing them in key parts around the evac routes. Each rodent had a task and like clockwork they seem to act. Both Edel and Cardison are accosted by frazzled looking rodents asking each where they are; "Ya guys should get off hiding, or goin' somewhere to help."
And then there was the issue of hormones...A throng of milling frustrated bodies. Rage, fear, excitement...and suddenly lust began flaring up as forms press together, someone started ovulating and set off another and suddenly the throng was getting less patient, predators struggling to keep from turning on their fellows when their prey was just down the street. Tempers were fraying fast, this crowd was either going to burst or turn on itself!
Inside the mall Rats were moving into positions to cover key exits, grabbing their weapons and accessories...you'd be surprised how much swag you could decorate a rifle and binoculars with and then there were the helmets...OMG. But then there came a real issue when a guard finding his place gave a shout! An exit was open! SOmeone had either come in or out by a ratway!
Cardison looks a little confused at the mixed signals. "The PA said to go to..." She murmurs, pointing in the direction she thinks the foodcourt is in. She spins in place, trying to stay out of the way of the rats moving past her. Scratching her head, she grimaces. "Would that be hiding or helping?" She yelps as the warning call goes out, hurriedly continuing her trip to the food court regardless.
Well, this was definitly chaos in the making..... Rats running around, arming themselves..either there was a sale on swag or something was up. Angus walked back over from the food court, a soda in his hand as he sucked on the straw. "Um....someone mind telling me what the hell is going on?" Looks like someone wasn't paying attention.
Pog's fur bristles at the sound of that shout. Ohhh, dear. The ditzy feral had already made a terrible mistake. Still, she didn't intend on paying for it, and begins dashing down the tunnel as fast as she possibly can. She quickly meets a dead end, however... But there's the grate she's looking for. Many feet above the tiny tigress. Someone normal sized might be able to reach, but not her. "Aww damn." She had to think fast... She looks behind her once, then back at the grate, crouching down and wiggling her rear predatorily before launching herself up at the grate, landing on it and... clinging to it desperately by her fingers and toes. It wouldn't budge. Uhoh.
In the manger's office, Rod tugs on his whiskers for a bit. Standing up and slipping out, he directs another rat to take his place and be ready with belayed instructions. There needs to be a cool face to lessen the fear amongst the not-so-chilled ones, afterall, so the tall one strides purposefully outward. Down the stairs, he slips easily through the lines of rats and pauses just outside the water fountain by the lavatories. "What?" He asks, when word finally reaches him. "Which one? Shit..do we have a rat?" It would of been funny under any other moment as he scans the crowd. One of these things is not like the other..
Edel gives a nod to the rat and kneels down behind part of the structuring as she brings her rifle around on the sling. "I'll be helping, if things get ugly. No need to worry about me!" She trains the rifle towards the exit, should the barricade fail. Well, the gun did need a field test. Maybe it would get one.
The feathered serpent's fangs ache to sink into warm, bleeding flesh. The rising frenzy of the mob is infectious, and it could feel itself responding. What a rush! As far as Xolotl is concerned it doesn't matter if the crowd turns on itself or explodes outward. Either way, it can't wait for the ride! The metallic-scaled body quivers with restrained need to lash out. Soon... soon...
The crowd was getting more and more restless, Each new female to start squirming was saturating the senses of the mob and seeding the chaotic nature of the mob into a more and more feral beast. Males were losing their grip, muscles straining, senses pushed to the limit, nanites working in overtime just to keep the stress and strain from causing strokes and hysterical blackouts. Soon the most feral minds in the crowd were becoming dominant, their eagerness influencing those not used to falling so low and slowly things were starting to edge down the street. Not a charge, not even a march, just a lazy overflow of impatient movement followed by those just behind like a caterpillar unfurling.
Suddenly, somewhere an airhorn goes off. This is /inside/ the mall, however, and every single rat suddenly stops and looks around in puzzlement. The lifeblood of the mall pause and, for a brief moment, there's not even a pin drop. It was not just the signal for the outside mob, however. Chaos once again explodes, this time literally, as every single trash can scattered throughout the lower level of the mall suddenly explode in a mass of thick, gooey brown. Like a chain raction there's a POP after BANG as bins go off with enough force to send the closest rats flying aside; the rest coated quite liberally in rich, sweet chocolate. Those who had fallen back to the food court would be spared the worst of it all, but those by the exits or evac routes would find themselves suddenly in a very sticky situation.
Ruby grumpily looks over to the store once she's done, quickly noticing the extra commotion near the entrance. She really hoped it was a sale, but sales don't usually end up coming from what sounded like impatient...growls? She quickly heads off to the inside, trying not to be a living roadblock.
Glein cursed. "Command, The mob is on the move. Steady march to the mall. I don't think the Rats can stop them. They're not only gathering momentum, but also more numbers as they move. Over." Glein reports, her wings flapping on occasion to keep her aloft, but her gaze remained locked to the events going on below. Sadly, she was too high up to know that things already were happening in teh mall, hell, she barely heard the roar from teh creatures when they'd roared their approval at whatever one of htem had said.
Cardison yelps as things suddenly get very chaotic. Having been putting as much distance between her and the walls as she could, she's at least far enough away from the bins to avoid being thrown, but instead she's caught in the blast of chocolate from both sides. She tumbles, flailing as she tries to save her balance (and her recent purchase) from falling into the mess and failing. Skidding across the now-slick floor, it's all she can do to try to slide her way to the food court. It's close enough that it shouldn't take her too long to get there, now.
Head swiveling around, looking for at least someone he knew in this chaos Angus was rather confused. The airhorn nearly gives him a heart attack as he drops his drink. Yep, someone definitly set a firecracker up someones ass. Drawing his gun he looks around, before the party favors appear. After the first explosion The coyote throws himself to the ground, wondering why the hell it smelled like chocolate.
Doors were locking when the airhorn went off. The panic caused by the sudden chocolate blasts was shocking as people went from thinking themselves dead, to covered in shit, to covered in sticky chocolate. Who would pull such a prank at such a time?
Searching for intruders was suddenly less important than checking for injuries and locking all the doors. Other than the Bossrat, no one cared about the unknown rat that may or may not exist now, let alone a cat.
Pog reaches up a claw to try to unscrew the grate. She ends up trying to use her claw to pry the screw out, and realizes she has no goddamn idea what she's doing. Frustrated and a little frightened, she growls loudly and, clinging with one hand, lifts the other to start slamming into the thin metal of the grate, smashing it to pieces, nearly making herself fall off and making a hell of a lot of noise in the process. Subtle. Fortunately for her she still manages to clamber through and fall face first into... a restroom. Of course it was the restroom. The restroom always held secrets. Pog peers up at the broken grate and sighs, but still moves to crack the door open slightly to peek out. If she wasn't wrong, it should be somewhere near the food court, and she hoped there wouldn't be many rats nearby. Ignorance is bliss.
The hiss and swish of leathery flesh pushing against the air signals the arrival of the Draconic Huntress, her wings flapping and then spreading out as she aters her flight towards the besieged mall, drawn by the smell of many rats in fear or pain. Also, chocolate. Her entrance is dramatic but brief, green scales shimmering as she dives down through the window and then rises into the air once more, her powerful muscles working as she takes hold of the ceiling above. Claws crack stone, and the large scaly form of Entale hangs from the high ceiling like a massive bat, her eyes flicking across the scene below as she considers her opportunities.
The crowd is moving! The serpent-creature flows with the motion, pressing forward eagerly. The crashing of glass somewhere very nearby, and the obvious swoop of a Dragon, only serve to further incite its aggression. The hunt is on, and Xolotl is, as always, hungry.
In her more distant spot, Edel managed to avoid the chocolate mess, but the noise certainly posed a problem for her ears. After a moment of growling and rubbing at her head, she tightened her grip on the rifle and lowered her eyes to look through the scope.
Cardison squints, halting her careful traversal of the hallway as she catches movement near the wall. Wiping chocolate from her face, she waves at the small figure. "Hey, kid. Where's your mom? Don't tell me she just bailed on you." Slipping over to the restroom door, she kneels down before Pog to make sure she's unharmed. Offering as comforting a smile as she can while covered in chocolate and surrounded by chaos, she offers the tiny tiger a hand. "I'm Card. Let's get somewhere safe, okay? Try not to slip in the chocolate. Or eat it. Don't know where it's been."
"God dammit Pog, this is not fucking easter!" Angus stood back up, covered in chocolate once again as he sits in the Mall. Knowing exactly who it is as he checks to make sure none of it was jamming up his gun. He growled, walking over to the only person he knew, nodding to Edel. "Mind telling me what the hell is going on?"
Rod had frozen like every other rat, but before he could squeak out an order he had been tossed aside by a wave of goop. "Awwww MAN my DUDS," he mutters after slipping and sliding to try and stand up, and is only helped on his feet by a hooded rodent that had appeared to escape most of the blast unharmed. Mumbling about something that 'It isn't safe' and 'Can't trust anyone', Rod is escorted along from the foodcourt to the nearest ratway at the bathrooms, but as he gets closer he starts fighting. "You Daft? We got a home to protect! Ain't leavin' now!"
Ruby tries the avoid the chocolate trail as the stored cans jingle, now unsure if she was just as safe outside. She keeps trying to play on the janitor disguise, wiping up some of it with a rag. Screw cleaning the whole thing, that was for someone that knew what they were doing. "Is everyone waiting in a line today? This is way too much stress..."
Edel offers a shrug to Angus. "I couldn't tell you. Something about a mob? A riot? I don't know. If they come in here, I'm going to turn them into a fine mess, though. I needed to test this thing out, anyway. I didn't think it'd happen so soon!" She gives a little chuckle before returning her attention to the front of the mall. "Let's hope it doesn't come to it, though, in all seriousness."
Pog peeks her head out just a bit more to get a better view and /holy crap there's Rod/. She swiftly ducks her head back and looks around. She couldn't get back through the broken grate without hurting herself or at least making a ton of noise, but she sure as hell couldn't leave through the front door. This was it. She'd have to get it done here and now or not at all- or maybe she'd get lucky and he'd walk off. Maybe this WAS her luck! A thousand thoughts ran through her head but in the end all she did was hide in one of the stalls and stay quiet as a whisper.
THe sound of the horn actually slowed the crowd. Addled minds had to stop and struggle to remeber waht that meant. But here was a sound no one would ever forget:
The broken glass is shortly followed by a cry of fear and outrage and then the mall is alive with weapons fire as laser, pistols and rifle fire make certain the grand huntress would be eating from a straw tonight, her body the target of every visible and available defender in a mad chocolate fueled panic.
Outside the crowd went nuts, gunfire, they were being attacksed, they were being hurt! Many fled in fear, while a lesser number charged forward, the crowd breaking against itself like a wave with the undecided being forced aside or carried away.
"Command, what's our play here? This thing is going to get ugly fast. The mob's nearly gone totally feral from what I can see up here." Glein says, right before hte sounds of gunfire erupted even to her position. "Ignore last Command, weapons fire, I repeat weapons fire from the Mall. Unknown cause or destination." she states, angling herself in a slight dive to the side to try and figure out what was going on now.
Angus blinks at Edel, before he frowns. "A Mob...or Riot huh?" Sighing he shoved his gun back into its holster, and drags out his hammer. "Edel, if it comes it you can shot what I don't damn well smash." Grumbling he shakes what he can of the chocolate off of him, his anger building as sparks start to fall. Yote was pissed.
Xolotl was one of those who leapt forward, eagerly, aggressively, with total abandon. Well, leaped wasn't really the right word, given its current scaily serpentine form, but snakes are remarkably swift, and Xolotl puts some of that speed to use as it rushes toward the mall. At this point, a haze of red covers its eyes. The first living thing it sees, it will seize, and strike. A rush of ecstacy fills its cold-blooded form and its wings open as it hisses forward. Life is good!
Pog also looks at Cardison like she's nuts. She was actually quite full-bodied- in fact she looked like someone put a shrink ray to a stalking tigress. Maybe someone did. In any case, before darting into a stall, she murmurs, "Uhh... Stay real quiet. I um... Don't handle noise well when I'm... Doing my business," cocking a thumb towards the stall as she hides.
Entale panics. She'd expected some resistance, maybe a few bullets or thrown rocks. This, though, was a tad excessive. Perhaps they we- Here her grandoise thoughts are interrupted by pain, bullets ripping into tender membranes of her wings, laser fire reduced to almost nothing by her unnaturally tough and reflective hide but still painful. And in such large numbers, enough to make her scream. The dragoness falls short of her intended perch in a mass of bleeding and burned muscle and scales, crunching hard against the ground as the wind is knocked from her lungs. And she's got chocolate all over her front. Black and red war for space in her eyes, and she goes still. Not dead, not quite out, but smart enough and beaten enough to know better than to move.
Edel cackles at Angus. "Good! For a moment I thought you'd be one of those wishy-washy types to tell me to keep a level head, or take the high road or something. Glad that we're on the same level here. Good luck to you, Angus. I'll keep you covered."
Cardison reaches out, trying to snag the feline as she darts back into the bathroom. "H-hey! Come back! It might not be safe in there!" She follows after, peeking under the stall walls to see if she can locate the feline. She smiles under the stalls, trying to wave at Pog. "Don't worry, I'm here to help." Making her way around the front, she notices the broken grate and pauses. There's something in here that's dangerous. She's not daft. "Alright, kid. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe. I'm gonna make a little noise, though, alright?" Looking around the room, she spots the perfect thing - self-sanitizing towel drier, your destiny has come. Redeem thyself in her time of need. Chainsword whirring to life, she does her best to sever it from the wall without damaging the towel.
Charlie boy grits his teeth under his hoodie. The gunshots and lasers are here, but where was the damn cat? He missed her face in the door as he struggles with Rod, the taller rat clearly wanting to get well into the fight of things as they both slip, then go tumbling into the chocolate. End over end they wrestling, lost in the confusion of mall goers, chocolate covered rats, and general shitstorm that was slowly falling across the mall.
Ruby blinks as she evesdrops around the chocolate area. "Riots? Oy, cans are not going to stop that!" Wolf claws are not going to a damned thing against lasers either if it's as bad as it sounds, the canine crouching behind a nearby lunch table while she looks to Angus and Edel. "You two wouldn't have any spare weapons, would you?"
Angus smiles at Edel and nods. "Just make sure that when you hit me, you blame it on the rioters." Ruby's entrance causes him to blink, before he digs into the pack on his back and pulls out a revolver. "Here, knock yourself out. Just don't try and shoot any of us okay?"
Pog slaps a padded palm against her head as she hears the chainsword rev. All she could hope was that the gunfire drowned out the sound of that as Rod approached. In fact, she no longer felt like waiting. She was antsy. She was terrified and excited at the same time, and sweet programmers of Prometheus she was getting turned on by the danger of it all. So she calmly walks out of the stall, and then peeks out the door one last time to ensure that Rod is still approaching, hoping he made enough of a fuss to not be right outside the door yet.
Edel glances at Ruby, peering at the wolf for a moment. "Do you fancy distance or getting up close?" And then Angus handles it. "Well. That works! Thanks, Angus." She lines her sights up on a rioter. Xolotl, to be specific. She doesn't pull the trigger yet, though.
Oh damn is the shit hitting the fan. During the time it takes to fall the sudden dragon, one of the rodent's spotters starts squeaking out. The mob was advancing! There's a slippery moment of confusion as the scaled beast is left alone for the moment and the rats try to scramble back into place over the floor. A couple are still helping each other through the mess; in particually two who are covered head to toe by the bathrooms. They just can't seem to get onto their feet before one of them accidently trips the other. "This..way!" Grunts one. "Get offa..me!" grumbles the other.
Cardison notes Pog heading for the door - That way just leads to the rest of the rats, so she's confident that Pog's not going to leave that way. Giving the towel a tug as the machine crumbles under her growling blade, she breathes a sigh of relief as it comes out intact. With Pog distracted, she puts herself between the open grate and the door, sneaking up on Pog as quietly as she can - The standard "privacy hallway" of the bathroom could help her trap the feline felon if she's noticed.
Ruby nervously laughs, accepting the revolver and keeping it lowered. "I just need a backup for when fists and claws are a bad idea." She watches the door with them, hoping a shot would be for last resorts.
The mob was coming, Xolotl had true kindred spirits at his back and sides, the lead were the ones that had been spoiling for a fight anyway, followed closely by those overcome with lust but prefered prey that struggled, with many of the others having turned to pursue the others that ran, eager to fuck the fear ful or just get some that didn't make a fuss.
With the dragon down, mall rats were turning their attention o the mob, some pot shots of panic being taken despite some rats calling for a hault.
Pog swings the door open violently with a loud SLAM- just loud enough to get the two rats in front of the bathrooms' attention. Letting out a long, feral growl, she reaches out to grab the side of the wall where the door closes with both paws, growling growing louder and louder, her fingers literally sinking into the wall and breaking it apart until she rips an entire, massive chunk from the wall as big as herself. Holy shit. Staring straight at the rat she wants, poor Rod, she clutches the rock tightly and promptly vaults it the fuck forwards right at him, not aiming for any particular part of him as long as it hits home.
Entale may have overestimated herself. Or, at least, underestimated the rats. She's pretty sure she didn't think that through well enough, and almost as sure that even with her recovery times it would be awhile before she pulled that again. After all, she's supposed to be spitting acid and kicking ass, not drooling blood and crawling towards a bathroom. The shooters were distracted, and it would only take her a few minutes to pull herself back together if she got somewhere quiet. Nevermind the chocolate seeping into her wounds and sending nauseous shivers through her body. Nevermind that she had more holes in her than she was used to. Just keep crawling, and hope they don't see.
Coyotes don't help when it comes to chaos, and Angus was no acception as he brought more chaos in the form of fire. Dark green flames burst to life in the feral mob, before swelling and bursting to rain down upon all within reach. Those who weren't smart enough to run at the flames, and stupid enough to attack Angus met the heavy mass of his hammer, and ten thousand volts of pure electricity as he laughs. "Come on, I thought this was supposed to be a riot. Not a dance!"
Blissfully unaware of the weapon being trained on it at that very moment, Xolotl surges through the door with the press of the other aggressive mob members, wings raised in its eagerness to attack something, anything. But preferably something... warm. In its vision, everything is reduced to moving red shapes. Shapes which it dearly wished to reduce to motionless black lumps. Hissing balefully, the serpentine thing reared back for a moment before launching itself at the closest and most vulnerable of those red shapes, which it dimly recognized as a coyote.
