Log:Live Firework, Scene 4

Live Firework 2007/12/06 	 Ellbeth Narosia Hype the Living Firework Tim Lee Timekeeper (disguised) 4

Bridgend

Ellbeth arrives in unusual fashion riding on a large jet black tiger loping through the streets at considerable speed.

Willy is outside the coffee shop, with his camera bag and a digital camera in his hands. He is taking some pics of the place, trying to get an occasional hero going in, looking for a shot that might make some money. A large jet black tiger with rider does get his attention and he turns to get some pictures.

Ellbeth isn't the only one to make an unconventional entrance. A Chinese man in an impeccable business suit - though looking from from in a neat state otherwise - runs as fast as he can round the corner from Ming Street onto Wharf Street. From Ming Street come the sound of fireworks - not so unusual there, but it's not really expected at this time of day and year. And the fireworks are getting closer....

Narosia strides through, a librarian on a defining mission. A few people stare gormlessly at her back, sniggering as she takes the previous given orders seriously and marches her way into bridgehead, from the maglev terminal. The jet black tiger and asian fellow get barely another glance, so intent on finding the right street she is.

The man bumps straight into Narosia - since they have almost exactly opposite courses. Without a word of apology (but with a nervous glance over his shoulder) he runs on....

Ellbeth places a bet with herself that the running man is Mr Lee. Certainly he seems to be fleeing as if the very fires of hell were flaring at his heels.

Narosia swivels on her foot, blinking. When he scurries off her eyes narrow, more in thought than anger. "Excuse me sir...are you lost?" She inquiries, not expecting much of a reply.

Willy is busy taking pictures of Ellbeth but does notice the fireworks a bit and takes a few shots of that direction and then back a bit. He seems to be looking around a little, maybe a reporter's intuition, something else going on?

The man sees Ellbeth and alters course slightly toward her, no doubt recognising her. "Behind me!" he gasps breathlessly.

Ellbeth nods and looks in the direction the man came from making a judgement on whether she has the few seconds needed to conjure up a gate to transport him completely out of the area.

The man has barely uttered that when his pursuer - or whatever it is - flies round the corner. It's almost a ball of fireworks, endlessly exploding - bigger than human size....

Ellbeth dismounts and starts conjuring a portal, trying not to let the rapid approach of the flying fireworks fluster her spellcasting.

Ellbeth points to the coffee shop doorway. "Hurry, Mr Lee. Get inside."

Mr Lee runs for the coffee shop, but the firework is moving a lot faster, especially now clear of crowded Ming Street.

Willy blinks a bit, getting a few more pictures, of the firework thing with his highspeed camera and then glances around, time for a change, but when you move as fast as he can, not that hard to get changed and not be seen doing it.

Narosia raises her hands, shrinking back from the massive flaming 'thing' whatever it is, singing the ends of her hair lightly before a dark pulsating wall rises over her, instinct winning over caution.

Willy finds changing no trouble at all - all eyes are on the firework and/or Ellbeth.

Ellbeth lifts her staff over her head. A glow appears around her first. Then the staff lights up with flickering trails of lightning moving from one end to the other. Matching strokes of lightning arc thunderous in the sky about as dark looming clouds form and thicken. Then a bolt of lightning strikes down from the sky hitting the roadway between Mr Lee and the fireworks. Immediately after the lightning the sky opens up throwing a downpour into the street in a line across the road between the man and his pursuer.

The firework does indeed swerve, upward, to avoid the apparent downpour. It roars in a crackly, inhuman, pained voice, "Stay out of this! I don't want to hurt anyone - except Tim Lee. I'm taking him with me!"

Staring intently with faintly luminescent eyes, pupil and eyeball crimson Narosia ventures a question in her accentless voice, showing no outward surprise at the flame speaking. "What would you want with this man, flaming creature?"

Hype is how shifted hovering in the air, his trenchcoat blowing a bit. "She does ask a good question you know, and it doesn't look like he wants to go with you." he glances over at Ellbeth as well.

The firework answers angrily, in a voice like thunder - accompanied by a big explosion, fortunately high above street level, though it takes out a few windows - "I'm dying - can't hold myself together much longer - I can feel it. He killed me! And I'm going to return the favour..."

Ellbeth lowers the staff and the illusions snap out of existance like a candle flame being blown out. "How did Mr Lee kill you?" She asks.

Narosia freezes, taken aback visibly. Her gaze wavers, "Well...if he did kill you, stop causing mayhem up there please? It is not fair to involve others..." Mouth trembling a touch from this tense situation.

"He turned me - into THIS!" The voice has human tears and human bitterness behind it, if little else to suggest humanity. One could almost imagine it about to collapse in weeping - and then with the screech of a rocket it lunges forward toward the door of the coffee shop Mr Lee just entered....

Hype nods, "Have you tried someone healing, they can do things these days." he buzzes between her and the door, but doesn't say there, ending up on the other side, not trying to hit her, just distract maybe.

Narosia acts thoughtlessly, teleporting herself right in the pathway of this shrieking flame, hovering slightly as darkness spreads from her form.

Ellbeth tells the fireworks creature firmly, "Wait!"

The firework hesitates just a moment before reaching the door....

The inside of the coffee shop is pretty crowded, as it happens.

Hype blinks and doesn't see talking working too well and shakes his head, "We can talk this out, get you help, but I can't let you hurt him." he says and his reflexes seem to become a bit hyper and flies at her, as electricity crackles up his fists, to try and punch.

Hype's fist doesn't hit much of substance - Firework's form isn't exactly solid, more an ever-exploding mass.... It's hard to say how much it might have hurt, though the mass hisses angrily.

Narosia chews her lower lip, sweat patterning a furrowed brow. Nodding to no one in paticular she whispers soft caressing words, shivering when the spikily formed 'strings' of ink black lines vine themself around the expanding mass, like a silk web would.

The mass of fireworks seems to become still vaguer in shape - and still less stable. Bits go flying off, whistling. People in the coffee shop - at least the knowledgeable ones - start diving under the tables.

Ellbeth drops her shield spell to show the trust in fireworks woman that she wants the fireworks woman to give to her. "I will act to stop you taking revenge. I will aid you in seeking justice. But first, dear child, come to me so that I may try to reverse the loss of body image you have suffered. I do not promise I can do so. Only that I will try diligently with all my skill and power.

The firework doesn't even turn to Ellbeth - or if she/it does, then its/her shape is too indistinct to tell now. "It's too late for that... I can feel... I'm slipping, losing it...." The voice is more noise than signal now, barely to be understood. The Living Firework pushes its way through the door of the coffee shop. Tim Lee jumps the counter and hides behind it.

Ellbeth tries to cast a quick hurried spell and erect a Barrier across the doorway to the cafe but cancels the spell unfinished when she sees it's too late.

Hype tries to zip into the shop after her, yes he took damage, but it wasn't alot, maybe he was having some effect, he tries to hit her so that maybe she will go back out of the shop.

Narosia pushes open the doorway, stray smoke stinging her eyes. With one muffled oath in latin she sends a wave of dark energy towards the wavering shape, tendrils wrapping themselves frantically round the object in desire to avoid conflict-perhaps flinging what is there bodily outside.

Though Hype knew enough to keep the instant of contact to a bare minumum this time, FIrework seems to be burning hotter than ever....

Firework is tossed bodily out the door....

Firework flares dangerously where she hit the ground.

Hype flies out and hovers between Firework at the coffee shop, "Let us try to help you." try to calm her again.

Firework shouts, "Everyone, get out of here!" then flares up and explodes - it's not clear if intentionally.

A few people in the coffee shop are also caught by the blast, but fortunately mostly indirectly.

Ellbeth is protected even without her shield spell being active but the blast knocks her off her feet and sends her tumbling along the road.

The Firework reforms after the explosion. "Go!" She gasps/crackles. "The next one... maybe the one after that... is the big one....."

Narosia spectacularly fails raising her defences, blasted forcefully back into the wall with a sickening crack to the head. Eyes glazed over, the girl hunches over.

Hype gets knocked back by the blast a bit and doesn't seem that phased by either the blast or the knockback, his flying powers cushioning the hit a little. He then looks at Firework, "Then go into space, explode where no one else is around, though is there time to get you help?

Ellbeth doesn't take time to stand. She opens a dimensional door, pushing the spell force to increase the range, and rolls through the doorway to emerge beside fireworks woman. Her shield spell is cast and then extending a hand Ellbeth casts the closest to a possibly useful spell that might help stabilize the woman.

It's not clear if the spell helps at all. Given that Firework's body is exploding and reforming all the time....

Narosia staggers up, shaking her head blearily. White hot annoyance is flowing inside her bloodstream coupled by the wholesale sense of hopelessness repressing this 'bomb'. Muttering in latin again, a calming mantra she teleports forward, watching the events unfold before acting.

The firework-creature says sadly to Hype, "It's too late for help. To late for anything but vengeance - served hot...." She rockets back through the doorway.

Hype shakes his head, "Can't let you get revenge, innocent people in there." he says and charges forward at the same time to grab as he flies by and get as far away as possible, taking his full distance mostly up.

"Let go!" She starts flaring really hot again.

Hype flies into her and grabs her, changing directions on the turn of a dime and flying straight up, "I can't let you harm innocents." he says and then tries to fly higher, she said a bigger explosion was coming and he doesn't want it to be close to where it can hurt people.

Ellbeth makes the same assessment that Hype seems to have done. With the firework woman not being rational or in the slightest cooperative the only thing left is to minimize casualties. She summons up a Spirit Strike and directs it at the poor woman.

Ellbeth feels no pride or satisfaction as the spirit strike home.

The Firework makes a whistling/screeching scream.

Narosia covers her ears, the sound echoing hollowly inside the brain. Twisting the edges of her mouth down, the girl stands waiting without excitment or sense of victory.

The Firework looks about to flare up again.

Hype figures he is far enough that hopefully she can't get back to the ground too fast and if she is about to flare. He lets go and then flies sideways as far as he can.

Firework explodes again on the way to the ground....

The bits of Firework drifts toward the ground.....

Hype winces and sighs, "I am sorry." he whispers, watching the pieces fall, hovering there in the air.

... and then begin to reform on the ground!

Regent soars down from above.

Unfortunately, she's not reforming in an isolated spot - but on the street! And she's crackling and spluttering more than ever....

Hype blinks and swears, "What do we have to do? Maybe we can help her?" he starts flying down to the ground, forgoing defense to shoot up to get down there almost instantly.

And then, just as Hype approaches, she screams - and there's a MASSIVE explosion and - nothing. No shock wave. Abruptly she's frozen, mid-explosion. Little bits of her hanging in the air.

Narosia shakes her head, "What can we attempt in this-" Words cut off, attention transfixed by this new magical development.

The perceptive notice that the exploding woman is caught in a sort of bubble - not a force field in the conventional sense, but something else - emanating from a man close to her. He quickly lowers his hat to hide his face.

Ellbeth frowns. o O(You could have done that before she blew up.)

Hype cocks his head to the side and lands, moving towards the man, he realizes that something was done, "Is she alive?"

The man - noticing he's getting attention - says in a hoarse whisper, as if trying to disguise his voice, "if I were you I'd evacuate the area." And then he just vanishes.

Hype frowns a bit, "Is the bubble movable?"

Ellbeth sighs and casts Illusions II. An image of herself appears standing 20ft tall with a voice that shapes windows for a block around. "Clear the street. Get away from any windows and take cover."

That's effective. People begin to evacuate....

Ellbeth looks at Hype. "Let people get clear and then try to move it.

Hype nods and tries to help evacuate, zooming from place to place, "Move away in an orderly fashion, move back and away."

Though there seems to be plenty of time. The exploding particles can now just be seen to be moving. But given they probably should be supersonic, or nearly they seem to be slowed a fair bit.

Ellbeth is examining the globe of slowed time. "This does not look good. When the wavefront gets to the edge of the effect I think it's going to speed up again."

On closer investigation, the bubble is slowly expanding - but time is getting faster as it does so, as it were. It's not going to go boom any time soon, but the nearby buildings are definitely at risk.

Hype cocks his head to the side, "Is it moveable, or just a field of energy?"

Ellbeth says, "I don't know. You can try it."

Hype flies down to see if he can lift the bubble and its contents.

The bubble isn't liftable as such, and resists attempts to penetrate it.

Ellbeth says, "If you find any part of you starting to enter the area of the effect pull back immediately. You don't want to be trapped in the interface when the blast gets to you."

Hype shakes his head, and tries to roll it, not penetrate it but try to roll it towards the bay?

Hype's idea works! THe bubble of slow-time as a whole can be moved in the faster time-zone.

Hype smiles and then slowly accelerates the speed he is pushing it till it is going rather quickly and into the bay, then out to sea.