Zelda watches the driver's mutation apprehensively. Things were starting to go downhill fast.

"Um, I don't think this is working. How do we get that thing out of him?"

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Actions TBD pending dialogue response(s).

---

"I was thinking violence." Blazing Striker said while on the ground.

"What do think we've been doing? I'd like something that will stop the spiky freakout, thank you very much."

Shira's forceful push sends the former driver tumbling through the bus; Zoe's attack was icing on the cake, catching the thing just as it reared up its head.

Right on the chin.

A burst of light emanates from the point of impact. *POW* and whatever you are facing is tumbling over the driver seat, and into the windshield. All those metallic things jutting messily out of the driver are quite able to cut glass, and the windshield gives, letting the thing tumble down the front of the bus and land in an undignified heap, smoking faintly.

Everything is extremely silent.
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:34, Thu 20 Oct 2016.

Zelda's attention is jerked back to the immediate action by the shattering window.

"Or... We got him? Did we get him?"

"Red Hot Rose, you wanna check up on him? Um... girl with the umbrella, I don't think I got your name, probably want to make sure he's okay too? The rest of us are on bomb duty." Blazing Striker said, trying to get the most pressing matter dealt with.

"You mean outside? In what I'm pretty sure is the Dark World? Sure, why not. And once again just 'Rose' is fine."

Even if Shira meant to look out the window, she won't have much time to say so as Zelda hops over her and jogs out the door and towards the front of the bus, weapon and shield at the ready. is stopped by Shirley.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
If you could let me know what Zelda sees (or if not enough light is escaping from the bus to see anything by) sooner rather than later I still have my instant action left.

---

This message was last edited by the player at 18:42, Sat 22 Oct 2016.

Drachenstern follows in a hurry, grabbing her by the shoulder. "Wait!" She speaks in a whisper. "I just remembered. The driver's-" she shudders "-condition is likely being caused by a type of Dark parasite that preys on people in a fragile mental state. Unfortunately, this isn't going to end with him." Not that the end of this ordeal was anywhere in sight.

"Such a parasite must be implanted by someone who knows a certain ritual." She feels nauseous just imagining it. "There should be a scar left over from where it was placed in his body."

Zelda's eyes glaze over at that last part.

"Ugh, please don't tell me we have to physically cut it out."

Zoe peers out of the broken windshield at the crumpled body of the driver, while pulling a scalpel out of her pouch.  "Surgery I can do.  Exorcism, I'm not so sure."

Blazing Striker gets up and goes over to her bag.

"Inari, you awake in there?" she asks.

"Either way we'd better make sure he stays down long enough first."

With that Zelda exits the bus and prepares for the worst.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Now's the part where you tell me what Zelda sees so I can decide what to do with my instant action.

---

"Agreed."  Zoe stows the surgical tool, and follows, keeping her eye on the driver, and not keeping an eye out for new threats.


21:23, Today: Zoe failed (no successes) using 7d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 6,4,1,7,2,1,6.  Wits + Composure + Danger Sense.

The fox plushie shakes its head, the voice it produces quite a bit quieter than usual. The way it holds itself and refuses to jump out of the bag could make one suspect that it's afraid.

"Ssshhh. You're all too loud. Don't you know sound carries far here?" it's ears twitch, and it seems as if the plushie is sniffing the air. "If we're lucky, we can find a way back before long, or at least before the other passengers in the bus wake up. Really, ignorance is bliss."

As if to punctuate Inari's words, one of the sleeping passengers rolled over and started snoring.

Outside, the bus rests diagonally on a broad street. Illuminated by the steadily weakening glare of its headlights is the knocked-out driver, with the wetly glistening metal spikes and blades jutting out from him at odd angles. Once closer, you can see that the metal is mainly jutting from the left side of his torso. His uniform shirt has been ripped apart, showing an intricate scar stretching from the left side of his neck down to the messy wounds a few spike-like metal pieces tore as they punched out between his ribs. Blood oozes slowly out of the wound, propelled by the last heartbeats of a torn heart.

The metal things twitch, as does the corpse. A sound a spider would make in your nightmares emanates from them, grating and disturbingly metallic. It suddenly reminds you of a metallic insect, trapped in a corpse... and there are sounds of chewing and bones breaking as it struggles to free itself.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:50, Tue 25 Oct 2016.

Nina still didn't trust the bomb, despite it seemingly not being armed. With that in mind, she took her time, cautiously tapping a few keys and wiping away the flashing number, before gingerly picking up the thing and placing it into her bag. As she did, she also studied it for signs of dark taint. Can never be too careful...

She kept one ear tuned to the conversation behind her as she worked, enough to get the gist of the conversation. A small string of annoyance ran through when one of the other girls described the dark spawn that Nina had apparently never heard of, but she'd also admit relief that Alhambra hadn't gotten here already.

Bomb finally dealt with, Nina looked behind her to see the others step outside the bus, and followed along behind (After letting the Champions go first).

"I can help cut the thing out." Her whisper seemed impossibly loud in the silence. "Also good with exorcisms, if that'll help."

The explosive device is comfortably heavy in Nina's bag. Dormant... sleeping. Or at least it would seem so.


The shadow of a wind makes Nina's uniform rustle.

As Zelda looks upon the gruesome scene before her, it suddenly all comes back to her. She'd dreamt about this very man just the past night. He was a victim, preyed upon by the Darkness in his most vulnerable moment. He had to be saved.

Reaching into the driver's heart, Zelda finds the still-sputtering spark of Light within his soul and draws strength from it.

"Don't worry, we will save you."

Her previous expression of increasing worry replaced with one of fearsome resolve and determination, Zelda raises her right hand into the air, her pistol dissolving into light and being replaced with a first-aid kit.

"I'll do it. You just make sure he lives through this. And someone hand us that syringe, I think using it on the parasite will buy us time."

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
13:27, Today: Zelda rolled 2 successes using 9d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 4,1,4,5,7,7,10(+1),9,4.  Love Conquers All w/ Fuoco, Blessing Dexterity + Medicine.

---

"All right then. Can you give any recommendations?" Blazing Striker asked her familiar. She then added, "We've got a bomb on hand, a syringe that can draw Light out of people, and a mad bus driver that's possessed and probably sold out to the Darkness." She herself tried to think of any possible ideas on what to do given their current situation.

OOC:
15:53, Today: Shira Rosenberg rolled 2 successes using 4d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 1,8,8,2.  Wits/Int + Occult.

Zoe nods, responding to the other Noble's confidence. "I'll do what I can."  She cautiously approaches the crumpled body, trying to see exactly how screwed this guy is.

19:53, Today: Zoe rolled 4 successes using 6d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s.  Int + Medicine + First Aid to diagnose.

Forgot to check record each, but up on top it says 4,9,4,6,9,10(+10,1)

This message was last edited by the player at 23:54, Wed 26 Oct 2016.

As the two surgeons inch closer, the driver's body moves from side to side. Apparently the parasite is gnawing its way out, the three feet long metallic limbs wiggling and feeling around rather aimlessly at the moment, their movement moving the driver's body in an unnatural way. From close up, the girls can see the spots where the finger-thin metallic limbs jut out from the left side of the driver's chest. Blood pumps out around the spidery limbs and pools beneath the man. There is bloody foam on the man's nose and lips.

He looks quite screwed.

Inari's eyes narrow. "Recommendation? Just kill the thing and find us a way back. There's no telling how soon we might be attacked. Staying here is dangerous even if nothing seems to happen..." The plushie peeks out for a second, very carefully, then retreats back into comparative safety of the bag. "I feel the chill of the Darkness sapping at my strength already. Do hurry up. I have a bad feeling. Hmm. How did the driver manage to get the whole bus here? Wasn't there some sort of explosion as the bus went into the Dark?"

Drachenstern is thankful the other Nobles aren't watching as she fights down a horrified scream. No. No. Not now. Not ever. Certainly not when lives were at stake. Drachenstern hurries over to her friends, sword raised protectively. "I am at your side," she says to Rose. She places a hand on the other Princess' shoulder, willing magic into the gesture.

16:20, Today: Drachenstern failed (no successes) using 5d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 3,3,6,7,6.  Touch of Fortune, Wits + Occult.
17:09, Today: Drachenstern rolled 2 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((7,6,10(+9))).
This message was last edited by the player at 02:37, Thu 27 Oct 2016.

Nina stuck her hand into her pocket, gripped the syringe, and froze. For a just a second, she thought of the people inside, who may very well need to, and all the things they don't know about this magic-

And then the man started coughing up blood. Shoving those thoughts aside, she jogs up to Zoe and hands her the syringe. "Use it wisely, okay?"

Feeling a brief sense of relief as the dark creation leaves her hands, she turns around and points at Shira's bag containing Inari.

"Hey, bunny-cat, I have something that might help us out."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:29, Thu 27 Oct 2016.

"I heard a loud bang, but that could be a number of sounds. Explosion, gunshot, engine backfire, crash... I was kinda disoriented by whatever happened."

Blazing Striker gets up to check on the person who was stabbed. In all the commotion, she never even got a good look at them.

She also called out as quietly as she could but loud enough so Red Hot Rose could hear her, "Hey Rose, when you get the chance, shoot the parasite." Blazing Striker said, "Inari's recommendation."

Meanwhile, Inari, who both as a fox and an avid consumer of internet culture among other things, shoots Nina a glare at being called "bunny-cat".

OOC:
00:17, Today: Shira Rosenberg rolled 3 successes using 5d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((8,1,7,10(+8),3)). Wits+Medicine+First Aid Diagnosis.

"Gee, I never would have guessed."

Zelda dismisses her shield, opens her first aid kit on the ground, and starts putting on a pair of sterile gloves before addressing Zoe.

"On the count of three stick some of that in him. One... Two... THREE."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:23, Fri 28 Oct 2016.

After a half second hesitation, Zoe pokes the beast with the syringe, trying to squeeze only the smallest bit out.  "I hope this works!"

Do I need to roll anything for this?  Weaponry?  Medicine?