merry merry christmas, and I want you to know

[mansionstaff]

Who: YOU
What: KISSLETOES
When: December 14th - January 1st
Where: Everywhere
Warnings: Sloppy makeouts.

SUDDENLY, AND WITHOUT WARNING...



The entire school has become covered in mistletoe overnight. It grows out of the walls! The ceilings! Everywhere you least expect it? HOW CAN THIS BE??

It's probably best not to think about it. Attempts to uproot the plants or burn them away only makes the plants grow back faster. For the time being, it seems the school must live with it.

[OOC INSTRUCTIONS:
+ Post dudes, get kisses!
+ Some (NOT ALL) plants are cursed. If you manage to step under a cursed plant, you will exchange a memory when or if you exchange a kiss. The memories will be first-person and very vivid, and characters will feel like they are experiencing the memory in real time, though in reality the transfer is instantaneous. Memories can be as short, long, happy, sad, or traumatic as you like.
+ If you'd like to participate, we highly suggest making a list of a few memories (with accompanying links/descriptions) that are up for grabs, and linking or posting the list in your top-level comment. Memory exchange is COMPLETELY OPTIONAL. When in doubt, OOC communication!
+ PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE TAG YOUR CHARACTERS
+ That's it, we love you.]

Comments

[iamtheeggman]

"That is just CHEATING!" Eggman grumbled. He tried to whirl around on the spot, but given that his legs couldn't move, it almost resulted in him doing a faceplant before his robots caught him.

"Well? Don't just stand there. GET ME OUT OF HERE!" he demanded, having no patience for anyone or anything right about now.

[inspirethefire]

"Well, I do so love to help." This was by far his most demanding encounter under the mistletoe, but there was nothing for it, really. He stepped through the bots, frowning at the peculiar, unnatural glimmer about them, and reluctantly touched his lips to Eggman's moustache cheek.

The sky's gone dark, but the streets around them blaze with ethereal light. The flames soar and twist and surge around him, warm without ever burning, feeding one person's will into the next, and another, and another. The inferno has reached out, further than he can see, yet he still feels each frightful ember as it reignites into determination.

And there he is, he and his team, the conductors of this parade of fire, each gesture and step they take pulling more people from the darkness. He might explode from the sheer power running through him, thousands of desires and hopes and dreams pulling him apart, all this life ready to rip him right to pieces, one wrong step away from dousing them. It's the most wonderful feeling he's ever had.

In the dark sky, the glimmering light of the meteor, their oncoming doom, defies them to try, orders their acceptance of the inevitable, and his throat has gone raw in screaming his defiance. One person can't do it, or three, or eight, but billions, all together, in one goal--!

The very earth under their feet pulses with the light, from all the willpower condensed and concentrated right on this very spot, and it's gotten hard to even see with the blinding flames gathering around them. He is not one entity, but the conduit of all, and their sum: the conclusive will to live, and the determination to prove to the universe that their small, unimportant, infinitesimal planet will not go down without a fight.

He lets out a wordless roar, and innumerable voices cry out with him, and he really does explode, energy rocketing out of him to go meet their foe. His body seems to go entirely numb in the aftermath, while he looks up at the blinding-bright result of their work.

A big fat laser beam made out of human willpower, flying into freaking space.

[iamtheeggman]

"Is the new batch ready yet?!" Dr. Eggman demanded, arms crossed behind his back, foot tapping impatiently.

"They're here and ready for processing, boss," a spherical robot said, tone of voice clearly forcing itself to sound approving of its master. Behind Orbot, a large metallic container with a yellow pad connected to the top was hauled into the darkened room.

"It's about time! The assembly line has slowed to a CRAWL while you two dunces have been rounding up more animals!" Eggman shouted, storming up to the container. "Hook it up, now! I'm not waiting any longer for my next batch of soldiers!"

The prison egg was brought to the head of a conveyor belt, where it was finally opened. Inside the egg were small woodland creatures of various types and species. Squirrels, rabbits, pigs, even penguins and other more exotic creatures had all been uncomfortably stuffed inside. And before they could realize what had happened to them, metallic arms started to grab them. They squealed out for mercy as one by one they were carried to the conveyor belt below.

The belt was filled with robots. Eggman's Badniks, they were called. And each of them had an open compartment on them. A compartment that the mechanical arms greedily stuffed each of the animals into. Wires and diodes attached themselves to the animals once inside, and their squeals were silenced as the housing closed shut on them. And once the Badniks sprung to life, the purpose of the animals was clear: the power source of Dr. Eggman's army.

Eggman didn't care how much willpower Hajime had, or anyone like him. All he cared about was that he was free. He stepped out from under the mistletoe, smacking the Egg Pawns on either side of him. "It's ABOUT TIME!" he shouted in irritation.

[inspirethefire]

In contrast to Eggman's complete disregard, the visions couldn't possibly mortify Hajime any further. There were a lot of terrible people in this school, and he'd witnessed a fair few injustices, but nothing came quite so close to this level of heinousness.

His heart slammed at his throat, pounding in his ears. To reduce a living thing like this... a living soul into a, a battery--

"How... how dare you--!"

Hajime grabbed at one of the Egg Prawns, pulling away from their master, their enslaver. It was too heavy to really move, but he had to put himself between them and that, that thing disguised as a man.

"How could you--why..."

The hatch, where was the hatch?

[iamtheeggman]

"What's gotten into you?!" Eggman demanded, grabbing on to Hajime's collar and pulling at it. The remaining Egg Pawn looked on in confusion, both robots just watching with their pasted on grins.

"Hands off my robots!!"

[inspirethefire]

"Let--hrk--let go!"

The yank choked at him, and he twisted around to try and pull loose. Face contorted by disgust and rage, he shoved at the excessive mass of man.

"Don't you touch me! Don't touch them! They're not yours!"

[iamtheeggman]

"I don't know if you noticed the big Eggman Empire logos plastered on their chassis?" Eggman asked, refusing to let go.

"My logo, ergo MY ROBOTS." As if to make his point, he used his free hand to smack one of them upside its head. The Egg Pawn barely even flinched, although it lifted its hand to rub its metallic head. "See?"

[inspirethefire]

"Not this fake... hollow, meaningless...!" He clawed at his buttons, squirming himself out of his jacket and out of Eggman's grip. Arguing with this man, this living filth, wasn't his priority. Again, he rushed the Egg Prawn, desperately searching for some sort of gap or lock he could pry at. "Can you here me in there?! I'm going to get you out! I promise!!"

[iamtheeggman]

This time, the Egg Pawn stared up at Hajime in confusion. If the unchanging look on its face could so be called. But it didn't stare for long.

Instead, it drew a laser gun, aiming it at Hajime.

All it could recognize was a threat. The second Egg Pawn also drew a weapon, both trained on the cheerleader as a signal to back off.

[inspirethefire]

Well, that cleared things up about how much control they had. Hajime stopped pawing at the steel, his breath catching behind clenched teeth. They were trapped in there, slaves to programming, completely cut off from their own hearts. All he could detect under the cold, unfeeling shell before him was the distinct sense of wrongness.

Fury and fear set him shaking, as he looked at the thing before him. What was he supposed to do? Back off, so easily? Every second contained in there had to be hell. On the other hand, he couldn't do much if he was shot up.

"You can't do this." He spoke to the robot as much as Eggman, not taking his eyes off the lenses of the Prawn. "The soul isn't a tool. It can't be used like this."

[iamtheeggman]

"I think I've established that it CAN," Eggman remarked, no hint of shame on his voice. He had a pretty good idea of what Hajime had figured out, but he still didn't care. It wasn't exactly a secret of what powered his machines.

"I've invented a way to turn living beings into robots," Eggman gloated, stepping forward to poke Hajime in the chest. "These are just a small sample of what I'm capable of. And I'm going to KEEP doing it. I'm going to create a world FILLED with robots. Robots that do MY bidding, and MINE ALONE. And you." Poke. "Can't." Poke. "Stop me."

"Now... Run along. Maybe you can generate another laser made of willpower or something, for all I care."

[inspirethefire]

Had that been what Eggman had seen? Hajime's teeth ground. If anyone could disregard such a sight so easily, of course, it would be someone like this. The man gloated, and his spirit burned with his ill-gotten confidence, flaunting it in front of those who he'd stolen it away from, no understanding or interest in what it represented.

Hajime grabbed Eggman's wrist, squeezing it hard. "Maybe I can't. That's your way of thinking, isn't it?" His voice quavered with anger. This wasn't someone to waste questions of why or how on. Someone so selfish, so short sighted could hardly count as a real human. "You assume everything is done by one person, alone."

Eggman was a good half foot taller than Hajime, but he still leaned in, snarling in the man's face. "Maybe I can't stop you, but we can."

[awakeningwill]

The shouting had drawn Zero's attention from all the way down the hall, but it was the Egg Pawns with their guns pointed at Hajime that caused the security guard to intervene. The cheerleader was no fighter, not by any stretch, but he was still stubborn as hell - and with Eggman involved... well, he couldn't let this just slide. Dash boots activating, the reploid crossed the distance in a second with a huge leap.

As if on cue, a red blur landed at Hajime's side with a heavy, metallic THUD! Gold hair billowed behind him, and he glowed with an energy charge as bright as his sword.

Though he spoke to student, the hatred of Zero's glare was focused on Eggman. "Hajime. Do you need assistance?"

[iamtheeggman]

"Rrrgh... YOU again," Eggman grumbled angrily. "We're having an entirely pleasant conversation, so SCRAM!" he demanded, pointing down the hall.

[inspirethefire]

Hopefully, Zero could excuse Hajime for flinching a little; given the situation, he hardly expected any robots flying at him to be lending aid. Still, after the moment's surprise, the timing was awfully appreciated.

"Zero. Thank you for the offer." He, too, only had eyes for Eggman. His grip squeezed once more. "Were you aware of this man's methods for powering his creations, perchance?"

[awakeningwill]

His eyes narrowed. "You're in no position to give me orders, Eggman." Not anymore.

Zero had discovered what powered Eggman's robots when he first crash landed in FDC, and again when war broke out in the city - much to his disgust. "I'm familiar with his methods." For a reploid whose tone normally had little fluctuation between neutral and dry deadpan, he was downright snarling now.

[iamtheeggman]

"Not YET anyway," Eggman grumbled at Zero, arms crossed. But he did raise a hand first to get the Egg Pawns to stand down. He wasn't here to pick a fight. Yet.

"It's not like I've made a big SECRET of my methods," he added. "And if I had my robotisizer online, then you'd REALLY get a taste of what I'm capable of. But thanks to YOU punks, that's not the case!"

"Now, unless you intend to do something about it, I'm LEAVING," he said.

[inspirethefire]

Of course he made no secret of it. This wasn't the sort of man to worry about things like decency or image. "Then you readily invite the retaliation that will come."

His gaze flickered to the Egg Prawns as they put their weapons away. He didn't want to end this here. Not another second should pass with those things functioning, but even with Zero here, he didn't have the advantage to figure out how. His fingernails dug into his palms.

"Make no mistake. I will free them. You can suppress lives, but not Life."

[awakeningwill]

So what, they were just going to let him go? That didn't sit right with Zero. That man's actions were tantamount to war crimes, and he had no intention of giving up on his monstrous plans for the world.

For a split second, Zero scanned the two robots at Eggman's side. Likely they were just lackeys, with limited combat specs - not much of a threat. Hajime had been intent on freeing the animals within, and he hadn't been wrong to do so, he'd simply lacked the strength. But if he thought that Zero wouldn't be able to take on such minor enemies, then he was severely underestimating the reploid.

Not just the two Egg Pawns, either. He could easily eliminate the doctor, here and now... end his reign permanently.

Judge, jury and executioner. Even if he didn't have the authority, he did have the strength. It made him feel powerful - but in all the wrong ways. For all his good intentions, being able to pass such decisive judgment on people made him uncomfortably similar to X's copy. The school had to be protected from Eggman, but not like this. Not right now.

Still, that didn't mean he was just going to let him walk away.

"I'm not done with you."

Zero cracked the knuckles in his left hand, revealing a faint glow between the seams. "I intend to protect the innocent. That includes protecting the creatures enslaved in your machines - from you."

His grip tightened on his sword hilt, tense with the anticipation of battle as he ordered, "Give up your Pawns. Now."

[iamtheeggman]

"EXCUSE ME?" Eggman demanded, crossing his arms and giving the two a death glare. "If that's a joke, I am NOT LAUGHING. YOU do not get to give ME orders, robot!"

[awakeningwill]

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

Nope, Zero was deadly serious. Eggman may have taken the reploid out once, but he had been close to death to begin with, and even then it took a small army to capture him. What was he going to do with just two?

[inspirethefire]

Hajime said nothing; he was no longer able to take precedence in this conversation. He'd certainly hoped Zero would help, but he hadn't dared assume. Now, as he'd been about to back down due to his inability to fight, an overwhelming wave of gratitude for the reploid came over Hajime.

He merely kept his eyes on the Pawns. Could they feel hope, in there?

1/2

[iamtheeggman]

Eggman was silent for a moment. He stared down the shorter robot and the obnoxious cheerleader, until finally relenting. "Fine. You win."

He snapped his fingers. The two Egg Pawns holstered their guns, stepping up to join Hajime and Zero...

2/2

[iamtheeggman]

The Egg Pawns both looked up at their would-be saviors.

...And then with both arms each, they shoved Zero and Hajime back. Right underneath a sprig of mistletoe.

[inspirethefire]

Oh, for--it was a petty, dirty trick, but hardly the worst. There was no time to lose on waffling. Hajime regained his balance, cursed, and gave Zero a quick kiss on the cheek--

"Is it in Japan?" No, it's very far away. "Is it in America?" No, it's not really anywhere. "Do you have to take a plane? Are you going on a plane by yourself?" Kind of. It's hard to explain. "Why do you get to go?"

He looks up from packing to his youngest brother, glowering at the suitcase. Taizo isn't told "no" too often. He sighs and resumes folding his shirts.

It's not somewhere you want to be. "Then why do YOU want it?" People are in a lot of trouble. They need someone to help them. "Is your whole big dumb team going too?" No. They're staying here, to help you. "They're stupid." They are not.

A pause, before Taizo flops onto the bed. He ignores him and keeps packing.

"When are you coming home?"

The question sounds different, not only from being mumbled into the sheets. Even in a whine, the words are weighed down. Twelve is a hard age.

He can come back when things are better, there.