Midnight Games

Central Park,NYC| 10:56 Pm

Within the mass greenery of New York's most famous park, a girl as pale as the loon above, state within the canopy. Her skin pale and her hair silver, she stared at the roundness of the moon with admiring eyes. It was all so beautiful, so full. Deep within the trees, where the city's lights couldn't penatrate Kenzo watched, the full moon. The moonlight kissed her skin, and gave her a soft ghastly glow.

She loved the nighttime. The silence of it all. It was the night when even the most busiest city in the world stood still, as if in respect to the Moon's regal brilliance. It was the night, where the expectations of life washed away and the world around her became admirable, magical even. And it was the night when the Sun hid away, not there to remind her of what she was searching for, the Bearer Of The Solar Sigil.

It was her search that had brought her to the City Of Dazzling Lights, threads and strings she followed took her here. She wasn't sure where to start through, even with her sight to see the life-force, there was just so much of it. Life was everywhere, down dark alleyways, behind the lonely of stores, even instead cardboard boxes. She had wandered through the city without any hope. Encountering . . . interesting people to say the least, and she till hadn't found them. But she wasn't going to stop now, she'd search the entire city, every nook and cranny if she had too. She had an eternity of time, and the only thing greater than the time she had was her patience.

Coated in feathers of pure white with accents of wise silver, Empress Diana flew down and perched herself behind Kenzo. The owl had just finished her nightly search of the city. Dashing through the streets at speeds most cars would envy. "Well, it's good to have you back. Madam Diana. So did you find anything?" She inquired. In which the owl responded with a somber shake of its avian head. Which was more like a turn.

"Ah, don't fret. We'll find them. Don't worry. As long as a Moon is somewhere, we'll continue our search" Her eyes beamed with reassurance towards the owl, but the words were mostly for herself.She'd find her Sun, she had to.

A smell of something meaty filled her nostrils, Empress Diana must have noticed too. As the bird had turned its entire body to where the smell was coming from. While neither of them truly needed substance, the moon gave them decades more than enough. The smell was enticing. A mixture of cooked vegetables and some beef...or pork...maybe chicken. She couldn't really tell which, but she knew it smelled good.

"Let's go reward ourselves right?" As Empress Diana flew towards the smell, Kenzo climbed down the tree, landing on the grass with the silence of an assassin. The smell lead her, she knew she could use her eyes to find the life-force of the person who was cooking. But she figured the rest of her senses were equal as important. So within the darkness of trees, she made her way to her hidden target. While the types of food they could be making filled her head, pushing out the gloom of her long and fruitless search.

Glowing softly within the dark shadows of New York, a light within darkness.

A beacon to what lurks hidden.

@kenzo_: @x-rey

The city can be a cruel place, especially to those unwanted. It is at night when they walk, the homeless, the forgotten and those that hide in the shadow, clinging to each other to survive in a world where they are either unwanted or un-welcomed. It is in this case, when the lights go out on the streets that are so dark you could not see your hand in front of your face, they gather together around bonfires lit in steel garbage cans, in order just to survive. In this case a small group of twelve homeless men were warming up around the fire, each dressed in layers of rags on top of rags, with skin dark and covered in dirt. There names were not important, what was was their fighting desire to live in a world that ignores them. In this case they were not cowered around a fire for heat, but for their basic need for food. For stuck to a long peace of metal was several dead animals, that were unfortunate to cross their paths over the last twenty-four hours. To some it was down right disgusting, almost nauseating, but to them it was a five star meal.

As sad as it was, Gripper was looking down upon them, atop the roof of a near by building, fighting the urge to vomit. Normally he would not be in a situation such as this, but there was a story, better yet a rumor, that there was something else walking these streets at night, and it wasn’t one of them, it was rumored...unnatural! Unfortunately these rumors were near impossible to prove and as such Jack was out here watching over them, instead of dealing with some other crazy event, with either gang members or some other costumed criminals. But in all his years of working with Dr. Suars, he had never been faced with something considered, unnatural. But for the next few hours he was willing to have an open mind, and against all better judgment he would stay up there for the rest of the night, with nothing but a bottle of Scotch to keep him warm. In the mean time he sat alone with his feet dangling off the side, with an advanced form of sight looking down upon the homeless, that for the time being seemed happy enough, except for the fact they were about to eat road kill!

@gripper:

Her footsteps gently crunched the delicate dark grass underneath her, as she followed the smell, Empress Diana was already out of sight. The solitude of the forest was suddenly behind her as she stood at an empty road. On the other side were the lights of human life. She looked both ways, and made a made dash across the strangely damp asphalt. She didn't see a car anywhere, but she knew they could just materialize at any moment in New York.

The familiar, Ethereal hoot of Empress Diana guided her. Having her run down the labyrinth that was the city's grid. Until eventually she reached the source if the smell. A group of homeless men sat amongst each other, laughing amongst themselves. With what seemed like roadkill around a tin barrel fire. The fire light up the alley way with sobriety, as she looked between what seemed like friends. It was when they called qt to her that she realized she was staring.

"You lost?" The middle-most one asked, she could see him eyeing her long cloak before looking at his friends. She wasn't naiive, but she also was confident in her own ability to pacify. And so she sat down on a nearby barrel. "Not necessarily, I simply smelled something good and I came running."

The men looked amongst each other, ones eyes seemed to be staring at her hip. And in his pupils reflection, she could see that he was staring at her semi-hidden dagger. "You're not plannin' to robe us are you? Dressed in black and with a knife. I mean, we have nothing as you can see." She was a bit taken aback by their worry about her stealing from them. For the brief second she turned on her Eyes Of Life, a quick check for their intent, and when she saw that their weren't any malice, she relaxed bit. Reaching into her cloak, slowing down when she saw a slight panic. "No, I don't want to cause you any trouble." She pulled out Daydream, a golden harp with strings made of life-force. "Actually I've come to play you guys a song. As well as eat and hear stories." There was a slight protest amongst them, but all melted away when she played the first string. A note that was described as Ethereal left the instrument, and filled the air. "Ah hell, sure you can. And listen. I was just tellin' this boys about this one time..."

In the alleyway, sweet music and sweeter stories were exchanged as Kenzo sat amongst the homeless. She was one of them, a vagabond. She had no true home. But she felt at home with the tales they've told. She ate with them and exchanged some of her own stories. But unknown to her, Empress Diana was watching something else. A man with four arms on the roof. Staring at the men below. The owl seemed to have narrowed its eyes. Watching from another tower.

@gripper: @kenzo_: The Asian Sensation has been watching a special someone for days because rumors suggest this white-haired enigma has some of if not the finest blood one could have and the vampire in Hannah became curious if she tastes as good as the rumors claimed. It wasn't her time to feed yet. It wouldn't be for a while. This was done out of gluttony and curiosity, however, and those two things can corrupt anyone.

Hannah pulled out binoculars and watched from afar, locking in on her target. She didn't bother to pay any mind to the homeless guys as they seemed harmless, but just to be sure the pureblood was the only threat here she scanned the area again, and to her surprise, someone else was there. A guy with mechanical arms similar to an octopus. He could complicate things, but Dark Woman X had confidence she could dust him if he came in the way of what she was about to do. She put the binoculars away and began to walk toward her destination. Minutes passed and she got closer, revealing herself, and whipped out two blades letting them know she meant business. "If you don't want to be hurt I suggest you guys leave now." She made a gesture, signaling for them to go. "Not you though." Hannah's eyes shifted to the mysterious girl with beautiful white hair. "I'm here for you and you alone, so why don't you be a doll and tell your friends to scram? I don't wanna make this anymore messy than what it has to be." Her eyes were locked on her prey but she didn't forget about the four-arm guy chilling up top.

@x-rey:

If you don't want to be hurt I suggest you guys leave now."

Amongst the exchange of song, stories and squirrel meat, a voice as crisp and eerie as the darkness that seemed to have manifested behind the Daughter of Tsukuyomi. She needed not turn when she heard to crisp coldness of steel being pulled from their sheaths and the fear within the eyes of the her newfound friends to know that the voice was in fact dangerous. Yet, she simple stood from the tin barrel she sat, placing the harp back into her Shroud Of Night, giving the homeless a smile of reassurance as they began to move. "No, don't leave. Stay here. I came here and disrupted your fellowship with my problems, so I'll see myself out." He pulled the cloak over her head, and turned to leave, but not before a brief examination of her capture's features. In honesty, she was beautiful in a deadly and austere fashion. Her dark hair seemed to be made out of the shadows itself, along with the sharp predatorial eyes, eyes that hungered for her. It would've been flattering, if she didn't know the woman would've killed her in that instant.

She brushed by her, and gestured for the Scarlet Bloodspiller to follow, she walked up the empty streets of New York with somber, her soft moonlight aura acting as a light into the park. She didn't not anyone to see what may transpire. There was going to be bloodshed, it was only a matter of whose.

Within the skies Empress Diana landed next to the man with four mechanical arms, sensing not bloodlust but curiosity. It hooted at him, turning itself, and gesturing that he follows before taking off into the skies, and over the park. Hoping it had received help for its master. Kenzo had yet to see it, but the Empress had, the aura the dark one gave off eclipsed her master's. And it was certain that an altercation between the two would've end in Kenzo's favor.

@kenzo_: @x-rey

Jack watched, regrettably, as the homeless men feasted on their roadkill, looking away only for seconds. For even from a rooftop five stories up, he could still smell the critters roasting over a fire. By now it was three-thirty in the morning and the only unnatural thing he had seen was people eating squirrels. Then suddenly to his surprise, a young woman, clearly not from these streets, dressed in what looked like bright white colors came walking into the alley. “Holy crap!” Jack said as he expected the worse, “this just ain’t right!” Not wanting to intervene until the right minute, he stood there ready to act, just in case the young lady was trouble. But despite the fact she looked as if she had never even heard about nights activities such as this, the young lady seemed quite natural to be there. Soon enough, to Jack surprise, she was already conversing with them, even bonding with them to the point she was excepted as one of them. It was then she pulled out a harp, made of gold, that was so splendid it glowed as the light flickered off it from the fire.

With one note, the whole mood of the place changed, as even Jack’s moody deposition lightened up for a second, and despite the fact he was there to watch for any unnatural activities, his mind was momentarily swept away with the music. For what seemed like seconds he was distracted, but in actuality it was minutes, and during that time he was completely unaware of what was going on beneath him. For if at any moment he would have seen the woman in red draw a sword, or even say the words, "If you don't want to be hurt I suggest you guys leave now" Jack would have been down there like white on rice! But for now he was dancing in his head, relaxing as he let his guard down, until the night was interrupted by the squawking of an Owl. Immediately, he opened his eyes, to see a larger than life Owl perched before him, in what appeared to be beckoning him to follow. With a quick glance back down to the street he was shocked and dismayed to see the girl in white gone, and the homeless men with a WTF look on their face!!!

Outraged over his actions, Jack let out a few vulgarities, even kicking himself over such an amateurish move. But before he went into a full on tirade and started breaking things, Empress Diana calmed him down with just a wink. Once again Jack was caught off guard as he looked back into the Owl’s eyes and despite how bizarre as it may seemed, asked it, “You know..”in an innocent child like tone, “..where she is? Don’t Cha!” Immediately, the Owl took flight, only to hover above Jack in a circular pattern, while bobbing it’s head in one specific direction. Soon enough with one flap of her wings Empress Diana flew off in that direction, only momentarily looking back to make sure Jack was following. Sure enough Jack was leaping from one rooftop to the next, following her blindly to wherever she may go. But even though this was by far the craziest thing he had ever done, he still had faith that the Owl would lead him to the mysterious lady in white and perhaps the answers he was seeking.

@gripper: @kenzo_:

"Very well then." She lowered her blades, admiring how calm the hooded figure was. If Hannah wasn't trying to drain her blood they could probably be besties. Footsteps echoed as they walked through the quiet, empty streets of New York. Hannah broke the silence and asked her a question. "Does this one have a name? My name's Ami. It might seem a little weird to know the name of the person you plan to harm, but mama does that with all her victims. I usually name them myself, but you're special so I'm allowing you to give me a name before we begin to play." She sounded playful, a bit flirty for the moment.

@gripper: @x-rey:

Her conversant wanted to chat, small talk before the plunging of blades into stomachs. It wasn't the first time, but whenever it did happen, they usually ended up having a decent shred of humanity. Other than the savages who wished to simply attack her from the corners of the room or from behind the corners of buildings. So Kenzo played along. "Kenzo Tsu-Natori, I am from Japan, if the name wasn't a hint." As they treaded deeper into the woods of central park they had passed a man sleeping upon a bench. "Ami that is also Japanese isn't it? Well its alot of things, no? Hebrew and Indian too. Trustworthy in the former and Nectar in the latter." She couldn't help but give a soft, light giggle."It's ironic no? I don't find you in the least trustworthy, and I figured that the nectar you seek would be coming from me."

Her footsteps had stopped, they were deep enough now. The soft hooting of Empress Diana from high above let her know that her aerial acolyte had found help. "So Ami, before we play, I do have a request from you" Her own eyes began to glow, turning into orbs of blue celestial light, the crescent moon present in both of them. And as they activated she had stepped backwards, the shadows now consuming her, turning her figure transparent, the paleness of her face began to appear nothing more than apparition. The next words slithered from her lips, her soft-spoken voice was now tainted with a hint of mischievous malice that floated through the air, as if it were nothing but a whisper. "Do be kind to me."

@kenzo_: @x-rey

Jack leaped from one rooftop to the next, following the Owl, further into the city with each stride. It was perhaps the dumbest thing he had ever done, following an over-sized bird, but there was something about it that just made him trust it. With the moon still high in the sky he followed the Empress, throughout the rougher parts of town and deeper into the city. At one point Jack bothered to ask the Owl, “So, do you do this often?” then felt embarrassed. For the only sound the Owl made was the flapping of her wings, and the occasional squawk when Jack fell behind. But soon enough, Jack finally recognized where he was heading as he could already see the rough out line of Central Park just over the decreasing sky line. With one last double flip he jumped from the nearest building down to the ground, where he landed in a perfect three point stance, without the use of his four stooges. While at the same time Empress Diana swooped right down into the foliage and out of his sight!

With his mechanical arms recoiled back inside him, Jack casually made his way into the park, step by step. Following the most obvious path inside, where if not for the dimly lit street lights, you could barely see ten feet in front of you. But lucky for Jack he could see even in pitch black, that is why it took him no time to find the mysterious lady in white. Unfortunately by the time he had caught up with her, there was another strange lady in red, already with her and engaging in conversation. From the distance Jack failed to see the multiple weapons the lady in red was carrying, as his biggest concern was for the lady in white. Because, by this point, she was the only one to show signs of being dangerous. But by the time he reached hearing distance, he could already see her showing more signs of power! Already the lady in white’s eyes had turned into two balls of glowing blue energy, as her face and body began to flicker from sight. With no idea what was really going on, Jack could only assume that the woman in red was in danger, and that the woman in white, was a threat!

Still standing a good fifty yards away from them, Jack believed he needed to help, before the lady in white could do ‘God Knows What!’ With one quick thrust of his hip, Jack sent his two right mechanical arms, Moe and Curly, straight ahead and towards them. Moving forward at an impressive speed, the two stooges would extend until reaching them, at which point they would then move in between the two ladies, as a make shift barricade, in the hopes of protecting the woman in red. Should his two stooges make it that far, Jack would then choose to greet the ladies with a simple but antiquate “I don’t think it’s safe for you two ladies to be out here at this time of night!” But as the lady in white was now clearly about to do something unnatural, he quickly changed his remarks to, “Don’t worry miss..” he says to the lady in red, “I’ll handle this!” as he nodded for her to move away from the danger, while his two mechanical arms stayed there in front of her for protection. However, should anything else happen before or during any of this, he would naturally react in kind, while protecting himself and anyone else in danger!

'Midnight' seems one of the most beloved settings of all times, and Im just wandering why.

There was a huge fan community, lots of products, and even an amatuer tv series / movie.

I'm just wandering why this became such a big thing, as its so unusual for a 'fan' setting to become so big to rival things like Dragonlance, Eberron etc https://19216801.onl/ .

Ty.