Inside Neon Viper, the bass hammers through the floor. Bodies move in loose rhythm, but the pattern is wrong, too uniform. On the platform by the DJ booth, the Kid sways with glowing eyes, trying to keep the crowd steady.
Masked Protester 1 and Masked Protester 2 catch sight of Oni Sakurai and freeze near the back wall, their earlier shame giving way to alarm as they recognize the same psychic pulse.
The Kid
Stay back. I am trying to stop it.
The Kid’s focus slips. A cluster of dancers stumbles out of sync, one person clutching their head as the borrowed rhythm breaks around Oni’s presence.
Oni Sakurai
...I’m going to get you help.
That promise cuts through the room like a signal flare. The Kid looks less like a threat now and more like the source of a spreading accident, a frightened child trying not to drown the whole club with their mind.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get the Kid help
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn what is causing the psychic manipulation
“I step toward the DJ booth, keeping my hands visible to show I am not a threat.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Oni steps toward the DJ booth with both hands open at chest height, her club lowered and harmless. The nearby dancers give her a little space, the broken rhythm still twitching through the room.
The Kid
You do not have to come closer for me to listen.
The Kid’s glowing eyes flick from Oni to the crowd and back again. Their shoulders sag, and the pressure on the room eases another notch.
Masked Protester 1
We thought we were helping. We were all over the place, and then it felt like... like somebody else was steering us.
Masked Protester 2
I can still feel it fading. That is the worst part.
The Kid
It is not supposed to do this. I keep trying to make it stop, but the signal keeps slipping.
The dancers around them settle into confused stillness. The Kid glances toward a dark service hallway beside the booth, then back to Oni, waiting for her to follow or stop them there.
“I tell the kid that when i first got my powers it was bard to not destroy everything with my strength and i kearned that staying calm is what grants control, i then try talking him through some breathing exercises to calm him down”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Oni keeps her club low and speaks gently about learning control the hard way, when raw strength threatens to break everything around her. The Kid listens, breathing shallow and fast, while the room stays hushed around them.
Oni Sakurai
Staying calm is what gives control.
She slows her own breathing on purpose, making the rhythm obvious enough to follow. The Kid’s glowing eyes flick to her chest, then to their own hands, trying to copy the pace.
The Kid
I can feel it... when I rush, it gets louder.
A few patrons stop swaying and blink like they are waking from a bad dream. The pressure in the club thins, and the dancers nearest the booth loosen their shoulders.
Masked Protester 1
That thing has been driving us this whole time? Then... thank you. For pulling us out of it.
The Kid
If I follow your breathing, I can hold it longer. Maybe long enough to stop it from slipping.
Quest Complete
Get the Kid help
New Gift: Protective Instinct