#main show

Wayne: "Hah. Thirdly…" [He tosses his hammer upwards, catching it with one hand on its way down.] "…You're gonna have to fight me if you want any chance of killing anyone, or getting this SIM card back."

POPU: "[BEEP]. You."

[Fight start!]

[Fight end]

POPU: "GAHHH!!" [Their voice just straight up sounds like a corrupted audio file now. They're also very heavily glitchy, on the verge of dissappearing.]

Wayne: [Slightly annoyed and off-put by the state POPU is in] "If all you do is be annoying, then maybe fix yourself before lashing out on others. Especially if you want to kill them."

POPU: "Then maybe stop seeing us as [static]ing pests."

Wayne: "Stop being nothing more than brainwashing cash grabs, then."

[POPU fizzles out, leaving a battery and a microchip behind. The electric systems also seem to have turned back to normal.]

Wayne: 'Weak.'

Wayne: "That was the emergency broadcast of Hip Hop Form. Moral of today is don't give in to any annoying advertisements, no matter what they say, alright? The audio archive will be uploaded at 7pm tomorrow. And this is MC Wayne, signing off."

Wayne: "And breathe…" [He goes to pick up the microchip and battery that POPU dropped] "Should hand this over to the tech shop guy." [He starts heading over]

Voice on Headset: "Really gave that thing what for, eh?"

Wayne: "Yep. I really doubt it became sentient by itself, if you know what I mean."

Voice on Headset: "Yeah… Anyways, me and the others at the station agreed to order takeout."

Wayne: "No- I was going to head elsewhere to get the snacks-"

Voice on Headset: "Look, I know I poke fun and everything over you not taking care of yourself from time to time, but… Yeah. You need to rest."

Wayne: "I feel fine."

Voice on Headset: "Food's already been ordered. So, uh, yeah. See you, sucker!"

Wayne: "Bye."

Shop Owner: "You found the phones that flew out?"

Wayne: "Yes and no."

Shop Owner: "…explain."

Wayne: "I only found one phone casing…" [He hands it over] "…And a bunch of the guts. I think they're still usable, though." [Holds out the SIM card, microchip, and battery]

Shop Owner: [They curse under their breath] "I'll see what I can do. You go and rest..!" [They take the other items]

Wayne: "…right."

Shop Owner: "Oh yeah. Next time you come here, I'll pay for your shopping. Best way I can return the favour."

Wayne: "Okay. Have a good day."

Shop Owner: "You too!"

[With that, Wayne heads out of the mall and back to the station.]

[Part 5 of 5]

Cleanup Crew Member 1: "Hey- Dealing with you lot is above my pay grade, please back off!"

Crowd Member 1: "Hey! This is the first magic attack I've witnessed! At least let me take a souvenir!" [They attempt to grab a piece of the glass]

Cleanup Crew Member 1: "What is even wrong with you!?" [They swat away the crowd member's hand with the handle of their broom]

Cleanup Crew Member 2: "Don't engage them… I don't think they're worth our time to be honest?"

Cleanup Crew Member 1: "…Yeah, you're right."

Cleanup Crew Member 2: "Just let me do this-" [They clear their throat] "Listen up! If anyone attempts anything stupid, I will not hesitate to hit you with this end of the broom." [They hold up the end with bristles] "And I am certain it's got glass shards in it, so I am warning you now so it's on you if you get cut."

[That seems to get the crowd to back off, at least for now.]

Wayne: 'That's strange. The last time something like this happened, I don't recall people behaving like this towards the damage? What the hell is going on here…'

[There's some scratches on one of the walls. One of the phones might have caused that.]

Wayne: 'At least the cleaning crew's managing the crowd. I'll check back later.'

[He heads over to the scratch on the wall. There's no other signs of damage or anything, so maybe one of the phones are nearby?]

Wayne: "That… Looks deep."

[An electric fizz is heard nearby]

Wayne: "Huh- I seriously hope that's not part of the building's wiring." [He goes to investigate the source of the noise]

[It's one of the flip phones the shop owner mentioned. The back is blown out for some reason… That's a bit concerning.]

Wayne: [He picks up the broken phone. It's warm as well.] "What the hell…" [He stares at it for a second before putting it in the shopping bag he was using. Guess that's one down.]

Wayne: "Well, now I'll go check on the shop owner. I really hope they're managing fine.'

[He's heading back when.. A few more crashes are heard, followed by flashes of bright neon light. And one just nearly happened in front of him]

Wayne: "HEY-" [He falls backwards, but thankfully avoids getting cut by the glass. He sighs.] "And here I was, hoping it'd just be the phones…"

[He gets up and dusts himself. Better send out an alert to the others he'll need the station in about 10 minutes.]

[VOICE NOTE]

Wayne: "A little bit of an update, it is getting worse. Nearly got caught up in some exploding glass and… I'm not exactly sure what, but something is happening. I'll need the station in 10, ask the managers if you need anything. And yes, I'll get the supply and snack run done when I've dealt with this ruckus."

[VOICE NOTE END]

Wayne: [He takes his hammer out of the shopping bag. For carrying convenience, its split up into a collapsing handle and the actual head. He takes both out, and attaches the handle to the head. He then adjusts his headset.] "Well then, it's go time."

[Part 2 of 5]

July: 'Ah- I guess she's right. I better start pressing for the stuff I'll need for the incident report, though…'

Shade: "So-"

July: "Why did you do this?"

Shade: "Hm?"

July: "Shade, why did you do this?"

Shade: "Wouldn't you like to know, Blossom Girl?"

July: "I-"

Shade: "I'm not saying~"

July: "Will you at least knock that attitude off-!?"

Shade: "No can do. Now, are you going to let this run its course?"

July: "What are you talking about- Of course not!"

Shade: "Well then…" [She waves her megaphone/microphone/staff and some paper hearts and scissors conjure up around her.] "I won't make it easy."

(it has those dimensions bc i wish to use it as a phone background... sorry if this looks scuffedjhvbjn - Admin Kimulo)

[After battle]

Shade: "AH-" [Her staff is knocked out of her hand, and…]

[With the battle draining the last of the magic the staff has stored, and Shade being worn out after the fight, the dust/mist begins dissappearing, and any remaining object creatures inside the school turn back into fully inanimate objects]

July: "I didn't hu-"

Shade: "Shut it-!"

July: "…Wai-"

[Before July could say anything else, Shade grabs her staff and uses the last of her magic for now to fly away from the school building.]

July: "I just wanted to check if you were okay…"

Student 8: [From the ground] "Hey- It's safe to come out!"

[More students and teachers, all clearly shaken up by Shade's takeover, start heading out of the building.]

July: 'Ah- I've got to finish up the broadcast!'

July: "So that was the emergency broadcast of After School POP! Nothing serious, but I hope you enjoyed that, and thank you so much for tuning in. The audio archive will be up tomorrow, so look forward to that. See you next time! July Ann, out!"

Voice on Earbuds: "And cut. Good job on that."

[July starts heading downstairs]

Voice on Earbuds: "You alright, July? I'm more worried about you as your first job… Yeah. "

July: "I'm fine! I'm more worried about Shade though… Is it okay if we discuss this at a later time? I know she's not injured, but I think there's more to her than, well, that. No-one acts out like that without other reasons."

Voice on Earbuds: "Yeah, sure. Rest easy when you get home, though. I'll hand the station back to Lita now."

July: "Thanks. I'm gonna pack away the earbuds. See you in the group chat!"

Voice on Earbuds: "You too."

[July puts her earbuds back in their case, and pockets the case. She reaches the bottom of the stairs, and goes to the main door.]

[The students are all cheering and thanking July]

[A static fuzz is heard over the speakers]

Voice on Speakers (Principal): "Wow, so, that just happened. Due to the immense disruption that just occurred, school's out for today. You are all free to go home.]

[The students cheer. Well then, time to enjoy the day!]

[Part 5 of 5]

July: ‘At least I know who’s behind this - or what they’re called. I can end this!’

[She once again runs down the hall, this time managing to bat away object insects without getting very nervous. Even using her hammer to slam a few locker doors shut!]

Voice on Earbuds: “Huh. Searching up Shade doesn’t really yield anything... Did you see them?”

July: “No... I’m sorry, si-”

Voice on Earbuds: “Don’t apologise to me. Let me know when you get more visuals or something I can use to narrow down who this is. I’m listening in.”

July: “Alright. Uh, is my school in another dimension?”

Voice on Earbuds: “Nope. It’s surrounded by a pretty thick purple mist though. And I’m guessing that and the fact you’ve stepped in is why the police aren't helping for now.”

July: “Good to know!”

Voice on Earbuds: “Good luck finishing this off.”

July: “Thanks!”

[The lights are turning a stronger purple.]

July: ‘Halls are empty. I really hope people have dealt with what they can...’

[July slows down a little. It doesn’t look like there’s any more object insects coming her way, so... She should probably head into the next room she hears a ruckus from.]

[Now that July has slowed down a bit, she can now see the full changes in the halls. It’s hauntingly beautiful in a sense. If it weren’t for this Shade person terrorising everyone in the school, July would pretty much take a few pictures of this.]

[She slowly walks down the hall when a door slams open just the moment she passes it]

July: “HUH-”

Student 6: “GOT EM!”

Student 7: “There’s one at 12 o’ cl- AUGH-”

[Student 7 gets thrown across the hall]

[July runs into the room. It’s the music room. And these instrument creatures look a lot tougher than the other object insects for some reason.]

July: “C’mon guys!” [She immediately gets to attacking the instrument creatures, making sure not to damage the objects they’re made out of.]

[A few minutes later]

[Students 6 and 7 also join in on the fight, although their fighting style is... something.]

July: “Is that all..?”

Student 6: “Yep. We weren’t having... Much success, haha.” [He shows some bruises on his arm]

July: “Not important-”

Student 6: “Ah.”

July: “You know where this Shade person could be?”

Student 7: “Don’t ask us!”

July: ‘Not useful.’ “Alright. Stay safe!” [She goes out of the room]

July: “The next logical step would be upstairs... God, I really hope things aren’t messy up there.”

[When she’s just about to go upstairs, the lights turn off again]

July: “A-”

[The lights turn back on, and there’s a dark purple mist coming down the stairs...]

July: “Uhm...”

???: “Well well well, Blossom Girl.”

[??? starts coming down the stairs]

July: “Who are you and what are you doing!?”

???: “You don’t recognise my voice? I’m Shade, remember me when I announced myself in the hall?”

Shade: “Anyways, I shall kindly ask you to stop interfering and let people have fun now.”

July: “Fun!? People are getting injured!”

Shade: “It’s all part of it.” [She smirks] “You yourself often get hurt by accident during those sports you play and your gymnastics, no?”

July: “There’s precautions! You just... Let these stupid creatures run amok!”

Shade: “No point reasoning with you. If you want me to stop, I hope you’re prepared to fight tooth and nail.”

[Shade sends a flurry of dark purple mist down the stairs to obscure July’s vision, and then runs to the rooftop]

July: “GAH-”

Shade: "See ya!"

Voice on Earbuds: "I'm assuming Shade just attacked you-?"

July: [Doing her best to give chase despite the mist obscuring her vision and slowing her down] "Not attack-! She just tried to distract me and run away!"

Voice on Earbuds: "I'm guessing you got a visual though."

July: "Yeah-! She was in this gothic suit, with six bat wings and a devil ta-"

Voice on Earbuds: "That's enough info for me to… Yep. Found some info on her."

July: "And-?"

Voice on Earbuds: "She's an Infinipic influencer like you. Seems to specialise in gothic fashion and also some biology."

July: "Right- She went to the rooftop I think, so wish me luck!"

Voice on Earbuds: "Alright. Good luck."

[Part 4 of 5]

July: “Alright-!”

[Halls are still a mess, but... Are those lockers opening themselves? And more object-based insects forming?]

July: “Why...” [She braces herself to run through the halls, and to smack away any object insects that try to attack her]

{really not sure what would be the music suggestion here yet}

[After a minute or so]

July: “Hahh..” [Tired. She’s in front of the sports hall door.]

[There’s a lot of clattering down the hall]

July: “What’s that-!?”

[It’s a swarm of stationery butterflies. Charging right at her...]

July: “WHY ME-!?” [She swats a good portion of them with one strike of her hammer.]

[...or maybe the hall door? The few that managed to avoid her hammer are trying to push open the door.]

July: “Oh...”

July: ‘So I’m not being targeted? That’s a relief...’

[She opens the door to the sports hall, and it’s absolute chaos. The insects have seem to have made some kind of hive or cage out of various items from around the school, and what’s inside it is some kind of glowing energy]

July: “Now to address the station... Alright, an update from your host, July Ann! I’ve located what I assume to be the source of all this.”

[She hesitantly takes a step towards the cage/hive.]

July: “It... Appears to be a massive amount of magic energy. Nothing much, I guess if I destroy it, things will calm down?”

[She prepares to hit it right in the centre.]

July: “Here goes-!”

[She hits it square in the centre. However...]

[...Instead of dissipating into thin air, the magic energy just splits up and goes into a different room.]

July: “AYEEE-” [The objects surrounding the magic energy just... Drop. Nearly hitting a few people, July included.]

[A static fuzz is heard over the announcement speakers]

Voice on Speakers: “Ahahaha! You really thought it’d be that easy!?”

July: “Who-”

Voice on Speakers: “You may be wondering who the hell am I. Well, I’ll tell you one thing... I only respond to Shade.” [Mischievious giggle]

Voice on Speakers (Shade): “Anyways, getting out isn’t that easy! Only I decide when you can get out! So have fun!”

[Another static fuzz]

July: “I’m having anything but fun... Is everyone okay?”

[Murmurs of “We’re all fine.” and “Go deal with that crazy bitch!”]

July: “Right. I’ll sort this out, don’t you worry!”

[She heads out of the sports hall to find where that magic energy went.]

[Part 3 of 5]

Voice on Headphones: "Um… You have any of their belongings, or anything?"

Numi: "Nope."

Voice on Headphones: "By the way, I didn't find that guy…"

Numi: "It's okay, you tried. Wish me luck on the strategy!"

Voice on Headphones: "Hope it works!"

[Numi heads out of the empty room to try and get a closer look at what the employees are trying to do]

Employee 1: "We know what this intruder wants, right? So think! Think of every single person any of you have annoyed over, oh, I don't know, the last year."

Employee 2: "But I didn't anno-"

Employee 4: "That's too long back!"

Employee 1: "Well, I don't care. We are getting out, no matter what."

Numi: 'One year IS a bit long, but… I can see where they're coming from.'

Employee 1: "And I don't care if this person is an employee, someone you've done business with, a family member, I really don't care."

Numi: 'I… That's odd. This far with the accusations? It was enough with the employees fighting each other…'

Employee 1: "I may also add that I will be giving a promotion to anyone who comes forward with useful information, and any lies told to slow down the process will result in immediate termination."

Numi: 'That's. Severe. Maybe I'll just…'

[Numi takes out her phone, and snaps a quick picture of Employee 1 to investigate later. However, the flash and shutter are on.]

Numi: "Shoot-"

Employee 1: "Who did that. Who did that!? BRING WHOEVER DID THAT TO ME, NOW!"

[Numi scurries back up the stairs, but some other employees chase after her]

Employee 3: "SHE IS THE TRAITOR, I TOLD YOU ALL!"

Numi: "Surprised you didn't stay down for long, huh…"

Employee 5: "Well, I didn't HEAR you say that!"

[They start arguing. Maybe just leave them be, and get away]

Employee 3: "GET BACK HERE!"

[Employees 3 and 5 charge at Numi, only to both be hit back by her boombox.]

Numi: "…stubborn."

[Numi runs up to the door leading to the rooftop, of which is still locked.]

Numi: "Quick question - you think I can get away with busting one more door?"

Voice on Headphones: "Why are you asking me..?"

Numi: "Uh…"

Voice on Headphones: "Wait… Are you suspecting something."

Numi: "Yep." [She smacks the door open]

Voice on Headphones: "What just crossed your mind?"

Numi: "The person who just stopped me from entering the lift. They told others to suspect everyone, including family members."

Voice on Headphones: "That's normal though…?"

Numi: "It's a stretch, but they didn't immediately start with that. And my gut tells me they were just trying to keep everyone from finding the traitor."

Voice on Headphones: "Ah…"

Numi: "Anyways, gonna see if I can summon that stranger. Hope this works!"

[Part 4 of 5]