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Post by HungryHunter on Dec 16, 2018 7:41:55 GMT
“Charms, eh? We’ll have to keep an eye out for those.” Blue lenses slid down over Stephan’s eyes involuntarily. The magic of the world was overlaid onto his vision. Motes and dots of mana spiraled in haloes around Vladimir, rings and flashing orbs around Callis, a constant low crackle within Cadence. If there were more charms that needed to be found, he would find them. “No, it’s not acid. If I slashed at them for long enough, it would eventually produce something that could melt them, but that would take a while.” That was the annoying thing about this ability. It could only provide what he needed in reaction to needing it. The Nucleus couldn’t or wouldn’t transform on command. “This is much quicker.” Stephan threw another spinning kick for the wall. Without the charms reinforcing it, a wooden wall should give to a kick that cracked brick.
“I can hit him if you like.” Dan whispered back. It made him feel better, but not by much. This twisted metal-clad demon was lying, he knew it. He recognized this layout. “This is minimum security. A bunch of nonviolent drug offenders and white collar criminals jumped him!? He expects me to believe that!?” He growled as quietly as he could, growling at Falken’s back as he left. He sighed and relaxed his fists. It did him no good to get killed here. They had a job to do. He raised an eyebrow when Gen took out his makeshift map. He wanted to finish the question Haruko didn’t, but Gen addressed them first. He swore Gen looked right at him when he asked the group if they needed to discuss anything.
Oh god! He knows that I know he has a crush on me! How do I turn him down? It took him a moment to think of something else entirely that Gen could have noticed. He felt the bands across his chest where he could still feel the constriction of the safety belts, a pain he wouldn’t have been subjected to not long ago. “Uh, yes, I guess there is.” Dan held out his hands to the side and held that posture. There was nothing especially unusual about it, until those watching saw that nothing happened. No pink energy swirled from his pores, his hair did not move of its own volition. “I have no powers. They’re gone, forever. For all intents and purposes, I am a regular human.”
Yuu had already done her own research from the names Ikari gave her earlier, so she wasn’t learning anything new. The only new thing was the reaction Ikari had to Callis’ name, flickering in purple flames that made her break out in a cold sweat. She adjusted her hat to give herself an excuse not to look at him until he said their last foe had changed. “Cadence…” Yuu breathed. She couldn’t believe it.
“Cadence!” Martha jumped forward to look closer. “She really made it!” She clapped her hands to her cheeks. “She did.” Yuu murmured noncommittally. Ikari’s rage scared her. Cadence being here terrified her. There could only be one reason. Martha intercepted the tablet took look closer at her long-lost sister. “What do you think she’s here for? Do you think she knows we’re here?” Martha was bouncing up and down with excitement. “I wouldn’t know. Go take a shower.” Yuu took the tablet and pushed Martha along.
“Right next to all of you guys?” Martha wrinkled her nose and yelped what it did to her broken cartilage. “Nobody will peek or I’ll impale them.” Yuu responded matter-of-factly. “...thanks, Yuu.” Martha smiled and bolted through the barracks to reach the showers. Yuu ignored Z's snide comment. She didn't need his approval. She let herself express a rare smile and made a detour into the kaspa, grabbing fresh clothing and a can of nuts.
After a minute, she emerged and approached Ikari. “I have a suggestion, Ikari, sir. Cadence has a gainen medal. I have none of my own to counter it, so perhaps we could switch targets? If she’s as dangerous as she is designated here, I think your strength might be needed. On the other hand, I can handle Callis. You’ve seen the blueprints. He doesn’t stand a chance, but Cadence’s gainen could tip the scales.” She spoke slowly, deliberating every word for perfection.
Robin met the old man’s eyes. Her own golden eyes blinked in surprise. She had never seen a person like this. She was even more surprised when he began to sign. “Oh, uh… got it!” She gave him a sloppy salute and pressed one of the charms she held to the seal by his door. As soon as he emerged, she shook the bag and grinned. “Anybody else you want me to let out? We could have a cell block party.” She had seen some pretty nasty-looking dudes on her way up here, but plenty of guys who just looked cool. Surely not everybody belonged in here?
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Post by RedLenai on Dec 18, 2018 0:02:12 GMT
Vladimir listened to his boss's orders, as well he nodded when Stephan explained him his abilities - Maybe I can try something - The man said as he went closer to the door Cadence was facing. He gently touched it. Already knowing that the door was covered in spider webs, the man took from his belt a small spear, it was small at the point to look like an item from a child's toy.
Please, give me a bit of space - He requested to his team. As a bright light appeared in his hand, celtic knots coming from his arm as they spun around the small toy that now was floating in mid air, in few seconds Vladimir had his spear in one hand. With the tip of the weapon he wrote in celtic the words "wind" and "cut", and then he stabbed it, the words forming a celtic cross. Wind cutting the wooden door like a sharp axe, if he calculated things right the spell could even destroy the spider web.
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Post by Kuma on Dec 19, 2018 5:05:48 GMT
Callis’ squad exploded into action. The Beast Knight, with his characteristic speed, was the first to move as the walls and doors fell down. Callis, who had unsheathed both of his strange tonfa-like blades, was ready to burst into motion as soon as Akane opened up a hole for him. More or less at the same time the others also acted. Stephan didn’t notice any charms close-by and kicked one of the walls down, collapsing an entire section. Cadence vines prodded under the cobweb, finally managing to pierce through as the floor wasn’t being protected by the charms any longer. Finally, Vladimir’s spell collided against the webs. At first, it seemed as if the result would be the same as Akane’s attack, a couple of slashes appearing over it. But the number of attacks increased, while the wind picked up and the doorway crumbled into dust, pulled apart by the spiderweb. The silky threads got obliterated by the spell. It seems that physical damage wasn’t as effective as magic.
The Beast Knight rushed through the makeshift doorway Akane built and encountered the two guards. Ginkumo already left. -Surrender now and we will… - Callis offered a chance to the pair, but before he could finish speaking their jaws unhinged and opened to the side, revealing a nightmare-inducing maw. From below their long and thin tongues a small orifice with a fleshy protuberance opened up and streams of white spider silk jettisoned out from them, attempting to snare Callis. -Two on the hallway!- The Beast Knight called out as he jumped to avoid one of the threads, that aimed to lock him in place while spinning mid-air with his blades out, becoming a whirling dervish and slicing the second line of silk before it could grab him. Meanwhile, inside the room, Vlad’s spell revealed the next room, with Sankumo talking through a communicator. As the guards, his jaw opened to the sides and he launched a blast of spider silk directly aimed at Vladimir’s chest.
Rin and Gen heard Dan’s confession and went silent. The only sound that could be heard was coming from Goemon, still kind of dizzy after the whole ordeal. He nodded as he picked the tissue Arthur handed to him and started cleaning up his face. The Shishioh Siblings glared at Dan and for a moment it seemed as if they were about to start shouting at him. But before they started they glanced at each other and realized who was in the wrong here. And both turned towards Haruko. -Haruko....- Gen started talking, with Rin tagging in. -You brought this guy with you, didn’t you?- The Hot-Blooded Boxer was kind of pissed off by the whole situation and was barely capable of wording that frustration, so instead of attempting to he got some distance between him and Haruko and punched one of the wooden beams that supported the higher level walkway. The wood splintered as Gen's knuckles crashed through it.
Rin continued the onslaught, fighting every impulse he shared with Gen to go mental. -We told you this would be a dangerous mission and you got somebody without powers to tag along?- Rin rubbed her nose, closing her eyes with frustration. -Please tell me you didn’t know he didn’t have powers, or I might lose all the respect I’ve for you.- This was already a very dangerous and illegal mission and dragging along somebody without powers was not only reckless for Dan but for them, as they would’ve to cover for him if the situation arose. -Please, please, please tell me you didn’t know you brought a pink deadweight to our mission.- Gen, in the background, kicked a door down and turned a bed over while punching the mattress and letting out insults in every language he knew, surprisingly, more than one. -I know we weren’t very forthcoming about the whole mission, but I do remember telling you this one was dangerous.- Gen kept punching a wall while cursing to nobody in particular.
Goemon, finally over his dizziness. -Thank you Arthur-kun, I really needed that.- The Karate Star paid no attention to the discussion and started stretching.
Quan didn’t seem to care one way or the other about the prisoners, he was methodically popping every individual finger on his left hand using his right index as a hook, pressing down on the articulations. He did a very simple and rusting bow and then asked, through gesturing a pen over paper using his hands, for something to write on.
The Guards Barracks was a square room, right in one of the corners of the Maximum Security wing, right across the staircase going to the Research Wing. The room was roughly 30 Mts X 30 Mts, with half dedicated to a bathroom and changing room, while the rest was a mixture of a living room, bunk beds, and a simple kitchen. Ikari dropped on a couch and opened his tablet, connecting to a feed from the Administrative Wing. -It seems our guests found out that something isn’t quite right.- He smirked. -Things will start to get interesting soon enough.- He glanced around the group. -Ready up and rest, they’ve to pass through the entire Kumo Clan before getting to this level, so we have time to prepare.- The Agent of Hatred lazily put his feet up a small table and leaned back, closing his eyes. He would know when Callis group reached them. Riku went towards the kitchen and opened up the fridge, picking up a water bottle and drinking it, following his Master's directive without questioning them.
Ikari, who had almost dozed off, was woken up by Yuu's question. He looked at her with bleary eyes. -I'm inclined to say no, you can handle your sister on your own...- He sighed. -But I see your point, you take Callis Nomene.- A blast of purple flames surged around his body when saying the name. -I'll clean up Marika Arachne's mistakes.- He spoke with a grin, not really angry about it, but relishing the chance of fighting somebody with a Gainen Medal.
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Post by othus on Dec 19, 2018 6:40:42 GMT
"Roger!" Akane said as she rushed after Callis while taking notice of his instructions. The guards had already made their shot and failed due to the insane reflexes of the Beast Warrior so, without thinking twice, she jumped into action.
"I'll take the left one," she said as she positioned herself for a weapon throw aimed at the guard's neck, lunging one of her 4 blades with overwhelming precision.
On Akane's hands, it was almost as if the blade's true purpose was being a projectile and not a cutting weapon, she followed her throw by dashing straight towards her target with blinding speed, the weapon throw was lethal, but even if it failed, Akane would make sure it gave her a big enough opening to make the kill.
without pulling back any of her strength, Akane unleashed a Niten Ichi-Ryu technique, Her Yoshihara and Masamune blades were dispatched in a split second, both roaring with white flames fueled by her fighting spirit. she unleashed a set of four demonic-like strikes upon her target, aiming to end the battle right there.
Z did not push his advice twice, communicating with monkeys was already hard enough and proper communication with that woman in particular was, apparently, a fruitless effort. The next time she did not reply or comply the collector would just vaporize her in the spot, as that was the usual punishment inferior Raians got for being inept...surely Kuro would understand.
He opened up a console on his forearm which displayed his vitals on a language not from this world, the moment Ikari said they would have to wait he shifted his density settings, reducing his perceivable weight to a far lighter 100 kilos, as sitting or interacting with human furniture often resulted in disaster for him. he leaned against a wall as he began doing maintenance to his weapons. He carefully inspected each of the black marble-like objects he carried on his belt, there were less than a dozen of them, but he seemed particularly careful when handling any of them.
After finishing his weapon inspection, the collector took a seat nearby Ikari's, still checking his own interface. He perfectly knew the spiders wouldn't be able to stop the incoming group, but it was interesting nonetheless to see humans playing their strategy game.
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Post by TimePuppy on Dec 19, 2018 23:09:50 GMT
"Heeeey," Arthur said, rubbing his head. "We can't know that. You can't just assume things like that all the time or you'll become a paranoid shut-in! It's a slippery slope, Ruko! A slippery slope!"
While those two were discussing their behavior, Dan revealed what must have been a shock for the rest of the group. While both Arthur and Haruko were aware of it to a degree, the Shishio's only went after Ruko. Arthur used Goemon as a good excuse to make himself unnoticeable while they expressed their grievances. After they were done though, he stepped forward and tried to mediate the situation.
"Alright, alright, everyone. Those are legitimate grievances, and it's true this might not be the optimal situation. However, whether Ruko was aware of Dan's situation or not matters little now. Dan decided to come of his own accord and since there's no way he would survive a fall from this place now, we can't just toss him out. Now, while it's true that the brunt of fighting will have to be done by us, I think we're all capable enough to handle it." Not that they should try fighting everyone they run into. THy have to stay goal-oriented!
"And he's a martial artist with or without powers so at the very least he shouldn't die instantly, especially if he's smart enough to avoid unnecessary fights." Like the one he wanted with Falken, Arthur thought and gave Dan a meaningful glance.
"As for him being dead weight, we can't guarantee that. This is a place specifically designed to hold powered individuals, right? Who's to say there aren't locations and defenses specifically aimed at stopping powered individuals. Having someone without powers could be just what we need to bypass some barriers. Speaking of which, it might be smart to get a move on. Every second we spend arguing here is a second longer the guards have to notice Falken's mess, and us with it."
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Post by Vapovile on Dec 21, 2018 22:00:13 GMT
While Cadence didn't expect Vladimir to help her open the door, she stepped aside regardless. This one seemed to be some kind of warrior mage...especially given those runes he drew. Her eyes narrowed when the door was destroyed and Sankumo stood in the room, using some kind of a communicator. "...just as I thought..." Cadence muttered, seeing his jaw open and taking a step back so she was behind the wall next to the door. After she heard the spiderweb shot, Cadence stepped back out toward the door, this time with a semi-transparent interwoven set of vines in front of herself. The plant doll looked directly at Sankumo, then Vlad.
"...get him if you wish...I will stop him..." And with that, Cadence commanded several vines from the shield to grow toward the ground, 8 thin green ropes headed directly for Sankumo's legs. She aimed to wrap them around and begin pulling in an outward direction, looking to both take Sankumo to the ground and putting particular strain on 3 of his legs to try and break them at the joints.
---
Haruko stared at a nearby wall for a few seconds after Dan finished speaking, her expression then turning to a glare when both Gen and Rin decided she was the one responsible. Arthur had begun talking, the seamstress waiting for him to finish before speaking up herself. "To answer your question Rin...I knew he lost his powers, but was told he still had his superhuman strength and speed..." Her glare was shot at Dan for several seconds. "And that is the reason why he has that new outfit. My friend Leone made it so he could try to...compensate his lack of abilities with some of her specialized clothing. Those gauntlets are non-newtonian, meaning they harden whenever he punches something. The entire outfit is bulletproof. But..." She glanced at Dan once more. "...I suppose I was lied to. I will say though...if I knew he lost his strength too, I would have asked you two to send him away, even if he insisted on coming." Shooting Dan one final glare, Haruko turned toward the door and began to walk to the hallway, observing her surroundings.
Several thoughts now swam through Haruko's mind. While it was his lie that got him here...it was also her negligence to see what was the extent of his power loss that also led to this! She had two kids, this should be second nature! And now both Gen and Rin think she is reckless. What if Dan dies here?! She didn't want this oversight to haunt her for the rest of her life.
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Post by HungryHunter on Dec 22, 2018 0:14:14 GMT
“It is not necessary to kill anybody here!” Stephan called to Akane as he rushed forward. He jumped through the door just behind her. He wasn’t slowed down by the bottleneck at all, jumping to the side to spring off the wall, passing her in the narrow space. He came down with a spinning kick to the guard’s jaw to keep its string attack far away. The blades on his wrist flicked backwards to avoid stabbing anybody and he sprang back from his landing with a vicious uppercut, strengthened and quickened by the springiness the Nucleus gave his joints.
Dan’s face took on an ugly sneer at Gen and Rin’s response. He’d understand if they got mad at him. That was fair. But Haruko? “First of all, yes, I lied to you, Haruko, but only because I know you’d be like Gen right now! You think having no powers means I’m useless? I’m still the best fighter here!” His thumb tapped his chest, emphasizing his futile boast. He ground his teeth in frustration, realizing how stupid what he said was.
“I’m not going to let something like losing my powers stop me from helping my friends. Now Arthur’s right, we should keep moving.” Dan needed to move on before he had to think about his decision to come too hard. Of course, it was too late for that. Already he was wondering if this was more driven by ego than anything, to prove he could do this powers or no. He shut it out and pushed past Gen to continue into the prison. They didn’t have time for this.
Yuu was prepared to accept that she was fighting Cadence and adjusting her plans accordingly when Ikari accepted her request. “Thank you, sir. I assure you that you will not regret this.” Yuu quickly retreated before Ikari could change his mind. She rapped on the wall of the bathroom. “Martha, I have your new clothes!” She called. “Uh… uh… gimmie!” Martha blurred out in a towel, grabbing the clothes and zipping back into the bathroom. She came out in another minute, clad in the new clothes. She admired her new fingerless gloves and acid-washed jeans while Yuu checked out her nose.
“Here. You’ll be back to normal within an hour.” A few dabs of healing paste and some quick stitching later and she sent Martha off. Martha rubbed her stinging eyes and rushed off to the fridge. Two water bottles, three lunchables packages and a sandwich were tossed towards the couch, landing in Martha’s lap when she darted into their trajectory. Food and liquid vanished at an inhuman rate. The wondrous display of appetite paused momentarily when she looked at Z, the only person here she didn’t really know. “Want one?” She offered one of the lunchables packages to the looming creature.
“Nobody, really? Suit yourself. I thought that gargoyle in cell 555 looked cool, but hey, I follow your lead on this.” Robin shrugged. She wouldn’t let people out at random. That was just asking for trouble. She saw him gesturing for a pen and patted at her pockets. She withdrew five pens of varying quality and after a moment of hesitation, gave him the second-fanciest. She followed it up with a series of slightly-crumpled flyers and tickets.
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Post by RedLenai on Dec 27, 2018 1:46:26 GMT
Please, be careful... - The man whispered to Cadence, as to inform her he was going to use again a powerful spell. He touched one of the walls inside the room as he immediatly tried to talk to Sankumo, japanese people were always polite so maybe he could reason with the yokai. Despite of the open jaw he could have a chance of solving things
Mr. Sankumo we can talk about this, I know you have a schelude in your work and I know is horrible to break it but… - It was already too late as the monster threw its spider web at him. Teleporting behind him, the man gave a fist at Sankumo’s back, controlling the air to form a torrent that would eject the spider outside of the small room.
Mr. Sankumo, please cooperate with us in this instant – The man drew his spear – Or my strength will make you cry! - A pentagram appeared from the wall he touched before, throwing at the yokai celtic knots that surrounded him in an attempt to catch him. Without thinking, the man ran towards his target, ready to immobilize Sankumo with an attack of his spear.
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Post by Kuma on Dec 27, 2018 4:08:51 GMT
The battle against the Kumo clan ensued. On the hallway, Akane launched her first offensive throwing her blade at the guard on the left. The Kumo clan had impressive reflexes and flexible bodies, part of their Jorogumo heritage. He weaved his whole body out the way avoiding instant death by impalement. -Akane!- Callis exclaimed as he dashed towards the one on the right. -We cannot just kill them, they could be under a spell or some kind of control.- Thankfully a death was avoided when Stephan dashed into action, dangerously placing himself in harm’s way just to incapacitate the enemy.
His first attack was strong enough to push the guard back, helping him avoid the 4 consecutive strikes from Akane. His uppercut knocked out him cold. Meanwhile, Callis rushed the other guard, avoiding another string attack by jumping forward, spinning his body to the side like a screwdriver and landing on the wall without losing his momentum and running past the enemy. -Time to sleep!- He proclaimed before hitting him with the top pommel of his sword behind the neck. Both guards fell unconscious to the floor. Callis looked down at the enemies and sniffed the air. Something was off and he couldn't put his finger on it.
Inside the room, the other side of the fight unfolded. Sankumo’s attack didn’t reach anybody and as soon as he saw Cadence’s vines he skittered towards the wall, avoiding being entangled. Yet this left him open to Vladimir’s spell that hit home, not completely though, but enough to chain up 3 legs and one of his arms. Sankumo hissed at them, looking from above with his unhinged jaw open, dropping strands of saliva and his black eyes fixated on them. -You will all perish if you oppose my master! She will destroy you all!- He exclaimed, before launching another web attack, this time a large blanket of threads, like a net, aimed at both Vladimir and Cadence, hoping to get them.
Rin tried to calm down, breathing in and out as she listened to Haruko. Gen, still on the background, kept trashing the place while avoiding stepping on blood or corpses left behind by Falken. She then found herself having to double her efforts upon listening to Dan. And as he attempted to get past them she grabbed his shoulder and forcibly attempted to turn him around. -Are you a child making a tantrum!?- She asked, exasperation very clear on her tone. -Best fighter!? Do you think this is a…- For a moment her tone was almost Gen-like, it seemed as if she was about to curse, but managed to avoid it, keeping her poise. -Do you think this is a joke?- Rin pressed her finger against Dan’s chest. -Do you!?- Gen who finally calmed down returned with bloodied knuckles, breathing heavily after discharging all his rage.
-Because this isn’t a joke to me!- Rin was almost shouting, looking at Dan with a glare that could shatter stone. -This was dangerous, we warned you and you decided “I’m going to wake up and go ruin everything for everyone!”- The youngest Shishioh disliked when things didn’t work out, that was quite the difference between her and Gen, who was more open to going with the flow and letting some things slide. -You’re going to listen to me and listen me right!- She was shouting already. -You’re going to be a good boy and stay behind us, because I don’t feel like having the death of an idiot on my conscience!!!!- And with that she stormed towards the hallway leaving the room, waiting for them to follow. Gen was also glaring at Dan. -Haruko, he is yer fuckin’ responsibility, if he dies, I’m not the one to blame.-
The Hot-Blooded Boxer turned around and walked away, before stopping a couple of steps away and adding, without turning around. -And Goemon is the best fuckin’ fighter, my master never shutted up ‘bout him..- And he joined Rin. Goemon smiled so wide his face was more smile than skin and placed his gigantic calloused hand over Dan. -Don’t worry pal, I’ve your back, we’re all coming out this place alive.- And with that, he followed Gen and Rin.
Quan picked up what she gave him and started scribbling. Not before long he stopped, looking at Robin one more time and scratched whatever he wrote and started from the top again. He showed her the back of a flier. At first, he was writing in Chinese, but he realized Robin might not understand it.
“Where do I need to go?” “How many enemies?”
His calligraphy was beyond gorgeous, every line seemed more like the stroke of a master painter rather than the line of a cheap pen on a wrinkled car wash flier. The Silent Fist stretched as he waited for her response. He was old, but his body was pure muscle, lean and thin, but muscular to a point it didn’t make sense. His skin was softly wrinkled but not even close to his actual age, as he was over 80 years old.
Ikari stretched on the couch and looked at Riku, who was standing against a wall. They locked eyes for a moment until the Avatar of Hatred rolled his eyes and rudely exhaled. -Go patrol or something, I can’t handle seeing your dead fish eyes.- Ikari smirked. -Try to liven up a little boy, today is fighting day.- Riku’s expression remained as cold and emotionless as before as he nodded and left the room, walking on the wooden boardwalks around it. The whole Maximum Security Wing was a single floor, suspended in the middle of the cube of stone that formed the center of the Shirokumo Prison. The whole floor was made of stone, except for some boardwalks that surrounded the 4 sectors of the wing. Each corner had several cells and supplementary buildings, all divided by 4 chasms that united on the center. Floating in the middle there was a single floating cell, made of some kind of metal, connected to the 4 corners of each area with a chain.
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Post by othus on Dec 27, 2018 6:27:34 GMT
The scolding words of both Callis and Stephan made Akane stop dead on her tracks, more so the ones of Callis than anything else, which immediately caused her to frown. she sheathed her blade as she went to recover the other and then finally addressed the two, a stern tone came alongside her words, showing she was fully serious about this.
"Be that as it may, we cannot hold back in this situation, not if we want to leave in one piece, I refuse to die for this"
Akane got closer to Callis as she reached for his shoulders, she looked at him and eased her semblance, her tone lost all the harshness out of it as she spoke.
"I know you are kind, and you might have gained some confidence in your strength over these past months, but there is a limit as to how many people you can save, underestimating our opponents may get us killed."
Akane was heavily leaned on her position, she had learned the hard way that kindness was unfit for the field of battle, but arguing with Callis was the last thing she wanted to do so, after a brief silence, she sighed and reconsidered things out.
"I'll try to do it your way, you know I will, I just hope you don't extend the same courtesy to someone that can actually take your life...you can't leave me all alone now."
The Musashi let go of her boyfriend as she moved out of the way, as she walked past Stephan she quickly spoke in a lower voice at him.
"Don't ever lecture me again, got it?"
"Are you...trying to feed me?" - Z said as he curiously looked at the package, he inspected it further but ultimately gave it back
"I cannot consume any of this but...I appreciate the effort"
He barely understood gratitude, but the little he could manage was genuine. He was quite curious as to what had made that girl share her food, it wasn't just her, the other woman had offered him something similar. perhaps if he consumed more humans he would finally get to know what was going on? Z knew he was close to developing Mirror Neurons, it was only a matter of time before he could finally grasp emotions fully.
He looked at her once more with some curiosity but still fully relaxed, doing his best to suppress the excruciating hunger within.
"If possible, I'll keep you away from harm during this battle"- he finally said.
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Post by TimePuppy on Dec 27, 2018 7:48:06 GMT
Arthur watched Gen and Rin leave. So, Goemon can actually fight? Arthur was starting to wonder if he was really more then just a good actor after that display of nausea. But if Gen really trusts him more than current Dan, maybe he is competent.
"Man, everyone's overreacting just a bit. Dying here is all on you, right, Dan? Don't worry though, I can't let you die. Qiang would be really sad if you did." Arthur looked at Dan to see if his warning got through. "And with the help of the best fuckin' fighter, I'm sure we can handle it." And the ice mage followed the pack deeper into the supernatural prison.
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Post by Vapovile on Dec 28, 2018 7:13:16 GMT
Vlad's warning made Cadence nod her head. "...wasn't planning to step inside anyway..." She remarked. Midrange was the optimal distance fighting for herself. While she did find it mildly annoying how he could climb up to avoid her vines on the floor, it did provide a good enough distraction for Vlad's attack to latch onto the giant spider. Cadence's eyebrows narrowed slightly when Sankumo mentioned his master being a female. Could that really be Marika? These people were also spiderlike...but Marika was hardly the type to be a leader. Maybe Yuu could be pulling the strings while Marika acted as a puppet leader? No...Yuu was too spineless to stop Marika from torturing the other dolls, there was no possibility she'd be willing to become a leader of these people.
When Sankumo opened his jaw wider, Cadence anticipated the web attack and commanded the charm-free wooden floor beneath her feet to bend upward, snapping out of the nail and launching herself toward the ceiling, body completely loose as she sailed upwards. Once she was over the web attack, Cadence landed back on the ground and looked up at the captive Sankumo with cold eyes. "...master...huh...?" Reaching out her right hand, a vine extended outward toward Sankumo's head, attempting to wrap around his neck and tilt it upward to prevent him from firing off another web toward them. "...why don't you...tell us about her...?" Cadence suggested to Sankumo. tightening the vine around his throat if it landed. If the vine didn't wrap around his neck, Cadence would command the plant matter she had been generating on the floor to pull itself upward into a half-circle in front of herself, acting as a shield for any web Sankumo may fire at her...or attack Vlad would try.
---
Haruko stood at the doorframe of the room, watching as Rin showed uncharacteristic frustration at Dan’s stupidity. The seamstress herself rarely got this angry with people...but Dan had taken things too far this time. Her expression darkened when Gen placed her in responsibility of Dan’s safety. While she wanted to shoot back in protest...Haruko knew she was partly responsible for this. “If only I checked his strength...uuuuuuuugh!” The battle seamstress muttered in frustration, running her fingers through her hair and smoothing the strands back out. “Alright...say calm…” Haruko continued to mutter to herself, taking a deep breath and exhaling. “This is...workable. Yeah.”
When Rin walked past her and exited, Haruko walked inside the room and waited for Arthur to finish talking before speaking up. “Trust me Frosty...we’re not overreacting.” Haruko was trying her best to contain her frustration. “But yes...let’s move on. Dan...I will tell you this once.” Haruko looked him directly in the eyes. “I want you to stay in the back of the group, understand? Let us handle this. The guards here are ready to deal with Hidden World threats. I don’t care how good of a martial artist you are...you don’t have the power to deal with them. Am I clear?” She asked sternly. Regardless of his response, she would turn and follow Rin and Gen out the door.
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Post by HungryHunter on Dec 28, 2018 9:41:54 GMT
Stephan withdrew into an orthodox guard the instant his fist connected, but it was not needed. His opponent dropped, stunned by a single hit. His body snapped to face the other enemy, but he was already falling to Callis’ attacks. Stephan sighed. He had brought power-cancelling cuffs, but he would save them. He’d simply ask Cadence to provide vines to bind anybody else they needed bound.
“Excuse me?” He simply responded when Akane appeared to threaten him. His face wasn’t able to show surprise through the Nucleus, but the way his body drew back said enough. “I did not lecture you. I told the truth. There was no reason to kill them. To kill somebody without reason is something you can never undo.” The Nucleus withdrew seamlessly, leaving a stern-looking Stephan.
Dan went from heated to volcanic as Rin treated him like a small child. All he could do as she tore into him was grit his teeth and bristle at the sheer insult of it. His shoulders shook at the barely contained rage. He had no rebuttals. No way to complain without confirming he really was the selfish idiot they all thought he was. His heart felt like it was flopping around like a fish by the time Haruko stepped in. He couldn’t say he wouldn’t fall back. Dan really had no choice there. He let himself fall behind.
Dan shrugged Goemon’s hand off his shoulder. “Don’t touch me.” He snapped, then pressed his eyes shut tight as a vice for a few seconds. “Sorry. You were on Sakurajima, right? I remember you. You… you were stronger than me back then, but I never really saw you fight. And Arthur, uh… thank you for trying to stand up for me, but I really don’t need it.” He was breathing harder than he needed to still, but the tightness in his back was slowly relaxing.
Martha’s face lit up in a smile that glowed and sat tilted on her face like a crescent moon. “Hey, you’re way nicer than Riku! The offer’s nice, but I don’t need to be kept away from harm! I protect people all the time! I guess we both try to help each other in ways we don’t need.” She proudly tapped her thumb to her chest. “What do you eat, if not these?” She asked through a mouthful of dry pepperoni. “Please don’t tell me it’s people. That would be really… not good for my friends to eat people.” He face became creased with worry as she realized the new friend she was going to tell Haven all about might be as bad as everybody else in this prison. Jail might be even worse than school.
Robin felt the tug of temptation when Quan handed her the paper. How easy it would be to send him after Marika. After all, he had no way of knowing that she wasn’t the real target. She quickly banished the thought. There was no way of guaranteeing who would or wouldn’t be with Marika. Any of her siblings could be killed just as swiftly. “I’m told there’s five of them. They’re down in the administrative wing. I have a map I swiped, and they just came, so they’re hereish.” She unfolded the map and circled the entrance to the administrative wing with her finger.
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Post by RedLenai on Jan 2, 2019 20:54:47 GMT
Quickly, the ex-paladin invoked a pentagram that protected him as a shield, just in case, he also invoked one for Cadence. It was clear that his partner was... "the bad cop", observing that the vines were beginning to tighten the other man's neck. Vladimir smiled kindly at the yokai who was immobilized by the air chains. He went a little closer without lowering his guard and keeping his eyes fixed on Sankumo.
Mr. Sankumo, I am moved by your concern! But do not despair, our experience and great skills will allow us to defeat your boss - The man sentenced with great seriousness and honesty in his words. However the ex-paladin understood the threat, but neither could deny the possibility that out of fear of a greater evil, the Kumo clan was forced to obey this rival - If you like to collaborate ... Who is our future adversary?
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Post by Kuma on Jan 4, 2019 5:12:43 GMT
-Akane.- Callis tried to use a conciliatory tone before she slashed Stephan down. -I understand what you are saying and if we have to cross that bridge we will do it when it's truly needed.- The Beast Knight had a very gentle smile as he approached her and placed his hand over her shoulder, looking at her eyes with tender kindness. -I appreciate your input and your passion, but I am here as an official agent of the Bureau and you are here as a deputy, so we need to follow their protocols for combat engagements.- He kept his kind tone as he continued talking. -I do not have any kind of confidence about my own strenght.- He caressed her cheek. -But I have plenty of confidence in yours and I know enemies such as these could be defeated without spilling blood thanks to your sublime swordsmanship skills.- The Exiled Knight tone lost some of his kindness and his eyes had a hint of danger and killing intent. -And I assure you that I will fight for my own life, as it is not mine to lose any longer.- He grabbed her hand placing it over his chest, hinting that his life was hers. -And if the need arises for rougher methods, we will not discard them outright.- The Beast Knight hoped that could placate Akane’s instincts for a while, at least until they could interrogate the captives and find out what was going on.
Still, something was off, his sense of smell, usually so keen wasn’t picking anything apart from the wood of the walls. Maybe there was other magical interference around. He had recently acquired magic sensing alongside the powers granted by the Grail, but his expertise with it wasn’t as high as he would have liked, so he turned towards Stephan and asked. -Mes Walters, do you happen to possess any ability or items that allow you to sense magical energy?- Callis could have sworn he read something about it on Stephan’s file.
Sankumo’s attacks missed, one hitting the base of Cadence platform and the other crashing against Vladimir’s shield. The Arachnid Warden was caught by the Rebel Doll vines, that constricted what little movement he had left. His unhinged jaw returned to a humanoid state as the vegetation entangling him kept getting tighter and tighter. The pressure was so much that parts of his skin ruptured under it and a thick black ooze dripped out from it, less like blood and more like molasses. -Y-y-you won’t defeat her… or her master... - His 8 eyes spun around crazed. -The Red Moon is coming, the end of everything, the coming of death… The master and his court will triumph, they will open the gate… The king will come! THE KING WILL COME!- Sankumo was delirious shouting non-sense. He attempted another attack on Vladimir, hoping that the Paladin would be off-guard. This time around his mouth opened and a jet of green liquid sprayed out a powerful acid.
Quan gave Robin a thumbs up with one of his long and abnormally muscular fingers before walking away without checking the map for more than 5 seconds. He emitted no sound, neither by moving or walking. Even if he was still visible he didn’t seem to be actually there, the silence was too uncanny to be real. Quan vanished after turning a corner as if he was never there. The Silent Fist was willing to kill the five, not because of loyalty to Kuro-san or because he served Ikari. Quan was paying a personal favor to Robin for releasing him. If she had asked for Marika’s demise, Quan would’ve accepted without batting an eye and hunted the Arachnid Seamstress until the ends of the Earth.
Rin and Gen were discussing on the hallway, waiting for the group, as they found a series of signs with directions. Goemon turned towards Dan. -Don’t worry friend. I’ve got your back.- The Karate Star took some steps away from the Pink Comet, towards Gen and Rin, before stopping dead on his tracks and turning towards the Depowered Fighter. -Wait… You said you’re a martial artist…- Goemon moved back towards Dan and walked around him, checking his musculature without making contact. -Yes… I see you have worked hard, I see the spark inside of you...- The Karate Star kept inspecting Dan. -You prefer punching and elbows, I see that you have well-developed muscles in your back for that purpose and your knuckles are correctly worn out, I can see that even though your gloves.- Goemon stood tall in front of Dan. -I could... - He sounded a bit hesitant. -Give you powers right here and right now.- The Karate Star lifted his hand as a pre-emptive stop for Dan’s comments. -I can sense a power inside of you, something that was asleep and now is waiting to wake up… I can bring it to the surface friend.- A hint of concern crossed Goemon’s face. -But it will be dangerous, unstable and potentially lethal if handled incorrectly.-
-What do you say?- He asked, with Rin and Gen still bickering on the background about which path to choose.
Ikari was lazing around and regularly checking the tablet until he smirked, seeing the feed from the hallway outside the office. -That was faster than I thought.- He stood up and went towards the monitors, plugging the tablet to the security terminal and activating several screens at the same time. -So the dogs of the Bureau managed to clear the first hurdle… I hate that.- He spat on the floor with disgust. -Let’s see how they handle Quan.- Ikari gleefully smiled, radiating a sinister aura. -I’ve wanted to see that bastard fight for a long time.- He turned around to the others talking with surprising and uncharacteristic enthusiasm. -I’ve been wanting to fight him myself, but he has been inside this prison for the last 10 years, last time I met him I wasn’t old enough to fight him my ma…- His whole tone changed as he talked, as if he was a different person altogether. But something interrupted his hyped rant as his eyes locked on another monitor and then another.
-What the hell are they doing here?- Ikari pointed at the monitor with Rin and Gen insulting each other while pointing to opposite paths. The Avatar of Hatred scanned the monitors and found Dan, Haruko, Arthur, and Goemon as well. -And them?- Finally, he noticed more movement on a third monitor and his eyes locked on Falken who was gleefully prancing and shooting people inside their cells. A burst of radiant purple flames exploded around him, charring the floor underneath him and causing every monitor on the room to flicker and distort. The Avatar of Hatred turned around and glared in Martha's direction. -Tomboy, go and find Riku and tell him to come back… There is a change of plans.- Ikari’s wrath and hatred radiated in waves crashing against the walls of the room and causing every shadow to deepen and enlarge, creating a cascading contrast of burning purple and midnight black around him in concentric rings moving away. -And don't start a fight while doing it or I'll kick your ass into a cell and leave you there until you chill down.-
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Post by othus on Jan 4, 2019 6:39:27 GMT
Akane waved dismissively at Stephan. she would not argue with him, for Callis had already more than convinced her with his words, it was almost like a spell every time, Akane couldn't refuse him at all, she ended up replying to Stephan just to end the argument.
"I care not about your logic, do what you will. However, If I'm ever in the situation where I become controlled by the enemy, do not hesitate to end my life for the sake of the mission."
As Callis' suspicions on the magic interference arose, Akane stood out of it so that they could do their job. When it came to magic, she was especially clueless as to how it worked, and the last thing she wanted was to interfere.
Z found her statement strange, there was something odd about her feeding on whatever she wanted while condemning others on their diet.
"Why is it wrong to eat humans? that thing you are eating...it used to be a living creature, wasn't it? why is that creature less valuable than a human? The only difference I see is that I feed two or three times per month, while you feed 3 times a day...Humans are unsustainable for this planet, you should be glad I'm killing some, that means more resources for you."
The collector wasn't telling any lies on his diet, most of the humans he killed were either hunters sent to kill him or collateral damage, he could actually sustain himself with sunlight for the most part.
The ranting of Ikari caught Z's attention for a moment, it would seem he couldn't tolerate any deviations on his plans...no matter, now that Ikari conceded his target to the other woman and was distracted by the other invaders, he could kill the Musashi, then move on to the drifter, with some luck he would be able to eat what he had missed on for weeks...with the strength of those two, nobody would be able to stop him from taking the Benkeinium of that other human as well.
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Post by TimePuppy on Jan 4, 2019 21:28:34 GMT
While the group caught up to Rin and Gen, Goemon started talking to Dan about his powers. Arthur couldn't offer much to the conversation, so he went over to bickering siblings. Arthur was kinda glad they didn't remind him of Hazel and Loveline. Those two fought surprisingly rarely. Arthur wished he could say it was all his parenting, but it was probably the case because Hazel started off young enough for Loveline to get attached to her as a bay, but she also grew fast enough not to be the annoying little sibling trying to follow her older sister going out with her friends. Maybe it was also the very circumstances of Hazel's birth that drew that closer. Especially after Hazel grew up enough to join Love in King's Grammar highschool, their bond grew stronger and stronger. Now their fights mostly revolved around who didn't return whose shirt or who used whose make-up.
"What's wrong, you two?" he asked. "Not sure where to go next? Where's your map, Gen? We can probably figure out the fastest way with that."
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Post by Vapovile on Jan 6, 2019 22:53:19 GMT
Cadence listened to Sankumo's strange descriptions, taking her pipe out once more and inhaling more smoke that she slowly blew outward. The appearance of strange black liquid from his wound made Cadence lower her right eyebrow slightly with interest. Thinking back to whenever Marika got hurt during hunts, her blood was a bright red along with most other creatures she'd witnessed. Were they totally separate from Marika's kind after all? Or perhaps a similar species that made an alliance with whomever Marika was working for? And what was all this babbling about a king coming back…?
Leaving Vlad to deal with the attack, Cadence began to look around the office. She first checked the phone Sankumo was using to see if there was anyone else on the line. “...hello…?” She slowly said, hearing nothing on the other end and leaving it on the table. She then began to sift through the various drawers, stopping when she came upon a map of the administrative wing. The map also seemed to detail how to get to the maximum security wing, which Cadence would assume was where Marika and the leadership was stationed, as it was centrally located and likely the most defended part of the facility.
Turning toward the door, Cadence looked toward Vlad. “...I am going to stop him from coming after us...don’t stop me…” She warned, growing a few strands out of the vine that was strangling Sankumo and making them move toward his legs. She aimed to wrap around them, and then sharply bend to attempt breaking his legs.
---
Walking roughly between both groups, Haruko stewed in her own thoughts as she thought of the best way to get through this situation they were all in. Qiang would be heartbroken if his dad died, and Haruko certainly didn’t want one of her friends to die either. Dan’s thickheaded pride has now put both himself and the rest of the group in danger, not to mention potentially putting Qiang’s future into jeopardy. What would happen to him if Dan were to die? She knew him and his dad weren’t on good terms, and Haruko didn’t know if he had any family willing to take Qiang in. Would her or Arthur have to take in yet another kid? She already had her hands full dealing with Kate and Cosmina...but given Arthur’s wealth, he could probably take the kid in if the situation became absolutely necessary.
The battle seamstress was then snapped out of her thoughts when she overheard Goemon and Dan’s discussion. She turned and waited for the two to reach her before interjecting. “Wait...you can unlock power in him or something?” Haruko asked with suspicion. “And…just how potentially lethal is it? Because if it’s safe enough…” She looked toward Dan, squinting slightly. “...it would certainly help the group. Thank you, Goemon.” She said, bowing slightly and letting Dan make the ultimate decision.
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Post by HungryHunter on Jan 7, 2019 0:59:42 GMT
“Miss Musashi, if you find yourself mind controlled, I would do everything in my power to prevent the death of my comrade, and I’m sure Mr. Nomene feels the same.” Stephan turned away from Akane and grew the Nucleus back over his body. Luckily, his adaptations couldn’t reset, and his eyes still shone blue. “I don’t normally detect magic, but the Nucleus saw it as necessary and adapted that ability.” He looked around, noticing a few more glowing charms but little else. “Was there something in particular you wanted me to find?” He asked.
“Spark?” Dan raised an eyebrow. What Goemon was talking about became clear with a moment’s thought. The fighting spirit of his father, the power he had suffered so hard to achieve before being thrown aside for its lack. Could it really be in grasp for him? There wasn’t even a second of hesitation when Goemon made his offer. “Do it.” He looked at Haruko and smiled. It was fainter than the sun behind thick clouds. “Nothing’s killed me so far. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”
He felt bad for a moment. Was he thinking of anybody else here? What would Qiang do if it didn’t work? What will he do if you don’t have powers and get killed? His mind retorted. He couldn’t risk that. He couldn’t risk missing the chance to become strong again forever. “Just do it before we move on!” He steeled himself for whatever Goemon was about to do.
Martha’s eyes widened at Z’s argument. She hadn’t thought about this at all. Why was it okay to eat other animals and not humans. She turned to Yuu, wondering if she would know. Probably not. Yuu was hardly any sort of moral authority. She took a long time to think before responding. “Because people understand death and miss each other.” Martha said, but it still wasn’t sitting well with her.
“I can let you eat bad people, but don’t touch my sisters, okay? We won’t be friends anymore and I’ll kick your ass.” She finished just before Ikari demanded she go find Riku. “I’m not a boy!” She told him before vanishing, empty lunchable box dropping to the couch in her wake. She appeared beside Riku, leaning on the railing. “Woah, what’s that! Whoever’s in there must be really strong. Uh, anyway, Ikari wants you. We’re going to fight different people now.”
Back in the room, Yuu sat up sharply from her knitting when Ikari ignited. “What?” She looked at the screen, recognizing a few of the people there. Ikari’s question echoed her own. What were they doing here? She backed away when Ikari’s wrath intensified, knocking over her chair in her haste. The flames made it difficult to approach, but she eventually pushed herself away from the wall to do so. “Sir, I know some of the people in that monitor. One is an ice mage. If we are intercepting them, I feel my skills are most suited to slaying him.” She offered, violet flames reflecting in the drops of sweat that ran down her face.
Robin soon became uncomfortable with the silence as they walked. “So, you’re sure you don’t want me to let anybody else out? Maybe grab you something to eat? I know where the guards keep the good stuff and their lock isn’t as good as they think it is.” She offered until she followed him around the corner and found him gone. She blinked a few times like it would bring him back before shrugging. She would find her own fun. She opened up her map. Where were the contraband lockers?
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Post by RedLenai on Jan 7, 2019 1:32:03 GMT
Vladimir didn't understood at all Sankumo's... weird experience while being choked? The man teleported in the second he noticed the second attack, that was close...
In his attempt to understand the other's words he couldn't stop Cadence. The strange black liquid caught his attention... it didn't look like blood, he never heard of black blood despite in a show where leviathans possesed a human vessel...
I guess we should leave him here Cadence... his wounds seems already bad by the moment, he won't be able to catch us - He said as he walked outside the room.
He observed his surroundings, it seemed Miss Mushashi and Sr. Walters had some differences. Mr. Nomene was tense too
Hmm... Guys there in the room... Mr. Sankumo said things about a boss, a Red Moon, opening a gate, a King and... well I don't catch anything of that but - He paused, curious and a bit worried - Does... youkais have black blood?
The man tried to catch everyone's attention. He felt so off all of a sudden, at first when he heard about all of that stuff he tought of the situation involving the Driaochta Kingdom, but such a small hidden island that almost no one knew it existed in where something that big was going to happen... didn't seem right so he discarded it. Maybe the Last Book had information about that, but he wasn't sure to open it in front of his team... in a place where without knowing it, someone may be spying them.
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