Ciel gets autokills because she invoked the Spiral Law.
Reserving this post; I'll get some responses out when I get home from dinner.
It's been fun.
And you don't seem to understand...
HEEEEEY. Feel free to stone me.
Perhaps she said that a little too loud? Either way, she was happy when Michiko replied, beaming. 'Perfect! Why don't we meet at the mall? I've been meaning to get some shopping done for awhile now. I haven't had much time lately because... well, you know why.'
Grabbing her bag she headed out the door, still carrying on the telepathic conversation. 'After that we can get something to eat. My treat.'
"Who am I, Elisha Otis?"
Sachiko and Alicia's attacks struck hard, spearing one of the Demons at almost the same time. It exploded dramatically in flashes of green and purple light, spraying white shreds everywhere; Sachiko felt a sharp sting on her cheek as a Remnant, accelerated to deadly speeds, zipped past her face.
—-
The Demons shuddered as Vera's lasers tracked across their stomachs, but just as the man struck by the laser blast from before hadn't been too badly injured, neither were they. Regrouping, they raised their hands again.
—-
Ciel's opponents were having a hard time dealing with her. The sweeping crescent of energy was mostly absorbed by one unfortunate; while it didn't disintegrate, a huge back cut of void gaped across its chest. Roaring, it staggered backward... then blinked out of existence, reappearing behind its comrades, who massed their lasers against the skater.
It's been fun.
Bird mom
Vera merged the guns together to form her weapon hoping that the demons wouldn't strike before the weapon recharged. She felt power surging to her weapon slowly and steadily, and felt envigorated when the charge was complete. She blasted the demon's leader with the full force of her attack.
The Crystal Caverns A bird's gotta sing.
I am now a shiny stone~
Dropping the used Remains, Ciel's hair prickled as the energy buildup from the lasers warned her of the next attack. Employing the classic circle-strafe technique, she skated around them fast enough to throw off their aim, building more momentum for another inertia-charged attack.
As the barrage petered out, she suddenly accelerated, darting in with a powerful speed-assisted kick.
edited 15th Nov '11 6:34:06 PM by AceOfScarabs
The three finest things in life are to splat your enemies, drive them from their turf, and hear their lamentations as their rank falls!
Newbie Drifter
Rei hesitated.
'Always finish the job' was the one lesson she taught Alicia that even she herself had trouble following. It was hardly a problem when facing Demons, of course; those had to be killed to protect the inhabitants of the ward, after all. But for this girl... Magical Girl or no, even if she was a thief, she was still a human, wasn't she? And she gave a reason at last—
That moment of hesitation was enough.
The massive dagger burst upwards from Nazuna's left hand, piercing Rei clean in the side; her right arm was severed outright, and the edge of the blade very nearly ripped through her spinal cord. It was a fatal injury, to be sure; but Rei simply stood there, her expression unchanging, as though nothing had happened.
It was a fatal injury, to be sure... except towards Magical Girls. The false move had been made.
It doesn't hurt at all.
"So that is your answer?" asked Rei quietly, referring to the blade in her side instead of to Nazuna's reply. A cold anger overtook her mind. "... Farewell, then. It was nice knowing you."
A quick swipe, and the head of Machi Nazuna was severed. Just as she promised.
Removing the oversized dagger from her side, Rei fell to her knees, using her spear as a support to avoid toppling over completely.
"Rei!"
Alicia's eyes widened in horror as she watched the scene between Rei and Nazuna unfold. In an instant, she scrambled up from her crouching position to run towards her friend.
"Return to your post, Alicia," ordered Rei mentally, looking at Alicia with a serious expression.
Alicia paused in her tracks. "But—"
"I'll be fine!" interrupted Rei. Blue energy began coursing through her body, beginning the regeneration process. "Behind you!"
Alicia dived out of the way just in time to avoid another barrage of white panes. Recovering from her dodge, she immediately took aim at the nearest Demon and began firing at it in a furious counterattack.
"Good," said Rei approvingly. "Now focus on your battle; I'll be with you in a while."
"... Alright."
That is all she needed. That is all... Her dreams of seeing the world have become her strength, and lifts her wings.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. I hope you cleared that with Neo?
It's been fun.
つ ◕_◕ ༽つ HELIX
Yeah, we worked it out.
And no, I'm not retiring from the RP just yet ;)
edited 15th Nov '11 8:24:37 PM by neobowman
Sachiko flinched as the cube grazed her cheek, but otherwise stayed alert, avoiding whatever other debris was sent out from the explosion. From the corner of her eye, she watched the brief fight between Rei and Nazuna, and saw the bloody end. Keeping her focus on the Demons around them, she thought to herself, I can't afford to get distracted now... but after this is over, I'll need to ask that girl some questions.
Throwing her spears with the force of a tank firing a cannon, Sachiko aimed them at the heads of her opponents.
I am now a shiny stone~
Two down, Ciel thought with immense satisfaction, reflexively cleansing her gem again as she bladed around the remaining Demons. It had become sheer habit for her to take any opportunity she could to keep her Gem clean, an important thing when her most devastating attacks consumed vast amounts of magic and introduced lots of Corruption to her Gem. Even using slightly more magic than normal triggered her reflex action of cleansing, an ingrained habit of keeping herself topped up in case of extended battles that dragged out over great distances for extended periods of time.
Granted, one thing she always understood but found it hard to follow was that her heightened perception made her feel like time was passing out-of-sync with her, often giving her the illusion that hours had flown by when in reality only minutes had passed. This always introduced a slight element of schedule-related paranoia, which often led to much checking of the time before and after battles in case she ended up late or something, a factor that could make her possible future jobs difficult to maintain. The upside of this was that she also had superb concentration when "in the groove", making it hard to distract or surprise her when she was completely absorbed into the spirit of battle.
She felt like the fight had already dragged on for a good long while, but knew that due to the way she made full use of her brutally fast takedown attacks, the fight could not possibly have taken more than one-and-a-half minutes of actual time. Her mind raced ahead, considering the remaining Demons, their attack patterns, and in the seemingly distant future after this skirmish, meeting up with Alicia and Rei and helping them mop up the other Demons.
Even as she anticipated the Demon lasers and varied her acceleration and speed to mess up their tracking, her thoughts flowed furiously, dredging up some old memories of all-nighter marathon battles with Demons that were less impossible fights and more taxing battles of endurance and attrition - Seventh Month was never far from her thoughts whenever she thought about long battles.
A momentary distraction from her thoughts saw her take a hit, a painful burn from the Demon lasers that left a nasty red mark all the way up her arm. The searing hot sensation dragging her mind back to the present, she took advantage of the cooldown to dart in and punt the Demons, ignoring the prickly-hot-and-cold sensation as the burn up her arm regenerated.
hey guys where are all of you
edited 18th Nov '11 9:02:34 AM by AceOfScarabs
The three finest things in life are to splat your enemies, drive them from their turf, and hear their lamentations as their rank falls!
The Demons struck by Sachiko's spears wavered, and one fell; the rest responded with a blistering hail of laser fire at Sachiko's feet.
Sorry for the lackluster post, folks; I'm not feeling it tonight.
It's been fun.
Newbie Drifter
Alicia paused in her assault for a moment, wondering what to do next. Her normal bullets didn't seem to have much effect on the Demons, and charged shots would take too long, especially since they were already launching a concentrated assault on the green-haired girl... but at least they were no longer attacking the gunslinger.
I hope this works, then....
Gritting her teeth, Alicia began charging her revolvers again; but the moment she reached the halfway point she fired her shots, sending two decently-sized orbs flying to the Demon nearest to her. Immediately, she began attacking again, using one pistol to fire normal rounds while the other began charging up once more.
Meanwhile, Rei dragged herself back to her feet with the aid of her spear.
She had successfully healed up the worst of the damage on her body, particularly around her spine; her right hand was still missing, but what mattered was that she had full use of her legs again. There was also a gaping wound in her side, but she could afford to ignore such an irrelevant injury for the time being.
Nothing she hadn't experienced before, after all.
More importantly, she had to draw the attention of the Demons away from the green girl, one way or another. Rei hurled the spear in her left hand at the white creatures attacking Sachiko with all her might; at the same time, she gave off a small burst of blue magic, issuing a challenge to her enemies. Hopefully, they would take the bait and engage her instead of Alicia or Sachiko.
edited 21st Nov '11 8:18:02 PM by Midreus
That is all she needed. That is all... Her dreams of seeing the world have become her strength, and lifts her wings.
No sir, Rei is out for the rest of the fight. She got her spine severed and her right arm cut off. Her wish was to heal others' mental anguish; she gets a healing factor, but nowhere near that much of one.
Outside the Demonspaces, in the roiling black mists slowly spreading throughout the shopping mall and the back alleys, the air shook with the cries of the damned. People affected by the Miasma simply lay down, tears streaming freely down their faces; they sobbed unself-consciously, holding themselves tightly as they wailed, waiting for succor that would never come. The mists snaked around their prone forms, engulfing and smothering, growing thicker as it fed into and drew from their hopelessness in a vicious cycle. Where the Miasma was thinner, those left with the energy to stand turned their despair on each other, lashing out with fists and makeshift weapons.
Suddenly, silence fell across the areas affected by the Miasma. Inside the Demonspaces, the Demons halted their attacks; they vanished out of easy engagement range and stood together, flickering as if agitated. Most of the groups had taken heavy losses; Vera'a opponents were down to two, while Alicia and Sachiko stood against four. Ciel's trio, meanwhile, watched her dispassionately. Just as the Singaporean Magical Girl was tempted to make a move, however, a dull roar echoed across the desert sands.
Vera, Rei, Alicia and Sachiko heard it, as well - and so did the paralyzed normals at Vera's feet. They immediately clutched at their heads, their wailing renewed, and even Vera felt a chill strike her heart as she turned to face the horizon in the direction the roar had come from. It came again, louder this time...
Three sets of footsteps echoed across the linoleum tiles of the shopping mall. Their passage was heralded by the screams of the trapped humans, and the Miasma flowed thick and black behind them. In truth, the three people walking slowly down the concourse were nothing special to look at - a high school girl in uniform, short and mousy, with unkempt brown hair; a young salaryman, several days' growth on his chin, missing his tie and several buttons; and an old man, bent and hobbled, wrinkled with age and wisdom. Blood welled from their raw, red tear ducts; their eyeballs were filmed pale pink, and stared dead out from immobile eyelids. They said nothing and made no movements to change from their course, but where they passed, the humans hidden under the Miasma choked in wretchedness.
The old man stopped by the thickest cloud of mist - the nexus of Ciel's Demonspace. With no sign from the others, they continued on, not pausing or looking back. As their footsteps faded, the old man's eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed facedown on the floor.
A blast of wind and energy hit Ciel in an instant, blowing her to the ground and scattering most of the Remnants she had retrieved during the fight. As she picked herself back up, she got a good look at what had caused the blast - and could barely believe her eyes.
The figure was small, almost human-sized, and wore a dark green counterpart to the Demons' white robes. The blast of wind its appearance had caused had blown the robe back like a cape; mismatched and haphazardly strung-on pieces of light chain armor were visible underneath, floating in the approximate shape of a human in impenetrable darkness. It had no head, not even the featureless white skull of the Demons; instead, a green cowl shadowed the space above its neck. As Ciel watched, it drew a long, wickedly sharp rapier from its neck.
Vera wasn't knocked off her feet by the blast, but only by virtue of being farther away from the point of impact. The creature that stood in front of her wore a brown cloak, stained by grime and dust; it carried a huge clawed hammer, which it slammed into the ground near its feet. With a roar, the sand at the point of impact blazed into glass. Taking a heavy step toward Vera, the creature raised its free hand and pointed directly at her.
Alicia and Sachiko found themselves face-to-cowl with a figure cloaked in dark blue. It wore an elaborate dress, ripped to shreds and covered with dark brown stains; an elaborately decorated socket on the chest looked empty somehow. With an almost dainty two-step, the figure reached into its chest cavity and produced a bloodstained trident and a round shield with a large rent in it. Taking a combat stance, it shifted its weight casually, ready to retaliate in either direction.
edited 21st Nov '11 8:42:43 PM by RedSavant
It's been fun.
I am now a shiny stone~
Ciel's hair stood up as she saw the rapier, memories of her Red Musketeer mentor raising a clamour in her mind. Even as the laser burn finished healing, and the new Emerald Fencer Demon finished drawing its sword, she had already swept the floor with a kick, smoothly gathering the still-usable Remains into a neat little pile.
The sickening grinding sound of the thin blade being drawn shook her out of her memories. Shaking her head to clear the cobwebs, Ciel caught the warning tells and swept her armored wristguard in time, knocking the Demon aside as it lunged. Sparks flew as the wicked blade left a narrow scar on the plates of her wristguard, and the force drove her back, making her mentally curse her uneven body strength distribution momentarily before she kicked the ground hard, backdashing just in time to avoid the follow-through slash from the Emerald Fencer.
Nice choice of a weapon for that Demon, Ciel has a minor advantage in weapon experience and a disadvantage in memory lane because her Mentor used a slim thrusting-sword as well. She also has much more strength in her legs than her arms, although this is mostly attributed to her Wish.
Dimly aware of the other three normal Demons prepared to fire, the Royal Blue Blader smartly twisted and lunged, kicking the arm of a Demon just as it fired. The beam shot off-course, resulting in friendly-fire as it struck another Demon and damaged it. The other two beams narrowly missed her, scoring more lines in the Desert floor.
Her mind still racing, it was all she could do to twirl aside just as the Emerald Fencer Demon lunged at her again. Using her freshly-recharged magic, Ciel tapped into a miniscule amount of it and vaulted up and away, her rollerblades leaving a bright blue trail as she sought some breathing room.
"Now that's a Demon I haven't seen yet," she mused over telepathy, "Someone better make sure the adults are okay!"
The three finest things in life are to splat your enemies, drive them from their turf, and hear their lamentations as their rank falls!
As Ciel blazed up and away from the Fencer, the Demons' mouth lasers blasted after her, missing the blader by inches. As she reached the apex of her arc, though, the Fencer blurred - and suddenly it was behind her, driving its blade at the small of her back.
It's been fun.
With a high leap (aided by the self-propelling speed of her spear), Sachiko jumped over the storm of laser fire, landing herself next to Alicia. As the newbie magical girl made her attacks, Sachiko followed up with her own...
At least, until the new Demon showed up.
"...?! I don't recognize this kind of enemy. Have you seen one like this before?" Sachiko asked Rei and, knowing he could hear her wherever she was, Kyubey.
I am now a shiny stone~
Ouch!
Ciel managed to twist away from critical damage, but the skewering still hurt. Unable to stop in the air, she broke free of the Emerald Fencer and continued upwards, trailing a spray of blood behind her.
It was already healing even as she lost momentum, but it still hurt.
Ciel doesn't know how to block pain out the meguca way
Trying to push the pain aside, Ciel concentrated briefly, and the glowing blue rails extended again, this time twisting around as they tried to impale and pin the Emerald Fencer Demon in return for it skewering her, the first major injury she had sustained in recent months.
The three finest things in life are to splat your enemies, drive them from their turf, and hear their lamentations as their rank falls!
Bird mom
Vera looked in terror at the creature and slashed the path of the gun wildly at it's direction. She needed to save those people! And herself.
She looked around for anything that would support her weight, trying to avoid being grounded at much as possible. She decided to take her eyeglasses and expand them into a thick shield of glass allowing light to pass through though refracted at an angle. She had learned how light moved against transparent and reflective surfaces in her three years of being a Magical Girl and she hoped that the demons weren't as clever with angles as she.
I am not dying today. I can make it. There's light in the darkness. I'm not going to die today. I WILL not die today!'
edited 22nd Nov '11 6:45:28 AM by RhymeBeat
The Crystal Caverns A bird's gotta sing.
Newbie Drifter
"No, I haven't," answered Rei. "Stay on your guard— nngh!"
The azure Magical Girl fell to her knees again, the wound on her spine worsening due to her sudden movement. Despite her best efforts, a grunt of pain escaped her lips.
Dammit. I won't be able to move at this rate....
She had to move. She had to move. This was a new threat. The green-haired girl could probably hold her own, but Alicia was still a newbie; one false move could mean the end of the girl's life. She had to move. She had to protect Alicia. But no matter how hard she tried, her body simply didn't listen to her. She couldn't do anything as she was right now.
Nothing at all.
Damn it...!
Rei desperately forced more magic into her spine, hoping to regenerate it fast enough to make a difference in the battle.
Wha— What the hell is this thing!?
Alicia unconsciously leaped backwards with all her might, hoping to put some distance between herself and the new enemy. As a gunslinger, she instinctively knew that she was no match for this thing in a melee. She had to keep away, no matter what. At the same time, she noticed Rei collapsing again; but before Alicia could say anything, Rei mentally waved her off.
"Focus, Alicia."
"You'll die if you stay like that!" retorted Alicia furiously. "I won't let you die!"
"I won't die," answered Rei simply. "Now, focus on your battle."
"...." Having no other choice, Alicia trained her eyes and guns on the new Demon, waiting for it to make the first move.
edited 21st Nov '11 10:43:29 PM by Midreus
That is all she needed. That is all... Her dreams of seeing the world have become her strength, and lifts her wings.
Rhyme, nothing in Vera's power chart says anything about being able to create glass panes. Where'd that come from?
The Hammer Knight tilted its cowl to one side, and Vera could almost feel its amusement as her laser bolts sprinkled harmlessly off of the heavy armor on its arms and chest. It slid the hammer from its shoulder again; the claw dragged a heavy rent in the sand, and smoke, flashing brightly with white-red heat, rose behind it as the sand glassed. It continued implacably toward Vera, ignoring the humans.
Alicia's strategy worked out well enough in the short term; the Knight held its position, though it did relax from its combat stance. Instead, it gestured imperiously with the trident, and the Demons standing behind it began a barrage of laser fire toward Alicia, striking all around her. It felt different from before, and Alicia couldn't quite place it - until she fumbled a step, leaving her open to a laser strike. The blast missed handily, though, and Alicia realized what the difference was. The Knight was playing with her.
The Fencer took minor hits from the rails, but for the most part, it managed to deflect the glowing blue energy. It fell with Ciel, dodging her attacks, and jumped back as they hit the ground.
edited 21st Nov '11 11:31:57 PM by RedSavant
It's been fun.
Newbie Drifter
"Rrrgh—"
Alicia growled. This thing wasn't even taking her seriously! In her frustration, she leveled her charged revolver at the Azure Knight, ready to pull the trigger—
"Stop, Alicia!"
— before being stopped by Rei.
"It's baiting you to fire so it can dodge the shot," continued Rei, observing the battlefield while still trying to regenerate herself. "Wait for the green girl to engage the blue Demon; if the others fire at you again, shoot at them while you dodge. The lesser ones can't dodge and attack at the same time."
Nodding quietly at Rei's explanation, Alicia prepared herself for the next volley.
That is all she needed. That is all... Her dreams of seeing the world have become her strength, and lifts her wings.
I am now a shiny stone~
As the Emerald Fencer touched the ground and leapt away, presumably to sneak up from another angle, Ciel seethed inside.
Oh no you don't!
The pain in her back feeling like a rocket booster at full blast, Ciel mentally flexed, and the blue bladerails twisted, attempting to fence in the Emerald Fencer Demon while extending their tail end into a position she could use. She landed on the rail heavily, gritting her teeth at the pain from impact, yet she followed through with her next move, grinding down the rails with her momentum as they twisted about in an attempt to zone in the Demon and prevent it from getting away. Three bolts of Demon Laser streaked at her, only to be blocked by the blue rails and broken up.
You're not hitting me ever again if I can help it!
The three finest things in life are to splat your enemies, drive them from their turf, and hear their lamentations as their rank falls!
The Fencer stood back as well as it could from the blazing rails, tracing Ciel's movement with lazy patience. One downside to traveling on rails was that you went where the rails dictated... and the Fencer chose its moment to strike well, attacking furiously in the brief moment when Ciel was inside its range and outside her own.
It's been fun.
I am now a shiny stone~
The blade darted at her once more.
Hit me once, shame on you. Hit me twice...
Ciel was half-anticipating an attack like that when she began using this technique, and this time she let it lash out. With her enhanced perception, she saw the blade slowly slide into her path, even as the rails twisted and flexed.
...It would have been a shame for me! Thankfully you Demons are all so predictable!
Ciel's grim smile split into a fierce slasher grin as the glowing blue rails pinned the slim blade, preventing the Demon from using it it. With a terrifying battlecry, she leapt off the rails and poured all her momentum into a crushing kick that connected with the Emerald Fencer's center-of-mass.
A massive blue explosion erupted, tinted with shards of green fire.
...Oh man my back really hurts now. Totally Worth It though.
edited 22nd Nov '11 12:38:34 AM by AceOfScarabs
The three finest things in life are to splat your enemies, drive them from their turf, and hear their lamentations as their rank falls!
Machi slowed her breathing to a bare minimum as the cold blade pressed against her neck. The number of options she had available to her were dwindling fast. This Rei girl was out for her blood and did not seem to listen to reason. She decided to answer truthfully.
"You know how life as a magical girl goes. I've been around places all around the country. I've met girls in dire need of help. If you could-"
Nazuna's sentance was cut off by movement from her own weapon. The single kunai remaining in her left hand exploded in size to a giant blade, threatening to cleave Rei's flesh in the process if she didn't release the pinned Nazuna.