Velvet Room (Hei): Hei's Comeuppance...?
The masked man nodded at the correction as a silent form of apology, then asked his question:
"I'm aware that a girl with amber eyes visited Magonia yesterday. She and I made an arrangement back when this whole mess started: I help kill this thing, and she tells me where to find someone I'm looking for. When this is all over, and if we're both still alive, I'd like to know where that girl is. Take me to her if you can, or point me in the right direction if you can't. That's all."
A familiar group entered the Velvet Room, drawing the masked man's attention away from the Magonians for a moment.
Instead of a proper farewell, Hei encouraged the young Captain to "Think about it," and moved to meet Dante.
"Where's Trish?" he asked. "We could use another electricity-user."
"Why? Planning on ditching them, too?"
The familiar baritone drew Hei's mask towards the ground, where he spotted a black cat with every hair on its back raised high.
"Mao? Where have you been?"
"Sorry, I thought that wasn't your problem. Isn't that what you said to Huang when he asked for your help?"
"He asked me about a missing chimpanzee in the city while I was infiltrating Santa Destroy for a rendezvous. And unlike most delegates then and now, I don't hold influence in Tokyo. Even if I had time to help him, it's not like I could've done anywhere near as much as Yin could."
"So that's it?!" the cat hissed. "You just shrugged your shoulders once and went dark for five whole days?!"
"What happened to Huang's earpiece?"
The cat blinked.
"I tried contacting him on the first night; after Dante, Sypha, Trevor, Lady, and I decided to storm Dracula's Castle in the morning. I heard nothing, and assumed Huang's earpiece probably broke somehow."
Mao paused as his tail lowered. "He never said anything about that."
"Does Huang seem like the kind of person to admit his own mistakes?" Hei asked as he crossed his arms.
"Oh you're one to talk!" Mao spat back.
The Black Reaper chuckled, and stepped away from the crowded entrance. "Maybe you're right. Good to see you, Mao."
The cat flicked his tail as a form of harrumph, then chose to follow the masked man regardless.
"It's been rough without you on the team, Hei. You wouldn't believe half the stuff we've been through."
"...I'm sorry."
Mao let the apology linger in the air, not because he expected Hei to list all the excuses he could, but because it seemed so rare for the legendary Black Reaper to regret anything he did—and he had a lot to regret. Missions rarely went according to plan when Hei was involved. Sometimes his rash decisions made things turn for the better, other times his poor judgement cost them the mission. The Forfeiter Havoc wouldn't have died if Hei had just followed orders...but then again, Yin would have died if Hei had done what he was told.
Hei puzzled Mao; he acted so irrationally sometimes that, were it not for the undeniable fact he was a Contractor, the cat would've considered him a human and a fraud. Maybe this unpredictable behavior was the price for his contract, or maybe he was some new subspecies of Moratorium that just went insane very slowly. But whatever Hei was, he was certainly not boring. That was probably what Mao liked about him the most—the Black Reaper could always put on an interesting show.
"Save it for Yin." the cat eventually replied. "She'll want to hear that the most. And be careful around Huang for a while; he's looking to knock your teeth in, but he'd probably mess up his back even more if he tried."
"Huang hurt his back?" Hei asked.
"From using Lady's rocket launcher too many times." Mao sighed. "And here I thought you were supposed to be the reckless one."
Velvet Room (Maki): Amber, the Trinket Whore
Maki studied the strange cat mascot as it summarized the role of the Phantom Thieves. Then, like a truly curious student/pain in the ass, he poked for contradictions:
"How can you bring someone to justice if they can't be touched by the law? Do you kill them? Pyrrha says that's not how justice is supposed to work."
Lady was called a damsel and a(nother) lady in blue stormed over to correct the misconception. The boy frowned as he recalled another time this monster tried to pick off a skilled warrior. He felt sorry for Yang, and even more sorry that she'd probably have to face that thing again.
Then one of the other "Phantom Thieves" approached him and asked for his name.
"M-Maki." the boy blinked. "I'm a Huntsman. In training."
He bowed in greeting just like Amber had taught him; something about the group suggested they were Japanese. A small smile grew on his face, and not just because he thought it'd be polite:
This was the first time he'd introduced himself as an aspiring Huntsman.
A cat's hiss diverted Maki's attention for a moment. It obviously wasn't the mascot in front of him; that thing probably couldn't even meow, let alone hiss. So as his mismatched eyes scanned for a feline, they fell on...that black cat from Tokyo? It was talking to someone in a black coat and a mask. A getup that, come to think of it, seemed like a less formal version of the one the Phantom Thief beside Maki wore.
"It's been rough without you on the team, Hei." the cat said as they walked further into the Velvet Room. "You wouldn't believe half the stuff we've been through."
"...Hei?" Maki muttered. Was that him? The person Amber talked on and on and on about? The man who Amber cared about so much?
...the bastard who wouldn't even show his face in public? Mr. Parker he could forgive, but who cared enough about some Contractor nobody for him to hide his identity? It's not like they'd know him by anything but a Messier code anyway, so why the mask?
Because he's a coward, Maki concluded. If he cared a hair as much about Amber as she did about him, then he'd be by her side. But he's not. So he must not care! He runs around hiding his face because he doesn't want anyone to find him! He doesn't want AMBER to find him! He's a coward, and a terrible person, and Amber deserves ANYONE better than him!
Maki's legs moved him towards the masked man before he could even escape his thoughts. By the time he realized what he was doing, it was too late: Hei had spotted him approach, and that painted smile greeted him.
"Wait a minute," Mao hummed, "you're one of the Evening Primrose Contractors, right?"
Maki blinked, but found the courage to shoot the masked man a glare. He'd come this far, might as well see it through to the end.
"There is no Evening Primrose anymore. Everyone scattered, so there's no use trying to find all of us!"
The masked man turned to the cat by his side.
"Kid's right, far as I can tell." Mao confirmed. "Though two among their ranks were badly injured yesterday. They tried to protect Lady from getting abducted, but looks like that thing was too strong for them. They should be receiving treatment in Mitakihara."
The mask turned back to Maki, waiting for the boy to speak.
Maki grit his teeth and clenched his fists. As he stared into the narrow slits that sheltered Hei's eyes, the boy realized that he couldn't think of a single thing to say. He had imagined this scenario often: confronting Amber's unrequited love, feeling the jealousy he'd been nursing swell in his gut and drive him to victory, planting enough hand prints on Hei's corpse to make even coroners wonder if those chunks of charred meat once belonged to a person...but not once had he thought of what to say. There were no words he cared to give to Hei, only actions. And he neither could nor wanted to follow through with his violent reverie, now.
Maki's face flushed with anger and humiliation. What, was he just going to stand there like a statue? Turn away without a word? Cry again? This was no way for him to act; Nora would be disappointed in him, and Amber even more so!
C'mon! Just SAY something!
"If you even lay a finger on Amber, I'm coming after you."
There, was that so hard?
It was tough, it was threatening, it was emotional...and it was the wrong thing to do. Despite all the things Amber had told him about Hei, she hadn't given Maki much reason to hate him—Maki gave himself reasons to hate Hei, and he was acting out on the reasons he made up in his own head.
But before those angry embers could fully die out, the masked man leaned forward and pointed to the symbol painted on Maki's breastplate: a parrot with fledgling feathers sprouting from its tail.
As he pointed, Hei spoke with borrowed words:
"No matter where you go, I hope this will always make you smile."
With that, the masked man began to walk around Maki, the cat trotting by his feet.
Maki froze. Those were Amber's words. That's what she said when she gave him his charm after they first met! How did Hei know what she said?!
Careful, it's a trick!
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Maki shouted. The cry, though not loud enough to invite everyone's attention, was at least sharp enough for the masked man to hear. He stopped walking to speak over his shoulder:
"It means I'm not the only one she cares about."
Hei and Mao left for another part of the Velvet Room, quietly waiting for the meeting to begin. Stunned and struggling to comprehend those words, Maki pulled his legs back towards the Huntsmen and Huntresses, where he clutched Nora's hand and turned his mismatched eyes to the ground.
Delfi flushed heavily at the mental images her companion's comment created, quickly forcing them aside before they scarred her any further than this place already had. She'd been assuming her friend was relatively calm and innocent compared to the rest of the inhabitants of this place, but she guessed that didn't go far. Of course, the monster's casual comment her seclusion made her feel guilty about her judgement right after.
So she sat quietly and listened, humming in reply to the wolf woman's story as she relaxed into the calming feeling of her hair being brushed. Just the two of them, no one shouting or telling her what she would be doing next. It was nice. "I do remember those buildings. I never thought you could build something that tall, and the elevators were very convenient. Are you thinking of perhaps moving into one, instead of staying in your shrine? And what are... sky foxes?"
Eternal Princess
Reisen stopped as she felt a tug on the sleeve, only to turn back and see a small fairy boy with no wings. She was about to ask him what the boy wanted when her eyes narrowed to what was on his head. Again with this. Honestly, first that Strike witch, and now this fairy boy too. Rabbits took alot of pride in their ears for other beings to go stealing it for themselves like this! There was even that bar in Santa Destroy where all waitresses were suppose to be bunny girls. None of the bunny girls she knows wears outfits like that!
Fairies were notorious for being a pain in the ass. Though, it didn't seem like the fairy boy really meant any harm. If anything, he acted more like one those human children in the village. The ones who always tried to pull on her ears when ever she came to sell medicine. Not actively malicious, just naturally curious. Despite the initial tinge of annoyance and a small twitch in her eye, she let out a small sigh and put on a smile for the boy's sake. She suppose imitation was the sincerest form of flattery. She reached out to accept the present.
"Is this for me?"
She looked down at the half eaten stale cookie. Was he handing her his trash? She reminded her self that the boy was probably just simple minded and forced another smile.
"You shouldn't have."
She turned to the uneaten part of the cookie and began taking small nibbles for the boy's sake. She gave exaggerated Mmm Mmms as she did so, as if she was actually enjoying the treat.
"Thank you."
Ofcourse as soon as the boy went to the get milk, Reisen opened her mouth and let the cookie bits fall to the floor. She stuck her tongue out, as if airing it out, accompanied by a small bleh. She was contemplating how to get rid of the rest of the cookie when another fairy came up to her. This one was so small she mistook it for a dragon fly at first.
"Eh? Heart of the Moon...?"
Reisen put her hand on her chin, as if deep in thought. She hadn't heard of a place called Heart of the Moon on her moon before. There were meadows and trees, but it wasn't quite how the fairy described. Then again, she was a lunarian rabbit, its not like Lunarians let her near all the important places.
Though the thought that some other dimension's moon had something on her own moon annoyed the bunny girl. The moon was no longer her home, but as the place she had come from, she still had a sense of pride about it. She didn't want to say no to the question. Somehow that felt like admitting defeat. She could hear it already...
Eh?! No Heart of the Moon? Can you really call it a moon at that point? I guess what you come from is just an ugly rock that so happens to follow a moons orbit. Ho ho ho ho.
Admittedly nothing the small fairy said suggested this kind of reaction. Its just when you deal with jerks on a daily basis, your expectations tend to become warped. But then, its not like her moon actually had a Heart of the Moon. Or, maybe it did? In truth, she really didn't know. But then, would the fairy even be able to double check her claims? After thinking hard for a moment, Reisen looked back up and answered.
"Yes. Actually...we have 3! One near the Sea of Tranquility, another near the Lunar Capital, and another near where the Humans invaded."
Despite the straight face in which the bunny girl made her claim, the fairy may notice that Reisen had trouble looking directly at her as she spoke.
How do you kill that which has no life?
Vampire Hunter
Velvet Room
"From what I have heard, the demon's attack in Mitakihara involved empowering a native monster of the city... Something that the local heroes there call a 'Witch,'" Sypha sounded skeptical and just the slightest bit insulted, in addition to her making airquotes for the name of the monster. Maybe it was because Sypha was a witch that she was so skeptical.
"A talking male cat!" Felicia walked up to Mao and looked down at it. It seemed like Felicia was reacting to something that to her should not exist. At least, Blake here had some bit of logic of being an alternate universe Catwoman even if she had black hair, lacked a tail and had two sets of ears. Even the similar looking Bunnywoman had some bit of logic, again as an alternate universe version of her own species. A talking male black cat was just so far outside the realm of possibility that it surprised her. Oh and there was a talking mascot cat as well, but that's like completely common in Japan.
Edited by GameGuruGG on Jan 26th 2020 at 6:52:37 AM
Wizard Needs Food Badly
Fairy Tail Guild Hall -> Zone Entry Portal
"Well, might as well head back to the Zone. Still got work there," Lucy said, grabbing two large bottles of liquor out of the cabinet and shoving them into a backpack. "I don't want to carry around a giant box again, but having one or two of these might come in handy if we need to grease some more wheels."
"Aye sir!" Happy saluted, then went to a cupboard and put two small cans of tuna into his little knapsack.
With a few quick words to Erza and Mavis, a few comments to Happy, and checking that Grant or whoever else wanted to come was ready, she eventually left the guild hall and ventured into the hallway, heading towards the portal back to the Zone.
"Well, guess it's just a matter of stepping through and-" Lucy was saying as she stepped through the portal and... well, it was a little different than yesterday.
"-and.... WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" she shouted, looking between the guards and the men on their knees.
Sakura Dungeon Inn - Delfi's Safe Space
"Well the sky foxes, they're foxes...." The wolf paused for a moment, pressing the brush against her forehead as she thought. "...from the sky. That's all there really is to it. They showed up on day on a big ship made out of metal, and when the Dungeon Lord went inside they fought us a bunch so she had to capture it. I helped! But then when she beat their leader it was just a misunderstanding, because they were just looking for a new place to live and thought we were trying to kick them out, but now we're all friends. They live on their ship... or maybe not anymore, that's what that 'city' thingy is supposed to be, a place for them to live and so that we can visit them or live there too."
"As for what I was thinking....." she paused again, this time poking the brush handle against her cheek for a second as she tried to get her thoughts in order before resuming. "Well I was just curious about all that stuff we saw. I don't really know what I want to do. But what I do know is that I already spent so many thousands of years at my shrine that I'd kind of like to see other stuff now. Anything. There's so many people and things to see and do, you know?"
The Velvet Room (Tatl): That's No Moon...It's A Space Station! Creepy Endless Meadow!
Truth be told, Tatl was viewing Reisen with about as much cynicism as the Moon Rabbit was viewing her. For the fairy, those clear efforts to avoid eye contact didn't come off as a tell; they came off as Reisen trying very hard to avoid asking a million and a half questions about fairies.
"Are you some kind of bug?"
"Do you have a body, or are you just that ball of light?"
"Oooooh, I just wanna stuff you in a bottle and put you by my bedside like a night light!"
That last one wasn't much of a question, but boy did she expect it to be said one of these days! And then she'd probably have to hide under her partner's cap to protect herself, and it's not like he ever washes his clothes, and wait...
"You've got three of them?" the fairy repeated. Judging by the tone, she clearly didn't view a Heart of the Moon (whatever it was) as a good thing. "I'm creeped out by just the one down the hall! The folks on your moon must have nerves of steel."
Tatl's offset tone was matched by the fact she was slowly fluttering away from Reisen. Though not one to be rudenote , Tatl quickly introduced herself and invited the Moon Rabbit to spend time in the room marked "Majora and the Heart of the Moon" out in the Commons Corridor. Y'know, if she ever felt homesick or something.
The Velvet Room (Hei, Mao, Tatl): Fairy Tales Meet Fairy Tail
Mao could feel his fur spring on end as a scantly-clad cat enthusiast strolled up to goggle about his ability to speak. He wanted to tuck behind Hei's legs for shelter, but that would look ridiculous because the Black Reaper was leaning against a wall and this body wasn't as thin as it used to be. He could blame that on the daughter of the guy running the local noodle shop.
"Let's set this straight: the cat isn't the one doing the talking." Mao explained, even as he took what few steps back as he could before hitting the wall. "I'm a Contractor. My ability allows me to send my consciousness into animals. So even though it looks like I'm a talking cat, I'm actually just a man in a cat's body and using that body to talk. Understand?"
He probably could've phrased that better, but at this rate he was trying to shoo this lady away before the younger guests noticed him. Kids tended to go crazy at the sight of talking animals.
"Wait, so you're not a talking cat?!" cried a certain eavesdropping fairy.
"Mao's original body was destroyed years ago." the masked man explained to Felicia and the approaching light bulb with wings. "The cat's body is what's keeping him from being completely dead."
"Wow, Hei. Thanks for making me sound like a mooching ghost." the cat mumbled.
"Huh. I would've just guessed you were just a talking cat. It's not all that weird back in Termina; we chat with monkeys, fish, beavers, frogs, and my partner understands what dogs are saying. It's almost a matter of preference."
Mao met the shrug in Tatl's voice with a narrowed stare. "That so. Sounds like you jumped straight out of a fairy tale."
"No, that'd be Mirajane: the white-haired lady over there. My partner and I are just bunking in Fairy Tail for now."
The cat paused, only for Hei to explain that "Fairy Tail" was the name of a group based outside the Commons Corridor. Witches, from the looks of it.
"And your partner is..." the cat asked.
Tatl whirred around to scan the room. "The little idiot at the bar trying to chug that glass of milk in one go."
Mao's eyes narrowed further: a child no older than ten had grabbed a glass of milk poured for him at the bar, hopped off his stool, and had...taken some sort of pose
◊ to drink it.
"...and he's competent in a fight?"
Tatl's wings picked up the pace, but before she could give the cat an earful, the masked man spoke:
"Trevor vouches for him, so I've got no objections."
"...and who is Trevor?"
Hei sighed. "I've been gone too long."
The Velvet Room (Link): Featuring Mr. Peetzuh, from the Devil May Cry Series!
"Beh!"
Link wiped the milk mustache away with a sigh of contentment. That was some good milk, and when you have good milk, you should drink it the way they do on the Romani Ranch: legs apart, hand on hip, and in one big swig!
Setting the glass back on the table, the little hero waved goodbye to his friend Ozen, who didn't seem to be in the most talkative mood—not that Link could blame her for that! So instead of sitting on a stool idly kicking his feet while waiting for everyone to arrive, he decided to take initiative. It was time to make some new friends!
Strolling around the clumps of people, Link noticed how there weren't many people interested in chatting with strangers, even though they were all here for the same reason. It wasn't difficult to figure out that folks with similar clothing or were around the same age probably came from the same world. So there were kids a little older than him in some kind of light uniform, and two groups of kids older than them in all kinds of outfits. There were people who looked like knights, and people who looked like thieves, and people who looked like they wanted to go to the beach, and people who looked like they just strolled in from the Common Room. Most of them didn't look familiar to the little hero, but after a quick search around he found some:
Mr. Peetzuh, and Devil May Cry!
The little hero rushed over towards the three demon hunters, but paused halfway through at the sight of a black sheep among them. Indeed, the man seemed to quite enjoyed black, judging by his hair, his coat, his trousers, his single glove, his bracelets, his boots, and aaaaaaaaaall the markings that were somehow printed on his skin. He had a very sad look about him, which reminded Link a lot of Grog.
Though after his expression, the second thing Link noticed about the man was his cane: it looked like a black (big surprise) cubed sword, since it was clearly made of metal and ended with a distinct point. As he stared at the accessory, Link's face shifted into a curious frown. Why did it look so heavy? Wouldn't a sharp point at the end damage the floor if he put pressure on it? And why have a cane at all if you weren't going to apply pressure on it?
Moving with considerably less enthusiasm as he had demonstrated a few moments before, the little hero gave a friendly wave to Mr. Peetzuh (armed with a sword, good!) and the man who had his arm wrapped up last time they met (armed with a sword and a super cool gauntlet, even more good!), then wrote out a message for the black sheep with his light pen:
Vampire Hunter
The Velvet Room
"I am Trevor Belmont," Trevor looked down at Mao, contemplating him. "Link is good in a fight. He fought Death admirably, especially for one so young."
"Lady will probably yell at all of us for getting actual children involved," Trevor said, glancing over to Caroline and Justine. "But she will yell at us for following one of Minako's plans and if it means saving her life, I will take her ranting at me."
"I apologize for helping keep your fr— ...ally from you," Trevor gave Mao an apology although he remembered that Contractors probably didn't make friends given their logical way of thinking.
"Oh well, you're basically a talking cat now," Felicia shrugged and frown speaking quieter since she knew how it was to be a cat. "Although you better not try to possess my cat form."
Up close, people would notice Felicia's ears twitch and her tail wag... as well as fur all over her body. She was no mere cat person but instead a cat person.
Grant, Zone Entry Portal
"Oh," Grant frowned but looked nonplussed before looking at the two guards, taking off his bandanna as if he was mourning the future death of the two guards. "You poor souls... got stuck on portal guard duty, huh?"
Grant put his bandanna back on as he had an idea about what was about to happen, and so tried to tug on Lucy's arm so they would enter back into the Common Room. This wasn't exactly their problem yet.
Edited by GameGuruGG on Jan 30th 2020 at 9:29:04 AM
Wizard Needs Food Badly
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
The Velvet Room
"Of all the people here, I'm the one who looks weird?" Spidey drew back from the Morioh trio with a hand over his heart in mock offense, "Well, whatever. Nice hair, kid! You must have put a lotta work into it."
Then he waved to Tristana. "Hey again! Thought you'd seen the lasta me, huh? Well, get ready to see a whole lot more of me if you're gonna be dealing with Manhattan at all! I'm supposed to be the representative, after all... We'll see how that work out..."
As Laharl accidentally invoked Nyarlathotep's name, the lights flickered, and a miniature earthquake rolled through the room - at least for half a second, before Trevor interjected by saying "Philemon" and things returned to normal. While the bottles behind him vibrated and clinked, Theodore smiled at the Unmovable Lord. "Of course, Madam, coming right up!" He picked up an unlabelled bottle of brownish liquid and a sizable tankard from under the counter, poured the former into the latter, and set it before her. "Please, enjoy!" Upon drinking, she would find its flavor both familiar and nostalgic, for it tasted exactly like the last drink she had shared with the Lord of Annihilation before the other White Whistle's Last Dive. Besides that... well, it was strong stuff, at least.
As Trevor conferred with Mao and Hei, Mitsuru rose from her seat and cleared her throat. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please? As I see that the vast majority of those who said they would participate are here, I believe we should begin," she started, raising her voice to penetrate the low buzz of conversation going on throughout the room, "Would those of you who possess healing powers dependent on your own magical, spiritual, or mental energies please step forward? And while we wait for the final few members of the task force to arrive, does anyone have any questions regarding the mission or our enemies? I believe we were as thorough as possible in our explanations to the various group leaders yesterday, but now is the time to ask."
GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs
It didn't seem like anyone was home at first.
The hole in the wall stretched to the roof, and you could see the ruined interiors of multiple rooms, their purposes evident but caked in layers of dust, just by standing at the manor's side. There was no one there to greet them, not even the traditional cavalcade of wild animals that usually roamed freely. Aside from the distant churning of the Furnace, it was silent in the Palace of the Earth Spirits. Maeve's call echoed without an answer.
Walking down the hall (because let's be honest, it seemed like you probably weren't going to get anywhere by checking out the drained bathtub) the devastation does cease, but it's still as silent and empty as before. Only after navigating some of these twisting passages do you finally meet the woman you're looking for.
She was slumped against the wall, an empty cup on one hand and nothing on her mind. Satori just stared ahead, looking up at the wall opposite her intently, only noticing you after some time had passed.
She looked in Maeve and Ryuuou's direction with a slow turn of the head, displaying the plainly disheveled state she was in for them to see.
"...Get out of my house."
"It's a...what-world?" Unfortunately, this name hadn't really filtered down the masses here, yet. As far as Former Hell was concerned, the amount of people who could actually call this place Battleworld could be counted on your hands.
Most of them just called it the Aboveground, still. Also, Battleworld was way too hype for Oni, so don't mention it again.
"Anyway, you're free to move as you please, Misses Kirihara, Doe, Ishizaki. Just listen when someone who looks important tells you to do something, leave the Capital from here and not the cave, don't cause trouble...you know, normal people stuff. It's not going to be that big of an issue," Parsee said, "it'll be like the usual vacation in Former Hell, just with spectators."
She shuffled the papers together, and started writing out her end of the deal. Which was...to be honest, a lot.
A while after Terra mentioned it, she had something held out for her. It was a jelly doughnut rice ball, compact and somewhat messy, its fish filling poking out through a gap in the grain. The oni guard who wordlessly tried to give it to her looked as grim as any of them, but he expectantly waited until she took it before resuming his post.
"Mrhmm. Enjoy," Ozen repeated, taking up the huge mug effortlessly. She didn't down it all in one go, as she didn't feel she was in a rush, but she still took a swig that could've filled the glasses of many weaker men.
Oh, it was the strong stuff, alright. Enough to make her feel buzzed at least; not the easiest task. She let the tankard come down with a slam against the bar, and—
Hey, don't do that, the elderly barkeeper said from a safe distance. He knew who she was, and his fear was evident. You're...you're gonna get it everywhere.
What do you mean? Don't you think that there should be a little poured out for an occasion like this? I'm celebrating my...m-my *hic* friend here's death, after all.
Oh, Ozen, don't be so morbid, Lyza said, knowing entirely that it was true. She shook her head, her golden hair waving around in bright sheets in the dim light of the bar. You're just as awful as ever.
...Awful enough to stay, to try and redeem me?
You're just as funny, too!
Ozen stared into the dim, blue-tinted reflection in the cup. What an unwelcome flavor.
She gave a passing glance to Link as he came up, a stoic one, but past that she didn't feel like speaking to him, evidently. The Lord let him wander off elsewhere without notice, as she continued to drink silently.
Eventually, a call for questions sounded out as they began preparations for this dive of sorts. Ozen couldn't heal anyone beyond the old traditions of delver's triage,* but she did have a question.
She turned around in her seat and looked up to the red-headed lady. "You're certain that this thing can be killed. Is that right?"
Common Room - Day 6
From the portal leading to Mitakihara Mami would step through, her Magical Girl outfit summoned and her face the picture of professionalism — after all, the message she had received from SEES said that this was quite a serious new development. Like that space empire a few days back, this would require contributions from all fronts to overcome a looming evil. And there, quite frankly, haven’t been many opportunities for the Magical Girls of Mitakihara to make an impression on the other groups in BattleWorld outside of their own city - now would be the chance to do that.
Mami stopped for a moment to look behind her, watching to make sure that Sayaka and Kyubey had also gotten through with no issue. Not that she was worried about the Americans guarding the other side of the portal giving any grief - indeed, while Kyubey’s invisibility to normal humans was still active on the city-side of the portal Sayaka had been unusually quiet and subdued this morning, something that Mami noticed earlier as the two of them had been making their way towards the portal. She had just kind of shrugged it off when Mami had tried to ask what was going on with her, especially since Sayaka had asked to accompany her to the Common Room. Perhaps it was just the enormity of going to face down this Nyarlathotep, as Kyubey had suggested. She was never one to back down from a fight against wrongdoers.
Mami looked back at the rest of the Common Room to see other people coming from various directions all streaming towards the same hall. “It seems like others are gathering already, Miki-san - we should hurry.”
“Yeah, uh, right.” Sayaka picked up her pace just enough to catch up with Mami as the two followed the crowd towards the Velvet Room.
Mami looked back at her junior with concern as they reached the door. “Are you sure you are up for this, Miki-san?”
“I’m fine, Mami-san.” The rather sharp exhale Sayaka let out suggested otherwise; nonetheless, she entered into the room once Mami opened the door.
Mami stood for a second out in the hall before following her inside, keeping her gaze at the back of Sayaka’s head as she entered. She had said that she was ready to go fight again after yesterday’s Witch because of what kind of being this Nyarthalotep is, but it did seem like something else was on her mind.
<Are you going to enter, Mami Tomoe?> Kyubey was in the doorway, looking behind his shoulder at Mami.
“Uh, right!” Mami shook out of her wonderment and entered, right as Mitsuru at the front was bringing a call to the meeting. That question could wait. "Miki-san? I think your healing powers qualify."
"Hm? Oh, right, yeah." Sayaka took a step towards the front, though a bit slowly like she was unsure.
<Excuse me, Mitsuru Kirijo.> Kyubey moved forward into an open spot so that he could be seen by the SEES reps. <Before we move to questions regarding Nyarthalotep, I would like to ask what exactly you are planning for those you had just asked. I do not believe it would be wise of me to make assumptions at this point.> He made a quick glance back at Mami as Sayaka gave a quick, rather suspicious glance at him at the same time.
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
The Velvet Room
"We're certain that our adversary is mortal, yes," Mitsuru confirmed immediately for Ozen with a firm nod, "As you may remember, it is a very powerful, hitherto unknown version of a creature that my team has fought before known as a Shadow. All Shadows can be killed, however, and this enemy should be no exception, even if he is stronger and more intelligent than most. This should especially be true due to The Cure's demonstrated sense of 'fair play'-" that part the redhead put in air quotes, "-which suggests that he would not add an enemy to his game that we stood absolutely no chance of defeating."
Next, she turned her attention to the group from Mitakihara. "Hello again, Kyuubey, Tomoe-san, and I believe this is our first time meeting, Miki-san. We're glad to have you with us. To answer your question..." SEES' Vice-President flicked through the holographic screen of her SDU and tapped a certain item in her inventory, causing a smallish bottle of bright blue liquid to manifest in her hand.
"This is one of a handful of 'Mana Potions' I purchased from a Chunkless alchemist who has since been removed from Battleworld, like so many others," the Kirijo heiress explained, offering it to the likewise blue-colored Magical Girl, "Each bottle contains three doses, and each dose should have the effect of restoring your mental readiness and psychic, spiritual, or magical energies to their peak. I intend to give each member of the task force specialized in healing one potion. We cannot know exactly how intensely or for how long we will need to fight to finally defeat the enemy. Therefore, it is especially important that we be able to heal wounds and keep our battle readiness at maximum. We'll be counting on you, Miki-san."
Edited by darksidevoid on Feb 1st 2020 at 12:25:36 PM
GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs
Laharl and the Gang, Velvet Room
“What the hell?”
Laharl looked understandably confused as strange things happened after he uttered Nyarly’s name.
“Be careful Prince!” Flonne called out in concern. “Our adversary seems to be so evil and cruel that even uttering their name can bring about misfortune! Like Schmoldefort!”
“...That’s a character from a children’s story, Flonne. Still, as ridiculous as that sounds… that does seem to be the case. Well, that just motivates me to beat him up even more!”
After Mitsuru called a headcount for healers, Flonne enthusiastically raised her hand.
“Oh, I can help with that! Long as I’m around, I’ll do everything I can to keep everyone in tip top shape!”
Zone Entry Portal
"Uh... huh...." Lucy nodded gently and then started to sloooowly back away towards the portal, Happy clinging tightly to her shoulder.
Chireiden - Former Hell
"Aha, fear not. We are neither vandals nor vagrants. I am Maeve, formerly of the Human Cities, currently of Sakura Dungeon, and this is Ryuuou the Great Dragon," Maeve proclaimed, nodded at the dragon nibbling at a piece of mochi that she held in her arms. "And we have journeyed here on behalf of of Yomi the Dungeon Lord with an offer of peace and friendship!"
Ryuuou simply continued to enjoy her mochi. If she was even aware that Satori was in the room - that she was even anywhere.
"And I take it that you are the great Satori, leader of Former Hell. Well met." Maeve continued. "We have much to- oh, your cup is empty. Are you out of sake? Well, fear not, for you have been blessed by great fortune. Ryuuou's womanservants always keep an ample supply at hand. Will you not lend our new friend a cup in her time of need, Ryuuou?"
Ryuuou took a bit to nibble on her mochi.
"No."
Maeve's grin turned into a grimace for a second, then she looked thoughtful, then she leaned over and whispered something. Ryuuou thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Very well. Under that condition, I will permit her to have one cup." Ryuuou relented. "One."
Tatsu slinked over towards Satori, wordlessly holding out her tray of sake, and then lifting up the pitcher expectantly, waiting to see if Satori would offer her cup up so she could refill it.
Velvet Room: Things As They Are
Mao pretended not to hear Felicia's mumbling. Long as it wasn't the springtime where she came from and her cat form decided to be civil, he had no problems with the (literal) cat-woman.
"Wait." the cat blinked at Trevor's forst statement, "There's someone called Death walking around?"
"The Grim Reaper, actually." replied Hei. "Cloaked talking skeleton that carries a giant scythe. He serves Count Dracula."
"The embodiment of death is someone's lackey?" Mao cried.
"A lackey that's gonna get what's coming to it someday!" Tatl harrumphed. "Death is mortal on this planet, and my partner over there was one blow away from ending it. Too bad Dracula felt like cheating."
Ignoring the fairy's boasts for the moment, the Black Reaper found a way to connect the subject to the task at hand. "Trevor, Sypha, Dante, and I fought against Death and the Count four days ago. It's thanks to Death that we uncovered this shapeshifter in the first place. The Reaper could see the thing's soul—or lack thereof—and warned us that the Lady fighting with us was an impostor."
"So where was the real Lady?"
The mask shifted towards Trevor, as if Hei wasn't entirely sure of the details here. "Captured and detained, I think. That thing didn't want her storming in and ruining the facade."
Mao fell silent for a moment, thinking about the possible motivations this monster might have for kidnapping Lady twice. Though as if to clear up the picture, Hei elaborated:
"I think it was having fun back in Castlevania; the thing just toyed with us all during its debut. Things are different, now...I'm not sure there's a way to rescue Lady this time."
Mitsuru called for everyone's attention, which forced Hei and Mao to set aside the morbid thought of putting Lady out of her misery. As the SEES' Vice-President answered Ozen, Hei did little more than turn his mask to Minako. She knew what the Cure had said: this thing was a guest to Battleworld, one that not even the Cure could contain against its will. While there hadn't been any mention of its mortality, the insistence on a certain "defeat" condition suggested that it couldn't be killed.
...perhaps Mitsuru was taking the safer bet. They weren't completely sure it was immortal, so it was better for morale to assume it could die. In any case, she was correct about the Cure's "fair-play" rule. There was a way to get rid of this thing for good, and defeating it on its home turf was the best guess they had.
"I've got a question, actually." Tatl said as she fluttered towards Mitsuru. "We kinda joined at the last minute, so we didn't get the full pitch like the rest of you. So...what's a Shadow?"
"The personification of a person's negative emotions and thoughts." Hei replied. He had intended to let Minako take the wheel here, but there was a point on this subject that he wanted to stress.
"This thing's M.O. has been to divide humans by preying on their fears and insecurities, which are things it shouldn't and couldn't know without some kind of indirect connection to us. The running theory is that this thing either commands or is the embodiment of every person's Shadow. It knows every regret, every fear, and every weakness someone has, and it uses this knowledge as a form of psychological warfare."
The Black Reaper leaned away from the wall and stepped closer to the room's core.
"Keep this in mind when we're on its turf: it knows you just as much as you know yourself. That said, its knowledge of you only extends to what you know. The facts as you see them might not be the facts as they are, which is how we've already encountered an example where these twisted truths turned out to be completely wrong. So even if you don't fall for the obvious divide-and-conquer move, don't let this thing plant any doubts in your head. You don't know everything, so neither does it."
"But it knows what we're thinking, right? It can read minds?"
"No." Hei replied. "It's failed too many times to suggest it knows what anyone is thinking at any given time. Shadows are the darker side of someone's consciousness, not a live-feed of their thoughts. It's been caught off-guard in the past, but tricking or out-maneuvering it won't be the biggest problem—we're confronting this thing where it's most powerful, where it has considerable control of the world around it. That's why we're striking it with everything we've got."
Former Hell, Portal Area: We've Said Too Much!
Misaki blinked at Parsee's question. A portal appears out of nowhere several days ago, the residents of Former Hell contain it, even bureaucratize the traffic, and no one had brought up the planet's name till now? She knew Satori was a recluse for several reasons, but...no one had asked her what this portal was, why it was here, or even why the name "Satori Komeiji" interested strangers who entered the area?
Suddenly, Misaki didn't feel quite so bad about how she had been influencing Tokyo. There was struggling with the backlash of everyone facing reality, and then there was letting everyone keep their heads in the sand.
Still, if Satori wanted to keep everyone in the dark, it wasn't Misaki's place to correct her. She thanked Parsee and headed towards the center of Former Hell, though she stopped to politely thank the generous Oni for Terra's snack.
They had the entire city laid before them, but every now and then Terra might notice Misaki's eyes turn from the streets and crowds in front of them, and instead turn towards the heavens.
She was looking for something along the cave's roof.
Velvet Room - Day 6
Kyubey turned his head towards the discussion about Shadows, listening quite intently to it while keeping quiet for the moment.
Meanwhile, Sayaka took the bottle meant for her group without a word, staring it at with an intent she never did with her school studies. Like she wasn't sure whether this blue potion was actually a poison.
“Hmm...we don’t really have bags or anything to carry supplies around when we fight. Our weapons are summoned, and we use Grief Seeds to clean our Gems." Mami pulled out a large coin-sized object with an apparent skewer through its diameter
◊ from her pocket, a pocket far too small to carry a potion bottle. Mami’s eyes went from the Grief Seed to those also in the room. “Before I forget, I recognize some faces here that were among those who had helped us defeat the Witch we encountered at the hospital - I’d like to convey our deepest gratitude for your help.” She went back to looking at the potion container, then over to Kyubey. “Perhaps...if there is time a harness could be rigged so as to allow Kyubey to hold on to it?”
“That won’t be necessary, Tomoe-san." Homura’s voice announcing her arrival would come out from the doorway to the Velvet Room, her standing in it. She strolled straight up towards the front of the room. "I can hold on to it."
"Akemi-san. You were able to talk with the Americans?"
"They weren't an issue."
"Hmm…well, I suppose having you carry it would be easier. Miki-san, could you…" Mami trailed off when she turned to see that Sayaka was already looking back at Homura with an unexpectedly stone-faced look. Homura was returning the favor back at Sayaka, the two having a silent staredown even as the two of them began walking off to the side of the room like they were having a one-on-one conversation with their minds - which, given the telepathic abilities of all Magical Girls, they very well could have been. Mami turned back to Mitsuru with an apologetic look on her face: "Sorry about that, Kirijo-san. Miki-san and Akemi-san have never had a particularly smooth relationship."
<It has never been a requirement that Magical Girls who cooperate also need to like each other,> Kyubey commented.
"That's true. Still, I wonder if something had happened recently…"
Mitakihara Middle School - Night 5
“Look, can we just hurry this up? That Witch took a lot out of me - the Grief Seed doesn’t really do much for not making me tired afterwards.” Sayaka’s impatience was plain as day, even through said exhaustion still clinging to her as she stood up to Homura. Madoka looked back and forth between Sayaka and Homura while remaining by the former’s side, her eyes giving an unspoken plea for Homura to continue.
“...very well.” It was subtle, but the other girls could see their unofficial official leader take a deep breath. “This does not get told to anyone else.”
“Well, what is ‘this’?!”
“'This' is the nature behind the magic of this city, this universe that we came from. Witches, their Kisses and Labyrinths, Grief Seeds.” Sayaka seemed to wonder more about where she was going with this, so Homura continued: “Your Soul Gem. Do you know what it is?”
“Uh, my Soul Gem? The thing that lets us use Magical Girl powers?” Sayaka’s rising intonation clearly conveyed her confusion at the question.
"How?"
"What do you mean 'how'? I just...use it! It's like second nature at this point."
"You never once bothered to ask anyone how your having a Soul Gem allows you the powers of a Magical Girl?" Even in Homura's usual, nearly-flat voice, one could hear the disappointment.
"Hey, it's not like there's a manual that comes with the contract! Oh, wait, there was — you made sure to blow him up back at the Labyrinth!" Sayaka pointed an accusing finger at Homura.
"Sayaka-chan!" Madoka got in front of Sayaka and put her hands on the latter's arm to pull it down. "I'm sure what happened to Kyubey was an accident."
"No, Madoka," Homura said, causing the three other girls to look at her. "Miki-san's insinuation isn't wrong here."
"What?" Madoka turned around. "You mean-"
"I needed to stop you from making the contract, Madoka. I apologize for scaring you with the grenades, however."
"Why should we trust what you're saying, Transfer Student? You're so silent and antisocial except when it comes to fighting Witches or stopping Madoka from becoming a Magical Girl — if it weren't for the fact that we've seen already that stuff like that doesn't kill him permanently I'd be fighting you right here right now!"
"Sayaka-chan-"
"Why are you so against Madoka making a wish and becoming a Magical Girl anyway? Look, I'm not so stupid as to think having this magic is fun and games or that it isn't dangerous fighting Witches, but she's been with us this whole time and seen it all — if she really wants to make the contract who are you to tell her no?"
"Because you don't really know what you're signing up for!" Judging from the shocked looks on the faces of Sayaka, Madoka, and even Kyoko, Homura raising her voice like that was something definitely out of the ordinary.
Kyoko was the first to break the silence. "Maybe now's the time to start explaining what you mean by 'Soul Gem'." Homura spared a momentary glance at Kyoko, Sayaka and Madoka following suit. "Everything comes from somewhere - that's what you learn in physics, right?"
"First Law of Thermodynamics: energy can neither be created nor destroyed," Homura corrected.
"Right, whatever. Point is, our magic doesn't just come from nowhere — it needs a source to feed off of. That's where our Gems come in." Kyoko summoned hers to emphasize the point, newly cleansed thanks to the Grief Seed dropped by the Witch at the hospital earlier that evening.
"Right, Kyubey says it's the source of a Magical Girl's magic," Madoka said.
"So when you make a contract with him, do you think you just suddenly gain magic powers out of nowhere?" Homura continued, summoning her own Gem as she looked to Sayaka. "Think back to the day you made the contract and became a Magical Girl, Sayaka Miki. Do you remember that feeling in your chest right before it was complete?"
Sayaka was quiet for a moment. "Yeah…?"
"Like something was being…"
"Lifted.. out of me…" Like a sudden strike of inspiration, Sayaka's eyes suddenly went wide as they snapped back to Homura. "...No. No way, that…" Her finger went back to pointing at Homura. "You're lying, that…"
"What, what?" a worried Madoka suddenly asked her friend. "What's going on?"
"Madoka…" Homura said to the pink-haired one simply. "There's a reason it's called a Soul Gem."
I have a plan.
Military Checkpoint - Shadow
When Strelok's gaze met Shadow's eyes, the black-armored warrior took that as a confirmation to move. He threw his arm down towards the ground, and the black orb attached to his wrist was sent flying towards the feet of the Ukrainian soldiers. The orb detonated on impact when it hit the ground, making a tiny spark... And a huge plume of thick, gray smoke that enveloped the grunts. Shadow stood back up, and Interceptor ran close to his owner's side.
"I'll follow your lead. Let's get out of here."
Former Hell, Portal Area - Terra
After thanking the kindly Oni and receiving a delicious jelly-filled donut rice ball, Terra resumed following Misaki and the Dog, cautiously looking around at the scenery, and the people who carried on about their day. A lot of the townsfolk looked pretty nervous. That made sense. Former Hell got visitors from the Empire, didn't they? So when Terra looked to Misaki, and noticed she was looking upwards, she started to piece things together, what little fragments of her memory she could fathom.
"You're looking for where the Tunnel Armor was deployed, right...?" Terra asked. "It shouldn't be too hard to find. The Tunnel Armor would have left behind a big enough hole for the rain to come down through."
Edited by TailsDoll on Feb 4th 2020 at 2:28:57 PM
"@[=g3,8d]&fbb=-q]/hk%fg"
Eternal Princess
Akko flopped onto her bunk. It felt she hadn't even done anything that day, but she was completely pooped. But even with how tired she felt, she couldn't sleep. She looked across the room at the empty bed. Sucy never came back. She could hear her friend's voice from the bunk above. It seemed Lotte couldn't get to sleep either.
"Akko...do you think...that thing Minako was talking about...do you think it might have gotten Sucy?"
In truth, Akko didn't really know. The thought made her sick to her stomach. But with how fragile Lotte's voice sounded, she knew there was only one way answer.
"Come on. I mean, Sucy said it her self. Its not easy to kill a witch. Besides, I would be more worried about that thing. I'm sure if they met, Sucy would grind him down into a powder mix him into a potion."
She could hear a sniffle then a chuckle as Lotte agreed. After awhile she could hear the soft snore from the bed above, but Akko still couldn't quite calm down. It was just all so frustrating. Then a thought came to mind. Poor Constanze. Both Amanda and Jasminka were missing too. She was there in that room all by herself, she had to be feeling so lonely. Getting up, Akko headed for the door.
Constanze furrowed her brow as she could hear the familiar sound of an unwanted guest tumbling down the chute and into her lab. With the sound of a loud crash upon entry, she turned back to see what the damage was, and perhaps make sure the girl was still breathing too. A low oww was all the confirmation she needed before returning to work. Constanze had only just began on her project again when a familiar face popped up next to hers.
"So Constanze, how you doing?"
"..."
With a small humph, the small German girl stopped working long enough to give a thumbs up before picking her tools back up and returning to it. Akko was acting all flustered for some reason, but Constance couldn't be bothered to find out why. She had work to do. The Japanese girl just kind of nodded with the answer.
"Oh I see. That's good...um, I just wanted you to know that if you need to talk...or, you know what I mean...that I am here for you. I know having Amanda and Jasminka gone must be hard...you must be so worried about them..."
This caught Constanze attention. She turned to the other girl, raising one of her thick eyebrows. Did Akko really not know? Judging from that big droopy sad face she was making, probably not. Taking a moment, she pulled up a chat log and handed it to Akko before returning to work. Akko took the screen confused.
"What's this?"
As she looked it over, she could see messages back and forth between Amanda and Constanze. Sprinkled between the texts were pictures of Amanda, Sucy, and Jasminka. Pictures of them posing in front of famous New York Land marks, pictures of them eating deep dish pizza, pictures of them in front of an unflattering graffiti piece of Akko put on an ally way's wall. In all of them they were smiling and laughing. At the bottom was a message.
Amanda: lol yeah. Akko is an idiot. I'm honestly surprised she lasted this long as rep Amanda: Ah well. 50 bucks say she doesn't last til lunch tomorrow. Night Stanze.
Akko could feel her self get more and more frustrated as she looked the whole thing over.
"Jeez! I can't believe I was worried about those jerks!"
She stormed back and forth pacing in a huff. On one hand, she was genuinely glad to hear that they were alright. On the other she remembered why they had a little spat this morning and split ways. On top of that she had to admit, she was kind of jealous. They looked like they were having so much fun, but she hadn't so much as left the school today.
Though, if Constanze knew that the others were ok, why wasn't she able to sleep either? Curious, Akko peeked over the German engineer's shoulder just in time to hear the slide snap into place. Constanze held up the completed product and pulled the trigger to hear a click and a snap, signaling everything was working as intended.
"Um, Constanze, is that a gun?"
Constanze was sure her handy work spoke for it self. She modeled it after the Heckler & Koch's USP. She already had the M P5k, but she wanted another back up. While they probably wouldn't be much use against what she was hunting, it was still a good idea to have a safety net in case she ran out of magic on the hunt. As far as weapons go, she could appreciate the mechanical nature of guns. Besides, as her nostrils flared with pride, she had to admit they were kind of cool.
Her friend however was less enthusiastic, looking rather worried for friend.
"Um, Constanze, why are you making a gun?"
With another sigh at having to break her train of thought in order to explain things to Akko, Constanze took the screen once more. She pulled up some web pages she had been looking trough, FA Qs and walkthroughs on how to kill an eldritch abomination. Realization stuck the Japanese girl.
"Wait!? Are you going after that thing!?"
Constanze just gave a single nod. Akko let that sink in a moment. Its not like she doubted Constanze or anything, but the way Minako talked about the thing was scary. On top of that, there was the way Diana drilled into her over and over again about not trying to go after this thing. She was so insistent. Looking rather sheepish, she tried to do the same and dissuade her friend.
"Maybe you shouldn't. I mean its dangerous right?"
Constanze hummed with annoyance as she pointed to a certificate on the wall that aloud her to participate in the Wild Hunts. She wasn't a stranger to danger.
"But did you forget who was with you?"
Akko looked rather smug as Constanze gave another annoyed hum, unable to deny it. Akko looked at the certificate, and then the pictures of the others having fun at New York. Everyone was telling her that this was a bad idea, but it felt to her like the right one. Taking a moment to think it over, she held out her hands in a shrug.
"I guess that settles it. If you are hunting this thing, I'm just going to have to come with you. I wish we were hunting that big red jerk instead, but this guy also sounds like a meanie, so I guess its ok."
Constanze looked back at the other girl. Akko's offer to back her up didn't annoy her as much as she thought it would. Infact, she was perfectly fine with it. She looked at Akko silently before simply turning back to work with out a word.
"Oh hey Constanze! Can I have have a gun too?"
A shiver went down the little gadgeteer's spine. Now that was a thought scarier then any eldritch abomination.
Reisen's eyebrow twitched slightly. That wasn't quite the reaction she was expecting. Did she get it wrong? She said this Heart of the Moon was a meadow where children played right? What's so scary about that? She was beginning to suspect the little dragon fly was trolling her. It wouldn't be the first time she was made a fool of by trying to follow a stupid fairy's internal logic. Trying to maintain appearances, the bunny girl scratched the back of her head sheepishly.
"Yeah, nerves of steel. That's the Bunny Corps for you..."
With that the bug size fairy returned to the bigger child size one. She got invited to hang out at this Heart of the Moon. She half suspected it to be a trap for the Tatl to continue messing with her, but she had to admit, now she was curious what this Heart of the Moon actually looked like. That would have to wait till later. It looked like things were finally starting to move.
As she listened, Reisen couldn't help but look unammused. They really were humans weren't they? Reisen had come from Gensokyo, a place of gods and monsters. For all the doom and gloom this Nyarthotep was getting, he sounded rather quaint. Immortality, knowledge into humans, shape shifting, and some magic? It wasn't quite earthshaking was it? If anything, he sounded kind of like an evil Enma, which was admittedly nothing to sneeze at. But unless they were hiding something form her, it sounded like Master alone would have been more then enough to overpower this creature.
Internal bragging aside, it really seemed like none of these Humans had ever fought something like a God before. One of them was even talking about trying to kill it. Actually, was that woman who said that even a human? She looked like a ghost. Doesn't matter. Trying to kill it seemed unnecessary and probably ill advised. Who knows what kinds of consequences killing something that powerful can have on the universe. If he really was the shadow of humanity, killing it could be like removing Yin from the collective unconsciousness of humanity. Somehow she got the feeling that this group hadn't considered such things. Infact, it sounded like this group had already tried to kill Death. Assuming it was an actual god of death and not just a moniker, she suppose she would have to thank Dracula later for maintaining balance in the universe.
In her experience, when a god gets uppity like this, you just got to smack them around a bit until they knock it off.
Actually, it seemed her power set was oddly suited for the enemy. She half considered suggesting distorting the waves around the creature so that everyone would only hear cat meows come out of its mouth instead of what ever line it was trying to feed them. But considering the Cure was watching, she got the feeling she would get her neck wringed for ruining to atmosphere if she tried.
As she prepared to speak, she had to consider her words. The whole reason she was here was to do some networking. But she has been told that her lunarian heritage could sometime make her come off...arrogant. With a break in the conversation, Reisen stood up and raised her hand, as if waiting to be called on in a class room.
"I have a number of questions. First, may I have one of those potions. I'm not a healer, but I may be able to replicate the effects for the future if I can have one to study."
Ah, back to selling medicine.
"So this thing is something of the manifestation of humanity's darker thoughts and impulses right? So isn't coming at it with killing intent driven by fear and anger akin to bringing torches to burn a fire god?
Also, while the Cure is limiting the aspects of this thing, its also limiting ourselves as well. However it seems there is less restrictions placed on this thing. In the interest of fair play, wouldn't it make sense to loosen our own restrictions for an even playing field? Or has the Cure planed for this scenario? Purposely catering balance so that a scenario just like this would play out?"
Just then a girlish scream rang out, followed by a Japanese witch running into the room.
"AAHHH! Its in my hair! Its in my hair! What is it!? Is it a spider!? Its a spider, I know it! Get it out! Get it out!"
After flailing about a bunch, the girl finally calmed down after she was sure whatever that thing that landed on her shoulder while she wasn't looking was gone. She checked to make sure her outfit was alright. She paid a large part of her allowance for this costume, it was a high quality replica. She was admittedly pretty apprehensive about getting it dirty on this little outing. But when it comes to something like this, you got to look your absolute coolest, and what cooler look is there then this!? For the others in the room, they would see a brunette Japanese teenage girl. Apparently a witch, judging from the hat, though they probably haven't seen such a showy witch outfit before.
◊
Having had a moment to collect her self, Akko pointed her staff at the one apparently in charge, looking pretty fired up and ready to go.
"Akko Kagari reporting for..."
Her words trailed off as her arms slumped to her side. She leaned forward and squinted. Wait, that wasn't Minako or Akihiko. Did she get the wrong room after all? She was sure she went into the right room this time! Slightly confused, Akko raised her own question.
"...who are you?"
Following the loud mouth was a silent German girl of short stature. The total disconnect between the two, one could almost be mistaken in assuming they had nothing to do with each other had they both not been wearing witch's hats. Unlike the flashy white costume, Constanze stuck with the ceremonial blue outfit of Luna Nova, albeit with her personal modifications
◊. Holding her personal firearm, she also had a M P5k slung around her shoulder and a pistol holstered. Along with her goggles, she looked like a little tactical witch.
She said nothing, but upon seeing Reisen, they both gave each other a look. They shared a silent Ah, so you are here too complete with dull surprise before Constanze was able to read the room to get an idea of what was going on. Having a question of her own, Constanze had her fire arm change into a small robot who then in turn changed into a small screen. Taking a moment to draw something in MS Paint, the short German girl rose the screen for Mitsuru to see.
It depicted a green squid face with a question mark next to it. Sure, Nyarthotep is nice and all, but they all had to be wondering where the big man himself is right?
Edited by ImmortalNeet on Feb 7th 2020 at 5:01:25 AM
How do you kill that which has no life?
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
Velvet Room
"As long as they don't let their personal grievances interfere with the mission, it's fine," Mitsuru assured the blonde Magical Girl with a small shrug. Then Reisen asked her questions, and as the heiress opened her mouth to reply, she was interrupted by the sudden shrieking of a different kind of magical girl.
"My name is Mitsuru Kirijou. I'm the Vice-President of SEES. Our team leader, Minako Arisato, will be with us shortly. I'm conducting the briefing in her stead," the redhead answered Akko first after a slight sigh, resisting the urge to fiddle with her single drill of hair, "I believe Akihiko said he showed you a picture of our entire team during the meeting on your first night here, yes? Perhaps I look familiar? Regardless, welcome to you and your friend, Kagiri."
"Back to the topic at hand..." She turned back to the lunar rabbit woman, frowning seriously. "We're aware that attempting to defeat our adversary while being driven by fear and anger could be an exercise in futility. That is why we have assembled out of a different sense of purpose, one not rooted in negativity. Arisato could put it better than I could, but forgive me, I'm not particularly one for impromptu rousing speeches. Suffice to say, we are attempting to focus on positive motivations, such as protecting others from the enemy's nefarious influence and making sure there is hope for tomorrow." Somehow she managed to deliver those lines with a straight face, phew. "And yes, we believe that The Cure is purposefully providing an opponent that is too strong to overcome by any single faction in order to observe what happens when we are forced to work together toward a common cause, hence still preserving a sort of fairness in pitting many against a few. As for the potions, we'll set one aside for you with the presumption that you'll return alive."
Mitsuru then peered at the mute girl's drawing, and tilted her head in uncertainty. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you're asking. I don't know of any individuals with tentacles growing from their faces, though perhaps that could fit the profile of one of Arisato's more exotic Personas."
Edited by darksidevoid on Feb 12th 2020 at 7:12:37 AM
GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs
Vampire Hunter
Velvet Room
"Sypha found her tied up in the room at the hotel she stayed at," Trevor explained to both Mao and Hei. "Between that morning and until after our first fight with Dracula on Battleworld when Death interrupted us, the demon was with us in disguise as Lady."
"And it was not toying with us... Sypha was its target, and if it succeeded, it would have been Sypha we would have to save and not Lady," Trevor continued his explanation. "That's why we got to listen to Mitsuru's advice... We need to have positive motivations when we go in, because the demon will certainly twist our negative emotions against us."
"Please do not say that demon's name here," Sypha said as she glared down at Kyubey. "Just call him Nyarly if you must speak of him here."
Sypha looked around, expecting things to start going bad when nothing happened. Yeah, Kyubey was far too alien to trigger the adverse reaction of the Velvet Room. She then winced when the Magical Girls of Mitakihara mentioned the monster they had to kill yesterday by the name preferred by their land.
"From what I have been told from Trevor, the... er, Witch had been corrupted by Nyarly," Sypha stated to them. "The demon attacked your land, same as many others, so they did their part to stop it."
Meanwhile, Shanoa walked over to the small screen with the drawing of a green squid face with a question mark next to it, recognizing the creature as a crude drawing of Malachi's head. "Oh, him... I do not believe their world's version of him is here on Battleworld."
Edited by GameGuruGG on Feb 12th 2020 at 10:02:01 AM
Wizard Needs Food Badly
Satori patiently waited for her mug to be filled, and then immediately blasted it back in one go.
Once that was all down, she looked at the two of them and how they hadn't left yet with disdain. "Stop thinking about that damned sort of thing around me. Anywhere but here..."
If they were here to murder her, they weren't doing a good job of it, she thought as she continued staring at them. There weren't many other reasons that someone would walk into a hole in the house and then hand someone a drink over, so...
...
Eventually, she sagged in a way that resembled a half-done shrug and said "I'm too tired to talk. Don't think too hard for a moment, and let me inside." Then, her Third Eye opened wide from its own bleary state, and tried its best to delve their minds for why they were trespassing right now.
The guard didn't respond to either girl's thanks, as he only stepped back and continued to stare forward.
It didn't take a long time for Misaki to find what she was looking for. Almost completely white against the ceiling's black stone, there was a long hole that was pouring in sunlight into Former Hell. A bit of rock tumbled down the hole and deeper inside, and there was a portion of the town in the middle of the city that was covered in, to them, an unnatural illumination. Some of its residents hadn't seen the sun in centuries.
A few of the youkai in the area mirrored her glances towards it, most sharing a worried look as they did so.
So it can be killed. Time would tell if it could feel pain, which was what Ozen was most interested in.
Beyond that, there wasn't much to know. It was some kind of omniscient evil, could read their minds, could leak all of your darkest secrets...mostly irrelevant to the fact that it could be beaten to death. Ozen felt that there wasn't a single terrible thing she did worthy of keeping a secret, so if she came across some nightmare spouting off all of her grisly accomplishments, she could merely point and say "It's telling the truth."
Worst comes to worst, she's not invited to another party like this until this is all over, and she can go back to sleeping for however many more days this thing would go on for. A true win-win scenario!
"I don't feel like you're going about this the right way," Ozen said to Mitsuru as she waved her jug around. "If you're concerned about a lack of positive feelings, get everyone drunk and high before we go in. Weed out all the sad drunks, and we're unbeatable. This Nyarlathotep," she gave a pointed glance towards Sypha, "mustn't be much if all you need to do is smile while you're killing it.
"I see." She didn't, but it wasn't a big deal and Delfi wasn't looking to possibly upset her companion. She would have almost thought the big ship made out of metal might have been an airship, if she hadn't already seen that this place had things she never even imagined could exist. But perhaps it was similar, which made her curious. Old memories rose to the surface for a moment, before she swiftly pushed them down. "Well it sounds like things turned out well for everyone."
The dark-skinned girl looked back over her shoulder as the monster stopped her brushing, before turning back once it resumed. She nodded lightly, humming in quiet enjoyment over the feeling. "I do. I'm curious about this fox leader and their ship, if you'd be alright with doing that?"
"I'll see what I can do." Was Tatsu's diplomatic reply, right before the man walked away. The three watched him go with varying muted reactions, before they glanced at each other. The young captain focused on Alfred, taking in his expression, and said, "It'll be her choice, but I don't think there will be a big problem regardless of what happens."
The trio stuck together quietly after that, watching the others scattered around the room. It seemed like a large part of them were familiar with each other already, and even friendly. Considering what he knew of the few people scattered around, that at least meant there was the possibility of allies with a number of groups, or at least no outright aggression. Once things were over, Tatsu felt it might be smart to approach some of them. But for now, there were more important things.
So as the briefing started proper, he turned his focus towards listening intently.
Edited by Alleydodger on Feb 15th 2020 at 12:15:05 AM
The Velvet Room (Hei): Simplicity in Its Purest Form
Hei mulled over Trevor's correction; targeting Sypha first did make a great deal of sense. The thing had done its hardest to get Sypha to kill Dracula back in the waterways, despite the fact the Count had surrendered and everyone was encouraging her to stand down. If Sypha and Lady had their positions switched now, they'd probably be facing even worse odds. Under this thing's control, who knew what sort of monster a literal witch would become?
Despite Mitsuru's claims and Trevor's insistence on their wisdom, the Black Reaper held some doubts about a "positive attitude" being the key to victory here. That said, the tall woman in black was being purposefully simplistic, even going so far as to tempt fate by uttering the thing's name.
Hei answered, but not before the thing's presence once more bled into the Velvet Room. Ozen needed that point driven home.
"Control of one's Shadow is just one of many defenses this thing has." the masked man replied. "There's at least a dozen people here who've seen it in action, and I'm sure they can all attest to how much punishment it can take in a fight. Dismemberment, decapitation, flooding its system with electricity, setting its body on fire, nothing we've thrown at it so far has stopped it. The thing just does what it wants, and leaves whenever it chooses. We've only discovered yesterday that its invincibility has limits: the dimensional crossroads it calls home is where it heals all the injuries it bore. If we fight it there, it has nowhere to run and lick its wounds. That's how we'll take the bastard down."
Maki shifted his gaze towards Yang to study her expressions. Sure enough, he spotted signs that Amber's Favorite was telling the truth—this monster could probably walk off attacks that would kill anyone else a hundred times over.
Still, something the Black Reaper bothered the young Huntsman. Rather than address the masked man directly, Maki took a half-step from Nora's side and spoke to the room at large:
"If it can control the world around it, then it can just run away and heal in its own realm. Or shield itself long enough to recover. Or even separate us to fight us one-on-one!"
"It's possible," Hei conceded, "but unlikely. At the end of the day, Mitsuru's right: the rule of 'fair play' applies to this thing as much as anyone else. There are limits to its abilities, even in its own dimension. For instance, it seems incapable of killing someone—that's why it's needed underlings in the past."
"And what if it just splits us up?" asked Maki. "It doesn't need to kill anybody to win."
"There are over fifty of us, and that thing isn't God; if it's spending all its time and energy trying to weave us through our own personal maze, then it'll be that much easier to take down with smaller numbers."
"You're putting a lot of faith in a weak plan." the boy leered.
"Destroying the Death Star wasn't a guarantee." Hei calmly replied. "And yet here we are."
Maki opened his mouth to respond, but a squeeze from Nora's hand told him that he'd said enough. By seeding doubt in the attack, he was only doing this monster a favor.
Former Hell: What A Nice Spot for Stargazing!
Misaki stared at the fresh wound in the city's primary defense. Her brow furled as she meditated on what something like this might do to Former Hell's stability.
"I'm just thinking about the strange twist of good luck this city had; if Zi-Jin Cheng hadn't been stomping around on the surface at the same time, your scouting party might've stumbled on everything down here. Former Hell was kept hidden because two states invaded it instead of just one."
"That's pretty cynical." the Dog scoffed.
"I suppose it is." sighed Misaki. "I don't mean it to be. It's just...I've got a bad feeling about this. Gestahl doesn't seem like the kind of leader who would be deterred by a missing scouting party. If anything, he'd probably just double the effort and invade the surface with even more troops."
"Then he'll bleed out more of his army's magic for little gain." the Contractor shrugged. "It's not like anyone here is an Esper replacement."
Misaki frowned. "We might know that, but do you think the Empire does?"
The Section Chief paused, having realized that she might have spoken a little too loudly.
"I don't know." she sighed. "Maybe I'd feel better if I knew there were demons down here who could hold their own in a battle. War might be coming to Former Hell, and all we know about their combat skill is in Danmaku."
"So we'll take a look around, and see if we can find someone tough and intimidating." chuckled the Dog. "Beats playing the tourist, at any rate."
Vayne nods as Dracula lays out his idea. "A fine idea, although one would need to be wary. Say what you will about this "Shao Kahn", he is very....simplistic. His ideas, motivations, goals, they are not exactly a challenge to discern. To install a new leader may backfire if she proves to be wiser then Shao Kahn. Removing one enemy only to elevate a smarter one is a fools game. But, as you are closer to this situation, in more ways then one, I will leave such determinations to you."
He reached into his pocket and removed a piece of paper. "As it so happens, my scouts picked up some rumblings of activity from someone who could be this "Kitana". Supposedly, a duo of terrorists has been causing havoc across Outworld. Burning supplies, killing high ranking generals, and otherwise doing their best to hamper Outworld's war machine. One appears to be a female, highly deadly, with two edged fans as weapons. That is likely her. The other is apparently a man in a simple straw hat, one who sees to wield mighty lightning elemental magicks, who goes by the name of "Raiden". And based on talk from what little of their "Speech" that the guards could discern from the ground troops, it would seem that Shao Kahn has taken a special interest in this man's death, even above his daughter. Have you any clue who this man could be?"
Wesker did not visibly react to the man's rage, only continuing to maintain his grin as the man before him nearly snapped.
"But of course." He said in a flat tone. "I wouldn't think to infringe on your hospitality. Rest assured, I will submit any requests I have, and you will, of course, be well within rights to refuse them if you wish. I won't take that away from you."
Then he shrugged.
"Thank you for your time. You're a busy man, I'll let you be on your way."
He'd wait for him to turn and start to leave, only to speak up again.
"Oh, by the way-"
He'd wait for the man to turn around again, then lower his sunglasses just enough so that his eyes were visible, and well......they weren't quite human.
◊
"I'd like to think I'm being quite reasonable here, practicing a level of patience that I don't normally tolerate. Consider this. We could do great things together, as allies."
The very word "Allies" seemed slick with bullshit. He clearly had a view of that word that probably diden't match most. Then he points at Jill, who hasen't moved an inch from the door.
"You don't want me as an enemy, Mr Nishijima."
Then he turns back around, clearly dismissing Nishijima.
V turned to face the young boy who was holding up a piece of paper and asking him a question.
"Ah, well that's the point, is it not? You see, I have been stripped of most of my power. Direct combat is no longer something I can do and expect to survive. But, this cane still allows me to contribute in some, small way. For when one of our allies brings an enemy to the floor, and renders them open, I will step forward, lift my cane, and....."
He lifts his cane and motions stabbing it directly into something on the ground, without actually hitting the floor.
".....bring an end to their threat. Do you understand?"
Out of one of the many doors, Breen emerged, slick with sweat.
"Ladies, Gentlemen, assorted non-humans, and whatever else is in the room!"
He waited for silence.
"The portal is just about ready. All we need do is assemble. If everyone going would please gather?"
He waited for people to start walking forward.
"Now, I must warn you. The portal itself is......unstable. This realm is unlike any I've built a portal to enter before. It would not be inaccurate to say that the very laws of reality, as we know them, are warped in this place. Because of both this, and the speed in which I had to build this, I cannot guarantee that there will not be problems. I've taken every measure to ensure that, in the event of a problem, the portal will dump you back in this room, rather then atomize you or otherwise leave you stranded somewhere in the universe."
Josuke, Okuyasu and Yukako - Velvet Room
Josuke began to grumble a bit after Mitsuru and Trevor's instructions. "So to beat this thing, we have to be as positive about it as possible? That's one hell of a tall order." No matter how much he tried, he couldn't help but be royally pissed towards the monster that caused a massacre in his hometown. Still, he mustered his determination and held his fist fiercely. "But I'm here to protect Morioh, so I'll just have to focus on that. Sounds like it's going to be hell no matter how happy we are, tough."
Yukako had her own tought on the matter. Tough finding positive motivation wasn't hard (she just had to think about Koichi), the rest of the explanations still bothered her. "It sounds to me like we'll have to count on another asshole who fancy himself a god to play fair for us to even a chance beating that Nyarly bastard. You can't really muster much positivity from that."
Okuyasu's attention, however, was caught by a girl about his age dressed like some sort of witch. Mostly by the fact that she seemed to have no idea what was going. I mean, yeah, she was cute, and that ouftit revealed more skin than he was used to see from a girl... But that wasn't the point! Shaking those embarassing feelings off, he greeted her as casually as possible while trying to look at her face without lowering his gaze any foot lower. And while also trying to hide his small embarassed blush. "Err, sup? Name's Okuyasu. Did you enter this room by mistake? We're going to do something real dangerous, so you better get out as fast as you can."
The room was full an array of people of all shapes and sizes, providing the trio with a microcosm of sorts of the greater Battleworld as a whole, and reminding just how alien this new place was. On the plus side, it meant that they would likely barely stick out as a group.Though, Tatsu was going to make sure to keep an eye on the two men that had felt the need to preemptively call out some unknown recent event. He'd seen the sort before, and could peg them as slimy pretty easily.
"Tatsu." The quiet call from Alfred beside him caught the young captain's attention, quickly glancing in his friend's direction and then following his gaze to a masked figure moving towards them. He felt Mono shift in closer to his side as he turned himself to face the figure, looking them up and down with a curious but friendly gaze. Tatsu nodded at the question. "It's Magonia, but we are, yeah. And sure, we're not going anywhere for the moment so go ahead."