Shadows of Sandfield RP Thread

The two phantom soldiers going after Heather started moving in to strike at her head and stomach with their battle staves, demonstrating a deal more finesse in combat than they did previously. They kept on their feet and moved about as they made their attacks, aiming to keep the offense up by moving around and surveying Heather's responses.

Jayden's chaotic response actually caught the two Phantom Soldiers going after him offguard. His weapon of choice seemed to distort in response to his chaotic emotions and panic, swirling, elongating, and slashing from various angles and positions - flowing up, down, and in serpentine patterns. Using his power and new mana was getting more and more natural to Jayden, and each move seemed to inform him of all the possibilities and potentials in what he could do with his new blade.

Mana swirling around Pablo's leg - and particularly intensely at the foot, the young man leaped forward and when one of the soldiers tried to block the attack with its stave, the stave was snapped in twain. The phantom was sent sprawling backward, and even as this happened, the other one stepped in to try and attack Pablo from behind.

"Well," Xander thought about it with a little bit of a blush on his face, "I'd like to go to the roller blade rink. You...don't need to worry about dinner, paying for the roller blades there, or anything. I've got more than enough money."

Xander then looked up the rink, and said, "It's in downtown Sandfield, right next to an old park."

He wasn't worried so much about his father discovering their liaison. After all, she had undergone the ceremony. So there wouldn't be anything logically objectionable about this occasion...right?

The phantom soldier this time smacked the javelin out of the air with its battle stave, and both of them started aggressively moving in on James' position. Both began striking at his calves, shoulders and back with quick jabs with their staves.

Matthew for his part shouted, "You can't just throw around attacks wildly any more..." he however then considered Jayden, "Well, unless you're Jayden I guess," Matthew rubbed his forehead, "Consider your tactics in close quarters and mid-range combat. Recall what your talents are, and apply your magic more strategically."

Training Day

Heather let out an uncomfortable-sounding glurk as the first hit impacted her stomach and she dropped into a crouch to try and defend her stomach and head from subsequent hits. She didn't defend them well but hey it was an effort.

"Okay! Okay turns out either I'm not as invincible as I thought or I'm feeling the pain without taking the damage! But now that you're all in melee range—!"

Without finishing the statement, Heather sprung up, claws manifesting as she tried to perform a kind of jumping circle slash at all those enemies so helpfully within reach.

Pablo knew he jumped too rashly as the hit connected, which only got confirmed by the blow to his back. He went crashing to the floor, but pushed himself up as fast as he could. The words of Matthew cut through him, and he tried to think.

What I am good at? He was always rushing, moving fast and hitting hard, and hoping he could survive whatever he would take...

But, like in a match, charging forward isn't the only choice

So, he tried to rush it again. It seemed the same plan, but at the last second...

"Gazelle Step" He tried to change directions in the last moment, if he did it right, he'll have a chance to use Burst Knuckle again.

Jayden

Huh. I'm doing surprisingly well.

"AAAAAAAAAAH—"

Yeah, Jayden just kept on swinging, continuing to do so until—with any luck—the Phantom Soldiers were dead.

Mina Parker

"Y-Yes!" Mina hadn't meant to sound so eager. Her heart was pounding, and she felt strange. What was happening to her? Maybe all girls went through this, irrespective of the person asking them out on a first date allegedly being an enemy. She'd have to ask her mother about this later, but then again, her mother had about as much emotional intelligence and knowledge of how normal people operated as a lobster. Hell, she would even consider Jackson as a better source of dating advice. "I mean, yes, I'd l-love to. I think I know th-the place. I'll just f-finish freshening up where I'm at and h-head out to meet you later, is th-that okay?"

She then headed back inside and made to tell Matthew that she was about to take her leave from training, when she was caught up in the fracas by surprise. As Phantom Soldiers began to surround and crowd her, raising their weapons menacingly, Mina panicked. "What the—get the fuck away from me!" she swore, before the ground shook.

It was a definite fact that Mina did not enjoy being the center of attention, and liked being crowded even less. Thus, it was no surprise that her sudden single-minded focus on making all the Soldiers give her some breathing room reacted with her magic to produce dramatic results. Walls of earth rose from around Mina, before rumbling and slamming outwards with great force, regardless of who or what was in the way.

Edited by JumpingFruit on Dec 29th 2021 at 11:35:27 AM

As the soldiers advanced, James stabbed at one of them with the javelin already in his hand. Matthew was right, they needed more coordination, he couldn't just throw random attacks at his opponents. He conjured a blade in his hand, cutting in a broad swathe in hopes it would slow the advance of his opponents . As he did so James began to withdraw, moving towards Heather and Pablo. "Everybody get in a group, they'll overwhelm us if we keep isolating ourselves"

And indeed, as James led the way in drawing inward toward Pablo and Heather, they would get some capable cover in the form of Mina's spell - the edges of earthen rock exploding out of the ground rippling outward. Skewering through about three of the Phantom Soldiers and forming a capable cover for the tactical retreat. Pablo's own spell got him out of trouble and closer to his friends, as the Phantom Soldiers started trying to pursue...

But had to deal with Mina's earthen improvised barriers that had been sent rippling outward from her position.

Heather's situation improved as she shredded through the staves of the Phantom Soldiers, and was then backed up by James' maneuver.

Meanwhile, Jayden's haphazard attacks it seemed were being adapted to. Even as his attack caught one of the Soldiers near him, the other moved in to try and strike him in the stomach with its war staff.

Matthew watched the match ongoing, and offhandedly when one of the soldiers' staves flew off through the air toward him, he proceeded to form a longsword in the blink of an eye and cut the errant staff into motes of light before unsummoning his sword. "Very good, everyone! If your enemy's got a plan and you're not in a good space, regroup and strike as a unit!"

"Hard to say how much it's intentional" Pablo noted, as he flipped with the remaining power of his spell.

"Everything alright with y'all?" He asked, looking at the others one by one.

Training Day

"Yeah ho-hoooooold on a moment. I'm a little... Widdle dizzy. Took a hit to the head there."

Heather stumbled a little and braced herself against one of the recently-crafted rock walls.

"Re-gret-ing that damage experiment... Still kinda wanting a ranged Totem because I don't think getting melee with guys with lethal intent is going to go well..."

As James reached the wall, he briefly surveyed his compatriots. Heather seemed to be faltering, and despite earlier appearance, so did Jayden. Separated as he was from the others, the latter probably required more assistance. James raised his empty palm towards the two phantoms attacking the boy. "Material flame, principle of division, your baseness subordinates you to my will, reduce my foes to ash"

The two phantoms attacking Jayden were promptly immolated by the flame summoned forth by James - it seemed his spellcraft was getting stronger as he used it. Kind of like a muscle being worked. The wispy ashes of the phantoms dissipated as they drifted toward the ground.

The remaining Phantom Soldiers seemed to take by necessity a rather tactically unsound decision to keep on their aggressive streak against the teens. They could not quite break through the jagged earthen spikes created by Mina, so they started going around the spikes and began moving toward a choke point created between two of the jagged earthen pieces.

Inadvertently putting themselves into quite a situation between Mina and her friends - if ever there was a time to see the tactical position they were in, now was it.

Matthew watched this go on, and smiled, As inadvertent as it is, this should teach them what they can do with a large number of enemies going forward.

"No more plans involving taking a beating then" Pablo said, taking a second to answer Heather. He still winced at his own hit, but there were more important things to worry about.

"Block each side!" He called. If he was right... "Come, Sword Of Light" He called, aiming to extend it through his targets.

Mina Parker

Breathing hard, Mina blinked and marveled at her own power. This rivaled the moment when she had made the school's concrete crack beneath her, and she felt the rush of magic within her. This was dangerous, and yet she felt like she had left all her worries behind. There was only the fight, and her friends beside her.

The soldiers were moving forwards and towards them now, and Mina found that she knew exactly what to do. She suddenly brought her hands together in a forceful clap, aiming to squash the soldiers between the walls of earth that she had summoned.

Edited by JumpingFruit on Jan 5th 2022 at 2:39:24 AM

Training Day

Heather had just about recovered her bearings by the time the nearby rocks slammed against the remaining holographic enemies.

"Hot damn Mina! Geomantic devastation looks good on ya girl."

She gave a thumbs-up before taking a step back to stay out of the potential splash damage of the party's finishing moves... And make sure there wasn't any the group missed going around for a flanking maneuver.

As Mina brought the rock walls down on the phantoms, James guarded the shrinking gap between them, swinging his sword at any that managed to escape. He was heartened to see his comrades coordinate themselves so effectively. He still wasn't sure they would survive their raid on the Umbrals, but at the very least they would put up a good fight.

Phantoms - Finished

As the walls of earth constructed by Mina grew tighter, if the phantoms were human they might've realized they were being bottlenecked - right before the finishing blows were delivered in stunning fashion. Pablo's sword of light extended right through a good 2/3's of the Phantom Soldiers - resulting in them slumping forward and ending up pinned in time for James and Heather to flank them.

The strategy paid off as the remaining Phantoms were unable to get out of the way as they had done before...

...And each one dissolved as they were cut to ribbons right then and there. As soon as the fight was done, the students would hear a bright and enthusiastic clap coming from their teacher. Matthew exuberantly laughed, nodding along as he walked forward toward their earthen walls, "Bravo! Bravo! You took all my direction and applied right in the heat of battle! Very well done, everyone. You keep going like this..."

He looked at the time, and shook his head, "Not much time for another round. Jayden, first and foremost...there's no easy way to ask this of anyone. But I'd like to have you wear...what's basically a wire during dinner."

He turned to the others, "I have a feeling Mina has her own thing she's doing, but everyone else, I've got something lined up for you during the dinner."

Mina Parker

"W-Well...that was...s-scary..." Mina remarked between pants of breath. Scary though it had been, it had also been very informative about her abilities. She felt better going forward about her exact power level, and anyone who challenged her from this day forward had better beware! "But I f-feel good! That was v-very invigorating!"

"I...yes, there's th-that thing I have to go do. If e-everyone doen't mind, I'll b-be going now," she added in a more subdued manner. She saved goodbye to the others as she went to prepare for her date with Xander.

Edited by JumpingFruit on Jan 7th 2022 at 3:06:14 AM

Training Evening

"Heck yeah, group mission! And slash or extra training."

Heather slipped off her hat and tried to work out the tenseness that had built during the mock-battle where she got her ass kicked on purpose.

"Though if we're making a long night of this can we like, order pizza? I'm a little hungry after that batch of training."

"Oh yeah," Matthew nodded, "If all goes as it should, there'd be very little chance of any further conflict tonight. I'll make the order. Any particular pizza requests? Dietary requirements?" Matthew asked as he fished out his phone. He knew he hadn't heard back from Jayden yet about the whole "wearing a wire while at dinner with your family" thing. It might be a bit much for him. Family always made these kinds of things...complicated.

He knew that one from experience. Seeing as it seemed Mina did indeed have her own business, Matthew waved goodbye to her and hoped she had a good night.

This wasn't going to be an all-hands thing. He just hoped she was gonna keep herself safe tonight. As these things ramped up, it seemed like certain elements in Sandfield could tell...

Mina's Home

When Mina got home, it seemed as she started getting ready for the date that Bryce was quite antsy about it. The artificial brother, now clad in a light blue and white patterned sweater vest, a long sleeved t-shirt and jeans, seemed to recline on the couch. He bit his lip and stated, "You knuh-know how I feel about that Xander guy."

A brief blush on his face from his words slipping up. And then Bryce continued, "He's just not someone you can trust. I don't like how he's just all lovey-dovey. You know what they say about apples and trees, especially with a tree like Kellon Nyczus."

It seemed her father was out - left a letter in his study saying he'd be out late, and thus, she would be home with Bryce.

"A job, huh? That'll be interesting" Pablo noted, shrugging. He did a couple rounds on his uncle's place to at east keep a semblance of normality. But a mission sounds like an improvement, if only to keep going forward.

And pizza, always awesome.

"Mine with meat"

Mina Parker

"I h-had no objections when you w-were here with that other g-girl," Mina reminded Bryce. "B-Besides, dad was pushing for me to g-get with Xander already. I have his f-full approval. It's p-probably for the f-family anyways, and d-dad would protect me if I t-told him there was anything w-wrong with the arrangement."

"Y-You, on the other hand..." she paused for a moment, to let it sink in. "I d-don't know if dad knows about y-your girlfriend yet. Or if h-he'd approve. I kn-know it's probably harmless, but if y-you're my brother, you're next in l-line to inherit the family fortune. Y-You should consider your p-paramours more carefully. I'm s-sure dad would agree, y-you know, and I'm n-not sure how he'll react. But if you l-let me have my r-relationship, I'm sure I can h-help dad come around to y-yours." The alternate implication, lurking in the background, was apparent, though hidden behind Mina's facade of a caring sister. "Deal?"

Edited by JumpingFruit on Jan 10th 2022 at 4:26:13 AM

Jayden

Well...they'd won. Woohoo, he guessed.

God, I can't wait for this to be over.

At the wire question...Jayden hesitated. His eyes darted side-to-side, and his hands fidgeted. But eventually, he just let out a resigned sigh and said, "Yeah, okay, I can do that."

Not like I have much of a choice.

Training Day

"Uh... Well I don't know the current state of the Pineapple Discourse so best to stay safe and request BBQ Meatlovers?"

Heather shrugged and stepped off to the side to polish her Totem-shades.

"So what's our special training for the evenin' gonna be, sensei?"

"I'm more of a plain cheese man myself, but pizza is pizza as far as I'm concerned"

James turned to Jayden, looking him in the eye "If you aren't comfortable with this then I can't and won't make you do it. You're a member of this team and your input matters just as much as anyone else's. We've all been through a lot this past week or so, you especially"

He felt awkward saying it, but the kid had never had an easy go of it, and finding out his mom was an evil genius could hardly help in that regard. More importantly, he felt guilty about getting him to interact with Reiji. If something truly awful came of it they would all be at fault.

Matthew pulled out his phone and started dialling up the local pizza place for the orders. He figured that Jayden deserved a bit more say in this, and admittedly, he didn't exactly enjoy asking this of someone. But the fact was, they had to figure out what was going on - for the sake of everyone living at Sandfield, and those who might end up hurt if things escalated even further. Going by some of the indications, it seemed like whoever was responsible for this third faction had massive resources, legacy from the New Order, and was well connected to the possible new regime.

And that gave him very good reason for pause.

Things could be bad if the world got submerged in chaos when the Masquerade fully failed out. Things could get a whole lot worse if the regime that stood to come in was sympathetic to a bunch of insidious death squad types.

"Alright everyone," he said, looking around, "The pizza's been ordered, and...well. Honestly, the choice really should be more yours, Jayden. Sorry if I pushed anything on you."

Bryce for his part winced at the point Mina made, bristling at the critique she had of his girlfriend, "She is not like that! Dad wouldn't..." He groaned when he realized what kind of situation she'd gotten him trapped in. Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, the young man shrugged, "Alright...alright. Fine by me. I'll stand out of your way with this Xander relationship thing..."

He crossed his arms in front of his chest, "But don't say I never warned you."