soul_logs | Phase 3: Mission 153

Entry tags:

Phase 3: Mission 153

Characters: Grand Canyon mission goers, victims, medics
Location: Grand Canyon
Rating: R
Time: Feb 5, 2009, mission starts at dawn
Description: Event links list.

The scouts had done their jobs well and the mirror deposits its travelers just at the end of the area Shibusen has closed off as their mission target. It's still dawn, the sun barely visible over the horizon. The witches hasn't noticed them there yet, the scouts say, so it's still possible to take them by surprise.

This is what the agents are told: In the rock face of the Grand Canyon is a cavern system made up of many small caves and three large ones. The large caves contain a kishin egg pit, the kidnapped agents and civilians, and what appears to be a machine at one end. There are about five dozen zombies crawling the area, and an equal number of ants, spiders, and ravens on top of it.

Worst of all, the scouts report that they had sighted a few of the agents patrolling for the Witches. The scouts hadn't been certain if these ones had soul perception or other abilities, and had given the area as much space as they could in order to avoid an early confrontation. Still, it's bad news and it looks like a fight with some of the kidnappees themselves is inevitable.

Not much time is given to the agents after the briefing before they're being ushered into place. A few scouts are going to be causing a commotion some distance away to distract the familiars and zombies, clearing a path for the agents. After that, it's all up to them.

[ooc: Just put up your own threads with the subject line [Characters][Feeding Cave/MMM Cave/Kishin Egg Pit/Elsewhere][Open/Close]
Kidnappees can go thread in the caves while waiting for the rescuers, too.
For those who want to thread with a witch, please add it in the subject line so we know where to go!
This day change will be one week irl.
The mirror will stay open for anyone who needs to be rushed back to the medics.
For those handwaving, please put your summaries here for the meister points and soul tally record.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It hadn't been a particularly difficult fight, if he actually thought about it. The spider witch was still a bit young, all things considered. Strong, sure, and incredibly shrewd, but Stein and Spirit could handle Medusa on a bad day.

But Spirit had been so distracted, worried about everything going on inside the caves and outside around them and keeping a tight grip on Stein's sanity while he was at it. Spirit was the best, but he was also exhausted and maybe, just maybe, he might have overestimated his own ability to keep up with things. It was a good thing that Stein was as experienced as he was, or his partner would have gotten into more than a bit of trouble, but at least they'd dispatched that witch to take care of the other one with Tiger and his partner.

Heh, Spirit had good feelings about Tiger. He still remembered their talk about their daughters, and Maka always made Spirit feel warm and cheerful (when he wasn't remembering how much of a bad dad he was that it made him sadly depressed, anyway).

Speaking of that lizard Witch, Spirit remembered him from all the other missions, too. She'd been going after Shibusen for a while now. "Pity we didn't manage to keep her alive," Spirit mused, already in his weapon form as they surveyed the rest of how the mission was faring -- towards the tail end of the mission now, with their group's post here near the entrance to stop the things outside from getting in to reinforce the enemy inside. He ached all over.

Edited 2012-03-30 12:52 (UTC)

"There are always other witches to track down and capture."

To his credit, Stein was holding up pretty damned well. He had been laying low since his return to Death City, occasionally shadowing his partner, mostly doing his own thing. He was also somewhere back to As Sane As He Could Possibly Be, which was good.

Of course, that nasty little incident with the water supply and all of the other things that had happened afterward had not done wonders for his condition, but he was dealing, just as he was dealing now.

The Meister looked about as well, ready to brandish his scythe and go for the next target that presented itself.

Barnaby was actually pretty surprised they managed their way out of that one. After those odd bouts of whatever mental disconnect they had been facing, along with the chaos of the kidnappings and people running amuck, he couldn't believe that two of their opponents had ended up being witches. It was only last month that they had faced their first kishin egg, and their first mission. If the first three weeks in this city were this chaotic, Barnaby really wasn't sure what the rest of their time would be like.

He was just glad they survived. Against demonic eggs and now freaky lizard people and awkward not-really-children, Barnaby almost started to lose faith. The tag-team helped. Working with an experienced duo, getting to learn about what they would probably have to face in the near future, was a solid, hands-on way to learn about the goings-on in this world. He honestly just wished it wasn't so messy or as troubling as it was.

With a heavy sigh, he popped the joints in his hand, still trying to get over that while glancing around at the three others. Well, Stein and Spirit seem alright enough, Spirit managing that little joke. A pity... Yes, perhaps. Weren't they supposed to kill them? Was that alright? Barnaby wasn't sure he could find the humor in it, but he hoped that this alarmed feeling would go away sooner rather than later. He's doing a good enough job keeping it well contained, thankfully... But he knows once they get back, he's definitely looking into this.

But until they're back... "Are we done?" he asked.

Of course he hadn't been expecting anything that had happened, and that most certainly could be extended to the moment he and Barnaby had arrived at Death City, but this mission was more than anything else he'd been able to handle. To be honest he'd had no clue of what to picture as soon as he'd heard they'd be fighting witches. All he thought of was wrinkly faced, evil-looking women with crooked noses on broomsticks, but of course since he'd just fought off giant insects it was most likely something worse than that.

Still, fighting them would have been okay. Would have admittedly been a memorable experience because, who knew witches existed? But killing them? Killing was...

In order to keep his hands from shaking he quickly ran his hands through his hair and stuffed them in his pockets, looking over his shoulder to frown in Stein's direction. "If you wanna take care of that for some kinda extra credit then that's fine, but we're done here." For a split moment, the tone of his voice changed from frustrated to almost concerned. Or not concerned, but worried. Nervous. Hesitant. It was only now that you could tell how tired he was, and not just physically.

"Right?" He couldn't do this again, not yet. Killing was... not an option for him. Never an option. Even if they were fighting witches, lizard people things, whatever. It unnerved him so much that he hadn't been able to keep up his weapon form as soon as the other pair had met up with him and Barnaby. Even his partial form was out of the question for the moment.

"We stopped counting credits when I turned into a Deathscythe," he returned distractedly, tugging at the overgrown forelocks hanging over his ear. Stein seemed to be doing well, well enough that Spirit didn't have to keep constant contact with him to keep his wavelength in check. Still, Spirit sat on a rock by Stein's feet and kept his shoulder pressed to his meister's calf.

"And... I guess we are for now. You did a good job holding up against that witch," he added with something like a reassuring smile toward the other pair. All he wanted to do was to curl up and shut down his mind for a few hours, and maybe take a long bath and rub out the grit of sifting through zombie bodies from under his nails, but this entire thing wasn't done yet and it was hard to stop his anxiety when so many civilians and agents still waiting to be rescued.

The witches had been feeding them to kishin eggs. Spirit wanted to be sick, and turned into a pallid shade of greenish pasty.

This wasn't the sort of thing that anyone should do in any war ever. He didn't know what was going on anymore, why their side and the enemy side were doing this. Spirit's grip on Stein's wavelength turned just a bit desperate.

Stein caught on to it immediately, even though it didn't look like it. The Meister responded with a slight nudge against his partner's soul, offering his presence. Just that, really: that he was there. That things were going to be okay. He'd save the nagging for later.

Yes, Spirit: there was going to be a lot of nagging.

He did not offer any comments to the pair that was with them. Spirit was the better talker.

Done. Finally. He was glad the more experienced pair seemed to think of this as a proper conclusion, even though it ended as it did. Kotetsu seemed rather spent as well, Barnaby could just tell. Killing was just a heavy thing to deal with.

Was it really so common here? Just like that?

Maybe for the professionals. He spent a good long moment just studying the two from his own seat on the ground, then ran his hand through his hair. It felt calm. An exhausted but conclusive sort of calm. "I'm glad we could help in some way or another. That was definitely a challenge," Barnaby said, letting his eyes turn back to his dirtied boots. He'd definitely be hosing these off.

Startling at the compliment, Kotetsu nodded back at Spirit and actually offered a small smile of his own. From what he got from their first conversation he was a good guy and he was actually pretty glad that they'd gotten to work together. Reliable, caring, doting of his daughter. He could definitely get along with him and ignore how creepy his partner seemed.

As he watched Stein and Spirit in front of him with a curious look, he felt his stress and agitation settle somehow. He hadn't exactly ever had a chance to watch another meister and weapon pair this closely before. He couldn't even really include himself and Barnaby, not just because the two hadn't exactly had much under their belt in terms of missions or even training. It was... nostalgic, almost. Heartwarming. He'd never known what it was like to work with a partner until he'd met Barnaby and after almost 3 years he couldn't imagine things being any other way. Until he arrived at Death City of course and all that had changed. They were still partners, but it wasn't the same as before. Not as close as they used to be. There was a gap there, and watching these two just reminded him of that fact.

That weird nostalgic feeling in his stomach suddenly changed, something heavier with a lingering sting to it but as soon as he was aware of it Kotetsu shoved it away and distracted himself with some impromptu stretching. The hell is he doing getting depressed and, dare he say it, jealous? At a time like this?

"Well I'd say it was at least good for some exercise but we got enough of that way back when the earthquake hit. Now we're just over-doing it. Sorry we couldn't help out mo-- ggk!" There was a quick wince as something popped back into place with a loud snap. Hopefully that was supposed to do that. "M-more... but I'm hopin' we can call it a day now, finally. You two aren't looking so hot."

Just like that, some of the tension deflated off the redhead's shoulder. Nothing quite like a good nudge around the rib area of the soul to cheer up him, right?

"You helped out fine," he said reassuringly before he could even think about it, just instinctively willing to offer comfort where he thought it was needed. Judging from Tiger's expression earlier, he probably did need it a bit, although regarding what, Spirit wasn't sure. "Missions aren't usually this difficult or so... so large. Even if there's a war, Witches don't usually come out at all like this, let alone so many of them at a time. Hopefully, this shuts down this leg of their operation for a while. There've been others..." Right, that probably wasn't much help, and he let that thought trail away.

"But as I was saying, you helped out just fine," he ended firmly.

"And we should probably go soon."

Their area certainly LOOKED clear enough, all things considered. Stein was of the mind to check other areas of the operation before pulling out. They could probably take a few more kishin if they needed to fight their way back, but witches?

"You three ready?"

"So they're normally smaller encounters?" Barnaby inquired. That did seem like a bit of excess, but he was still getting used to what was or wasn't considered the norm in the city.

He was, however, quite glad when they planned to leave. With a small nod, he stood up. "I know I am." Time to head back, to a nice, non-thinking evening.

Cracking his knuckles to finish things off, Kotetsu kept his gaze on Spirit, not exactly willing to let the whole issue go that easily but he knew that if he asked questions he'd just hear more disappointing things and he really couldn't handle dwelling on more than he already was.

"But usually doesn't mean always. I guess that just means we need to get better so we can put up more of a fight next time, big or small." He looked over his shoulder at Barnaby, offering him a tired smile. "Right, Bunny?"

With that all said and done, Kotetsu gave a long heavy sigh. "Ready! I need a shower, a drink and sleep. If I could do all three at the same time then that'd be perfect."

"Yeah. We didn't use to get these big operations until... well, lately. But I guess a lot has changed. Don't worry, I'm sure you have the time to adapt to here."

Still, Spirit's expression brightened at Tiger's declaration, and he got up himself. "You could drink while in the shower, and fall asleep there, yeah?" he suggested, warming to the idea.

"Your partner could always come in once in a while to make sure you haven't drowned. Right, Bunny?" He hadn't even meant to pick up the nickname, only Spirit had grown up in Shibusen, and in the academy, one got to pick any name they wanted upon joining. In some misguided hope that the guests were taking to local Shibusen culture, he thought that was just Barnaby's chosen alias. There were stranger names than Bunny, anyway. Like "Eternal Feather", for example.

Stein, in the meantime, took a long drag from his cigarette, watching the three. Drinking while in the shower...

"That's a stupid idea, Spirit."

Barnaby visibly twitches when Spirit uses the nickname. Was it subconsciously catching on? For as much as he had gotten used to it, he would punch Kotetsu in the face if that had become a new 'name' for him in this city. "Barnaby, please," he corrected the deathscythe.

"But I'm inclined to agree with your partner here. Drinking in the shower just sounds far too ridiculous for words." If Kotetsu tried it, Barnaby probably wouldn't think twice of letting him drown in there. But of course, those little quips weren't quite fitting of the 'hero' profession, so he held back that one fast.

Of course Kotetsu will never understand the agonized woes Barnaby has about being called a rabbit, let alone in public, so he doesn't even bat an eyelash when Spirit repeats the name. And when he's corrected, that certainly doesn't mean he's stopping anytime soon either.

"No no, it's not that bad! I don't think it'd really work though. I mean, I've had a drink in the tub before, and I've been so tired I've fallen asleep in the shower a couple of times but I've never done all three at once." His face wrinkles up in thought, scratching at his cheek.

"Probably not a good idea since I'd just end up walking outta there all wrinkly. And I don't need to be bugging Bunny about keeping me awake in there. That's a waste of water too."

Thankfully the more he rambled, the less and less tired he was starting to be and so sleeping seemed less likely. He'd crash at some point of course but for now, all he really wanted was a drink. Drinks. Just a couple, nothing too excessive.

"Then I guess taking a shower first, drinking, and then sleeping," Spirit persisted, going right through Stein and Barnaby's words because unfortunately for them, once Spirit latched onto an idea, it was hard to make him let go. Besides, Tiger certainly didn't seem to mind exploring this theory. One could even say they were both in their element!

And it was a good distraction as any, while they were making their way back.

"Because I mean, it's not nice to drink while you're all dirty and dusty, right?" And Canyon dust was a strange shade of red orange, really very visible on their clothes by now. Good thing Spirit was a redhead. "And if you drink after a shower, then you and Bunny can drink together and that sounds nice."

The look on Stein's face at that moment could have only been described as long suffering. His gaze briefly landed on Barnaby - a look of understanding - before he was walking off.

Part of him quietly resolved to never end up getting stuck between Kotetsu and Spirit at a bar unless he absolutely had to.

Barnaby caught Stein's look and nodded. At least he wasn't alone in this annoyed feeling.

"It's Barnaby," he corrected again, but he doubted either weapon was listening to him now. Crossing his arms, he just watched the two chatter ahead. Well, if they headed back first, Barnaby could lock himself in his room.

"Bunny, don't be so rude!" Kotetsu quipped over at his partner in an almost scolding manner. Stop trying to correct things and give yourself a good image, it's not going to happen with Kotetsu around. Never.

Completely content to let the other two stay out of this bizarre conversation, Kotetsu focused all of his attention on Spirit, feeling far more energetic than he was a few minutes ago.

"Are you kidding, Bunny almost never wants to drink with me now! It's not a big deal though since he's just kinda like that. He can't hold his liquor down very well either... I mean you can't blame him, he likes wine more." Spoken as if that was some sort of character flaw now.

"And he even drinks milk before he goes to bed! He's like a little kid, haha!"

And now the personal information is being whipped out. This is not going to turn out well at all.

Perhaps Spirit was really only hearing Bunny instead of Barnaby, but he didn't hear that, either, and continued to ramble on with the other father.

"Oh, I guess it's because of his age, right? Young ones always prefer the finer things in life than the old guys like us," he laughed, recalling all the beer he'd taken down. Then again, Spirit liked all sorts of alcohol. Being Deathscythe made him far less likely to succumb to any of them.

"Milk is good for the bones! I always tell Maka to drink more, but she gets mad at me!" And then Spirit turned around to sort of walk backwards, waving at Stein and Bunny behind them. "Stein likes milk these days, too. Right, Stein? I guess you and Bunny have a lot in common!" If 'a lot' amounted to drinking milk, then his logic wasn't entirely flawed, right?

What he and Barnaby seemed to have in common was the fact that they were saddled with idiots. Stein kept at pace with Barnaby, and his eyes on their surroundings.

"I distinctly recall that you forced me to drink milk, senpai."

Those little teasing remarks were enough to bring a bit of color to Barnaby's cheeks. Really, just being in Kotetsu's presence for long amounts of time was just enough to embarrass him sometimes, especially with the old man doing things like that. At least he could find some sort of solace walking closer to Stein, feeling a little closer to this man due to his calmness and... lack of stupidity, for lack of better description. Barnaby didn't like judging people right off the bat, but... He was. He judged so hard.

There was nothing wrong with milk, but he was losing all wish to argue with them. With a small roll of the eyes, he leaned in a little closer to Stein. "Perhaps when we return to the city, we should just leave them to their own devices," he whispered. "You don't think they'd wreak havoc on the city, do you?"

"Well you say that but then Bunny ends up liking things like opera and even that's not for me. He's like a little bit of both sometimes, it's weird." Before he continues with embarrassing his partner, Kotetsu takes a few seconds to glance over in Stein's direction to see if there's any resemblance. He squints, tilts his head, stares at the screw in his head... keeps staring... starts to feel a little creeped out and decides that there is most definitely not any kind of similarity between the two at all, aside from the milk. There's no way Stein is as cute as Barnaby.

"Ah, I had that problem with Kaede before too. But she's getting so big already that the last thing I want is for her to get even bigger, y'know? Imagining her getting as tall as me one day is just too much!" Kotetsu laughed, rubbing at the back of his neck... and then suddenly paused as an idea hit him.

"Oi, so you drink right? And I'm not talkin' about a little nightcap before bed." Asked with a bit of a glint in his eye. Operation Get a Back-Up Drinking Buddy For When Barnaby Is a Joy-Kill is underway.

"The opera," Spirit echoed, not certain what to do with that information because it seemed so odd and out of nowhere for him. "He's very refined, yeah?" he said insted, because that was the exact word that he had been looking for before, when they were talking about wine and beer.

He was about to say more, but then Tiger mentioned his daughter and that brought up Maka in his own vision, and, well. He and Tiger had a lot in common, what could he say? "It's a good thing I'm super tall to start with." Being over six feet tall, anyway. "So I bet Maka won't get to be as tall as me! But she won't be small forever, either..."

What was that? "I do, when I have the time. Used to drink over at the Chupa♥Cabra, but I've stopped..." After a couple of witches tried to kill him, and anyway, Spirit promised Maka that he would try to play it straight from now on, and that meant no flirting around with the hostesses. "Bitch's Brew is the place to go these days, though!"

[Spirit/Stein/Tiger and Bunny][Cavern Corridor Thing][Close]

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