Phase 3: Mission 153

[soul_mods]

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.]

Comments

[dungenessmaster]

"You're going to feel like a total frondhumping asshole when we force those words back down your protein chute," Karkat snarled, almost in time with Hanabi's first sentence. For a second resonation wavered, then he focused and brought his end of it back as strong as before. This wasn't going to be easy. Lain was pretty obviously crap with her sword, so other than looking out for zombies or worse behind them, she wasn't going to be much of an advantage. Just him and Hanabi holding up against a ninja with all kinds of skill.

He kept his attention focused on Neji, waiting to see if he would break Hanabi's blocks and force him to use a shield.

idek i suck at fight scenes sorry sob

[heavenly_earth]

An eyebrow twitched in response to the insult, mouth tightening into a thin line as he bore down on the pair with a series of strategic strikes. They were frail looking in appearance, and Karkat's Weapon form got in the way of most of them, but they were meant to disable and aimed to cripple.

If it was a normal weapon, he'd just wrench it from Hanabi's grip and slam his palm into her chest cavity, but as it continued to sabotage his efforts, the Jounin abruptly switched tactics and threw a leg out, spinning rapidly, then threw a sharp punch to the girl's face straight for one of the eyes she was so proud of.

[usedforcepalm]

Hanabi was grateful that Karkat's Weapon form had so many sharp edges. The best way to protect both him and herself was to ensure that she kept those edges protecting areas of her body that Neji would most likely strike at. It didn't save her from all of them, but between blocking and dodging, she was spared the worst of it. At least, until his punch made impact. The pain of the blow sent her reeling back and her eyes watered involuntarily from the sting.

Gritting her teeth and trying to focus herself, she realized she hadn't managed to land a significant blow on Neji yet. The precious few openings she'd seen hadn't been viable options - she wanted to take him down without permanently crippling or killing him. She needed to strike his legs with her Soul Menace, and to do that, she'd need to fake out a genius from a clan known for its powers of observation.

But then, she was from the same clan as well, and self-preservation instincts could be used against a person. She shook off the blow as best she could and prepared herself. When she darted in, she raised Karkat as though she meaned to slash at Neji's chest with him, projecting that intent in her body language as best she could until she dropped low at the last second, striking with her palm at the back of Neji's knee. A surge of her soul wavelength pulsed into the joint, as well as into his calf and thigh. Springing up, she aimed a punch at his ribs and then hopped nimbly out of reach - for the moment at least.

[dungenessmaster]

The battle was fast-paced -- and really, what else would you expect from ninja kids? -- and Karkat failed to get the shield up before Neji landed his punch. He snarled to himself, frustrated, and determined to watch their opponent and do better next time.

There wasn't much for him to do, really. Different partner, different sort of enemy, very different battle style. He settled in to keep an eye on Neji and focus on keeping their resonation steady as Hanabi moved in quick and landed what looked like one hell of a hit.