soul_logs | [OPEN] Mission 155

Entry tags:

[OPEN] Mission 155

Characters: Open to those who signed up here.
Location: An unmarked cavern system outside Death City.
Rating: Various.
Time: March 18th, sunrise.
Description: Shibusen agents brave underwater caverns to take out the first of three Madness emitters.

Missiongoers pile out of the mirrors early in the morning, just as the first hints of sun start to color the walls of the sandstone canyon red and purple; it'll be the last bits of real light they'll see for at least a few hours. The atmosphere is electric -- there're quite a few new (and old) arrivals who're eager to see some action, but just as many people who're feeling rather more apprehensive… And for good reason.

The only way to their destination is blocked by a few hundred yards of sunken tunnels. Luckily they've been provided with mouthpieces, breathing apparatuses with enough oxygen to last about ten minutes: more than enough time, provided that the guests don't lose their way in the dimly-lit, twisted caverns. It's as easy as following the person in front of them, right?

Upon emerging safely from the pool onto mostly-dry land, they'll find themselves in an immense cavern, illuminated by countless, blue fungi clinging to the walls and ceiling, looking like stars dotting a night sky. Already the first signs of the way Madness has been corrupting the wildlife are evident: the mushrooms exude strange spores that make some people's head pound the same way the increasingly noticeable Madness wavelength does.

As they travel further into the watery caves and explore its many branches, they'll begin to encounter creatures twisted by Madness: moles, snakes, beetles, centipedes, all grown to monstrous proportions, some with a venomous bite that quickly turns their victim feverish and delirious. The more daring fighters can easily dispatch those and delve even deeper, and it's near the source of the Madness, in the chamber housing the emitter itself, that they'll encounter the kishin eggs.

There're dozens of them-- eyeless, white, vaguely human-shaped things, but despite their blindness they have no problem finding their quarry, fighting with claws and exuding their own Madness wavelength. If the missiongoers can stand strong against the kishin eggs and the ever-present wavelength given off by the Madness emitter, Shibusen's specialists will have enough time to shut the machine down for good.

OOC NOTES.
- The event summary post containing all relevant links is located here.
- Make your own threads, but please indicate in your subject line [CHARACTER(S) | LOCATION | OPEN/CLOSED] and, if applicable, if you need a kishin egg NPC!
- The locations are the sunken tunnels, the medics area, the cave system, and the emitter chamber, but only the medics will have their designated sub-thread.
- If you have any further questions, the mod thread on the coordination post is here!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hmph. Yeah, they did. [ Madness, the weird effects on the environment...did this really have to do with witches? He wasn't going to complain. Some action was better than none. He continued farther down the cave. He was no expert on wildlife but...the fungus didn't exactly look normal. Of course, this was a damp cave, so maybe the conditions were just right for this kind of stuff...Like Caer Bocram. ]

Ever been in a place like this before, Ange? [ Things still seemed quiet. A little chit-chat would keep them up and alert. Besides, the lull was kind of boring. ]

Do I look like the type that hangs out in caves regularly?

[ Her tone was the same as usual, just dry and deadpan even in this situation, even though she was more on edge than usually as she kept stepping on through the cave, the sound of footsteps echoing against the walls. ]

If that was the case, your jacket wouldn't be so clean all the time. I've just done my fair share of exploring back home, this reminded me of it. There were more dangers there, though. [ Monsters, knights, more monsters, etc. ]

Well, there's plenty of dangers up ahead too, I bet. [ She could realise his world must have been very different from hers if it involved exploring a lot of places like these.. Ange herself had hardly been out of the city to begin with, so this was quite a new experience - it was just that she reacted to everything in the same way, just deadpan like usually. ] Otherwise this wouldn't be such a big dangerous mission, after all.

Are you sure you're ready to face that?

I'm as ready as I'll ever be, honestly. [ Despite the mission being described constantly as dangerous, he wasn't exactly nervous. He's already been through a lot, and he was willing to bet it wouldn't be anything worse than a monster he's already fought back home. But hey, not everyone came from a world like his. Guess he had a bit of an advantage in this case. ]

I'm not too worried. [ Aside from the pounding headache, it wasn't too bad. He looked back, his voice carrying a slight hint of concern. ] You're not nervous or anything, right?

Edited 2012-08-27 22:24 (UTC)

[ .. typical, she shouldn't have expected any other answer. This guy was always so carefree about everything, or at least it did always seem that way.. no matter the situation he seemed calm and he didn't worry about anything at all, right? Much like that bodyguard of hers back home. Not that she wasn't a calm person either, it's just that she knew she actually does worry a lot deep down. ]

Are you saying I should be worried in here even though I'm with my 'Weapon'? [ Of course she didn't give a straightforward answer. Not that she was scared - Ange was quite a daredevil - but there still was something.. strange about having their first mission. ] That's not exactly reassuring.

Hey, just asking. [ He gave a bit of a smirk, even if he was in no mood to smile himself. Guess he couldn't blame her if she was a bit on edge. It was their first mission after all, and it'd probably be their first real fight too, if they encountered an enemy. Practice only got you so far, after all.

The farther they got in the cave, the worse his headache became. He grabbed his head. ]

Argh... [ He knew why it was happening but...damn, he didn't think it'd be this bad. ]

[ Ange started walking a little ahead at one point. Honestly, it made her feel a little more confident to be the one in the lead, even if she still wasn't quite sure what to expect. That had always been her strategy, after all, just going into things head first when it came to danger and then later reason it out..

She was distracted from all her thoughts though once she heard Yuri groaning behind her, and almost too quickly (not like she was worried or anything!) she turned around to stare at him, but she couldn't see any particular danger.. but then why was he holding his head like that? Was he getting sick or something? ]

Yuri.. are you okay? [ Ange's voice was mostly the same as usual, but still a hint of concern slipped into it as she frowned. ]

[ Not really time to succumb to something like this. He's had much worse, easily. Yuri looked to Ange, with a bit of an annoyed expression. ]

I can deal with it. It means we're getting closer, if I remember the briefing correctly. [ Though... ] Doesn't look like it's affecting you, though.

Yeah, I feel just fine. [ Another frown, as if she's thinking.. ] .. It must be that ability they were talking about. Some guy told me I have.. 'Soul Apathy' or something like that. It means I won't be affected by those wavelengths, and they said there would be a lot of that on this mission, right?

[ So that definitely means she's lucky.. after all, she's sure Yuri's pretty strong, yet it doesn't really look comfortable for him. ]

Are you sure you really can deal with it though?

Yeah. it's gonna be a big headache. [ Literally. ] Maybe it'll ease up if I take my weapon form, though. [ For some reason, that made sense to him. It's harder to have a headache as a sword, after all. ]

You wouldn't mind carrying me, right?

Bridal style?

[ Obviously it was not what he meant, but Ange wouldn't be Ange if she wouldn't make a deadpan joke about a question like that, it just sounded horrible out of context. ]

I think we're supposed to save that for our wedding, Ange. [ An eye for an eye, a joke for a joke. ]

I'm gonna change forms now, alright?

[ .. ugh, ugh, at the very idea a shiver ran up her spine. She knew he was just joking, but still, the idea of having anything like a wedding with this guy of all people.. she didn't even answer the teasing, it was a little bit too bad for her. ]

Fine. Want me to hold your hand so you won't drop on the ground or something?

[ ...That's weird. Usually she'd be coming back with some kind of retort at that. He gave her a look of slight confusion as he went back to her. ]

Yeah, that would help. [ He held his hand out to her, giving her a bit of an apologetic smile, as he closed his eyes. ]

[ ...

Shit.

Only now Ange realised what kind of dumb suggestion she just made. She had been thinking practically, since if she held his hand and he'd transform she would just be holding the sword, but.. this meant holding his hand, right? Holding a guy's hand, and who knew if some other people might pass by and see it -- no, that would be disasterous, wouldn't it? If they thought they had something going on, she and this annoying guy, and it was already embarassing enough for her to hold hands with him..

C-come on, Ange, just grab it.. just.. do it.. UGH, WHY IS THIS SO DIFFICULT, SHE CAN'T. ]

[ ...Why was she taking so long? He opened one eye to look at her. Jeez, this was all good enough to distract him from his headache. ]

...You okay?

Shut up, I'm fine.

[ She frowned slightly, but her snappy tone should already give away that she wasn't really feeling like usually over this. But at the same time Ange decided to just suck it up - she had faced worse than this before, right? - and she quickly drew a deep breath, grabbing his hand in one quick go. ]

[ He looked at her, then to their interlocked hands, then back to her face. This took a lot of courage, huh? ]

You ever have a boyfriend, Ange?

[ More than anything, she was just trying to keep her face as straight as possible. Normally her lineface came to her easily, almost naturally, but this time it was so difficult to try and not show any embarassment or annoyance.. ]

That might quite possibly be the most poorly timed question anyone has ever asked me. [ In other words, it just embarassed her. ] Why are you even asking?

[ Was that a hint of...annoyance? Embarrassment? He couldn't tell, she was doing a good job of hiding it. He smiled at her question. ]

It just...seemed like this was weird to you. No worries, it's not like I'm used to holdings hands with a pretty girl either. Don't really get the chance to back home. [ Kind of, at least. He looked away now, closing his eyes and concentrating, his body quickly glowing, taking the form of the black katana. ]

[ .. Why was he calling her pretty-- this idiot, this sheer idiot.. she had to grit her teeth to keep her expression the same, but even then it was already pretty difficult. Instead her frustration over her embarassment just translated to her gripping the sword a little more tightly. ]

You're sleeping outside the apartment when we get back from this. [ Yes, that was just all she said, no further explanation provided.. It was mostly her tsun kicking in. ]

.. Well, is your headache any better now?

[ Wow. On one hand, that was quite the punishment for teasing her. But on the other...he didn't exactly argue back. It was funny, it almost made him want to laugh. Maybe he would later, but for now, they had the mission ahead of them. in his weapon form, it seemed like he had built something of a resistance to the waves. Slightly, at least. While it was there, it was no where near as bad as before. ]

Yeah. Come on, let's keep going.

Fine.

[ It was little more than a mumble, she was more than glad to move away from the previous topic. And the more the silence lingered for a few moments as she walked on, the less flustered she became until she was back to a more or less normal level. After all, a flustered mood didn't fit here either way - this was supposed to be serious, she was a girl walking down a cave with a sword in her hand, for god's sake.

.. Her steps stopped though, suddenly. ]

Hey.. did you hear that?

[ Huh. Seemed like the action finally arrived. ]

Yeah. [ His voice grew quieter. Deeper in, he could hear the sounds of scurrying feet...they didn't sound all that different from monsters back home. ] Stay on your guard.

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