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

[ 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.

I already am.

[ There was only something faintly annoyed in it, but it was mostly drowned out by the focus - she couldn't screw up now. So instead she quickly glanced around, and slowly but surely out of the path ahead of them emerged a centipede. Although it wasn't any ordinary one, this one was quite large and hideous, honestly, more monster than a bug by now.

Even so, her expression didn't change much aside from a slight frown, she was pretty brave, after all, so she even was calm in the face of this. ] .. So that's what they were warning about?

Hmm...something about monsters that looked like overgrown animals. The more there are, the closer we are to the kishin eggs. [ He caught a glimpse of the monster that was ahead of them. If he had a sword, he could probably take it down single handedly. It looked no tougher than any monster he's fought back home. ]

It looks pretty slow. If we wait, we could be able to attack it without it even noticing us, and finish it off fast. Go for the head.

That's easy for you to say. [ She mumbled it under her breath. It was the whole situation slowly getting to her, really - while she wasn't afraid of the monster, she was slightly worried about her own performance here. She had never really used a sword in a battle before, only in practice, so.. ]

.. No stupid comments while I'm busy with this, though, got it?

Got it. [ His voice was serious. He wasn't in a joking mood anymore, now that the mission was about to truly begin. ]

[ At least if he would keep quiet she could focus, despite her own nervosity. There was no time to think about that right now either way, all she had to focus on was trying to make sure she did this whole sword fighting thing the right way.

Sneaking, luckily, was something that wasn't too difficult for Ange after having to hide and run from the Sumaderas from so long. So practically soundlessly she managed to take a few more steps towards the monster, trying to control her breath.

She stopped only a little distance away from it, still unnoticed, and her grip on the sword tightened a little. ]

You're ready, right?

Yeah. Don't worry about it. Give it your all. [ Encouraging words. She wasn't like him, used to close ranged combat. ]

[ A small nod to herself. Come on, all she had to do was swing the sword, hit that thing in a good spot and it'd be down for the count.. how much more difficult could it be than firing a gun?

She didn't do anything to announce their presence to the monster, didn't say anything-- all Ange did was run the last distance over to the giant centipede, swinging the sword at the neck. She was sure she couldn't cut all the way through, no way she was strong or skilled enough for that yet, but she manages to plunge it in quite a way either way before quickly pulling it out again. (Mostly because of the thought that, in the end, the sword was Yuri and the idea of being stuck inside some monster just seemed.. gross to her.)

The centipede let out a loud cry as it seemed to crumble to the ground. ]

[ If swords had hands, he'd be clapping now. Not bad, really. ]

Down in one shot. Good job aiming for the neck. [ Yuri said, as if he hadn't been plunged face first into a monster, entirely unfazed. He would have been able to slice through it completely, but, he was gonna give her a break. They were completely different, after all. ] You've been practicing a lot, huh, Ange?

[ She just scoffed at that, staring at the centipede's corpse. At least him being like this meant she didn't have to directly look at him, it made replying to this kind of stuff - stuff that embarassed her, since yes, she had been practicing a lot since she didn't want him to make fun of her or look like a total idiot in front of him, but that in itself was just embarassing in every sense. At least without eye contact she could keep her face lineface for the most part. ]

Maybe I'm just a quick student.

Yeah, you're not bad. [ He really meant that. But back to the mission. ] Come on, let's see what else we can find. Man, I'm gonna need a nap when we get home, for this headache.

We just got started and you're already thinking of a nap? [ Honestly, she did understand why he was saying that, even if she couldn't feel it.. the Madness would probably be heavily presen, and it didn't sound good from what she had heard. ]

Just focus for a little while more. It shouldn't be too difficult for you.

[ Ange had already started walking on as she was speaking, glancing over her shoulder one last time at the monster's remains. ]

I'm trying, I'm trying. Just focus on fighting, alright? I'll be fine. [ A bit of a lie. It really was starting to get to him. But...being weapon form helped a little. Besides, this was their first mission. He couldn't let this get to him. ]

...Stay alert. There's more ahead... [ He could hear the sounds of growling, and footsteps. They didn't sound human. ]

[ .. Geez.. with that kind of answer it almost sounded like she was worrying about him, huh? Well, she was worrying, but.. at the same time, she didn't want to admit it, she figured he would just make fun of her over it one way or another. Especially for doing that in the middle of a mission.

Instead she focused, trying to pay more attention to the sound as she took the next steps carefully, peering around the corner of a tunnel. ]

.. There's a few up there. I think there's at least two, maybe three.

[ Two or three? She was able to take down one fine, but...would she be alright fighting more than one enemy at once? Again, it would be no problem for him, he was used to it. He couldn't help but worry a little. ]

...We're gonna need to take them on one by one. I don't think you're ready for multiple enemies at once. Put on your sneaky shoes, Ange.

What, don't you believe in me? [ She scoffed, but it's more meant as a deadpan kind of joke. Even Ange herself realised that she wasn't exactly ready for this yet. ]

So.. what? Should I try to take out one of them first as the surprise attack and then try to deal with the second even though it'll have noticed us?

Yeah. [ That was probably their best bet that wasn't retreating. ] If things get messy, I won't wait to jump into half weapon form and take them out, alright?

... Don't do that.

[ Suddenly Ange seemed almost.. well, surprisingly insistent. And a little frowny, moreso than usually when it was just an annoyed frown. ]

I'll be just fine, so don't try to help me out, okay? I need to learn how to do this. It isn't like I haven't fought before, so I'll be fine.

[ He was going to say that he wasn't going to let her get hurt needlessly, but...he could hear the determination in her voice. He didn't want to get in the way of that. ]

Just a last resort, alright? Come ooon, don't pout like that, I'm weak to that. [ It was surprisingly cute, on her. ]

Don't be a kid. I'm not even pouting. [ Ange Ushiromiya, fearlessly calling people older than her childish. She turned her head to peek around the corner again, but.. ugh, she should just get it on with already, right? Waiting here forever wasn't going to help anyone. ] I'll be just fine, you'll see. You won't have to do a thing.

So let's just go already, okay?

Alright, alright, as the madam requests. Break them good, Ange. [ He was just full of encouragement today. He really was proud of her improvement, though. He could remember before when they had first met, and she had first held him as a sword. Man, that was still funny to him, even now.

But she learned fast. If things got out of hand, he'd always be here to help. ]

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