[OPEN] Mission 157

[soul_mods]

Characters: Open to participants who signed up here.
Location: Nocturne Bazaar
Rating: Gen.
Time: April 5th.
Description: The battle to destroy the last of the three Madness Emitters is upon us.

It happens early in the morning: a strange and lingering air of disquiet, almost imperceptible even to those trained to recognize it for what it is, quickly rising to a mind-shattering crescendo. On the floating island above the city, black liquid bubbles up from the cracks in the cobblestone streets and materializes into tall, thin, clown-shaped creatures. Oversized carrion birds take wing from the rafters of buildings, trailing dust from their dirty wings. The screams of civilians are clearly heard even from Death City so far down below, waking its citizens up from fitful, nightmare-filled slumbers.

The Witches are here!

It doesn't take long for the defenders to rally: Kid sends out the call to arms and, after admonishing all but the most skilled pairs to stay off the island, instructs those attending Mission 157 to prepare to get on the gondolas which still remain the only way to and from the Bazaar.

The streets are not as packed as they were the past two days, but there is no less commotion. The carnival workers and residents, fleeing from the marauding monsters, clearly have no hand in this deception. In between trying to save their lives, striking down the Black Blood-formed clowns and avoiding the talons of swooping bird familiars, the pairs certainly have their hands full.

At the epicenter of the battle is the yellow-bricked fortune-telling building. Waves of Madness emanate from it with an almost physical force. If you aren't careful, you may run into the black-feathered Witch guarding it…

By the end of the conflict, the island is incapable of supporting its own weight. With the help of volunteers shuttling civilians and fighters alike from the Bazaar to the ground, everyone must race back to the gondolas before the entire rock crashes in the sands.

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) | OPEN/CLOSED]
- If you have any further questions, the mod thread on the coordination post is here!

Comments

MEDICS

[soul_mods]

The medics' tent is a familiar staple in these missions, and they waste no time in setting up their tents by the gondola docks so that wounded can be quickly shipped down to the ground (mostly) out of harm's way.

Still: for all the guards assigned to the caretakers, it's a dangerous spot to be. They're no-less threatened by crow familiars aiming to catch and fly away with patients and medics alike...

[Cloud + Sephiroth | Closed]

[pure_lineage]

The progress he'd made in beginning to overcome his weakness to Madness had been the only thing that prevented his descent into darkness. Cloud had been at his side in that same instant, and the ex-General hadn't hesitated in transforming himself to his Weapon form.

He felt the pressure of the Madness disappear the moment Cloud's grip wrapped around his hilt, and the relief that came along with it. Aligning his wavelength with that of his partner's, Sephiroth focused his entire attention on the hordes of enemies they were about to face in battle. This was nothing in comparison to what either of them had already been through in life.

[de_faulty_hero]

Cloud had surprised himself by being immediately ready for battle when it was obvious that something was wrong. He had suited up with the purpose of battling anyone who had attacked the city, and the spiders and crows indicated that two witches were in the city. He itched to gain experience from battling them.

He and Sephiroth had headed for the edge of the city to go to where the carnival grounds were. Along the way, they had encountered and slaughtered aspects of the attack on the city. They had even engaged a Black Clown, fighting it back and taking back the defeat they had once suffered to one, and he had taken pleasure in removing its arms and laying it flat.

Soon enough, they had to wait for the gondolas to take them up, and by then the madness was heavy enough to start affecting his partner. It wasn't until they stepped out onto the carnival grounds that he reached out as his partner transformed. The blade began to sing when it settled in his right hand, and he sliced a huge crow in half as he stepped clear to assess the situation.

"What's causing the madness? It must be deeper in this place, yes?" His ability was slightly detrimental in that he had no idea where the madness was or if it was getting stronger or weaker. He had to gauge the reactions of others for that.

Akiha and Sion [Closed]

[ritsu_kouyou]

"We're not going to talk about my leg, Sion," Akiha snapped as the gondola zoomed them up to the skyisland.

The meister was taking the moment to wrap an ace bandage tight about the padded shin 'armor' she'd found - yes, it was a soccer shinguard, shut up - to protect her still tender leg from further damage and added support for her ankle. She already had the strongest non-hospital issued painkillers available working through her system as she was unwilling to sit out this mission.

It wasn't just a mission. This was a direct attack. Death City may not be her home, but she'd be damned if she was going to sit by and let the enemy preventing her from returning home invade where she was forced to stay. She just... had to deal with her ankle.

And her partner.

[computations]

"Even if I must be quiet, that still does not mean I will not worry."

Yes, she had a billion reservations about Akiha coming along but she would deal with them. When Akiha was in this state, there was no arguing her out of anything, no matter the logic used. Instead, she sighed and pushed the concerns out of her mind.

"At least listen to my advice along the way."

[ Eve and Keroro | closed ]

[nolicenseyet]

[She had learned her lesson about allowing Keroro out of his Weapon form when there was Madness about. As such, she'd forbidden him from transforming back until things cleared up.

Up ahead, she saw a couple of civilians and...what was that? It didn't look like a Kishin Egg...

But there was no time to think about it. She ran, pushing her body to move faster, afraid that she won't make it in time. As she did she pressed the Realization button.]

Shield!

[starfruitfrog]

[Keroro understood to some extent why he shouldn't transform out of his Weapon form. It had something to do with punching a Kishin Egg in the face if he remembered correctly.

But it's more comfortable to be in his Weapon form anyways, the bond they had feeling reassuring and strong in a world that felt off.

Keroro immediately concentrates, picturing the familiar tapered rectangular shape of a RX78-2 shield, red and white.]

Here, Eve-dono!

[ Saya & Sendo | CLOSED ]

[sayatakagi]

[ Of course.

Of course there would be an attack.

Why is anyone surprised?

Saya isn't, but she curses because she seriously hoped they could have few days off. The girl feels specially annoyed, actually. And she knows what it means, she has felt it before, and she has dealt with it before. Madness.

But Saya is sure she can handle it. She must. She isn't weak and no one ought to tell her that. Ever!

She still hasn't turned into her Weapon form, mostly because she is in the middle of a panicked crowd, which only makes her mood worse. They need to leave this crowd and get going .] Sendo! We need to get the hell out of here!

[naniwarocky]

[Getting out of here was a must, especially if this place kept getting swarmed by these thing. The panicking people did seem like they would be an obstacle in themselves.]

We need to help some of these people get out of here first! [If Sendo could do that himself, he would. But he needed Saya's help to take down some of the monsters.]

[Demona + Witch | Closed]

[pmsgargoyle]

[ Demona went mad.

Of course she did. She is susceptible to madness, probably more than anyone else. While completely out of it, the gargoyle ended up losing her partner, Londo, somewhere and honestly, she couldn't care less. She just wanted to kill them all; all of those filthy disgusting humans.

No matter how much she tried to kill them, there was always someone ruining her plans. How long will it take until she destroys them completely? How long will it take until she can take her revenge? They are murders, poison, cancer! They need to be purged from this Earth.

And she will start with those.

Demona's eyes glow red as she fixes on someone, perhaps carnival workers. Who cares who it is, she just wants to end them. She readies her claws, growling loudly and a smirk comes to her face

"Goodbye, humans."

but before she could strike down her target, a bird came at her and Demona has no choice but to attack it instead, viciously killing it. While she has no qualms with birds, she will kill whoever gets in the way of her revenge.

[namelesswitch]

[ Everything was going to plan, and the chaos their machine was making created a beautiful sight. If only the other two hadn't been destroyed, then Shibusen would have fallen to their knees and begged them for mercy. What they had now had to do though.

The humans fell so easily, and while her familiars were being cut down by the few fighting pairs, they were only a few to her many.

Her birds swooped in on one human. Dozens of them clawed and pecked their way at the man's flesh while the birds who could't get at their victim flew off to attack new targets.

That was when one of her birds found Demona. Hearing the vicious attack, the dark birds left their bleeding and dying victim to die at their feet as dozens of beady eyes pinned their attention on the Meister. Some clicked their beaks, as if eager to taste the Meister's flesh, before the large group took flight and hurled themselves towards Demona.]

[ooc: sorry for the delay. Was braindead longer than I thought T3T]

[Near and Mello + Witch NPC | Closed]

[cardfortress]

[How utterly predictable. Near doesn't know who he should feel the most annoyed with: Shibusen, for not seeing something so obvious coming, or the Witches, for choosing such a predictable moment to attack. The former, probably, because having an enemy with predictable attack patterns is always a good thing, and he and Mello do want to make it out of this war alive.

Unfortunately, the predictability of an attack doesn’t make it any easier to bear, and it doesn’t make the madness any easier to resist, either. But Near and Mello’s partnership has evolved to a point where the madness wavelength is less difficult to resist, and like he did in the last mission they went on, the Weapon lets his mental barriers down immediately after Mello wields him; they have no time to waste, and with an attack this strong, they have to do everything they can to fight back.]

I hate birds.

[The thought sounds almost petulant, but Near has come to hate birds bigger than a seagull for a very good reason: he was kidnapped by similar creatures a few months ago, after all.]

[want_the_world]

Tell me about it. I'm starting to hate clowns.

[Mello can feel the madness pressing against his mind, that strange not-physical pain that can hurt like a son of a bitch nevertheless. Their resonance is holding against it for now. Mello thinks, sometimes, that not getting along perfectly helps it. They sure as hell don't bottle up resentment.

He's solving the cube already, cursing under his breath and ducking as a crow-like thing swoops too close for comfort. Like in the confines of the caverns, they can't use the blast wave here, either, not with so many civilians around and the battlefield floating in the sky.

Like Near, he's not surprised, but he's been trying to think like the witches, to better predict their moves, and he can see how they couldn't resist attacking in a setting like this. He's annoyed with himself for not thinking that the last madness generator could be mobile.

He finishes four sides and lets himself sink into the resonance, aware of the warmth that floods him, but not letting it distract him. Takes aim at a misshapen thing emerging from one of the rides, and sends Near a wordless signal to open fire.]

[Bakura, Yuugi & Takuto/Team Sky (Two Stars and a Cloud) | Closed]

[shiromadoushi]

Bakura's breath was a little heavy as he sprinted, Yuugi's in Weapon form tightly in his hand and two birds messily disposed of behind them. Swinging a longsword was harder than it looked, even with it being a bit lighter than it would have been if it hadn't been Yuugi.

But they had managed! That had been the important part, after all!

Still, he was greatly looking forward to switching from acting as Meister to being his proper Weapon self. It was nerve wracking and terrifying to be the one doing the fighting and not be the one providing the energy for the fight...! It was only the fact that every fiber of his being wanted-- no needed to protect his friends that he was able to pull through. For Ryuzaki. For Psii. For Yuugi. For everyone. It was a solid, iron will of determination that wouldn't bend for anything.

"Takuto-kun!" he called, spotting the familiar figure as they approached. "Over here!"

Team Sky is the best team name ever

[tauborn]

Takuto turned at the sound of his name, catching sight of Ryou and Yuugi with quite a bit more relief than he'd imagined he'd have. It was absolutely terrifying out here, with the ants and the crows--the crows--that were starting to swarm all over the city.

The madness is putting him on edge, though really the sight and sounds of the city in the chaos of a witch invasion would do that just fine without the added tension of the madness wavelength.

He didn't slow as he got closer. He just put one hand over the top of Ryou's, pulling Yuugi from his grasp, and clasped the other hand over Ryou's wrist. "Transform."

He really wanted a moment for their resonance to click before they got too deep into the fray of things. He had kind of an idea how it might work, given that he'd resonated with both of them, and it was even better that they had resonated with each other. Still, that had been training, and this was the real thing.

His own wavelength is burning like a wildfire--out of control and feeling dangerous. He just hoped Ryou could keep up and Yuugi could give him some stability.

[Winters Socalo and Yami Bakura | closed]

[brutalityfetish]

Winters didn't care about this war. He really didn't give a fuck about anything unless it had to do with fighting and killing. Natsu had known as much when he agreed to partner up with him. They might've actually been a good team if the little bastard had managed to stick around at all...but no. That shitling ended up disappearing twice on him, so there was no way in hell he would ever accept him back. He better be gone for good this time.

He didn't even know why the hell he kept thinking about that asshole so much. It was the Madness though. He could feel it in his blood. He was boiling over with the chance to kill. Maybe that was why he had no problem with the guy that happened to be with him. It wasn't a bad match-up really. They did okay with te training bullshit and scared some people. Right now he wouldn't mind killing the guy just because he was here. He was pretty sure the feeling was mutual.

All he had to know was that they were either gonna kill each other or whatever the hell they ran into. Maybe both and Winters wasn't just gonna roll over and fucking die if he didn't have to. The boring part was that most of the people were not even in the street anymore. The next thing either of them ran into was probably dead. No...definitely dead. He was just itching to spill a little more blood and he didn't need this wave of Madness to provoke that.

It just made it so much easier to put blame on something else.

[feelsgoodinyou]

Bakura wore a wild grin as he moved next to Winters with the grace of a jungle-cat. All the chaos and calamity summoned fond memories of the time when he had gotten the Pharaoh to target his own capital city with his god, shooting rays of pure death aimlessly into the crowd as they had raced through the streets in a wild game of tag.

This wasn't as good as destroying the capital had been and the person beside to him wasn't the Pharaoh, but at least it wasn't his wimpy host either. Unlike the Spirit of the Ring the other Bakura didn't revel in the madness and didn't consider it a part of him. He feared it and it made him weak, weak and that pathetically stupid that Bakura wouldn't have known if he wouldn't have used the chance to shut him up for good, would he have tried his usual blame-game with him here and now. Having some strong freak who only cared about killing was definitely better.

Scoffing lightly as he clambered over the corpse of a fallen man he nodded towards the direction where the most noise was coming from: shouts and the clanging of Weapons being used.

"Be good boys and join the fun with everybody else-" he jerked his head in the opposite direction, where everything seemed to be calm by now. Despite the lacking hints of action the vengeful spirit given flesh once more could practically feel the faint smell of blood and human suffering from there. Madness, too. Lots of it. "- or are we greedy jerks and don't share?"

[Yami and Ryou Bakura | Closed]

[shiromadoushi]

The resonance from Yuugi and Takuto was as close to a miracle cure for the influence of Madness as Bakura could hope for, keeping it to a very quiet nag in the back of his mind that was easily pushed aside, which was why when he first spotted the hint of his double in the fighting, he ignored it, thinking it just another attempt of the Madness's manifesting.

But the laughter was wrong. It was distant and muted, far from his mind, and was openly gleeful.

No wonder the Ring's voice went on missions... the chance to cut loose and fight freely with no consequence...

He was about to push it aside and refocus on his own partners when there was another rumble under their feet.

Not good... if this was at all like when the earthquake hit...

He wasn't sure what caught his eye first, the familiar shock of white hair or the sound of something shifting that should not have. A creak. A crack. The start of a slow movement in something that should not move as the building near the cackling maniac that wore Bakura's face began to collapse.

Panic flooded him and he instantly broke off from Takuto's hand, tumbling down and transforming in midair to hit the ground running. "I'll be right back!" he shouted over his shoulder before sprinting towards the grumbling building. He could feel the pressure of the madness around him as he ran, the sound of the building's supports snapping echoing louder in his ears than they should have been. Closer. Closer now. He could see his double more clearly, back facing the building that was starting to drunkenly lurch towards him like a dying monster.

He wasn't going to make it. He wasn't fast enough, go faster, damnit!

There was a final burst of speed as the adrenaline meshed with the Madness around him to all but propel him forward.

"BAKURA! BEHIND YOU!" he shouted.

wasntgoingtomakeitwasntgoingto--

[feelsgoodinyou]

He had been busy laying layer upon layer of pain onto a minor kishin egg and a madness crazed man who had both made the fatal mistake of assuming a Weapon-less Meister easy pray. Bakura had no idea where Winters had run off to - somewhere to kill some more shit, that much was for sure.

Like the other Bakura he, too, felt the tremor in the earth but unlike his former host he didn't pay much attention to it - until Ryou suddenly howled his name.

That alone was enough to make his eyes widen in shocked surprise. Fucking dammit, was he here to interfere AGAIN?! Seconds later his double was next to him and had roughly grabbed his wrist. "Yado- Wha-?!!"

He didn't have time to wonder where the boy had come from all of a sudden as he was roughly dragged behind his host who was running like his life depended on it. But why did he try and get him-? Then he realized that something wasn't right with their shadows in the ground and all the little shaking and creaking all around him that the madness had masked up until now all but slapped him in the face.

For a ridiculous moment the spirit panicked.

Sky Pirates; Protecting the Gondolas | Nanami and Kaworu | Open

[morecowbell]

Nanami had managed to figure out partial weapon transformation after her chat with Zero and currently being a partner-less weapon, it was the best she could do until she ran into a Meister who happened to need a weapon. She would just have to hope they resonated well enough. The mission was much more chaotic this time with multitudes of enemies both above and below and it there wasn't any time to be picky.

Speaking of above, Nanami glanced up upon hearing a commotion somewhere above her and to her surprise she glimpsed a gondola plummeting toward the earth far too close in her general vicinity for comfort.

[diedforyoursins]

Kaworu had no partner prepared for this mission, sudden as it had been, so he couldn't have gone up to the carnival with Shibusen's "pairs only" rule. But he couldn't just sit inside and do nothing, and once outside he had to at least go see the floating island for himself, witness the threat even if he wasn't allowed to confront it directly, and after that perhaps he could help with the monsters in the streets. He still had his sword and pistol from the last missions, after all...

As he got closer to the carnival site however, it quickly became apparent that monsters and Witches were not the only danger here. Pieces of the island fell like bombs on the city below, and at least one of the flying gondolas was dropping out of the sky -- far too close to where a girl was standing.

"Move!" For a moment he's working entirely on instinct and adrenaline, small parks of having a human body, and he dashes over to grab her arm and pull her out of the way, bringing his soul shield up around them both to protect against any flying debris.

[Tassadar and Rock Lee | Closed]

[awokentospring]

Lee rushed along with Tassadar along a dark alley between several of the food stalls, doing their best to be stealthy as they stalked along. Several of the civilians running the stalls for the carnival were still trapped, either frozen in fear or driven momentarily insane by madness. While their services had been called in for battle, there was also the option of using their skills to protect the innocent lives put in danger by the appearance of the Witch.

"Tassadar-san?" Lee glanced back over his shoulder at his temporary partner. The protoss had been exceptionally quiet since they had met up and that worried Lee. If Tassadar was not focused on their mission, they could run into some bumps along the way.

[aiursfavoredson]

He had hoped that what he'd discovered hadn't been true. Before the attack, he had felt a great loss within the city, but he hadn't had the time to investigate it once the attack had begun... so it had left him quiet and wondering about it. Was it true that Zeratul had been returned to the Koprulu sector of space to continue the war? The thought left him melancholy at the prospects, and he couldn't help but wonder if he was destined to remained forever stuck here while his brethren would return to their true fight.

The templar had run across Lee along the way of his search, and the enemies that began to follow them had left him with little choice but to fight. He'd be able to continue his investigation after the battle, but that didn't mean that the possibility of Zeratul being gone didn't weigh heavily on his mind.

Lee's voice drew Tassadar out of his thoughts as he peered over towards the young human. "You are in need of something, Rock Lee?"

[Dirk, Rosalia, and a Black Clown | Closed]

[bloodinbloom]

Returning this morning, Rosalia wouldn't have expected a fight of this magnitude to occur. Seriously, the carnival being a Trojan horse for the Witches? There was little she could do in the chaos; she didn't even remember when the medical bag had been thrust into her hands. Had she passed a fellow clinic employee at some point? Perhaps her brother?

No matter what had occurred before now, Rosalia blinked, abruptly remembering what she was doing now. She was jogging behind Dirk, the kit slung over an arm and the unmistakable sounds of battle on every side. Worse, the island had begun shaking some time ago. It was going to fall out of the sky at this rate, but she couldn't focus on that. Her head was hurting like it had the day before when they saw that clown...

... Ah, that was it! Dirk said he had wanted to come back to the Haunted House. Then this pain must be due to the emitter raising the Madness levels. Right, he wanted to see if it was there, but would it be? Rosalia shook her head again to concentrate. If it was there, Dirk would have to fight and she was the Weapon available. Even if she didn't like her ability, she had to help him.

[splinterstrider]

It hadn't taken too long for Dirk's mind to immediately go back to the Haunted House when he heard of what was going on with the carnival, so he'd volunteered to join the fight about as quickly as possible. What had at the time just seemed embarrassing made too much sense not to investigate now. Terrible, horrible sense. If he was right, he'd probably be kicking himself for not noticing it sooner, but, whatever. If he was right, then this mission would also be over a lot sooner.

As they got closer to the Haunted House, he felt his headache starting to come back, which gave his suspicions weight - that clown from before. It had seemed out of place among all the fake crap in the house. If he had to guess where the Madness Emitter was, it was inside that goddamn clown.

He had to stop for a second outside the entrance to the Haunted House - the Madness trying to get at his head was already fiercer than it had been the day before. He was still okay, but at the moment, it wasn't him he was worried about.

"Okay, so," he began. "We go in, find the clown, bust it open like a pinata and if the Emitter's inside, bust that too. If there's any giant spiders or whatever," he finished the sentence by holding up his sword. "Ready?"

[Clint Barton (Hawkeye) and Uchiha Obito | Closed]

[thatkindofscum]

Obito crept silently along the top of the stalls, using his skills learned as a shinobi to mask his steps as best as possible even on the worn wooden panels. He felt a thrill inside. This was his first mission where he would actively participate in the war as a fighter, not running in fear or just hopping around the medic tent. His thoughts traveled to Kakashi and Gai, the other shinobi, and some of his other friends for a moment, wondering what role they played in this mission today.

While it was a little dangerous to travel from stall to stall without the grip of chakra in his feet, Obito knew that height would work to his advantage in this battle. It gave him a nice vantage point and possibly some edge over their enemies. Possibly.

"Ready for this, Barton-san?"

[withinsights]

Being a kid, Clint can't say he expected much from Obito, but emergencies weren't good times to suddenly decide to be choosey. That he had pretty good natural aim and was getting steadily better with a bow would just have to be enough. Obito was small though, and could apparently creep and jump on par with a junior agent, so Clint tagged along as the Weapon part of the duo. Transformation and resonance was still uncomfortable, but he'd deal. Approval hummed through their tentative link, mildly impressed by his temporary partner's sense.

Yep. Just find something ugly enough to shoot at. And being a carnival, there was plenty of ugly, clashing colors and tacky things. Clint knew all about that. Could use some redecoration up here.

[Edgeworth + Genesis | CLOSED | also late because Auste made an Austefail]

[prosecutory]

[Edgeworth never thought he would return to this accursed floating carnival, but here he was, stepping back onto the ground from the gondola, taking several deep breaths to calm himself (he was several feet above the earth, but he had been in equally dangerous, if not more dangerous, situations before; this should be nothing new, and he had learned so much about fighting over the past months and from the previous Emitter missions) and glancing around warily.

He gripped his head as the Madness threatened to ruin his reason, to destroy the sense of logic that had often held him together, and swallowed hard. This was mind over matter. As long as Edgeworth focused on the mission at hand and their goal, and remembered who he was and that fears were only fears and could be forced back into his subconscious, he would be okay.]

[recitings]

[Genesis could have flown up to the floating carnival himself, but it wasn't feasible considering the waves of madness that threatened to bring back that side of him so affected by the memory of degradation. Instead, he used the gondola ride to settle his mind and make sure that his will was more powerful than the fear which threatened to take over his mind.

As he and Edgeworth found themselves on the floating ground, he puts a hand to his Meister's shoulder gently. Not the playful kind of touch he'd use to try to be all buddies with him-- but the calm, affirming kind that silently conveyed how he was sure to be there for him no matter what.]

We can do this.