[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

[pure_lineage]

Sephiroth instantly felt himself on guard the moment the cries of those birds were heard. What moment they were having between them slipped to the background as the more pressing situation took over. He didn't have to pay too much attention to kishin eggs, not anymore, but the ex-General never underestimated sources of such large numbers of familiars.

'At least this one is already cooked for you,' he lightly murmured as the large pillars of fire burst up around Cloud to protect his Meister.

As things were, the crows didn't cease with their swooping even as large numbers of them were turned to cinders by the power of the flames. The assault continued and seemed almost unrelenting before a voice drifted through the madness of the attack. "Little ducks come lining themselves up in a row. You may as well have just gift-wrapped yourself to me."

[de_faulty_hero]

He held the pillars of flames for as long as he could before letting it drop away. He eased himself into a good spot in order to continued to defend himself as he used the full length of the Masamune with each swing to cut down more ravens that were still attacking. Black ash floated around them, but he turned his head at the sound of the voice.

"I get the feeling we'll all be making a lot of bird jokes in this fight," he remarked dryly to his partner as he sent an air slice up through the thickest area of ravens. He kept swinging, even bringing out one of his normal katanas to defend himself at the shorter distance.

"Like doves like us pack bit more of a punch than you're used to," he called out, still cutting through the ranks of birds assaulting him. Numerous small scratches appeared on his arms and one on his cheek from claws, but he felt like he was holding his own given the odds.

[pure_lineage]

The flames died down, allowing the birds in close once again, but he trusted in Cloud's ability enough not to worry... even if he wasn't all that impressed with the injuries being sustained to the blonde's body. 'I cannot say that I'm all that surprised,' Sephiroth murmured with a light huff to his tone.

"Maybe we know about you two," the Witch called out, her voice seeming to come from all directions as she remained in the shadows. The crows ceased their attack, and instead began to funnel and fly around the partnered pair as their master continued speaking. "The guests of Shibusen who are nearing full power."

[de_faulty_hero]

Cloud kept his swords at the ready as the birds ceased their dive bombing at him, and his blue eyes flicked around to search for the source. She was pretty good about echoing her voice after all, but he was waiting for the time when he could gather up their resonance for another flame pillar attack. It seemed far too effective on groups in such high number.

"I think she's the first one to recognized how powerful we are." He looked around, but the funnel of birds kept him blind beyond it. He didn't like that one bit, but he kept himself ready, aware that the Witch could attack at any time, and he had to be ready. "So come to test out our strength for yourself? Or do you have something else in mind?"

How many guests had been stolen from such missions and subjected to tortures. The ravens were big enough to pick anyone up, but the spiders might.

[pure_lineage]

The birds continued to spiral around the fighting pair as Cloud stood strong against their subtle attack. What attempt they were making to psychologically wear the pair out may or may not have been working, but it didn't matter to the familiars either.

'I believe so,' Sephiroth murmured while watching for any surprise attacks by the witch.

"My my, you think much of yourself," the Witch said. Her voice seemed to change direction with every second word she'd spoken, making it appear as though she was moving around them if it hadn't been for the random directions the sound had come from. If Cloud listened carefully, he might have noticed that the voice was coming from the birds themselves.

[de_faulty_hero]

The Masamune never stopped moving as he used another air slice to take out a few more of the birds circling before he was cutting others down as they swooped in to attack him. The little scratches were annoying, but he ignored them in favour of keeping an eye on the group as much as he could. There were still many of them.

"To get this far, one has to," he replied to no one bird in particular. No doubt she was trying to confuse them, but he was really just waiting until some of their strength returned so he could burn the rest of the ravens to a fine ash. "I don't see you coming out to face us directly, so maybe you're scared."

[pure_lineage]

The familiars continued to fall by Cloud's long blade as he fought against them. Whether the Witch knew that he was biding time or not didn't show in the tone of her voice, or the actions of her familiar. Instead she kept watch of the pair through her conjured birds while the blonde attempted to bait her.

"Scared? You couldn't be furthest from the truth," another two birds said before they all seemed to start cackling at the mere thought.

[de_faulty_hero]

Cloud waited, feeling the warmth of their resonance building again as he called up the spell that he wanted. She apparently wouldn't appear for them, so he would simply make her by destroying all of her familiars. He had no time for this toying game that she was playing as there were battles to be fought, and he had no interest in wasting so much time here.

"Well... you should be scared," he replied with a smug confidence as he lifted his left hand to the air and summoned the fire pillars around himself directly in the path of the flying familiars. He held the flames for longer too, pushing their resonance to get longer than five seconds from the burst. All he did was smirk. "You're weaker than I imagined anyway."

[pure_lineage]

Fire seemed to burst up from the ground all around the Meister. The hot flames did their work with burning any of the familiars that came into contact with it, and without anger or regret, all of the black birds seemed to turn to cinder as they were consumed by the heat of the flames.

Laughter was all Cloud got in reply initially, and despite the fact that she didn't bother to conjure more of her familiars up, the shadows in the area seemed to shift and shudder in time with the laughter. Then they were moving all towards one particular point a few feet in front of where Cloud stood. The shadows gathered just beyond the immediate reach of the Masamune, before they began to rise up from the ground to take shape of a tall and slender Witch.

"Your arrogance will get you both killed," she murmured while the shadows seemed to cloak her in a perpetual cloak of darkness.

[de_faulty_hero]

He held the flames around them until most of the familiars were gone, and then he slowly dropped them as he watched the shadows move. So, she controlled the element of shadow, did she? That would be an interesting task to deal with, but he was prepared for anything. He might not be to the highest level with Sephiroth, but he felt like they could hold their own against her.

When she materialized, he didn't give a very impressed look for her display. Instead, he leapt after her, moving to drive the Masamune into her chest, even if he was certain she was just a conjure of shadow. He preferred the offensive in times such as these.

"We haven't died yet," he replied. "And we don't plan on it happening today."

[pure_lineage]

The Witch watched as Cloud suddenly leapt towards her. She couldn't say that she was all that surprised, but in some way, the Witch could at least admit to the fact that she was impressed. Most would attempt to waste time 'talking' things through. How long had it been since she'd had a good fight?

When the overgrown sword came barrelling down on her, the Witch seemed to flicker out of existence as the shadows moved with lightning speed. She was gone only for a moment as she reappeared behind Cloud. Using the Meister's shadow, she didn't hesitate in manipulating the shadows around her to strike at his exposed back as she hurled the blade-like shadows towards Cloud.

[de_faulty_hero]

His singing blade passed through shadow and nothing substantial as he had suspected, and he twisted in the air to find out where she had gotten off to. He spotted her but was more concerned with the way his shadow was used against him, and his sword moved to block and cut through the shadows as he dropped back to the ground.

He settled on the ground, eyes flicking around to an area where it was completely and utterly dark. If he remained in the open, it was her element that would do harm, but if he trapped her entirely in darkness, there was nothing shadowed, just dark.

Still, he launched at her once again, air slicing first and following with the long reach of his blade in his attempt to slice across her abdomen.

Sorry I thought that I'd replied to this

[pure_lineage]

The blades she struck out towards the pair were blocked by that long and slender sword. She knew it would be folly to remain in close to the blonde, and the moment her attack failed, the Witch leapt away from the incoming attack. Had it been one of the weaker guests, she wouldn't have hesitated in capturing the Weapon in mid-swing, but even she was aware of the damage that could be caused by these two. It might not be enough to defeat her, but it would be enough to make the battle difficult.

The slices of air hurling in towards her had the Witch summoning the shadows up from the ground to consume the air within their black void. With the distance now between them, her abdomen narrowly missing the slicing attempt, the Witch sent out a volley of ravens towards the pair as she manipulated the shadow at Cloud's feet to rise up and strike him down.

Re: Sorry I thought that I'd replied to this

[de_faulty_hero]

He was curious of the fact that the Witch was avoiding coming too close. She might have been testing them to see how strong they were, but she was clearly weary of them as well. It was the first time that he had encountered a Witch that took them seriously, and it only hardened his resolve more that they could win this battle or at least make certain it was a draw.

He knew that she had barely avoided his strike, and he slashed as he fell back to the ground to cut up the ravens that she used to chase them off. He hit down harder than he would have liked thanks to her shadows, but he shook off the impact and concentrated on aligning his resonance with his Weapon. "Let's show her that we're nothing to trifle with." He was still cutting through the ravens, but his attention was more on her, lining her up.

[pure_lineage]

Her attack worked, and the Witch moved to pivot around while the pair recovered. The ravens were getting cut down, but that came as no surprise. They were serving their purpose, and that was all that mattered in the end. While Cloud was cutting his way through them, the Witch began chanting beneath her breath. The foolish pair were still out in the open, and she used that to her advantage. Shadows began to appear everywhere in that moment before they all shot up in sharp spikes changing the terrain, all the while attempting to impale the Meister.

She was only just beginning.

'Your opponent's weakness is always that they underestimate you,' Sephiroth murmured as he focused on keeping their resonance steady. 'Show her what happens to those that do.'

[de_faulty_hero]

He narrowed his eyes at her chanting, sighting all the possible shadows that she could use against them, and his features hardened with determination as he lined her up. He let her change the terrain, standing where he was and only shifting his footing to avoid being impaled by shadows, but his glowing eyes flicked to how she manipulated the area.

"I'm use to being underestimated when I fight." He kicked off, darting to the side of sharp shadows and using them to duck and move beyond her sight. The soft sing of the Masamune was the only indication that he was drawing closer, easing around before he aimed for some rubble just below her. It was the first time he darted to the open, and he charged for it, slashing at the shadows blocking his way until he stepped and jumped up the rubble before launching at her, his body glowing blue and misty as he lined her up for Octaslash.

[pure_lineage]

What Cloud said was true, and Sephiroth couldn't help but smile lightly at the thought. It was, after all, one of the qualities about Cloud that had seen to his demise three times. He trusted Cloud in skills without a doubt, but he placed it at the back of his mind as he focused his attention on the battle before them.

The Witch didn't remain idle even as Cloud darted around the area and beyond her sight. That was fine, as she expected him to come at her at some point. She wasn't disappointed, and the impassive expression on her face began to twist into a subtle smirk. Right as the blonde swung that impressive sword, she cast another spell to bring a volley of shadow needles towards her target. Yet at that same moment, her eyes widened in surprise at the blue light glowing around them right before Cloud delivered that Octaslash.