soul_mods: (Witch's Soul)
Soul Campaign Moderation Journal ([personal profile] soul_mods) wrote in [community profile] soul_logs2012-11-02 02:06 pm

[OPEN] Mission 157

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!
computations: (embarrassed beyond belief)

[personal profile] computations 2012-11-11 10:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes she could have. But Sion didn't think she would have been able to work up the courage either way. But, for whatever reason, any issues that had existed in their connection evaporated from Sion's end. When she let go, she could finally look Akiha in the eye though she did have a red face.

"I am in a well enough state to continue now."
ritsu_kouyou: (5)

[personal profile] ritsu_kouyou 2012-11-11 10:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Once free, Akiha busied herself with pulled the headband from her hair, running her hands through it and then putting the band back in it to make sure it was in place. And it bought her some time to tame her own flushed cheeks.

"Alright." Akiha held her hand out. She would focus on business for now, glad Sion's wavelength had calmed down. "Let's go investigate those screams. We're supposed to also lend support to the evacuations."

computations: (straight up goodness)

[personal profile] computations 2012-11-12 12:46 am (UTC)(link)
Without hesitation, she transformed back into a staff and landed herself into Akiha's hand. Hopefully, they could finish up soon so Akiha would be put under too much stress.
ritsu_kouyou: (v-72)

[personal profile] ritsu_kouyou 2012-11-13 04:32 am (UTC)(link)
With the staff in hand, Akiha rest it upon her shoulder and headed out of the restroom. She followed the sounds of the screams, keeping an eye partially on the sky in case there were more giant crows.

When they found the panicked crowd... Akiha didn't see any enemies. The people were freaking out, running around like idiots.

"Tch." It seemed she was going to have to direct them. Stepping out into the open with the staff clearly visible to identify her as from Shibusen, Akiha called out in a loud voice, "Everyone! Try to stay calm and head to the eastern gondolas. There are Shibusen agents there to make sure you make it down to Death City safely."

She moved in closer, brow furrowed as she looked for enemies, seeing as very few of the people even paid attention to Akiha. She didn't see the black, inky substance slithering along the ground to the side, steadily drawing closer, given how many people there were.

Akiha grabbed one of the men passing by, intending to manually direct him down the correct path, when she suddenly went rigid. A wave of red swept over her vision, pain exploding in the back of her head, as something pushed past her willpower.

Kill.

The meister dropped the staff, her other hand grabbing the man as she stared at him with the most disturbing, almost innocent-like smile.
Edited 2012-11-13 04:33 (UTC)
computations: (explanations)

[personal profile] computations 2012-11-13 07:14 am (UTC)(link)
Sion didn't take well to being dropped at all. But she also knew that perhaps, right now, there were some extenuating circumstances. Before she hit the ground, she was already on her feet and steady. There was no sense in getting angry or being rude.

Instead, she realized that she had to be the calm one of the situation. Something for Akiha to stabilize on. Sion grabbed at Akiha and jerked her away from the person she had latched onto. Almost as if to prevent Akiha from doing much else, she wrapped her arms around the girl.

"Cease this, Akiha."
ritsu_kouyou: (v -22)

[personal profile] ritsu_kouyou 2012-11-14 02:28 am (UTC)(link)
Akiha lost her grip on the man with one hand as Sion grabbed her. She was aware that she was being pulled back, but it was an annoyance right then. Like a fly buzzing in the background, easily drowned out by the pressure in her head, the madness pulling her deep, demonic urges to the front. It was like something specifically targeted her with the madness wavelength, blindsiding her with it.

The half-demon strained against her partner's hold and pulled the man close enough to her that she bit his shoulder. The man screamed in pain on top of the hysteria and, teeth holding tight, Akiha... giggled.
computations: (pic#4453641)

[personal profile] computations 2012-11-14 05:12 am (UTC)(link)
Guh, Akiha was getting out of control. There was only one method she knew would have even a slight effect but she hadn't tested it either. And it took quite a bit of concentration from the alchemist. With the situation as it was, she couldn't risk doing much else.

So Sion focused and, thankfully, it worked. Her right arm half-transformed into the bottom half of the staff. She didn't want to hurt Akiha, only knock some sense into her. Which she tried doing by bringing it down on Akiha's head with carefully calculated force.
ritsu_kouyou: (v -40)

[personal profile] ritsu_kouyou 2012-11-15 02:51 am (UTC)(link)
CLUNK.

The staff came down on Akiha's head soundly, jolting her. She ended up releasing her teeth and her grip on the man slackened, leaving him free to shove her away from him and book it, blood dripping down his arm.

The half-demon blinked, tongue snaking out to lick the blood on her lips. Automatically, her hand came up to wipe at the blood on her chin, but at the sight of it... she went rigid and stared at it.

Blood. Not only blood, but blood from someone she bit and, had Sion not been there, would've killed.

A whimper of pain slipped from Akiha then and the girl dropped down to her knees Her clean hand went to her head as she fought against the madness. It was so intense, so much more than before. It made her want to kill them all, listen to the whispers and desires of her demon blood. It hurt to resist it.

Help me...
computations: (hey uh what)

[personal profile] computations 2012-11-15 04:26 am (UTC)(link)
Sion wanted to help her but she also knew that Akiha had to help herself. If she relied on Sion, it wouldn't do a thing for her. But she would do what she could to help out her friend.

Sliding an arm around her, Sion helped lift Akiha back to her feet and kept her arm where it was. She had hoped the contact would help a little or at least give her something to focus on.

"Take a deep breath and focus on me."
ritsu_kouyou: (57 - this hurts)

[personal profile] ritsu_kouyou 2012-11-15 04:33 am (UTC)(link)
Once on her feet, her bloody hand grabbed onto Sion's arm. It wasn't meant to hurt, but to help steady herself. The grip may have hurt some...

"Why is this--?" She squeezed her eyes shut. "My hair..." It was still black, but she wasn't sure with the way she felt.
computations: (straight up goodness)

[personal profile] computations 2012-11-15 05:23 am (UTC)(link)
"Your hair is fine. Take a look at it yourself."

Her hand moved up to Akiha's back and started to rub it, hopefully allowing her to calm just a little.

"This was not your fault so just steady yourself."
ritsu_kouyou: (10)

[personal profile] ritsu_kouyou 2012-11-15 05:28 am (UTC)(link)
It took a few seconds after Sion started rubbing her back for Akiha to open her eyes. She looked down at the hair draped down her front. Black. It was black.

"...not vermillion. I didn't..." She licked her lips again, tasting the blood. "But I did." Bowing her head, she growled in frustration, still fighting against this stronger madness wavelength.

Not too far away, the inky black substance slithering along the ground formed into a black clown.
computations: (pic#4453645)

[personal profile] computations 2012-11-15 05:33 am (UTC)(link)
Sion didn't quite notice the enemy, focused more on helping Akiha stabilize herself.

"You are fine now, though. Think not of anything else."
ritsu_kouyou: (8)

[personal profile] ritsu_kouyou 2012-11-15 05:37 am (UTC)(link)
She was fine? Was she fine? Akiha wasn't sure. She could feel the intense pressure against her wavelength that wasn't Sion. She could still feel the random urges to go after the people running in panic. But... she wasn't. She wasn't, because...

Akiha let go of Sion's arm and turned to hug her partner.
computations: (hey uh what)

[personal profile] computations 2012-11-15 06:03 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, that caught her by surprise. She tried to tug away, wondering what suddenly came over Akiha.

"Wh-What are you doing?!"
ritsu_kouyou: (18)

[personal profile] ritsu_kouyou 2012-11-15 06:15 am (UTC)(link)
"Thank you."

Akiha wasn't letting go. She meant what she said and the hug. It was also helping her calm a bit more. Enough to notice that black clown over behind Sion.

"...shit. Enemy."
computations: (a real smile)

[personal profile] computations 2012-11-15 06:28 am (UTC)(link)
It was nice to hear those words. Sion would have reveled in the moment and contemplated her own feelings but Akiha's next words kept her from doing so.

No sense in wasting time looking at the creature, whatever it was. Since she was already in Akiha's arms, she transformed so the half-demon was ready to go into combat immediately.
ritsu_kouyou: (60)

[personal profile] ritsu_kouyou 2012-11-16 12:56 am (UTC)(link)
Akiha fumbled the staff a bit as she forced herself to take up a proper stance. It was evidence as to how much she was still recovering and fighting off that intense madness wavelength. At least she didn't drop Sion.

I... I don't think that's a kishin egg.

She started to slowly circle the clown, trying to figure out what it was, gauge it. It's head... twisted around to follow her. And then it giggled just like Akiha had earlier.

Creepy.
computations: (explanations)

[personal profile] computations 2012-11-16 02:42 am (UTC)(link)
Whatever it is, we must treat it with appropriate amounts of caution and aggression.

As in don't skimp on the attack but don't go overboard either. While Akiha worked on a way to fight the creature, Sion worked on a way to defeat it effortlessly. She took it its movements and actions, hoping for a weakspot or a vulnerability to appear. With that, she could relay it to Akiha so she could take advantage of it.
ritsu_kouyou: (2)

[personal profile] ritsu_kouyou 2012-11-18 07:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Akiha feigned an attack and then backed off, frowning as the clown didn't even react.

It's like it's inviting me to attack it. I don't like that.

It made her wonder if it had some kind of autodefense that protected it. If she attacked without the right angle or plan, she might end up a lot worse than she'd just been. She couldn't believe she'd... bitten that man like she had inverted.
computations: (pic#4453639)

[personal profile] computations 2012-11-18 11:27 pm (UTC)(link)
It may be prudent to wait it out. Or perhaps find a projectile to throw to see how it reacts.

No sense in being reckless. If they just jumped in to attack, it might end in unnecessary pain. While being overly cautious could be a problem, this seemed to be a more powerful creature than they were used to dealing with.
ritsu_kouyou: (101)

[personal profile] ritsu_kouyou 2012-11-19 12:54 am (UTC)(link)
Akiha liked the latter option. She wasn't keen on waiting anything out anyways. The best way to end troublesome things was to act. So, grabbing a piece of debris from a ruined stand, she chucked it at the clown.

Its body seemed to slither out of the way, bending in an impossible fashion. It giggled and then something black shot out of it at Akiha. The meister dove out of the way, hearing a ripping noise as whatever that had been tore through the end of her skirt where it had flared up mid-dive. Rolling to her feet, she looked back at the clown to judge where it was and almost screamed at how close it suddenly was.

A bunch of those black pin-like projectiles shot at her again. Too close to do much else, Akiha brought the staff up to shield herself, several of the black blood needles sticking into the staff itself.
Edited 2012-11-19 00:55 (UTC)
computations: (pic#4453662)

[personal profile] computations 2012-11-19 01:24 am (UTC)(link)
Whatever it was, it actually hurt quite a bit. Enough so that there was a shot of pain from Sion through their connection. The feeling was quickly shit away as Sion mentally walled it off so it wouldn't bleed through to Akiha but it had already happened.

It did answer the question of if she could ever get hurt. The only problem now was wondering what effects there would be when she appeared back in her human form. She would probably need some level of medical treatment for sure.
ritsu_kouyou: (33)

[personal profile] ritsu_kouyou 2012-11-19 01:29 am (UTC)(link)
"Sion!"

The concerned call to her partner slipped out upon feeling that flare of pain before Sion was able to shut it off. She immediately swiped her hand down the length of the staff, trying to dislodge the black needles as best she could, but then there was an intense surge of anger from Akiha.

How dare that thing hurt Sion.

With a not-so-human growl, Akiha pivoted to bring the heavy and of the staff against the clown's shoulder before stepping into it. Hand driving into the center of its chest, Akiha used her meister ability to drain part of its energy.

...and it just laughed at them.
computations: (pic#4453665)

[personal profile] computations 2012-11-19 02:04 am (UTC)(link)
There was very little contact from Sion other than to let Akiha know that she was still there and surviving just fine. She was focused on her own problems at the moment. It wasn't as if she wanted to ignore the fight but she had to focus on the effects to herself before she could lend any assistance. Especially with it being this unknown.

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