soul_logs | EVENT: Retake the City

Entry tags:

EVENT: Retake the City

Characters: Every who signed up to retake the city
Location: Death City
Rating: PG
Time: July 4th
Description: There are Kishin eggs in the city. Like, everywhere. They've pretty much taken over and we can't have that, now can we?

Early in the morning, the sandstorm finally began to fade. By noon, it was gone completely, leaving behind far too much sand for comfort. The city is not in the best shape, having taken damage from the elements as well as the Kishin Eggs that are crawling all over the place, who seem to have made this place a new home.

They could move under the sand (and were quite fast when they did) and the fact that apart from their mouth the rest of their orifices was quite small it's clear that they were built to move like that. There's also the pesky fact that the city has buildings and alley ways they can hide in. The fact that Death City is layered like a cake is also a problem as it creates a lot of place for an enemy to jump down and ambush unsuspecting victims.

Of course, it's easy enough to repay in kind.

Either way, the familiar streets of Death City is now a battleground and the objective? Take back the city.

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[Surprising that the thing still bothered to squirm as it did. And now attempting to escape; not possible.]

Understood!

[She pushed energy into her blade and made the switch, glinting as it came out. Even in the shadows, it seemed to glare, ready to pierce into the manta ray]

All yours!

[God the shift was always so cool, right down to the sound. She'd been shifting a lot quicker lately, too, and he didn't even need to watch it to know when it was ready. That glint was more than enough.]

[And so with a roar he gave the ray a shove airward and whipped the blade in a horizontal arc overhead, bypassing vulnerable underbelly and onward to everything inside. Everything in his vision went dark, and for what was one time too many in his career as a Meister he was inside another kishin egg... for the moment, at least. When they perished it was like they were made of smoke or burned paper, ripping away into black flecks, his ears filled with a shriek.]

Nice! ...Hope it called its friends. They comin'?

[She felt herself cut through the egg like paper, little resistance able to hold her back. Naoto knew she was becoming stronger each time they collected more souls, but she really did feel like taking on a Witch was no longer out of hand. The body was dissolving around her, fading into smoky trails and soon, whipping back into an angry red soul. One down...]

[Her soul pulsed out and back, reflecting the sand as silent, but a second revealed the dry ocean shifting.]

... Two more closing in.

[He nodded and was ready. The hovering red soul was left where it was, a testament of something they'd come to learn rather quickly- kishin eggs and their goal to become the next kishin, eating anything they come across whether innocent or one of their own 'kin'. Standing as an enticing beacon, there was no denying two pure human souls and a third if slightly tainted just nearby. A banquet!

[But the switch back for gun form was initiated and he braced the gunblade in both hands to lessen kickback, indicative of her growing strength. Planting his feet, Kanji remained where he was and turned toward where the signal indicated movement. Normally missed by how the sand shifted with every passing dry wind, he knew that movement was life beneath. Instead he fired another Soul Descent, a shock to the underground. Would this one emerge to fight or try to snatch from below? He needed to figure these two out first.]

[She was back into her gun at orders, energy forming several bullets immediately. Her soul hummed, sending out waves faster to better read the egg's movements as they started to come in. They were splitting up, going around. One would attempt to snatch the egg while the other would attempt to handle the duo. Perhaps they were confident in their strength, but they would learn shortly enough.]

[The Soul Descent amplified her waves and she watched as the first circling egg was knocked back into a building and shook the sand off, forked tongue flicking. The second only paused for a moment as the sand was blasted away, revealing a second smooth-scaled head. Serpents... Naoto's temper burned hotly at the sight. No, they weren't the Rainbow Serpents in Australia, but any semblance, she would take them down.]

[Naoto wasn't alone in that spark of suspicion. Taking the urn to safety only reminded him of the lives lost to the war, and seeing something serpentine like this only made the memories fresher in his mind. Even now he wished he could have gone with senpai, but... was their resonance even strong then?

Damn it. He couldn't think of that. The first snake was given a few more shots for his troubles, buying time as he picked up the first soul and held it out like some sort of ball, swaying it back and forth in hopes to catch the first snake's eyes as he held the gun out, not even aiming.]

This whatcha want? Y'want it? ...Then come get it!

Let's feed this one a Megidolaon. Think that might fill 'im up?

[Their tempers being in sync was to their advantages, souls flaring at the same intensity, but still with their different personal ways. That urn and those graves... they were exactly why she was going to become a Deathscythe. She would find another way to end this war, but she wasn't going to lose anyone else.]

It will fill this egg up more than enough...

[One egg still stunned, she was charging up, several bullets still ready, but her power was amplifying. Naoto was ready to stuff it alright.]

[He felt it all amplify and he let his soul sync to ride the rise and keep in tune. The snake, far too hungry to wise up to the ruse, came hurtling for them, all scales, teeth and more than a little bloodlust.]

[The body reared, and Kanji took aim. Snakes were always quick on he draw, snapping up their meals and holding them tight before pumping them full of venom or crushing the life out. But the moment he saw the ridged pink of the inside of the snake's mouth, his mind had the split-second thought of NOW and he wanted to see just how much their Resonance Attack had grown since the last time...]

[Revving up their resonance attack wasn't taking as long as it had before. The ball of light she harvested and invested energy into wasn't as taxing either. It swelled quickly, energies quickly expanding and becoming unstable, ready to explode at the slightest provocation.]

[She was ready when the snake was, form shifting around Kanji's arm and forming that cannon at the simple command of 'Now'. She released the massive orb of light into the snake's mouth, forcing it back and also making its jaws shut on reflex. The light collapsed in and burst out with a echoing boom. What would result in a mess were it just a real monstrous serpent instead left it dissolving into another red soul to collect.]

[Damn was he glad there wasn't some gross gory mess. The cannon was hot around his arm as the other hand shoved the soul into his pocket. Using the kishin egg souls as beacons was damn good, and after a short jog, the second joined the first. They were warm and kinda squishy against his hip.]

[The second snake was snapped back to 'life' with the death of its hunting partner, and coiled quickly. It had seen a direct assault would result in something as nasty as that bomb thing they fired into the mouth. Kanji moved to step out of the loop the snake formed, but it was much faster. The body was always moving, so climbing was out... looked like a little close-quarters combat was needed.]

A'right, not as clean as I wanted, but... freakin' snakes!

[Okay, he needed to think, think, think... and he threw himself to the right to avoid the snapping bite of the snake in the meantime.]

[She wouldn't say it out loud, but another place and time, she would entertain the idea of owning a snake briefly. Watching the one before them turn into a soul was satisfying, but ultimately meaningless.]

[Her soul pulsed as she analyzed the second snake which had taken a more defensive position. It was quick to bite and its fangs were long, but still weak. They wouldn't break her blade if they tried breaking them instead. She came up with a plan quickly. The low overhang of a small building near caught her attention]

If you can get its fangs hooked on that overhang, it will by us enough time to take it down.

Over- [He quickly checked and thought of a snakebite. Yeah... yeah, sounds like a plan! Kanji nods and turns to face the snake. A pound of his chest and an opening of his arms of 'come and get me' later, he's widening his stance and preparing for another assault.]

[If he were to be honest, the snake was really pretty. He always liked animals and could appreciate when they were cute or looked really pleasing to the eye, and the glimmering scales, despite being marred with dust and sand was intriguing. But when it was lightning fast and he had to concentrate on moving or losing some part of him he couldn't be enamored for long. Slowly he inches toward the overhang, knowing that if he darted under it the snake might wise up- it was once human, after all.]

[Naoto was ready and waiting for the snake to strike as well. She couldn't measure how long it would be stuck so they would have to be quick. It was tense; she was even holding her breath in Weapon form which was necessary. Extra energy she could spare she pushed in Kanji's direction. The moment when, she would change to her blade form and they could run it through.]

[His heart was racing a mile a minute and he had to wonder if this snake was a constrictor or something with poison. He didn't intend to find out. He wasn't good at identifying which kind of snake was which, and it didn't help that the snake's eyes were pretty human and none of its markings really rang any bells with him.]

[But there was a fierce hiss as the sinewy monster hurtled down once more, snapping up sand where Kanji stood just moments ago, and the anger in its eyes was building. This meal was beginning to be too much of a pain in the ass to bother- there were pairs less experienced, far more stupid... but in its frustration it got sloppy too. This last strike was a near-miss, two of its larger fangs getting caught in the canvas of the overhang, the curvature of them built for hanging on to things and never letting go - a boon - became a problem. It couldn't dislodge! With a shriek of frustration it tried to wrench its mouth from the building, even if it yanked out teeth in the process... but Naoto's thought met Kanji's. The gun became the blade that he needed, keener than ever.]

[He had to dance out of the way of that lower jaw, that flicking tongue that touched him, enticed the monster, and the Meister's own frustrations grew. Grasping the hilt in both hands, he squirmed under the jaw and exerted every ounce of force he could, thrusting the blade through soft tissue and directly overhead.]

[That's just what she was waiting for. Fangs caught, Naoto was out in a snap, blade shining. It was clean, ready when it pierced into the snake's body. She went right through, cleaving tissue, muscle, and any bone that may be in her path with a crack.]

Follow through!

[Energy ran up the blade to add cut behind it and down to Kanji. She was ready to be dragged through the rest of the body. If he wanted to, they could use the other resonance attack to finish it off. Unfortunately, since this snake was tenacious, dark blood was oozing from the open wound and down to her handle.]

On it!

[They still had work to do, and though they could use their resonance attacks more than before, Kanji decided to save the flash for just a little bit later. Feeling the energy pass through his arms he was on the move, taking the blade along with him. He tried to block out the awful sound that steadily killed his appetite for lunch later, and the snake was practically warmed butter at this point. His musing to touch Naoto's blade was put on the furthest backburner- he liked his fingers.]

[It would be a good idea. Three eggs down and who knew how many more they would have to take down before the day was out. Her blade was being stained as was his sleeve, but she sliced through the snake with nary any resistance. With that much critical damage, even if the snake got itself loose, it wouldn't last long. It was another soul for them.]

[He reached as far as he could go and looked back at their handiwork. There was no coming back for this guy. Beginning from the tail and moving along to the head, it was that weird ashen paper and smoke effect, and with a furrow of his brow, he had to wonder what kishin eggs were made of.]

[Circling back, he lifted a hand to catch that third soul coming down from where it was nestled in the snake's body.]

Heh... never had my pockets so full before. Should'a brought a backpack or somethin'...

[But he leaned down to catch his breath.]

Looks like this part of the city's clean. Bet the outer districts ain't lookin' too good- everybody's busy clearin' out the city itself.

[If only she had been this strong before... still, what's in the past can't be changed. They were here now and that's all.]

A backpack full of souls...

[If they collected that much, they might be ready for their final soul even sooner]

Indeed. Since you're pockets are getting full and everything's clear for now, allow me to collect what we have so far. We could save one to attract more eggs.

[He pulled two of the three souls out of his pockets. What if something happened and they lost what they collected? Plus one soul was enough to attract the kishin eggs they needed to clean up, anyway. May as well let her have the charges.]

Sure. I'll keep an eye out.

[With a little flick he let the souls hover and turned his head, holding out the gunblade. He was pretty used to the soles of his shoes... he could feel some pretty good vibrations if he tried, and he wasn't going to let anything get the jump on them.]

[Switching from her form, she stood before him with a nod and took the two souls from him. With him on guard, she didn't mind eating them, but she did duck her head so he wouldn't have to see.]

[No flavor, but they were dry. She almost coughed after the second one, letting her mouth and throat properly salivate before speaking.]

Almost ninety-nine and I'm still not used to them...

[He had to wonder, as she usually described the taste simply as 'bad', which led to his making lunch to pack on their missions. With the storm and such short notice, they didn't have that option today. He made a silent promise to rectify that once the city was cleaned of monsters. But he still had to frown, nod.]

Good thing is you're almost done, and then ya won't have to do it anymore. Just a little more...!

[He brushed a bit of sand off his coat.]

Lunch is on me when the city's cleared out!

[She couldn't help the cough that still escaped, but she did cover her mouth.]

Yes...

[The thought of consuming no more made let out a sigh. Just a few more and the Witch Soul. What would that taste like anyway?]

... A drink will be fine. There's little flavor, but they're very airy and dry.

Drinks, then. You got it.

[She always seemed so self-conscious when she ate the souls... when he stepped up, paused, and stooped to give her a peck on the lips, he hoped to remind her that he knew it was a necessity and didn't think less of her for it.]

Let's shorten that home stretch.

Thank you.

[Considering the souls had once been human, she didn't want him thinking of her any less. His kiss does make her feel better no matter how brief though. As he pulled away, she took hold of his hand, nodding]

Yes. We're nearly there... [The goal they had set out so long ago was finally coming within their reach. Without another word, she shifted into her gun form, energy feeling renewed as she loaded up several rounds.]

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