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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[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.]

[With the brief squeeze of her hand before she transformed, he pulled back and listened for the click of fresh ammunition. Armed and ready to roll, he set out for the sands once more, keeping the warm and dry soul in his pocket that seemed to amplify their resonance somehow while - from an outside perspective - distorting it in kind. To others, he was a kishin egg who'd just eaten two strong souls, ripe for the kill and cannibalization. Gruesome, but an effective baiting tactic.]

Gonna head to the park since it looks like the city's locked down with pairs takin' out kishin eggs!

[Naoto noted this and it was making it difficult for her as well. She kept having to remind herself that no, a Kishin egg was not bearing down from behind them and stop being ridiculous, Kanji wasn't that unaware of his surroundings.]

Sounds good. [The park was probably widely neglected considering. It would be unfortunate though if morning training was delayed any longer due to damages.]

[The terrain was a trick and a half, but he just had to remain diligent. It looked like a desert out here with the city growing out of it... anyone sweeping had a lot of work to do, but it was doable. The park would have a lot of trouble not just from damages, but debris... debris he had to think about when he finally arrived.]

Read up once that fresh sand's good for plants... but I don't think Lily's gonna like what her poor garden looks like.

[He studied the landscape for any movement. Maybe he could get the jump on one.]

[It was unfortunate to see the park in this state again. It wasn't too long ago that the debris has been from the Nocturne Bazaar; now, they were chunks of Death City scattered among the sand. Something had been this way and was probably still out here.]

No, Ivory-san will not enjoy this.

[It looked as though one of the flower beds had been eaten... Her soul resumed its pulse and she did her best to again ignore the Kishin soul they still held.]

[He ran a sleeve over his forehead and checked the sand. There were tracks here, moving right around Lily's garden, but judging by the round craters it seems it popped up to munch on things. There were also little animal prints here and there, too. ...Some small critters survived the storm. Huh. Kanji trekked down to investigate the tracks, but the sand was soft... he wasn't quite catching the tremors of the earth under all the soft powder...]

[Well, if plants were about to be wasted in a storm, at least they allowed some animals to survive. While interested in investigating the paws further, she didn't miss the shifting like Kanji had. Again, the soul they held... and more coming in.]

Kanji...

Huh? ...Oh, shit!

[That was a weird feeling just then. It was coming from... underneath? He had to keep moving, then. He'd seen crappy horror movies about things that crawled under the sand and followed sounds. So he'd stomp real hard as he beat feet for one of the hills in the park not covered by sand. Surely it wasn't the kind that could dig through dirt too... w-was that another one from the left? Two? Was he seriously being followed by two!? Okay, play it cool, play it cool...]

[Naoto checked the eggs over as they swam through the sand, completely unhindered. They could have been one of the many first attacking in the sandstorm that she had noticed. They were quick and... large. Whoever mutated into them, she could only imagine.]

We have to get to higher ground!

Workin' on it!

[Because of the bazaar's crash, there was plenty of debris sticking out of the sand and dirt, constructs of stone and concrete... let's see the bastards try and dig through that! He turned sharply left and made way for it, if anything to be close by and be able to use the soul wavelength and noise to drive the monsters closer.]

K-keep a bead on 'em! I like my legs!

[She doesn't say anything more as he moves, knowing that Kanji has a handle on this. He was weaving accordingly, but she frowned. They turned fast.]

I'm following them. Move right.

[Knowing her senses while transformed, the reassurance always made him feel a little better. He darted right, and where he'd just been two steps before gave way to a small crater and a hiss, followed by long, crooked mouth parts futilely grabbing at nothing before that moving hill of sand resumed the trail. Kanji had to look back and feel the cold spike of mingled excitement and fear- what the hell was that under the sand!? More snakes? No, not with mouth parts like that... had to be bugs or something-]

C'mon, focus, focus...!

[One last Soul Descent, and he practically threw himself atop the debris, scrambling up as quickly as he could. But against his shoe he felt tendrils brushing as a wormy mouth erupted from the sand and tried to grab on, and with repeated oaths an octave higher than usual Kanji just managed to pull his feet away and turn to see... the most gorgeous thing he's ever seen in his life! ...Yeah okay not really.]

[He'll greet it with a shot in the face.]

[If Kanji wanted to know, it was only alien. While it had some similarities to some insect species, nothing matched perfectly. Naoto would prefer if he could stay on eliminating them for now and worry about research later.]

[Finally up on debris, Naoto nearly let out a sigh until Kanji all but yelped. It was the only way she could really describe the sound that had escaped him. Turning back, she noticed how his feet were almost caught by the alien worm mouth and her eyes narrowed. Already the bullets were waiting to be released upon the egg.]

[A few managed to sink into its mouth, but it proved to have a rather sturdy carapace. Of course this couldn't be easy.]

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Because who doesn't love graboids.

Uuuuugh goooood

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