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Entry tags:
AWAKENING
Who: Everyone
When: Midnight, June 6th
Where: Green Valley Orchids
What: It is time.
The subway stop near the orchards was not the type of place that most people liked to be when darkness fell. The orchards near the school were set up almost like a public park, which wasn’t so bad in and of itself, but it’s also the area where over half of the murders happened before the curfew was first put in place. It was a place people didn't go unless absolutely necessary and most had started taking alternate routes to avoid the stop. As one of the first subway stations built in the city, its architecture didn't really mesh with those that came after it. It had jagged corners where the smell of wet earth lingered, making it unpleasant even for those brave enough to continue to use it, and there had even been talk of closing it permanently once routes and nearby stations had been revamped to be better able to take care of the traffic.
Due to this, it only has the bare-bones of a shelter, fallen into disrepair as the curfew was enforced city-wide, and a couple of night guards, (probably already asleep due to the lack of activity they’re expecting), so characters arriving there will be mostly unnoticed. For a place that had such a bad history, most people rightfully avoid it.
For most of them it will be their first meeting with each other. There will be a bit of time to talk before their phones display a zero. Plenty of time to talk about what they suspect and what might just happen...and that horrible vision they had shared. Then there’s that countdown on their phones...ticking away the last few minutes.
The lights go out when the countdown ends. The lack of sound is, for lack of better word, worrying. Very soon, only the light of the phones serves as makeshift flashlights for the small group. But soon, even as words get displayed, a deep male voice echoes, which could be much more worrying.
Considering the choice of words, that might be Luci.
The voice laughs again.
A voice in your mind warns you this might be the biggest mistake you'll be making in your entire life...and yet your heart feels like it's going to burst from your body from the joy you feel...
It begins with a scream nearby. The same noise that they heard during the vision. The trees begin to turn grey as the sounds of hundred of creatures moving can be heard from all sides. The application opens, displaying them all in real time.
The group is surrounded.
By all logic, they should be running, but their legs feel bolted to the ground. They can't move.
The creatures begin to get closer. The trees start to rot nearby.
Breathing begins to increase. The sound of voices and memories quickly flashing before their eyes that might cause some to clutch at their head...exactly the same thing that the man had been doing back in the vision. If they look down at their hands, they will see them fading, see-through.
Yet for them, something is different. Just as the creatures are about to attack, they stop. A vision of the Velvet Room flashes before the eyes of those gathered as the two attendants silently nod. Then a return to reality as a light of color pierces the night from their hearts. A single voice can be heard, drowning out anything they might be hearing.
It laughs and fades, as time quickly returns to this world. There's only a few seconds to react before it all goes to hell. A faded hand to reach into your chest.
The choice is yours. Death...or Awakening.
It’s a feeling unlike they have ever felt. Never have their bodies been so alive. Their minds fill with lost memories, their bodies adapting into tools to defeat the creatures before them.
The voice is encouraging, almost. To those with navigator skills, the voice speaks up once more as well.
It’s time to reclaim the night.
[OOC: For the purpose of this battle, the shadows all have 1HP and are strong against nothing. That means any attack will be able to kill them, weapons and guns included. For this log only, CHARACTERS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO COMBINE SPELLS, as knowledge of this will be unlocked later on. There are about a HUNDRED shadows to be defeated, so there are as many needed for your characters to enjoy killing off. You are free to NPC them and to create situations and close calls.
An OOC PLANNING POST can be used to ask questions or to form teams.]
When: Midnight, June 6th
Where: Green Valley Orchids
What: It is time.
THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
The subway stop near the orchards was not the type of place that most people liked to be when darkness fell. The orchards near the school were set up almost like a public park, which wasn’t so bad in and of itself, but it’s also the area where over half of the murders happened before the curfew was first put in place. It was a place people didn't go unless absolutely necessary and most had started taking alternate routes to avoid the stop. As one of the first subway stations built in the city, its architecture didn't really mesh with those that came after it. It had jagged corners where the smell of wet earth lingered, making it unpleasant even for those brave enough to continue to use it, and there had even been talk of closing it permanently once routes and nearby stations had been revamped to be better able to take care of the traffic.
Due to this, it only has the bare-bones of a shelter, fallen into disrepair as the curfew was enforced city-wide, and a couple of night guards, (probably already asleep due to the lack of activity they’re expecting), so characters arriving there will be mostly unnoticed. For a place that had such a bad history, most people rightfully avoid it.
For most of them it will be their first meeting with each other. There will be a bit of time to talk before their phones display a zero. Plenty of time to talk about what they suspect and what might just happen...and that horrible vision they had shared. Then there’s that countdown on their phones...ticking away the last few minutes.
ZERO UNTIL MIDNIGHT
FINALLY! Ahahahahah! Ahhh, damn does it feel nice to be able to speak and not
just write. Hey lambs, are you all ready?
just write. Hey lambs, are you all ready?
Considering the choice of words, that might be Luci.
It's time. Can you feel your heartbeats increasing? Your mind about to explode? Questions swirling in your mind? Just make sure you don't go alone. Groups are
best, go all together and you'll never find the answers.
best, go all together and you'll never find the answers.
The voice laughs again.
Not that you have much of a choice at this point! Have fun, give them hell, and tell
them I sent you! I'll be taking care of that pesky guard problem for you.
...Let's go for a night stroll."
Communication ends just as abruptly as it started. No time to back down now, as the door where the guards are staying is quickly locked on its own before the subway system itself appears to be taken over by a virus that flashes on every available screen. With a click, the locked doors to the outside are swung open. them I sent you! I'll be taking care of that pesky guard problem for you.
...Let's go for a night stroll."
A voice in your mind warns you this might be the biggest mistake you'll be making in your entire life...and yet your heart feels like it's going to burst from your body from the joy you feel...
AWAKENING
It begins with a scream nearby. The same noise that they heard during the vision. The trees begin to turn grey as the sounds of hundred of creatures moving can be heard from all sides. The application opens, displaying them all in real time.
The group is surrounded.
By all logic, they should be running, but their legs feel bolted to the ground. They can't move.
The creatures begin to get closer. The trees start to rot nearby.
Breathing begins to increase. The sound of voices and memories quickly flashing before their eyes that might cause some to clutch at their head...exactly the same thing that the man had been doing back in the vision. If they look down at their hands, they will see them fading, see-through.
Yet for them, something is different. Just as the creatures are about to attack, they stop. A vision of the Velvet Room flashes before the eyes of those gathered as the two attendants silently nod. Then a return to reality as a light of color pierces the night from their hearts. A single voice can be heard, drowning out anything they might be hearing.
The time is now. I am thou, thou art I! Your mind is trapped, but I can set your soul free! My other self, will you die, or fight back?
Accept me for who I am! Forge this contract by letting go of your fears! Revolt against this world, and TEAR OUT YOUR HEART!
Accept me for who I am! Forge this contract by letting go of your fears! Revolt against this world, and TEAR OUT YOUR HEART!
It laughs and fades, as time quickly returns to this world. There's only a few seconds to react before it all goes to hell. A faded hand to reach into your chest.
The choice is yours. Death...or Awakening.
THE BATTLE IN APPLE GROVE
It’s a feeling unlike they have ever felt. Never have their bodies been so alive. Their minds fill with lost memories, their bodies adapting into tools to defeat the creatures before them.
Defeat...destroy...unlock the skills of your heart and show them what it means
to cross you."
to cross you."
The voice is encouraging, almost. To those with navigator skills, the voice speaks up once more as well.
Lead them into battle. Hone their skills into true annihilation!"
It’s time to reclaim the night.
[OOC: For the purpose of this battle, the shadows all have 1HP and are strong against nothing. That means any attack will be able to kill them, weapons and guns included. For this log only, CHARACTERS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO COMBINE SPELLS, as knowledge of this will be unlocked later on. There are about a HUNDRED shadows to be defeated, so there are as many needed for your characters to enjoy killing off. You are free to NPC them and to create situations and close calls.
An OOC PLANNING POST can be used to ask questions or to form teams.]
Jaune Arc/John (various prompts, pick your poison)
John had calmed down a little from his postings on the app. He was still shaken, still angry, and still very much afraid. But what choice did he have? He arrived without much fanfare, knowing the faces of at least two people to look for, however as he steps out to join the growing group he notices a few faces that are familiar: many from school but certainly a number of patrons from the cafe as well. John can hardly believe it, but why else would they be here if not for the app? He lingers on the edge of the crowd, not sure if he’s supposed to speak up or not.
2. Awakening -- OTA
This was a terrible idea.
The screams are one thing, but he can’t run. He can’t move and that somehow frightens him more than the approaching danger. He shudders and as a tree starts to droop near his left his brain feels like it explodes. He lets out a cry as vision after vision plays before him: a sword held up by a man who talks of a long line of Hunstmen that came before him. That same sword, and a shield, in his hands as he swings to block and strike against a monster bear-like creature. It’s called an Ursa. Then he’s flying off a cliff and crashing into a tree where he meets a girl with fire-red hair, Pyrrha Nikos. They team up, joining two others, and they battle more of those creatures, grimm...they’re all creatures of grimm. He stands on a stage with them as he’s pronounced the leader of team JNPR. The Vytal Festival is approaching, but first there’s a dance. He’s in an arena, facing other huntsmen and huntresses. Then he’s in the stands, watching Pyrrha...as she tears apart a girl with her semblance. A robot girl? He doesn’t know cause suddenly Pyrrha is in front of him and kissing him. She shoves him in a locker, he’s shoved in lockers a lot as he remembers Cardin, but this is different. He’s handed Pyrrha’s circlet...she’s gone now. But he fights on, so many battles, but most of them against the creatures made from darkness. Ren and Nora, the other two members of JNPR always with him...his friends. The last memory he has is sitting in a room with those two...recovering after a long journey.
His hands flicker but he’s having trouble processing all of this. Is he back in that room now? The room from his dreams? What is even happening? He feels like he is being torn apart. He hears laughter...but it’s nearly drowned out by the sound of his own heart. Tear it out? Can he…?
Before he can think too much on it, he acts. He screams and shoves his hand into his own chest. His own scream gets louder and he almost pulls back, but he’s committed now and his hands tighten around the beating organ. He pulls and nearly collapses, his vision going white.
But then it’s over and John is changed. He doesn’t just see it, he can feel it. It’s...it’s a rush like he’s never felt as both energy and memories flood him, like waves coming in from every direction. He doesn’t notice the shadow of a mounted knight rising behind him--but the armor that snaps into place over his body is in a similar design. He closes his fist around the hilt of a familiar sword, while a shield materializes onto his back, hiding a rifle as well. The weight is familiar, though the design is a little off from his memories, but that’s hardly important. He’s armed and he knows what to do.
3. Knights to the Field - Eligors Only
Jaune doesn’t exactly plan it, it just kind of happens. He’s thrown back by the blow from one of the creatures, his shield coming in handy for such close quarters combat. He feels a presence at his back, but it’s different from these creatures. He slashes out with his sword, chopping the shadow in half, before looking over his shoulder. Given the number of fighters, they have a bit of a breather. His eyes light up when he notices who it is, “Hey! Wanna take these guys together?”
He smirks, still running on the high of ripping out his own heart. Who knew that could actually feel...good? “Where’s the other Eligor, huh?” It isn’t quite team JNPR...but in this case he feels like it’s as close as he’s going to get.
4. Free For All Battle -- OTA
Despite his own battle experience, he isn’t exactly the best fighter from his team. He’ll need all the help he can get, but he’s more than willing to help others on the field as well. Despite having a gun at his back, he doesn’t make much use of it--preferring instead to use the sword in his hand and the shield in his other.
4!
Guess who's swooping right in to alert you of an oncoming shadow? Mako is. Except before Jaune can get to it, Mako uses Agi and burns the shadow into ashes. He's clearly getting tired, not used to battle like this but he's still fighting. he's going to keep going, despite the memories that burn his conscience.
He turns briefly to face Jaune, still braced for an oncoming group of shadows ready to strike them--
"How're you holding up?"
4
Jaune, however, was another story.
He wasn't a master swordsman by any means, but you could tell from his movements and reaction time that he was more than likely used to battles, especially when it came to using the sword and shield. He spins on his heel to take out the monster at his back, but already he feels the heat of a flame and it's gone up in smoke and ash. He'd recognized that voice...not from his memories of Jaune though.
"Mako? Hey, thanks," Jaune's attention is already shifting, he lets out a nervous laugh, "Oh you know...fighting monsters, decidedly not dealing with an existential crisis until later. You?" He doesn't wait for a response, instead he rushes forward, slicing one of the oncoming shadows in two.
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Which he does.
"Sounds about right," he says shortly after the boost. "Have you been using your Persona?"
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"Sort of...it's boosting the attack of my sword," he explains, he hadn't tried anything as flashy as Mako's fire attack had been yet. He...could feel that he could do something like that...but it wasn't fire. He hadn't tried it yet because he'd always been more of a physical type anyway.
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"Probably a good idea to start using it more, because they're coming now!"
A group of shadows rushes towards them at their left. "Your ten o'clock, John! Use your Persona!"
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"Kouha," he shouts, and a blast of light slams into the shadow before him. It disintegrates and Jaune pulls his sword again, adjusting his grip. Even he is starting to feel the effects of this now, the initial adrenaline rush wearing as he must now rely on his own stamina--which John doesn't really possess. If they make it through this, it's something he's going to have to address.
He cleaves a shadow in half and forces his way back to Mako.
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3 let's get this party started ☆
There's a dark ferocity in his eyes when he looks back and nods at Jaune, acknowledging their current alliance and moving to better cover any blind spots. He doesn't have a shield, but he doesn't need one: next second he's lunged forward, faster than a striking snake, to pin down a Shadow trying to sneak through their peripheral vision. It thrashes a few times before he slams his other blade down, tearing it apart.
There's a moment as it dissolves, before he motions a little off to the side in the darkness.]
That way.
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Jaune's persona appears, he's had a few minutes to learn how this works, and he casts Kouha, a flash of light taking out an incoming Shadow and illuminating their surroundings, briefly.]
Let's go then! We can clear a path in that direction.
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To destroy them all.
He has no interest in talking, either, in thinking about anything beyond his next move, the next Shadow, the whirl and clash of his swords. Somewhere, far away and unreachable, is the part of him that will bother to remember what this is for. Later. Everything later, preferably never.
For now, he takes off towards the flash of light Jaune's produced, which has managed to illuminate the area and a good amount of the Shadows ahead. Lenka is already moving faster than he (not him, Haruka) has ever moved in his life, but his shadow is still faster: Eligor outpaces him, reaches with muddy, skeletal wooden fingers and flings a good number of the Shadows straight into the air with a blast of Garu that takes out the ground from under them. It's a little harder for them to attack without a surface.
Lenka hasn't slowed, meanwhile -- as a matter of fact, he pretty much dives headfirst into the flying mass, swords flashing, ignoring the minor scratches and nicks in favor of the opportunity.]
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All he can go on now is that despite both having Eligor as a persona there are differences in appearance between the knights riding on either side of them. Also, apparently in another life Haruka was quite the fighter and he fights with a ferocity that Jaune wasn't sure he'd seen before. No, that wasn't true, he'd seen it in dire circumstances. Jaune skewers any of the Shadows that get past Haurka or that are out of the range of his blade.
It's only as he's running that he realizes that while they may be cutting a path through--they are leaving their backs terribly exposed. He's not sure if its a memory or something Pyrrha had once told him, but he stops and turns, seeing a number of Shadows starting to slip up behind them.]
Crap!
[Jaune brings the shield around, blocking as one Shadow lunges at him and he bashes it aside, following up with a thrust of his sword. He can't run and defend their rear--though he isn't sure Haruka will even stop at this point.]
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Get up.
He sidesteps one shadow, whirling in a flash of cape and color around and through the black mob. It's not enough. He can't see a thing through them, and any means past them is rapidly closing before he can get there. Again, the penguin head swirls down low, leaning over until its beak almost touches his ear. The Shadows race forward, and this time, Kidou finally obeys, sweeping his leg around his ball to kick it backwards and up, then leaping high into the air to claim it against his chest... and landing solidly on the litter's platform that maneuvered beneath him. The wings extend from its side, and his strange Eligor takes to the sky.
It's just in time, too - the whole battlefield extends before him just as the mob he'd attracted closes in on itself. The narrow circle of his vision sweeps across the field, stopping when it centers on a familiar-looking figure currently making a mad dash towards that same center knot of shadows trying to reach up to claw at the dangling legs of his Eligor. Haruka. No... considering everyone else, would he really be Lenka? Kidou shoves the question aside as irrelevant for the moment.
Behind him - someone he doesn't recognize, but with a warhorse and a knight on it, he can guess. But it doesn't matter, either. Not yet. What does is that they're at risk of the same trap he fell into. If they keep moving forward, the shadows behind them are already moving into a pincer formation. Those monsters are going to move that center knot right around them!
Sweeping his sniper rifle into position, Kidou takes aim. Don't think of them as living things. Think of them as targets, something urges at the back of his mind, but he can't tell if the thought came from him or the penguin beak arced over his shoulder. All he can tell is it's enough to make him pull the trigger, and one of the nearest shadows to Jaune dissipates into black smoke.]
Don't go towards the center! [He's not sure if he can reach two people at once, but he's damn well going to try.] They'll surround you! Turn to your 3'oclock!
[There's no more prompting needed. Kidou'll work on sniping what he can from his airborne position, though he has to pause a short while between each shot to center it properly. If he can just get them out of the thickest part...]
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However.
Some things are burned deeper, branded into his bones and marrow, and his charge is already slowing when he hears the telltale sound of combat behind him: too much to be mopping up stragglers, and by the time Jaune lets out his cry of dismay Lenka has already slid into a half-crouch facing the right and thinnest flank of the teeming mass they've suddenly wandered into. There's a movement in the sky that makes him duck instinctively towards the cover of the treetops, but the report of the rifle calms him again, a familiar background rhythm. His back line is okay, for now. He needs to find an opening. He needs to get them all out of this in one piece.]
Roger. [instinctively, he's tapped a finger to the comm device that isn't in his ear, not even registering the telepathic component of the message beyond the somehow familiar voice -- he can't quite place it, but he'll listen for now] John! This way.
[The new well of power whispering behind and through him is limited, something cautions, but Lenka digs down anyway and flings out another Garu to help break through. The new twin swords he's been given don't have quite the same reach, power or heft of the weapons he's used to, but they do have a certain versatility: instead of parrying with them, he slams them together -- the hilts lock, becoming the holster for the newly formed lance.
It makes a much better battering ram.]
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4.
He also looks not quite human anymore. Despite this, he recognizes an ally in distress. "John! To your right!"
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And then it clicks, the grad student, "Adrian?" He's not sure if he should even be surprised any more. He doesn't have much time to think about it though, he notices four shadows approaching from behind Adrian. He reaches behind him and pulls the rifle out of the holster on his back. He shouldn't know how to use it -- his weapon back home didn't have a gun form like most of his friends -- but he'd seen Pyrrha use hers and apparently his persona granted him some skill with it. He fires off a shot, taking out at least one. Hopefully that's enough of a clue that Adrian should watch his back, but just in case Jaune shouts helpfully, "Behind!"
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"John, are you up for a little close quarters combat? Back to back!"
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John's already slipping the rifle back in its holster and pulling the sword and shield back into his hand. The shift in weapons is smooth, like Jaune's done it before, although maybe it's more from watching Pyrrha and the knowledge that Eligor has granted him. As directed, he turns his back to Adrian, noticing too how the shadows are starting to circle them. It's only a matter of time before--there! One jumps forward to strike and Jaune bashes it back with his shield, causing it to crash and tangle with a second Shadow.
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Also mindful to try and direct his new Persona, Alucard raises his voice in command. "Marchosias! AGI!" He can only set one Shadow on fire at a time, but it's gratifying to see one less enemy surrounding them.
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Jaune sticks with his sword and shield. He knows there are spells available, but it doesn't seem like the time.
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4!
Mitsuru stays with her sword for the time being, regrouping her energy from the last salvo of magic. She tries to clear her mind, readying another spell once she gets her mental breath back. And right now her focus is narrowed to the blade's edge, and stabbing it though as many hearts (or the shadow equivalent) that she can. Those nearby aren't given much thought, or attention-
At least, not until Mitsuru dodges a strike with a fast sidestep, and finds her back bumping up against someone. It has to be someone given how solid they are, and the absence of claws between her shoulders. Instead there seems to be... armor, of some sort. But the sudden contact shorts her concentration. The magic she was readying comes apart at the seams, and she has to focus it DOWN, into the ground and manifesting as a sheet of ice underfoot.
...All that leather she's wearing does seem to have an advantage after all, given the sudden chill in the air.
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Out of the corner of his eye he sees red hair and his own concentration falters for a second. He moves to turn, to get a better idea, but suddenly there's ice underfoot and another Shadow coming in front his side. He goes to block again but loses traction, slipping on the ice and falling. The Shadow will be on him in a second if something doesn't happen...
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The whoosh of air is the only warning she gets. The next, that presence at her back is suddenly quite suddenly gone and she doesn't have anything to brace herself against. And, as it turns out, heeled boots and sudden balance loss don't mix well with ice.
She falls over backwards, and lands on someone with an undignified "ooph!" on her part.
"Sorry-" she has just enough presence of mind to get out. Before realizing there's something dark bearing down on both of them. And her rapier fell just out of reach in the fall.
"Sword please!" She shouts out at whoever she's resting on.
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He opens his mouth to respond, but them remembers they're about to be attacked. He can't move, since he's now a seat cushion, but he does have the reach necessary to get her sword. He slips his hand under the hilt and tosses it up to her, "Here!"
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"M-my thanks." She breathes out, before rolling to her side. "I didn't expect to run into someone else so quickly, and I had to redirect my spell into the ground-"
That's as far as she gets, when she realizes just WHO she ran into. Who she landed on. And who managed to land themselves in the same situation as her.
She's getting a lot of practice in perfecting that look of wide eyed confusion and bewilderment. If the look she gives him is anything to go off of.
"Wait, you're here too-?" All her attention is on him... to the exclusion of any shadows creeping up behind her.
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He blinks and looks over now that she's expressed shock and apparently recognizes him. He knew it wasn't Pyrrha, but he'd seen red hair so that probably meant---yep, it was her. The girl from the cafe and the festival. No wonder she'd been so dizzy at the fireworks.
"Uh...yeah? I keep forgetting just how many people were on that app," he replies, looking a little surprised himself.
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