"Eh? Shinin' Scale? It don't ring no bells for me at all, girlie, but it sounds like a fine pirate name at least. Yer' talkin' to tha' Dread Pirate Zeerover right now, though!" Sophia said, giving a winning grin to the Beacon girl as she spoke, slowing standing up as well from where she was sitting.
The sheet fell off of her gently and onto the alien blood-stained ground, though at the same time a certain "clink" could be heard as the chain arm still wrapped onto Sophia moved. As soon as the pirate stood up, however, the chain arm seemed to come to life, reeling itself in and wrapping itself around Sophia's left arm like some kind of armor. The pirate girl, somewhat surprised, took a look at it for a few seconds...before giving a light shrug.
She then began to look around herself in earnest, between the ruins, and alien blood goo, and...was that a tear in the sky filled with a maddening blood red sky and tentacles?
'CREEEEEEAK!'
Oh, so that was the 'Soth' thing she'd been told about? Sheesh...at least it didn't seem to be doing anything so far.
"Oi, i hope all of this isn't some blasted normal ere'. So ah' take it tha' a battle just got wrapped up, an' me n' the maid lass ere' somehow resulted outta this if i hafta' make a' assumption.
On tha' other note, this wee thing seems a tad attached to meh for some reason. But it seems friendly n' all, so i'll let it ave' its place ere' fer' now." the pirate said to Alicia, letting out an exasperated sigh as she felt her own stomach rumble aloud.
Then the pirate girl's eyes, still trying to take in the scenery about her, landed on another peculiar sight. A blood-stained girl hugging a sad-lookin' girl with cats around her? Though the blood-stained one seemed rather sad herself a bit too. It tugged at the pirate's heartstrings, seeing what she assumed to be comrades trying to give some comfort after what seemed to have been a hell of a battle...at least if the scenery was telling enough. That, and the new prosthetic she had over her left arm seemed to prod her slightly when looking at the two.
"Ah...i'll be right back, lass. Gotta' look into somethin', ah' think?"
This sounded so very dumb, but she was new to all of this and wanted answers anywho. So with a casual stride, Sophia made her way over to where Sammy and Amaryllis were, taking a knee next to them. She reached out with a tentative poke on Amaryllis' shoulder with her left hand, still covered in the prosthetic chain arm.
"Er, sorry ta' interrupt ya' both...but this here arm that's gone an' attached isself' ta' me prodded me ta' come over ere'.
I dunno' what appened', but ah'...ah' could take ya out fer' some food, perhaps? Er..."
She'd have to steal some cash for the meal, but...dammit all this was awkward as it could be right now. Stupid arm bringin' her over here without giving her a clear reason! Twas' just like that ship, if she had to confess it.
The maid let out a tiny, meek 'meep' sound before hiding her face in her hands. This was, at least, as Jenna poked her face and got very close to her. The questions didn't make her any less nervous either.
It was awkward enough for all of this to have happened to her. B-But to have someone guess who she was so soon was much worse!!! She didn't want to die here, but this girl had to be psychic or something! How was she supposed to do penance if she was killed or locked up right now! Oh no....
...W-Wait a second.
"U-U-Umm...y-you must be psychic? A-Ah, n-not to assume, a-a-anywho...b-but i'll b-bring m-my most recent memory t-to the s-surface if y-y-you w-want to know...please don't kill me!"
Serenity kept her face covered, however, and her voice low enough just for Jenna to hear. The last few words of hers came out in the tiniest squeak of a scared voice as well. Her raw nervousness was itself rather palpable to boot, and her mind wasn't the exact same 'Soth fragment' from before. More like...its that, but also made human, maybe? Something. It was an incredibly odd thing, but as promised Serenity was pulling up those most recent memories before her transformation into her mind (if Jenna wanted to attempt to look).
There was enough stuff in Serenity's mind to become easily confusing if it wasn't dredged up to the surface for someone to read. The timid maid herself was well aware of that much at least.
'Hmm...well this is interesting, but in an unexpected way i wish to watch play out from afar.
Though i must say, that slaughter and look of despair was to die for~
So i will leave this world to its machinations...at least for now.
Tata for now, mortals~'
The booming voice of the greater horror spoke from the sky one last time, before it tendrils began to pull the rifts in the sky back together once more. Like a little kid trying to hold the parts of a ripped blanket together, except in this case it was actually working. The sky seemed to knit itself shut once more at Soth's behest, until not a trace of the Greater Horror's presence nor the damage in the sky remained.
Though as Soth's voice had rung out in its final message, Serenity seemed to tremble and pull her legs in close to her. Like a scared child, of sorts.
@pearllop Just wanted to hop by and give ya a friendly: "Welcome to the guild"! :D
Also, er, a suggestion to try to help ya with one of the less fleshed out stuff because my sleepy brain decided it was a good idea:
-You could make that Wild West idea a "supernatural wild west" if you wanted. A wild, untamed wilderness with more than meets the eye as people move out west for riches and the wild frontier!
Hope you find a great writing partner, and have a great day/night! :)
Title/Magical Girl Name: “The Dread Pirate” because it sounded cool at the time off the top of her newly-born mind
Age (Magical Girl): 11
Age (Before Magical Girl): - (was a dead, altered magical girl body that was brought back to life by a horror)
Gender: Female
Gender (Before Magical Girl): Female
Appearance(s):
Specialization: Oddball – Gunpowder An odd magical girl specialty revolving around the concept of gunpowder and thing tied to it. She can utilize and conjure such things as guns and cannons firing various kinds of ammo/shot, grenades/bombs, time bombs, even things like artillery and very rough “tanks” can potentially be conjured if she uses enough magic. Even gunpowder burned to make a “smoke screen” is very viable for her.
Weapon 1: The Van-der-“decker”
Type - Melee/Ranged
Her initial melee weapon (a boarding axe) has been combined with a ranged component due to the dual weapon perk. In particular, it is now a boarding axe whose shaft has a powerful shotgun built into it. This overall weapon can both blast enemies trying to get closer, with a high knockback even if it doesn’t hurt them, as well as be used to chop them into tiny bits. Yarr!!!
Weapon 2: Cursed Fists of Gold
Type - Mystic/Fist
A set of ten rings worn on her hands, which she cannot even try to pull off in magical girl form (they are not present outside of magical girl form of course). They are splendid looking, magic, gold rings fitted with jewels and ornate carvings and the like. They can channel Sophia’s magic very well, and can use their golden-colored magical energy to form golden defensive shields.
The ornate designs etched onto them are of death, destruction, and other such scenes that happen on the high seas. Likewise, the settings for each gem look like skulls with jagged teeth holding the gems in their mouths. Equal parts horrific upon inspection, but also amazingly cool as a side effect, the rings are a sight ot behold for sure. These rings appear on her hands automatically when she enters magical girl form, and have the secondary function to work like a set of powerful brass knuckles and the raw durability and thickness to easily work in this function.
Item (Unique): Chain Arm of Darkness
Type - Prosthetic
The chain arm that Annabelle Irons, the magical girl whose life was used to bring her to life, used to have. It acts like an additional limb when used, and it can transform into long, sharp, dark chains that can be used to conduct magic or bind enemies (etc). It was given shape by Annabelle's own natural magic when she lost an arm, containing a bit of pure Darkness magic within it (which can be used with practice) that is untouched by a horror's influence.
It also seems to have a mind of its own, at least in a certain sense, and has bonded to its current owner. It is also capable of moving about detached from its current wearer, in a limited manner, if needed.
Power:
Focused Assault – She can pour far more mana into her attacks than normal, dealing very punishing and penetrating blows via her magic, weapons, or even just her bare hands. Takes a bit of concentration and focus to do this, though the method or form of attacks she fires off using this isn’t limited to ranged or melee. Not as strong a power as Killing Blow, but it can be repeated over and over until she is drained dry of mana. Combined with her Mana Font benefit from her Patron providing substantial amounts of additional mana to her than the average magical girl, this makes Sophia a frightening threat when she gets serious in combat.
Perks:
-Dual Weapon
-Wings: She can sprout wings from the back of her outfit, allowing her to take to the skies and dark about in the air with grace. A mobile feature necessary when it comes to her patron, at least, and transportation at times.
-Closure: She is a magical girl made from a dead body. She has no family to miss her, no leftover pets, no anything. In this sense, she has total closure.
-Big Backpack: A brown backpack she carries around with her, of a modest size despite its interior being far larger due to space-time shenanigans. It is filled with 10k in cash, always filled with various useful items in it when she needs/desires them, an initial 2 changes of clothes, basic survival tools, and an unbreakable laptop that always has an internet connection. It also contains a pair of modest/nutritious meals in brown paper bags along with an appropriate ID for wherever she is at....and these things regenerate in the backpack once a day, along with varying in regards to the food contents of the brown paper bag meals.
-Martial Training: A spontaneous mastery of a large amount of weapons, even down to their finest intricacies, as well as tactics and logistics. From single combat to group fights, it can be said this pirate has more to her than meets the eye!
-Enhanced Weapon
-Ally: Aye, it be good to have a first mate in times like these! Beware, landlubbers!
Patron: The Flying Dutchman
Patron Benefits:
-Mental Link: A constant between her and her patron, allowing them to contact and communicate with each other in an instant.
-Hidden Death: Being a sentient ghost ship floating through the air or on the seas for an incredibly long time, it has the perk of regenerating quickly back if it is “destroyed” at all. It is a curse to wander for eternity, and even long after the planet is gone it will still linger about and sail the heavens. Such is this vessel’s eternal fate.
-Transportation: Sophia can freely summon and utilize the “Dreadnaught”, a flying-but-can-actually-touch-land-for-landing ghost boat for her to use as more reasonable means of transportation. It is a large vessel conjured by her patron, similar in shape to its original form. This smaller boat can be reproduced easily if destroyed or such. Not that flying on a giant ghost ship isn’t one of the most amazing things ever, in its opinion, and her patron itself can act as a means of transport as well for her.
-Mana Font: Gathering up energy over the centuries, it possesses vast mana reserves that it allows its magical girls to tap into a good bit of. After all, it might help them stay alive, or have enough “juice” to take down threats and enemies and such.
-Gifted Item: The Dutchman has granted her a Mystic Artifact due to its lack of coins, a clairvoyant artifact that can sometimes show glimpses of the past, present, or future of whatever query the user has used it to look for/at.
Patron Drawbacks:
-Alien Tongue: It may be sentient and very old, but it’s still just a ship. Even through the mental link, specifics creaking, flapping, and other noises associated with ships are made by it to communicate. The intent and tone shine through clearly, but a true understanding of the things it is saying are ultimately impossible to acquire. It’s just a lonely ghost ship, after all.
-Limited: It is a cursed, magical, haunted, flying ghost ship that roams the skies. While it has accumulated a lot, and can do some things, it isn’t a god nor is it a full organization. It may never die due to its curse being “forever” as well, but at the same time it has its limitations as well.
-Formless: It is a ghost ship, a haunted vessel cursed to be flying the skies and sailing the seas for all eternity. It lacks a proper form with eyes and ears and the like for communication and proper conversation, only using only its mental link capability to “talk” to its magical girls or others. It can fly about, fire cannons, and even act as transport for its magical girls, but it cannot touch land or come to port.
-Empty Pockets: It has collected very large amount of things in its existence, but coins are not one of them. In terms of coins, it’s utterly broke and allows its magical girls to work for other patrons for said coins. As long as they don’t turn against the ship itself, that is.
Fighting Style: Close range/quarters, with melee and fists and attack, is her bread and butter as a magical girl. Get in close, or let them come to her, and beat them to all hell. Her magic supplements this via various armaments otherwise, the use of explosives, and/or other tricks she can employ to try to give herself and advantage or attack/defend against the enemy. The use of her transportation to get close faster is one potentiality, and if enemies lie at a distance then using her magic to try to unleash destructive fire from a distance if need be.
Personality: The kind of person who as a pirate can be considered “very piratey”, from her more positive and upbeat demeanor in many situations, to her stubborn but strong will/determination, and willingness to get things done with her own two hands if needed. She also stands with a level of confidence that makes her a striking figure in or out of costume, or at the very least makes her more memorable and much easier to recall. This being said, at times she can be or is blunt in her attempts to “get to the point”, and can be rather sober at more serious times or when emotionally hurting.
Innately her past, however, is a point of note with mixed emotions. She wants to learn more about what made her and how this happened, and who or what she was before. Frankly, beyond this she has enough questioning about her own place in the world as it is, and is trying to shake off any uncertainties as she moves forward. On top of all of this is the “hunger” (Devourer trait) as well, that which bubbles within her very being, which is usually satiated by plenty of food and drink. One could call her more of a glutton when she’s emotionally strained as well, and a bad mood from her is usually indicated by larger and larger meals depending on the mood itself and situation.
She does have a good heart at her core, however, the kind who doesn’t want to blast innocents to kingdom come or bring unnecessary heartache on others. The kind of person who would be there for friends without hesitation, or comfort a loved one however they could manage to. To her such people are her “crew”, and she can’t let her crew suffer. It just wouldn’t be right as a Captain to let that happen on her watch, if she can help it.
History:
The story of Sophia’s origins is nothing much to talk about. The dead body of a magical girl was gathered up in Penrose as part of the plan of Soth, Lord of the Infinite Abyss, a greater horror who had come into the area. Originally meant to be the vessel and avatar of said horror, monster parts were gathered and human remains were gathered/’created’ to ensure the best possible compatibility with the horror. Then the main of her body, the remains of the dead magical girl “Shining Scale”, were gathered to be altered and fitted with the extra parts.
But when the ritual to do this, which might have wiped out the city or worse, was interrupted...the Greater Horror was forced to retreat. Or rather, it chose to pull out of the situation and sent part of itself to its doom. It was at this time Sophia’s body finally came to life, her mind developed and became sentient as she became a person of her own self. At this time, her first patron contracted and contracted with her inside her head, mainly to help secure her away from the Horror who had made her. Though another magical girl lied dead despite this, their life force used to bring Sophia herself to life in the ritual, many other living ones would be present in the area of her awakening as well.
What will become of the new magical girl, however, whose life was was born from great death? Kidnapped to Beacon and interrogated? Snatched up by the group led by the dangerous Vermillion mistress? Something else entirely? It all has yet to be decided, perhaps~
Incantation: “Take up the wheel, and may the evil cower in fear!”
Additional Info: Anything you want to tell about your character such as their favorite color, hobbies and anything else that doesn't fit into the rest of the sheet.
(Reason: Death, +1 silver)
(Age, rolled 6, age 12 as a result)
(Body, rolled 3, Underdeveloped +1 [LCK] or MAG)
(Oddball, rolled 20, +2 for one stat [LCK], +1 to another [VIT])
(rolled 18, Fist, +2 STR) (-1 bronze, +4 to roll to roll it back over to “2”: Melee [+1 STR +1 VIT], and dual weapon added Ranged [+1 AGI])
(Outfit, Elaborate, +1 [MAG], rolled 11)
(Power, rolled 8, Focused Assault)
(black coin use: second weapon (stat bonuses double when wielded), Mystic/Fist, main is Mystic [+1 MAG], secondary via dual weapon is Fist [+2 STR]. Dual weapon added [+1 STR] for the fist aspect. Doubled bonuses when wielding are total: +2 MAG and +4 STR)
(l perk: rolled 1, +1 Weapon Stat , Dual Weapon – Ranged added to first weapon, and Fist to second)
Personality: A lonely ghost ship, who has sailed the seas and sky for a very long time. It can have its moods and such since it became sentient a long time ago, though its lack of proper speaking makes conversations a little more difficult. Can be rather friendly and supportive if you are good to it, though.
History:
The Flying Dutchman is a being recognized in the folklore of the West, a ship sailed by the infamous Dutch captain ‘Vanderdecken’, that has been cursed to sail the world for eternity and never touch land again. One could say, however, that this does give the ship and its undead crew time to figure some things out. Such as learning about Peter Pan, and finding out how to make the ship fly. Likewise, the ship being infused with gathered magical energies over time eventually became sentient on its own accord. However, this did lead to some incidents with magical girls when the ship passed over a few places to see the sights or otherwise…
One magical girl in particular managed to, after talking with Captain Vanderdecken and crew, get them to agree to her offer to help them on to the afterlife. Power of Friendship OP. However, this could not be extended to the ship itself. It had, in the hundreds of years sailing the seas and sky, become a creature of its own. Bound by the curse it and the crew had borne as well, and lacking a soul, it was safe to say the magical girl could not help it and was promptly kicked off-board several thousand feet from the ground. With that, the ship has continued to sail, and when a certain Horror’s presence arose...well, it had to settle an old grudge, yes? What better than by taking the vessel it had wanted to use as its own magical girl?
Resources: The Flying Dutchman doesn’t have anything in the realm of coins for payment. Rather, items and goods and the like that it has collected before and after and since its original crew were disposed of are what it uses. Nick nacks, TV’s, computers, old battle-worn swords, and even artifacts are things it can provide with an ease.
None dare ask how it still gets its goods, however. A flying ghost ship has its secrets too, you know!
However, to get coins it would allow magical girls under it to work with others. So long as they don’t turn against it, that is, or try to kill it. Eternity is such a lonely existence, in hindsight...
Additional Info: Funny enough, while the ship cannot ‘speak’ normally, it can actually understand a great variety of languages known and unknown. It is very multilingual, a trait it somewhat admires and is willing to boast about potentially...albeit it doesn’t speak very well. Ah.
Serenity Gates
Name: Serenity Gates, aka “Maid in Heaven” or “Heaven” for short
Age (Magical Girl): 14
Age (Before Magical Girl): Unknown
Gender: Female
Gender (Before Magical Girl): Consciousness of a Fragment of a Genderless Horror, which was reincarnated as a human
Appearance:
Made ya look, ey? Haha, it’s just written out and described under the perk itself on this app~
Specialization: Time
Weapon: Hands of Compassion – A set of 6 silver colored but plain looking throwable knives, each with a tough black-colored gem on the bottom of their hilts, that are usually kept sheathed on her outer thighs (3 on each thigh). Though small they have a finer sharp edge than obsidian, itself like unto a surgical scalpel in sharpness and the fineness of its sharp edges, they can be readily magically multiplied into many knives as part of their function (and very cheaply too). They can also be recalled to her hands at will, and can be used as a means to cast her magic over long distance, acting as a ‘receiver’ for it and acting as catalysts for it.
Power: Power of Friendship
Perks:
-Monstrous Metamorphosis: A leftover of her former existence, but purified by the light of the true Beacon, when this state is triggered she becomes something of a “holy monster” in part. The left half of her face transforms into thorny, crimson red vines, whilst her right eye becomes a pure white glowing eye. Likewise, the vines also begin very rapidly growing out of her body as well and either squiggling about like added limbs or wrapping around some body parts to hold them together and add a layer of thorny protection. The thorny vines, however, are able to be used like tentacles freely.
In this form she also radiates energy like that of the “spark” she bears, which actual monsters and evil forces like find to be entirely uncomfortable to be around and even more so is harmful to the touch. Of course this has no effect on regular magical girls, and DMG’s merely feel extremely uncomfortable and their instincts cry out for them to leave. In this manner, her transformation is similar to a Purification artifact.
But as soon as she is out of this transformation, which does inhibit her mind a good bit in the process as a counterbalance, her body and everything returns to normal again.
-Sorcery: She bears knowledge of an ancient runic alphabet, which is etched/written out and used to cast magic in a general sort of manner. They can be used to enchant objects in certain ways, place curses on people or other things, create a script for a magical chant/incantation, utilize things like divination and necromancy, and perform various sorts of rituals to different ends as well.
There are no 'elemental' spells or a blunt "magic missile" offensive kind of spell, but things like a ritual to generate storms or thick fogs or such can be used.
It is more of a highly versatile and supportive sorcery type, as it were, used to augment the user and perform various sorts of tasks such as growing plants quickly. It is less reliant on the user's own magical supply, instead invoking the power that exists in this magical script to cast magic. However, rituals (especially certain types) will inevitably draw upon the user as well.
-Get Out of Jail: She can teleport to a random location, an initially safe one at least, that is guaranteed to have the facilities and supplies needed to recover.
-Soul Jar: Her soul is kept up in a little soul jar to keep it safe, making her body essentially a puppet (even though it doesn’t feel like it). A side effect of making her “human”, though she keeps the little thing hidden on her person for good measure. Due to her patron, however, the spark that exist within her is in this vessel and has strengthened it beyond the normal standards for a “soul jar”.
-Dual Weapon: Her melee daggers are capable of conducting her magic, and act as “receivers” for her magic at up to extreme distances. A very useful aspect for long-range magic, at least.
Patron: The Beacon
Patron Benefits: .
-Perfect Life: The Beacon will ensure she has a place to stay, friends, and a surrogate family. (Gains the Fake Parents perk for free). Any close friends and family she has will fall under the Beacon’s aegis and be protected from monster attacks.
-Spark: A spark of the true Beacon’s light is contained within her body, to stoke her inner fires and preserve her humanity. With a small extension of will, she can resist attempts to forcibly alter her mind or body.
-Mystic Might (her 1 free Universal Perk): Her magical prowess is stronger as a magical girl, at least due to her Patron.
Patron Drawbacks:
-Vow: The Vow of Compassion. Though in this case it differs from the usual personal vows made by Beacon members, instead being a powerful binding measure placed on her by the Beacon’s own light. This is the enforcement of empathy and compassion upon a consciousness which once had none, a mandatory reformation to make the affected magical girl truly “human”. It is a transformation of the self, both a show of compassion and allowing her to experience it, that cannot be undone.
Truly, she cannot toss away this newly gained humanity no matter what, as it is a full part of her now, due to this. Reincarnated as human, made into a magical girl, she is no longer anything of “that Horror”...save in memories and consciousness of things she can never forget. She did get a perfect photographic memory out of this, though, as a side effect.
-Excommunication
Fighting Style: Agile movement and magic are key to her combat capabilities. She can attack in close with her knives, dodging and using her movement to hit the enemy and try to avoid harmful blows. She can also throw her knives, using their inherent capability to duplicate them in the air, and then her time magic to propel them with greater force by accelerating the flow of time on those objects specifically. Her ranged battling usually consists of a "bullet hell"-ish style of spam, lacking precision with her knives save if the enemy gets too close to her and she targets them.
She can also place her daggers or duplicates of them in far-off places, and due to their nature allow her to cast her magic through them to make super-long-range magic possible.
Whilst her speed and magic are the keystones of this, her lack of durability and strength does prove to be her downfall. Tanky and tanky-or-speedy-melee types are her kryptonite, as with enough speed and tankiness they can get past her knives and magic to get close to her. Likewise, melee-fighters can go toe-to-tow with her in close range at the very least.
Personality: An initially somewhat timid and nervous person in social situations, a guilty-feeling individual and a person who has yet to truly immerse herself in the world and “become someone”. In part she fears for her life, not wanting to just die and die again. One could call her intelligent with ease in all mundane subjects, however, which was achieved by her possessing her old self’s untold levels of knowledge that was translated over. Her memory is perfectly photographic, the kind some people in the world might have...but emphasized much more so as part of her penance. For some reason she also has a strong enjoyment of spicy foods, which make her rather happy when eating them. But in the end, she does wish to be truly ‘human’ when it comes down to it.
However, her magical girl alias was merely chosen based on an manga that came to her mind as she was reincarnated and awash in all of her memories. To this end, she is a bit embarrassed...but still confident enough to keep the name at least.
History: Once upon a time, a Greater Horror feared across the cosmos shed a part of itself as a scapegoat to pay for its sins. A cruel betrayal, an evil but universal entity on both sides, but even so this fragment was butchered by a blade that sought to devour all. It was smitten to pieces, and as it consciousness lingered at the end it asked “What did i do wrong? I merely wanted to see as humans do!”. It had no the capability to understand, too long a lifespan and lack of certain mortal imperfections to be able to do this.
Then came a light. A brilliant light that seemed to shine over so much, and offered it a chance for penance: “You are an evil being, that which should be smitten into nothingness. But for you inability to ever understand, in this one case i shall offer you compassion this day.
Let your mind be shaped by mine, let your will be forged by my own. I shall reincarnate you into a human, but you shall live as a magical girl for all eternity. My spark shall glow brightly within with great light, but in return you cannot escape those memories you bear nor knowledge of your many sins and deeds.”
The fragment, brought down to mortality, accepted this bargain. It was reincarnated into a human girl named Serenity Gates, and she was made a magical girl. She gained family, and friends, and was placed in a good home. It was nothing her former self deserved, she knew it to her core. But with this new life, new chance of hers, might come the chance to truly be as “human” as her former self once desired to be.
Incantation: ”Time to tip the sca-!...Wait, that one is copyrighted? Dangit.”
“Evil’s time is at its end, let then the light descend!”
Additional Info: Anything you want to tell about your character such as their favorite color, hobbies and anything else that doesn't fit into the rest of the sheet.
(Reason: Death, +1 silver)
(Age – rolled 18, 18-10+8= 14, new age is 14)
(Body – rolled 1, Underdeveloped +1 [LCK] or MAG, also applies out of costume)
Stats (Untransformed): These start at 3. CYOA options indicate if they apply out of costume as well. STR: 3 AGI: 3 VIT: 3 MAG: 3 (+1 [Sorcery]) = 4 LCK: 3 ([+1 [body]) = 4
"...Hah...ah....we...we did it!" Annabelle said to Summer, her voice croaking with ecstatic excitement as she finished.
Snap.
Without the altar, this plan of her boss' was already strained barring he...manifest a lot more of himself. But with this strain on the connection, even her own to the body, her original plan was more viable! She hadn't planned this all to happen, given...but it had worked out splendidly! This girl's actions had just saved the planet, perhaps.
Slowly, but surely, the corpse and chains began to flicker more and more oddly. Noticing this, the darkness magical girl reached over towards her right shoulder with her left hand, casting a spell to form a blade-like protrusion...and shoved in what little magic she had left to force it to suddenly grow.
With a nasty crack and splatter sound, Annabelle's chain arm was cut off from the shoulder, the void-touched girl's face streaming with tears as the metal clanked to the ground. Yet Annabelle's body shuddered itself, no cry or scream, as crimson blood began to flow from the again-stump of a right arm she had. It seemed stupid, foolish...but the arm had its job.
And she had done hers...
"That should stop...the flickering. I think...we can...go back now."
The white-haired magical girl seemed to wobble a bit as she spoke, however, until she finally fell over onto her side in front of Summer. Her breathing was slowing bit by bit as well, and her arm hairs seemed to bristle as if a chill breeze had just come through. Annabelle, however, merely grinned widely despite it all as she lied upon the white flowers. In fact...they felt rather soft to the touch, a very welcome thing after what had just happened.
"Ah..."
Annabelle's magical girl form fizzled out before Summer's eyes, returning to the now one-armed redhead Annabelle usually was otherwise. At the same time, the girl's extremities began to rapidly turn pure black....starting at the fingers and toes. And from these blackened parts began to come off strange black flakes that were take up in the wind.
There was one thing she could feel being intact, however, though after she had cut off that arm it had begun to fade. But...well, perhaps she could make good use of it. One more time.
'Hey there...my knight in shining armor...haha. Seems it all took a bit too much out of me, i think.....all of this...ah. Not...much time.
But we did it on this side...cut the Soth off from the body i mean.'
Annabelle rolled herself onto her back as she communicated to Amaryllis with their waning mental link, looking up to the starry alien sky with her grin still in place. Her eyes seemed weak, even as her body was crumbling before the Beacon girl's very eyes, but even so they still beamed with a sort of energy. That....and perhaps a form of acceptance of things as well.
'Gotta take a rain check....on any...return trip though. Just ask the girl....who brought me here.
But i hope that horror bastard is getting what it deserves. I hope....that Regina....finds peace as well.
I just wanna ask one last favor, though...
...Make sure the new girl...doesn't make any of my mistakes...alright?'
With that last message, however, the last of Annabelle's blackened body finally crumbled into black flakes and dust. The wind blowing over the field too picked up the last of the magical girl, tossing and scattering it about the field.
And the moonlit alien sky merely watched on...silent, ever waning.
~Crypt Ruins, The Graveyard, Penrose~
As Amaryllis dug her hungry blade into the flesh of the partial manifestation, the fragment of Soth screamed. It lashed back with its tentacles, fired lasers, roared back in attempted defiance. It, finally, feared for its own life and sought to preserve it like a wild animal. Gone was any prior charisma or subtlety, evaporated was the calm demeanor it had shown before.
A god who had brought down into the most meager of mortality. How laughable.
Alien blood flew about as the monster's body was torn asunder, inky black and disgusting as it was. The blade that patron'd Amaryllis would drink deep of but this miniscule fragment of Soth, the rich blood of a horror being readily available in this instance. Too did a flurry of metal flying into the fray, slicing into the flesh of the fragmented horror like a cheese grater to a hard block of Parmesan. This being courtesy of Su, of course. Even so, the monster fought back as hard as it could, struggling until...the very end.
As Su would approach the Horror to help finish it, it would seem that much of the work was already done. Flesh scattered in bits about the open-air crypt ruins, alien fluids all over the place, and frankly one now very dirty magical girl. Severed tentacles, some at least, attempted to writhe about upon the ground to do something as a couple severed eyes weakly attempted to looked about.
All that remained at this point of the main body was a modest lump of flesh, a couple tentacles and eyes left upon it. It was no larger than the size of a basketball.
At the same time, however, the corpse underneath a white sheet, and Annabelle's chain arm, would finally stop flickering. Their forms became solid once more, clanking to the floor of the platform gently as they landed once more.
???
Where...where was this?
No, what was this?!
Everything was so dark, so cold...was this death? It was like an icy chill, sinking into the depths of one's very being. It was like they were sinking into a lake, weighted down and dissolving like a grain of salt.
It was...it was terrifying! Was this what mortals felt at the end?!
It had merely wanted to walk in the shoes of mortals! It had wanted to smell the flowers, feel the breeze upon itself, and understand that perspective!
It had been bored, so very bored, but why did this mean it had to die like this?!?!
'You are an evil being, that which should be smitten into nothingness.
But for you inability to ever understand, it is pitiable.
Thus, in this one case, i shall offer you compassion this day.'
Wait, what was that voice? It was...warm, yes that was the appropriate word it knew for that. But compassion? Was this one of those mystifying things mortals showed called 'emotion'?
Was it what that seemingly meaningless drivel that dragon girl had shown for its champion, and the champion in return???
'Yes, this emotion is called 'love', or 'affection'. It is one aspect of mortal life that shape nations and even shake the world. I offer this to you, however, but at a price. Your penance, the penance for those many worlds that have been laid waste...and living things defiled by you. You will understand, but you shall suffer for it in order to know any peace.
So, let your mind be shaped by mine, let your will be forged by my own. I shall reincarnate your mind into that which you have so desired. Yet in return you shall live as a magical girl for all eternity, never to escape this fate.
My spark shall glow brightly within with great light inside of you, but in return you cannot escape those memories you bear nor knowledge of your many sins and deeds.'
It...it didn't want to fade into the darkness! It didn't want to end on this note! There had to be more, something, anything, and if this was the price,, then it could only accept-!
'Good, good. Let your consciousness be bathed in the light, let your fate be forged by my will. You shall care for that which your sins have made to be born!
So a monster doesn't try to take over my body or worse? Er...that seemed rather fair. In fact, that 'killing monsters' thing sounded pretty good too.
Well...why not then? She had to make a choice to, er, get anywhere. And not...not being alone would be very nice as well.
'CREEEEEEEAAAAAAAAKKKKKK~'
Alright, alright! Quit with that damned racket! You are excited, but these are only my first steps, you know? Yours too, it seems.
??? and ???
The Collector's mirror would merely suck in some of the mortal flesh of what had been a fragment of a horror.
A bright flash of light seemed to consume the crypt ruins, radiant and beautiful as much as it was blinding. Not the body under the sheet or remaining chunk of the now-lesser horror visible. The feeling the light gave was...warm, however, and soft. Those among Beacon would find its sensation to be familiar, perhaps, as they looked upon its glow or basked in it.
As the light faded, however, a surprise was left for those at or otherwise looking upon the scene:
"What the bloody hell is goin' on here, ya landlubber?" the pirate girl called out, rubbing her head as the white sheet from before covered the lower half of her body, looking around at the same time, "Name's Sophia von Zeerover, and apparently a flyin' ghost ship has contracted me to...'keep that asshole Soth away' or somethin'? Blast it all, i just need some food right now...though i gotta say i at least got ta' appear by a cutie~"
The maid girl, on the other hand, seemed...a bit nervous? She seemed a bit scared, even, as she looked about at the people in the crypt ruins after glancing at the pirate girl.
"A-A-Ah!!!..ah...sorry...oohhhhhh all of the emotions are hitting at once....," she said, speaking with her voice low where it was harder to hear, before hiding her face in her hands, "A-Ah...m-m-my name i-is...S-Serenity G-Gates..."
-Main Road, Intersection between Docks/Suttling's Basin/Golden Quarter-
Thot Circle: Catching Up
Resets: 5
Deaths: 4
Aerith's eyes seemed to zone out as Chieko relayed the bad news to her, as the bomb of realization finally dropped into her mind and sunk to the bottom of her gut. She knew Ashton had tried to get her and himself before to kill each other to force a reset. She'd refused for reasons back then, though later had....given into that despair and done exactly that. And that throb of that pain, that despair itself even, seemed to rear up a bit within her chest again as thoughts of the past entered her mind. Without thinking, Aerith's hand came up to clutch around where her own heart was, and only out of the corner of her eyes did she see Chieko clenching her hands as well.
Hiro was dead. The man who she had Chieko had arrived with, who had been a big help and she'd died alongside several times, was dead. The one who had been last to die the first time...was now the only one not returning this latest time. Aerith internally cursed at herself a bit, briefly indulging in the self-loathing and familiar pain from before. If she had not fallen into despair, perhaps Hiro would still be here. Maybe if she'd been able to stop Chieko, or at least had lingered around a minute or two more, she could have stopped the boy.
Aerith did her best to pull back into her composure she tried to put on a smile, though it wasn't going to fool anyone at this point. It hurt, a lot. In fact, it made her even more glad to have found Chieko alive. But it all...felt like a mess as well, like a big sloppy mess. She'd tried to save Chieko's life, after Chieko tried to save theirs, and it had felt like all the blame was directed at her personally.
And...were they truly right, in hindsight?
'It was all your fault, you know? Little clingy bitch who can't let someone decide for themselves, right? She even tried to save you, and you decided to kill yourself! A pathetic excuse for a human being is all you are!'
That was what her own mind had berated her with, and worse, over and over again among other things. The world had told her to up and disappear so long ago, coming here had been a blessing in disguise. A hell, however, was all that seemed to have awaited her in the process.
A hell of constant death, seemingly inevitable dying, and chaos among those of them from Earth. People not willing to listen, feelings of wanting to get back at those assassins, it...to the culminating event that had led to Hiro's death.
But...no!
No, this was not a good train of thought to have. This wasn't right. Joy had saved her from despair, even if in a way that perhaps abused Aerith's own low and desperate position to Joy's benefit. But she had saved her that day in part at least, even if via a deal with another witch who's powers had done the heavy lifting (she wanted to talk to that one witch if she could too). She was alive for one reason or another, and needed to make use of it! Melancholy had given her perspective as well, giving her a drive to find the answers to all of this. She didn't care if she had to talk to the gods of this world too to figure it out.
More than this, she owed herself and Chieko (at least in her mind) to do her best to live and not just give up on things. She had felt the sting of pain and injury, the hell of her former home, the taste of poison in her veins, and the despair that would make one want to give up all hope at least once. She had to persevere, right? It was the only way forward, the only thing that made sense when she thought about it all.
That...that was the only way she ever got anywhere before as well. So she would find that happy ending, even if it took everything she had to get there!
But as Alistair spoke to her, Aerith snapped a bit out of her thoughts and looked back over to the boy. It was nice to see his face as well, if she were to be honest, though his words stung back at her prior train of thought as he left off with a question. She most earnestly agreed that they needed to communicate, or 'catch each other up' as it were, if they wanted to try to avoid 'that' again. She wasn't the most keen to speak up about it...but she'd just been thinking about it, at least, and whilst the pain hurt it also made the talking perhaps a little easier.
"We went to the Clinic, and Quill was intent on getting Hiro alone. Chieko spoke up before i could claiming to be a 'clairvoyant' the bandits thought us to be, then trying to save us by going alone with the bandits.
I...after seeing her die the first time, after all the times i had died again before then and seen others die, i panicked. I didn't want to see her die, or go off on what seemed like a death sentence. I was called out then, and...my plan failed. Completely.
Then I...I...I tried to kill myself. I felt like trash, like i couldn't help protect anyone, and only ever got in the way.
That is the short of what happened in the city, after that...well, i'd like to hear what all of you went through then first. If that is ok."
The dark-haired girl tried to speak where only Alistair could hear, though the chances Chieko might have heard it were very high as well. Not much space they had for private conversations, anywho, when trying to keep it private. But she had avoided mentioning lord talus, and the resurrecting, or any of those things. At least, to try to avoid Aki or any other nearby innocents like being harmed...again. She and Ashton had learned that much the hard way, at least, and she didn't want to risk this right now.
Though Odessa's sudden appearance spooked Aerith a little, causing her to jump back for a few seconds before she settled down. The horned captain's words, however, did seem to make sense to the dark-haired girl. She'd slept with a witch for who knew how long, and gained a power of sorts that...well it nature wasn't very 'light' as far as she understood it. It was like instinct, perhaps, to get that kind of feeling about herself.
"I mean Alistair, yourself, and Chieko no harm. That much i can assure you, and i am actually here to help however i can," Aerith said to Odessa, attempting to be cordial with the other female with a few brief words.
Turning to Chieko again, as the other girl spoke about any who wanted to help to come with her, Aerith felt a smile come to her face. Small, but it was a real smile at least. Chieko wasn't pushing her away, and she was happy for it. Perhaps her and the chunni girl didn't fully agree on things before...and maybe still not about that stuff from back then for all she knew....but that wasn't a reason to leave each other in the dirt. Frankly, she was just glad to be able to help to boot. At least have a chance, anywho.
Waving to Alistair to come, at least if he was able to now that this strange horned girl was here, Aerith then began to jog off a little to catch up with Chieko and walk alongside her. She could maybe make the excuse, if the cultists attacked soon, that she was trying to get intel. But more so, she was intent on helping Chieko and hoping there was a solution to this.
Unless the bandits were witch cultists, which for all she knew was a big possibility, then perhhaps...this city could be saved. Maybe. Just maybe. Even if it took a few resets.
The pale-skinned magical girl felt the thrum of an Overcity Shift in the air, stretching into the air and enveloping her like a blanket. The girl's red eyes shot open wide with a look of sheer horror, but there was little time to respond before the shift would have moved her. She'd asked the Beacon girl to channel that ability to help, not shift both of them like this! Would they both even be shifted, at this point???
If they could have just cut the tie between the Soth and the body, then it would have stopped the Horror being able to-
~???, The Overcity~
-...what?
Annabelle found herself on one knee next to Summer, sweat running down her eyebrows as the two stood in a...rather interesting scenery. Far off in the distance buildings could be barely made out.
For a moment, at least, Annabelle felt her mind drawn towards the surreal scene.
It was a field of flowers, and the two girls were upon the flower-crowned hill overlooking it all.
It was more like a snow-white sea really, alien yet familiar in shape...but softly glowing under what looked like a lovely moonlit sky here. Then as a gentle breeze came in, they began shifting and rustling very lightly under the silvery light.
Their inky black stalks were so slender, fragile-seeming nature, as if any mere movements might snap them in twain.
Their flowers too seemed to be expanded into a delicate array of five petals, stretching up as if to reach up to the sky to embrace it.
"Ah!!!"
The void-touched girl felt a tug at the connection, the one which had been zapping her life out and funneling it and her magic into that of the corpse held in her right arm's chains. But...this was going down not in the way she had ever expected.
It was like a surreal pain, not the usual tug of her life and magic being drained, and Annabelle's chain arm began to flicker seemingly in and out of the Overcity. Wait...that arm had come here too?! It was an odd phenomenon to be sure. Yet also too, seemingly, had come the thing they were still holding at that. A sheet covered, magically modified corpse lying atop the white flowers and in the grip of Annabelle's chains.
But the body too was flickering seemingly in and out of the Overcity, like Annabelle's chain arm itself. Though whilst the nerve endings attached to that chain arm were firing off for Annabelle, a pain comparable to the draining of her life and magic, magically Annabelle could feel something...strange going on.
"Ha....ah....you might've just...AH!!!...saved us all with that..."
Annabelle spoke to Summer with some exasperation, but also the ever-obvious pain she was feeling, in her voice. However, a small smile was coming to her face as well, as if something really good had just happened.
~Flying Platform, The Graveyard, Penrose~
'....Oh?'
The partial manifestation of Soth seemed to evoke a very human, and in this sense rather alien for it, emotion in its voice....surprise. Albeit calm surprise, but surprise. This was to the end that it stopped attacking Amaryllis and Alicia, more intent to focus on the odd thing that was going on at the moment.
Amaryllis and Alicia could, if they but looked behind themselves, witness what this fragment of a Greater Horror was seeing. Annabelle and Summer were gone, but Annabelle's chain arm was seemingly frozen in the air and flickering in and out of existence to the naked eye. The same went for the corpse itself that the chains were attached to, Amber's body and the chains seeming to reappear and disappear like a strobe-light effect. This was what was very visibly worrying their opponent.
Yet the Horror's disposition seemed to shift slightly more before it began to speak again.
'Well, this is a most frustrating, but also enlightening and interesting, turn of events. There would be no way you mortals would know how to do this purposefully, but this what is called a 'spatial flux'.
It is a mere side effect of trying to shift a spatially grounded object with multiple karmic ties attached to it. A rather rare display if cosmic events, but...
My vessel is being torn between this world and the Overcity, in other words, because that fool of a girl shifted herself and my sacrifice tied to this corpse into the Overcity.'
...wait a second, why was Soth stopping to say this to them?
~Park, The Overcity~
The darkness magical girl summed up some of her strength as the flickering began to continue.
"...The body is stuck between the Overcity...and our world. I think.
I can still feel the life and magic...being zapped out of me...but its erratic. My former boss' attempt to connect to it feels the same.
Yet without his altar...we can stop him here!!!"
Annabelle let her smile grow, her withering and more corpse-like form perhaps being a tad creepy in doing this, before sending a surge of magic through her chain arm towards the body. It felt erratic, and frankly was a struggle, to do so, but her heart was screaming an exuberant 'yes' at the same time! This was her chance...no, this was THE chance they had to stop this once and for all!
She could manage it now, in this scenario, with just this little magic she had left at this point.
~Flying Platform, The Graveyard, Penrose~
The sky above the flying platform seemed to shimmer with more spatial rips and tears now, before finally it tore open a bit.
A torrent of disgusting, vile aura poured out of it from the sky, down upon the platform and grounds of the graveyard below. It was a power most vile, most gut-wrenching, and very much the true presence of a Horror. The hole to their world was not yet open to unleash a greater Soth. But it seemed Soth was, in this case, tearing a hole into their world physically rather than using up sacrifices this time. A much slower process, and still incomplete at this moment.
If any looked through the rips and tears, they would only see and alien, blood-red sky and endless amounts of writhing black masses of eyes and tentacles.
'I shall merely have the rest of my whole tear my way into this realm faster, then, to strengthen my link to the vessel! This farce of a 'battle' shall be ended, and i shall-!'
The partial manifestation seemed to stop cold, just as a tangible wave of magical energy passed through Annabelle's flickering chain arm. It was such that the girls on the platform could very much feel it as well. It felt like...Annabelle, which Amaryllis would be able to recognize as the same magic that had formed their mental link through the chain arm itself. Untainted darkness, magic not touched by Soth's endless abyss, and it was surging into the corpse it was holding onto still.
'HAHAHA!!! AH, HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!'
From the smaller cracks in the sky this time, a far greater voice boomed loud into the air, where all of Penrose could hear. It sounded more...physical, more powerful, and more commanding than anything the partial manifestation of Soth had ever sounded like.
Even the monsters of varying sizes in the city that Beacon was mopping up, who had been drawn out and in by the mess and Soth's summoning of forces, seemed to take pause as if stuck with utter terror. True, mortal terror for things that struck terror into others.
However, the cracks in the sky also stopped growing, the distortions coming to a gradual halt as the voice laughed in sheer mockery and amusement.
'So my former champion has actually gone and done it! Mortals never cease to amaze, nor does the effects of my own power, and i must say my appetite to incarnate has only been intensified by this event. Haha!!!
It was admittedly not possible without the help of others, and that particular accident of course. Still....this is the most amusement i have had in millennia! The struggles of mortal life shall never cease to entertain me since i began to look upon it with dull eyes, and this is proof of that not being a mistake it seems!
So a great reward is in order. Specifically, your planet's current survival, and a chance for myself to watch from afar that raw fury of humanity's to amuse me further!'
'What?!' the partial manifestation of Soth spoke, looking up towards the sky with a look of actual shock in its many eyes, 'We are to manifest here! What is this nonsense you speak-?!'
Heed my voice well, mere fragment of my will, mortals of this planet, the and magical girls of Penrose! I am the fullness of Soth, the Infinite Abyss, a great force of this universe that since the beginning that clears away the old and returns all to its origin!
You may have this fragment of my will to slay as you all seem to desire greatly. It has ceased to amuse me after i allowed it to grow to this point, and it is now cut off from my whole's support. My walk among mortals, this shall occur elsewhere...somewhere less amusing. So sayeth i, the Abyss itself!
Were this my whole, your world would have collapsed in an instant and been consumed into my void. But yea, my true coming is a great ways off yet, it seems, for this world.'
'NOO!!!!!' the partial manifestation of Soth spoke, looking up towards the sky with a look of actual shock in its many eyes, 'You would cast us aside, on a whim, for your mere amusement more?! We are one! We...no...i cannot feel your power any more...I SHALL DESTROY YOU ALL FOR THIS!!!'
The presence of Soth's fragment seemed to shrink in an instant, now barely clinging to the platform to keep it afloat as it began to sink down towards the ground again at a steady pace.
Only that power of Soth's true mass, the fullness the Abyss, seemed to still exert a passive and extreme magical presence in the area now. But the sky did not tear open more, the ground did not shake, and even the storm itself that had been generated before began to slow down and clear.
The stink of a greater horror's true form hung strong in the air, but as for this fragment...it was virtually powerless now. Like a newborn baby left alone among wolves.
A prey item whose demise was to be watched from the cracks in reality in the sky above.
The battle to stop Soth's ritual has been won! The ties between him and the corpse are nonexistent, at the very least, and the whole of Soth seems to have been 'amused' enough to let go of this ritual...and this partial manifestation of him.
And now, as it were, all that remains is to punish the evil that has been cut off from Soth's whole...fufufu...
Go To Town On It, using Finishers or with anything else as you so desire. The body, i can say, will be safe from this at the moment in its now starting-to-stabilize inter-dimensional state. My treat~ >:3
However, this is not the end of our little climax in regards to the situation with the corpse itself. It isn't stabilized at the moment, and is still doing so. Summer also would find she cannot, at this moment, shift Annabelle or what is attached to her back. There is also Regina in her monster form to deal with, which shall be handled by Broken as they desire.
To those such as Helga and Su, etc, that are headed towards the platform: Consider the platform to have landed by the time you who are traveling to it are posting this round as well, but know the body and chains/chain arm are still flickering in and out as we speak~
"...Hah...ah....we...we did it!" Annabelle said to Summer, her voice croaking with ecstatic excitement as she finished.
Snap. Without the altar, this plan of her boss' was already strained barring he...manifest a lot more of himself. But with this strain on the connection, even her own to the body, her original plan was more viable! She hadn't planned this all to happen, given...but it had worked out splendidly! This girl's actions had just saved the planet, perhaps.
Slowly, but surely, the corpse and chains began to flicker more and more slowly. Noticing this, the darkness magical girl reached over towards her right shoulder with her left hand, casting a spell to form a blade-like protrusion...and shoved in what little magic she had left to force it to suddenly grow.
With a nasty crack and splatter sound, Annabelle's chain arm was cut off from the shoulder, the void-touched girl's face streaming with tears as the metal clanked to the ground. Yet Annabelle's body shuddered itself, no cry or scream, as crimson blood began to flow from the again-stump of a right arm she had. It seemed stupid, foolish...but the arm had its job.
And she had done hers.
~Flying Platform (Descending), The Graveyard, Penrose~
As the platform descended from the sky steadily, Annabelle's chain arm and the body slowed down their flickering as well...until it finally stopped. The flickering, that was, leaving only a now bloodily-removed chain arm and the corpse it held lying atop the platform
The pale-skinned magical girl felt the thrum of an Overcity Shift in the air, stretching into the air and enveloping her like a blanket. The girl's red eyes shot open wide with a look of sheer horror, but there was little time to respond before the shift would have moved her. There was little time for anything to be done about this, but maybe...damn it all. She could at least leave something to help with this, it was perhaps all she could do.
The darkness magical girl without thinking reached over towards her right shoulder with her left hand, casting a spell to form a blade-like protrusion...and shoved in what little magic she had left to force it to suddenly grow.
With a nasty crack and splatter sound, Annabelle's chain arm was cut off from the shoulder, the void-touched girl's face streaming with tears as the metal clanked to the ground. Yet Annabelle's body shuddered itself, no cry or scream, as crimson blood began to flow from the again-stump of a right arm she had. It seemed stupid, foolish...but the arm had its job.
She could feel her eyes wanting to shut, more than anything now, and even in her state she could feel the rage in the magic of that dragon from not too far away....it sent a pang of raw pain into her chest merely to feel it. She knew this magic, she'd felt its thrum alongside her own heartbeat, enough for it now to bring her sorrow rather than joy.
That magic was entirely Regina's to the core.
The girl she loved, the friend who had been closest to her of anyone. And she could feel her pain from here.
Annabelle's mouth could not utter any more words, and the lightness in her chest seemed to indicate a very grave thing she'd feared. But there was no time to pause. She could do one last thing, perhaps:
'Amaryllis, please listen...i don't think...i'll be coming back...from this Overcity Shift.
I've got my arm set to...help finish this...but you have to...take care of the rest...
...Save her, please. Regina...the dragon...ah...'
The Rose Knight would hear those weak words echo loudly within her skull, a message from the void-touched girl. Annabelle's form shimmered away as she was pulled into the Overcity, however, a weak and slightly sad smile lingering on her lips as she disappeared seemingly into the ether.
~Unknown Location, The Overcity~
The magical girl's body eventually landed after what seemed like forever, even with a great thud. As her eyes softly opened in this new place, Annabelle gently turned her head a little to see a strange white ground beside her. But the impact had felt soft to her, almost like a pillow...or a dream. Though the pain seemed to be fading fast enough in general.
After a minute or two, though, the girl felt her smile widen slightly and shakily.
It was a field of flowers, and she herself upon the flower-crowned hill overlooking them.
Snow-white flowers, in fact, alien in shape...but softly glowing under what looked like a lovely moonlit sky.
They seemed to expand into the distance like a great ocean as far as she could see from where her head lied. And as a gentle breeze came in, they began shifting and rustling very lightly under the silvery light.
Their inky black stalks were so slender, fragile-seeming nature, as if any mere movements might snap them in twain.
Their flowers too seemed to expand into a delicate array of five petals, stretching up as if to reach up to the sky to embrace it.
"Re...gi...na..."
She'd had no idea the Overcity had such a place. It was beautiful. Radiant, even.
Even as the flesh of her body turned black, shifting into some kind of lifeless magical-drained mass that began to flake into the wind, she continued to smile as some of the few happy memories began to come back...bit by bit.
Maybe it had been good she wasn't able to remember her life before being a magical girl. Because...because she'd been able to meet so many new people!
She'd helped some strange girl find a place in the city.
She'd been able to eat out with friends.
She'd been able to find "that" special someone, and see her beautiful smile.
She was able to fight to try to help save the world, even, from her evil boss!
She'd even been able to start with that fresh slate so many people might only dream of.
It hadn't been the best new life, not even the longest one, but it had been great. The bad times had hurt, sure, but... Heh, better to have had a beautiful, fleeting dream to be had than a cruel eternity, right?
The Rose Knight continued their dance, and Soth willingly obliged her without a word. Silver chains from sliced up appendages, butchering lasers from the eyes that emerged, and the Greater Horror casually continued to exponentially ramp up the amount of offending tentacles and eyes that appeared to assault Amaryllis. Soon, some tentacles were appearing with spikes on them, some with toothy mouths on them, a few with hard scales covering them, and eyes began to fire even stronger beams that dug into the carved stone walls around them with a frightening ease. It seemed the Horror was adjusting his tactics on the fly, confronting Amaryllis with greater threats than he had before. Soth almost didn't seem to care about Annabelle in the background, save a few beams and tentacles flung against her to keep the Rose Knight on her toes here and there.
Alicia, too, would find a few things occur. As the tentacles narrowed down her location, passing through illusions and brushing against her enhanced uniform, they would begin to focus their assault on her. Eyes would also begin to emerge to fire lasers at her, ones on part with the eyes firing at Amaryllis now. Whilst the Beacon girl's safety was in question even more now, there was another thing she had done that was much more prominent in importance.
The Star Seraph's arrow-spears flew true, even as she seemingly tried what could be a risky gambit at stopping Soth's true incarnation. They bounced off of the ceiling, threading the incredibly thin gap between the top of the stone ceiling and Soth's abyssal portals, flying down towards the altar and the sheet-covered body on top of it. Scale-covered tentacles shot out from the back of the portals to protect the body itself, taking the brunt of the light arrows. These tentacles in a flash of light were burnt greatly, glowing embers and singed and roasted flesh visible on them in the aftermath.
But the arrows aimed at the altar hit, straight and true. Like beams of light they cut through the altar like the claws of an angered beast, piercing even the center shaft of it and cutting into the floor below. The golden ornamentation, the lavish design, it was gouged out like a cancer...and the altar collapsed.
Though the cultists who had been standing around it now lied on the ground dead, their lives absorbed to fuel the altar as the ritual neared completion, a guttural scream like a great beast rang through the stone of the crypt...and out into the graveyard from the crypt's entrance. Stone and gold and fragments began to crumble, collapsing swiftly to the floor and allowing the body that had been on top to fall with them...only to be caught in the embrace of emerging chains from underneath the altar. But whilst the body was safe, the magical energies emitting from the crypt began to waver, the stone walls giving a great shudder as something seemed to go off-kilter.
'Well well, i must congratulate you for your valiant efforts in destroying my altar. It seems i cannot remotely channel my essence and finish the ritual in the normal manner...so i am forced to use other means....
A direct exposure to the rest of my self shall suffice!'
The stone walls of the crypt then began to shake and shudder again, but this time without a sudden stop. Cracks began to form along the stone walls and ceiling, at first thing and spider-web-like, but then becoming larger and more substantial. Glowing glyphs upon the walls began to shatter and fall, the lit braziers shaking and some falling.
The stone ceiling began to crumble, some dirt and heavy stone falling around the magical girl in the crypt's depths, and the floor began to...rise.
-Outside the Crypt-
Those who were outside of the crypt would find a startling sight. The crypt, or at least the above-ground part, began to crumble and collapse. Dirt began to rise around their feet rapidly, as if something was moving upwards. And indeed...it was.
As the ground under their shook and quaked like someone had dropped a bomb, the barrier shimmered into visibility as magic pushed back the dirt and the above-ground ruins of the crypt like they were mere ragdolls. Cracks appeared on the barrier itself, even, as the ground seemed to rise up into the air, eventually shattering with a great thundering.
Now it was in the air, up in the air for all to see. A great stone platform, the ruins of an altar, Alicia and Amaryllis fighting the tentacles of part of a horror that had been incarnated, Summer and Annabelle where they stood or kneeled, and a white sheet covered body held up by dark chains. A great power seemed to be anchored to the now-aerial platform, the former floor of the crypt covered in a light purple glow with an incredibly sinister aura.
Annabelle felt the words die in her throat as she watched the scene occur from her position, feeling the floor shudder and watching as the now-platform she and the few others were on floated up into the air a bit before stopping. However, she looked back to Summer quickly as she held up the body that had been on the altar in her chains.
It was far easier to see what Annabelle looked like at this stage of the ritual. Her other arm was weak, tighter against the bone, the kind of weakened flesh and bone one might expect to see out of a concentration camp. Her legs were similar, but not so bad, and her torso was mostly fine as a look of mortal terror cane onto her face.
"I can break the channel Soth's is going to use to try to get into the body. That way....he can't...enter it, but it's only going to be this weak for a few more minutes.
I can break that link, it will cancel the ritual. Soth's power still grounds this place, and the body, to this realm. B-But h-he's...ARGH!!!...he's going to try to directly take over the body...i can feel it....
I...I....I need magical energy, and a lot of it. Or...alternately....if you or someone can shift into the overcity, i can channel that power through my prosthetic arm to shift just the connection...then.....we will....cut the connection faster..."
Annabelle's voice was weaker, as Summer would be able to easily tell. But her ideas was simple: disrupt the connection by trying to overcity shift it. Or just use magical energy to disrupt it if she had enough given to her due to her own stores running incredibly low by now.
The void-touched girl felt the feeling in her legs and flesh begin to fade, even as the sharpness of her pain continued on and on and on...like the dull beat of a drum. Her mouth was getting dryer, and she could feel the vestiges of power and life she was holding onto being pulled at. She wasn't going to die in a second or something dumb like that. But if they didn't stop this then Soth was going to rampage in a mortal coil. A proper incarnation, even, which would be ultimately terrifying.
Then it struck. A painful dig into her very soul, surprising her enough with the pain that Annabelle let out a blood-curdling shriek of agony that rung out into the graveyard as clear as crystal.
"Please...please..." the girl said, almost sobbing and seeming to beg Summer with her eyes as she looked to her again.
In the sky, in the swirling center of the storm right above where the crypt had been, the air and physical space itself began to bend and twist like a writhing worm. The storm continued on, but whatever was starting...well, they needed to stop this ritual and all of this before that occurred. That much everyone could perhaps tell, perhaps just by merely glimpsing it.
ShwiggityShwah
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pearllop
Skwint
Animal
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