Lugubrious

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

Brewing Storm

@krayzikk@sho minazuki@herecomesthesnow@kaithas@plank Sinatra@suku@narayank

While the Manticore repositioned, the radio came alive. The voice of Goodwitch, not much less composed than normal but still a notable departure from her usual tone, declared, “I’m on my way. I’ll strike from above and open it up. Be careful; if we can force it to retreat, we can buy enough time to get the survivors out.” Having kept abreast of the teams’ chatter, Goodwitch knew that in a very short time the survivors from the basement, the second floor, and the hunters Jack, Cian, Lucas, Lauren, and Sangue would be exiting the building. At least, she hoped as much, and saw no reason why they wouldn't. A Manticore was a monstrous threat, one that she knew her students could fight but almost certainly not beat. No amount of bravado on their part would suddenly give them the power to take down a beast never before encountered or properly prepared against. Next time, Goodwitch vowed, she would demand that mission control send in recon to discover problems like this first. Now that the students were out of the frying pan and into the fire, though, Beacon’s combat instructor would not allow a single life to be lost.

Above the confrontation on the roof, the airship flew into position. In midair it span, a door opening up, and the wind whipped Goodwitch’s pale blonde hair as she walked down the ramp. Through narrowed eyes she watched two students stand before it, and picked up snippets of Benjamin’s taunts. Did he think to enrage the beast? Could one goad a merciless killing machine, tempered by age and reinforced by battles past? Manticores were no garden-variety Grimm. A plume of fire appeared as Benjamin plugged its eyes with dust, provoking an irritated snarl. By the time he swapped in lightning dust for a second volley, however, the beast moved its left foreleg into position to block the yellow bolts. For all of its experience, it couldn’t have known that the puny beings before it wielded ranged attacks. Benjamin’s search for bunched muscles turned up an abundance; the monstrous Grimm moved forward, putting more of its body onto the roof, and slammed down at him with its upheld left paw.

It did not stop at this, however. When one enormous foreleg fell, the other rose, and in a frenzy it beat the roof of the distillery like a humungous drum. Its huge crushing limbs and deadly claws hammered down again and again, in various positions and with nightmarish speed. The roof and walls began to buckle readily, crumpled as if they were plastic. Snapping her riding crop, Goodwitch hoped that both Benjamin and Amaranth could escape this catastrophic attack rush. She flourished her weapon, sending a deluge of purple magic spears to pepper the creature from above. They lodged in its scalp and back, hurting it a little more, perhaps, than splinters might hurt a human, but for the moment at least the Manticore would not halt its frenzied assault. Goodwitch frowned and prepared to cast a more decisive spell.

-meanwhile-

As near-panicked as they were from the terrifying noises and vibrations filling the building, the survivors managed to succinctly convey what they could do to help with remarkable composure. Of course, not a single one thought that standing around talking about skills would be a better option than just grabbing the girl and getting the hell out of dodge, but they seemed committed to the idea that Jack knew best how to handle the situation. Lucas, Cian, and Jack were informed that the group could take a detour through the underground garage and ride the lift straight up to the distillery’s loading area outside the front. One of the survivors revealed himself to be the technician who usually ran the transportation routines, and that as long as the facility had power he could unlock the system and get everyone up.

With this information relayed, the group of survivors almost instantly began moving in the indicated direction, only to freeze and wait for the hunters’ say-so. Nobody had told them who would be best suited to carrying Priscilla, either. At the very least, the attention paid to her by Lucas and Cian ensured that she would be able to be transporting without too serious a risk of further injury.

The Three Realms War [A DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders RP]

Akoni’s quick thinking and use of gates effectively nullified the effect of the first energy blast, preventing the others from being harmed. The returned arcane blast did not, however, appear to have any sort of effect on the creature after is disappeared into the churning vortex that was its maw. Rather than a bullet being deflected back into the gunman, the River Current seemingly had the effect of splashing water into a pond. The abyssal monstrosity certainly didn’t cease its advance, instead continuing to move forward at a threatening pace. When Midori unleashed a torrent of fire toward it, her unholy flames spiraled into its gullet, doing no apparent damage.

Even as Mary fired off a few parting shots while she made her escape from the cramped corridor, the bullets strayed from their intended paths to vanish forever inside the abhorrent blue light. In a confined space, the literally and figuratively breathtaking force of the monster’s vacuum gave it complete protection. Lest they be sucked in and devoured, Akoni and Midori were forced to flee in the footsteps of Souta and Mary, back into the large domed room from which they came. Obligingly the creature followed, emerging from the hallway like a viper from its pit, and the terrible suction ceased.

Souta, having lain in wait for a few seconds now for an opportunity like this, did not waste it. He popped up from behind an overturned table and let loose a shot with Maelstrom. The beast was not, however, as sluggish as it looked. It writhed to face the incoming fireshard and sucked it up. In reply, its outer surface bubbled, and oily tentacles grew from its back to latch onto the wall and ceiling. Scuttling like a huge centipede, the abyssal maneuvered itself until it hung from the ceiling. Though now its body was unprotected by its head, it did not hesitate to attack again. From its maw it disgorged a cascade of fire, identical in appearance to the hellfire of Midori but blue in color, and it turned this way and that to blanket the room in an azure blaze.

Growling in frustration, Souta abandoned his cover as the fire swept over it. His gun disappeared, and from a swirling font of inexplicable water two enormous hooks appeared. When he whirled one about his head like a lasso before throwing it, the hook extended on a chain connected to his wrist, and its point latched into the side of the abyssal above him. Just before the sorcerous fire reached him, the smith sailed upward to hang, suspended, from the creature’s torso. ”Didn’t really think this through!” he yelled. Though safe for the time being, he knew nothing about what the creature could do. The only thing, he expected, that kept it from growing a leg to skewer him with was that it didn’t know he was attached yet.

I Became a Monster, But Why?!

Bummer.

The Three Realms War [A DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders RP]

Speaking of not posting: @Lugubrious are you officially guiding the Abyssal? Should i post again?

@Kafka Komedy

Yeah, I'm controlling it.

Phoenix Wing (A Fairy Tail RP-Always Open, Open)

Post made. All Frenzy Plant members have action to deal with. I've figured out and begun acting on my grand plan, and things are just about to get interesting.

Phoenix Wing (A Fairy Tail RP-Always Open, Open)

Joakim Fortinbras – Belka Schoolhouse

@oblivion666

The schoolhouse, with a single, diminutive bell pillar topped with a spire, could be seen easily from Frenzy Plant’s makeshift camp. Having spotted it, Joakim took the initiative and set off, with Ike in pursuit and Riona close behind him. Despite Riona’s short span of time with the guild, and the change come over Ike as a result of his inhuman captivity, the northerner felt that the three made a good team. Of course, he didn’t anticipate any sort of conflict with the nobleman Evgeny, but after so long in service to the war guild he evaluated practically everything in terms of combat practicality. As the saying went: one could take a man out of the battle, but one could not take the battle out of a man.

Compared to the shacks stacked like building blocks in the inner portion of the town, the schoolhouse stood like a miniature castle, an edifice of stone. All the same, its walls stooped slightly, and the windows –long since deprived of glass- displayed horizontal boards. No sound came from within, creating a vacuum of silence where the low roar of a living community previously existed. Joakim could not fathom children coming to such a place to learn; the very place seemed dreary enough to suffocate the desire for self-improvement out of anyone. He turned the knob and opened the door in one smooth motion, hanging in the same spot just long enough to inadvertently create a chill that his allies would be obliged to walk through. Before the trio stretched a single room, a long rectangle filled with rows of desks and chairs. At the very front, a blackboard hung on the wall, and before it stood a desk piled with sheets of bark. Behind the desk sat the teacher himself, that startlingly tall, thin, and frilled nobleman named Evgeny, studying a sheet through dark, rounded spectacles. Joakim walked toward him, mildly surprised that the grader of papers had not noticed him, but a creak in the floor rectified that error. Looking up quickly, as if frightened, Evgeny quickly cracked his dry lips into a smile. “Some of our guests—the war guild. Or, mercenaries, rather. I don’t know what might have planted that thought in my head. Welcome to my little school! I’m just looking over the student’s work at the moment,” he added, gesturing at the sheets of bark and the charcoal marks thereon. Sticks of charcoal lay scattered around the room on desks, most likely the only writing utensil that could be gotten. “How may I be of service?”

In an officious manner, Joakim replied, “Just looking around. We knew about this town because of its medicine, but whatever other expectations we had were completely shattered. It’s a very unique place…and it must be a tough life out here. We just wanted to get to know the people. It can’t be very often that you get to tell your story to outsiders.” He paused for a moment before pulling out a chair from a desk to sit in. ”Perhaps you could tell us about recent events in Belka?”

Evgeny appeared somewhere between pleased and curious—as if he didn’t know whether to open up or to wonder why some soldiers were asking. After a few seconds, he leaned forward slightly and said, “It’s not easy, that’s for sure. Food’s not scarce, thanks to the farms, but it’s nowhere near plentiful. The ticks are terrible; if not for our vaccines, there would be widespread spotted fever. Still, we get by. Not much goes on around here.” He adjusted his hat, thinking. “Except for the killer, of course. Nasty, sordid affair, that was.”

Harper Saxum – Belka Outskirts

@liferusher@lunarlors34

It seemed that no matter how dour the weather or ominous the coming storm, a sun would still shine in the heart of Harper Saxum. Her every action suggested that if her energetic optimism was infectious, the plight of the whole town could be solved in minutes. Whether or not such an attitude befitted a shinobi didn’t appear to concern her, so with a spring in her step she walked alongside Ashlyn and Thor. Though the lightning wizard outranked her handily, Thor struck nobody as the leadership-type, so Harper happily took the lead. Leaving the camp behind, they came to the edge of the cliff overlooking the deep, terrifying canyon and turned left. Mindful of the wind and their footing, the three moved along its edge until they came to the western edge of the town. An arc of huts marked the town perimeter, with nothing more than trees behind them, but Harper’s quick eyes spotted a tiny ridge on the cliffside providing a way around the line of huts. Carefully she made her way across, wishing that like Thor she could simply fly, and not suffer her knees shaking from fear of falling. ”Yikes…” When all three made it across, they stood behind the rightmost house and in front of a shadowy tangle of dead and dying trees, every twig a finger and every branch an arm. ”Haha…it’s just like a haunted house!” Harper smiled, veiling her unease, and sauntered forward.

For about twenty minutes the group searched. They turned up all manner of rubbish beneath the trees, from detritus to thrown-out implements and articles of clothing. Not stepping on the rusted prong of a used-up hoe or rake proved to be a challenge. In one hard-to-see spot, however, there was no litter. The earth looked flattened, as if the resting place of a giant block, and smack in the center lay the only tree trunk in the entire morbid copse. Harper narrowed her eyes at it. ”Someone came out into this dump to cut down one tree…? That’s dedication.”

Mercury Marowit – Belka Market

@hatakekuro@caits

Belka’s market, though ramshackle, hosted a crowd of people that all seemed intent on talking over one another. Some demanded, others, haggled, a few complained, and a steady flow of goods exchanged hands. Barter served as a more reasonable form of trade than the use of money in this place. One might wonder, in fact, if any of these people had ever seen the kind of jewel that came from Crocus’ mints. Mercury, Gabriel, and Enma had no eyes for shopping, however, and kept a sharp lookout for anything suspicious. Instead, they found something most unusual.

In one corner of the market, populated mostly by empty stalls, an ally led off between some buildings. On the cusp of the ally rested a peculiar shape. At first glance, it looked like a massive sack of vegetables, or perhaps bread dough, so crammed full as to develop piles and rolls. Another moment’s examination, however, made for a new revelation. Atop the vast, cloth-constricted blob was a human head, with brown hair spilling out of a roughhewn hood, trying in vain to hide two extra chins. In places, the coarse cloth was torn, and out of the tears bulged pale flesh. The three were looking at an incredibly obese human—about six hundred pounds. And she was crying.

In fact, the tears stained her face, and her mass quivered as she wept. The few townsfolk in this area of the market passed her by as if she didn’t exist. Another glance at her revealed one of her sleeves cut and pasted with dried blood emanating from a poorly-bandaged gash.

Ni Rensa – Cinders of a Home

@zarkun

The two women responded quickly to Damian’s call. Eliza, tall and dark, stood still and silently. The expression –or lack thereof- on her face indicated without words that while she didn’t think highly of Damian, she would respect his authority in Phoenix Wing enough to lend her silent service. Ni Rensa, meanwhile, who barely reached five feet, seemed unable to stop moving. Anyone imagining that all cats were lazy had only to look at the restlessness granted by the blood of the war sphinx within her to be proven wrong. In truth, she harbored more ill will than Eliza did for the infamous Blade of Phoenix Wing, but in hopeful emulation of the professional she would not allow it to tamper with the mission.

With Damian in the lead, they arrived at the burnt-out hut of Singed Willard very quickly. Beneath the light of a cloudy day, the place did not exude any sort of scariness, but instead a resigned sorrow. The north wall had crumpled and plummeted off the cliff, taking most of the roof down with it. Once inside, Ni imagined that the hand of some vengeful giant had just reached in and scooped half of the house away. Everything that remained was either ashen or charred, but even the stuff burnt black retained its shape. She reached out to a little table still miraculously standing and picked up a mostly-melted picture frame. When she tried to blow the ash off the picture, the weakened paper turned to dust instead, and blew away on a gust of wind toward the void. She tried not to picture a young man reaching out in desperation for a picture of his loved ones as a burning house collapsed around him. Nevertheless the images came, and Ni couldn’t even stop herself imagining his hollow scream. The sound that echoed in her head, she knew, belonged to someone else: a grave man. What is wrong with me?

”So,” she said, trying to distract herself from imagining. ”Why would a pyromancer die in a fire? Everyone thinks it was an accident, I guess. His nyame was Singed Willard, after all. But wouldn’t havin’ experience with that sorta thing prevent something like this? I cut myself on my axe lots, but I get better each time.” Grabbing a braid in her hand, she twisted it, as if to stimulate her brain. Wizards sometimes lost control of their powers, but a young, novice pyromancer? Her thoughts drifted to magic itself. Fire responds to emotion pretty often, right? Maybe if something made him mad…or scared…?

Chester Graham – Cragland Plateau

@caits@raijinslayer

Outside the limits of Belka, a perhaps inappropriately intense sparring match raged on. Frenzy Plant’s mysterious medicinal witch, Morimato Tsubano, and its airborne outrider, Chester Graham, did not come close to matching either one of the contestants in power even combined. Yet it fell to them to stop the fight and put Argus at least to work investigating the city. In the face of an ominous sky that set even General Sanders on edge, no man could afford to slack off. Graham drew as close to the fighting as he could before calling out, “Hey! Stop! Hold up! Sanders needs you in Belka!”

When things calmed down, Tsubano stepped forward to offer her own help. ”Argus, I know you suffer from demonic feedback in response to negativity. Nevertheless, we want your assistance, and it’s time we gave you some real help when it comes to curbing your dark power. By now you are acquainted with Xyster, yes?” The witch waited for a reply. ”Well, Dullahans are violent, evil creatures in their natural state. Way back when we encountered Xyster for the first time, she was branded with a special seal to keep her contained. Gradually she developed into the more human persona you are familiar with. The point is this: the seal contains within it the true authority of Frenzy Plant, magically condensed into a sigil almost holy in nature, and it serves to keep chaos at bay. I am able to apply a Seal of Denial on you and contain your powers. Your magic might not be as strong, but you will have control.” Despite her conversational tone, it would be apparent that she was not so much offering a choice and explaining what awaited Argus in the near future.

Nandy Rewman – Cleric’s Chapel

@liferusher

Moving through the town, even with a lesser presence, did not present the two soldiers and their prisoner with an issue. Belka’s east side harbored more farmland and pens for livestock than the ever-so-slightly more urban west-central zone. In this community, there were no real divides in property. Structures and contraptions stood where they were most useful; tools lay where they fell. Townsfolk hard at work gave off an air of resignation. Here, everyone knew they were in it together.

The chapel turned out to be not near the graveyard, but in it. Headstones, statues, and oddly-shaped symbols dotted the uneven soil on either side of the bricked path leading to the foreboding, eerie chapel. Nandy looked around constantly, nervously attentive for some startling surprise, and Bytan Brass kept his eyes forward on the building. Until now, they had kept Isla between them, but at this instant both were inattentive enough that the girl might be able to slip between some tombstones and make her escape. Only a few meters separated the group from the chapel and whatever lay within; if Isla thought her chances were better in this remote, poor village than with the soldiers of Frenzy Plant, now was the time to take action.

I Became a Monster, But Why?!

@Lugubrious: Read it over. Er... Problem, though; both Neix and Hyng have already left to head deeper into the woods, so... Yeah.

@PKMNB0Y

Hm. Somehow I must have missed that.

I Became a Monster, But Why?!

Mox threw his arms up at the petty argument between the Drider and Neix. "Always drama! Won't get a thing done 'ere!" He complained. No one could just get along to get something done, looks like it will be the same in this place too. What did catch his attention was a dog looking creature, who seemed content to leave, avoiding something. Mox walked forward towards the light, a foul smell seemingly getting closer. He looked down to see a pile of dead bodies, it was a complete massacre... or worse. Mox retched as the strong smell invaded his nostrils and the . He seemed some gross things, but this was... definitely something else. Others had the right idea of following the light to the exit of the cave, and that dog even had the smart sense to go around the shitshow of death. Mox followed suit after the dog had gone around. Mox very carefully navigated around the dead bodies, and then made his way to the cave mouth.

The sight was a stark contrast to what was inside. Sun and a surprisingly beautiful meadow. The dog had ran off ahead of everyone else, so Mox had to try and catch up. He figured how where the creature was going and moved to that place, in some tall grass. Turned out this thing wasn't actually a dog, but some sort of dog/reptile hybrid thing. Thing looked like a dinosaur or some shit. However, it was kind of cute, in an odd way. Mox crouched down and held his hand out to the thing. "Hey you... you're freaky lookin'." He commented, trying to get the thing to come over to him. For all he knew, this thing was a dog and Mox treated it as such. "I'm not gonna hurt ya. Got a name? Ehh, I don't even know if you speak..."

Captivated as she was by the gorgeous surface of the lake, particularly since it took her mind off of the disturbing gorefest that continued to trouble her, Otsune jumped in surprise when a voice appeared from behind her. Her alarm quickly gave way to irritation, however, as the green goblin that startled her treated her with an insult and then condescension. To the best of its ability her face embodied this feeling. "You're one to talk. A little bigger and your nose would be the size of my head. At least you've got a whole area code to yourself when you sneeze." It did not take a genius to figure out that her remarks were not intended good-naturedly. However, she seemed to realize her harshness, and opted to be the bigger monster. She did not move from where she sat, though. "I'm Otsune, and I'm not afraid of you. If I remember correctly, crocodiles can crush bones like breaking toothpicks." In truth, she did not give too much thought to the feelings of this weird creature. This whole thing, she knew for certain now, constituted nothing more than a dream. She anticipated it to be exciting and interesting, but a dream nonetheless, unreal and bound to end. Then, she felt, she would truly pass on. Silence fell, more threatening than she meant given her last statement, but she felt no urge to fill it with speech.

"It's really that big, huh?" Mox said, putting his hand on his nose. Yeah... it was big. Mox noticed this things words, and now knowing it could talk, and now knowing it didn't like him. Mox merely sat cross legged in front of her, "Otsune, huh? Alright, I'm Mox." The goblin said, introducing himself. "Hehe, I can tell you got a strong jaw. No, I'm not trying to scare you. Also, I thought you were a dog. Sorry 'bout that." He said. No need to make enemies just yet, that lizard girl and spider girl already had that taken care of. "I don't suppose you got any idea what the hell all this is about?" Mox asked, leaning forward a bit, resting his head into his hands.

Had she shoulders with which to do so, Otsune would have shrugged. Mox's rudeness didn't really ruffle her feathers all that much, and he seemed apologetic enough to make the whole thing a non-issue. He didn't hesitate to cut straight to the center of the issue, however, and ask a question that still troubled Otsune as well: what was going on? Suffice to say, the snapjaw had no clue. As best she could ascertain, this entire, bizarre world constituted some sort of dream given to her in the moments between the end of her life and the beginning of her death. This answer would not, she felt, either help inform Mox or please him -what with telling him that she thought him nothing more than a figment of her imagination and all- so she kept it to herself.

Instead, Otsune replied, "I think that everyone died before coming here. Ever heard of reincarnation? Guess it's like that." She looked at the water, thinking it to be beautiful and peaceful. Swimming seemed like an appealing and suitable course of action, but her suspicions kept her out of the water. "I think this is a dangerous world," she confessed. "We must have been given these forms to give us a fighting chance for survival. We had best be careful, hm?"

Mox nodded. "I remember dying... Never thought all that hocus pocus shit was real, though." He replied. Mox had to agree with Otsune, this place didn't feel safe. Not from the hellscape that was the cave. However, this... this was all right. However, if they didn't find resources like food, water, or a weapon, then that fighting chance would be slimming very quickly. "It's not what our forms are, it's what we can do with them. We should get moving..." He explained. Maybe teaming up wouldn't be such a bad idea, at least until he could figure out a plan on how he's gonna make it in this world. Until then, it's safety in numbers. "Why don't we work together? I mean, we got skills we can help each other out with."

The suggestion of working together didn't stimulate Otsune one way or the other, but the more she ruminated on the idea, the more she came to think that cooperation might be a good idea. Be it the result of a social or animalistic instinct, she knew that the odds of survival would rise with cooperation. This Mox didn't seem to harbor ill intent; if anything, he seemed a little dull. A few seconds passed before the snapjaw told him, "Sounds like a good idea. The only skills I seem to have so far are endurance and biting, but who knows? Perhaps we're the A-team and we just didn't know it."

She stood up, twisting from side to side to stretch her muscles. Despite her readiness for action, no definite plan lay before her. "Any idea what to do, then? There's plenty of water here, though a stream might be nicer to drink out of. Food and shelter are next on the list." The rather unpleasant thought of having to hunt, kill, and eat prey crossed her mind, but she pushed it away, reasoning that there might be some sort of alternative.

Mox rested his head in his hand in thought. Well, Otsune seemed to know what she was doing. The water would be a fine, temporary resource. However, ain't no way in Earth... or wherever this is, that Mox was sleeping under the stars and going hungry. An idea crossed his mind. "This is some fantasy, medieval place... right? They still had towns and shit, what if we looked for one?" He asked. Mox's idea consisted of finding something that sells food, and wouldn't mind one or two things missing. Might be a good place to pick up a weapon. Now, Otsune... she had nature's weapons. Mox didn't have much that could help him in a fight with something, should one come. Scavenging for stuff in civilization didn't seem like half a bad idea.

"Might as well try, though I don't know if we should be eager to get near humans." Otsune remembered the others. Chances were that anyone with a grain of sense would be willing to join her little group, and having more bodies and talents would make survival incrementally easier. "Before we do any searching, what do you say we head back and try to get others to join us?" In fact, she was already walking back in the direction she had come as she asked. Evidently she took his agreement for granted. The reasoning behind the idea, she thought, really spoke for itself: safety in numbers, and more hands -or jaws- to work outweighed more mouths to feed. In the back of her mind Otsune knew that individuals like the spider girl might actually detriment such a group, but the snapjaw decided that she really couldn't blame a person in this situation for getting so unnerved. When she still lived, Otsune never had children, but she still felt as if she could look out for others in some capacity.

When she set off, Mox was not far behind, and in short order she arrived back at the cave mouth. By now, little monsters surrounded it. None of them seemed to have the same impetus to disperse that Otsune felt. Normally, the snapjaw would have hated to be the one to speak up and take charge of a situation, but the best chances for survival and figuring this ordeal out lay in teamwork, and nobody else appeared eager to form a plan. Standing as straight as she could, Otsune called, "Hel...hello. Before I continue, I want to say, I have no idea what's going on. On the inside, I'm confused and a little scared, but like it or not this is what we're stuck with now." She took a moment to look at Jeff, Simba, Khari, and Ariana in turn, hoping to make herself seem more personable despite her bestial form. Public speaking still unnerved her, even after this? "I've got a hun...hunch that this is a dangerous place. Mox and I have agreed to stick together to better our chances, and I'd like to extend all of you the same invitation. Not as a leader...but as a...um, comrade." She then sat down, trying to look friendly.

I Became a Monster, But Why?!

Since Ginger has gone a whole day without responding I'm going to go ahead and post it. I absolutely do not want to be stalling anyone.

I Became a Monster, But Why?!

So... should I post now, or should I wait until you're done with that collab post thing?

@Lugia

Up to you, really. I wouldn't want to keep you waiting.