The Heroes of Light vs. The Sakura Forest (round 1)

[littlemhigan]

Who: Everyone who signed up!
When: October 10
Where: The Sakura forest
What: There's supposed to be an Eidolon here! Lets go find it!
Warnings/Notes: it's October and there are supposedly mimics in here.

This morning is damp and foggy, lingering swaths of mist a testament to the rapid changes in temperature that always seem a hallmark of the fall season. The sunlight is still too new to burn it away, and the world seems hazy and lavender.

It would be beautiful, if it wasn’t so eerie. Perhaps it’s simply the morning chill, but skin prickling up to gooseflesh seems to be a common occurrence amongst the gathered crowd, and Castor herself, standing at the head and sorting people into teams, is not immune to this.

Behind her stands the southwestern edge of the Sakura forest. The fog within seems particularly dense, and as it diffuses the morning light, the forest seems almost otherworldly; a glimpse at something fey and unknowable and eternal. It’s likewise eerily quiet; even accounting for the fog smothering all but the closest noise, there are no audible signs of life from within the forest’s boundaries.

If the hair on the back of your neck is slowly raising, you’re probably not alone in that, either.

“Alright!” Castor calls, once she’s finished organizing people, “That should be the lot’ve ye! We don’t know what all’s about in there, and I’ve had word that the local wildlife has been ornery of late, so keep yer wits about ye, and stay close te your mates!

“I’ve given each of ye a handful of ribbon…” she pauses to hold up a handful of her own, a cheery red that somehow looks ominous in this atmosphere. “A colour te each team! Use ‘em to mark yer way in; I don’t want te have te go fishin’ fer lost souls when all’s said and done, and if ye find somethin’ ye’ll leave an easy way back.

“I’d advise ye sort someone te keep an eye on the Slates. Twelve willin’ they work more’n ten fulms into the wood, stay in touch best ye can over the network. And don’t hesitate te turn back if ye feel things’re goin’ poorly fer you an’ yours. I’d rather ye come back alive and emptyhanded.”

Here she pauses again, seeming to count something out on her fingers. “I think that’s the last of what I’ve got te say. Try and be back ‘fore sundown, yeah?”


[ooc: And go! I will be endeavouring to reply to each party at least ONCE daily, regardless of who’s posted in the meantime (we’ll see how it goes)!]

Comments

[pishirogane]

It doesn't have to be a mimic.

[Maybe Futaba would understand...? Or... maybe... not? Either way, Naoto glances over at Terra, then looks at Keith, and... decides to make a small addendum.]

You don't always pick your role in an RPG either. Most of the popular ones typically make the main character a sword user and the rest of the party will be filled by another character for physical damage, then a spellcaster for magical damage, and finally, a healer.

I'd... say more, but perhaps we continue this conversation another time?

[She's already embarrassed to add that much.]

[topgun_textiles]

[Whoa, all this video game talk. He wasn't much for video games himself, not like Yosuke-senpai, but it wasn't much of a surprise to hear an answer as well as an addendum from Naoto.

He chuckled. He put a hand to the side of his mouth as if to mask his volume, but the whisper was theatrical regardless.]

Y'know, we're all kinda dorky here, Naoto. I could talk for an hour about crafting. But unlike me, you're still pretty damn cool at the end of the day.

[He stood up taller and cracked his knuckles.]

Okay, so the chest might eat me. Whatever. Let's keep goin' and maybe I'll give the chest the old-fashioned Berserker Special on our way back. We're burnin' daylight.

[littlemhigan]

Futaba's scan doesn't even have a chance to finish, nor does Kanji have a chance to move away before the chest springs open in a whirlwind of gnashing teeth and screeches. The mimic makes a beeline for the blond, trying to chomp at his leg. From the pile of rubble, two more similar boxes begin to stir.

There's an echo of laughter in the distance.

[topgun_textiles]

[CHOMP.]

FffffffFUUUCK-

[His eyes burn yellow as he goes from zero to Berserk, his thoughts bleeding from clear to red as he slammed a fist into the offending, chowing mimic. He lingered for just a second before he grasped the rim of the mouth in both hands and began to forcibly pry open that maw.

Two choices: He makes the destruction quick if it lets go of its own accord, or he retrieves his chewed up limb and dismantles the thing piece by piece.]

[pishirogane]

[Naoto winced slightly when - sure enough - the chest was a mimic. And shaking her head at the shifting rubble behind it, she'll put the sound of laughter on the back burner while she draws her gun.]

[Kanji in his Berserk mode has actually pried open a good target for her as she unleashes Trigger Happy havoc into its mouth. At her shoulder, Leviathan swirls and blasts the same target with a small Tidal Splash.]

[promiselisting]

[ The others may be preoccupied with the thing latched onto Kanji's leg, but for Futaba, her scan completes, and she notices movement elsewhere in the room. Crap. crap. ]

Guys, there's two more of them! figures

[ And then she hits some buttons, using a Moral Support to heal at least some of the damage being done to Kanji's leg. ]

[balancingedge]

[The moment he hears movement, his gaze snaps over and he's already in motion. This many people in a storeroom... Shit. Shiiit.] Quiznack-! [Right. English. Probably more useful right now.]

We need to get to more open space! If there's more of them, we'll need the room to maneuver.

[Yet he still rushes over to Kanji's side, sticking his luxite knife into its maw and prying it open near the hinges.] Go!

[hatejakku]

[ Finn was still very confused about RPGs and first-person shooters but now wasn't the time. He put himself between the rest of the group and the movement against the wall, using his Flamethrower on the rubble. Hopefully, they backed down from the fire. That, or he just got the first lick. ]

Get him out! I'll hold the other two off!

[ Seriously, though, Kanji. This is the second time. Walking target much? ]

[wheretheresawill]

So it's a ga- [Oh crap they were right! Maybe too right. This is more being correct than Terra enjoys.]

Not alone, you won't!

[Turning to face the movement behind the group, he brings his sword to a guard position and activates Rampart. A little more defense for everyone can't hurt.]

[littlemhigan]

With combined efforts, the Mimic is successfully pried off of Kanji's leg - it didn't deal too much damage, but there's definitely blood and it stings badly. The Mimic is thrown away by the others, but it's only down for a second before it's lunging again at whoever's closest.

The other two emerge from the rubble around then, one racing towards Finn and his flamethrower, disregarding that it has begun to catch fire, and the other dives at Terra.

[topgun_textiles]

[His leg freed, burning from the wounds and stoking the flames of that berserk, Kanji was making a beeline, hammer raised to pound the Mimic into paste for its transgression.

The decision was made: He'll tear this thing apart, piece by piece, until it was magic and kindling. He hadn't noticed the other two yet, but gods forbid...]

[pishirogane]

Unfortunately, we have to wait for Kanji-kun to get out of his berserk state...!

[And considering Keith had leapt forward to help pry the fake chest off, the mimic had shifted targets to him now. Naoto would take the opportunity to reload her ammunition and take Aim since she now had to get past the two of them.]

... I rolled a 20. I can't believe this is my life, now.

[balancingedge]

Will we?

[Because there's one thing he likes to do, and he does it well enough. Especially since he just learned Throw. He sees that beeline, and he waits for the mimic to get close before he dodges to the right and grabs it by a handle. With both hands.

He lifts (oh god, why- he's going to feel this in the morning) it by the handle, and yeets the mimic over their heads and toward the door.]

[topgun_textiles]

HRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGGGHH- huh?

[He blinked, the yellow fading back to gray. As that Mimic sailed toward the door, he was dumbfounded into an Inner Calm.]

...Dude, that's gonna kill your shoulders.

[balancingedge]

I've fought people nearly twice my height and far more skilled. This is nothing.

[Yeah, it hurts, but then he's had muscle and tendon cut on his right shoulder before and kept fighting. This isn't nearly as bad.]

[hatejakku]

[ Sadly, Finn missed out on that fantastic toss due to his own problems. The firey mimic was charging him, and he suddenly regretted using that flamethrower thing. In a scramble, trying to back up but not get away, he used a Death Penalty shot on the creature.

Unfortunately, the attack only seemed to make it stumble for a second, at least giving Finn enough time to dodge out of the way. Maybe he could distract it? This adventure kept getting worse. ]

[wheretheresawill]

[Being targeted by enemies is where Terra feels most comfortable. He's got Counter ready for when his Mimic hits him, but he's not about to just wait around. Instead, he tries to get both the un-thrown Mimics in position to be hit by Shock Break.

[Unfortunately, he's overreached himself: he misses Finn's Mimic entirely, and only grazes his own with the sword combo.]

[littlemhigan]

The yote mimic shatters on impact with the ground, scattering wood splinters, teeth, shards of broken pottery and what look like a few figurines.

Finn similarly hits his own mimic, blasting the lid clean off and managing to get out of the way of it's remains; sheer momentum carrying the bottom half of the chest forward. It spills a few old books and more miscellany.

Terra's though. Terra's mimic is big and metal, made of iron while the others were simply wood, and the sword combo streaks off it. It doesn't even slow down, and continues moving to try and chomp at Terra's leg.

[hatejakku]

Terra!

[ Finn ignored the contents of the spilled chest and ran over it to try getting to Terra's side. He reloads and tries to concentrate on his next attack, unsure what he could do. It seemed immune to his flamethrower, and there was too high a chance of bullets bouncing off.

For now, he was at the other man's side, hoping to at least distract the creature for a minute. ]

[promiselisting]

[ Futaba curses. If this is turning into an out-and-out brawl, no point staying up here. Her other job will be more effective.

Scrambling for her iMog slate, she flicks through the settings until she can switch her passive and active jobs. Necronomicon erupts into blue flame and disintegrates, and Futaba herself lands on the ground, now in Astrologian. But also a bit more vulnerable. ]

[balancingedge]

{Keith backs off, moving in front of Futaba to act as a sort of shield. If he had finished working on his own custom job, he'd have been able to cut that mimic in half. But he didn't and he's kicking himself for it, using another fire ninjutsu from this distance to hopefully at least buy Terra some time.

Items on the ground can wait until the last mimic stops moving.]

[topgun_textiles]

[Shit, let's help Terra a bit, shall we? He moved in with a grunt, ignoring the munched-on leg. He could deal with that later.

He brought the hammer low and swung high, giving the mimic a solid whack with the Helm Smash.]

Back off, ya stupid piece of shit box...!

[pishirogane]

[Well, there went her originally intended target - and now, so many close-ranged fighters were on the Mimic attacking Terra, she has to use her aim from before in a different manner. Bullets weren't likely to do anything to the outside itself, but the mouth...]

[She would take on the ricochet, her trigger happy shots appearing wild, but coming back to their intended target.]

[kuposcreed]

[Bonnie's been fluttering about during all of this, not quite frightened into inaction but rather a bit scrambled in trying to pick a target. But she was resolved to back up Terra just as she was going to depend on him for defense, so there's no question where she's needed now!

Her Spirit is Surging at this point and while she knows this move will be risky she trusts in the speed training she's been doing and the powers the asterisks give her. And in the others to heal her. Besides, this worked pretty well when they were fighting underwater, right?

Waiting for just the right moment for the metal mimic to yawn wide open she Jumps at it, trying to spear it inside its own mouth. Pointy spear right into the soft bits! She hopes, kupo!]

[littlemhigan]

((Futaba, Ann and Keith have since dropped so we're just going to assume they're tagging along and doing whatever the party's doing.))

Bonnie's a little faster and her tiny spear impales the fleshy mouth bits of the mimic with just enough time to flip away before Kanji's axe comes down on the mimic's head, heavily denting the metal. The mimic pauses for a moment, stunned by the one-two, but it holds still just long enough for Naoto to land a healthy number of shots very close to where Bonnie's blow struck. When the final bullet sinks in, the Mimic gives a mighty shudder and stills.

The air grows still and quiet once again.

The fight seems to have kicked up a fair bit of dust, and the mimics knocked a lot of things over in their graceless charge. Maybe have a look at what's about?