[IC] State of Souls





Aiko cocked her head to the side hearing Malacai speak up. She seemed as if she was about to speak up... though strangely seemed to back away from any attempt to protest it. She didn't want to look stupid. She shrugged, waving her hand with her fingers pointing to the ground. "Sure sure, go go, I'll let you take the front, just remember I'll take charge as needed." She had spoke up attempting to keep up her charade of being confident and sure of herself. She was already dreading thinking up what she could do on the mission to hide her inability to fully resonate nor really be able to do that much to any ghosts. She didn't plan on making herself look stupid if all possible during the mission. It had already fell apart so badly with what was meant to be a last ditch effort to get out of training with Ella turning into such drama with Ella storming off upset and her stuck on a mission that she was poorly suited to do much on.


As they arrived seeing the poltergeist finally,  a brief look of dread was on her face. It wasn't fear from the ghosts... it was hard for Aiko to really be afraid of anything no matter how horrible it was. It was the fear of humiliation that left Aiko feeling so uneasy. She hide away her expression quickly with a somewhat awkward grin. She looked to Axel giving a thumbs up. She spoke a little louder though keeping quiet. It was a bit of of character for Aiko though fortunately only one person there would probably realize it.


"Alright! Gotta capture these pesky things and mission accomplished!" She spoke with an upbeat expression. "Alright, being the senior here..." She spoke quickly taking up the title before anyone could question it., "... I think its only right I let you guys all shine! I'll cover the back and mostly observe, keep yas all safe if something goes wrong if some bad stuff happens while you guys go in and get those pesky zombie ghosts in a box! Super easy, nothing can go wrong. I believe you guys can do it!" She spoke as an attempt to make it sound partially like some pep talk while hopefully having it as a solid plan to avoid her having to worry about looking like an idiot.


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Grace and Erica.jpg​





Axel took hold of Hunter's hand and brought her up to Aiko. As she did so, she began scanning the area for the ideal entry point. She understood what Aiko was trying to do for the younger students, but felt that she needed to get some practice with Hunter. The sooner they jumped into the action, the better. While she was looking, Hunter focused on Aiko. There was just something off about what Aiko was doing. It was out of character. Of course the average person wouldn't have noticed the difference, but Hunter knew better. After a moment, she spoke up, "A-Aiko? Wh-what's wrong? Is... is everything okay?"


Since Axel had been so concentrated on finding plan of execution, she didn't hear Hunter's questions. Before they could be answered, Axel gave a light tug on her sister's arm, saying, "Come on, sis. We need to take them on to make sure we can keep our cool under pressure. We can do it."


The sudden pressure from Axel caught Hunter off guard. She knew they had joined the mission to test themselves, but things had changed. Aiko's strange demeanor was seriously concerning. If Aiko was scared, then she felt the rest of them should be as well. Instinctively, she pulled back from Axel, "N-no, wait G-Grace. Don't pull. I-I'm scared!" Her hand slipped free and Hunter stumbled back, tripping over a tombstone.


"Ow, that hurt," said Hunter as she sat up, rubbing her head. However, before she could say anything more, she drew in a quick breath of surprise as her eyes locked onto the light of the tombstone.


Axel turned around just in time to catch her sister staring into the light. Her face changed from an expression of confusion to one of great worry. For the moment, Axel couldn't move her feet. All she could do was stare, feeling a strange horror creep up her spine, "E-Erica? Are you... are you okay?"
 
[SIZE=14pt]Malacai Dreston[/SIZE][SIZE=14pt] [/SIZE][SIZE=14pt]and [/SIZE][SIZE=14pt]Isaac Perinnin[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Isaac was closely following his partner into the cemetery in question. As they entered, he noticed that one of their companions had tripped over one of the nearby stones. Malacai did not seem to notice, or if he did, he did not immediately act on it. Shooting him a nasty look, he moved over to their companion, Erica. [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]“Are you alright? Is something the matter?” [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]Isaac then turned to his partner, now a decent amount ahead of the rest of the group. [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]“Hey, could you slow down a bit? Not everyone is as powerful as you are. Some of us aren’t holding up too well!” [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]It was at this point that Isaac let the situation that they were in really sink in. These poltergeists were not acting like what he had fought at the concert. There was an odd light originating from the graves. This whole scene gave Isaac a very odd feeling. It was something he didn’t often feel, but he tried his best to ignore it.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Meanwhile, it became increasingly apparent to Malacai as they entered the cemetery that working with this group was going to be a lot tougher than he originally thought. He couldn’t help but overhear a lot of uncertainty from the rest of his companions, especially in the case of Aiko. She seemed extremely uneasy. Her speech patterns were quite abnormal, and he was surprised none of the others had picked up on it. He also wasn’t surprised if they were rattled. The way these creatures were acting, it was very strange. Malacai couldn’t quite figure out what was going on with them. [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]Are these really the same creatures I fought at the concert? [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]Malacai couldn’t help but question that. And if they were, what was Nicholas not telling him? He mentioned that Lord Death was the one that needed these things taken care of. If Lord Death was asking for them to be retrieved, he couldn’t help but think there might be something more. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that someone had tripped over a stone. He kept moving forward, looking towards the location Nicholas had sent them to. As he was moving, he heard his partner call out to him. He sighed, and turned to face the rest of the group. [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]Very well, then. This may be a bit of headache, but I cannot just leave it sit like this.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]“Alright, why don’t you all relax? We’ve got a job to do, and if you can’t handle it, then maybe you should stay back. Of course, the first thing to do is to admit that you are a little uneasy. I think we can all agree that something’s off here, especially those of us who dealt with these things before. Steel yourselves. I think we may have to investigate inside the cemetery itself. Ask yourselves, if we can’t solve this issue, what could it cause in the future? Are you willing to let the people of Death City deal with these things, and whatever may or may not be causing them to act like completely different creatures on their own? I’m certainly not. I think protecting the city is something we can all agree on. We are the ones who can stop them with that box. For those who were at the concert, you should know that these things are not that hard to deal with. If something else is going on, we can work together to stop it. None of us are alone. We are students of the DWMA. We not only have each other, but the whole of the academy in our thoughts. We’ve got a city to protect. Direct your fear outward. Sure, you may feel concerned now. Think about that feeling. Do you want the city to feel like you do? How do you think standard citizens would react if they saw what we see on a daily basis? Look in your mind. Surely there must be something worth stopping whatever the hell is going on here for. Each and every one of us has that one thing that we would do anything to protect or achieve. Once you have that, direct your fear and purpose, and charge it into action. Let’s get these things out of here, for the people, and for those we hold in our hearts! When you’ve got your fight back, then follow me into the cemetery. It’s time to get down to the bottom of this.”[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt] Malacai turned, keeping his ears perked to listen for any reactions, and set off. It was time to take down the ghouls.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Isaac never needed much convincing. He was always willing to fight for what he thought was right. Sure, he’d gotten himself hurt in the process several times. This did not mean he didn’t have limits. There were some things that Isaac just could not work up the courage to face. These creepy spectral spirits, much less poltergeists now as he remembered them, bordered on that line. He could feel himself shaking throughout his partner’s entire speech. Isaac wasn’t a genius by any regard, but it didn’t take much to recognize that something was off with these creatures. The thought terrified him. However, his partner only drove his desires to fight even more. Malacai’s determination always inspired Isaac. He felt like he owed it to him to be the best he could be, even if that cost him on occasion. [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]“Come on, guys. We must face what makes us afraid, for those we care about!” [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]Isaac exclaimed. [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Isaac ran after his partner, and stopped to speak with him. [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]“I’m surprised. I thought you didn’t really care much about them. Just a while ago, you seemed like this was something you thought you could do alone.” [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]Isaac stated.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Malacai shrugged. [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]“It’s the truth. These creatures are a threat to what we all hold dear, if the concert is any indication. I had to try and rally them at least. I don’t need much to guess that they are all concerned.” [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]Malacai responded.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]As Malacai continued towards the cemetery, he turned to face his partner. Malacai whispered to Isaac. [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]“While I may have thought I could handle this myself, seeing this scene makes me think twice. Something’s off here. Not just with the poltergeists and the eerie lights, but with the mission in general. Something that Nicholas said has been on my mind since we started moving. He said “‘It is Lord Death himself which makes the situation that much more interesting.’ It sounds like there may be more to this. If Lord Death has an interest in these things, there’s a reason for it, and I’d like to know why. I’m not sure I can figure this out on my own. I’ll need everyone’s help, especially if something bigger is here.”[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]“What else could there be but a bunch of crazy poltergeists?” [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]Isaac asked.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]“Your shaking suggests that you may have the same concern. Not to that magnitude perhaps, but the fear that something else could be at work here. We both saw them at that concert. This isn’t normal for them.”[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt] Malacai responded. [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]“Also, I’d ask you to steel yourself like I asked the whole group to. If my partner is not able to show the same confidence I am, it makes me look bad. Besides, I need to know I can rely on you to not be paralyzed with fear in here.”[/SIZE]



[SIZE=12pt]“You know you can always count on my support if you need it, Malacai.” [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]Isaac responded. With that, Isaac and Malacai turned their heads forward, and set out towards the location Nicholas had told them to go to.[/SIZE]


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Adrika blinked and pulled to a stop as soon as the other's hand was ripped forcibly out of her grip. Did she do something wrong? What if she just screwed up big time? How were they supposed to work together then? For someone with a goal of befriending the whole EAT class, and eventually the NOT kids too, this concept was very, very unthinkable and disturbing at the same time. She began to walk again a few seconds after the meister did. Confused, the usually hyper girl let out a breath she'd unconsciously started to hold when Jessyka answered her questions, though not without sounding slightly terrified which didn't help to put the weapons mind to ease. When she was told not to touch the other girl again, she physically deflated some, her earlier pep seeming to fly out the proverbial window, knowing now she had indeed screwed up. That was not how this was supposed to go.


"Oh...Okay." Was all that came from the young weapon, a very distant reply as she was trying to figure out why this had gone so wrong, and what exactly she'd done to bring her partner's current situation up. She didn't notice the cemetery, glowing gravestones, and poltergeists until the other members of the group began to speak about it. It was one of the twin's--she couldn't tell them apart--statement about something pretty that drew her attention to the cemetery at last.


Her eyes grew wide, first at the sight of the gravestones glowing, and wider yet at the ghosts. She found herself blocking out whatever else was said between the twins after that, and even their following antics. She wasn't at the concert, so this was the first time she was seeing something like them ever, and to be honest if she had the common sense to be scared, she probably would be. She didn't, though, and as such she wasn't. The prospect of not being able to work with Jessyka scared her more than the creepy ghosties they had to capture.


Her attention turned to one of the boys, Malacai, when he addressed the rest of them. She payed attention to the first few sentences, up until the words "steel yourselves" before she tuned out his speech. What was it with people and speeches? Buh-or-ing. However, the little she did listen to seemed to be enough to renew her confidence and pep of earlier. She was not was worried about her ability to work with Jessyka anymore. Why had she let that get her down? Very un-Adrika like. There was no way in hell she was sitting her first EAT mission out on the sidelines and not help protect people from the ghosties. Not a chance. She was going to make this partnership work, one way or another. Even if she couldn't, she was still going to find a way to help.


When Malacai turned away and his partner Issac spoke for a moment before he followed suit, she turned to Jessyka, careful not to do what was instinctual to her and reach out to touch her again. She kept her hands tightly clasped behind her back as she smiled brightly, almost encouragingly to the more experienced meister. "I'm sorry if I upset you earlier... I didn't mean to! Really!" She stated, not in any way lacking in the energy she'd had before, trying to clear the air between hem a tad. Then, she looked towards the cemetery. "Shall we?" She inquired, still looking towards the cemetery.


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[SIZE= 24px]Ella Trinity[/SIZE]
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A pair of hands fell over Erica’s eyes, coming from behind to shade the battleaxe’s vision from the colorful light emitting off the tombestone. Ella didn’t know if she made it in time…or even if her simple action had made a difference. However it was the half-zombie’s instinctive reaction upon seeing the blonde girl’s frozen state. Crouched on her heels, she spoke softly…if not a bit shyly.


“I don’t know what you see,” Ella really didn’t see…at least not too much. Her soul perception wasn’t as good without a meister. “But it’s okay. You’re okay.”


After talking to Professor Thomas at DWMA, she’d gone straight to Lord Death, who informed her of the group’s location. Running as fast as her legs would carry her, the pink haired girl made her way to the cemetery just as the DWMA students arrived at the entrance. However, she’d kept herself hidden from them and decided to watch instead—too ashamed to face Aiko, Erika, and Grace after how unprofessional she had acted. So she trailed like a stalker instead…always keeping a good distance.


It surprised her that Aiko was hanging in the back. She imagined the brash meister would’ve been the first to try and take the lead. Though, it made sense that the only 3-star meister in the group was the leader. She had been content to remain hidden—at least until she saw Erika trip. Malacai’s speech hardened her determination. Ella had a duty. To DWMA. To her friends. She couldn’t let pride and lack of confidence stop her from doing what she could to help. Kira would be ashamed. And so, emerging from behind a tree outside the cemetery, and Ella had approached the horrified twin the best way she knew how.


After a moment or two more, Ella released her hands. Straightening, Ella glanced between the twins, then back at Aiko before returning to the twins, her pale face flushing pink.  “I’m sorry about before…” Pause. “I’m Stray Spinner~” She’d been in DWMA for four years, but she was often absent from school due to medical reasons so it wouldn’t surprise her if some didn’t know who she was. She didn’t know Erica or Grace, though she was somewhat familiar with Jessyka, Malacai, and Issac. Not that she’d ever talked to them before.    


Tucking a pale pink lock behind her ear, Ella’s hands were then interlocked behind her back. She also seemed to find her shoes vastly interesting as she kicked aside a stray rock. A moment later, she peeked up, addressing the rest of group—minus Malacai and Isaac who were walking ahead. She also seemed to avoid Aiko’s gaze.    


“Ummm, if you guys don’t mind, I’d like help you all catch the ghosties who are pretending to be zombies. I’ll try not to be a hindrance.”  


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State of Souls: The Cemetery’s Haunts



Even before Malacai would deliver his inspirational speech meant to reunite the group and keep everyone in the proper state of mind, things had started going rather strangely within the cemetery itself. The first thing that happened occurred the moment that Erica tripped over the tombstone. When her body hit the ground, the tombstone itself shook a few times as though the impact of Erica landing had been a lot more extreme than it truly had been. Then, a single second later, the light that seemed to emanate around that particular tombstone seemed to spin and then it floated up and out of the ground becoming a little floating light that looked quite like a soul would. A meister who had seen souls before - or a weapon, for that matter - would know that the glowing yellow light was not a soul, but it still took on the shape of one which was likely quite odd.

Another eerie addition to that was the sound of owls. This particular cemetery had no trees although it was laid out on a hill so there was no tree for any owl to be sitting in. However, the air echoed with the sounds of owls calling over and over again. “Hoooot. Hooooot.”It was a random observation that anyone could make if they were paying enough attention.

Neither of those two spooks would keep them from their destination, though. Up and over the hill was where they had to go and as people started walking again, that was where they would be heading.

With all the discussions that they seemed to be having relatively close together, one more thing probably seemed odd to the students. The poltergeists didn’t seem to notice them at all. Not a single one looked their way, none of them so much as turned their head, and they just continued walking in their zombie-like trance only to vanish over the hill. They walked along the edge of the cemetery while the students had entered right in the middle, but beyond that, the poltergeists seemed to be heading in the same direction that the students were told to go.


Jessyka Volontari



Jessyka was surprised when her partner didn’t react more - at least, not immediately - to the situation that had involved only the two of them. Usually when she refused to touch people, they asked her why and then she had to try and explain a thing that even she didn’t understand and she had been prepared to do the same thing here had Adrika asked for it. However, she didn’t. Granted, that could have been because of all the other things that their group seemed to be getting involved in. Jessyka herself was a bit busy paying attention to all the antics of their comrades anyway so even if Adrika had asked her to explain, Jessyka would have taken a minute before she ever got around to the words that would’ve been necessary.

The ranged meister was actually fairly skilled at paying attention and she picked up on a few things while she was watching everything. She could tell that Aiko was out of sorts and didn’t want to admit it. There was no other way the meister would be trying to encourage everyone else to fight for her. Usually - if Jessyka remembered right - Aiko was one of the first to volunteer for demonstrations in class and she typically loved being involved in the action. Briefly, she wondered if it was possible that the poltergeists frightened Aiko at all. She tried to remember and she couldn’t quite recall how involved her fellow two-star meister had been in the events of the concert. Pity. That might have helped Jessyka figure out a few more things. While she didn’t know as much about the twins, Jessyka could guess that they weren’t the most comfortable in the situation and they also seemed very easily distractible. That was not good since this place seemed to be full of distractions.

Luckily for all of them, a three star meister was in their group.

She listened to Malacai’s speech, but she didn’t necessarily think of it as being directed towards her. She was one of those people who liked to think important speeches like that were for everyone but her. Additionally, Jessyka was not afraid of the poltergeists. That much she could say with absolute confidence because she had dealt with them before. She knew that the Edolas Box worked and that they would all be gone fairly quickly, that they really weren’t anything more than pests in the big picture of things, actually.

Finally, after all that, she heard her partner’s voice again. “It’s alright. Being touched just… it does something weird to me. Weird and scary.” That was something of an explanation and it was all Adrika was going to get.

“If everyone else is going to keep walking, then we will to,” she said and then Jessyka added a bit of urgency to her step as she tried to close the distance between herself and Malacai. “Malacai!” she called up to him. “I think we should come up with a plan before we waltz right in. You and I both suspect that there’s something bigger than these poltergeists over that hill and making sure everyone’s on the same page would probably be a good idea. I think we should stop just before the top and only send one or two to peek over and see what’s going on first. The more we know, the better we can react to it.”

Glancing back at the others briefly, she hoped she had spoken loud enough for them to hear her as well because that would probably make things easier. She did see that Ella was there when she didn’t remember the student having been in their group prior and for a moment she was confused, but she snapped her thoughts back to the matter at hand. “We could use all the help we can get, but we could also use all the planning we can muster. So far everyone’s been all over the place and a cohesive plan might help.”


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As the Earth grumbled in an erie quake, Axel grit her teeth, planting her feet into the dirt ground of the cemetery. She appreciated Malacai jumping to her sister's side, yet the feeling was short-lived, as Hunter seemed to be mesmerized by the light. A spark began to steam in Axel's gut, flaring in her eyes as she reached a hand toward Aiko. Being a Deamon Weapon, Axel's first instinct to a supernatural threat was to relinquish her abilities to the control of a trusted Meister, which happened to be Aiko in this case. Sure there had been some drama between the group, but when it came to Hunter's safety, Axel didn't mess around.


Although the group would likely be unaware, this tension had already instigated the first battle of the night. On the outside; gritting teeth, tensed muscles, and a bead of sweat tracing the lines of a contorted face were the only signs of struggle. On the inside, Axel's soul teetered on the edge of sanity. Blood red waves of anger and fear roared past her feet, plummeting into an abyss below and threatening to yank her in. An untrained soul would have instantly succumbed to the madness within, but Axel had been here before. Rather than shying away from her fear -- which would have given the madness what it needed to consume her -- Axel glared into the cavern. She refused to cross that threshold. For the moment, the fun-loving Grace Taghan of Death City was gone. In her place stood EAT student, Axel Grace; a living demonstration of the DWMA's potential. It wouldn't be long before the others would see why Lord Death had allowed such dangerous students to return.


Moments before the light on the gravestone rose, Ella blocked Erica's sight. This severed the connection and freed Erica from her trance. It took a few blinks to regain awareness, but then Erica shot to her feet; turning in motion to look at Ella. Extending a hand, Erica spoke in a straight tone, "Stray Spinner? I remember that name. There's no need to apologize. I was... stuck in a hospital for most of my life, too. But I'll explain later. Right now, Jessyka's right, we need reconnaissance."


She gave a nod and a smiled lightly to Malacai as well, noticing he had been siting next to her. However, like her sister, Erica Taghan of Death City was gone. In her place stood EAT student, Grace Hunter. Despite Hunter's change in attitude, Axel relaxed slightly. It never made much sense, but she was used to it. Aiko would have been too, as missions always seemed to smack Erica with a drastic personality switch. It was as if she were a completely different person. Together, Axel and Hunter were the Axe Twins; twins, Fusion Weapons, and one of the wild cards of the DWMA.


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Aiko looked over hearing Erica question how she was. A look of unease was on her face realizing how quickly she had caught onto her.She fumb led in her mind a bit panics she might realize what it was before Grace saved her from having to worry about it. A sigh of relief filled her, though it was quickly filled with an uneasy look as she witnessed Erica tripping over the tomestone. It seemed the others were quick to ask if she was okay, giving Aiko a little relief taking advantage of the moment to avoid having to answer the question. She moved forward keeping back a bit from the others, her mind too distracted even realizing the strange light that came from the tombstone. 


She looked to see Ella, once again back there. A bit of relief filled her.... something that was quick to turn to awkwardness noticing Ella seemed to avoid looking towards her. It seemed the whole mission was just a train wreck for her... at the very least she was happy the girl was back on the mission. It didn't change how bad she felt... but there was little she could do about it at this point. Naturally she could be up front and honest... but Aiko's ego couldn't take such a hit. She had far to much pride to admit such a shameful thing no matter what. She would weasel her way around to try and make things right without having to admit a fault she had. She would make sure to not get someone hurt without ruining her ego. 


Aiko turned to Erica hearing her speak in a less scared and more straight tone. She smiled a bit happy to hear her speak in such a way. She was glad she seemed to some extent her old self, the events of 'that day' left her worried about Erica. She shook back her negative thoughts. She had to keep a strong front. It was the best course of action for her to look good and have use during the mission. She looked towards Jessyka giving a thimbs up in response. 


"Yes'em! Since they don't seem to notice us or care about us the best course of action is to see where they are heading. Keep our heads low so we aren't seen incase there is some head honcho or whatever hat might be causing them to mindlyessly be leading them somewhere. If there is, or something might be attracting them, then we can sneak in there, take them or it out and walla! We win! No need to worry about fighting these ghost zombie things and we can be on our way." She spoke, seeming even more enthused at the last bit about avoiding having to deal with the ghosts.


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Ella M. Trinity
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Ella happily took the offered hand, tilting her head slightly when Erica mentioned being in a hospital. However, half-zombie didn’t voice her curiosity. There would be time for that later. For now she was simply pleased that none of her fellow DWMA students seemed to mind her involvement in the mission. Pale eyes flickered from Jessyka to Aiko as they spoke plans. She was used to leaving the planning to the meisters. Her job was only to become a weapon worthy of being wielded in battle. Besides, Malacai, Aiko, and Jessyka, all seemed like experienced meisters. Surely any plan they came up with was bound to be a good one.  


“We still have to put all ghosties back in the box by the time the mission ends,” Ella reminded Aiko who had her thumbs up. Though Aiko’s plan as a whole was a sound one. Simple and sound. Ella giggled before remembering that she was still unreasonably upset at Aiko.  Letting go of Erica’s hand, the pink haired girl spun around clutching the straps of her backpack as she glanced up at the hill ahead. Indeed, there were many strange things about the mission. The unnatural hooting of owls. The way the poltergeists seemed to ignore them. The pretty lights emanating from the tombstones.  Ella sighed dreamily.


“If we’re sending someone over the hill to peek at whatever villain may be attracting the ghosties, they should have a weapon with them—just in case.” Ella added. She didn’t want anyone to end up like Kira. The poltergeists were difficult to defeat without resonance, but from what she saw at the concert, they didn't cause any life-threatening danger. Whatever was causing all the strange happenings at the cemetery just might. Ella didn't want to take any chances.


She looked back at the other members of the mission thoughtfully. Jessyka was a ranged meister—if she remembered correctly—so it made sense for her to suggest reconnaissance. Aiko the Blur was…fast. Grave and his partner, Issac, were good fighters if the rumors were anything to go by. They also helped Jack and Kalin at the concert. The twin battle axes were probably strong weapons if Aiko preferred them to her. Adrika was the only one Ella was completely unfamiliar with, though she recognized the name.


But I don't remember seeing her in class...


Therefore, Ella’s curious gaze lingered longest on the blonde girl before she smiled in greeting and redirected her eyes to the rest of the group. She raised her hand slightly. “I can go if no one else wants to,”


It really wasn’t her style to volunteer for these types of things. She normally liked to stay back with her meister and do whatever he meister wanted to do. However, in this situation, their really wasn't a meister for her to stick around with. Aiko probably preferred Erica since they had a history together. Ella didn’t want to be the third wheel in the rekindling of a past relationship. However, she did want to see this mission to the end…even if it was Aiko that signed her up for it.     


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As the situation with Hunter was safely resolved, thanks to the help of the others in the group, Axel was able to calm herself away from the edge of madness. The danger wasn't gone, though. It never was. However, it had been successfully controlled and suppressed by Axel. Her head gradually became clearer and eventually she began to pick up on the group chatter.

In actuality, it was Ella's offer to do reconnaissance that snapped Axel back to reality entirely. Axel hadn't known the girl for long, but from what she'd seen, Ella didn't seem quite like reconnaissance material. Casting a worried glance at Hunter, Axel stated, "Hunter should go too. When it comes to reconnaissance, she's a natural."

Hunter read the look on her sister's face and understood what she was trying to do. With a nod, Hunter agreed, smiling over to Ella. Axel had been right about Hunter's skills in reconnaissance. If that was where the team needed her, Hunter was more than ready to do it. Shuffling next to Ella, Hunter added, "Don't worry. There's all sorts of tricks to recon a hill. One thing, though. Don't trust bushes. They may feel safe, but they're nasty tattletales. If you're not careful, they might even try to stab you with their barbs. I'll show you some good spots. Okay?"

Meanwhile, Axel turned back to the rest of the group and continued, "Alright, for those of you who aren't part of the reconnaissance team, we need to pair up and make sure we know who we're working with. We don't know what's up there, so we need to be prepared and stick together. Got it?"

"Oh, and one more thing. If we're not back in five minutes, that likely means we got caught and need help. Got it? Five minutes. We're relying on you guys," added Hunter with an index finger in the air before turning back to Ella and asking, "Alright... questions?"

@Hanarei QuirkyAngel QuirkyAngel @DaughterofAthena @Stormborn Targaryen
 


A D R I K A ❁ C O O P E R​
Adrika nodded and hurried to keep pace with Jessyka as the meister trailed after Malacai. Her gaze turned to the sky as they moved, drawn by the hooting of owls... Though there were no owls to be seen. That mixed with the general creepiness of the graveyard gave the short girl chills down her spine. Her attention returned to the conversations at hand just as Aiko began to speak. She listened silently and nodded along as they all conversed. Honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that Ella and Erica had already decided to complete the reconnaissance, she would have volunteered herself.

"Good luck and be careful guys." She replied quietly--or about as quiet as she could which wasn't very--to Erica, directed at both her and Ella, as she turned away. As the discussion came to a close with the reconnaissance team apparently decided on, she shifted closer to the remaining members of the team.

"What's with the ghosties... It's like they don't even see us." She mused, mostly to herself though it was still plenty loud enough to be heard. Her eyes were watching the line poltergeists as they moved towards, up, and over the hill. One after another. It was strange and honestly made her worry more about the pair headed to do recon. Hopefully there wasn't anything big and dangerous waiting for them over the hill.

A single head shake and Adrika was focused back on her teammates, and in a more serious state. "What's the plan? How are we gonna get the ghosts?" She questioned, and she wasn't asking about the recon or the plans already in place. "After we get over the hill, I mean." she clarified and then fell silent, her gaze sliding over to the ghosts again though she was still paying attention.
Code by Cecilia​
 
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Jessyka Volontari
Although she had been looking to Malacai for a plan, Jessyka had no objections at all to the fact that the others decided to jump in and help with that part as well. The more heads that were working on the plan, the better their mission was likely to turn out and that was simply the way situations played out. When she looked through her teammates, she regarded each of them evenly and she was slowly beginning to realize that they could perhaps function as a team. There were a few problems she could foresee, but for the most part she imagined that they could make the situation work.

“We are going to have to capture the poltergeists, Aiko,” she said to her fellow 2-star meister. “That is the mission in it’s most basic form. That’s why we have the Edolas Box. If we don’t catch them now, they could go cause more trouble later.” She said it in a straightforward and plain manner because she knew it was fact. That was the mission she had signed up for even before they met with Nicolas Kye and it was still the mission she intended upon completing. The situation was more complicated now because there was an investigation aspect, but capturing the poltergeists was still important.

It was only halfway through speaking that she realized Ella had just said the same thing and she simply nodded and gave the weapon girl a smile as a sign of agreement.

Ella offered to go and so did Erica. It all seemed fine and dandy at first, but Jessyka really wasn’t certain. “Should we really have two weapons working together who aren’t used to working together?” she asked Erica and Ella. She knew for sure that Erica and Grace hadn’t been in class for a while so she was quite certain that Ella and Erica likely hadn’t worked together before. “If it was a weapon and a meister, I’d be more comfortable with it, but two weapons…?” she let her voice trail off with uncertainty.

“I’d be willing to go with Ella,” she added, “if someone else could hold on to the box. Would that be alright?”

Then came the plan of what they would do after they found out about what was going on over the hill. Jessyka honestly didn’t have an answer for Adrika just yet. She felt like she had to try, though. “As for after, I think I’d rather wait and see what we find looking over the hill first. We’re probably going to be better off going with something simple where we try to approach the target from all possible angles just so that we’re using all possible viewpoint directions for them. Our priority should be on keeping the situation contained.”

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Jessyka Volontari, Malacai Dreston and Isaac Perinnin
Collab With: Lady Warlock Lady Warlock​

Malacai’s mind was spinning through plans and options while he listened to the conversation going on behind him and heard them putting together their own little plans. He took note of them, but his mind was still spinning anyway because he wanted more of a plan in place than any of them were actually coming up with on their own and the more he looked over the hill, the more he realized that there was something they were all missing completely. There was a much easier way to deal with this whole thing.

Soul perception.

It seemed silly and he should not have been the only person realizing that, but it sounded like he was after listening to some of their conversations. Now, Malacai knew his limits, too, and he knew that seeing through a hill wouldn’t exactly work. He should be able to get a sense of the energy on the other side, though, and that would help a great deal in figuring out who they actually could allow to venture over and investigate with their own eyes. For a while, it probably seemed like he was ignoring the group, but that was because he was actually using his eyes.

What he saw was actually more clear than he would’ve anticipated and it surprised him. The reason why he could see with such clarity was because the poltergeists themselves were pure energy so they weren’t that hard to notice in the first place. As the poltergeists made their way around the other hill, the line didn’t extend very far onto the other side. Instead, it looked like they were all being absorbed into something… something bigger. That wasn’t all he saw, though. There was a single clear soul on the other side. It was an odd soul, but it was not ghostly. It appeared… well, no, not appeared… it was unmoving. Like it was just watching…

Malacai stopped and he turned to face the group. “I see it. It appears that these poltergeists, ghosts, whatever you want to call them, are being sucked into something. I don’t know what, but they are all going into something. I can also see a single soul over there. Someone, or something is doing something with these things. It appears that there may be more to this situation than we thought. However, at least I can finally get somewhat of a sense as to why these creatures are acting so weird. Now, with this knowledge in mind, let’s figure out how we can approach this.”

His eyes scanned the team that they had as he tried to piece together his knowledge of who was capable of what. There were a few he hadn’t worked with before, but he had vague ideas of where to start. “Jessyka, I would rather you keep hold on the box since you know how to use it. Considering the amount of energy massing over there, we aren’t going to be able to afford screw-ups so you’re the best bet with the Edolas Box. You, Adrika and Ella will go to where the ghosts are lining like zombies - that way.” He actually pointed towards where they could still see the ghosts in their slow moving line. “When I give the signal, collect what you can and make your way around.”

Jessyka nodded. She wouldn’t disagree with him.

“Aiko, are you capable of wielding both the twins?” Dual wielding weapons was a unique talent and it wasn’t something Malacai himself had ever tried nor did he have any desire to. Isaac was a unique weapon already and adding more to it would get… well, complicated. He knew Aiko could wield one of them well enough so if anyone could wield both, she’d be one of them. “I’d like you and the twins to back me up. I’m going over first and you’ll be close behind me. When the fighting starts, because I’m sure it will, I need you three to fight with me. Stay out of Isaac’s reach because I’m not sure how wild things will get.”

Hearing that piece, Jessyka became a bit hesitant and she leaned closer to Malacai, whispering, “Are you sure that’s wise? Aiko seems… well… off.”

Malacai acknowledged Jessyka’s concern. “I’ve taken note of this ever since we reached the cemetery. Perhaps getting into something and having a solid course of action will change that. Besides, I can keep her safe if she does freeze up and I’m fairly sure the twins would defend her as well.” His voice was whispered only to Jessyka because if Aiko was aware that they had noticed, things could get worse.

Jessyka nodded and decided she would have to be alright with that for now.

Malacai at last turned to his partner. “Alright, what do you say Isaac? Shall we get down to business?”

Isaac jumped up, and nodded. “Finally. I’ve been getting a little restless. It’s time to go catch us some ghosts!” Isaac would never admit it, but the whole scene was making him very uneasy as well. However, he owed it to his partner to show some backbone. Isaac figured it’d get easier when he got to fight something.

Malacai gave Isaac one more nod, and turned back to the group. “Alright, now let’s get this done. It’s time to go to work.”


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Ella Trinity - Stray Spinner ​

“Mm, Mm, I like the plan,” Ella said nodding along as Malacai spoke. The three-star meister seemed have the most experience out of all of them, taking the lead the way he did. But then, that was too be expected. Given his ranking, Malacai was on par with some DWMA teachers. It would be good experience to watch him in action. Both hands gripping her backpack, Ella shot Erica an apologetic smile. “Looks like reconnaissance is no longer needed…but I’d love to hear more about good recon spots once the missions over.”

The stuff about the bushes confused her. Though she could understand the sentiment regarding barbs. Ella was about to reply in the affirmative to Erica’s question, since didn’t particularly care who went with her, but then Jessika intervened. It was a good point. A weapon-master pair was the strongest. Though, Ella considered herself a spare weapon on the mission, given the current weapon to meister ratio. If no meister wanted to use her for battle, then there wasn’t much else to do but assist in minor ways. Besides, if there were any danger, she’d just revert to her weapon form.

Still…Ella was quite pleased when a two-star meister said she wanted to go with her. Glancing between Jessika and Adrika, Ella’s expression brightened. The half zombie walked over to where Adrika and Jessyka stood, her attention mostly on the girl she didn’t recognize. Curious pink eyes roaming the cute blonde with pigtails. Weapon. Ella tilted her head. Probably. Stray Spinner had been with various meisters since Kira’s death…and Adrika just didn’t have the gait of one, so to say. Though that might have been purely speculation on her part. She also noticed that Adrika had been hanging close to Jessika the entire time.

“Are you Jessyka’s partner?”

Despite how she acted at times, she had no intention stealing away anyone’s partner. Permanent partnerships had never been her thing anyway. Probably never will be. Taking Arika’s hands in hers, Ella winked. “Nice to meet’cha~Let’s fight all the bad ghosties together.”

Releasing Adrika’s hands, Ella rocked on her heels. “Well…I said fight, but touching ‘em is no good unless you’re in your weapon form…” She recalled the events of the concert. It was true that Jessyka seemed the most familiar with the box that trapped the ghosts. However, she wondered how Jessyka could open the box while fighting the ghosts at the same time. It sounded unnecessarily difficult.


Perhaps it’ll be better if one of us holds the box while the other fights with Jessyka…Ella shrugged. Ah, well. With so many experienced meisters here, I’m sure something will work out. I’ll just do what I do best.

That said, Ella stopped her rocking, and spun around to face the line of slow moving ghosts. Fingers angled to form a window in front of her eyes, Ella made a clicking sound, as if imitating a camera. “Enemy sighted.”

Grip tightening around the handles of her backpack, Ella gave herself a running start up the hill towards the line of ghosts. However the half-zombie only traveled a couple of yards before arching into a backflip, her body morphing into large hula hoop-sized chakram as she did so. The bladed wheel spun rapidly, shooting high in the air before circling around to land with a thunk in front of Jessyka—the ringed-blade digging deep into the dirt to remain upright.

“I’m a little hard to handle, but once I get a bit of momentum, I can control my spin somewhat.” She was used to dealing with meisters who didn’t know what they were doing when it came to her. “Feel free to use me whenever and however you want~”

Weapons were tools. And how effectively a meister could use the tools available to them was the mark of a skilled meister—in Ella’s eyes at least. For now she was content to wait safely in her weapon form and see how Jessyka wanted to handle the ghosts.

"The more I spin the more effective I am," Ella added in afterthought.

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Hanarei Hanarei
Stormborn Targaryen Stormborn Targaryen
Zenaida Zenaida
 
Aiko Selmatu Banner

Aiko Selmatu Banner

For dem RP posting needs!

Aiko looked on, remaining a bit 'off' of her normal self still dealing with the awkwardness of the situation between the twins and Ella... and well... the fact the mission left her far to open to looking like an idiot and exposing her weakness. She couldn't deal well with being embarrassed, after all she was suppose to be the most awesome and amazing thing ever. Her ego couldn't take such a blow, there wasn't anyway in her mind she would expose her weakness if all possible.

Her distraction had left her a bit jarred hearing her name mentioned looking up as Jessyka spoke. She smirked lifting her hand up pointing her thumb up putting on her gloating front. "Well yeah, of course, I know that. Ain't no big for someone like me to deal with, of course not!" She spoke out, all the while in her own mind all she could think about was cowering away, the shame filling her as she was exposed to be not as cool as she made herself out to be. The humiliation haunting her thoughts.

Aiko turned her attention to Malacai. She lifted her thumb up again nodding her head. "Of course, I could quad wield if I need to." She spoke out keeping her cocky tone. To some extent there was a little truth to it.... though it still didn't change the fact she couldn't fully resonate even if there was a single person. She could wield a hundred weapons all at once if she could, but if she wasn't able to reach that next step to fully resonate with a weapon to unleash its true power it didn't matter. A full resonance was what really allowed a weapon and meister to become such formidable foes and stand a chance against the witches. It was that next vital step that Aiko, as talented as she might be, she could never reach.

The meister kept otherwise silent about the plan simply going along passively with it. She was already in a iffy situation as it was, saving much of her bluster. Still given concerned being voiced about her 'welbeing' she couldn't hellp but comment. "Please, I'm more then ready. As the great Aiko always says, ya' gotta bust some ghosts, cause bustin' makes me feel good." She spoke up in her faux confident tone. Although inside her mind...

What kind of lame saying is that? That is about the must lame thing I could come up with. Darn it Aiko focus!


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Grace and Erica.jpg​

Hunter paused for a moment. She still felt reconnaissance would have been the best approach for them, but she didn't doubt the capability of those with her. At first her acceptance was reluctant. However, when it was suggested she work with Aiko, she felt much better.

Despite being in her active mission mentality, Hunter managed a smile as she extended a hand to Aiko and said, "and I'll be there too, so it'll be just like old times. We've got it in the bag. Axel will only make us stronger."

Axel came up on the other side of Aiko when she heard her name mentioned and placed a hand on her shoulder, adding in a rather strange accent, "Aye, ah'll be wit'cha. We'll be given' 'er a'thing...." Hunter nudged her sister and Axel blinked before clearing her throat and continuing in the accent everyone was used to, "Oh, yup. We'll give it everything we've got. Although, we're axes, so we'll be doing more chopping than busting if that's alright with you."
 


A D R I K A ❁ C O O P E R​
Adrika snapped to attention when she heard Jessyka offer to go with Ella on the recon mission. She panicked for a few moments, not even really listening as her question was addressed as she was more worried about how she'd deal with things with her meister really did take off. Her nerves calmed when Malacai took the reins again, however. She listened silently to Malacai as he spoke, though her attention remained mostly on watching the poltergeists. She nodded to Malacai when she heard her name mentioned, finally tuned back in to the conversation. "Alright! Can do, sir!" She piped up, in a loud, adrika-fied whisper with a mock salute to Malacai.

Her eyes traveled to the girl she'd connected the name Ella to, who was assigned to work with Jessyka and herself on catching the ghosties, as said girl joined the pair. She tilted her pig-tailed head to one side as she noticed Ella seemed to be mostly focusing her attention in her direction. An excited nod was what came as a response to the question on Jessyka's partner paired with a bright smile. She brightened even more as Ella grasped her hands. "Nice to meet you too!" Her greeting was bright and cheery, and as soon as her hands were released, she ducked into a mock fighting stance and threw a couple punches at the air. "Those ghosties don't stand a chance!" She threw in as she settled down.

"Oohhh... Well, that could be a..." The overly excited young weapon began after Ella explained the 'fighting' of the ghosts. She watched Ella's particularily amazing weapon form spin back to land point in the ground some few minutes later and she eyes the aerial weapon and the ghosts warily, concerned for once, then looked to the meister. After a deep breath, she launched into speech. "If you want, I can hold the box thingy while you and Ella freeze the ghosties... My weapon form probably isn't going to help unless you want the get up close and personal with a few ghosties. I mean like shoving your fist through body parts close." She huffed a little after she finished speaking, then turned her head to look to the ghosts and Ella's weapon form.

"Up to you though!" She quipped, somewhat back to being entirely cheery, though her mood never really feel much to begin with.
Code by Cecilia​
 
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Malacai Dreston and Isaac Perinnin
Collab With: Lady Warlock Lady Warlock​

Malacai waited for a few moments more, as he made sure that everyone understood the plan. Once, he was satisfied, he turned to Isaac. “Alright. Let’s go find out what our lone soul is up to. It’s time to roll, Isaac.”

Isaac gave an eager grin. “It’s been a long time since we’ve done this. Time to do what I do best.” With these words, Isaac transformed into his weapon form, a large chain whip, tipped with spikes across the chain. Malacai moved his hand to where the handle appeared moments later. He moved over the hill, carefully watching to see if there was any reaction from the source of the soul. He didn’t want to go too fast.

Rounding over the top of the hill, Malacai would see clearly what was happening. The poltergeists were indeed descending into a hole in the ground and that hole in the ground had a tombstone marking it. Unfortunately, to actually read the tombstone would require him getting much closer to it than he would likely be able to immediately and that was made apparent by the next thing he could see. Surrounding the grave was a translucent and almost flourescent barrier that was slowly growing to have a wider and wider radius as more and more poltergeists dropped into the hole. And yet that barrier did not quite stretch wide enough to surround the… man?... who was waving his arms around in something that almost looked ceremonious.

None of the scene seemed disrupted by their presence in the slightest.

Malacai picked up the pace slightly, still being wary of his surroundings, and being ready to react if anything went awry. He made a move to position himself to be able to attempt to strike the man with Isaac, aiming to take advantage of the fact that the barrier did not fully surround him. His intention was to restrain the man… thing.

Unfortunately, the moment his arm started to move back in order to whip the chain whip forwards at the target he’d established, the whole situation shifted. All of the poltergeists suddenly seemed to snap to attention and their faces turned in unison to Malacai before unusually vampirish teeth growled at him from every single one of them. Some of the poltergeists whose souls hadn’t quite been absorbed into the ritual just yet started clawing their way out of the tombstone while the others moved forward in a wave stronger than ocean water, aiming to drown Malacai in their pale ghostyness.

Malacai instantly withdrew his assault and turned his attention to the oncoming threat. He attempted to use his whip to cleave an opening through the wave to lessen the impact. With the speed of the Poltergeists’ reaction, he didn’t believe he’d have time to get away from a wave, so he thought to lessen the damage. He also hoped that his companions had noticed the shift in the poltergeists, and had sprung into action.

The wave of poltergeists seemed unhindered by the slash and went straight through it - one of the many benefits of intangibility was that very few things could actually touch them. In fact, as the wave washed forwards completely and crashed before leveling out again, it went straight through Malacai as well. It was an interesting situation, one that simply stole balance long enough to be noticeable and then left them lightheaded for some time after. Turning around, they hissed again, once more facing Malacai, and there was also a voice that came with them.

“You who would allow our master’s slumber to fade… we must wake her… and. You. Must. DIE.” It wasn’t one voice either. It sounded like many voices all speaking in unison.

Malacai was slightly unhinged by the events that just occurred. He felt nothing, but he clearly saw them pass through him and his weapon partner. He also certainly did not expect these creatures to capable of speech. He shook his head and quickly regained his composure. “Sorry to disappoint you, but any master of yours cannot be allowed to wake. And I have no intention of dying today.” Malacai readied himself for the next assault, and gave the signal for the others to move, if they weren’t already.

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Jessyka Volontari
Surveying the pair that was assigned to work with her more directly, Jessyka realized that she could probably manage to get quite a bit done with the two of them. In particular, she was glad that it seemed like most of her assignment would involve combating the ghosts more so than whatever was going on on the other side. It meant that she wouldn’t really have much to worry about as far as her own unique shortcomings. A ghost couldn’t touch her - at least, they hadn’t managed to so far - so she was glad to realize that she might actually be able to use the weapon Lord Death had assigned to her. She didn’t have to since Ella had showed up, but she would still feel bad about failing to be an adequate partner when they had been assigned to each other.

There was something about Ella that made the situation seem better, though, and that made her willing to work with the girl even though they’d never been formally paired together. Jessyka even found herself smiling when Ella turned to face the poltergeists still filing along the side. She was quite surprised when the girl transformed right away, but not too surprised to screw up the moment. She snatched Ella out of the air and spun her around a little bit experimentally. “Believe me when I say I know what I’m doing. Anything that can travel through the air outside of my hand is a weapon I can work with.” It made her feel more comfortable to have a weapon like Ella in her hands, actually.

Then she turned to Adrika and listened to the girl’s suggestion.

“If you’re ok with that, we can give it a try,” she replied. “Stay close though. I’m not opposed to punching a few of these things because we’ll just go right through ‘em and might still be able to freeze ‘em in the process. Stay close just in case I need to be able to do that.” Jessyka held out the box to the weapon girl and then glanced back towards the others. Presumably, Aiko and the twins would both be following closely behind Malacai and Isaac as they started over the hill. That was the plan and she hoped they understood that much.

As they all started moving, Jessyka rolled her shoulders around a bit to prepare for whatever hell-show was about to get started. “I guess we ought to get moving too. Nothing wrong with getting a little closer to what we’ll be dealing with.” She waved Adrika along and carried Ella in her hand, feeling her soul starting to slowly mesh with the weapon’s wavelength the more they remained in contact.

She stopped just short of being close enough for the ghosts to feel her breath and what shocked her was that they still weren’t reacting to them at all. It was almost as though they were locked in a trance of some sort or another and Jessyka wondered if anything could possibly break them out of it at all. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much time for her to give it too much more thought than that because in that moment of thought, the poltergeists all turned to face the three of them - Jessyka, Aiko and Adrika - and they hissed with fang-like teeth that seemed more animal than human. Although there were no words for them on this side of the hill, it didn’t really matter whether or not the ghosts had anything to say.

“Adrika, I think it’s time to open that box,” Jessyka stated in a rather panicked tone. “We don’t have time to wait for a signal anymore.” Her wrist flicked out and she threw Ella out into a line of ghosts, watching the weapon slice through them with smaller effects than Jessyka had been hoping for.

And the poltergeists were already moving in fast. Jessyka could only backstep so many times.

QuirkyAngel QuirkyAngel Zenaida Zenaida
 


A D R I K A ❁ C O O P E R​
Adrika took the box from Jessyka, holding it close to her small frame. She nodded in response to the meister's words. When they moved closer to the ghosts, she kept close to Jessyka as instructed, though she was careful not to get into the girl's personal bubble. She didn't need a repeat of earlier.

The moment the ghosts reared their ugly, fanged faces Adrika shoved herself backwards a step out of shock and surprise. Her eyes were wide and staring at the advancing ghosts. She'd already been working at opening the box by the time Jessyka said to do so and threw Ella towards the ghosts. She wasn't suite sure, but she had a sickening feeling that the weapon was not having the effect they were counting on. She kept pace with Jessyka as the taller girl back-stepped best she could.

"Got it!" She exclaimed as she opened the box, aiming the opening of said box towards the ghosts. She had no idea how this was supposed to work, she hadn't been there the first time they'd need the box, and solely hoped she was doing it right. Her grip on the box was tight so she wouldn't drop it while they moved, though she extended it towards the ghosts as far as she dared. If one happened to get a little too close to either of them for comfort, she'd shove the thing even closer to it, hoping it would... do whatever it was meant to do to stop these things.
Code by Cecilia​
 
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Ella Trinity - Stray Spinner
​
Round and round Stray Spinner spun, straight through the line of ghosts—her touch bladed touch causing brief paralysis to any of the spectres she came into contact with. However it wasn’t soul resonance. It wasn’t Stray Edge. And the physical-less forms of their enemies made it difficult to bounce off their bodies for a wider ranged attack.

Tch.

“Jessyka! Adrika!” Ella called to her classmates as she watched the ghosts begin float in the direction of the two girls. It didn’t matter who was whose partner at this point. It didn’t matter what inferiority complex she had or how much she wished Kira was here with her. They were all classmates. Friends with the same goal. Who took on the same mission. And she’d be damned if she let any of them get hurt. Especially since a brief mesh of souls with Jessyka revealed the ranged-meisters fear of being touched.

Forcing herself to turn around, the ringed-blade circled back like a boomerang, cutting through another set of poltergeists—briefly stunning them— as she made her way back to Jessika’s hands. At the same time a vacuum was created from Adrika’s open box. Inhuman screeches filled the air as the spectres tried to resist being sucked in like some of their comrades.

“We’ve got this! Let’s keep going!”

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Zenaida Zenaida
 
Aiko Selmatu
Meister
Grace and Erica Taghan
Demon Weapons
​
Aiko looked to Erica watching as she extended her hand out to her. She smirked showing her normal confident side suppressing her unease with dealing with the ghosts. She wasn't one to let herself get bogged down by things to worry about, she could worry about that when she was dead... much like the ghosts she had to deal with somehow. She extended her hand out for Grace keeping up the strong front.

"If you can't bust through stuff then don't worry I'll make it so you can. Anything can be done when you got Aiko Selmatu in charge." She spoke out with a wide grin in response. She wouldn't allow now of all times to make her falter... she just would need to improvise a little was all.

When Grace felt the buzz of energy as Aiko's hand neared her own, she hopped up, doing a flip as she morphed into her hand axe form; the handle falling perfectly into Aiko's palm. Before she knew it, she was sending out her soul wavelength in an attempt to resonate with the meister. This was only the second meister she had ever worked with, so she had never thought to ask permission before doing so. It had simply become a habit that had never been contested. Keziah had made it easy for her. Of course the distraction of the battle and the struggle with madness also played a part in her lack of awareness.

As Grace reached her soul out to Aiko, a faint whisper wafted up, clinging like a parasite to the axe's soul. Getting louder every moment, the whispers echoed and amplified until the whisper had become a blaring buzz as if the opening rush into a store on black Friday. Yet all the voices sounded like Grace, yet it was robotic and lacked life, "ERROR CODE: 663-426b. SYSTEM MALFUNCTION. REPAIRING SYSTEM. SYSTEM REPAIR FAILED. ERROR CODE: 729-836c. FIREWALL MALFUNCTION. REPAIRING FIREWALL. FIREWALL REPAIR CANCELED. ERROR CODE: 663-426b... ERROR CODE: 663-426c... ERROR... MALWARE DETECTED... MULTIPLE VIRUSES DETECTED... UPDATES INSTALLING... ERROR... ERROR... ERROR..."

Aiko could hear the voices, her eyes shifting glancing towards Grace as she clutched firmly on the handle of the axe weapon. She fixated towards her, the voices almost haunting as she was left uncertain what was going on or what to do. It wasn't something she was ever use to. The very tone of the voice was so empty... lifeless... just devoid of any sense of life within it. She kept her firm grip, feeling both a sense of instability but also at the same time a connection with it.

They will pay for this... they will all pay... She blinked hearing the voice of a child speak out softly as if in the distance before vanishing. It sounded.... so familiar... yet she couldn't put her finger on it. She dismissed it holding onto Grace attempting to keep calm hoping whatever might be happening might stop, clueless as to what she could do simply trying to keep her connection with Grace.

Erica had been a little farther away. Her eyes widened as she noticed Aiko's expression. Something was going on. She also noticed that Axel's handle seemed to be sparking slightly, indicating that she was trying to resonate, but there was some interference. Erica knew Grace wasn't trying to hurt Aiko, but something had to be done in case things got out of hand.

Rushing up to Aiko, Erica grabbed her open hand and formed into the other hand-axe. In a rush of energy, she sent her soul wavelength into Aiko as well. It had been so long since she'd been this close with her meister. Her presence caused the voices to get even louder, but only for a moment. Then the voices were silenced by a powerful, radiating calmness.

Once the silence had lingered for a moment, Erica's voice added in, "Come on Guys. We can do it."

Aiko had felt Erica form into a weapon in her hand, snapping her back to attention. The voices grew a bit louder from Grace though the presence of Erica seemed to dim out the younger voice from her head. She could feel Erica soul resonate, the wave going through her but in particular to Grace. A sense of calm quickly filled them all as Aiko held onto the twins, gripping each one in her hand. It was then she heard her voice, smirking a bit.

"Damn right, let's kick some rear end." She spoke up with a wide grin, spinning the two twin axes in her hands. She was all pumped up at this point... well at least until she thought more about what they were about to deal with. Still, she wasn't going to let that bog down. Time to improvise Aiko, ain't gunna let this stop me! She thought nodding to herself. She rushed forward making her way towards the polterguise. Some tactic... she needed something to do to help draw their attention and allow for the box to be opened.

"Hey ghost twerps, stop looking so ugly being all ghostly and look upon the true beauty who will squash you like the... ghost things you are. Aiko Selmatu is going to give each of you a pounding so badly you will wish you were alive again so I couldn't be beating you up." She spoke spinning Erica in her hand before gripping upon the handle in an attempt to show off. She knew she wouldn't be able to do any real beating to them, but it was all meant to work as a distraction and hopefully give Malacai some relief.

Collab with: Hanarei Hanarei
 
The Sorcerer and His Ghosts
Waves of PoltergeistsThe attention of the ghosts shifted when Aiko came barging in, wielding twin battle axes in her hands. None of them looked afraid at all, but that was more because ghosts wouldn’t have anything to fear more so than that they didn’t think that the meister charging at them stood a chance. She definitely did, as did the male who’d already started the party they were all celebrating. A wave of ghosts seemed to rise up, all stacking on top of each other before it crashed down, heading straight for Aiko and even though the wave hit the ground before her, the very earth beneath her own feet would seem to shake with the impact.

“Fight us all you wish,” a million voices seemed to echo around them. Though they all seemed to be speaking at exactly the same time, it also seemed as though none of them were speaking at all. Their mouths weren’t moving yet the sound was as audible as ever. “You shall never defeat our master!”

More and more ghosts joined the waves that continued crashing down on Malacai, Isaac, Aiko, Grace and Erika, and there still seemed to be even more coming around the bend in the hill. Some still managed to descend into the open grave and that was where the sorcerer’s attention was focused throughout the whole ordeal. It seemed that things were doomed to continue as they were. It was a haunting continuation.

Around the HillJessyka could definitely tell when Adrika opened the Edolas Box. It wasn’t that it affected how their foes fought at all; actually, quite the contrary, the ghosts hissed with rage and seemed to strike with even more intensity. “NOOOOO!’ She could hear some of them screech.

“It’s working!” she yelled out to her comrades as she caught Ella from out of the air and infused some of her own soul wavelength into the weapon she was wielding. She didn’t dare try to resonate with a weapon she was unfamiliar with, but she could empower her some more without going quite that far. Throwing her once again, she sent a slicing wave through the poltergeist lines and each time they hit one of them, it was sucked closer to the box until it was completely drawn in.

That was how the box worked. It couldn’t just draw them in. They had to be weakened first. One hit was enough to do it.

And while Ella was spiralling through the air, Jessyka knew she could do more than just wait for the weapon to return to her hand. She flooded her palms with wavelengths and started striking on her own. Normally, such combat was beyond her, but the ghosts were intangible. There was no such thing as touching them. Her wavelength could though.

The more that they fought, the more that the ghosts venturing around the bend had to turn around to fill in the void, to come and help their ghostly companions. Until there were none of them left…

A Last Effort“No…” It came out as the smallest whisper of a voice. It was the sorcerer’s voice. And he had noticed what would finally end his goals. All the poltergeists were gone, all except the ones still crashing like waves into Malacai and Aiko.

“NO!”

Swinging both of his arms into the air, the sorcerer collected both waves and redirected them into the grave in the ground. Two waves of poltergeists all seemed to crash into the earth and it rumbled like thunder as they all descended, further and further until none of them could be seen at all. “Rise! RISE!” he proclaimed, not even realizing how vulnerable he was in the moment.

Hanarei Hanarei CelticHero37 CelticHero37 QuirkyAngel QuirkyAngel Stormborn Targaryen Stormborn Targaryen Zenaida Zenaida
 
Ella Trinity ​

Spinning. Turning. Wheeeee! Ella loved whirling through the air in her weapon form. In her soul space, the 16 year old half zombie could be seen twirling to her own tune as Stray Spinner struck ghost after ghost in the physical world, bouncing off their phantom bodies thanks to the wavelength Jessyka imparted. Well, of course! Jessyka was a two star meister after. It wasn’t soul resonance—which was to be expected given that it was their first time partnering—but it still made her feel stronger with Jessyka’s wavelength coursing through her. Sharper. Ella giggled happily. Meister techniques were so grand.

Eyes on the screen which showed the visuals of the physical realm, Ella could see that the poltergeists that she, Jessyka, and Adrika were sent to collect were mostly gone. Trapped in Edolas’s box where nasty ghosties like them belonged. Shooting through the night air, showing off her skills—because she was clearly showing off—the ring blade was about to circle back into Jessyka’s hands…until she caught sight of him.

The cause of all their troubles.

The sorcerer. No. Necromancer.

He was clearly up to something. Ella didn’t know what. She didn’t care. She could feel the power he was trying to amass. “Danger. Danger.” Gathering the remaining momentum and wavelength she had, Stray Spinner rounded towards the Evil Human who hadn’t seemed to notice her…too caught up in whatever he was doing. Or was he a Witch? Were there male witches? Studies weren’t Ella’s strong point. Perhaps Jessyka’s wavelength had given her a bit of a high.

SWOOP!!!

Sailing straight through the side of the sorcerer’s neck, Stray Spinner morphed back into her human form, skidding somewhat as she landed on her feet, legs bent, and palm to the ground to pull herself to a stop. Straightening, Ella dusted her skirt, double checking for any blood, before she turned to the rest of her classmates—namely Malacai— and saluted, a bright smile on her face and her normally pale cheeks slightly flushed.

“Ella reporting in~Most of the poltergeists have been collected. We rounded to assist as planned.”

Her hand fell off as she finished speaking. Ella sighed. Damn. With all the drama that had happened today, she’d forgotten to take her Anti-Rot meds.

Lady Warlock Lady Warlock , Hanarei Hanarei , Stormborn Targaryen Stormborn Targaryen , CelticHero37 CelticHero37 , Zenaida Zenaida
 
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Malacai Dreston and Isaac Perinnin
The stray spinner did hit the necromancer’s neck although it was more of a brush than an actual hit. Skin was broken, blood was pouring, but not nearly enough to call it a critical hit by any means at all. It was more of a papercut than an actual wound. It just seemed like bad luck for the students who thought things could be ended that easily and it quite possibly was. Perhaps Jessyka’s aim had been off or perhaps the necromancer had been able to make the slightest movement that threw it off just enough. One way or another, though, the necromancer still lived and as the souls were beginning to clear up, the earth continued shaking.

Even more noticeable than that, the gravestone was crumbling into dust.

His full attention was still there, though. The necromancer remained vulnerable as his barrier dissipated because he was throwing the last of his energy straight at whatever it was that he was trying to revive from the dead.

Malacai first took note of Ella’s attack. “Your attack barely scratched him! Stay on guard and stay focused. We need to end this fast. Whatever he is trying to do, it can’t be good.” Malacai then whipped Isaac around, to refocus his grip and his next attack. Then, he lashed the whip out, wrapping it around his opponent’s throat. A harsh gag echoed from the necromancer and his hands shifted to grip the chain, trying to pull it free despite the pain that caused his hands. Unfortunately for him, that also forced the spikes on the back of his neck to dig in that much harder.

Slowly, the shaking of the ground began to calm and although the gravestone was now gravel, nothing seemed to be reaching out of the soil. At least, there was nothing that any of them could see.

Malacai noticed that his attack seemed effective, but was not capable of ending his target’s life. He gripped hard on Isaac’s handle, and attempted to lift the necromancer up, intending to slam him near where Malacai stood. His attempt succeeded; the necromancer was helpless. When the necromancer landed near him, he moved one of his hands to the target’s chest. “Soul Force!” He put quite a bit of power behind the blow, since he had not used much of his own power yet.

A band of energy swarmed out of the necromancer’s body, like ripples in a pond after a rock was dropped in, although this was pure power seeping out of him. A violet mesch of colors spread across the land, absorbing energy from everyone it touched and leaving them “ghosts” of their former selves. Not quite literally… but certainly enough to drain any normal human being for a fair time. Although for a moment, that seemed like the end of it, it wasn’t. A long and drawn out groan came from within the dug up pile of earth and something was clearly moving now. The necromancer, though… well, he wasn’t going to be moving anymore.

Malacai heard the groan, and noticed his opponent wasn’t moving. He loosed Isaac from the necromancer’s throat, and jumped backwards away from the pile of earth. “Something’s happening down here! I could use a hand if anyone is able!” Malacai could only hope that the others were alright and able to respond, that wave sent about the necromancer did a number on his energy. He could still move quite efficiently, but he could definitely tell that he was no longer up to par. And if it did a number on him, who knows what it did to the others?

‘Malacai,’ Jessyka’s voice sounded from within the meister’s mind as she reached to offer him whatever reserves she had left. ‘It’s not much, but I’m not use at throwing the blow, so it’s better if I give it to you.’ An orb of energy deposited itself into Malacai’s soul, glowing and vibrant, it was the only thing the two star meister could give before she collapsed from exhaustion. The wave truly had done a number on her, but that was because she was trying to take the force of it for both of her “partners” as well.

Malacai had heard a voice in his head. He recognized the voice as his fellow meister, Jessyka. He then felt some new power within him, power that he could only assume had come from her. ’Thank you. You can rest now, everyone. You’ve done a good job rounding up those ghosts. I’ll take care of the rest from here.’ He then readied himself for whatever was inside the hole created by the necromancer’s ritual. ‘Are you still good to go, partner?’

‘I’m not going to lie, I’m exhausted, but we can’t stop now. We need to make sure this power doesn’t go to waste.’ Isaac responded.

Another rumble echoed through the earth. It wasn’t an earthquake feeling, though. No. This was a scream. This was a scream like thunder filled with agonizing pain and terrifying wrath so forceful it shook the very force of gravity itself and thus everything gravity held onto was shaking right along with it.

Malacai heard the groan, and he couldn’t really describe it. It wasn’t like anything he had heard, but it sounded sort of painful. Could monsters that were being revived even feel pain? He wasn’t quite sure. Nevertheless, he lashed the whip over the hole. He then did what he liked to think of as a partial resonance with his partner. This enabled him to extend the spikes that were directly over the hole containing the creature deep into it.. He only hoped that the spikes were capable of injuring whatever it was.

One more harsh scream resounded and the force was enough to knock anyone left standing onto their knees. Then, though, there was complete and utter silence. At the bottom of the hole, anyone who looked would find blood, guts, skin and many other assorted body parts although none of them seemed to have been assembled properly in the first place. What a truly miserable existence it must have been to be revived as such a creature.

Malacai was knocked to the ground by the force of the monster’s scream. After the force receded, and he heard nothing else, he got back to his feet. Before withdrawing Isaac, he went to the hole and peered inside of it. He noticed a gruesome display of the insides of something. This confirmed to Malacai that whatever it was, was no more. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and withdrew Isaac. Isaac then turned back to normal. He was coated in blood. Isaac teetered over, and Malacai caught him. “Thanks a lot, partner. If you don’t mind I’m just going to nap for awhile now.” Immediately after Isaac said this, he collapsed onto the ground, and Malacai ensured that it was a soft landing.

“Enjoy it. You’ve earned the rest.” Malacai himself was breathing deeply, but he still had some energy to move, so he figured the first order of business was to make sure that everyone was alright. Malacai took some time to look around and noticed that Jessyka was collapsed on the ground. He approached and ensured that she was still alive. After confirming this, he went and picked up Isaac, and brought him back to where Jessyka now lied, and stood there waiting. “I can’t very well carry you both, so let’s just hope that the others are alright and capable of helping us out with this awkward conundrum.”

Even if the others weren’t alright, Nicholas Kai had their backs. He’d been paying attention as the mission unfolded - with Lord Death, actually - and the two of them had arranged for a couple other weapons and meisters to come help get everyone back safe and sound.

It left the three star meister chuckling at the amusing realization that Lord Death had probably been watching over them all along.

The state of souls was safe… for now.

And this concludes State of Souls! You are welcome to write your own epilogues if you wish and you are also welcome to state that your character added in their energy to Makacai’s final attack the same way that Jessyka did if you’d like.

QuirkyAngel QuirkyAngel Hanarei Hanarei CelticHero37 CelticHero37 Zenaida Zenaida Lady Warlock Lady Warlock
 
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