Fandom Showstopper - The Story

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

As she fell. she felt Itsuki's hand take her arm and try to pull her but it was too little too late as there was no stopping her falling through the mirror. Whether it was just because of simple gravity or something pulling from the mirror she did not know as before she knew it she had fallen hard on to her shoulder. She groaned, both her arm feeling sore as she tried to recovered and get back to her feet. Feeling her arm held tightly, she turned to the person holding her and saw istuki quickly letting her go and apologising. She force a small smile. "No wories and thanks for trying." She said.

She looked around as she rubbed her arm, seeing the sign and what looked like a cravice and scene of utter devistation ahead. "The world's greatest artist! Itaichi Utano!"she read out almost under her breath as she tried to make sense of it all. The scenary was strange enough but also the atmosphere felt off, like it i was pressing down heavily on them with opressive foreboding. "I have no idea..."She looked behind them to see if there was away back from where they came from. "All i know is there was a mirror and we actually fell through... Did someone spike our drinks?"

 

[SomebodyElse]

Kaori had one decision to make. Either leave now and Forget about this or Follow them into the mirror and find out what the hell was going on.
On one hand Kaori's self preservation was quite strong and she was often quick to keep silent where many others in her profession would have been dumb enough to speak up.
On the other hand however Kaori was entirely selfish and desired to know what was going on. If the worst happened she would either be dead or simply never speak of what had happened. She sighed and decided to step into the mirror. Sure enough she passed through easily and was quick to realize not to move forward more lest she fall off a metal platform on a billboard.
Kaori blinked noticing the weird landscape of concrete and yellow lines, broken and burned buildings, and wrecked cars and a type of barrier that laid in the center.
She turned around and noticed the billboard and the others that walked through. "The world's greatest artist! Itaichi Utano!"
"...Okay what the hell is going on?"
When Minato had asked if someone had spiked their drinks, Kaori shook her head.
"No unfortunately I haven't drank anything tonight. The cheap trash they offer at concerts isn't worth drinking for me. Whatever this place is...is either real or I've gone crazy."
It was possible that Kaori had gone crazy but she didn't think someone who was crazy would ever come to the conclusion they were crazy. The stress of the situation with the girl didn't seem like it would have been enough to drive someone mad. Kaori personally didn't feel attached the situation at all and the entire time wanted to leave anyways. That only meant that this place was indeed real.
But what was this place?
"This place looks alot like the real world but really hellish. Are we trapped here?" Kaori asked trying to push against the billboard behind her to see if they could exit.
She didn't seem to find a way to budge the billboard so she simply turned to the others.
"Alright how the hell do we get down from here? I'm cramped." She frowned.
Was Kaori not freaking out enough? Perhaps but Kaori knew she was cold as steel. She was usually unable to lose her cool in extreme situations anyways.

 

[Mineczka]

"What. The hell. Have I done?"
​

Apocalypse. An apt word for Misaki's description of the place she had entered. A step taken before Minato joined, grabbed by Itsuki, who seemed to have attempted to stop her from falling in. An apology was given to Minato, as Itsuki noticed. That was besides the point, as Misaki offered her hand to aid the two up, "You two okay?" She asked knowing the height of this billboard, not abnormal for her, as she had spent time in plenty of high places before. Though never on a billboard, especially one that reads "The world's greatest artist! Itaichi Utano!" A scoff came from her when she read that, "Greatest artist? I doubt that." A quick remark followed by another entrant, The woman in white, who joined as Misaki looked out onto the wrecked cars, and burned and burning buildings, the yellow line divided the street, as Misaki scanned the area, no threats present at the moment. As she turned back to the rest of the team that came in, she could hear Minato speak about their drinks being possibly spiked, hearing a negative from one, Misaki joined in, "As far as I am aware, Haruna's drinks and mine were not spiked with anything, and if they were spiked, the drug would have kicked in long before we had even gotten into the VIP session." She knew most drugs as she had the fun of working a bar, yet couldn't shake the feeling in the back of her mind, as she felt her decision may have landed her into some hell, while just superstition, it still bothered her.

Glancing over at the billboard again, Misaki noticed a ladder, leading down from the higher platform to what appeared to be street level. Hearing the woman in white speak of her feeling cramped, Misaki pointed to the ladder, "There's at least a ladder there. I'll go down and scope out our location from the ground." Her words no longer felt like the calmed words of a regular person, but that of a professionally trained soldier, approaching the ladder, it seemed stable, and soon enough, taking hold to it, a quick descent was being made, hands over the side bars following her feet, she began to slide in a very controlled manner, good old training. With a solid THUMP of her boots hitting the ground, Misaki moved away from the ladder, and quickly to a nearby broken car, kneeling over and taking cover behind it. The road was cracked and showed extensive damage, cars were wrecked all around, it looked like something straight out of a Resident Evil game.

There was easily to say a plethora of damage both to the roadway and cars, with quite a few sections of road seeming to have been broken with a solid plume of steam rising from it, a crash maybe? It was odd, if this damage was real, and to this extent, where is the JSDF? Why haven't the government done something about this? Where are they? It was puzzling to Misaki, who periodically peered over the car's hood, placing the rest of her head where the side mirror was. Little could be seen, but, there were people whom she had little knowledge of how well they can fight, and if the encounter with Itaichi was any note for their possible combative ability....

She'd have to go at it alone, and protect everyone at all costs...

 

[Gravitational Force]

Isaac:​

Isaac looks around. He'd been following behind Minato without looking where they were going and now he didn't know where they were. They'd rushed towards what he'd thought was a mirror...no it was definitely a mirror. They'd all gone through a mirror and were now in some strange dimension behind it. Although Isaac didn't know if this was the case. This place was strange and otherwordly, but there were more likely explanations than the group getting isekai'd.

Isaac ran through alternate scenarios in his head. He could have fainted due to the heat and be hallucinating. His drink could have been spiked and he could be hallucinating. He could have been otherwise dosed and be hallucinating. This could be a weird dream (although he didn't know why an older version of Minato would be in it), etc. But since he wasn't sure it was best to just be cautious and not do anything that might have negative real world effects. After all, on the off chance this was real he didn't want to be the guy who gets killed by thinking it's just a dream.

Itching at the parts of his body exposed to the air, one of his nervous habits, Isaac decided that right now he needed another drink. Finishing off his lemonade he surveyed the hellscape before him before spotting the billboard. "'The world's greatest artist! Itaichi Utano,' well that's a bold lie to put up there." He turns to the rest of the group. "So...anyone know what's going on here?"

 

[cremenebula]

The platform was small and easily cramped by the group that stood atop it. There wasn't much room to spare as the all shifted around, so perhaps there was something they could do to alleviate their claustrophobic feelings. Glancing around, there was a ladder off to the side and attached to the pole holding the billboard up. It seemed like an easy (albeit a little dangerous) way to get down from such a high place. Jumping meant immediate death, it looked like. It was such a high fall.

Though the billboard didn't look like much (aside from the advertisement for Itaichi plastered across it), it still seemed easy enough to push through once Kaori touched it with her fingers. The same rippling effect took course, and while it rippled the scene of the changing room appeared before her again. It appeared as though it wasn't a one-way entrance an exit. But it brought up a choice; continue on, or turn around before it was too late?

If one were to glance around from the billboard, it would be much easier to see than upon the ground. In a few areas, dark and shadowy figures marched along in seemingly random patterns. Their movements were slow and their feet stomped across the ground, but the figures barely had a form to show. They looked rather amorphous aside from the basic shape of a humanoid figure. Misaki, from her close proximity, could make out an expressionless mask upon one's face.

Other than them, the place seemed barren for other signs of life.

 

[ErarousFire]

Akemi groaned as they all entered the mirror and she wanted to give them all a good smack of common sense but....well she'd be a horrible person if she was the only one to turn and leave them so she hesitantly stepped into the mirror..and it gave way showing the hellscape that was this weird world. "...What on earth.." She muttered before seeing the others. Turns out they were on a billboard and there wasn't much room. A quick look around showed that there seemed to be no life...minus these weird masked figures that were..well not human.

With not much room, she soon saw the ladder and made her way down before the metal gave out under them all and joined Misaki behind the burned car. "Do any of you have common sense? We should've just called the cops." She whispered before seeing a better look at the creature and just...staring at it.

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

Minato bouted and crossed her arm as everyone seemed to reply to her question and trying to make sense of where there were. "Could no one answer yes to my question, just to give me hope even false hope that his is not real?" She complained half jokingly as she looked around wondering what they could do as more people followed them into the platform which became more and more cramped. When Akemi commented about calling the police. "Why didnt you oh miss commen sense than just follow?" She pointed out."Why dont we try now?"

She moved toward the ladder down before noticing the formless figures moving about nearby. "What the heck are those things?" She pointed them out now getting really scared. "Those dont look human at all.... You know what i dont want to know, lets just make sure we dont ran into them whenever possible."

 

[Mineczka]

"Second question.... What. The hell. Is that?"
​

The silence was all-consuming for but a moment. As Misaki watched the forms wander aimlessly around, shambling across the street, past the cars, and so on. Their masks, as expressionless as their features, they were definitely not human in the woman's eyes, and that almost entranced her. The fear that once slinked it's way through the depths of her mind now had lumped itself into her chest and into her throat, proudly asserting itself into her consciousness, there was no way she could fight that thing, it looked way too monstrous for her to grapple with, let alone strike or assault. Though her mind was snapped out of the deep thought by the sound of footsteps that did not match the monsters, looking back she watched the woman Akemi approach, she was quick to get to the position behind the car, and whispered to her, scolding for Misaki's lack of common sense, along with how they should've waited for police.

It was hard to think on, but she was right. Misaki had put her curiosity and willingness to chase Itaichi over her own common sense. Yet, as she watched the shadowy figures, she couldn't help but think the Police wouldn't be of any aid here, her eyes met the staring eyes of Akemi's, who was looking away at the monsters, "I understand. However, I do not think Police would have any way of aiding the chase here." The remark was soft and quick, keeping her voice low was at times normal, as the training she endured so long ago reared itself back in, adjusting herself, she moved her hand within Akemi's sight, motioning towards the ground, fearing she may be in the same trance-like state like Misaki was earlier, "Keep your head down. Last thing we need is to be seen by these things." Her words no longer felt like that of her normal self, but the words of her previous self, the soldier she once was.

Then, another came, Minato. It was plainly obvious the fear had set into Minato, who began questioning what they were. Misaki looked over, she wasn't hiding, and seemed to still be talkative. Instinct kicked in again, as she stepped closer to Minato, grabbing the woman's wrist and pulling her down to a kneel behind the car with Akemi and herself, "Stay low" Misaki ordered, keeping her voice low and abnormally calm, "We'll have an easier time avoiding confrontations with them if they don't know our location." Confrontation was not something Misaki wanted, as she had no way of battling easily from her rough guesses, and now with two non-combatants near, it was even more worrisome for her, she could hold her own, but what of Akemi and Minato? Would they manage? Those questions Misaki would rather not have answered through bloodshed, even if it meant she'd get hurt doing so....

 

[cremenebula]

Unfortunately, if one were to attempt to make a phone call, it appeared as though there was no way to. No cell phone signal meant no way to call the police, so it would have been a lost cause to attempt such a task. Then again, turning back might have meant an easy way out of the situation entirely.

The way the figures moved around was almost terrifying. Stumbling and limping, they moved about slowly. Arms swung besides bodies and the figures stopped every so often and appeared to glance around-- looking for something. What, though, couldn't be determined. But, after their small searches, they seemed to turn and begin walking in other directions.

Unfortunately for the trio, though, one of the creatures seemed to appear out of thin air. Wandering just past the edge of the car (likely after hearing them speaking or spotting them from afar), it's gaze locked onto the three immediately. Letting out a roar, the creature bust into red and black goo that fell to the ground.

Out of the goo formed another creature. The head of a pumpkin with sunken and glowing eyes rose out from the ground. It wore a blue hat atop it's head, a purple cape, and it's one gloved hand held a lantern.

The creature appeared ready to fight the three, letting out another roar as it hovered before them.

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

Minato went a little red when she was dragged behind the car and practically told to shut up. "Yes... Of course... Sorry." She whispered adjusting herself in manner that got her on to her knees and was taking cover properly behind one of the doors. She felt utterly stupid, clearly she was out of her element and scared, but she should have known about hiding and shutting up. Was she a grown woman or what? If she was like this when her life was on her line, how could she strike out of her mothers influence and life for herself than. She needed other people here as she need others in her job.

Come on Minato.... Don't think like that... Just get your act together and think. Everyone can still get out of this. She thought to herself trying to control her fear. She tried to peek through the windows and saw one of these shadowy oil creatures approach them. "Crap..." She could not help let hand reaching for the holsters in her hips they weren't there. She wished she had her pistols, they werent real but she felt safe with them and for all she knew who she pointed at would think they are real. She looked around at the others. "I think it would be a good time to run..." She suggested but despite her words she found herself looking around for anything the could use to defend herself and others.

She found a bit of loose pipe from the bottom of the car, likely from the car exhaust and went from it trying to pull it free but it stuck. Minato that looked back at the creature and saw it change to a weird jack o lantern creatures. "Crap! Guys..."

 

[Arcanist]

Itsuki Miura
( Mineczka cremenebula ThatGuyWithSouvlaki ErarousFire Gravitational Force )
​

More of the group starting coming onto the rather crazy scene, and as a result, it was becoming rather cramped on the platform. Everyone seemed just as confused as the other, naturally, which only made Itsuki feel more uneasy than he had begun with. Perhaps whatever was floating in the air during that concert had some certain hallucogenic effects...or perhaps not, but it would have made more sense in this moment than any other reason he could think of.

"There's at least a ladder there. I'll go down and scope out our location from the ground." Misaki had said, and without waiting for an answer, headed on down. It seemed Minato and Akemi were curious enough to follow her, though, Itsuki, despite the crampness, hesitated, and resolved to stay on the platform instead for some time. When he had heard Isaac ask what was going on, he turned to him, and he murmured, "I-I have no idea...maybe coming in here was a bad idea..." Though, he said the latter more to himself, than anything else. Though unsure of exploring such a shadowy and desolate wasteland, he didn't want to be left behind either. Itsuki walked to the ladder, and he said to others, "I'm gonna follow...I guess we shouldn't be left behind." Of course, on his way down, he hadn't noticed the shadow figures lurking and sulking in different areas, much to preoccupied in his own thoughts and confusions of the moment.

At first, Itsuki was confused as to why the trio ahead were hiding behind a car, until he felt his stomach drop at the shadowy figure sulking ahead. They seemed human...but it was clear that they were anything but that. He stood there, paralysed with fear, until he thought about going and hiding behind some sort of pillar nearby. Though, it wouldn't have worked regardless, as the shadowy figure spotted the trio ahead, and roared at them, before turning into other good. Just then, rising from it was some sort of creature, with a pumpkin for a head and glowing eyes. It was like your typical Halloween decoration...yet, far more scarier, more foreboding.

Itsuki felt his knees buckle. "Oh, shit. Oh,shit. What the hell is that thing?!"

 

[SomebodyElse]

Kaori followed the others down from the platform. At this point in time she was fully sure that this was real as she didn't believe that any amount of hallucigens could come up with something quite like this. Her own mind felt way too clear and not fuzzy at all. She could easily pay attention to things and her communication with the others didn't feel impeded.

They had all gathered infront of a car and Kaori made her way to the others. And that was when she saw it. She blinked immediately. It was a floating pumpkin with a cape, glove and a hat, while it held a lantern. Kaori had no idea what the creature was. To be honest she felt like this was possibly the worst day of her life. Whatever this thing was didn't really matter. It mattered that it seemed to want to fight the group. And while there was surely an advantage in numbers, Kaori had no idea what this creature was capable of.
"Alright. So what do we do now." She whispered to the others, still staring at the creature warily.
Kaori wasn't sure whether to attack it yet. While she definitely wasn't helpless, she also would've preferred to have a weapon if a fight went down and the thought of this entire scape being full of creatures felt unpleasant.
The others shared her reaction when it came to the creepy pumpkin creature. It did seem like the creature was staring right at them, gearing to fight.

Mineczka cremenebula ThatGuyWithSouvlaki ErarousFire Gravitational Force Arcanist

 

[Gravitational Force]

One of the shadowy inhabitants of this place had exploded into goo and turned into a monster. At this point Isaac had decided two things. One, that this was probably not a hallucination at this point. And two, that right now they were in danger. The pumpkin headed creature definitely seemed hostile and even if it was outnumbered they had no idea what it was capable of. Isaac wasn't much of a fighter. He was pretty sure he could fight, but didn't know if he'd be able to do much against this thing. And the same went for the others. Still hopefully they could do something to it, even if it was just scaring it off.

Isaac spots a broken brick on the ground near his feet and picks it up. It's better than just attacking with his fists, but it's still not much. He drops into what he hopes is a good fighting stance and stares up at the creature.
"We're not looking for trouble, so back off."
Isaac manages to get through the sentence without showing obvious signs of fear, which relieves him slightly. Maybe they can get through this.

 

[ErarousFire]

She shot Minato a look asking why she didn't just do it and why she came here. 'To make sure none of you end up dead.' She had been about to call the cops too when everyone just decided that going through a weird mirror was the best idea of the day. Talk about things going from bad to worse, the human like figure appeared behind them only to change into a weird pumpkin headed creature right out of some Halloween movie or book.

"......." Akemi mentally facepalmed at Isaac trying to TALK to this thing, it wasn't even human and looked ready to just try and kill them. "I'd say run, we need to get out of here, head back to the billboard before anyone gets hurt." She got ready to run. After all they had no way to protect themselves and Akemi had never been trained in any sort of fighting. "Because...I'm going to hazard a guess and say we don't stand a chance."

 

[Mineczka]

"I have to fight this. I'll answer how later!"
​

With a small nod to Minato, Misaki looked back over the car once more, noting that the creatures were silent again. They seemed almost mindless in comparison to the party that formed around the car. The party was getting too big, scattering was the best option, as she turned to face the entire party, that's when she could hear it, a large roar in an explosion of sound, so much for no engagements. Rising quickly and stepping towards to a combative stance, Misaki looked at the new creature whose gaze met with hers, it looked like a mesh of Halloween decorations, a Jack-o-Lantern head, with burning-red eyes sitting within the void that was it's eye-sockets and the like. Topping it's head was a blue hat that looked to be that of a witch's hat, paired with a cloak straight from the days of Jack the Ripper, and a gloved hand holding a lantern, the flame within lit.

The others seemed quite horrified of this new monster, and it was reasonable, as Misaki stood face to face with this monster and was quite scared of what this entity was capable of, let alone where it came from. Shouts were given, some questioning what it is, some saying run, one trying to reason with the being. Natural reactions, of course. Hearing them, Misaki put a plan in place in her mind, her eyes quickly darting around to find refuge from the monster, and possible reinforcements. Motioning her hand towards a plume of steam, Misaki gave her orders doing all she could to subdue the nerves that shook in her chest; "Run through the steam and scatter!" A slight pause came as she swallowed what remained of her fear, subduing it to her abdomen, "Do anything and everything to get out of sight of these things. If they see you, use the steam to break sight again before trying to hide. I'll keep this one occupied!"

Misaki's words were lingering for a few moments, as she looked to her enemy once again. How the hell was she supposed to fight the damned thing?! It wasn't like she was trained to fight monsters in the JMSDF, nor any of what she could only fathom the abilities of. Taking another breath in the moment that followed,her hands raised, her right arm slightly extended past her body, remaining at a ninety-degree angle from her shoulder, her left hand remained close to her body, elbow bent at a forty-five degree angle, both hands were open, as to allow for her to grab and grapple should she need, her feet slid to a wider stance, she kept her eyes on the monster's eyes, trying to attract it's attention without opening her defenses to any attack....

If only Misaki knew what she got herself into....

 

[Trystan1295]

Souta Sasaki

(NOW PLAYING: Keeper of Lust - Persona 5 Scramble)
​

The demon-monster-thing that stood before Souta and the rest of the group was inherently far from threatening. It looked like any ther decoration he'd put on the center of his table on Halloween season to start up a conversation. It was the uncanny factor that kept him on edge. The fact that the monster was able to materialize and shifit its form instantly after dematerializing into a blob of dark goo was both fascinating and terrifying to Souta. He was treading territory that transcended any concepts and explanations that Science could offer him, but writing fantasy was his job and taking meaning from the abstract was everything a mathematician lived for.

...He was terrified of Fire, though. Every bone in his body was begging for him to take advantage of the opportunity that Misaki had offered him and flee like all the other rational individuals in the party did...

However...

...The more he thought about it...

He had a ton of reasons to stay and fight, each less objectively rational than the other. "I need to back her up!" he thought to himself. "I need to redeem myself after falling flat on my face earlier." The reasons kept pouring in. "Speaking of... I owe her one for picking up where I'd left off, even if Itaichi was able to slither away in the end..." "Even so, she's putting her life in jeopardy for the sake of a bunch of strangers. That's hella respectable, and I'm surprised no one else even considered imitating it." "Plus, if all else fails, I felt such a thrill lunging at Itaichi earlier, I wouldn't mind getting my ass beat one more time if it means feeling that again. I'm just worried I'll slow her down and get her hurt..."

"Eh, she should be fine as long as I don't try to body slam the thing," concluded Souta. He hid behind the car that everyone else had originally hid behind and observed from a distance. Terrified as he was, he refused to just run and by and let such a heroic action go unrewarded. "Yeah, I'll wait until its back is turned and bash its head open with my trusty..." He looked down at his hand, and only then did he notice it was empty. "I am so not going after that thing empty-handed. I have no idea whether that Jack-O-Lantern on its head is lit at 30 or 300 degrees Celsius."

As Misaki stared down the monster, a tense Souta started scrambling around for some sort of item hard enough to bust a pumpkin with at the very least.

Mineczka

 

[cremenebula]

The creature didn't seem excited to talk in any sense of the word. A chuckle came from it's mouth and it was almost mocking in nature. The snicker was accompanied by it's grin widening and it flew slightly higher. The people in front of it were no match for a beast such as it!

It did glance around the group though. Oh, so it had noticed that it had attracted the attention of quite a few members nearby. More friends to play with, right? Or, at least, more friends to torture.

It seemed aware that it could easily harm the group though, and paid Isaac no mind when he picked up a brick or when Misaki took her stance. In fact, it's tone continued to mock.

It held one hand up though, in the direction of Souta. It's first victim, apparently. The lantern continued to float in the air just under it's hand as if gravity couldn't effect it. And after gripping it's fist closed, a burst of flames sparked right at Souta's feet and effectively caused him to stumble away a little bit.

And once that was done, the pumpkin turned it's attention to Minato. Eyes sharpening and grin widening again, the same attack was directed to her, hand clasped and fire bursting at her feet.

Perhaps the creature wasn't trying to intentionally cause pain, but rather toy with the group. And it could be noted as such when it laughed again-- a dark and Halloween-like chuckle bursting from it's mouth before it spun around once. It appeared to be enjoying itself!

"Hee-ho!"

 

[Trystan1295]

Souta Sasaki
Mineczka

​

Souta was busy looking for a weapon when he heard the demon let out a bone-chilling cackle. He looked up at the sentient Jack O' Lantern only to find that it was looking straight at him! He froze for a second and took a few steps backwards in apprehension. "I-Is there something on my face...?" He wasn't expecting an answer at all, but he figured most fantasy creatures were intelligent enough to understand human speech, so it was worth a shot.

If the demon could understand him at all, it definitely did not care about anything he had to say. In fact, his henpecked question appeared to have piqued its interest. The demon opened its palm, leaving the lantern suspended in the air, much to Souta's amazement. It was the cheapest of parlor tricks, but Souta was astounded either way. He barely noticed when the demon closed his fist and summoned a magic circle at his feet. In fact, if he hadn't noticed the general shift of temperature and weight of the air around him, he would have found himself too entranced to jump out of the way of the demon's attack.

"Woah, what the hell!?" he yelped as he stumbled backwards a few steps. He felt the heat of the flames flash an inch or two away from his nose. "I'm not sure if that was extremely exciting or just downright terrifying. I'm leaning towards the latter..." Souta pointed an accusatory finger at the demon. "Regardless, that was wicked dangerous! I know you like playing with fire, but I'll... knock that stupid hat off your dumb pumpkin head if you try messing with me like that! again" The threat was as empty as Souta's head, and the response from the demon was just as empty. It had lost interest in Souta and turned to someone else in the party.

Souta watched in horror as he traced the demon's sharpened glare in Minato's direction. "Minato, watch out!" he cried out. Whether the warning arrived on time or not, Minato also barely yet successfully dodged the attack. Souta snarled and clenched his fists. "Misaki!" he called at the much more experienced woman. "We should scatter. My guess is that it can't attack more than one of us at a time. Also, keep your eye for when it does that crazy thing with the lantern; it'll attack immediately after the lantern flares up!"

With that being said, Souta began closing in on the demon. "Screw the weapon," he told himself. "I'm going to die if I stand still any longer. What's the worst that could happen? I'd much rather lose my arm than lose my life anyday."

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

The pipe would not badge it seemed and therefore she gave up on the idea of grabbing a weapon. She took a few careful steps back all the while hearing the others react to the monster. Minato heard Misaki mention steam, Isaac actually trying to converse with the creature and Souta move about. He was quite impressed Isaac, having the courage to try to speak to the monster though she doubted it would help. She looked around desperately trying to make sense of what the others where doing and to see if the figured away out of this.

Then things seemed to escalate greatly as the monster seemed to focus on Souta and then causing fire to appear under his legs. "Careful!" She tried to call out a little too late reaching out to him despite him being a distance away. She was surprised at the incredulous way he reacted to being attacked. "I dont think it will take your words to..." She went to call out to him but he turned her attention back to the creature who had focused on her now. "Oh god!" She cursed just she began to feel the flames build underneath her. She quickly jumped away. "Hey! Cut that out!" She found herself calling out at the creature as if trying to discipline a child. She though quickly as finally the decision of fight or flight was finally made in her mind. She began ran towards the ladder seeing it as the only way off this platform.

 

[Mineczka]

"Fire? How is this thing.....?"
​

An intense scene followed, as Souta readied for an ambush of sorts, he seemed to run for a moment, but turned back and appeared to search for a weapon. Not what Misaki wanted, as far as she knew, he was not trained in fighting. It showed when he attacked Itaichi, and now here, as he began searching for a weapon in plain sight. The others hadn't moved yet, some still petrified in fear or still trying to reason like the other one was. It's grin grew larger as a cackle came from the jagged teeth that was it's mouth, it was having fun? With what? What could be so fun about being this poorly out-numbered? Let alone with several ready to fight it. Shifting her feet, she felt the urge to get on the attack, put the foe on the metaphorical back foot, as it had no feet, or legs to speak of, and press the advantage of a relentless assault.

But that's when things went south, far enough south that one could consider what happened to be akin to the Australian Brush fires....

It turned to Souta, his ambush was spotted. It's lantern spun with, in a method that made it feel as the gravity here had no effect, the next moment, her hearing was overcome with the sound of her own heartbeat. Fire sprang from beneath the Green tracksuit-wearing man, from seemingly nowhere. While he evaded, she knew the fight escalated past just posturing and feints. It was a true fight, and from the way the creature kept cackling, it was to the death. Misaki couldn't hear over the sound of her heart, she felt this feeling before, the feeling of an inevitable fight. It had happened during multiple operations she was placed in, while combat operations were uncommon, she knew the feeling, one mistake, and the people next to you, friends, family, everyone, could be dead. A quick glance came from the raven-haired woman, as she watched the next plume of fire rise up, with Minato diving away and now retreating, the situation went from bad to worse.

'No. Nobody is dying.' Misaki thought, her head snapped back to the ghost pumpkin thing. It let out some sort of laugh at the situation, 'I won't allow it.'

A step forward, a swift few steps would carry her to the Jack-O-Lantern in what felt like a blink of an eye. Fingers curled, shoulders back, her chest seemed to wind itself like a spring, ready for the quick moment of action. Misaki knew this attack had a small chance to hit the pumpkin, but that was not the point, while if it were to hit, it very easily would make the monster think twice of assailing humans, it was just a telegraphed attack to put the enemy on it's heels. There was an intense gaze from Misaki, as this attack started, her face was stony with only her eyes being a lead into her mind, with the same fire and intensity of some monster. It had been some time, but Misaki was showcasing her strength once again, no mercy was shown in the rust-red eyes illuminated with the fires that plumed around her.

She was going to protect those around her, no matter the toll it could take on her, hell, from what she's seen, the floor seems rather warm should she fall.

 

[Arcanist]

Itsuki Miura
( Mineczka cremenebula ThatGuyWithSouvlaki ErarousFire Gravitational Force SomebodyElse Trystan1295 )
​

Itsuki tried to take in all the different reactions to this...this thing. Issac, first of all, tried reasoning with it, and no harm, but a giant, floating pumpkin headed thing like that didn't look as if it was going to listen to reason. Akemi insisted on running, which Itsuki would have been willing to do, had he not been so frozen with fear looking at it. Or, well, that was, until Misaki gave orders for them to run. Hearing that authorative and confident tone as she pointed towards a waft of steam, Itsuki seemed hesitant not to obey her orders. Cowardly it may seem, but he didn't want to risk injury, nor would he want to put his potential death on Misaki's head after she had given the orders.

Turning to Akemi and Kaori, Itsuki gestured with a swift head nod and called to them, "Come on!" Though, whether or not they chose to follow him or not, Itsuki didn't wait long enough to find out, and plunged through the steam. Though, as soon as Itsuki had found shelter behind a pillar, he felt an uneasy amount of guilt begin to settle in his chest. He could hear the joyous yet equally demonic laughter from that Jack-O-Lantern floating about the show. He was leaving people to face this monster on their own, all while he hid and trembled like a coward behind this pillar. There must have been something he could do, something he could do to help them!

Itsuki peered around the pillar, watching as the monster threw fire both at Souta and Minato. Oh, hell. How were any of them meant to fight this thing? Itsuki's punches weren't fantastic - he had arms like limp noodles and he could barely carry heavy stuff most of the time. He listened to Souta shout something to Misaki, something about scattering through the steam too. Maybe if they regrouped, they would be able to come up with a plan - either to run the way they came, or actually face down the thing. Though, when Itsuki looked around the corner again, he witnessed Misaki launching herself and her fist towards the monster.

That woman was something else.

 

[ErarousFire]

Why people thought it would be a good idea to even try to attack this thing was beyond Akemi's understanding. It was clearly something none of them had even dreamed of and yet people were tying to fight it. She couldn't decide if it was brave or stupid....until she saw the cackling monster summon fire! Okay yeah it was stupid now. "Stop trying to fight it! Just get out of there!" There was nothing wrong with self preservation in life and death situations. "Don't try and be heroes this thing has you outclassed!" The voice actress didn't doubt that...well at least one of them could fight but this creature was just something else. After running through the steam she managed to reach part of the ladder but the laugh made her freeze. Like a nightmare crawling up to snatch you away.

Akemi saw someone hide behind a pillar, but lost sight of most of the others minus the two who got the fire flung at them and the woman who was charging the damn thing. She didn't want to leave them behind, but she was no fighter so what could she do? Especially against something like this?

 

[cremenebula]

Ah, and here came one of the humans. Snickering, the creature flew just a bit higher and successfully dodged Souta's movements. It seemed like it would have to pay attention to it's closer surroundings, huh? And though the humans presented a bit of danger, they were still just that-- humans. And they didn't stand a chance against the great Pyro Jack, right?

Minato's words had no effect aside from drawing another laugh from the pumpkin. Cut it out? But that's quitter talk! And this was fun!

It did, however, distract the monster with enough time that Misaki's attack landed. Sending it spinning closer to Souta, Pyro Jack let out a small groan as it rubbed the new-forming bruise on it's cheek. The lantern floated until the poor thing pulled itself together, and it's eyes turned downwards in frustration. No one hurt Pyro Jack!

Holding out its hand again, another fire attack was directed towards Misaki this time as the creature growled.

But then a voice called out from the side.

"What are you doing? Hit it!"

The voice was obviously feminine, and from over the hood of the car the group was previously standing behind, a cloaked figure jumped-- boot connecting with the pumpkin's head and sending it spinning. And upon landing beside Souta and giving him a glance, she groaned, grabbing him by the shoulder and shoving him behind her. Misaki wasn't far to her side.

Covering her face was a red mask adorned with gold highlights and dark, messy hair. She wore a red shirt, black pants and boots, and a black cloak covered her shoulders. In her hand she held a bat. Spinning it once and then twice, she then rushed at the pumpkin and landed another hit. Once it was far enough away, she raised her hand.

"Blaze! Bring it down! Hail! Get them out of here!"

"Roger!"

Rushing past her, a rather large bird-like creature past. Spreading it's gold and sparkling wings, cloth could be spotted connecting from it's back to the tip of metal-lined wings. The bird spun once, then hooked the pumpkin in the mouth with what looked like a hooked-tip of it's wing, and dragged the creature down towards the ground.

Meanwhile, at the group still by the bottom of the billboard, another woman appeared. Long hair fell over her shoulders. Dressed in a dusty purple one-piece, a black belt fell at her waist. Her heeled boots clacked against the pavement softly, and a white mask covered her face to hide what she looked like. She didn't seem dangerous at first glance, and she just reached out towards Minato to wave her down from the ladder. Then, she looked to the rest of the group, ushering them away as well.

"This way! It's not safe here! Pyro Jack won't stay stunned for long!"

Once the group was safely on the ground, the woman began motioning them ahead, and pointed to some buildings in the distance.

"Over there! We have a safe space in the houses!"

Glancing to Misaki though, the first woman looked her up and down.

"You fight? Follow them." And then she turned to Souta. "You too. We'll take it from here. Cover your... Friends."

 

[ErarousFire]

It seems this day was just going to keep getting weirder and weirder. Misaki somehow managed to hit the creature and send it spinning but it got up pretty fast and just looked more annoyed that she hit it than scared or ready to run off. That wasn't the weird part...the weird part was hearing a woman's voice and then some winged creature appearing and hitting the Halloween reject and slamming it into the ground. 'T-there's people here?' She thought to herself in shock.

Then she saw the other woman who told them they have a SAFE SPACE here?! Everything was blurring together right now and Akemi wasn't sure if this wasn't just some horrible dream. Her head was spinning. "T-that thing has a name?" The voice actress wasn't a fighter...she followed to the safe house.

 

[Mineczka]

"It matters not. I will protect them."
​

Despite how telegraphed her attack was, by some miracle, Misaki's attack hit the creature, and it hit hard. While it was not a subduing attack, it sent the little abomination spiraling for a moment. As it rubbed the bruise on it's cheek, Misaki pressed her advantage, as her feet carried her closer again, she noticed the creature seem to aim it's next attack, directly at her. Fear rose within her again, as the sound of her accelerating heartbeat kept running through her ears, just guessing the direction of where the fire would land, it'd likely kill Misaki, if not harm her drastically. She wasn't going to let the little monster get the chance. A cross to the face would likely keep it from firing off it's attack, or at least jar it from hitting her, but, the wheels of fate had other plans, as a voice cut through the sound of her own fear,

"What are you doing? Hit it!"

Hearing this, a pause was in place for a moment, instinct kicked in as she stayed her pace, as a blur of a human at first came from the corner of her vision before landing their foot into the mug of the flaming pumpkin, before landing next to Misaki, ridiculous outfit and all. A Red and gold mask over her face, paired with a cloak, and baseball bat. As the confusion began to set in through the rage, the woman dashed forward again, attacking with the same ferocity as Misaki did moments ago. Then, another entity, a strange bird-like creature came flying in, striking the pumpkin towards the ground further, at this moment, all of the drive Misaki had dissipated in a puff of smoke, as she watched this... Cosplay team, of sorts press the attack in her and Souta's place.

There were more it seemed, as Akemi and the others were by the billboard, and a long-haired woman with a white mask was ushering them to presumably safety, as far as she mentioned with the 'safe houses' despite the intense carnage around, there was some safe place? That's not possible. As this revelation crossed through Misaki's mind, the first woman landed by her, sparking a slight response of hostility, before addressing the Ex-sailor,

"You fight? Follow them." And then she turned to Souta. "You too. We'll take it from here. Cover your... Friends."

Misaki was conflicted hearing the word 'Friends' with this lot. She had no knowledge of them, even not knowing their names, despite a few seeming to know hers. Likely Haruna's doing with that. But that was beyond the point with her, a suggested retreat was in place, as the two here appeared to have the problem handled, for now. Shifting her feet, Misaki motioned to Souta, beckoning him with her, as she began to move away, slowing her pace to allow the man to catch up and go past her, Misaki would bring up the rear.

She refused to let anyone fall prey here now...