Fandom The City That Never Weeps

[Aegis]

Rhyme Ryujin
{Location: Initial Room}
[Interacting with Mizushiro ( CapRock ), Hershel ( Thexcentrichilean ), and Egon ( Emperor Of Embers )]

This was it.

Rhyme clutched his unconscious companions in his arms and braced for the beating of a lifetime—likely his last. Then, out of seemingly nowhere, a young girl shouted over snatching their attention away from the group in peril. The monsters seemed confused and several made moves toward the girl. She seemed like good bait if just she was a little further—NO! Rhyme shook those thoughts from his head as he poised to intercept only to remember that he currently had a few monsters of his own still around not to mention two dead weights.​

A hoof reared back. An owl swept in. It was well and truly over. Two solid hits landed as intended on target and left Rhyme with a shallow gash across his back and knocked him nearly on his ass from the front. A hoof shaped bruise now occupied the young boy’s sternum as he gasped. His head pounded and each heartbeat in his pained chest felt like it’d tear out from his ears. Fear was his body’s sole occupation as he stood frozen before the onslaught to come. “We’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadieWe’reallgonnadie”
His thoughts shattered into a collection of momentary inputs and before long all he could comprehend was his pounding heart. It screamed for change. It screamed for action as every beat was a battle cry sending adrenaline through his veins. More than that, his heartbeat let him know that he was still very much alive.​

Then, he felt it. A change. A shift. Ever-so-slightly deep within his heart he felt as if a door was being pried open. The rusty hinges struggled and whined as a crack formed in between the doors and for the first time in a while courage shone through. Courage’s fingers wriggled through the crack in the door and wrested them in its trembling hands. Yet, Rhyme stood. He made no effort to assist this transition. A familiar footstep echoed in the corridors of the boy’s mind. Fear. Cowardice. They came together, and each with a hand on Rhyme’s shoulders they beckoned:
“Why bother? After this moment, they’ll forget you.”
“It’s better to look after yourself.”​

​

Rhyme stood frozen as indecision shackled his movement. Everything seemed so slow. Outside the monsters dragged along at a snail’s pace. His own wails and cries were barely perceptible as such. Sound. Movement. Feeling. Nothing mattered. This moment was everything. The turning point of destiny. He would either remain a coward, a failure, a good-for-nothing crowd pleaser, a lump of flesh waiting to die, or he could take the hand of this force and finally move forward himself; he could stop following and start leading. He could stand up for himself. He could do what he wanted to do. The door shrunk inward at the behest of Courage and all that was left was for Rhyme to push.

“No, I need this. If I don’t do this, we really are all going to die.” Rhyme responded to the now disappointed and grimacing faces of Fear and Cowardice. The boy’s feet carried him forward—nearly gliding along the now-lit passageway to change. A single phrase echoed forward from the chamber “I am thou and thou—”

It was interrupted.​

Mizushiro shook to life under his right arm startling him from this moment and dragging him out of this seemingly infinite second. The beasts sped up, sound returned, and fear began clogging his body once again. The cosplayer stepped forward with a grin to challenge the nearest beast which seemed to second-guess its plan of attack and opted to simply observe for the moment. “Mizu—?” Rhyme’s thoughts were cut short by the appearance of an apparition. Some being took form behind his companion and together they endeavored to “weave a tale of victory”.
“What the fu--?!”

Rhyme was caught off guard by Hershel resuscitating under his left arm and shaking free of his grasp. The stunned boy was shoved onto his ass by a combination of this and disbelief. He watched the backs of these two as yet another apparition arrived on the scene behind the German man as well as several soldiers of eastern origin.
“Whaa--? Who? From where?!”

Rhyme’s eyes followed Hershel as he reached down and fetched a stone from the floor. Confusion. None of this made any sense no matter who you asked. Except, of course, to them. They seemed confident. Something had changed and they were ready to face the challenge before them as Rhyme continued to shrink backward.​

​

There it was again. The chamber. It called. It demanded change. Courage would not be outdone by things as weak as Fear—as Cowardice, but it could be undone by Rhyme. He shuffled forward toward the room attempting to grab anything that made sense. What was this feeling of uneasiness? Why now? Why here? The boy stood within arm’s reach of the door. The turning point of destiny awaited him just two more steps forward.

“I am thou and thou art—”

“SHUT UP!” The voice was swallowed by Rhyme’s impatient retort.

“I am thou—”

“QUIET!!!”

This. This was the problem. This thing. Courage? HA! Recklessness. The young boy reached out and in a swift movement slammed the doors in front of him. Peace finally returned as he turned and was welcomed into the embrace of Fear and Cowardice.

“Oh… fuck this…” Rhyme whimpered as he reached backward and felt his back before producing his hand in front of him again. Crimson. Blood ran down the tips of his fingers and onto the palm of his hand. The wound from the owl was bleeding heavily and the boy felt the sudden need to scream. He rose to his feet and without another word turned heel and ran away. His fear carried him straight back down the hill, and toward the building they arrived in. Fuck this! He’d take his chances with real people. His foot landed incorrectly in the desperate scramble and sent him doubling over down the hill. He tumbled right past the new girl. Each impact battered his already sore body as it twisted from gravity dragging him down the hill. Miraculously he landed on his feet at the bottom and took off toward the entryway of the building only to catch his toes this time on the door-frame and fall straight forward smacking his chin off the ground. His teeth clanked together as he crashed into the ground laying motionless for a moment.

This sucked. Rhyme craned his head up from off the floor and noted his surroundings before scrambling to his feet. Empty shell casings clinked against the floor as he made way toward the door at the back of the room. He reached and tugged as hard as he could. The doorknob would not twist. It was merciless in its mission to keep Rhyme from running and before long he stood defeated just in front of it.

Hide. Have to hide. Rhyme overturned one of the nearby sofas and plunged behind it.

“Let them figure this shit out. I’m done.” Rhyme said aloud in an effort to convince himself.
​

 

[CapRock]

Chiyoko Mizushiro



Would you look at the time... It’s Ultra Violence hour!




When Chiyoko woke up again, the monsters that once made her so terrified hadn’t gone anywhere. Something did change, however. To her new eyes, they had gained a completely new meaning: target practice. She assessed the situation - Hershel asking her name, a persona-less Rhyme running away, a brand new face trying to get herself killed - and right then and there, a miracle took place as every brain cell of the cosplayer vibrated in unison. A play-by-play script took shape in her mind to aid her in the following moments. First, Hershel’s answer:
“Call me Chiyo, Mr. Hershel! And by the looks of things, it’s up to the two of us to save the day. I’ll leave the screaming girl to you!”

For her next step, Chiyo picked up pace into a run, charging straight into the owlman ahead of her; she ducked under its sweeping claw, sliding through the wet flower field and passing right under its nose. The stunt transitioned into a leap, gaining superhuman height and landing right on the unsuspecting back of a kelp horse chasing after Egon. Before it could react or fight back, Chiyo’s fingers dug deep into the flesh of the shadow, forcing it to rear and stick to her commands.
“Hi-yo, Silver! Onward to save the coward!”

Now on top of the shadow, the unlikely rider held on tight and made her way back to the building, backhanding any foe unlucky enough to be on her way, her Persona floating after her not too far behind. By the time she arrived, the building’s entrance was already stacked with monsters looking to get a piece of her favorite rude barman. She braked her trusty steed to a halt and turned to her partner:
“Alright, Schera, show what you got for me!”
Scheherazade produced what could only be described as a ball of packed denim and lobbed it at Chiyo. She held onto it like a kid getting socks for christmas, saying:
“...Really? Well, alright then… Here goes nothing.”

Taking a good hold of the spherical object, the cosplayer pitched it with both hands in the general direction of the building’s crowd. It bounced lazily a couple times on its way there, creeping up on its unsuspecting targets; as soon as it got close enough, the ball exploded, hurling patches of denim at breakneck speeds to maim and knock over everything in sight. Now smiling from ear to ear at Scheherazade, the cosplayer leapt off her distraught mount (it turned and ran off as soon as it was free) and made her way to the door. Heavy, rushed knocks pummeled the front door as the shadows recovered from that first hit.

“Rhy-san! Come out here and confront your true self or whatever, right now! I know I messed up just a moment ago... But if these monsters kill me because you didn’t come to help, I will come back as a ghost and tug your feet at night, you hear me?”

Location: The garden
Interacting with: Rhyme Aegis , Hershel Thexcentrichilean
Mentions: Egon Emperor Of Embers

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

Egon was getting surrounded, and the window for escape was rapidly closing. She had to move, she had to go now! But she noticed a girl on a floating horse talking to a man with a firing squad. A lightbulb dinged above her head, and thought of a plan as she dodged being grabbed.

She makes her escape, running out into the open while keeping the attention of the many monsters interested in her. "Come and get me! Nice and tasty human meat right here!" She exclaimed, the beasts right on her tail.

"Hey you! Yeah you! The one with the military squad! I could use some help in smoking these idiots! Hurry!" She shouted as loud as she could at Hershel and his german squad of soldiers, as more and more shadows started showing up to get her. One got close enough and grazed her face wit a claw. "Hey! No touching! You can thank my father for that!" CapRock Aegis Thexcentrichilean

 

[Thexcentrichilean]

.

He didn't quite know how to describe it, but his body felt incredibly light yet strong, incredibly strong... it was quite odd, but a welcomed feeling after so much struggle that had happened the past hour. For once the man felt like he could take on the world and come out on top! But he had not forgotten the situation the little ragtag group he was part of right now was going up against, and as such he took his head out of the clouds and focused once again on the matter at hand: Dispense a smackdown on those that had threatened them!

Well, that was the initial plan at least... but due to a certain cosplayer known as Chiyoko, the battle had started before he had planned what to do properly beyond just attacking... Screw it, he had tons of momentum for once pushing his psyche forward, he was going to use it to the fullest.

Having been unable to say anything to the escaping grumpy teen or Chiyoko, the German simply let out a long sigh while frowning slightly before narrowing his eyes towards the direction the newcomer had called for help. That took upmost priority considering her precarious circumstances. Not a single individual would be harmed by these most foul beasts any longer.

Throwing the pebble he had previously grabbed into their air, making it spin for a few seconds as the mundane object started acquiring an interesting cyan glow, one that seemed to come from the man's hand... and the moment the object had reached the apex of its upwards trajectory, it seemed like the world would slow down in Hershel's eyes as his previously idle hand sped up in an instant, grasping the shining pebble mid-air while the man's sights were locked onto the shadow that had just harmed the foreign-looking girl.

His vision narrowed, focusing on his target as the towering Suleiman behind him wordlessly directed his 4 soldiers to prepare to shoot on the instant an order was given in their minds.

Not even a second later the man was in a pose akin to a baseball pitcher who had just thrown and the aforementioned monster was now in the air like it had just been hit head-on by a car, right on the cranium. Its animalistic head seemed to have a hole of some kind on its side where the epicenter of the brutal impact was... and soon followed the finishing touch: not even a fraction of a second later 4 gunshots rang out from behind the German, all aimed at the monster who had just been hit in vital points, pushing it even further before touching the ground... with each shot leaving a visible hole on the beast's body as it ragdolled upon landing.

The man had returned to his normal standing position, wordlessly kneeling down to grab a handful more of rocks from the floor before looking directly at the swarm of shadows with a look of utter defiance and cold anger, standing up and finally speaking up since the whole ordeal had started:

"Hands off the lady, monsters." He spoke with an unflinching tone, loud and clear as he stood proud against the adversity that was the monsters.

Next, he gestured towards the girl in the middle of the group of beasts with his clenched hand holding most of his spare ammo, with his other hand preparing for another throw as the rock it was holding acquired that cyan sheen like the previous one.

"You there, come closer here! I'll take down the bastards to might try to approach." Meanwhile the Turk soldiers behind him grew in number to 5 out of seemingly nowhere, with one already aiming forward ready to fire while the other 4 professionally reloaded their heavy-hitting arquebuses by their muzzle. There was a faint bee buzzing happening around the man and his squad, one could only wonder where it was coming from...

.

Location: The garden now turned a battlefield
Interacting with: a Foreign girl (Egon Emperor Of Embers )
Nearby: A grumpy teen (Rhyme Aegis ) and Chiyoko ( CapRock )

 

[Hououin Kyouma]

Ginjiro Aizawa...?


Ginjiro Aizawa walks through the halls, looking exactly like he had previously…but also entirely different.

Perhaps it’s the way he carries himself, in place of his unsure, quiet meandering there’s a self-assured stride. Instead of the intent staring at the floor, he happily makes eye contact and exchanges smiles with classmates as he passes. Most tellingly, there’s the head of dark brown hair in place of the silver hair that had been there last time they’d seen them.

This apparent imposter doesn’t throw a glance to anyone, be it the tense girl who seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown (maybe in the process of one?) or the boy who stood beside her with the obnoxiously dyed hair. It was as if they didn’t exist. Not them nor the two delinquents that went just as unnoticed in this world they’d entered.

He visibly brightens upon spotting the group by his locker and they do too as he closes the distance, the barrage of greetings an assault on the ears.

“Aizawa-san!”

“Gin-chan!”

“You get lost or something?”

He can only raise his hands in an attempt to placate them, sheepishly smiling as he did. “Sorry, sorry. Kuroda-sensei forgot those quizzes at his desk. I was taking them to the teacher’s lounge.” He explained, before adding on a relieved “Thanks for waiting though.”

One of the group, the boy who had seemed most frustrated with this lateness, rolled his eyes, arms crossed as he spoke up again with a smirk. “Don’t mind Mr. Prodigy, I’m sure we’re just too hard to fit into his packed schedule nowadays.”

“I said sorry! Look, if we skip buying snacks we can still make sure we get good seats.”

“Whaaaat? But that’s the best part of going to the movies!”

The group’s friendly chatter would continue as they moved to leave the school, only being cut off when a voice spoke from behind them, an older one that by the looks of the speaker belonged to a teacher.

“Ah, did you forget, Aizawa-kun?”

The group stops just a moment after Ginjiro, turning to face the bespectacled woman who regarded him with fond exasperation.

Ginjiro stares, brow furrowing for a moment before his eyes widen in realisation. “The competition?” he asks after a moment, a touch of resignation dampening the previous energy he’d had.

The nod he gets in response only serves to seal his fate, and his gaze turns to the floor as he separates from the group to join the teacher, only looking up when he turns back to the group of students with the same sheepish smile from before, only seeming so much more brittle than it had before.

“Sorry, guys. Looks like I can’t make it….forgot I had this thing today.”

His friends move to respond, but in that moment, something changes. The lights in the school seem to be ineffectual against the darkness that clouds the group, keeping their reactions to Ginjiro out of view.

Not even a moment after a wall emerges from the darkness swallowing the floor, it’s made of steel and covered in vines that reach far above the wall and arch over both sides, casting shadows over those untouched by the darkness. The mere presence of the wall carries an overwhelming sombreness that has Ginjiro frozen in place, eyes focused on some faraway point beyond the wall.

CapRock (Shirou) Midrick (Jordan) Veradana (Yuzuki) Refaulted (Kenzo) Haz. Jeef_jones Thepotatogod

 

[Aegis]

Rhyme Ryujin
Location: The Initial Room
[Interacting with Mizushiro ( CapRock )]
{Nearby Hershel ( Thexcentrichilean ) and Egon ( Emperor Of Embers )}

Rhyme’s hiding spot was under heavy assault as the monster hammered at the door and clawed at every window in a desperate attempt to finish the job on the poor student. A thud. An explosion of yarn rippled through the roof after blasting out the windowpanes and left the boy in silence for a moment before Mizushiro began shouting again.


Silence.​

Rhyme curled behind the sofa being sure not to make any noise as he pressed himself into the leather of the sofa. He broke before the tide of supernatural monsters and was now in full retreat only he couldn’t run any further. The beckons of Mizushiro fell on deaf ears as the student pressed his hands over them as if blocking one of his senses would make the whole situation go away. He slammed his eyes and shut and bathed himself in denial as the thundering crack of lines of gunfire penetrated his poor attempt at covering his ears.​

​

“G-go away! RUN! I don’t care anymore!!! Leave me here.” Rhyme shouted in response to Mizushiro. Rhyme sunk even further back feeling the sofa begin to get slick with his blood. It was leaking slowly from his back and onto the floor where it didn’t belong. His was feeling woozy and his skin cold as he flopped over onto his side an assumed the fetal position. He just wanted to go home. His stomach churned with anxiety. He just wanted to go home. His pulse rocketed in his chest as the pain fired through his veins. Yet, he just wanted to go home.​

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

Egon watched as one of the monsters was basically erased from existence with a blow to the head, and four shots peppering it.
"HOLY CRAP!!! THAT THING GOT TURNED INTO SWISS CHEESE!!!" She exclaimed as she saw the squad behind the man reloading, She was both afraid and grateful of the man's squad and ability to throw glowing rocks at monsters like he is a sniper rifle with arms and legs. "He kinda reminds me of Tex from back home. The bastard could hit a squirrel from half a football field away!" She thought as she heard the man call out to her.

"Wait... COME TO YOU?! ARE YOU NUTS!?" She shouted to Hershel as a monster tried to grab her again, this time landing a scratch on her left shoulder as she juked it.
"AAAGH!! FINE FINE I AM COMING!!!" She made a beeline for Hershel, her adrenaline kicking in as things were getting intense. What was this she was this feeling? She felt... she felt great? Whatever it was, it sure felt different than her pure, fearful self from before. She lost all sense of what was going on, but all she knew was that this man who just erased a monster with overkill was going to be her salvation.

"Whatever you are going to do! Do it fast!"
Aegis CapRock Thexcentrichilean

 

[CapRock]

Chiyoko Mizushiro


When at first you don’t succeed, try again, but screaming louder!

When Chiyoko was rudely answered by Rhyme’s denial, she let her hand rest and drag down the door, then put both her hands around her hips, twisting her mouth into a pout. She set up camp ahead of the door, determined to continue the argument. Behind her, the shadows who had been knocked out from the blast were now back on their feet and inching closer. Chiyo had her hand on the door handle already when she finally picked up on how close they were, leaping away just in the nick of time. The entrance left closed, but the cosplayer was now quickly getting surrounded, her persona locked helplessly outside.

“Rhy-chan! You were mad at me just now because I didn’t take the danger of the situation we were in or whatever. Big meanie move, but at least I get why. So what in the triple-drizzled, extra-gravy banana split are you doing now?

Chiyo side-stepped her way of an owlman as it swung down and hit the ground, slamming down her elbow on his to bend it the wrong way, causing the monster to scream and wince in pain. She ran past and around the wounded shadow to avoid the teeth of a kelp horse, using it as a meat shield to reduce the intake of enemies, try and fight them one by one. The first one brave enough to approach her from the right was greeted by a backhand slap, and the left one, by a kick across the snout. A brave attempt at resitance, but far from enough to keep the relentless charge headed her way.

“Do you really think that cornering yourself like that is gonna do anything? Then you’re the one being dumb! I know this sounds cliche, but the only way we’re going to get out of this is together. And the window’s gonna close real soon…”

Completely surrounded, Chiyoko crossed her arms in front of herself, closed herself and braced for the worst. When she opened them again, she was staring at the pile of monsters from far behind them. She looked at her own hands with a confused, yet amazed smile. Was that silk that she had seen disappearing around her as she opened her eyes? She'd had to look into it at the first opportunity. Right now, the priority was taking advantage of their momentary confusion to head for the door again.

“Rhyme, I’m coming in.”

Location: The Garden
Interacting with: Rhyme Aegis
Around: Hershel Thexcentrichilean Egon Emperor Of Embers

 

[Refaulted]

本田 謙三
Honda Kenzo
The Justice Arcana

He had fully expected to simply sink into the river to the very bottom, but he was pleasantly surprised when his feet hit solid earth as soon as he was submerged. He still held his breath for a moment, nervous to allow himself to breath, but nothing seemed immediately dangerous, so he eventually eased himself into a more controlled state of breathing. It was at least slightly comforting not having to deal with any more swimming, floating, or flooding it seemed, but instead a somewhat lack of visibility with the fog that surrounded them. He shivered, feeling like something was watching him from just beyond what he could see, but attacking blindly would just cause him to tire himself out more, and that wouldn't help anybody. And so he kept his guard up, hoping he would be fast enough to protect himself.

He didn't even turn to Shirou as he appeared next to him, only acknowledging him with a huff as he spoke. if there was even a single thing that he could admire about Shirou, it was his ability to let his ego pilot him forwards, even into uncertain circumstances like what they found themselves in. While Shirou's reasoning almost helped brighten the mood, Kenzo instead hoped to catch up with Jordan to make sure that he was okay. Though, his worry about Jordan was overshadowed by irritation as Shirou bolted in the direction of the strange building. "I hate to envy you..." He spoke under his breath, though his worlds were just swallowed up by the fog that surrounded him.

Nervous about being on his own, Kenzo was about to start making his way in the direction of the rest of them before Yuzuki fell beside him. It seemed they were all deciding to throw caution to the wind at this point, and as Kenzo turned to her, he just saw her averting her gaze from him to the ground. He could already tell that his words were affecting her, and his assumptions were made true when she spoke, quiet at first but rising, before dropping again.

Kenzo's expression softened for a moment. "I understand, Yuzuki, trust me. This whole thing is...just bizarre, in so many ways. And scary." A flash of gray and silver popped into his mind, and he winced, before continuing. "I didn't mean what I said. I lost my temper, and took it out on you all. It wasn't right. I'm sorry, I hope you all can forgive me for that." He winced once more as he managed a small bow, before grunting as he stood upright once more. "You may be confused, but I can definitely tell you that I'm just as confused, and I'm sure the rest of them are in the same boat as us. All of us are doing what we can do to restore even the smallest sense of normalcy. I'm not saying that we should accept what's going on around us with a smile on our face, but the simplest thing we can do is make sure that we all get out of here, right? Like a game of baseball, you run from base to base to get to home plate. Think about the goal and everything will fall into place." He turned his attention to the direction Shirou had disappeared in. "I promise you, if I can help it, I won't let anything happen to any of you. From here on, we all need to have each other's backs. Even if that means we have to make sure that horndog and the living mass of muscles don't get into any trouble. So stick close to me, and lets get out of this hellhole" His attempt to seem reliable was slightly hollow, mainly from his appearance and the blood that was still slightly trickling down his arm, but it allowed him to feel normal for once, and swallow his fear, anger, and exhaustion. He looked behind him to make sure Yuzuki was with him, and then he turned towards the building, and walked carefully forwards.

It wasn't long before they would come across Shirou and Jordan watching a scene unfold in front of them, and Kenzo could just barely make out the features of Ginjiro as he got closer, who looked completely different from when they had been in detention earlier in the day. His demeanor was also completely different, with some very out-of-place pep in his step. Kenzo walked up next to the two boys, confusion plastered on his face. "Is that suppo-?!" His words were cut off as the lights around them were swallowed up, plunging them into a deeper darkness, nearly causing Kenzo to jump out of his skin. And then the wall appeared, and Kenzo stared at it in even deeper confusion. "Huh...ominous." He looked back to Ginjiro, and Kenzo held out a hand to gesture to him as he turned to the rest of the group. "So...are we supposed to just get him out of here?" He allowed himself a faint smile, happy that this would maybe be even simpler than he had hoped.

Veradana CapRock Midrick Hououin Kyouma Jeef_jones Thepotatogod

 

[CapRock]

Shirou Lancaster



Who knew, the nerd has friends!

Soon enough, Shirou would find himself next to Jordan and the strange group of middle-schoolers so assured of themselves that they dared not look frightened by the presence of seniors around them. That was already odd, but when the strange, alternate version of Ginjiro showed up, Shirou nearly tripped on himself. He didn’t bother in the slightest about hiding his own amazement at the scene, one hand over his hip while the other massaged his jaw, smirking during most of the scene. When Ginjiro bid goodbye to his friends and left, however, Lancaster’s brows furrowed.

“Wait, where you’re going? Don’t tell me you’re gonna bail on your friends for some dumb-ass quiz! Come back here, you damn nerd!”

But the brown-haired Ginjiro never responded; for the brown-haired boy, the group who had just entered might as well not be there. Shirou squinted at him, leaning closer and humming inquisitively. Still absolutely no reaction. Lancaster leaned back a bit, scratching the tip of his chin for a few seconds before freeing his hand to deliver a loud snap with his finger. He turned to Kenzo to reply to his comment, heading down a meandering path towards his next goal.

“This dude’s dumb as a brick or too smart for his own good, since he won’t even talk to me. Dunno who this is, but it’s not our Ginjiro. But then again… If we took him, do you think anyone would notice? Just kidding.” He snickered to himself and stopped at a safe distance from the wall. “Now, this really is ominous, though. It’s almost like- hang on.”

Shirou leaned a little bit closer and the wall reacted to his presence, shifting parts of its metal plating around like it was a living being. Footholds, crevices and ledges popped up, creating a perilous climbing path that headed towards the school’s ceiling, which suddenly felt far more than a few feet tall. While the transformation did startle Lancaster for a moment, it wasn’t that why he was there; he cupped his ear and waited for a few moments in silence before something seemed to click in his expression.

“The loser’s friends are still talking behind this wall. I just can’t make up what they’re saying… Not with this thing in the way, anyways. It’s like I’m- we’re staring at a huge-ass ‘do not cross’ sign, don’t you think?” To go along with his comment, a mischievous smile that ought to be more than enough to finish his line of thought.

Location: The Greenhouse, ????
Interacting with: Kenzo Refaulted Yuzuki Veradana Ross Thepotatogod Jordan Midrick Alex Jeef_jones
Also there, maybe: Hououin Kyouma Haz.

 

[Veradana]

Yuzuki watched him the whole time. She watched his expressions, his movements; they all registered a second before his words. At every word he spoke, more and more hesitation and tension crawled up her body until she tilted her head away again, eyes wide and wobbly. “It wasn’t right” “I’m sorry,” “I won’t let anything happen to any of you,” those specifically played back in her mind, and she wrapped her arms around herself, and closed a fist at the base of her neck, mimicking the tightness in her chest.

She tried to give him a firm nod. Even using his analogy, all the bases were still shrouded in darkness. However, just putting one foot in front of the other, over and over again, until they got to their destination? She could do that. For someone like her to be able to protect others may not be possible, but somehow, since she awoke from that nightmare, that “maybe” felt like it was just a tiny bit more in her favour. And if nothing else, she could stay near them, even if it took an extra one of her steps to keep up with Honda’s.

Lancaster and Dreyer hadn’t made it far ahead, so it was easy enough to follow them into the fog. When the scene around them started playing, Yuzuki couldn’t help but tense up and take a half-step back. She forced herself to stop, but held rigid next to Honda, waiting for what cruelty this place had to show them.

Was what they were watching normal? Even the boy who sounded so frustrated, his expression didn’t look angry. The other boy, she didn’t recognise him, but his name sounded familiar, just kept getting pulled away. Yuzuki jumped when the darkness fell and the wall rose, and she stumbled in regaining her footing. She looked between Honda and Lancaster. It would be nice if Honda was right, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Whatever was going on here, this wasn’t the Aizawa they needed to find.

She’d flinched a little at Lancaster’s shouting, and her jaw clenched beneath her anxious face. Hugging her chest, she slowly curled and uncurled her fingers. Lancaster was wrong. Aizawa’s school business was more important than something like going to the movies, especially since he’d promised the teacher first. Aizawa at least, had clearly understood that fact, even if he regretted his accidental double-booking.

She didn’t want to listen to Lancaster, but a little of what he was saying seemed important. So did the way the wall shifted as he stood near it. Unfortunately, he was the only one there who would be able to climb it, and they needed to stay together now. Even if he might be able to hear Aizawa’s friend’s voices, they had no idea what was really on the other side.



CapRock (Shirou) Midrick (Jordan) Refaulted (Kenzo) Jeef_jones (Alex) Thepotatogod (Ross)

 

[Thexcentrichilean]

.

While getting into position for yet another overkill strike, the german held his shining projectile tightly inside his closed hand, giving a thumbs up to the girl with it once she had started running in his direction, many monsters hot on her tail... he had his job cutout for him, didn't he?

"Haaaaaaa..." A long exhale of warm air escaped the man's mouth as his eyes focused on the monster closest to the girl, the one that had almost sliced her... Just like a baseball pitcher, he prepared to throw the projectile with his whole body motion, pin pointing his next target with cold eyes, a glint of frigid fury fiercely fueling his purposeful pursuit of righteous justice.

Right on cue, the one readied soldier was aiming in the same direction as Hershel, and in the next instant there was a small cloud of gunwpoder residue, and yet another shadow lifted from the floor and hurled against the wishes of gravity, soon enough rolling backwards with 2 gaping holes in its body and Albert resuming the position to pitch his next throw as quickly as he could, taking another rock from one hand to another.

But... there was still a whole swarm coming after his fellow foreign brethren, so this pace would not cut it at all if he wanted to procure her safety. This realization hit him shortly after the pelted monster had landed on the ground again. The german had to either sacrifice having his own throw kill or... wait, maybe this was going to work.

Communicating mentally with suleiman he learned that the quartet of original soldiers were close to ready to fire again, along the realization that he didn't need to deal such an overkill blow, even just a slowing injury would do the trick with one arquebuseer being ready to fire...

A small grin creeped onto the man's face as he stopped putting so much of his body into every throw, instead his position changed once again: Planting both of his feet on the dirt, twisting his upper body to the side while using the hand that contained his spare ammo as a way to "aim" at his target, pulling his right hand back as the same cyan light pooled around the new rock about to be thrown.

After a couple seconds of absolutely silence as the focus of Hershel sharpened, the next rock was throw, skipping once or twice in the flowerbed at high speeds, jumping up and down, up and down... until it struck right on the center of a shadow's leg, making it fall onto the ground in a wild roll, soon after being shot in the back and leaving a hole behind as the bullet passed through and imbedded in the floor. One of the 4 loaded arquebuses has just been fired.

Less than an instant later, another stony projectile had taken off from the man's hand in the same manner, this time though he had miscalculated the trajectory and instead of a leg, hit the middle body of an owlman. This staggered it but could not guarantee taking it down to the floor like the last one. The rock hadn't even imbedded like the last one, it had just bounced off! Albert panicked but for a moment before shaking his head and locking his sights on the staggered owlman once again, quickly adjusting his position to this time throw the rock with even more strenght, making full use of the motion of his body while still keeping his two feet planted on the solid ground.

His wrist hurt. The cyan stone took off from his fingers in slow motion, moving forwards and downwards along the pull of gravity, bouncing within an instant on the flowebed, breaking the calmness of the isolated flower in its way, rushing through the flurry of petals and hitting the staggered owl on its bird-like legs and this time imbedding in its body. The beacon was set and yet again the sound of exploding gunpowder thundered in the area and yet another one was down...

This went on for about half a minute of intense yet one-sided projectile exchanging. The man was already starting to feel a little winded due to the stakes of the situation but remained steadfast. Unfortunately for him, when he was about to yet again throw another stone, Hershel realized he was out of ammo to use! Panicked yet again, he looked around his immediate area only to find more plantlife and dirt... and as he turned around in a panic and even considered using... that, a small clinking noise came from his pocket. Right! Loose change from the snack he had bought earlier today! Hurriedly digging into the right pocket of his pants, he managed to find about 7 coins of varying sizes, perfect for the situation.

Clenching a 100 yen coin on his right hand, he prepared yet again to attack, hoping that his had bought the girl enough time to safely get among his soldiers (who had yet again grown in numbers by one more body)... this was starting to get exhausting and taxing on his body, his right arm starting to cramp up due to the intense exertion he had been doing.

.

Location: A flowery battlefield!
Interacting with: A foreign looking girl in peril! (Egon Emperor Of Embers )
Far away but still around: Chiyoko ( CapRock ), terrified teen ( Rhyme, Aegis )

 

[Aegis]

Rhyme Ryujin
[Interacting with Mizushiro ( CapRock )]
{Nearby are Egon ( Emperor Of Embers ) and Hershel ( Thexcentrichilean )}

Rhyme flinched as he heard the hinges of the door creak open and several steps be taken inside the building. He knelt below the cover of the sofa for a bit feeling equal amounts of guilt and anxiety tear at his chest like someone who had just made a girl cry after their first date. Running away and leaving events to the odds was one thing, but outright denying to do anything was a different level of cowardice he had just found himself stumbling upon in the midst of the mist-covered field of battle.

The young student poked his head over the top of the sofa and scanned the room only to find Mizushiro standing in the middle of it. He himself emerged from behind his poorly concealed hiding spot and locked eyes with her for a moment before clearing his throat and moving to say something. Yet, nothing came out. An ephemeral anxiety clutched at his vocal cords and demanded silence from Rhyme, but he continued anyway.

"Look at you," Rhyme half-chuckled to Mizushiro "now you're stuck here too."
An almost pitying look of concern fell on the boy's face as he provided merely a weak smile and sullen expression almost enough to bring tears to his eyes. Perhaps the tears were of relief? He wouldn't die alone at least, and now that he thought about it Mizushiro wouldn't be such bad company to die with. She could be annoying for sure but that wasn't so bad all the time. Plus now that he thought about it she isn't too bad looking eith--

Rhyme furiously shook his head for a moment a with a temporary blush washing over his face.


However, the inevitable soon followed and broke up this rather introspective moment.



A large crash rocked the foundation of the house and upon closer inspection it would reveal a monster sized dent in the door. Every window and viable entrance to the small room that contained the two troubled students was now under assault by a flurry of attacks and monstrous howls as the creatures from before clawed at the walls as if they were prisoners digging to freedom fueled by the desperation of their goal. Rhyme thought she had taken care of them-- wait if she can't then who can?

Rhyme swallowed for a moment then looked back to Mizushiro in direct answer to her first question "I'm just being a coward because I thought you guys didn't need me..."
The student's attention was drug outside of the window again by another barrage of gunfire. Hershel looked confident enough on that hill, but the monsters were still swarming. His soldiers were reloading and before long they were set their sights on him and at the rate he was going he would...

Rhyme felt adrenaline begin its rapid march through his veins again as the window he was gazing out was almost ejected from the windowsill by a monster. The glass fragmented and showered Rhyme in realization that if he didn't do something everyone here would die. Mizushiro was right. They all had to work together if they wanted to make it through this. He felt the beating of his heart calling out to him again and for a moment he found himself at the door to courage again. Fear and Cowardice were left walking alone and it took them a moment to realize Rhyme was no longer following close behind. They turned and as if to say something they opened their mouths only for Rhyme to cut them off with a commanding tone "Quiet now, and leave me here!"

Another pulse of courage from the room matched the thorough pounding in the boy's chest and as it washed over Fear and Cowardice they crumbled beneath its weight. The boy took a step closer to the door he had forced shut and this time nothing was trying to get out to him. No hands. No help. He had to do this part on his own. His hands, charged with instinct almost like a wolf stalking its prey, reached out to the door and gripped the handles. A deep breath. A fluid motion.

The doors were open and voice surged from within
"I am thou and thou art I.
We are gross ambition taken form.
We are those who wish to leave their likeness on the world.
We are courage.
We are conquest.
We are pioneers on the journey of finding oneself and staying true.
I am thou and thou art I."

Rhyme exhaled his deep breath and his hands lowered to his side as if he were grabbing at an imaginary sword.
"Come, Saigo, and let us leave our mark on history."

An ethereal katana was swiftly produced from Rhyme's waist as he carved it across the wall in a swift motion. Flakes of paint and mounds of drywall were torn asunder his blade found its mark along the creatures neck with a clean decapitation leaving its corpse a limp ornament in the window. A hollow thud was heard in the back of the room as its head made impact with the ground an Rhyme stood with a powerful gaze cutting through to the outside and into the crowd of creatures still remaining.

Behind the student, a figure began to take form. A headless amalgamation of steel, technology, and flesh was covered in a traditional set of samurai armor and it hovered just behind the boy. The material of the armor, almost a frosted glass, revealed black veins flowing with a strange liquid beneath it and by all accounts it was a horrifying sight to behold. It was mostly quiet as opposed to the other personas. A crude face took residence in its chest and the liquid occupying this thing's veins was driven along by heart strangely placed within its leg.

Rhyme looked to Mizushiro "Sorry to keep you waiting so long. Drinks are on me next time."​

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

As Egon ran, she saw one of the monsters go down with 2 shots, and the man kept throwing stones, and eventually messed up a shot. She was getting worried when she realized that he was getting tired of throwing things for the men to shoot at. This was getting tense as she realized that she may be screwed. She never thought she would die like this. In fact, she never thought of ever getting into this kind of situation, ever. She desperately looked around for something to fight them off with, like a stick maybe? Or maybe some pole she can rip out of the ground and shank them with.

But, it seemed that they were more interested in the german man now. She had to think of something, and fast. He looks very much like a german, but would speaking it work? Let's give it a shot! "Hallo du! Sie kommen für dich! Es tut mir leid, dass ich nicht viel helfen kann! Ich werde etwas herausfinden, um zu helfen!" She said as she had hoped he would understand. Thankfully her father taught her german ages ago. That was one of the few good things he did for her anyway. But then she figured that she could use dirt clods to blind them. So she grabbed dirt as she ran, and threw it at each monster until a good portion of them was blinded by the earth lumps.
(What she said in German translates to "Hey you! They are coming for you! I am sorry I cannot help much! I will figure something out to help!")
CapRock Thexcentrichilean Aegis

 

[CapRock]

Chiyoko Mizushiro



Looping around “You say run” in my mind nonstop!


Thankfully, once Chiyo made it in, getting Rhyme to leave his hideout involved much less physical dragging than she anticipated. Not only that, but he was also strangely more conversational than before, getting all teary-eyed, and staring in her direction for an awful lot of time. Forgetting for a moment about the raging chaos around them, the cosplayer attempted to feel up her own face, asking:

“You okay? Do I have something on my face…?”
And that’s around the time Rhyme shook his head and blushed.
“...Oh.”

Realization dropped like a vending machine registering payment and Chiyoko perked back slightly with, at first, a blank expression. Immediately after, she broke into an amused smile and a giggle, hand over mouth. Rhyme probably didn’t realize, but he had accidentally answered every question she had made just now without uttering a single word. As the laughter died out, she lifted her eyebrows and said:

“Rhy-chan, you’re a total dork, you know that, right?”

But the ensuing chaos was quick to remind Chiyo of the dreadful situation outside. She brought Scheherazade close and did her best to shield herself from the ensuing stream of debris. Her first reaction was to try and head back into cover, but seeing Rhyme simply walk forward made her stop, too curious about his next actions to risk losing it over an attempt to find cover. The robotic samurai emerged and sliced through the first wave of monsters, getting them the break they needed to escape and - apparently - spit cheesy one-liners at each other. Not that she’d refuse the opportunity, of course.

“It's a deal, just don't cry when I make you go bankrupt. Come on, the one with the least monster kills is a bubblegumhead!”
That was the reply taken care of. Next, Chiyoko picked up her pace towards the half-sliced wall, using the cut surface as a foothold to step on, kicking the head of a shadow like an american football punt and landing with a roll right after, leaving whatever had been left behind for Rhyme to finish. A quick inspection at the flower field revealed that Hershel and the girl were still struggling a bit, so desperate they had resorted to yelling gibberish at each other. Thankfully, they did manage to get the majority of the remaining shadows in one spot by drawing their aggression with their rock, coin and dirt throws. If only they managed the perfect hit…

Bingo.

“Hershel-san, this is our chance! Can I trust your aim? Hit the ball!”
Chiyo turned to Scheherazade and got herself another copy of her of denim ball, then took a couple hops forward to build momentum and tossed it as far up and away as she could; instead of aiming towards the clutter of shadows where it could easily get swatted away, though, she hurled the sphere directly towards the middle of the way between Hershel and the monsters. From them on, it was all up to the young man. With a good hit, he could push her bundle of denim-flavored doom right into the middle of them so she could trigger an ideal blast before they could react. If he missed… Well, they’d figure something out.


Location: The Garden
Interacting with: Rhyme Aegis Harshel Thexcentrichilean Egon Emperor Of Embers

 

[Thexcentrichilean]

.

Increasingly ragged breath
A myriad of sweat beads falling down his skin akin to raindrops, dripping onto the ground.
Physical fatigue exponentially grew as he pushed his tired limbs to their limits with so many throws, and not enough preparation.

Yet there was no time to rest, no space to retreat, and no room for failure allowed. Only the man, the girl he was trying to save, and the swarming and ever closing odds.

Albert's right hand could be seen holding extremely tightly onto the coin, one of his last hopes in maintaining his stand against the monsters. One could also notice some slight crimson trails coming down his palm... from his frowning expression with eyes showing slight desperation, it was noticeable that Hershel's mental state was starting to deteriorate.

Yet, somewhere inside him, there was a biting, roaring defiance still burning brightly akin to a lighthouse facing the overwhelming dark tide of the incoming storm. But shining on until its last moment to do its duty of keeping things safe. Yet, he was struggling to keep moving, to get in position yet again to pummel at the wild beasts.

But, it was at this very moment that the girl he had been trying so hard to protect had decided to risk her life all by fighting in her own scrappy way, much to the german's dismay. He was extremely close to chewing her out for her ill-advised decision until the girl in peril spoke his mother tongue at him all of the sudden! Not only that, but she also revealed the reason for her recklessness: to help the young man from his own precarious position...

This caused Hershel to frown, feeling a great variety of feelings about the matter, but ultimately gritting his teeth and forcing his exhausted body to move for one hit... whatever effect that was going to have. He wasn't going to let himself be a liability, nor let any further harm befall that german speaking girl

Preparing for his next throw, the man actually lifted his leg into the air despite the screaming protests of his muscles, tensed his arms as he prepared to launch the cyan, shining coin with all his remaining might.

His Turkish soldiers were also aiming alongside him, as the German scanned all the monsters that were starting to swarm in his direction... trying to find the target that would cause the most general damage to the shadow army...

That was until the metaphorical cavalry had arrived! Chiyoko and the grumpy teen had finally come back from their little escapade, with the cosplayer going out of her way to give him a way out of this troublesome situation: that explosive ball from before... she hadn't throw it at the enemy directly thought, she had... aha!

He had finally found a good target to lock onto, but the german would only get the one chance to nail it... better make it count. Letting out a deep breath to calm his mind, Albert locked his eyes onto the traveling sphere of fabric, determination plastered in his face as it any hesitation that was left from before had disappeared. Two soldiers, one from each corner of the firing line, had started following Hershel's sight while the others were simply on standby, ready to fire whenever a target and order were given. The world moved slowly for the thrower at that moment... with every ticking fraction of a second having the shadows inch closer, and the ball being pulled by gravity towards the ground in a predictable trajectory...

The clock kept ticking, with the german-speaking girl being in increasingly higher risk by the second... but if he could only nail it...

THERE

its position was just as how the cosplayer must have intended for the ball of fabric. Without a moment of hesitation, Hershel threw the Japanese coin with all his physical might, muscles visibly contracting for the powerful launch. The shining cyan coin made a streak of light as it flew through the air, faithfully moving towards its intended target as it spun midair. Yet, it was not going to hit exactly how Hershel had intended, the exhaustion of his arm betraying him at the most important juncture. No matter though! he had anticipated this.

Just as the coin had hit and deformed after hitting the ball at an angle from the right, the left Turkish gunman pulled the trigger before the battered coin could split from the fabric ball due to the natural bounce of the material. The ethereal bullet traveled in a straight line, bashing and brutally blasting the ball forward, this time steering it too much towards the right, but that was also within the German's calculation...

Less than a fraction of a second after, the next gunshot rang loudly aimed at the now separated coin, but in the same axis as the fabric still! This final addition of external force counteracted the man's initial blunder and pushed the main projectile straight into the middle of the swarm of shadows. This had all happened within a couple of seconds of high effort calculations and pushing reflexes to the extreme.

As such, the sphere finally detonated akin to a grenade, brutally shredding the shadowy tide with tough material, almost like high-speed hot knives running through butter. Very few would survive in a condition capable of continued offensive. Very few would survive the devastating attack period, especially with the bold and brash blinding of a variety of shadows by the girl.


As for Hershel, he collapsed on the spot forwards, barely catching his own fall with his tired arms, soon after ending up flat on his face as his limbs gave out on him... that whole ordeal had taken a big toll on the man, and he was now paying it with interest with a forced rest... a sigh of relief escaped his lips nonetheless, having at least successfully survived the shadow scourge.

.

Interacting with: Nobody directly, but technically working together with Chiyoko ( CapRock ) and the german-speaking girl (Egon, Emperor Of Embers )
Around: The grumpy teen (Rhyme, Aegis )

 

[Aegis]

Rhyme Ryujin
[Interacting with Hershel ( Thexcentrichilean )]
{Nearby are Egon ( Emperor Of Embers ) and Mizushiro ( CapRock )}

Rhyme cleaved through several more of the monstrous creatures that had attacked them. Power was constantly being fed into his veins and distributed through his body in the form of confidence that he made ready use of to dispatch the remaining stragglers around the house Mizushiro and himself were trapped in just moments ago. Yet, behind each swing was a moment of hesitation. He may have been stronger now-- Saigo's presence assured him of that, but he still didn't want to get hurt. The boy thought that may have been a normal reaction to this circumstance, but he shoved it to the back of his mind for now. What was Mizushiro's reaction earlier? The young student watched as she climbed the wall via the damage he had and done and tossed a ball toward the German firing wildly into the surrounding monsters from his position. Did she know what he was thinking at that moment? A bit of a flush overtook his face but was quickly dispersed with focus as the last nearby shadow approached and was met with a swift slice across their chest. Rhyme lifted his leg and pushed one of the corpses out of the window and assessed the situation. He didn't want to go out there. He had done his part, right? He defeated a few baddies, and the rest they could take care of as originally planned. Rhyme nodded to himself satisfied with this train of thought. His eyes were snatched outward into the field again as a combo attack from Mizushiro and Hershel shredded the nearby enemies and alleviated them from any direct threats for now.

The German soon fell to the ground in a moment that sent panic jolting through Rhyme. He didn't much care for the man, but he was controlling the outside situation rather well. That-- and it wasn't as if Rhyme was completely heartless; he didn't want Hershel to get hurt for no reason. Mustering a swell of energy and swallowing any lingering remnants of fear, the boy leapt up into the windowsill and out into the field of flowers toward Hershel. It didn't take long to reach him as he felt a speed being built in his legs completely foreign and supernatural in origin. He was faster. He was stronger. He even passed the new girl who was much closer than he. The student found himself at the man's side before long and with a swift movement he sheathed his katana with precise flair he had not previously possessed. Rhyme reached down and turned Hershel over giving the bare minimum amount of effort to lift him from the ground into a potentially more comfortable position before asking "You good? We need to get out of here soon if you can move."

The boy made his own assessment while waiting from a reply from the man. Hershel's hands were scraped from something, but otherwise he was looking okay. Rhyme's heart began to calm as they were out of imminent danger and that's when he felt pain creep through his body. His chest was sore like no other and his back was on fire as if he had just been burnt with scalding oil. The student held his footing and continued to look down to Hershel as his breathing got a bit heavier-- realization has a way of doing those things to people. ​

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

Egon had witnessed something incredible. The girl who game Hershel a ball of denim actually helped out of nowhere, and Hershel threw it, and the ball exploded like a grenade, making sure the monsters knew they were not to be messed with, with the help of her blind dirt tactic. The sight was incredible really, but the man was down, and seemed to be exhausted or injured. Whatever, it did not matter. She got him into this mess, and she needed to help him. But how? She was afraid of contact by another human, no matter the intent. She kneeled next to him, careful not to touch him, and ready to reject any physical contact that may come her way.

"Hallo, geht es dir gut? Benötigen Sie einen Arzt? " She asked him with major concern on her face and tone. She reached out her hand to help him up, but stopped midway through. Her hand shook as her eyes narrowed, and sweat began to crawl down her face. What was she doing? Why did she stop? She wanted to help the man, but her demons were keeping a tight leash on her. She could have sworn that one of her demons was gripping her hand tightly. She pulled her hand back as she swallowed, and that was when another young man showed up at his side and pushed him into a more confortable position, and asking if he was alright. "If anyone asks me to carry him, I am just gonna say no... Sounds selfish... but hey, rather not get hurt again after many "Hugs" behind mom's back." She thought, she felt very sore, and her legs and arms felt like jelly. She had not felt like this since middle school back home. Boy did the Gym teacher work her and her classmates to the bone with the mile run, as well as the work-outs for the state test. But hey, that all served her well here. The memories of her teacher yelling at her rang in her head.

"Thank you Coach Brunswick. You may have been a b!tch, but you pushed us past the limit, and it finally paid off." She said in her head as she looked at Rhyme.

"What if he can't move?" She asked him, concern filling her face like an overflowing glass of water.

CapRock Thexcentrichilean Aegis (Translation for the German speak; Hey, are you alright? Do you need a doctor?)

 

[CapRock]

Chiyoko Mizushiro

That’s gotta be an A rank clear!


Seeing their combined forces come to fruition in the form of pure, concentrated destruction hit the dopamine floodgates right on the spot. Chiyo used the final juice left in her body from the fading adrenaline to jump and pump the air in triumph, stumbling forward and nearly falling over as she landed. She wiped her brow - rubbing out yet another gap in the makeup new her forehead - and took a deep breath before letting herself slouch and giving Scheherazade a quick nod to make her disperse.
Not too long after that, Chiyoko was brought back to the then and there by the noise of Hershel falling over in exhaustion. While dragging herself towards the German, first thing she noticed was the girl’s reaction, lifting an eyebrow as she took mental note of it. But a moment later, the cosplayer was pleasantly surprised to see Rhyme overtook her and got to tend for the fallen friend before she could arrive. Scre exhaustion, seeing her favorite bartender acting nice to the very same guy he had a screaming match with brought a smile to her face.

“Guys, guys, let him breathe a second! I think we’ve all earned-”
BUMP
Suddenly, Chiyo found herself stopped dead in her tracks, nearly tripping over something on the ground. She held back a gasp as she saw it - one of the monsters with bird heads had survived the blast and now laid outstretched on the floor, covered in bruises and squirming feebly. It turned to face the girl that kicked it and said:
“Stop, stop! I yield…”
“These things can talk!?”
A quick succession of feelings took over the cosplayer as she processed the information. First of all, shock, as made evident by the cracking of her voice. Then, a brief moment of unusual silence as she put her hand over her mouth, eyes darting rapidly from one side o the next; and finally, a devilish gleam flashing in her gaze as she kicked the monster to knock it prone and stepped over its back, bending her knee to put all her weight on top of it while pressing it against the ground, looking back to look excitedly at her friends. As she leaned on to whisper on his ear, the monster shivered.
“Alright then, mr. Monster. Let’s chat.”

Location: The Garden
Interacting with: Hershel Thexcentrichilean , Rhyme Aegis and Egon Emperor Of Embers

 

[Jeef_jones]

Alex Feron
Location: Entering the greenhouse???
Interacting: greenhouse gang (Kenzo) Refaulted (Yuzuki) Veradana (Ross) Thepotatogod (Jordan) Midrick (Shirou) CapRock
Alex, unsure of what to do, would watch as the other conversed on what to do...at least until one of them jumped into the water, then another, until it was only himself and the other person who seemed to have come in late, someone he didn't know. He walked over to the water's edge, worriedly looking into it, waiting a moment then taking a deep breath and look to ross "Well...it looks like everyone else did it so it's time for me to go to, join if you want random person I don't know. Later, hopefully!" and with that, he himself would hop into the liquid, waiting to be submerged in the river for a while since even though it seemed people disappeared on contact they still went under for a bit, right? Well, it seemed his question would be immediately answered as he only a few seconds later would appear with the others, quietly watching the scene play out in front of him as well how everything would go dark as well it seemed a wall of steel and vines would come out of the ground and block ginjiro from the other people talking, as well the people he was talking to. Finally, things seemed to settle as shirou would seem to have some idea about getting to the people behind the wall, he would walk up the the odd-looking Ginjiro and would wave his hand in front of his face, to which he would get no response to, then he would try to grab him by the shoulder which then...his hand went through him "Well it doesn't look like we can take him anyway...but if the wall changed, maybe we have to climb it?" and with that thought said aloud, he would walk over beside shirou next to the wall, and decided to start attempting to climb it, after all if the people behind it we're talking maybe there was something to do over there in this strange school building?​

 

[Refaulted]

本田 謙三
Honda Kenzo
The Justice Arcana

At Shirou’s reasoning, Kenzo knew he was probably right. Even if it was the same Ginjiro they knew, something about him had seemed incredibly off. Ginjiro never seemed like the social-standout type, so unless the weird greenhouse was having some strange effect on the actual Ginjiro, then this one was most likely just an illusion. Of what, Kenzo couldn’t even begin to concoct an idea of. The person Ginjiro wanted to be? The person he once was? The only way they were going to get answers and save him was by continuing on, somehow, someway.

Looking back to the wall, Kenzo cautiously approached it. In simplest terms, it just looked like a rock wall one would use for bouldering, though not like the beginner walls Kenzo had seen before. The foot and handholds were much too spread out for it to be even considered possible with zero experience, with some being almost a meter apart at most, and half that at the least. Shirou would probably have the easiest time with that, and if they weren’t injured, Jordan and himself could probably manage it as well, but Yuzuki and Alex would possibly have a slightly more difficult time with it. Of course, that was all before considering the shapes of the holds, which looked more abstract than they normally did. The sizes and shapes varied, from large, rounded pieces with almost no grip to them, to the jagged, tiny holds that would require so much strength in ones fingers and toes to keep themselves upright without falling. Some even were carved into the wall itself in varying measures of depth.

Kenzo groaned as he looked over the entire wall, trying to find the best route for them all to take, but nothing stood out as being easy enough for them all to do. Being unable to see the top wasn’t exactly helpful either, making finding the easiest route more of a gamble once they made it halfway up, as from there on they would have to wing it, which could be even more disastrous if they ended up in a spot where progress upwards was impossible. Not to mention moving back down the wall without ample support was incredibly dangerous.

His eyes began to move along a zig-zagging path, with minimal tricky holds and manageable distance between each one. For the most part, if they took their time, it seemed like it would be the easiest path for each of them, aside from a couple of spots where some assistance would be required from others. He nodded his head and, wiping his hands on his pants to make sure they were dry, approached the wall, steadying his breathing as he firmly grasped two holds with his hands. He was definitely not in any condition to be the first to attempt this, but at the moment, their only option was to keep moving forward. With another grunt of effort, he pulled himself up so his feet were planted on some holds, and he was now fully on the wall, slowly beginning to climb.

He wasn’t even a good three meters off the ground before he felt a sudden lurch shake the entire wall, as if a jolt of electricity coursed through it, followed by the screeches of moving machinery filling Kenzo’s ears. One of his feet slipped, and he tightened his grip on the holds his hands were on as a low humming sound resonated out from the wall. Another lurch, and suddenly, the holds he was using began to move downwards, along with the rest of the wall. Hastily looking down, he saw a slit that had opened up, swallowing up the bottom of the wall, ever so slowly. With no time for hesitation, he turned back to look for his next move, giving up on taking his time, instead opting to put some spring in his step. He hauled himself up, moving from hold to hold, believing that he was making steady progress. However, as he looked back down to gauge how much distance he had made between himself and the ground, he saw that he had made not a single ounce of progress. And was actually closer to the ground than before.

Understanding continuing on was a fruitless effort, he waited for the wall to move downwards a small amount more before leaping off, stumbling only a small amount as his feet were met with solid earth again. Once he had regained his balance, he turned back to the wall, a frown on his face and an annoyed glint in his eye. “Because of course it moves.” He turned to the rest of the group. “Unless any of us is an Olympic athlete, I doubt we’ll be getting over that wall anytime soon.” He grabbed a strand of his hair, twirling it in between his fingers, deep in thought.

Veradana CapRock Midrick Hououin Kyouma Jeef_jones Thepotatogod

 

[CapRock]

Emperor Of Embers
Thexcentrichilean
Aegis
And myself

Would like to proudly present...

The Collab Post

Featuring:

Egon Blaz

Hershel Albert - Suleiman

Rhyme Ryujin - Saigo

Chiyoko Mizushiro

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hershel could hear his fellow escapees from the bar celebrating to a degree, but not exactly see it considering his current circumstances. The german man attempted to lift himself with his tired arms once again, but barely managed to get a couple centimeters off the ground before collapsing again flat on his face.

There was a frown plastered all over his visage as he let a sigh escape, both out of annoyance and relief as he felt people and not monsters coming close to him.

He expected some modicum of help from the group, at least to turn him over, so he was very pleasantly surprised when the grumpy teen from before had not only done so, but helped him lay down more comfortably at that. A small smile crept onto the university student’s face as he got a good look at his helper.

”I should be fine given a couple dozen seconds… maybe one or two minutes. Even with these, powers? Powers, mine are not suited for such constant combat like that with that kind of throwing… it felt wrong and forceful, so my muscles started getting exhausted much sooner than I expected initially. But i’ll be fine.”

The mind paused for a moment as he stared at his surroundings, before showing a small grin towards the black haired teen that was helping him out.

”And thanks by the way. I appreciate you checking on me despite past grievances” The grin of the realization had shifted to a legitimate thankful smile before letting out a sigh, and turning to the girl who he had been so intent in protecting earlier…

”...” Albert had noticed her attempt at reaching out which she herself stopped. That was a bit concerning, but not something he was going to prod at, there was a higher priority at the moment.

”Hey, you, german girl. Thanks for trying to help. Though, I would have appreciated less recklessness before, I know you had good intentions. I’m glad you are safe”
A bright smile was flashed at her right on cue with his words before shaking his head at the foreign to Japan words she had uttered.

”And just like I told the bartender here, i’m fine… my muscles just need a moment, but all the concern is appreciated.”

Letting yet another sigh escape, the man had prepared to relax for a moment, feeling the ability to move slowly coming back to him. That was until Chiyo had… stumbled onto a very interesting fact that caused the german to narrow his eyes and push his body to at least sit up on the flowerbed, though not without trying efforts.

”Hnnn… ok. Chiyo, and you two… i’m pretty sure everyone here has some… questions, for this being. So, let’s go in order at least… and force it to answer should it chose to try to remain quiet
A dangerous cold glint shone in Hershel’s eyes as the words uttered left his mouth, for he was not messing around on this topic.

Moments before this, Rhyme absorbed a bit of positive feedback and genuine praise from Hershel. It felt… weird to say the least. The bartender was used to empty praise from teachers and fellow students as well as hollow thanks coming from patrons at E-777 (not that he expected thanks anyway), but this was different. He was offered a warm smile that caught him off guard and for a moment he simply smiled back. It was a bit infectious. His attention was temporarily pulled away by the new girl who he had seen before hesitating to help Hershel up. He was no man of action himself-- normally at least, but this seemed a bit deeper and more painful judging from her desperate yet petrified expression earlier. Rhyme decided to pocket this information for later as the older gentleman had moved on.

He sat for a while absorbing how Hershel worked his way around the group with a practiced motion as if he was a politician or something. Then, to his discomfort, he heard Hershel refer to him as “the bartender” to the newcomer. Rhyme couldn’t blame Hershel. After all, he had been the one who stormed out of the room and copped an attitude with them regardless of how justifiable it was during the moment. “Rhyme,” the boy muttered to his german companion and then looked toward the new girl “it’s Rhyme.”

Turning away from Hershel in embarrassment, the student spotted Mizushiro stumble across a shadow and offer him up for interrogation. This suggestion helped Hershel from his arms and into an upright position. He spouted off some rather cold and harsh logic before suggesting they all take turns getting information from it. Rhyme’s eyes trailed from Hershel to the shadow lying helpless on the ground. At first, his heart clenched in doubt. Was it really right to torture someone regardless of whether or not they were an enemy before? A hypocritical lump formed in Rhyme’s throat as he struggled to swallow the pill he had just fed himself. It dawned on him that just moments before he would have let anyone here die if he would’ve had a better chance of escaping. He didn’t want them to die-- he just…

The student’s thoughts trailed off onto a self-derogatory path analyzing how he was a coward. He was weak. He didn’t like conflict, but not because he was pacifistic or against pointless violence but because he was afraid it would expose him for the weak person he was. That would change. It had to. Rhyme looked to the katana in his hand and tightened his grip as some sort of internal resolution took hold of the handle. He looked to Saigo who had been relatively quiet and observant of the teen after he had acquired his powers, but had since turned his attention toward the shadow captured on the ground. As if emerging from nowhere in particular a cold, judgemental voice burrowed out from within the persona that had only previously occupied his mind “Better that it kill itself than allow the enemy to capture it. The creature dishonors its comrades who died in its stead.”

Rhyme, following the flow of the moment, responded in a similarly cold tone agreeing with Hershel’s “Our gain.”

The student attempted to stand but after the adrenaline of the fight had worn off his back wound was pounding now more than ever as well as the intrusive throbbing and soreness in his chest. Rhyme stood, but the sudden input of pain was enough to send him rocketing back down to his knees “Urrkkk!!”. The student gripped at his chest for a moment before composing himself again. He wouldn’t be much of a fighter if this was all it took to get him down. Rhyme gathered himself from the ground, stood, and began a slow walk to join Mizushiro by the shadow.

Egon frowned at Hershel’s statement of thanks to her as she shook her head after hearing ‘German Girl’.

“The name’s Egon. And what else could I have done besides throw dirt in their face? Stand and look like a hula girl ornament?” she half joked as she then listened to Hershel explain that it was his muscles needing a moment.

“I am pretty sure it is more than you overusing those muscles. Probably tore something.”
In all honesty, she had no clue besides what she was being told. And she looked at Rhyme, who had given his name. “Rhyme… gonna have to remember that. And he looks kinda cute t- WHAT AM I SAYING?! I JUST MET HIM!” She thought as she blushed and shook her head of the thought.

She then notices a shadow, and her pupils contract as she shook, fear taking over once more. But when hershel spoke, talking about questioning it and then torturing it if it refuses to speak. She felt like she was in a New York gang, about ready to beat a rat down after asking it questions. She could not move, and what’s more, is that she saw Rhyme gripping his chest and groaning in pain, and she put her hands to her mouth and gasped. She then put her hands down when Rhyme composed himself and walked up to the shadow. She felt torn, on one hand, she wanted to know everything the beast knew. But on the other, the brutality that was about to ensue did not sit well in her stomach. She was scratched maybe twice, while it did hurt like a mother, she could not bring herself to interrogate the poor thing.

“As much as I want to know what it knows… This… this doesn’t sit right with me… I have heard about what gangs do to people in situations like this. And none of it pretty.”

She said, thinking that she was talking to herself as everyone seemed on board with Hershel’s plan. This scared her, what would they think of her if they found her to be a softie already? She got up, and slowly walked up to the Shadow with Rhyme.

Chiyoko watched from her spot as the others approached, leaning her elbow on her knee and her chin on her palm to observe while keeping the shadow on a tight leash. Her brows furrowed a bit in concern seeing just how spent the boys were. Truth be told, they were lucky to have escaped in one piece. Rhyme was right, they had been in a horrible situation ever since the mess in the bar started and-

That train of thought would never finish itself, sadly, as it was quickly replaced with the mental image of Egon dressed in a hawaiian outfit doing the hula in front of a crowd of monsters, forcing her to cover her mouth lest she’d lose her composure completely. Suddenly, though, she picked up on another laugh; just below her, the shadow had snickered at her reaction. Having none of it, the cosplayer frowned and pushed her feet further down its chest until silence reigned once more.Then, to the german girl she said:

“Egon-san, was it? Nice to meet you. Look, I’m pretty sure no one here likes to hurt others-”

“You’re literally driving your foot against my ribcage-OUCH” Pleaded the desperate shadow before it was silenced by another push.

“Shush-” She spoke glancing down for a moment before continuing. “But the way this works is, so long as birdhead tells us what we need, we won’t actually hurt him! I’m sure he’ll be a nice, cooperative little beakmouth that will help us get out of this situation, won’t you?”

“Yes, please! I just want to live…”

“Excellent!” Chiyo beamed gleefully, finally letting go a bit to allow it to breathe. She opened her arms to the sides and did her best impression of a live show host to say: “Now, to what everyone is dying to know: Who will be tonight’s first interrogator? Any volunteers?”

The cold glint disappeared from the tired german’s eyes when the teen had started being more earnest towards him, even sharing his name finally! This legitimately put a smile on Albert’s face chuckling for a moment before refocusing on the topic at hand, silently listening in case a complaint would pop up to address it… and unsurprisingly, the new girl going by the name of Egon had been the one to issue a protest… a sigh escaped the man’s lips as he pulled out a 100 yen coin from his pocket, playing and fidgeting with it for a moment while looking at it, almost as if considering matters in deep thought. He had made note of poor Rhyme’s struggling to deal with pain, which had only cemented in his mind that they had to be swift in solving all of this.

Given a couple seconds of silence, and after Chiyo had asked the rest of the group in a dramatic yet fitting manner for the girl, Hershel’s hand would suddenly clench around the silvery coin, moving his sight towards Egon, showing a sad frown.

”I’m sorry this make you uncomfortable, but… there’s a lot at stake right now. These… things, are related to the group of people that stormed the bar originally. I don’t know what happened to the people there, if they are still alive or they have been taken somewhere but, if using ruthless methods or threat of force will get us information under the time constraint, I think I’m willing to take a hit to my moral compass on the matter… as cold as that sounds. Had we more time and less at risk, I would advocate for a gentler solution.”

The man made his current stance on the matter clear with a slightly troubled yet firm tone before turning his sights once again, this time towards the bird-man being stomped by the cosplayer. A slight cyan shine started coming out from within his clenched hand as he adjusted his position slightly, and showed the readied projectile clear as Suleiman oversaw the whole matter in the background, showing a mysterious smile… one that seemed to have a hint of pride.

”So, birdy bastard, what happened with the people at the bar we originally escaped from. Be concise and to the point, no need to beat around the bush”

Sadly Hershel didn’t even give time for Egon to respond nor confirmed with Chiyoko before speaking up… he showed a slightly regretful frown for a moment as his lips curled downwards before his face tensed up into a poker face level neutral expression, trying to make himself unreadable just in case.

"Bar…?" The shadow seemed confused at first. "Oh, right. I bet you ended up in the Garden by accident. I wouldn't be surprised if they saw you coming in and left you to die here. It's what happens to most folks that come in unprepared."

Rhyme had been watching with measured anxiety as Hershel stepped forward to ask the first question. The creature seemed to do its best to answer, but not without a hint of snark thrown in there at knowing more than the group. The student stepped forward during this lapse in speaking “Alright then, I’ll do ya one better. Who do you work for if not them? That, and when are your other friends gonna show up? I don’t think you’re in charge after all.”

Rhyme was satisfied as long as things didn’t get violent with the creature. He understood the value of this information, yet… he was afraid he’d go along with it too easily. Be too willing to bend his morals to give himself-- and the group the edge they needed to get out of here.

"Who do I work for?"

The answer was followed by a long, chilling laughing fit, persisting even through gasps of air as Chiyoko tried to cut down on the Shadow's fun. It eventually settled down and said:
"You're out of luck, kids. I'm just a lowly grunt, never even seen who runs the show. Real organized fellow though, they've been running this operation like a clockwork for months now, if not years. Better get ready to living a brand new life."

"Stop rambling and answer the second question, Mr. Smart-ass!" Chiyo pressed.

"Alright, alright! It's all about the rain, you see. As long as it's landing on you, they know you're alive and kicking, so once they pick up that it's taking too long, they'll send more here. Tough ones, too, that'll squash you like the little bugs that you are."

"Bold words for someone who's under my shoe right now!" Chiyoko replied. "I got a question for you. Where you'd learn all that sass?"

There was no reply.

The Rhyme’s heart dropped in response to this new information. Shit-- they had to hide! The student’s eyes darted around the landscape for a moment and settled back on that building they had entered into originally. Maybe they should hide there.

“We have to move. I suggest we take this to the private venue over there.” He gestured toward the building. There it was again-- fear.

Egon did not like the situation. Not in the slightest. She began to worry intensely, about the situation she is in, what could have possibly happened to her mother at the bar, hell, even the group around her worried her. Not because of the brutality they agreed with, but the fact that they were even going through with it despite her protests worried her. But when she heard that they are basically being tracked, her skin turned pale and she began to shake.

She looked like she was frozen, but her heart was racing with anxiety. “What will happen if we get caught?!” She thought as Rhyme suggested they move. The thing is, she couldn’t. She felt panic consume her body like a toxin, as if she was stung by something. She hadn’t felt this way in ages, and many thoughts raced in her head, and none of them good ones. She wanted to speak, but could not. She then gained her composure, and then shook her head to shake the fear away. “We do, now let’s get to it before more of them show up.”

To be fair, she was terrible in hiding her absolute panic, but boy did she try to play it off to the others as if it never happened.

Unbeknownst to the teens, the poker face of Albert had almost cracked when the shocking information had come to light, breaking out into a cold sweat for an instant and being oblivious to the rest of the group’s panic or concern.

He barely managed to keep his breathing stable and his face expressionless as his mind raced to find an answer to their current dilemma, stress skyrocketing within an instant and paying no mind to the shadow’s snark.

Within these instants, not even 20 seconds of intense thought a certain older voice rang out in his head… it was reassuring, familiar, yet also calculating and intellectual.

”A challenge can be an opportunity with our strength… ambush”

The german’s mouth gaped open for a second, face contorting into a frown, soon choosing to bite his lip and to speak up once again, silencing his anxieties once again until he had managed to get these teens out of the crisis.

”I got an idea” Hershel barely managed to not stutter, taking in a deep breath before exhaling, and hitting his right side with a closed fist before raising his sight to meet those of his group, forceful result planted in his determined expression.

”So… monsters are coming for us, but I think we can make that work in our favor. We need to find a new place that has a roof, and can be used as a chokepoint, and ambush the newcomers with all we got the moment they try to locate us in that area… it gives us time to prepare which is exactly what I need” The man spoke a bit fast, showing that he was still on edge on the matter, but made sure to articulate all his words properly.

”Suleiman!” Without wasting even a second, the man summoned the ‘spirit’ that had aided him so well during the last fight, the bumblebee aesthetic man aparitioning and making an imposing expression of a ruler despite the slightly silly getup.

”He will be our anchor in the fight, the longer I can prepare, the stronger our position will be” He swung his arm along the finish of his explanation, ultimately pointing with an open palm towards the turkish ruler of the past.

”And I’ll make sure you kids make it out of here alive, at the very least” The last words of his were accompanied by a sort of grim determination on his tone, as he groaned slightly while pushing his body to finally stand up from his sitting position, standing his ground despite exhaustion.

“Hang in there just a minute!” Chiyo’s words were akin to an old lady suddenly walking into a bustling intersection before her sign was green. “What sort of filler episode strat is that? Look, I like mowing down on baddies just as much as the next guy, but going into that same shack for the third time in a row is pushing it. So it’s about time we reach out to the elephant in the room and yank it by the ear so hard he’ll have to change his legal name to dumbo. You!”

Chiyoko’s last word was directed at the shadow, thundering in intent and causing him to retract further as she looked down on him, trying his best to look away and pretend it wasn’t about him despite the very clear announcement that it was. The cosplayer ignored such behavior and proceeded:

“How do we get out of here?”

The moment hung up in the air as the shadow looked down a moment to think. Then, it replied:

“You’ll need to find another entry point, the one you used was closed up. Your best bet is to head for the greenhouse up ahead before it finishes corrupting the boy and then find another building from there.”

“Before it finishes doing what now?” Chiyo asked, in a brief moment of lucid concern.

“Oops.” Said the shadow.

Rhyme barely finished listening to all the monologues before they were collectively shot down by a much more serious looking Mizushiro than she had previously displayed. The girl was right-- if they went back to the house they would simply be backing themselves into a corner they couldn’t escape from again; they were lucky to push out the last time.

The young student pondered their options for a moment as the rain imposed on his thoughts like an unwelcome drunk at the bar. Each drop of the rain served to heighten the anxiety within the boy until the prisoner dropped a seemingly crucial bit of information for free no less. Judging by the genuine mistaken reaction it was solid information.

“I’m tired of being wet. Tired of being tracked. I would like to sit down in someplace comfortable for a moment and then go home. Greenhouse seems valid.”

Rhyme tried to exercise some kind of nervous tick and placed the katana on his back and almost went through with cupping it with the other arm before realizing he would just cut himself. Feeling a bit awkward, Rhyme lowered the ethereal blade to his side. Truthfully, it was all to get him out of the rain. He hated that each droplet was like an eye he couldn’t escape the vision of. More would come-- the shadow was right about that.

“God I HATE this! First I get dragged into some sort of twisted hell hole with demons chasing me, now we are being tracked by monsters with a damn shower! This crap certainly takes the cake for the worst thing to happen to me.” What was worse was when the demon realized it slipped a piece of info out when it mentioned corrupting a boy.

“Great, now a possession is taking place… am I going to have to throw dirt at him too?” Egon thought.

“I just wanna go home... “ She whined as tears she tried to hold back ran down her face. This was not the time for waterworks, but the damn holding back tears of fear and anxiety gave out. Her whole body ached and shook with worry as many thoughts ran through her head. But the thought that dominated her mind was her mother. What was happening to her at this moment, and what are those goons going to do to her? But right now she needed to go, and she needed to go now.

“Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s get the hell out of here!” “I hope she is alright…”
She did not know if she could move another inch from all that running she did, but she had to if she wanted to live to see the real world again, she had to move along with this group of people she was dragged into this place with if she wanted to survive, since some of them were able to fight with these… Ghost people that they somehow knew the names of.

Egon did not quite comprehend what she saw when she saw the ethereal beings behind Hershel, Rhyme, and Chiyoko, and she doubted that she would get a proper answer. But she sure hoped hers appeared soon, if she had one.

The man couldn’t help but shake his head in exasperation at the cosplayer, but the overall conversation moved too fast for him to interject immediately… so instead, the german opted to stretch his body to get a feel for motion once again after resting, eyes showing a mix of tints of worry and resolve fighting each other with how shifty the light receptors of his were right now.

Albert snapped his fingers upon finishing listening, speaking up once again while dismissing his persona, readying up by picking some spare ammunition around while sorting out his thoughts.

”Chiyo” He turned his head after picking up a couple rocks and putting his coins away back into his pocket.

”My idea works better with the spot we are planning on going now, actually. Far better than the battered hiding place you and Rhyme used. Let's move”

One last nod, the german wordessly punched his side slightly to keep composure via pain before turning to the other two.

”Egon, stay between chiyo, Rhyme and me for safety.You are not a combatant and you should not risk yourself unless absolutely necessary, understood?”

The man was absolutely aware of how quickly the bartender was despairing and getting tired, and how much of a loose cannon the cosplayer was, and how putting the girl known as Egon in harm’s way is absolutely reckless… which left him as the only one capable of calling the shots of leadership. A tired sigh escaped his lips. He wanted to break down so badly now that he was out of a fight… but couldn’t afford to.

Especially not with the revelation of a kid being held in this weird place and being, ‘corrupted’. There were a lot of thoughts racing through the man’s head. He wanted to save so much, and do all he could but… he couldn’t. Not when being pursued. Hershel would find a way back, maybe ask chiyo to come along, and see how he can save the boy trapped in here… for now

It was time to get these children to safety, at whatever cost it came to him

Right now, the german turned his back to the rest of the group and waved them forwards, starting to walk.

”Either of you protect the rear and Egon”
Albert felt absolutely awful commanding teens to fight like this but circumstances are just that dire. He would mull and let himself feel badly afterwards…

“Greenhouse it is!” Chiyo agreed with Rhyme. Though she was also eager to head out herself, there was still one last loose end to tie, which just so happened to be resting under her boot right now. She finally let her foot out of the creature, saying: “So, birdman. You’ve been really helpful to us, sass notwithstanding. You gonna rat us out?”

“I-I’d never!” The shadow promised.

“That’s what I like to hear. Go and live free, little one! Get yourself a new beginning, the sky’s the limit and all that.” Chiyo let out her foot, but the creature only managed to groan and squirm its battered body mildly. “When you can move again, anyways.”

Even through her antics, however, the cosplayer kept an eye out of Egon’s little outburst, letting a hint of concern through as she cried. She looked up at Hershel as he called her, who seemed to have picked up on the situation quickly, enlisting all 3 of them to protect the distressed girl. Didn’t have to ask twice. Her first instinct was to reach out for her, but a flash from her own memory stopped the motion right away.

“Nothing anymore, Egon. Trust on us, will you? We’ll get you home so good you’re gonna have to rate us 5 stars on the app!” Chiyoko said, flexing both her twiggly arm and her beaming smile. It lasted but a moment before her hyperactive metabolism had her pointing to their goal and saying: “Come on, after m-”
Chiyo’s words never got through, however, as she tripped over the very shadow she just released and had to skip and stumble her way back into balance. She cleaned her throat and added:

“I mean, you go ahead, I’ll watch the rear.”

“WAIT, WHAT?!” Rhyme’s thoughts produced shock when the group suggested moving along leaving the shadow there with information regarding their whereabouts and future plans. He was no genius, but even he knew this spineless guy would rat them out the first chance he got. They were just taking his word? At the very least they could take it with them; he didn’t want to kill him. Then again, he would scream and give them away if the situation was even slightly in his favor. Can we just leave him here and hope he doesn’t get up? No.

No.

No..

NO.

Rhyme’s eyes manifested a cold glare that seemed to suck the light from them for a moment as he moved to form up in the middle as planned. However, the shadow was now unguarded as Chiyo took the rear. The young student hadn’t dispersed his Persona like Hershel nor had he any intention to. He approached the shadow and with a single strike beheaded it without so much as a modicum of hesitation.

“Sorry.”

A half-hearted apology escaped his lips as the shadow fell into a pile of darkness and disappeared.

“Ruthless and effective. You do him a favor. Better he die honorably at your hands than return to his master in shame.”

Saigo provided a commentary that fell very short of justification or easing the student’s nerves.

“OH COME ON!!! I AM NOT THAT USELESS AM I?!?!” Egon thought as Hershel commanded the others to protect her as they were about to move. “But… But I can help! I helped out last time… despite getting a little dirty….” She said as she trailed off, realizing that Hershel was not going to back down on this.

She noticed Chiyo reaching out, then immediately pulled back before she tried to reassure her with a bit of silliness, followed by tripping over the shadow. Egon wanted to laugh, but she couldn’t. “Th- Thank you… I appreciate the effort…” That was when Rhyme stood over the Shadow, then beheaded it like it was a french king. She stood there, shock all over her face as she felt what little tears she had left running down her face faster than before.
“WHY IS ALL THIS HAPPENING?!?! HE WAS GOING TO LIVE A GOOD LIFE!!”

“Why.. Why did you do that?” Was all she could muster before turning her back to Rhyme, and took a couple steps away, ready to move at this point.

Though he had started moving forward, he had made sure to keep an eye on the kids. He didn’t think much of the cosplayer sparing the shadow, especially considering they were still going to be tracked… it was meaningless to kill it or let it go.

That was if you didn’t take into account the mental state of the more vulnerable member of their little group, the one that didn’t have anything they could summon.

The girl that wasn’t outstandingly strong or brave, and had a very soft streak, even being put off by torturing a monster who had threatened to end their lives.
The last thing they needed right now is have her break down, especially considering how reticent she seemed to touching and being touched… Someone that in all likelihood, were to fall now mentally, it would be downright impossible to keep going without having to sacrifice time…

Yet this was exactly what the reckless bartender had just done with his useless action

Albert unfortunately had already been holding a decently sized rock in his right hand, in preparation of any approaching surprise threat.

Because the now shining ammunition had left his palm and had embedded itself into the ground besides him, violently splashing dirt and vegetation around his feet along the loud booming impact.

It was one demanding silence from everyone in the vicinity, without giving them an option.

A loud exhale of air left the man’s lips as he fully turned around. There was a cold glint of anger in his eyes, visible to all the teens… but targeted to only one of them.

”Rhyme” In all likelihood, the only noise that could be heard in the surroundings, would be of the rain hitting against them, and the steps of the german going towards the bartender.

”I’ll be honest. Your action was redundant. Do you think it makes a difference if the monster had told of our location? When we already know we are being located through the rain?”

There was a severe change of tone to a very serious one during the last part of the sentence. The german didn’t put his hands on the teen, he didn’t try to grapple him or touch him. He just stared in reprimand.

”Were it under other circumstances, I would not bring this up, but…”
Albert gestured with his head towards the poor girl that was obviously traumatized, before pausing and noticeable calming down. The glint of coldness had dispersed for the most part as he turned to face the cosplayer.

”Please help Egon keep moving away from here Chiyo… I want to talk with Rhyme further.”

When Rhyme performed the deed, the already damaged veil Chiyoko used to wear in her expression and attitude finally tore open for good, gasping at the scene. She went quiet for a good few moments, knitting her brows and shrinking her lips in an expression that was half fear, half concern at her bartender. On one hand, this was Rhyme. She knew he wasn’t doing this out of malice, and believed wholeheartedly that he’d feel guilty about it somewhere in that angry heart of his. But on the other… It was difficult to simply ignore the chill by her spine. If this weren’t a monster, would he have done things differently? What’s worse, Hershel’s reaction was clearly not as indecisive as hers. Judging by the looks of it, the situation would get ugly quickly, and she had no idea if anyone had anything to gain from it.

“C’mon Egon, let’s go.”

Chiyo looked at Egon and nodded towards the Greenhouse. Even as they moved, though, she was grasping her own arm from behind and glancing back occasionally to check on them. Eventually, though, she would end up shaking all those ideas out of her head. She wasn’t supposed to be one frowning! Especially not with people here to see. For now, she had to be the scared girl’s Claire for a bit.

“Let’s let the boys sort it out, Egon. Hey, tell me, do you have anyone you’re trying to come back to? I bet they’ll throw up a big part party when they see you’re back safe and sound.”

It took a short amount of time to recompose herself as her and Chiyo walked away from the feuding boys. Though she did not really like the situation, she had not choice in the matter.

When asked if she had anyone to go home to, Egon looked up at Chiyo and nodded slowly.

“My mother. She’s all the family I have…” She said weakly, exhausted and scared. This girl she was talking to seemed friendly enough, maybe even trustworthy. But will she be the first friend Egon makes? Maybe when they get out of this, or maybe not.

Back at the two young men, though there was still anger emanating from Hershel’s expression, it had stopped being the reckless and vengeful kind. A single exasperated sigh escaped his lips.

”Dude. I know. I know everything is stressful right now. I know you want to get out of here. I also want to get away from here as soon as possible… but act in the best interest of our little group here, and don’t let your emotions get in the way of it. You fucked up in your obvious exasperation and panic kid but…”
He patted the japanese teen once on the shoulder, his expression softening ever so slightly.

”Even if you fucked up, we are still in this to survive. Don’t let your emotions get the better of you, and let’s get moving

He waited, waited for the others to respond before truly moving onwards.

As Hershel withdrew his hand from Rhyme’s shoulder, the young student’s insides were burning with rage at being reprimanded. He hadn’t spared a thought to the girl who was having a breakdown until she whimpered asking why he did it. Now, however, the flames were alight again as Hershel talked down to him like he was Rhyme’s father and seemed to be missing the other valuable part of him killing the shadow.

“Get your hand off of me…” Rhyme spat through gritted teeth as he swatted Hershel’s hand away with more force than required.

His eyes flamed as he stood there grimacing and gathering his next few thoughts.

“I’ll admit,” The student growled “I didn’t put two and two together with the rain, but even more than that he knew what we could do. Our powers. The fact that we have dead weigh--”

Rhyme stopped for a moment as his hand was gesturing to Egon not meaning to be that unreasonable. Perhaps he learned from the outburst at Mizushiro.

Rhyme looked toward Egon and decided not to pursue that train of thought any further.

However, Hershel had asked for it and now that the girls were moving away he may as well lay his thoughts on the table. “But you,” Rhyme barked “don’t treat me like a fucking toddler because you feel entitled to help all of us kids get out of here in one piece. As far as I can tell, you feel obligated to help us. Which is fine, but you got fucking slapped in here same as us. You’re no more qualified on the basis of experience than I am.”

Rhyme’s voice fell to a more controlled and hurtful tone now that the girls had gone further away. It temporarily unsettled even Rhyme before he continued.

“You might think you’ve fooled everyone into thinking you’ve got it together. I’ll even let the others believe that if it makes you and them feel better. I can see you cracking. You go quiet. You look around. Your facial expression gives it away when you think nobody is looking. I know what a breakdown looks like. Trust me.”

Rhyme looked back toward the girls before his hateful gaze sliced through the scenery and back to the German man “I want to live. I don’t want anyone to die unnecessarily. For all your supposed intelligence, you sure as hell can’t tell I’m holding back just how freaked I really am right now Mr. ‘Dude. I know. I know everything is stressful right now.’. NO FUCKING SHIT! I would’ve gone and walked away with you right now to get out of the rain, but I needed to lay this out. YOU. ARE. NOT. IN. CHARGE. OF. ME.”

The young student jammed the finger of his left hand into Hershel’s chest knocking him back a couple inches every time he enunciated while brandishing his katana still in the right.

“I don’t expect to see ANY of you again after I leave here. None of you. I want to live so I will cooperate. This is an unfamiliar place so I will cooperate. We are in danger so I will cooperate. That is all.”

To say there was a metric ton to unpack would be an understatement.
It didn’t help that the teen’s overreaction to the whole situation had made the german irritated again. Not quite as bad as the start by any means though… Albert didn’t give his own being that much importance to reach that height of cold wrath.

He let the teen say his part, clenching onto another piece of ammo… not intending to use it, but more along the lines of just in case it would be useful. Albert wordlessly gestured with his head towards the girls.

”I still have things to say. But, moving is more important, wouldn’t you say?”

He knew that Rhyme didn’t like taking orders, so instead he painted it as more of a suggestion, feet crunching on the wet dirt with every step.

”You are misunderstanding something, by the way…”
He turned to take a peek at the teen who probably still hadn’t started moving.

”It doesn’t matter how tense and afraid one is. What does matter is if you let it affect your actions negatively… and let's be honest here. Considering how many of those monsters have died already, do you think they would be unable to figure out that we are capable of fighting back already?”

He chose his words carefully to have the other think rationally about the matter, not gesturing him further, not telling him to follow along, just walking ahead.

“I’m done talking.”

Rhyme turned his back on the German and walked silently in the wake of the girls.

Before long, the building they were seeking presented itself before them. The large grassy structure had definitely seen better days, with its opaque glass walls caught under the grasp of a mess of red strings, enveloping the structure like a ruthless Python to the point of crack and near breakage. A part of the side walls had already given in, leaving an entry point into the dark, but relatively dry entrails, with an almost eerie calm to it.

For those willing to look around the corner, a more traditional way in presented itself, an overhang located at the front part of the building. Under it, all that stood between them and the front door was a short puddle. But that was not all. The careful observer could pick up on the fact that the ground wasn’t quite as dry as it should be, as wet trails piled up far into the cover from the rain and eventually all led into that puddle; if this path were to be chosen, odds are they weren’t the first ones to take it.

 

[CapRock]

Shirou Lancaster

The day that just keeps on giving!

Shirou snickered proudly as he noticed Alex and Kenzo following his lead up the wall, already trying to piece together what sort of boast or tease he could hit them with when they reach the other side and find the answer they were looking for. It gave him the energy and intent needed to grab, step and jump his way up at a constant fast pace, eyes set on that sweet moment where he could vault over and rest.

Aaaanytime now.

Perhaps slower than everyone else, Shirou began to realize that the top of the wall was not, in fact, inching closer. New obstacles began to appear from the top while others disappeared from a slot below, like some sort of treadmill from hell. The delinquent twisted his expression into a scowl and picked up pace, lacking the patience to retreat; it worked out just as well as one would expect. Eventually, he made a slip up and fell belly first on top of an obstacle groaning as hurt took over.

Even mr. rounded up 6.7 could figure out that he hadn’t much time to dwell in pain, however, as his position was quickly descending. Jumping out should be easy enough. Or at least, that’s how it was supposed to go. Shirou realized with a haunting shiver that one of his legs was refusing to move into position. His jeans had gotten stuck into one of the obstacles, sticking out and keeping himself in place; the delinquent felt his heart rate race as he bent over and struggled to free the article of clothing, each attempt more desperate as the ground level got closer.

“Fuck this. Fuck all of this!”

Finally beat, Shirou grabbed his leg with both hands and put all of his effort into yanking it out of place. A large ripping noise took over and he rolled out of obstacle, landing on the ground ahead of the wall with an audible thud. While the young man himself was fine apart from a sore back, the same couldn’t be said about his designer jeans, sporting a rip that went all throughout the calf and into the knees. He set up, stared at it, and took a deep breath, massaging his temples as he spoke in an almost pleading tone:

“You’ve seen nothing.”

Location: Greenhouse (School?)
Interacting with: Veradana Refaulted Jeef_jones

 

[Jeef_jones]

Alex fe...
Location: ???
Interacting: Wall/Shirou ( CapRock ) Jordan ( Thepotatogod ) Kenzo ( Refaulted ) Ross ( Veradana ) Jordan ( Midrick )
Alex looks to Shirou, trying to climb himself but watches as he struggles with the obstacle, even getting stuck and to a certain point has to ruin his jeans just to get out from it. Something clicks inside of him, and instead of what he might usually do such as worry or stop climbing to help shirou get it back, no a wicked smile crawls over his face, as he sees the same obstacle with the same piece of fabric, a reckless yet possible idea forms in his head. He makes sure he doesn't get stuck himself as he clambers not past the obstacle, no he climbs onto it, as he calls out "Hyde, come to me!" His persona appearing in the air, he gives a look to shirou "Good luck with the tear, Shirou~" shirou would know all to well that Alex wasn't himself, feeling a bit fearful as the boy gave him a wink, Shirou knowing that this was the tone he gave when he was about to do something that would get him put into detention. He quickly looked to his persona "Alright then, im ready for lift off!" he jumped to his persona whos hands came together to catch his foot, then would move upwards quickly, the boy keeping his balance and keeping himself crouched until Jekyll/Hyde had their hands as high as they'd go, he uses the momentum to push off of their hands to get as much air as possible, his aim being going over the wall as the persona faded away​

 

[Veradana]

Watching everyone else’s attempts, it was obvious that it would be impossible for her to climb the wall. After all, if not even Lancaster, the least physically injured of them couldn’t make it, what chance did she have? She flinched a little when he got slammed on the ground, and started to open her mouth to ask him if he was okay before tossing that out when he made the answer clearer on his own.

If only there was a way to stop the wall from moving somehow; if they could find a way to jam the belt, then it might be a little easier. But then Yuzuki shook her head lightly. That might maybe help a little, but they’d still have to be strong enough to do the climbing, and it was crystal clear that none of them here were in any shape to do that.

But then, Feron tried a different idea: using his Persona to vault over the wall. Could they…, could they just…

Do That?

Yuzuki closed her mouth, staring wide-eyed at the stunt.

They were supposed to stay together though. So that meant that if Feron was successful, then they should all follow his lead, but also if he encountered danger right on the other side, then unless they all moved immediately, then he could get hurt before the rest of them could reach him. So…, so….

Yuzuki winced, pulling back on herself. Her Persona probably couldn’t do the same thing Feron’s did; Odile had nothing like that to push her from. But with her wings, she might still be able to make it over with Feron so he wouldn’t be as outnumbered if something dangerous was on the other side.

Yuzuki’s next, tiny steps of confidence came with an equally small crackling of sputtering fire, as the winged Persona burst from within her, upwards alongside Feron, towards the top of the wall.

CapRock (Shirou) Refaulted (Kenzo) Jeef_jones (Alex)