Re: Resetting the Board

by Raijinken Sat Jul 25, 2015 11:10 pm

He already gave his 2 cents regarding the sceptre; so if Natsuki did decide to keep it, hopefully she'd take his advice and hide it. Now Rhys was suggesting that they track down that 'Mage of Ages' themselves. He sprang to his feet, "I don't care what we do, because now that I'm full I'm up for anything." then rubbed his stomach. "OH MAN it felt like I haven't eaten in a month! If it wasn't for that ruck spookin' me, I wouldn't have had the strength to tank that hammer or smash the debris from that building. I would've been totally screwed before that cute Valkyrie healed me. Speaking of whom..." And gave a smirk. "I wouldn't mind seeing her again, hehehehehehehe!"

by PanzerZorn Sun Jul 26, 2015 10:18 am

The streets of Tokyo were muted by the dark, overcast blanket of rain clouds. Sprinkling mist falling from above as the day's earlier storm passed. A rumbling thunder that never stopped was filling the air though of this particular area. A rumble that was clearly man-made as a a shape came from around the street.

Brown in color, the bulk was far taller than a human as it navigated city streets on the clacking catepillar tracks carefully so as to not scratch any vehicle to either side. The vehicle itself was box shaped with the front portion that was sticking out. The tracks on the outside of the hull of the vehicle and slightly longer than said hull. The portion of the hull just above the tracks had an angled portion on the right side with a type of gun sticking out the front of it. The other looked like a viewport of some variety. Just above this was a turret with angled surfaces bent towards the top. Mounted on the rear of the turret was a storage container and the top held a round opening with many viewports arranged around the top. A door was mounted on either side of the turret and to the front was a pair of open tubes. One was very short and stubby and seemed to be the same size as the gun mounted in the hull. The other tube was far longer and on the end was a much wider end that was open on all sides. Painted on the turret was a kanji character with a light blue border and darker blue interior as well as a cute cartoony fish.

It was a tank. A World War 2-era Panzer IV H model.

Inside was not a crew though of hardened military vets however. No, they had a bond similar to tank crews but inside was...

The roar of the engine inside was even louder but the girls were used to it and knew how to talk over the engine.

"I am sure glad Miporin you convinced Kei to get Arisa to show me a few tricks with the Radio to prevent jamming and detect intercept. This new radio will be awesome for it...and maybe pick up a few hot guys too." Said a vibrant light-shade brunette high school girl sitting where the gun in the front of the hull happened to be sticking out. The Radio operator's post as she was reading the manual for a new radiot they picked up for the tank. Replacing and selling the old FuG 7 they still had in it for a FuG 12 as well as compatible throat mics and headsets. The other big purchase was a set of binoculars with nightvision capability for the person mentioned and the rest of them, a new pair of heavy duty loaders gloves. There were also some other needs stowed away back in the storage box mounted on the outside of the hull.

"You've yet to attract one with your Class 2 Amatuer Radio License Saori nor get one as the member of the Flag Tank of the Championship Team." Said a raven-haired teen who was operating a set of levers with peerless precision. Her face straight and showing no emotion even as she ribbed the friend sitting on her right while looking out the viewport. She hated driving in the rain but it was good practice and kept her in top shape.

Saori frowned and pouted as she looked at the Driver. "That's mean Mako!" Than she stuck her tongue out at Mako.

"But she is right Saori-chan." Was the response from a tall, lovely lady who's tone of voice was elegant. The scent of flowers coming off her while looking out the set of sights for the Panzer IV's long barrel 75mm main cannon. A slight smile showing she was just poking more fun at Saori's Urban Legend love life.

"I'm just so excited that we are based at Camp Komodo during this Workshop and Training Course being run by the Tank Brigade for the various school's teams! Getting the chance to see Type 61's and other tanks of the JGSDF! Aren't you Hana?" Shouted another girl with a messy dark brown hair as she looked almost ready to burst at her own words.

Hana smiled and said the name of the excitable girl and two words in german. "Yukari... Panzer halt." This caused the named person to stop and realize she overdid it again with her excitement over being in Tokyo and training with the JGSDF as well as the rest of the girls on their team.

"Still though, it is nice to be able to really train hard and not have to worry about school right now...right Miho?" Hana asked their Commander and dearest friend.

Sitting in the Tank Commander's seat was a girl with hair nearly the same color as Saori's but cut shorter. Her brown eyes looking around the viewports before looking down to Hana at the Gunner's station and smiling a bit worriedly. "Yeah. I'm just glad they offered to upgrade the StuG from the Ausf. F model to the Ausf. H spec. The mountable side skirts should help protect it further." Miho would say before going back to watching out of the viewports.

That is when she noticed a figure on a bench and looked weary to her eyes. Why he got her interest was beyond her but she touched the throat mic and spoke to Mako.

"Mako, park the tank."

All she got was a nod as Mako moved to park the Panzer IV in front of Riquel and Saori looked to Miho and smiled before touching her own throat mic as the turret turned to face the front at him. "Miho...don't tell me you want to pick up a cute guy."

The blush on the girl's face got a huge laugh from everyone as Miho just quickly shook her head no in fear. "It's just..it's just..." Deciding to just go forward, Miho and the other four opened the hatches and stuck their heads and torsos out of the tank and looked at the Fallen Angel.

Miho smiled and was about to speak but stopped as she took on the look of pure embarrasment she had when she felt on the spot to speak. "Umm...Umm..."

Hana laughed as she looked to Riquel and smiled. "Sir...do you need a lift somewhere? It looks like it might rain some more and maybe quite heavily. We would be quite happy to bring you home or to your job."

Five girls all in high school and all in a tank...and all looking at Riquel with genuine smiles painted on their faces.

by opheliaswhims Mon Jul 27, 2015 8:18 pm

Natsuki was the first of the three girls to shuffle off her idle position. She held Olette's scepter once more. Despite the worries her sister vocalized earlier...still nothing. No voodoo magic, no-

"YIPES!" Natsuki jumped, like a spooked cat. A spark burst from where she held her grip, causing her to release the weapon and tumble back into the chair she was in. The spark caused a power surge that draped the room in darkness. Limited light came in from the streetlamps through the window.

"NAT!" Moriko sprang from her crouch on the floor. After scrambling for her cell phone, she turned on its flashlight function and crossed the small space in a single stride. Her free hand came to rest on her sister's shoulder, the flashlight being waved in front of the younger girl's face for observation. "areyouokaywhatsyourreactiontimecanyouresponddoyouneedibuprofenoristhereaburnwecangetsilversulf-"
Natsuki first laid a hand on her sister's mouth before swatting the phone out of her face. "Whoa, chill OUT Mori! I'm okay! Just spooked..." Silence passed between them, Nat giving Mori a hard stare before removing her hand from her sister's face.
"...okbutmaybeyoureinshockareyoufeelinganynumbnessmaybeor-"
Hotone stepped in now, grabbing the taller girl by the shoulders and yanking her down by the collar. "Shut UP and let her talk, stupid."
An indignant expression crossed Moriko's face that was quickly replaced by embarrassment. She straightened up as Hotone released her grip and adjusted her now wrinkled collar. "Oh, uhm, of, uh, of course...uh...sorry." She slowly turned back to her sister.
"I'm fine, really. But Olette isn't, I think. I think she just tried to reach out to us."
"Well she has our attention." Hotone quipped.
"I saw something, right when the power surged. It was her face, like we saw it before but soft and kind. Suddenly, her eyes changed! They were green with black all around and...and I think she was crying. It was hard to tell, she was floating in something."
"Did you see where she was?" Hotone asked.
"Well...no, not really. I think I saw that Mage guy though."
"Well that's really BLOODY useful." The Reaper rolled her eyes.
"Hey, it was like half a second long! Either way, I was going to ask to stash the scepter here, but I think we should bring it along. I think we're right, I don't think her soul is in here, but she was able to get through to us, even for a little bit. Maybe we'll be able to use it to find her!"
"One problem," Moriko chimed in, "we'd probably be sitting ducks, and if what already happened was a 'distraction', I'm not thrilled about the main event."
"The good news is we're prepared, your Geekness!" Hotone jabbed. "You two, demon boy, the hot winged chick, and, of course, me...I think we stand a chance. In fact, I'll go scout ahead." While not visible in the darkness, Hotone's wings were almost abuzz with anticipation to go back out and fight again as she left the apartment.
---
She made it about halfway down the block when she spotted the fallen angel on the bench. It was a strangely serene sight, compared to earlier. The serene-ness was quickly broken by the appearance of a...
"Tank?!" This wasn't what she was expecting from the weird Mage people, but she reasoned there wasn't much to predict about their new found enemies. Her viola and bow appeared in the hands, and she began a tune. The tank opened, and five teenage girls peeked out. Hotone's viola screeched to a halt, the sound waves she prepared to launch disintegrating to the ground. 'If these kids are the next threat, I think I'm going to need something tall, cold, and filled with tequila after this.'

by **Dark** Sun Aug 09, 2015 9:35 pm

Rhys rolled her eyes at Ryuusei's creepy giggle. 'Great, let's just hope he doesn't turn into a stalker now.' In which case she might just pity that Valkyrie, but at least it wouldn't be her problem to deal with.

Natsuki's shout pulled Rhys's attention to her and the scepter she held, Rhys jumped back, staring at the sparks, then jumped again when the lights gave out. "What the hell!?" Rhys didn't have a problem with darkness, her eyes simply made a little adjustment that allowed her to see in it, but still! Those were her lights! "Maybe you'd want too-" She suddenly brought a hand over her eyes, blocking out the light from Moriko's phone. 'Ugh, this is what sucks about night vision.' She kept her arm half over her eyes, watching as Moriko seemed to panic so that Hotone had to step in, giving Natsuki a chance to explain...and wished Moriko had kept panicking.

"So, we still have to deal with the distraction and whatever's coming at us...awesome,' though it was obvious from her tone that she was being sarcastic. Hotone took over planning, and for a moment Rhys thought the woman had messed up her words. 'Think she meant demon girl and...no, wait...' her gaze flickered over to Ryuusei. He definitely didn't have wings and in the looks department.... 'Okay, so she didn't mix it up.' Strange way to refer to her, Rhys thought, but whatever. "Alright, then let's get going." Usually she disliked pulling her wings out, but it seemed they were needed this time. "You guys want a lift?" The white hair girl said, stepping onto the open window Hotone had used to leave, and glancing back at the three left. "Besides, maybe that,' she pointed at the scepter Natsuki held. "Will lead us to Olette."

**************************************

He heard the noise, but it wasn't attacking him, for all Riquel knew it was a normality in this world; he paid it no heed, choosing instead to close his eyes and lean his head back, arms spread out over the back of the bench, as such he didn't notice, or chose not to, when the tank parked in front of him. His eyes did open slightly, his gaze on the sky when he sensed a presence he had before. 'One of the females.' He wasn't quite sure if she was human or not...not that it mattered, but she seemed to be doing something with her instrument, but it wasn't directed at him, so that too he chose to ignore, closing his eyes once more.

Only when he heard the sound of a voice did Riquel heed the machine in front of him; his head tilted downward, dark bangs falling over glowing grey-blue eyes as they focused on the human females that had revealed themselves from within the tank.

He stared silently at them, a seething aura of darkness mixed with anger almost palpable around him; it clearly warned most away, even those who were blind to such things, it seemed perhaps not this time. "No." He said simply and stood, turning to walk away; after a few steps, the long hair man slightly raised a hand, pointing upward before his arm dropped and he continued on his way.

by Raijinken Thu Aug 13, 2015 3:10 am

His gushing caused him to miss Rhys' stalker comment, as well as the light-show put on by the scepter. When he was finished he noticed the room was dark. "Hey who killed the li...AH FUCK!" In surprise since like Rhys, the light from Moriko's cellphone bothered his eyes. However the utterance wasn't directed towards the girl. After his vision adjusted, he noticed something new in the room...that Rhys had sprouted WINGS! She was offering them a ride. "Wha...what the hell?!"

by PanzerZorn Fri Aug 21, 2015 11:12 am

Miho and company's gazes turned first towards Hotone and than back to Riquel waiting for an answer. Miho could feel the anger coming off him as well as her friends. His simple reply discouraged everyone as Saori looked to Miho. "He looks mad...and a face that handsome on a guy shouldn't look that mad."

"I really do not think this is the time to comment on how a guy looks Saori." Mako said completely deadpan as she usually did when Saori was in one of her moods regarding the opposite gender. "Oh look...he's leaving." Mako said before than once more getting a rib at Saori. "Maybe your comment made him leave?"

Saori just shot a look at Mako before saying, "That's mean! Stop being mean." But the smile on her face said she knew her friend was making fun of her being boy crazy. Still, the bouncy girl looked around and noticed how down everyone seemed though Miho's face showed more worry than anything. Saori was about to ask if she was alright when Miho did something completely both in her nature yet out of one so shy when it was not a match.

Miho jumped out of the tank and ran after Riquel. She got past him and than in his path looking up at him with determination before she opened her mouth and stopped; "Umm...Umm..." She managed before looking completely lost for a few minutes but than her facial features screwed themselves down as she went back to looking determined. She could see the other four climbing out with practiced ease to join her.

Hana stopped in front of Hotone and gave a very proper bow. "Excuse us miss." Before turning to join the rest of the crew with Miho as she stood in front of Riquel trying to find words. Words she found strength in saying once she saw her friends would once more have her back.

"Sir...you look like you need friends or at least someone to talk too. I'm...I'm not sure what happened to make you this mad but...but..." She was unsure of herself and her position there in front of him and his aura did scare her a little but so did being shot at by Tiger's.

"Can we at least help or at least buy you something to eat and drink with us?" Miho finally managed to get out as her determined brown eyes looked up into Riquel's face. She was not backing down from this one after all, how worse could Riquel's current mood compare to the ones from her mother?

The other four arranged behind Riquel as Saori spoke up. "Hey, you don't even have to tell us what has you so upset and angry. Just spend time with us on our money. I myself don't want to see a cute guy like you so angry and obviously having a bad day." The others nodded in agreement with Saori's statement.

"Besides...are you really going to turn down food someone else is paying for?" Mako said in her usually uninterested manner. The fact she was standing there though made it clear she was interested.

by opheliaswhims Tue Sep 01, 2015 1:58 pm

Moriko assessed, turning to Rhys. "Take Ryuusei and Nat, I'll take the stairs. Please keep my sister and that scepter safe." She held a short gaze with her sister before using the doorway to exit the apartment...Like normal people on normal days doing normal things, she thought.

"Alright!! I've never flown like this before!" Natsuki said gleefully. "Leeeet's go!"

---

Hotone just continued to be baffled. Riquel seemed to handle things well, simply walking away from the tank full of girls. She really didn't know this guy well, but Hotone felt a twinge of annoyance on his behalf when the girls, after some twittering exchange, decided to hop out and pursue Riquel. Just as she prepared a retort, one of the girls approached her. Hotone could catch a glance at her soul: a silent sereneness that was practically invisible when the girls' souls were clustered together. The Reaper couldn't read any further before the girl bowed, politely excused her colleagues, then left to join them.
"Hey, wait - !" Hotone sputtered out. The group had cut off Riquel's path, one in particular rather close in proximity to the fallen angel than one should be, if they enjoy having their limbs. Hotone brought herself up to the path, placing herself beside Riquel...well, with about 5 feet between them. She wasn't making any gambles. "Ok, ladies, did no one teach you in elementary that 'no' means 'no'? Why are you so intent on him anyway?"
Hotone then heard someone else approaching. She spun around to find Moriko.
"Oh, it's just y-"
"What's going on? Are they with the Mage?" Moriko whipped out a dagger, Pin set in the hilt.
Ugh, give me a break... Hotone set a palm to her forehead. "Cool your jets, Einstein, they're just kids."

by **Dark** Sun Sep 20, 2015 6:16 pm

It was simple to do, when he didn't want to listen to someone, Riquel simply tuned them out, as he did now, walking away from the chattering human females and the one floating higher up. He had no particular destination in mind, just...away.

Only when one of the human females raced past him, setting herself in his path did Riquel finally stop, watching the girl with a displeased expression as she stumbled over her words, but when she didn't speak up quickly enough for his liking, Riquel made to move past her, only to sense the rest of the females behind him. He glanced at them, his permeating silence one that almost demanded them to explain what they were doing, and when they didn't, he turned to go, only for the first female to finally speak up.

Her words...were not welcome and it showed in the flashing of his dark, grey- blue gaze. His chin tilted upward, dark bangs covering half his eyes. "I do not need anyone to speak too,' he scoffed. "Neither do I require the consumption of human food." The mere thought was disgusting; all that food broken down into....his nose wrinkled, and as he sensed another presence, he looked towards it, recognizing the female from their last fight. At the very least this one seemed to realize Riquel would rather not be here.

He scoffed at Moriko and Hotone. "The Mage is only the tip of the iceberg, as much as he'd like to think himself in control,' a sneer of satisfaction crossed his handsome features. "He isn't." Not from what he had sensed, and Riquel wasn't too interested in trying to figure out anything else.

He tipped his chin towards the younger females. "You two deal with them, I'm done." He side stepped past all the females and continued down the dark street.

by **Dark** Sun Sep 20, 2015 6:18 pm

"Babbling brook, much,' Rhys said wryly as she glanced at Ryuusei. "I thought you'd gotten it by now, man,' she grinned, showing sharp teeth. "I'm a Devil, literately,' she frowned in thought. "Well, at least half, but anyway we don't wanna get into that now." Least best time to air out her dirty laundry, per say.

She grabbed a hold of Natsuki's hand, motioning to the scepter. "Grab it tight,' then she reached out, grabbing Ryuusei's arm as well, if he didn't move away quickly enough, then jumped into the sky, letting her long, bat-like wings spread out behind her to catch the air, then swing up and down in long strides as she rose into a clearing sky, flying past a peeking moon and catching speed.

"So,' she looked down at Natsuki, who would find that it almost seemed as if she could fly herself...as long as she held onto Rhys, the half Devil's magic seemed to allow for it, making it more comfortable than being dragged along like a sack of potatoes.

"Is the scepter giving you any more directions, or should we just head after Hotone and figure it out from there?"

by Raijinken Tue Sep 22, 2015 3:04 pm

Ryusei blinked. (She's a Devil?( "Sorry, I'm still trying to wrap my head around 'being a God'." (Then again that hotty's a Valkyrie, so is this normal here?) He looked towards Natsuki and Moriko...as she slinked out of the apartment. (...Or not since she seems weirded out by all this?) While he was contemplating all of this, Rhys grabbed ahold of his arm and took off!

Once in the air, he looked about. "Wow this method's a first, for once I'm actually flying!"

by opheliaswhims Mon Oct 05, 2015 6:47 pm

As they climbed up further in altitude from the window, a feeling of weightlessness took over Natsuki. With a hesitant look that was returned confidently by Rhys, she allowed the wind to catch her, bringing her level with the half-demon instead of hanging below her. She kept one steady grip on Rhys' hand, the other on the scepter, nestling it close to her body.

"Sorry...it's, uh, 'off' again. Nothing." she answered with disappointment. In that brief moment earlier, she couldn't figure out if the emotion she felt was from seeing Olette's crying face or if the grief was sent to her through the scepter. Either way, she hoped something else would come through, sooner than later for Olette's sake.

Her thoughts were halted when she could hear her sister below. Just ahead of them on the ground, Nat spotted her sister with Hotone and a bunch of school girls. "Hey, there they are! They didn't get far..." she peered closer. "Heeyy...why does Moriko have a dagger pointed at them?!?" She was bewildered. They didn't look like a threat...what the HECK was her sister doing?

---

Hotone and Moriko couldn't get a word in before Riquel was off once more. In their awkward hesitation, Hotone glanced back at Moriko, still rigid in her fighting stance.

"Oh for the Underground's sake, put that thing away. They're just kids." the Reaper huffed, casting a glare in the direction of said "kids". "Which, I don't care what he says, I'm not babysitting and I'm not wasting my energy 'dealing' with them. I'm not his lackey! C'mon, nerd, let's get going." She walked past Moriko, giving a light elbow shove that shuffled the once-Player out of her stance. "What a joke..." she muttered.

Moriko regained composure, glancing between Hotone and the group in front of her. She set her dagger back in her belt and faced the girls. They looked pretty normal, at least. She just wanted to confirm it. "So...uh, do you have a minute?" The question was only answered by Hotone about ten feet behind her, giving a low screech of frustration and grabbing fistfuls of her hair. Why couldn't that BRAT just walk away?!?!

"Uh, so, I'm just wondering if you were seeking that man out, or if you know anything about this Mage that's been, you know, laying waste to downtown. Just wondering." Moriko put on a calm smile. Her toes were practically crossed in her shoes that the outcome would be, 'oh no, miss, we were just making conversation, we're just normal, everyday school girls!' Of course, the concept of normal schoolgirls approaching such an obviously dangerous-looking man gave her a knot of doubt in her stomach. Either way, she wasn't going to discredit them as potential information.

by PanzerZorn Tue Oct 13, 2015 9:49 am

"Mage? Laying waste to downtown?" Miho replied in confusion. First the 'Mage' was mentioned by Riquel. Now the mention of this by the two new comers asking about this 'Mage'. Wondering if she got her friends involved in something like what the Hippo Team did when they were doing historical re-enactments...or that rather silly rendition of "Little Women" for the talent contest between the different crews in their school's team. But looking at Riquel as he responded, her heart fell a little as she looked down. Letting him walk away.

Miho though seemed rather shy as she answered Moriko. "He just looked so sad and I don't know why but I felt the need to see if...well...maybe we could brighten his day a little and at least take whatever weight was on his shoulders off...even for a little while." Yukari and Saori patted her shoulders with Saori pointing out if he was so mean, he wasn't worth pursuing and that made him less cute and handsome.

Hana Isuzu though was never one to back down from something and even with all the strange talk...she had to at least put Riquel on notice for Miho's sake that how he acted was inexcusable to someone so dear to them.

She stepped forward and very politely spoke with as much tone as she could command, "Sir. You are free to turn down our offer and maybe we were rude to approach you but that is no reason to be so rude to people who were just showing concern for you."

Her eyes were drilling into his back. Not with anger though...but daring him to respond as he did before. "You at least owe my friend an apology."

Saori herself smiled at Hana's choice of action. The girl was far braver than she was.

The bubbly brunette choosing that moment to look away from Hana confronting Riquel and up in the general direction of Natsuki, Rhys, and Ryussei before frowning at what she was seeing. Reaching into a pocket she had on her shirt, she brought out a case for contact lenses. Mako realized what the bubbly girl was doing, going back to the tank and returning with her friend's handbag. The duo of Hotone and Moriko would be treated to Saori taking out her contact lenses and reaching into the handbag. "Thanks Mako." Removing a glasses case and taking out a pair of square lens glasses with red rims on the bottom.

She would put them on and look back up at the trio coming their way. Tapping Miho on the shoulder, she would asked her friend a question in a tone of disbelief. "Miporin...are those people flying without the aid of a helicopter or airplane?" Miho would reach to her neck and turn in the general direction of where Saori was looking, bringing up her binoculars and dialing the zoom till she could make them out clearly enough to see if Saori was right.

by **Dark** Sun Oct 25, 2015 9:30 am

It did occur to Riquel that most other angels wouldn't have behaved towards the humans the way he had, but then...he wasn't one of them, and the thought was enough to sent a bolt of anger and frustration, so much that he found himself gritting his teeth as icy, grey-blue eyes glanced back over his shoulder at the girl speaking to him. For a moment it seemed as if he might speak, but the next moment black feathered wings sprang up from behind him and he was in the air, ascending into the night sky.
He hardly needed anyone to worry about him, not when his own kind had not thought to do so.

He had no destination as he flew through the night, ignoring the biting wind that lashed at his skin, but before he'd known it, Riquel had found himself drawn to the magical atmosphere...and to the group gathered outside a mansion. He sighted in annoyance, watching as the Sorceress, Olette, faced off against two males, one Riquel knew, the other...not really, but in the next moment, Riquel watched as the Sorceress, missing her staff, used her hands to gather a sphere of dangerous magic and shoot it at the two, the magic sparkling like condensed bolts of electricity.

by **Dark** Sun Oct 25, 2015 9:31 am

'So the thing's not active, huh.' Rhys glanced at the scepter in Natsuki's hand and inwardly sighted. Oh well, not like she expected this to be easy...but it would have been nice. The white hair girl continued flying, following the direction Moriko had taken, and soon she could make her out, along with Hotone talking to several other girls Rhys did not remember, and not having the choice to continue on, since they didn't exactly know where they were going, Rhys shifted her wings, slowly descending to land lightly behind the two girls they knew, before letting go of Ryuusei and Natsuki.

"I take it you're not having much success in locating...pretty much anyone we're looking fur?" She glanced past the two to the new girls, her eyebrow rising at the odd display even as Rhys folded in her wings behind her. "Hi,' she said. "Who are you."

by PanzerZorn Sun Oct 25, 2015 7:03 pm

With the exception of the raven-haired Mako, the girls of Team Ankou's eyes bugged out as Saori turned Miho's head towards Riquel to see the raven black wings. Miho's jaw dropping as he would take off into the night sky. Turning than to the new arrivals flying on on their own wings. Mako just blinked and spoke. "Well, this is new." Everyone looking to Miho as she looked like a fish out of water with the way her mouth open and closed.

"Um, Miporin...they want us to introduce ourselves." She said to her friend, the bubbly girl waiting for Miho's brain to restart. She didn't blame the girl though. "Seriously...did we just walk into one of those harem animes or something cause so far...those are the only two guys around." Pointing at Ryussei and than smiling at him. "Green hair...you look kind of cute handsome. Got a girlfriend? Oh, of course you do. Got room for one more?" She said to him, making eyes at him with a smirk on her face.

"Saori, I don't think this is the time to flirt." Said Hana, working to regain her normal composure. After all, it wasn't everyday your life gets turned upside down.

A bushy-haired girl in the back finally broke out and decided to introduce herself. "Hi, Yukari Akiyama." Putting out her hand and smiling. The other girls deciding to get in on the introductions.

"Hana. Hana Isuzu." Said the taller of the two raven-haired young ladies with a traditional bow.

The other would speak up to introduce herself. "Mako Rezei." Her tone sounding disinterested but one could tell by her body language that she was as connected to the other girls as they each were.

The bubbly brunette who had flirted with Ryussei smiled as she threw her fist in the air. "I'm Saori Takebe!" She than looked at Miho and shook her friend's shoulder. "Introduce yourself Miporin."

Miho finally regained her senses and bowed quickly as she stammered her name, "Mi...mi...Miho Nishizumi. We do Sensha-Do together."

"Now um...would someone explain what is going on? Please?" Miho asked of those before her with a look of clear confusion on her face. She really wanted to know what was going on. "Why did that guy have wings?" Indicating Riquel as Miho was truly worried.

by opheliaswhims Wed Oct 28, 2015 12:57 pm

Moriko established a more relaxed composure. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm Moriko Kimura, and I'm a local stu-"

"Natsuki, nice to meet ya!" The younger sister rushed forward to shake Yukari's extended hand with a warm smile.

"A-ah, yes, and this is my sister- well, she already said her name. Behind me is-"

"Hotone Maki. I'm winged thing number one," the Reaper joined in. "Winged thing two there was Riquel, I think he's an angel of some sort. Winged thing three here is Rhys." She finished, gesturing back toward the demon girl. "I wouldn't say we're all...friends here, but we all had a mutual enemy to defeat."

"YES, as I was saying..." Moriko tried to take back control once more. "There are some strange...supernatural phenomena occurring around here as of, like, last night. Several of us were targeted by people who all had something to do with a 'Mage of Ages'."

"Yeah, one of them was this super pretty lady, she was totally possessed or something!" Natsuki brandished the scepter to the group of curious girls. "She left this behind. I think the Mage guy has her captive and he wants to use her for something evil!"

Hotone chimed in. "Which would probably be bad news for all of us. She was pretty powerful."

"Sooo, all of us magic people are teaming up to stop him!" Natsuki said, a little too enthusiastically.

"Nat, we're not magic..." Moriko corrected, mostly for herself.

"You call being dead and coming back NOT magic?! Not the point - is that your guys' tank over there? You should join us!" Nat invited.

((irrelevant, but i went to recheck my profiles for introduction and just realized her name is kotone, not hotone, and i tried to figure out where i messed that up. i literally did it in her first post! xD she's called both hotone and kotone in it. oh well.))

by Raijinken Fri Oct 30, 2015 1:58 pm

As they were making their descent toward a large gathering of..mostly girls near some big monstrosity with a cannon attached? He noticed one of the guys from earlier sprout wings and take off. "Someone's in a hurry."

They finally did land and Ryuusei realized that he was the only guy there. Before he could comment on it, one of the girls identified as 'Saori' before she fully introduced herself, beat him to the punch...as well as hit on him. "I'm Ryuusei and I'll...keep that in mind...eheheh." (...Where the fuck was this attention back home?! I can't even remember the last time I shared the same AIR with a cute girl, now I'm surrounded by about a dozen of'em!) "Quick question, what's 'anime'?The harem thing I get, but not the other."

Saori's other companions introduced themselves, when she'd finished with hers, Miho requested an explanation of what's going on here. . Ryuusei shrugged. "I'd like to help but I'm still trying to wrap MY head around it all..." Luckily, Moriko and Natsuki seemed to understand it and provided a fairly detailed explanation for the new girls. when they were describing Olette, specifically her looks. Ryuusei threw out, "Eh that Valkyrie was WAAAAAAY hotter!" with his face slightly red...but then the sisters mentioned something else. "Wait...you guys were DEAD?!"

by opheliaswhims Fri Oct 30, 2015 3:20 pm

Nat's attention now turned from the girls to Ryuusei. She gave a playful huff, setting her fists on her hips. "Okaaay, first of all, there is a difference between 'pretty' and 'hot'! Secondly...umm..." she cast a guilty look back at her older sister, whose returning expression was rather deadpan. Natuski didn't waver. The girls continued to share their awkward staring contest.

"Ugh, you nerds..." Hotone rolled her eyes as she approached Ryuusei. "Yes. The three of us spent some time in a place called the Underground, a sort of 'afterlife' not far from here in the Shibuya District. You get a chance to return to the living by playing the Game. Each day for 7 days you get one mission. Succeed, and you keep going - fail, and you end up like me, a Reaper, or Erased. Reapers are souls who lost the Game and were re-purposed to make the Game hard to beat. Some brat named Neku Sakuraba showed up and beat the system. The Game was eradicated, and we all 'Won' from his victory."

"I'd rather not remember all that, but thanks for the ENTIRE synopsis," Moriko seethed.

Hotone flashed a coy grin. "Any time. Believe it or not, I was assigned to them. All teams had a 'personal' Reaper. Weird to fight alongside them instead against them, but there's no point without the Game." she shrugged.

"Yeah, Hotone's actually a pretty good fighter!" Nat added, Hotone's chest puffing in response.

"Nat, do NOT feed the ego..." Moriko pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look, that Mage won't just sit and wait while we all hold hands and get to know each other. We need-" the older sister was cut off when Natsuki suddenly gripped her arm. She whipped her head around to find her sister nearly doubled over, steadying herself with the staff. "N-Nat...?"

The blond looked up and made eye contact. "Help..." There was a second voice layered over her own. "He's, he's making me hurt them, making them leave - no! They need to stay!"

"Isn't that...Olette?" Hotone said, approaching cautiously. Moriko held her free arm out, keeping the Reaper from getting any closer.

Natsuki, or rather, Olette, released her grip on Moriko, addressing the crowd, using the staff to support her body. "Please...this connection is weak, and I don't have long." She looked to Moriko. "Your sister is fine, as long as my b- the Mage does not interfere with my connection, and I'll try to keep this brief enough to prevent that. My body is fighting at his command and should be distraction for now. While there's time, let me lead you to us. Get my staff back to me and there's a chance we can overcome this."

by PanzerZorn Fri Oct 30, 2015 6:42 pm

Miho looked at Ryussei and laughed lightly at his antics and the questions from him and Nat. "Yes that is our tank." To answer Natsuki's question. Now to Ryussei's. "It's an animation expression common around here." The offer to come help them though? Miho was unsure about that. This 'Mage of Ages' but she and her friends could be in danger. This obviously was not Sensha-dou.

"Dang, I got competition from some...Valkyri..." The bubbly flirt started to say than stopped as she looked at the other group of females and uttered. "Wait, you are all dead?"

Listening to the explanation that was given by Hotone, Hana would nod. "Wow, that does sound magical. I'm glad you no longer have to play a game. People's souls should never be game pieces like that." She would say softly with conviction.

It was that moment Natsuki, or rather Olette, started to speak up through the girl. Someone was being forced to fight against their own will? This was dangerous as she looked down. What if this 'Mage of Ages' was as dangerous as he seemed? Woudl he stop at what he was planning now or...would her mother and sister be in trouble? What about the rest of the Oarai team back at the base they were staying at?

A comforting hand was put on her left and right shoulder each as she looked up to see Saori and Hana being there for her. She looked over to see Yukari and Mako as well. "Miporin, we will always have your back Commander."

Miho smiled as she remembered that these were friends...and the closest thing to sisters she had besides Maho. She would take a relaxing breath, her eyes closing. The minute they opened again, her whole body language changed. It was now ramrod straight. The young woman exuding confidence.

"Yukari. How is our Ammunition?" She asked the Loader as Yukari was putting on her new loading gloves with a big smile.

"We are fully stocked. Sixty-three rounds of Panzergrenate 40 Sensha-Dou Grade Armor-Piercing Composite Rigid. The remaining twenty-four is made up of eighteen High-Explosive and six Smoke rounds. The turret and radio machine guns are full as well. We also still have the Smoke Generator installed still so we may be able to use it as well." The Tank-Otaku would reply.

"Alright, when we get close...I may need you to do recon Yukari so I can make a more firm plan upon arrival." Miho said with the air of a Commander.

She turned to the rest. "I know you might be able to cover more ground if you fly but if this 'Mage of Ages' learns we are coming...he may set an aerial ambush or some form of anti-air cover to catch you by surprise. We can do better on the ground covering you as it limits possible ambush approaches by riding our tank. Would that work for everyone?"

It would be about this time anyone able to see or read souls would be able to pick up on the connections these five girls have to each other. The bonds between them akin to the material of their ride...a Sisterhood of Steel.

(OOC: Sisterhood of Steel is the Female name equivalent in World of Tanks PC to Brothers-in-Arms.)

by Raijinken Sat Oct 31, 2015 1:14 pm

"Geeeeeeeeez!" As he listened to the 3 girls' detailed explanation of this death game they were forced to play. ..And as if 'dying' weren't bad enough, but being resurrected to attack the other players?! "What happened to the...donut puncher," His right fist was balled up and shaking. "did he choke to death on his own dick and balls...or did the moldy piece of shit get aw...hat the?"

Natsuki's body suddenly starting acting up. (The hell?! Is this because we're talking about that game or...?) She began to speak, "Help?" and a few more things which convinced her sister and Hotone that it was actually the sorceress speaking through her!

After they were all given a...thorough account of their ammunition, Miho proposed sticking to the ground while going after the Mage. That he might try to attack those in the air. (Not a bad plan, but...) "It's got my vote. That said I think I'll ride ON this thing," Motioning to the tank. "sounds like you guys have plenty of firepower, but..." He recalled how he trashed that truck earlier, as well as those Shadow Warriors. "you'll need help keeping this baby in one piece."

by **Dark** Fri Nov 06, 2015 5:39 pm

Rhys rolled her eyes as one of the girls from the other group began to flirt with Ryuusei, luckily one of the others intervened and the girls started to introduce themselves, with Hotone introducing them; Rhys waving her fingers, a small smile on her lips when she was introduced as 'winged thing three'.

She let the others explain what was going on while Rhys stretched, listening to Hotone explain about the underworld and being dead. Maybe before her grandmother, Rhys might have been surprised, now...not really. It wasn't until Natsuki began to act strange then...talking, strangely, that Rhys came to attention, taking a step closer to the girl.

"Olette?" Rhys hesitantly asked, reaching a hand out. "Where are-" Her words were interrupted as the staff lit up, a single beam of light dashing upward then off in the direction Riquel had flown off in.

"Natsuki,' Rhys reached out a hand. "Let's get going, I doubt Olette will be able to keep this up." For a moment Rhys thought of taking the staff, but so far it only seemed to work while Natsuki held it, and she didn't want to take the chance of it going away if someone else took a hold of it. "I'll go as slow as I can,' she said, looking over at the others. "Try to keep up."

by opheliaswhims Fri Nov 20, 2015 7:00 am

"She's right - as I said, we don't have long." Olette confirmed as she took Rhy's hand, allowing the girl to lift her off the ground. Hotone brought her own wings into motion, bringing herself into the air next to them. "I'll scout ahead so you can stay near the tank," she told Rhys, nodding toward the large vehicle before flying off in the direction of the beam.

"Is she...will she be safe that way?!" Moriko called up toward Rhys as she scrambled up into the safety of the tank.

"Don't worry, young one. We'll be safe," Olette gave a soft smile. Moriko's expression didn't showed she wasn't convinced, but after a moment of hesitation, she climbed down into the tank.

"Okay..." Moriko marveled a moment at the interior of the tank. She felt like she was in the movies. "Um, so, what can I do to help?" she asked to Miho.

by PanzerZorn Fri Nov 20, 2015 7:37 am

Miho watched as as Olette and Rhys took off into the sky just above them slowly. Her attention diverted as Moriko began to climb into the tank. "Moriko, try to slip in behind Saori's station." Turning to Ryussei. "Could you stay on top of the tank? It's crowded even with only the five people normally inside. Any help you can bring will be good."

Easier said than probably done due to how cramped the inside was going to get as Saori got into her seat, attaching the radio headphones to her head. Mako would place herself in the driver's seat. Her hands working the controls as the 27 ton steel beast's Maybach engine roared to life. Hana and Yukari would take the side doors to slip in to their stations. Yukari's on the right and Hana's on the left as she would take the gun sights.

Miho climbing into the position she had at the top, the Commander's seat. Adjusting herself to allow Moriko room to move if needed. She than looked towards Rhys and nodded before making sure everyone was ready to go. When she spoke next, it was with clarity and command in her voice...

"Panzer Vor!"

The Panzer IV moved out of it's current position and would be behind Rhys in minutes as Mako was standing out of the Driver's position hatch to get better vision while driving and keeping tabs on Rhys and Natsuki/Olette so she could follow them. The interior heating up and shaking with relentless vibrations as track met pavement and the Maybach engine purred like a Lion.

by Raijinken Tue Dec 01, 2015 5:53 pm

"That's the plan!" Giving the Commander a smirk and a thumbs up after she asked him to stay outside because the tank's interior would be too cramped with the now 6 girls riding. "Eheheheheh...(No way am I getting eaten!) Once the crew and Moriko were inside the war machine and she started rolling, Ryuusei jumped...onto the barrel!

(This way if Metalhead here tries anything, I'm on top of it!) As the tank rolled forward, he remained stationary despite the barrel's shape, being wet and of course MOVING! (...If only I still had my blue cape...)

He began to imagine himself...still half-naked with his clothes in rags, but now sporting a tattered and slightly faded, deep blue cape. As the mantle flew in the wind, he leaned forward on one knee, his right arm raised to the sky. With his thumb and index finger extended he proclaimed. "THIS IS THE CANNON THAT'LL BLAST THE HEAVENS!"

(Oh MAN that'd be awesome!)

He wasn't...totally spaced out as his green eyes scanned several windows on one side of the street as they passed by before shifting to the road... "OH SHIT!" He jumped back a bit but remained on the barrel, but quickly calmed when... "...Right no horses..."

Shifting his gaze from the 'nothing' pulling the vehicle, he ban to scan toe other side of the street. The tank passed by what was identified as a 'convenience store' by the sign. (I'm guessing it's a grocery store...since we just passed an 'office supply' and 'lick-tronics' or some weird shit back there...). The streetlight only provided so much illumination, but it enabled him to see somewhat through the window where a large black mass was moving about; then a few seconds later a second came into view. (Those Shadow Monsters planning an ambush?)

"Hey!" He turned and bent down to knock on the Commander's hatch...only to be met face-to-face with Miho! "Uhhhhhhhhhh..............."

And somewhere in the world, a Heart Monitor just flat-lined...

by **Dark** Sat Dec 05, 2015 5:07 pm

She found herself a little puzzled about the voice coming from Natsuki’s mouth, but dismissed it, instead taking a hold of the girl’s hand and jumping into the air, leaving the others far down, though she did keep them in view, and when Rhys saw the tank was able to keep up, sped up, rolling her eyes at Ryuusei’s antics. ‘So glad I’m not his keeper.’ The white hair girl turned to Natsuki. “Alright, is that thing responding aga-”

Natsuki would find the scepter lighting just for a second, a warning, right before a blue flash sliced down from far above them, it’s very light giving off an icy burning sensation. Rhys managed to back wing just in time to avoid it, but hissed as the attack was followed by a rain of icy blue shards.
One of them managed to cut her wing and Rhys found herself losing altitude. “Hang on,’ she warned Natsuki even as the white hair girl maneuvered to avoid the sapphire rain, landing on the ground a few feet from the tank. “Might want to run for cover, boy,’ she called to Ryuusei even as she activated a barrier around herself and Natsuki, then looked up, spotting a distant figure with wings.

‘Tsk! The Valkyrie!” It almost seemed like the girl was trying to slow them down, and as she looked down, Rhys thought that was exactly what was going on, especially with the large sapphire crystals, pulsing with energy, creating a wall between them and the rest of their path.

“Hey Natsuki, ask Olette if there’s a fast way to get through the Valkyrie,’ Rhys grinned, curling her hand into a fist. “Or maybe just get her close enough for me to punch her lights out.”

At that moment, Natsuki would find that her connection to Olette began to unravel, the Sorcerer’s voice becoming dimmer and dimmer until it was nothing more than a whisper.

***************************

Further ahead, Hotone would find a shadow coalescing between her and her path, taking on the form of one of the dark armored twins. He chuckled, waving his fingers at her. “Hi, so…I’m told you,’ he made a circling motion. “Have to turn and go back the other way, promise there’s someone for you to fight over yonder.” His tone was half cajoling, half joking. “Otherwise, I’m going to have to hurt you bad…or you know, kill you.” He pulled back, darkness swirling around his right arm and becoming a long black sword he pointed at Hotone.

by opheliaswhims Tue Dec 22, 2015 8:14 pm

For the start of the flight, Olette and Natsuki shared Nat's body. However, when the Valkyrie attacked, Natsuki was jolted back to "normal". She couldn't feel Olette's presence, but didn't have time to worry about it when Rhys' swift movements jostled the scepter out of her hands. In the midst of things, Natsuki scrambled for the weapon, trying not to disrupt Rhy's flight. She managed to catch Olette's scepter in between her legs. As she gave a sigh of relief and fumbled to bring it back to her hands, a voice chimed in her head.
"Hey! B- care--ll with --at!"
"Olette?"
"You -eed to h-rry. I...can't...--all...m-" Olette's voice faded out with a static-like sound. Natsuki felt a wave of panic. As if in response, the scepter gave off a soft, warm feeling, in contention with the Valkyrie's ice cold attacks. The light it gave off didn't seem to be very strong. Nat tried to clear her mind to act fast. "Hey Rhys, can you get us closer to the Valkyrie? I think we can fight her off with Olette's scepter!"
------
Hotone came to a hovering halt as the armored twin appeared. She gave an exaggerated yawn at the man. "Look, I'm in a bit of a hurry, so let's get this over with. But hey, thanks for the empty threat - already died once." she gave a shrug, then summoned her viola. "Didn't care for it. But it did inspire this number!" And with that she began to play, the sound resonating from the strings materializing from red beams into Noise, in the form of small, cat like creatures that closed in on the man, claws bared.

by PanzerZorn Sun Jan 03, 2016 12:28 pm

Miho watched Ryussei as she had her top half sticking out of the turret as well as Mako and Saori who were looking up at him. Saori's face showing a look of utter confusion and Mako showing what looked like calm disinterest. Inside, Hana and Yukari's faces were smiling while listening to his antics. When Ryussei turned to face her, he would find her smiling and looking at him as Hana opened the left side hatch and stuck her own top half out.

"I will try my best Mr. Ryussei." Hana said before the tank jerked and ran backwards to avoid the icy blue shards that missed Rhys and nearly got them. Looking at the barrier in their way and up to the Valkyrie, she heard Rhys speak and decided to ask a question.

"Does she need to feed energy to that barrier continiously to keep it up?" She was hoping she rememberd enough from the games Anteater liked to play besides that one tank game they loved to get an idea on how to deal with that barrier. The hatches around her closing and securing as the girls readied to fight, protection against whatever may come.

Yukari tapped Motone on the shoulder. "Hey, if I indicate a shell from the ammo storage in here..." Indicating the rack of tank shells to her left, "I need you to take hold of it and guide it out carefully." She said already pointing to a High Explosive shell in anticipation of what Miho was thinking.

Hana herself was already wearing her game face. A serene aura mixed with an intense level of concentration coming from the young woman. The only thing slightly out of place was the slight smile she wore...a sign of how much she enjoyed where she was in the tank.

by opheliaswhims Mon Jan 04, 2016 2:18 pm

Setting into the spot behind Yukari, it didn't take long to feel the lack of space around the two of them. It was clear this tank was only meant to efficiently hold the team and not really anyone else. She made an effort to hug the edge of the area, especially away from - were those shells?! - and kept her arms tucked to her side. Once she figured she was in a position at least out of Yukari's way, she looked up at the sound of Ryuusei's loud voice, which could be heard in fragments over the engine as it roared to life. She rolled her eyes at his rambunctious behavior. Despite his womanizing ways, there was something almost naive about his "conquering" of the Panzer.
The observations were short lived when crystal shards began to rain down. Moriko's right hand reflexively went for her pins, specifically Deku Tree, her wooden armor - but as a crystal shard whizzed pass her and Yukari, colliding with a 'ping!' off the Panzer, she realized the armor would be a waste of the very little space they had. Uncomfortable, she felt very stuck in more ways than one. Yukari seemed to answer her thoughts, instructing her to ready for an impending battle. The idea of manning one of the dangerous shells beside them didn't really do anything to decrease her panic, but at least she felt somewhat useful now. She gave Yukari a small nod. "You got it!"
When the shards subsided, she then saw Rhys and Natsuki descending, a wound visible on Rhys' wing. What Moriko could see of her sister showed she was unharmed, but the sight still made her distressed, making it feel as if her tiny confine had shrunken further. She wanted nothing more than to leap out of the Panzer and rush to them, but she couldn't see a safe way of exiting the rumbling war machine, without at the very least whacking Yukari. With a deep breath, she focused back in on their little station, not sure what these girls had planned, but deciding to placing some trust in them, and waited for Yukari's word.

by **Dark** Mon Jan 04, 2016 6:30 pm

She really disliked getting hurt, usually it wasn't a problem since there was hardly anyone around to harm her...until all these people showed up. Rhys shifted her wing, wincing slightly at the poain, but glad it wasn't too bad, and started folding it when Natsuki spoke to her.

The white hair girl gazed at the scepter, then up at the Valkyrie who wasn't moving, simply hovering up there. 'Oh yeah, she's definitely trying to keep us here.' Rhys considered Natsuki's question and nodded. "Yeah, I can get us up there, I just reaally hope your plan doesn't hit a snag." She reached out to take a hold of Natsuki's free hand, paused when Hana questioned her.
"In all honesty,' Rhys gave a shrug. "I have no idea, but if we go by rule of Magic,' the white hair girl gave a nod. "I think the Valkyrie would have to keep feeding her spell." She took a breath before glancing at Natsuki. "Ready? Cause we're going."

Keeping her barrier up, Rhys jumped into the air, spreading her wings and putting on speed even as the Valkyrie smiled cheerfully down at them and pointed her lance.

Rhys silently cursed. "Natsuki, I'm going to throw you at the Valkyrie, whatever you're going to do, do it. Don't worry, I'll make sure you're fine."
The Valkyrie's lance began to glow purple as Rhys threw Natsuki at the woman, then dashed forward herself, for a moment putting on speed so that she reappeared to the valkyrie's left, grabbing a hold of the lance, much to the Valkyrie's surprise.

"Hey,' the white hair Aesir said. "That's mine!"

***************************************

The knight clicked his tongue, shaking a figner at Hotone. "Sorry,' he said, almost sounding it. "Not an empty threat but,' he watched as Hotone began playing her viola, summoning the Noise. "You're welcome to try and make it so,' he chuckled. "Not that it'll work."

Amon raised a free hand, shadows swirling beneath it, then launched themselves as spheres at the cat creatures, shifting to the forms of wolves.

The knight was already moving by then, dissolving into the darkness before reappearing behind Hotone and tapping her on the shoulder. "Boo!" He laughed, bringing the sword up to strike.

by PanzerZorn Mon Jan 04, 2016 7:45 pm

Miho nodded as she looked next to Ryussei. "Ryussei, I need you to make sure we do not come under direct attack. We can shrug off heavy vehicles but tanks were always vulnerable to infantry attacks. You may also want to jump off the gun." Miho said to him with command and authority. The young lady than sank down into the tank, closing the Commander's hatch behind her and sealing it shut.

Touching her throat mic, she spoke. "Alright Ankou. We are going to fire on that barrier. Rhys said the enemy may need to keep feeding it energy to keep it up. Prepare for High Explosive Bombardment."

Hana was already in motion, using the switch to fire the coaxial machine gun to use it to range find on the barrier as the tank backed up further. Miho keeping her eyes forward to let Hana know when Ryussei was clear of the barrel.

Outside, all would be able to hear a very loud quickly repeating sound as the coaxial cannon fired just to the right of the main gun. The tracer flying in line with the barrel almost as the barrel itself started to elevate a little till Hana would see the bullets land on the barrier.

Inside, Yukari indicated the first Hi-Ex shell she wanted as she pushed out from the front for Motone to grab the rear of and bring it up for Yukari to take hold of.

by opheliaswhims Wed Jan 06, 2016 12:40 pm

Natsuki didn't hesitate to follow Rhy's lead. The world spun around her as she was vaulted into the air by her winged ally, and as much as she wanted to admire the air time, the growing image of the Valkyrie approaching her brought her back to focus.

As she drew closer, the scepter became warmer and warmer to the touch. She figured this was Olette's only way to communicate through the weapon, as her voice had not resurfaced. This gave her an idea.

Natsuki scrambled to pull out Sunny Day from her pocket, and wedged it between her right hand and the scepter. She didn't know if it'd work, but it was worth a shot. Approaching the Valkyrie, she saw Rhys appear next to her. If her plan worked... "Rhys! Watch out!" was all she managed before grasping the scepter in both hands and striking at the Valkyrie.

---

Hotone was distracted by the wolves that she almost missed the "Boo!" from behind her. She dodged the sharp edge of the blade but was struck from the blunt side. She lost altitude and hit the ground with a thud. A couple of her Noise at the edge of their battle went to approach her, but she waved them away, glaring up at the man. She stood up, wings buzzing at a high speed to clear the dirt.

"A man stabbed me in the back once. I won't allow that to happen again." Her viola disappeared in black mist, and she set her bladed bow in her right hand, and she brought herself back up to his level. "If you'll be killing me, don't do so like that coward did!!" she screeched, thrusting forward toward that dark man.

---

Inside the tank, Moriko couldn't see what was going on, but hearing it was more than enough to make her worry. She hoped Natsuki was ok, but she wouldn't know until they could break that barrier. As if to answer her thoughts, Yukari indicated for the rather dangerous-looking shell she wanted Moriko to pass to her. Knowing it wasn't a time to hesitate, two shaky hands grabbed the rear of the shell and brought the weapon to Yukari's station. She settled back into her spot immediately, eyes squeezed shut. "Oh Nat, please be out of harm's way..." she thought aloud.

by Raijinken Sat Jan 09, 2016 12:10 am

He was snapped back to life by Hana saying she'll 'try her best'. "Yeah...uh...uhh..." He rubbed his temple. "That's the spirit!...? (What'd I say again?)" After that massive flake out just then caused him to forget the last thing he had said.

Just then some ice shards flew down past them! "The hell?!" He turned and looked up to find the Valkyrie. (Aw crap!...Did she see...all that?!) But his attention wsn't completely divided as he heard Hana's question regarding the barrier that was now blocking their path, so when Miho requested he get off of the tank's barrel, he nodded. "You don't have to ask me twice." He DID agree to guard the vehicle after all.

Ryuusei leapt off of the barrel before it began to elevate. He landed on the street beside the tank. (This way I can see if anything's coming from the rear too...) And then came the sounds from the smaller barrel... (And avoid friendly fire!)

------

Inside of the store, a nose sniffed along a shelf before a large furry hand smashed into an item at the end and shoved the entire row's contents onto the floor. A pair of furry arms scooped up many of the items before their owner carred them into the back room...

by **Dark** Sat Jan 09, 2016 3:48 pm

Skuld didn't expect the devil girl to throw the other one, she could have handled that one...if it weren't for said devil girl to suddenly make a grab for her lance. "Give it back!" She demanded of the white hair girl even as she felt her spell hit by high speed projectiles.

All these actions came together enough that it distracted Skuld long enough that she forgot about the thrown girl, instead trying to strengthen the barrier spell on the ground, only to remember about her when the scepter swung her way.

Purple eyes went wide, the scepter glittering brightly as it slammed into her temple. Skuld yelped as her crystal shield spell shattered beneath her even as the Valkyrie began to fall, but not before she used one last spell. "Amethyst Blow!"

The spell managed to hit Rhys, stunning her so that the white hair devil- girl stopped moving and fell along with the Valkyrie, their bodies slamming through the ceiling of a store and into its midst.

On the floor, Rhys groaned, trying to move. 'Pain...hurt, don't want to move.' She opened one eye, starring at her surrounding and catching sight of something.... something that made her freeze, then let out an ear piercing shriek that sounded a lot like, "Giant raaats!"
************

Above the store, Natsuki would find the scepter glimmering, acting like an umbrella that slowly brought her safely down to the floor before going silent.

by **Dark** Sat Jan 09, 2016 3:51 pm

'Score one for me,' Amon thought with a smirk, watching as the woman landed with a thud. It didn't take long for her to get up, which was good because how boring would it be if she just died on him...apparently again, waaay to soon.

He sighted when she started talking. "La, la, la, la-' he said. "I'm not here for your past history, just you know, to kill you." He let her pull herself together and fly back up before he settled into a ready stance, watching as she angrily struck out at him. "Wonderful,' he said dryly, blocking her weapon, stepping to her right, freeing one hand to gather darkness pointed right at her face; the darkness however dispersed and he grinned, putting space between them.

"What happened to your 'can do' attitude?" He waved, as if dismissing her. "This one sucks. You want me to stab you from the front, fine, but do me a favor,' he rubbed one ear. "Try not to break my hearing while I do it." He smirked as he snapped the fingers of his right hand; darkness burst into life, dark flames settling into random places around them.

"Let's play a game,' Amon grinned like a small, mischievous child. "They act like bombs, touch one and it'll go off, but...they'll do the same to me, knock me into one, and I'll let you through...' he chuckled. "Though you might not find what you're looking for." Instead of disappearing into the darkness once more, he raced forward to meet Hotone's strike with his own weapon.

by Raijinken Sat Jan 09, 2016 5:20 pm

The pair of rats returned from the back room into the main area of the store and proceeded to work another shelf. As they were gathering it's contents, bits of plaster fell from overhead. One of the rodents looked up as a section broke apart. The rat moved out of the way of the falling debris and...2 winged female bodies that crashed into the ground.

At least one of the pair wasn't dead from the fall as she groaned and muttered about 'being in pain' as she looked around...and then all of a sudden she SHRIEKED! This caused the rat to jump back. Suddenly it's eyes began to glow red; those near the store that could sense would find a faint it of demonic energy. As the rodent's eyes shinned, one of the previously emptied shelves became surrounded by a red aura. The shelf was lifted off of the ground and flew towards the shrieking girl.

Both rats started running; the one that was startled and threw the shelf got on all-fours. While the second remained on 2-legs and seemed a bit off-balance, dropping items of food that it was cradling. As they made their way towards the back room, the pair knocked over shelves that they passed to block off pursuit. A third rat stuck it's head out of the doorway and squeaked frantically, while sending a message telepathically. "(Retreat! Retreat! RETREAT!!!)"

by PanzerZorn Thu Jan 14, 2016 6:06 pm

Yukari would take the shell as Hana aligned the gun along the trajectory she wanted for attacking the barrier. The gun stopped it's upwards elevation once the bullets were confirmed to be hitting just south of dead center. Yukari hefted the shell in tip first. Than, she balled her left hand into a fist and placed it against the shell as she rammed it into the breech, shutting the chamber. "Loaded!" She would yell. She quickly tapped Moriko on the shoulder and indicated the next two shells she wanted primed, one right after the other. "You're doing alright." Yukari said as words of encouragement to the young lady in front of her.

"Hana, make it happen." Miho would say as she touched her throat mic. The air rife with tension.

Hana's breathing slowed as she entered her state of concentration. Where she imagined her will guiding the shot along to it. Her eyes seemingly both blank and yet focused.

"Firing."

Both with in and outside of the Panzer IV, the sound of the 75mm Rheinmentall-Borsig KwK 40 L/48 firing would prove capable of waking possibly even the dead. The Tank itself on the inside resonating with the massive blast as the round of High-Explosive was sent down range. The fighting compartment filled with the sulfuric smell of burnt propellant as the shell fell out of the breech with a clang.

Outside, the blast of smoke and flash of fire signalling the round as it traveled the distance to the barrier shortly. The shell itself being High-Explosive, this would make it similar to fireball spells that exploded upon contact with the target destination once it made contact with the barrier.

Miho caught sight of the events happening nearby, mainly Rhys and the Valkyrie's very rough descent into the nearby building. The young woman already opening the Commander's hatch as she spoke, "Saori. Hold down the fort." Grabbing the First-Aid Kit nearby, Miho quickly lept out of the tank and ran towards the building the two crashed into.

"Roger that Miporin!" Saori would reply back with exubarance.

Miho entered just in time for all hell to break lose as Rhys screamed something about Giant Rats and than all sorts of shelves started to fall over. She put her right arm up over her face to protect it as she reached Rhys and the Valkryie. Looking at the Valkyrie and than to Rhys, she put a hand on the latter and tried to get her attention focused on the situation at hand. "Can you help me get her out of here into the light so we can treat any injuries she's sustained?" She asked Rhys while Miho was already reaching down to check for any serious injuries. Hoping the Valkryie would not wake up and attack her as Miho did her best to make sure she could even be moved.

by opheliaswhims Fri Jan 15, 2016 12:56 pm

Natsuki's descent felt almost comical, but relief was the overpowering emotion she felt as she drifted though the sky at the mercy of the scepter. From this height, she could observe a lot - Ryuusei jumping off the tank's barrel as the tank prepared to fire at the barrier; Hotone with one of the dark knights, surrounded by a minefield of dark energy flames. Just below her she could see Rhys and the Valkyrie had crashed through the roof of a building. There were rats running amok. Wait.

How could she see rats from this height??

Rhys screech reached her, confirming her guess - giant...rats. Nat began to swing her body, in an attempt to land outside the store, and not in the middle of that chaos. It worked in her favor, setting her outside of the store's entrance. As she adjusted her wind-swept hair and clothes, she noticed one of the girls from the tank dash by and into the building. She looked over and noticed Ryuusei examining the tank. She was surprised at his bravery - she wouldn't want to be anywhere but inside that massive weapon right now while it was in use.

"Umm, Ryuusei!" Nat called over to him. "I think they're gonna need help in here," she gestured to the building. "I think I saw...giant...rats? A-and...I'm not sure how much help I can be." She rapped her knuckles on the decorative top of the scepter. "I think it's outta juice for now."

---

Hotone hissed in frustration as the dark flames were set around them. This wasn't her usual combat - she was used to having an upper hand in the Underground. She did, however, take notice of Amon rubbing his ear. First, there was the matter of dodging his thrust. She was definitely outmatched in strength: as she parried, she was pushed back just from his force by about 3 feet. She just had a spare second to look over her shoulder. Fortunately, there wasn't a dark bomb awaiting her. Gaining altitude, deciding to try a different approach, summoning her viola once more.

"You know what they say - if it's too loud..." she gave one long, piercing note, sending blue sound waves toward the knight. "You're too old!"

The sound waves did not hit the enemy, but instead some of the flames - including one almost too close to her. While the flames around Amon were struck as well, it appeared he himself was unscathed. While she knew she wanted to make the man's ears ring in pain...

'This method could prove to be too messy,' she thought, eyeing the spot where the flame-bomb near her had been. Almost as if in response, a large explosion went off somewhere behind their battle - from the tank, no doubt. Hotone spun around at the sound, coming face-to-face with a bomb, a quick succession of quieter notes from her viola as an...odd, defensive reflex. Expecting her mistake to end her, she found the result was acutally interesting: the quieter notes did not set off the flame, but set it back, albeit by a small distance. This gave her an idea.

Hotone turned to face Amon. "How rude of me...where are my manners?" Her composure was coming back to her, as she began to flit around the knight. Becoming more confident, she found herself almost dancing around his bombs. "You know, I think we got off on the wrong foot. I mean, technically, I'm a villain, you're a villain..." she was behind him now, drumming her fingers on one armored shoulder once before using his shoulder to push herself away. She made sure to get some distance between them, as well as a couple bombs. "Allow me to serenade you." she gave a wink before setting her bow. The music that followed was lively, yet controlled and sweet. Purple waves, not as broad and sharp at the blue ones, resonated from her viola, shuffling the bombs towards Amon. She wasn't sure if any would strike, but that was fine - the idea was to crowd him and reduce his range. She continued the tune, mentally crossing her fingers in anticipation for his counter-attack.

----

Yukari's words helped Moriko relax a little despite the shaking and thunderous roar of the fired shell. She primed another shell, set her hand on the second one for when that was required, then looked over her shoulder. "Umm, so can anyone see what's going on out there? Is everyone ok?"

by Raijinken Sat Jan 16, 2016 5:12 am

"Guess they DO have some flare to'em." As he watched the 'fireball' launch from the tank's barrel and travel towards the barrier. "...Just hope it's waterproof."

As no threat seemed appeared to come their way, Ryuusei decided to help wreck the wall with a little firepower. "SOUHATSUIREN!" ...Make that air-power of his own. "Here are a couple 'wrecking balls'!" Producing a pair of concentrated green wind orbs, which he hurled from each hand. The air projectiles remained about a foot above the ground as they streaked down the street following the HE-shell.

After letting the twins fly, he heard one of the hatches open and saw Miho emerge from the panzer and run towards the store where he initially noticed the 'shadows' through the window...and where Rhys and the Valkyrie crashed through the roof. "Wait! What're you..." As he was calling after her, Natsuki landed nearby and spoke to him. She asked him to check things out in there because there were apparently giant rats? "Yeah, if you can keep an eye on this thing for me?" Eyeing the tank before running inside after it's commander.

"What the...the fuck happened in HERE?!" Was his immediate reaction upon entering the front door to find the place had been torn apart. Many shelves were empty...the ones that were still standing anyway. Several near a back door had fallen over and it looked like a trail of food packages were leading to the back? Seemed the only thing that looked intact was the cash register.

Then he looked over to where Rhys and the Valkyrie were...right under a large hole and from the looks of both, they couldn't have done this since the store would likely not be standing anymore if they continued their brawl in here.

Miho was there, trying to administer first aid to Rhys and asking if she could carry the Valkyrie, who looked like she was out cold, outside so she could be treated as well. Ryuusei didn't hesitate to volunteer his services! "I can help you guys out!" And bent down to pick her up. (She's actually shorter than me even though she's probably like 1000 times older than me, give or take a a few millennia....but damn if she isn't cute!)

by **Dark** Mon Jan 18, 2016 4:03 pm

'Ah, crap!' Rhys thought as the shelf came flying at her. Stuck as she was, the white hair girl had little chance of dodging the shelf and ended up struck head on. It didn't knock her out, but Rhys felt a little dazed, almost missing the sound coming from outside, and then there was a hand waving in front of her and she focused on it, following it up to Miho.

The girl was saying something....Rhys rubbed her ears and shook her head, the sound and faded surroundings coming back into focus. "Sorry, went off for a moment." Rhys pushed the half shelf over her legs, off, and stood, dusting herself off before she looked over at the Valkyrie. 'I win.' She thought smugly. Now they just needed the Valkyrie to talk. Rhys started for the Valkyrie when Ryuusei rushed in, quickly volunteering to help with her.

Rhys shrugged her shoulders. "Works with me,' she suspiciously looked the way the rats had gone. She hated rats, give her monsters any day, but dear gods keep the rats away. The white hair girl shuddered and glanced over at Miho. "I doubt the Valkyrie's seriously injured, bet she could take a lot more and come out unscathed."

As if to answer, the Valkyrie's eyes slowly opened, starring in puzzlement at those surrounding her before they widened. She grabbed a hold of Ryuusei's shoulder, using it to swiftly lift herself up and over his shoulder to land behind him and Miho, wrinkling her nose. "This place smells like rats...' she chuckled. "Better go after them before they hurt someone." she gave them a quick salute before her wings snapped open and she took off, racing through the hole on the ceiling into the open air.

************

The barrier glimmered a dangerous red as the explosive ammo reached it; but it continued to glow until Ryuusei's attacks struck it, then the barrier's inner light dimmed to a dull grey as cracks began to appear, running back and forth across the barrier. Then it simply vanished, leaving their path open.
Almost immediately, those inside the store would hear the sounds of police sirens in the distance, letting them know they'd triggered a silent alarm at some point.

by **Dark** Mon Jan 18, 2016 4:06 pm

Amon winced once more as Hotone let out a piercing note. He was not old, he was ageless. Amon scoffed at her. "Or I have se...' sensitive hearing, but she didn't need to know that. "Never mind,' he readied himself against her attack, but the annoying sound hit the bombs instead. He saw that coming as well and quickly moved, keeping Hotone in sight as she danced around. Well, this was fun. Not.

"I'm not a villain,' he sniffed. "I serve he who created me. End of story." Not his fault the Mage wanted chaos thrown at these guys. He made no movement as Hotone pushed herself away, or started playing another softer tune, one that oddly enough, moved his flame bombs his way.

They wouldn't kill him if they struck him, but...Amon would have to let her through. Not a good idea when dealing with his creator. "I'd rather you not serenade me." Amon pulled back as the bombs crept closer to him, then quickly dodged through the spaces between the bombs, settling slightly to Hotone's left where there were fewer bombs. "Oops,' he drawled, shrugging his shoulders. "Did I mess with your plan?" He pointed the long sword at her. "Ready to give up?"

by Raijinken Tue Jan 19, 2016 11:28 am

As he was bending down to pick the Valkyrie up, she suddenly came to and grabbed his shoulder. Afterwards she proceeded to throw...herself to her feet. (Agh!) While rubbing the now slightly slumped shoulder with his other hand. "I think you dislocated it, wanna arm wrestle? Loser gives the winner a ki..." ...And then she flew off through the hole. "Shit!... Oh well, she DID 'salute', so maybe she DOES like me ehehehe!"

And then he heard the sirens outside. "NOW what's going on?"

by opheliaswhims Thu Jan 21, 2016 6:56 pm

"...Hmph." Hotone glared sideways at Amon. 'Is this guy a robot or what?' she wondered. The dark magic he conjured, of course, contradicted this theory...and what was this about not being a villain? The situation might not be as black and white as it seemed to her.

Still...she wasn't sure about taking him on alone. Sure, she could sic the Noise on him...but that would probably blow up in her face. Literally. Plus their little "summoned minion" war still appeared to continue below them on the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't see whose side was winning. Either way, it was probably in her favor to keep Amon's dark wolves busy. It came down to this: beating this guy's game herself or stalling until the others caught up. Neither option looked promising. Relying on others wasn't really an option in the Underground.

She gave a sigh, drawing her viola back up to her chin.

"You've never met a musician before, huh? That Mage musta really sheltered you. Well, as we say in the business, practice makes perfect." She backed away from the sword and started up a bright, more quickly paced tune, not as wild as earlier. Instead of sending out sound wave attacks, she let the energy focus in as a shield. She wasn't sure how it would hold up against Amon's blade...

Was it a reckless decision? Yes. But she figured if the crew didn't catch up, she wouldn't go down without a fight. Or at least, not without making that guy's ears bleed like she wanted in the first place.

----

Natsuki could make out little of the clamor coming from the store soon after Ryuusei rushed in. Mere minutes passed, and suddenly the Valkrie flew up and out from the roof. No one followed her exit.

She saw no sign of the rats either, but there was so hint of a fight occurring inside. After some hesitation, she moved to the open doorway. There, she saw Ryuusei, looking strangely proud of himself for some reason, and Miho nearby Rhys. Again - no rats. However, police sirens made their way to her ears. Remembering her initial encounter with Ryuusei and the truck, and his current behavior with the tank, Nat grimaced at the thought of Ryuusei with the police cars.

"That's, uh, figures of authority coming our way." Natsuki replied, "I don't know if they'll even know where to begin with all this," she added with a nervous giggle. Had they even seen winged figures before? Maybe if they were security detail at a convention. But explaining the TANK?!?

Natsuki wished her sister were outside the tank with her. She'd be better about handling this. Of course, with giant rats and that Valkyrie and all, she was sort of glad her sister wasn't standing in the middle of this.

"Uh, okay, Rhys, I think you should let Miho tend to your wounds, if you need it. Ryuusei..." she gestured with the scepter to the back door, "did those rats go that way? You and I might want to," Nat shuddered, "...go check that out."

by **Dark** Sun Jan 24, 2016 3:12 pm

Sheltered, huh. That was a funny one. Not his fault that he disliked screechy things.
Cautious, Amon watched as Hotone started up another tune, not as annoying, but still not his cup of tea. He expected it to start moving his bombs again but instead it seemed to focus, creating a shield around her.

He smirked. "What, you playing it safe now?" Amon chuckled as he pulled back, raising the blade he wielded. "Well, go ahead and do that, because I'm not." Amon dashed towards Hotone, pulling his sword forward to slam it against her shield.

*****************

As she stepped out of the building, Rhys looked towards Natsuki as the girl spoke and raised an eyebrow, turning her eyes down to inspect herself. “Nope, no wounds.” The white hair girl chuckled. “It would take a lot more to wound me.” However, since Natsuki hadn’t volunteered Rhys to go after those rats, she wasn’t about too, buuut…

“Someone else should go with you guys, just in case. We’ll head for wherever it was we were going and meet up there once you take care of those,’ she shuddered just as Natsuki had done. “Rats.”
The white hair girl started heading away but at the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of the scepter and had an inner war with herself, at the end of which Rhys turned back to Natsuki. “Never mind, I’ll go with Ryuusei, you guys,’ she pointed at the tank. “Keep heading forward and you,’ Rhys pointed at the scepter Natsuki held. “Are the one who’s supposed to tell us where we’re going.” Though from what Rhys could see, the scepter seemed to be running out of batteries. “And hurry, before that thing runs out of juice, and those cops get here.”

Reluctantly, Rhys headed in the direction of the rats gesturing for Ryuusei to follow along. “Come on kid, let’s go take care of this mess.”

by PanzerZorn Tue Jan 26, 2016 7:00 am

Yukari nodded at Moriko as Saori looked back over her shoulder to the girl. "Oh don't worry. We'll be perfectly fine! Love is also like that. Sometimes you have to just have faith and keep focus on what you are doing!" Saori said to Moriko cheerfully while punching the air in front of her.

"No it's not. Love is not like that at all." Said Mako in a deadpan voice. Saori shooting her a look with a smirk.

Yukari would take the shell but Hana spoke up as the barrier came down. "The shell is not needed. The first round and Mr. Ryussei was able to do so." Hana looked at Yukari with a smile. Yukari quickly slid the shell back into it's place. She knew how nervous Moriko was to be handling the shell and didn't have the practice Yukari did in handling them.

She smiled on Moriko though and said; "Hey, good job for a first time playing co-Loader with someone in a tank. You'd make a good Loader!"

***********

Miho would look to Ryussei in regards to his suggestion of picking up the Valkryie and started to respond. "Alright..." Miho was interrupted as she watched a woman who had fallen from a couple hundred feet up through the roof of a building get up, flip over Ryussei, talk to them about giant rats, and saluted them before taking off. Blinking in confusion as she pondered the turn of events...both today and in her life.

The sirens in the distance though would snap Miho quickly from her confusion as she quickly thought about a plan in regards. "Hold on." Miho said as she ran to the tank and climbed it quickly. Opening the hatch to her seat she stuck her head in.

"Yukari, think you are up for doing some recon?" Miho asked as the other girl smiled. "Sure Commander!"

Miho said, "Go armed. There's something about giant rats." The girl just nodded as she looked to Moriko and smiled. "You'll be fine. Just stick with us!" She said before climbing out from her side hatch and grabbing a pickaxe from the tools strapped to the side of the tank. Tools used to dig an entrenchment for the tank but made good makeshift weapons.

Yukari ran up to Rhys and Ryussei and smiled. "Ready to recon!" Standing at attention with a alute to both of them.

Miho walked up to Natsuki and smiled. "Would you like to join your sister inside with us?" She would ask Natsuki with a smile on her face.

by opheliaswhims Sun Jan 31, 2016 11:53 am

Hotone heard a sound like ice cracking as Amon struck her shield. It wouldn't handle another attack of that strength - she was certain of it. She lost some altitude from the hit, causing her shield to hit one of the bombs. The game wasn't over, since she herself didn't hit it, but the result was an even weaker shield, and if something didn't change soon, her loss was eminent.

---

Natsuki returned Miho's smile. "Um, thank you, but..." she tapped the top of the scepter, "I think this thing is leading the way, and I'll make my way on foot till now." She went to head in the direction indicated by Olette's scepter, but turned around one last time. "Could you tell my sister I'm fine? I'm sure she's all frazzled right now, haha...hope she's not too much trouble." With that she went on her way, letting the scepter pull her forward in the direction Hotone had gone in.

Nat had almost forgotten about her...what was she doing through their whole fight with the Valkyrie? She couldn't have gone too far ahead without herself and Rhys.

Natsuki heard the sounds of animals fighting up ahead. She picked up her pace, and eventually came upon Hotone's Waulers fighting some dark wolves. The fight seemed to be in favor of the wolves. Glowing dark orbs floating above the creatures brought Nat's line of vision up, where she found Hotone defending herself against Amon. Fear shivered through her, while the scepter seemed to radiate anger.

"He's...blo--ing th- way. Sto- him, qui--!" Olette's voice was a whispered static in Nat's head. Nat pulled out Sunny Day and attached it to the scepter, then pointed it up toward the hovering darkness. "Hotone!!" Natsuki called out.

Hotone spun around her in shield just in time to spot the scepter lighting up. "NononowaitkidNO-" she shuffled to move away in the shield as a beam of light shot from the scepter. The beam collided with some of the bombs, the force eliminating a couple of the weakened Waulers and wolves, pushing Natsuki back a couple feet and sending Hotone to the ground. She landed on her back, cradling her viola to her, her shield dissipating upon landing.

Natsuki rushed up to the Reaper. "Are you okay?"

Hotone's eyes sprung open, already glaring. "You IDIOT! YOU COULDA KILLED ME!" she snarled, pushing herself up off the ground, unfolding her sore wings. "Grr, just, MOVE!" she pushed the girl from behind. "Lead the way, dummy!"

"What about-"

"Forget 'im, we'll deal with that as we go, let's just get to that Olette chick!" With that the two girls scrambled ahead, not looking up to see Amon's status.

by Raijinken Sat Feb 06, 2016 11:06 pm

Using his other hand, he popped the dislocated shoulder back into place. "Oh goodie..." Natsuki didn't need to explain anything more as Ryuusei has had plenty of dealings with the Authorities...and those guys only had rusty armor along with dull swords and/or spears. (THESE guys, probably have toys like THAT!) As he eyed the panzar through the window, expecting to see many more like come rolling down the street...

"The shit's really hitting the fan isn't it?" He asked noone in particular while recalling everything; trashing the truck, Olette destroying that building from the inside. Those are just a few reasons to come after them in force...

And now giant rats were running about, and this has Rhys...freaked? (Not what I was expecting from a Demon but okey, maybe rats are Holy here?) ...And then he found himself being volunteered as pest control. "Hold on a sec..."And then Natsuki was gone, and in her place was Yukari, one of the tank crew, saying she was here for recon.

"...Alright." Eying both Rhys and Yukari before following the food trail into the back room. He scanned the room and found a door had been forced to the ground. The door appeared warped in the middle and there were numerous scratch marks present. (O-key...?) The trail of food continued into a stairwell, as Ryuusei walked down, he caught whiff of something... "Aww! it smells like ass down here! (Maybe this is just how the place is...certainly in better shape than what I'm used to...)

That was until he reached the bottom, where the trail of food continued past a ton of rubble into a large hole in the wall. "Be it ever so humble..." He stopped before the hole and looked back at the two girls. "So who's up for a late night swim through raw sewage?"

by **Dark** Sun Feb 14, 2016 3:55 pm

Rhys sighted, turning from Yukari to look at the broken store. "None of us are in the army, so you don't have to salute,' she told the girl even as Rhys started, very reluctantly, the way the rats had gone...not away from it.

She kept her shudders to herself and headed in, behind Ryuusei, no way in hell was she taking the lead.

The white hair girl continued to follow...until they got to the sewer, then her nose wrinkled. "You must be joking,' she said. "I go in there and the smell will knock me out in less than a minute." And it wasn't like she could hold her breath in there for all that long. "So...anyway, could we take,' Rhys pointed up. "The street?"

Her ears perked as the sound of footsteps reached her ears and she looked up. "Damn it all!" The police was here, and she was not going to be caught by humans. Rhys took a deep breath and raced through the hole. Now, if she could just hold her breath until she found the nearest exit.

********************************

Amon smirked as his sword struck the shield head on. "One more go!" He pulled back the sword, ready to strike the barrier one more time when he heard a shout beneath him, causing him to pause, looking down in time to see the beam of light coming at him. "Shiii-' He pulled back into darkness, the beam just missing him as he reappeared at a safer distance even as Hotone yelled at the other female.

'Bummer, looks like someone cut in on our dancing.' He sighted, scratching his ear as he watched the group continue to head towards the mansion. Yeah, he should stop them. with an inner shrug, Amon began descending when a new order flashed into his mind. 'Really?' He thought, disbelieving. 'You want me to what now?' The order came in strong once more and Amon disappeared.

The light from the scepter flickered off and on, it was obvious the item would soon run out of energy, and with its last boost of magic, an image was sent to Natsuki's head, a map of how to get to the mansion. And the whispered words: 'Hurry, it..disappear....' It was up to Natsuki to lead the way, before whatever Olette had tried to warn her against happened.

by opheliaswhims Wed Feb 24, 2016 3:28 pm

Natsuki stopped abruptly as the map flashed in her mind, causing Hotone to bump into her from behind.

"What gives?" Hotone snapped. Natsuki turned to face the Reaper.

"Olette gave me a map. Hmm..." she slowly turned in a circle. "Hey...do you think you could lift me up above the trees?"

"Oh, uh, I guess..." Hotone pushed her sleeves up, awkwardly taking Nat's outstretched arms. Her ascent was slow and hesitant.

"Hey Hotone, is everything ok?"

"Yeah, you're just...heavier than...I thought," Hotone grunted back. Natsuki gave a giggle. "What?!"

"Nothing - just that Rhys had no problem carrying me. Maybe you should get some tips-"

"Maybe you should shut your mouth before I drop you," Hotone cut the teen short. "Alright, above the trees. Lead the way."

Natsuki looked around until she could see the peaks of the mansion roof peering over some trees, about a half mile east of where they were. "Oh! Yep, that's the place." She pointed excitedly with her free hand, causing Hotone to tremble.

"Alright, alright, got it." Hotone didn't waste a second to get back to the ground. She set Natsuki down and started heading in the right direction. "Let's get going."

"Uh, what about the others?" Natsuki thought aloud. She took the flickering scepter in both hands. It maybe had one good shot left in it. It sounded like Olette was done talking, at least until they got to the mansion. She wondered...closing her eyes, she held the scepter upright in both hands and focused her thoughts in on her sister.

Mori...?

N-Nat?

Hey this worked! Ok so-

NATAREYOUOKAYOHMYGODAREYOUHURTIHEARDABIGEXPLOSIONANDNOWTHERE'SPOLICESIRENS-

MORI! THE SCEPTER'S GOING TO DIE SO SHUT UP!

...

The image of the map flashed in Moriko's mind.

This is where Hotone and I are going. Hope to see you soon!

With that the light in the scepter's ornamental head went out. Natsuki shook her head, readjusting herself, and ran to catch up with Hotone.

After some time, they came to the ornate, wrought-iron gate of the mansion. The gate was open, almost tauntingly so. Both girls came to a halt just short of the entrance, exchanging glances.

"Umm," Hotone broke the silence, "ladies first." With that she pushed Natsuki ahead of her by the small of her back. Nat gave a small yelp as they made their way in.

---

Moriko snapped out of the daze from her conversation with Nat. "U-uh, excuse me, is there a map or some way to put in coordinates?" she asked Saori.

by PanzerZorn Thu Feb 25, 2016 7:29 am

"Alright Ms. Rhys." Yukari said as she turned to see the smaller of her various packs tossed from the tank towards her. Catching it before it landed with a nod to her friend and Commander as Miho would sit back inside the tank. She turned and stopped as she remembered how Ryussei was currently dressed, picking up some cheap costumes and slipping them into her small pack.

She followed the two through the rubble to the back of the store, taking note of the damage and how it was done. The stairwell in back leading downward as Yukari wrinkled her nose and was reaching into the small bag as they found the makeshift entrance to the sewers.

"Vaporub anyone?" Yukari asked as she opened up the jar and smeared some of the strong, minty-smelling ointment around and under her nose. "Should block out the smell fairly efectively. People in many professions that deal in foul-smelling situations use it to block out their sense of smell. I also have replacements for our clothing once we get onto dry land in safe plastic wrap."

****

Miho smiled as she saw Natsuki walked off, sinking down back into teh turret and looking at Moriko. "Your sister is fine!" She would say to her before rising back up out of the turret. There was some clanging around before Miho finally woudl sit back down, closing the hatch.

"You don't mind taking over as Loader do you? I'll help out." Miho asked of Moriko with a smile as the tank got underway behind Natsuki. Miho watching as they rolled along as Natsuki's support, Miho watching through the vision blocks in the Commander's hatch. Her eyes going wide as Natsuki attacked the mysterious man about to attack Hotone with the beam of light that erupted from the scepter as well as the resulting explosions.

She would of cut in on the argument but it seemed to resolve itself as they continued to advance. Watching as Natsuki and Hotone went skyward and flew off. Splitting up was the last thing Miho wanted them to do but it could not be helped at this point.

She then turned to Moriko as she asked Saori for a map....which Saori gave her with a smile. Miho would reach over and tap Moriko on the shoulder, handing a Yukari's headphones and throat mic for easier communication inside the tank over the noise.

by Raijinken Wed Mar 02, 2016 7:34 pm

As he waited for the two girls to catch him, Ryuusei couldn't help but smirk at Rhys' reactions to all of this. "Hehehe, you squicking out over the squeakers," Then looked behind him out of the corner of his eye. "...and the sea of shit we're about to surf, is actually pretty cute! HAHAHAHA!!! (Not how I pictured a Demon, always figured one'd feel at home in a dank place like this, but it looks like I'm more at home than she is.)"

It was then that Yukari had descended the stairway into the basement, now sporting a few packs. (Guess she had to gear up, still that didn't take long, this tank team's pretty efficient.) She was offering the two something called 'Vaporub' which would help deal with that awful stench. "Might as well, that shit's strong and we could be down here for a god while. So yeah, rub me!" She also mentioned having spare clothing for them for later. "Great, because I doubt this," He grabbed one of the remaining parts of his shirt to stretch...only to easily tear it off. "will last me the rest of the night. Say there wouldn't happen to be a blue cape in there by any chance?"

He noticed that Rhys' attention was directed upward, she cursed and then raced through the hole, right past him. "Lemme guess...the authorities are up there?" That's who he assumed it was anyway as the others were following the Scepter's trailer. "You think they'd come down here?"

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