Nightshift 42: Morris Park

[coldest_blood]

It had been easy enough during the daylight to dismiss the idea of monsters as a mass hallucination or the result of some sort of psychotropics. Bond, standing in a bank of fog that had not been present just moments before, suddenly found it just that much harder to rationalize. The trees lining the park looked warped and twisted where their

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[thatdamnedninja]

Light fading, thick fog advancing, what sounding--and smelled--like a zombie horde prowling; Yuffie would have been almost totally unsurprised, if her fight with Kadaj hadn't made her lose track of time. Being practically back to back with Homura and Orangello? Yeah. Now that, that was surprising. She uttered a sharp Wutaian curse under her breath, keen eyes taking a quick inventory.

Well. Uh. Crap.

There was nothing else for it. Yuffie was more than used to fighting a mob of opponents at once, and battle didn't scare her anymore. Her grin was quick, grim. "Heard you the first time, guys," she replied, with similar urgency. "I can do it. And I'm gonna trust you both not to leave me behind, 'cuz this is gonna really weaken me -- worst of it should be over after about half an hour at most." Gawd, talking wasn't comfortable at all. That silver haired bastard had strong hands; she'd been lucky to shove him off when she had. "Here goes."

She sucked in a breath, drew on her spirit; the will to fight; the desperation that would creep in to plague her after too long with no end at sight. The determination to survive. Clear Tranquil, feeling to her like a whirlpool or the eye of some storm, expanded. The two blue bubbles grew, burst, flew outward in arching chains of smaller bubbles that were quick to fade. Yuffie wavered. Her knees hit the browned, sad excuse for grass; she slapped her hands--newly healed--down to steady herself, breathing hard but shallow. It wasn't quite as bad as it had been last night, but even this--it was too much.

[notachick]

If Yuffie's spell did what similar spells did to MOMO, Okita knew they needed to stay. A half an hour didn't sound so bad, but then, Okita still wasn't able to see what was coming at them. He saw people, their shapes barely outlined within the fog, but they seemed to be moving awkwardly, almost shambling. He knew what that indicated, but he still clung to the small hope that maybe he wouldn't have to deal with touching the dead again.

"Here goes."

"I won't let anything get to you; I promise." Hopefully, Yuffie would trust him enough despite their differences, seeing how she had no choice but to do so. Despite himself, Okita tore his eyes from the battleground to see just what Yuffie's spell would do. He'd seen it once before (which gave birth to her secret nickname), but at the time, he hadn't known what it was. Now that he did, he was glad, or the bubbles would have startled him. As the smaller bubbles faded, Yuffie hit the ground and Okita felt the pain in his arm dull to a mere ache. The stiffness that came with injury disappeared and while he knew he'd have to be careful, his arm was mobile and he could ignore the pain well enough that he'd be able to use it. Tentatively pulling his arm from the sling, he clenched and unclenched his fist, rolling his shoulder gently to test the results. So far, so good.

And just in time. The first of the creatures broke the fog line and stumbled forward, lunging toward the group, half-rotten jaws open to reveal jagged teeth. Pulling the sling off, Okita stuffed the cigarettes into his pants pocket, scooped a large rock off the ground and launched it straight at the creature's face. It felt damn good to have his arm back in order, even if it was complaining about being used so soon. The first creature fell back and Okita reached for more rocks, piling them into his sling as more appeared to fill its place. He had no other weapons at the moment, but this at least gave him a little bit of range.

[screwthegods]

Unlike his friend, Homura never looked away from what approached. He had to trust that whatever magic Yuffie had available to her would be enough, that it would heal Okita so he could fight, and that it would be worth the danger she'd be putting herself in for it. A half-hour seemed a short period of time, particularly to one who was nearly immortal. But on a battlefield, even a few minutes could stretch beyond perception, and with the approaching mass, Homura doubted this would be an exception to that phenomenon.

When Okita took down the first of the oncomers, Homura dashed forward to meet the second. He'd only have a few moments, but that was all he needed. He couldn't cut a way through this swarm with his bare hands, and without his blade or any metal, his two best weapons weren't available to him. Still, he hadn't survived so many centuries as Toushin Taishi without learning to be resourceful, or willing to do whatever he had to in order to go on.

As soon as he was within reach, Homura caught the wrist of the shambler in one hand, and the top of its skull in the other. The bones were brittle, a fortunate turn, and without hesitation Homura squeezed the head until it shattered, the object that was once a brain oozing around his fingers as it was crushed. Nothing about this would be clean or pretty, but that wasn't the point. Surviving was the only thing that mattered, and that was a truth that Homura embraced whole-heartedly.

As the creature fell, Homura stomped on it's shoulder until the joint shattered, and nothing but rotting muscle still connected the limb to its torso. The arm he ripped off would have to do as a weapon until something more ideal could be found. The mass hadn't stopped coming, and Homura moved back to the others just as several more of the things began to crawl out of the ground he'd just been standing on. Okita was gathering rocks, but Homura had another concern, and he moved in front of where Yuffie was kneeling.

"You aren't going to argue with me." There wasn't time for pettiness, and Homura turned his side towards Yuffie as he dropped to a knee. "I'm better suited to carry you than Okita, and until you've recovered, that's what I'm going to do. We need to be able to move quickly. Now get on, and hold on to me."

[thatdamnedninja]

A half hour. At most. At most. Yuffie prayed fervently that it'd clear before then, to Leviathan and Da Chao, to the Summons, to Holy and hell, even the Lifestream.

Every second counted. Every second spent clutching the grass, breathing in a soft hiss to steady herself, was a waste. Ugh, this was so embarrassing; knelt behind Okita like some kind of - some kind of lame puppy, counting on his protection, because of her own Limit! She'd known the risks, but still… still, it shouldn't be like this! She should be fighting! Strength without determination means nothing. There was a zombie, ambling, shambling, out of Okita's line of sight, about ten feet away. He'd notice it soon enough. Determination without strength… Yuffie's fingers closed around a rock, a sharp looking, round thing, all chipped edges. …May be equally useless, but I'm still gonna try!

The rock was round enough and flat enough--kind of--that she used the basic throw meant for discs. She willed her hand steady for the release, the crucial little flick, the itty-bitty minute details -- the rock flew in a wavering arc, before slamming into the zombie's throat hard enough that it stumbled back and fell. "Yeah!"

Oh, damn, it was still moving. Never one to let some undead freak rain on her parade, Yuffie was gathering herself to snatch up another rock when Homura re-appeared in front of her, telling her--wait, he wasn't seriously serious, was he?--that 'she wasn't going to argue', and to get onto his back. She bristled. What he was suggesting made sense, but the way he suggested it - ugh! What gave him the right?! Angry retorts bubbled up, filled her mouth. She choked them back like she were swallowing shuriken. Her only reply was an incoherent sputter, followed by -- "Zombie, eight feet, two o'clock, and I can carry my damn self if you're gonna be that much of a jerk about it!"

Her hand flashed to the next rock, closing hard around it. As much as she'd have liked to throw it at Homura just then, she had enough presence of mind to send it speeding toward her zombie friend instead. With a sickening crunch, it slammed into the center of the thing's forehead, lodged there, and sent it straight back to the ground again. Yuffie was making to hop to her feet, feeling the ground waver beneath her. Slowly but surely, it was steadying.

[OOC: Homura can grab her if he wants. It wasn't the idea itself that offended her, so much as the way he expressed it.]

[notachick]

The sound of cracking bones from behind him made Okita smile. Even if the battle wasn't one he would have chosen, it felt good to be in a fight again, to be useful and to have a clear enemy to attack and kill. Swinging the rock filled sling around, Okita smashed it into the temple of a creature that was clawing its way through the ground. The skin split, bone shattering under the weight and Okita stepped back, giving a hard kick to the neck, just to be certain of the kill.

A flash of movement and he twisted, spotting a creature about ten feet away, a rock lodged in its throat. He could hear Homura and Yuffie speaking behind him, but over the moaning and the general chaos of the battlefield, he wasn't entirely certain what they were saying. Turning, he kicked a zombie hard to the face, twisting to bring the rock sling around to smash into its head. A rock smashed into a zombie's head (Yuffie's aim was certainly nothing to be dismissed, even if she was weakened at the moment) and the creature went down with a thud.

In that same moment, he realized just what the others were saying and he pulled a rock from his sling - smooth, flat, cool to the touch - and sent it flying at an undead woman emerging close to the group. "Yuffie-san, we're in an extremely vulnerable position. I suggest doing as he says for now, if only so we can better defend oursel--"

Something grabbed his leg and Okita stumbled back, cursing as he brought his other foot down on the hand, breaking the fingers. Thankfully, his pants kept the rotted skin from touching him, but he still felt his stomach turn at the thought of what could have happened. The creature was still pulling itself up and Okita turned, taking his eyes from the field to look at Yuffie. "We need to get out of here - you know that as well." Raising his eyes, he took stock of Homura's position and his new weapon, and then turned back to the field, swinging the sling at another creature as it lunged closer. "Homura-san, there's a kitchen supply store just up the street from here. I suggest heading that way."

[screwthegods]

Homura couldn't say that he didn't appreciate the woman's spirit, even if the timing bordered on the horrible. Regardless of how he enjoyed a strong will, however, the demi-god also enjoyed staying alive. That was why he reached out as Yuffie tried to stand, grasping her shirt to pull the woman over his shoulder. It was hardly ideal in terms of combat; Homura's left arm would be incapacitated due to Yuffie's weight, and he'd have to be careful with his balance. But if hoisting her over his shoulder was the only way to start moving, then there really was little choice in the matter.

"You're wrong." Homura kept a tight grip around Yuffie's waist as he stood. There was a touch of strain in his voice, but it wasn't nearly so evident as his smirk. "If I was being a jerk, I wouldn't have warned you."

His hold remained firm enough to send Homura's refusal to put her down quite clearly. Moreover, any struggling Yuffie attempted would only end with her falling into the ground, likely face first. As soon as Okita pointed out both Yuffie's foolishness, and more importantly, directions to better weapons, the demi-god started moving. There was no time to waste with the mounting numbers, and Homura already had to lash out as he moved in order to keep a clear path as they ran.

[ To here]