[LOG] Abenue J(E-N-O-V-A) - Human Bombs
WHO: Squall Leonhart, Cid Highwind, Genya Arikado, Toushirou Hijikata, and introducing Human Bomb (NPCed by Number XI)
WHEN: June 26th, 2008
WHERE: The Outskirts of Dollet
WHAT: A human bomb is headed for Dollet! You have three rounds to defuse it! Begin Mission? (Y/N)
WATCH FOR: Bomb is Dodgemonster
The smell of the sea is strong around Dollet. The streets?
Empty.
Because a threat is coming from beyond the Gate, it has struggled, shambled its way here. Is it its final destination? Just one of many stops along a great and invisible plotted path? None know, save perhaps the gibbering, staggering, wheezing -thing- that might have, perhaps, once been a man.
The area has been evacuated in any case, and the IPA notified: another of those vile creatures needs to get taken down before it can taint Dollet -- or worse, perhaps even the ocean -- with that disgusting /culture/ of JENOVA's mutated cells swimming in its veins.
The last one exploded.
You, few and efficient, have been summoned on the behalf of the IPA to deal with this before it can spread, supplied with transport, as needed:
Aboard the Shera.
Approaching the outskirts of Dollet, a lone humanoid figure trudges along in a long, hooded black robe, his feet bare and bleeding from treading long miles just to reach this place, mako-green and vacant eyes staring fixedly on some point in the horizon.
Your objective: Stop this monster from reaching Dollet. Destroy it before it can explode.
What is it with Jenova filled monstrosities attacking on Squall's watch. Regardless, SeeD has been deployed to Dollet Town. And at the head of that SeeD Contingent is, once again, the young Mr. Leonhart.
That's probably why support is /actually on the way/ this time. He's not getting jumped again. On the border of dollet, a small contingent of SeeD, with some armored vehicles, stay, watching the arriving robed figure. Squall's sword is raised, but not in an attack position, but rather in one to signal when to attack.
"Everyone. Wait for backup. When I give the order, open fire. Fire unit, cover us. I'll close in."
But, for now, he waits for backup to arrive.
The Shera's multi-tiered propellers sliced the air as it hovered above the outskirts of Dollet, it's stabilizing vents slowing the decent of the airship.
From inside, the Captain and his crew were preparing to make the first strike. His pilot-in-training took the wheel while he paced before the wide observational windows that held the enemy in view, trailing smoke from his cigarette.
"All right, jerks! It looks like JENOVA's little follower is down there, scaring the kind @#*&($ of Dollet! I'm sure you already know this, but the IPA wants this taken care of quickly. That thing's gotta go before it reaches town, you hear?!"
He spun around, planting his hands on his hips, looking over the
"Be careful out there, he could be dangerous! But to be on the safe side, we've got some covering fire for you--" No sooner is this said, then a rain of missiles shoots from either side of the windows arcing into the sky and heading straight for the man in a black robe.
"--this might not work, but that's why we're landing! Get to work, people!!"
Wait a minute, who the hell put Cid in charge anyway?!
Cid Highwind misses Number XI with his Death From Above super.
The end of a cigarette glows red-orange, the lighter clicking after its job is done. "All right, men. You got your orders. Now, find that...thing before anything else happens," commands the Vice Captain of his squad, a single wisp of smoke trail from his frowning lips.
Swords rise high above the group's head, a resounding cheer backing their morale. And off they go to help.
Reports have been breaking out lately, and Hijikata has seen and heard whatever came up from the last few hitting the multiverse channels within IPA headquarters. Well, now, instead of sitting around, he's being useful. Besides, it's not like him to NOT destroy something.
With a sigh and another exhale of smoke, Hijikata brandishes his own katana, casually following his men into the fray.
Special Agent Genya Arikado stands on the low deck of the Shera, frowning as missiles are fired. That was likely a poor choice. The dham-- er...government official adjusts the cuffs of his shirt, cufflinks glittering slightly before he adjusts his tie.
He takes a deep breath and waits a few beats for the airship to lower a bit. He takes a look around, hoping that the missiles will be a sufficent distraction.
He then jumps over the railing without a second thought, or even looking nervous. He drops like a stone, suit jacket rustling in the wind as he opens it on the way down. With the hints of what /may/ be a smile, he draws two weapons from shoulder holsters.
Those aren't standard sidearms. Black and tooled in silver, they're enormous. Likely .50 caliber. He aims them as he's falling and, when he hits the ground, fires, shells ejecting to the ground.
Genya Arikado misses Number XI with his John Woo With Heavy Caliber: It's Good To Be More Than A Man. attack.
(...does wait for the signal mean anything to these people?)
Squall suppresses some very unsavory thigns reagarding Cid, and turns to the troops. "Time's up! Open fire!"
The machine guns on the armored vehicles open up on the shambling monster, as Squall starts rushing forward, an Aura spell hitting him as he does so. He needs to do optimal damage to the thing, and this looks like their best chance. He's still got some distance to close, but hopefully, the machine guns will keep it busy.
You critically strike Number XI with your Yes. Machine Guns. attack.
Blanketing the ground with missile fire should have, certainly, taken care of the matter. As the smoke clears, however, one may never know whether it was missiles or gunfire that sent the black-cloaked figure to the ground. Small craters have been carved in the earth, and over one the humanoid monster crawls, wheezing.
Fingers claw at the charred and blasted dirt, and he starts to spasm. There is something terribly -wrong- about this, as the creature -- for it can't really be called a man -- releases a high screech of mindless horror.
And /something is moving under its skin/.
One arm twists, fingers cramping into a clawed splay, bone bursts out as strangely green spines, skin purpling.
Another scream, and out of the clear sky large hail begins to rain down on those that approach and attack, battering ship and soldier alike.
Number XI gets a glancing blow on Genya Arikado with her Blizzard! attack.
Number XI hits Squall Leonhart with her Blizzard! attack.
You take 22 damage.
Number XI gets a glancing blow on Toushirou Hijikata with her Blizzard! attack.
Number XI critically strikes Cid Highwind with her Blizzard! attack.
Cid has already left the bridge, readying to jump off over the side of the airship to join the rest before those missile finish blanketing the area. Some of the crew fistpump victoriously, feeling certain that nothing could survive that attack, but Cid continues to scowl. Nothing about this whole mess had been normal, so why would it ever be so easy?
All he expected to do was distract it long enough to let people take position.
'
He took up the Venus Gospel and jumped onto the railing with both feet. He crouched down, preparing to jump once again, pulling the aviator goggles over his eyes.
"--C-captain! The target is moving! How is it alive--"
"Of course it's alive! Now get outta here!" Cid threw himself over the edge, making his body straight as an arrow, diving for the earth. Something caught his eye on the way down, a change in the air. He curled only a bit before he was pelted with ice.
"Son of a b--" His curse was drowned out by the Blizzard and he was only able to get himself to land safely, although battered, spear ringing as he struck the ground, using it as an anchor.
"Oww!!"
If Sougo Okita were here, he'd so toss him into the chaotic blasts.
Unfortunately, he's not, so Moodswing Yasha needs something else to do while his men go charging forward from Cid's Ship of Doom. Actually, they've sort of stopped now that the missiles blasting and everything else has been exploding around them. Maybe if they use it to their advantage, they'd look cool running through everything. Plus, Hijikata can't let them show him up like this...
And then he gets hit by ICY WINDS. Ow. The man crouches after being hit, falling on one knee. His brow twitches, the ash from the cigarette falling silently as the air moves crazily around him. This annoys him, and his men also are affected by such. They don't run into elemental attacks very often.
"FINE," Hijikata says, to no one, hefting a bazooka onto one shoulder. One can wonder where he gets it; it's practically normal in his realm. "Eat this!!" he yells, adding another thing to explode at the target.
Toushirou Hijikata hits Number XI with his BAZOOKA GOES "THOOM!!" super.
Hail rains on Agent Arikado, and he frowns, taking a thump to the head. Unacceptable. This is where he cheats. Or rather, uses properties inherent in his weapons.
Of /course/ they're magic. He does hang out with 'Miss Enchants Everything' Yoko Belnades. Fueling the two firearms with his own power, one grows warm to the touch. The other crackles like a tesla coil. "How...disgusting." So says the guy who used to pal around with Death. The right gun fires, and from the barrel issues a bolt of fire. Oh fine. It's a heavy caliber bullet /surrounded/ by fire. From the left comes the same thing, replacing fire with violet lightning. He moves, maybe a little faster than your average human, but barely enough to be noticable. He closes on the creature, trying to get an optimal position to unload on it with supreme prejudice.
What he wouldn't do to borrow Soma's proton cannon.
Cid Highwind switches armor modes to On Foot.
Genya Arikado critically strikes Number XI with his BOLT-2 MUTHA FU---Wait. attack.
It uses ice magic. Looks like the fire unit was a good choice.
On the downside, Squall's advance is temporarily halted by the blizzard slamming into him, cutting him up with shards of ice. The SeeD falls back briefly, before regrouping towards the... thing.
(That's just freakish.)
And Squall finishes closing the distance, his gunblade slashing at the writhing monstrosity, with an underarm slash, following up with several more, a lunge, and then a burst of energy as he brings the sword down from overhead. And, with every slash, there is the explosive vibration from the blade.
You juggle Number XI with your Renzokuken combo.
Number XI breaks your combo.
Ice pelts the ground, shards imbedding themselves where they land. As the shambling, now groaning creature struggles to its feet, these pieces of sharp hail give off steam, beginning to melt while in contact with heated earth. It has hardly a few moments upright before bazooka fire blasts off its mutated arm. It isn't blood that sprays on the ground, but a kind of oily blackish ichor that hisses on contact with the ground, blighting what grass that remains.
Already the mangled remains of its arm writhe, squirming, reconstructing what of it that's left into some kind of ropy, barbed tentacle.
It moans again, and somewhere beneath that robe of black its torso begins to expand, bones cracking sharply. Spine arching, the creature opens its mouth again.
This time, it looks like a glow of embers lies within its very maw, and a wheel of flame spins outward from its body, rushing across the ground in a wave.
It is about half-gone. Time is running out.
Number XI hits Genya Arikado with her FIAAAAR attack.
Number XI hits Cid Highwind with her Some fire for you! attack.
Number XI hits Squall Leonhart with her FLAME ON SQUALL attack.
You take 14 damage.
Number XI critically strikes Toushirou Hijikata with her STOP DROP AND ROLL attack.
Cid shakes off what ice was left flaking on his skin and clothing, shoving the goggles back up to his forehead and slapping ice from his hair, muttering a string of profanity.
No sooner did he finish that, when the JENOVA minion decides to help with a little extra heat. Cid tries to dodge out of the way, but fails completely, getting singed in the process.
"Will you KNOCK IT OFF with the #@$*($ MAGIC?!" Now he's pissed.
Finally, with that done, he charges forward, running fast... boots thudding heavily as he picked up speed just before launching himself from the ground again.
This time, he plans to Jump, skewering the JENOVA mutant. Should he hit, he'll plant his feet on the thing's shoulders and YANK the spear right back out again, using it as a 'living' springboard to fling himself back into the air again.
"ORYYAAAAA!!"
Cid Highwind juggles Number XI with his Dragoon CIRCUS...? combo.
Number XI breaks Cid Highwind's combo.
The bazooka is now thrown aside, its usefulness used up for the time being. At least he hit it, and that's a good thing. However, it looks like there's going to be more done to take care of this thing completely. Dark eyes widen at the creature's mutating arm, its movements sending a chill down his spine. "What the -"
That's about all that comes out from his mouth right when fire and flames shoot out in continuous waves, his men and the others caught within the fiery grasps. Hijikata feels it, too, and he's going to suffer either first or second degree burns from this. He immediately drops to the ground, gritting his teeth as he rolls like he's never rolled before. Not being superhuman, some of his men cannot continue while a few others get back up simultaneously, swords still positioned to fight. Hijikata also gets back up without much fanfare, spitting the cigarette butt out to the side. His sword also goes into its fighting stance, the Vice Captain leading with a loud cry as all go attacking the thing at once.
Toushirou Hijikata misses Number XI with his Cutting into that Thing combo.
Fire. While Arikado isn't any more vulnerable to fire than your average person, he still dislikes being set alight. It's distasteful. It also /damages the suit/. That thing is expensive! He covers his face reflexively, the magical flame washing over him like a split second inside a blast furnace. As the heat dies, the agent breathes heavily, even his superhuman constitution taking a beating here. He could unleash his full power, but it's too soon. People don't need to see that yet. It'd be playing a card too early. Instead he oprts for something only a shade subtler.
Genya holsters his guns, brushes what char he can off of his formerly pristine shirt, and buttons up his coat. The man flexes his fingers and, using the battle as a distraction, chants under his breath. Hellish and blasphemous power crackles through his body as he shifts a little, unholy syllables pouring from his lips as the power of black magic pours from him. He reaches an apex and stops, holding onto the power for a moment as dark eyes regard the twisted and pitiful creature before him. He releases it with two words, spoken quietly, almost to himself.
"Soul Steal."
The power bursts from his hand in an invisible, yet almost tangible wave of hellish power. If he's on, it will connect with the wretched creature and center on him, striking again and again and again, drawing glittering motes of power, pure life energy, from the being. Where do these go? Back to Agent Arikado. His dark eyes narrowed, but those watching him may see a flash of gold as the stolen power pours into him.
Genya Arikado juggles Number XI with his I'm In Ur Face, Stealin Ur Souls combo.
Genya Arikado juggles Number XI with his I'm In Ur Face, Stealin Ur Souls combo.
Number XI breaks Genya Arikado's combo.
Number XI has been knocked out!
Even as the flame burns into Squall he doesn't intend on stopping the fighting. Of course, it HURTS. But it could be a lot worse. And he's got momentum.
The SeeD leaps into the air, even as Cid comes down, spinning in the air, energy following his blade, forming a circle of energy around him, that expands out, hopefully to strike the shambling monstrosity, and cleave it in twain.
You hit Number XI with your Fated Circle super.
Number XI has been knocked out!
This monstrocity, this aberration, does not intentionally ignore the pilot Dragoon -- it simply hasn't a mind for communicating, his thoughts full only of 'go to that place' that Eleven directs, and an unthinking, single-minded obsession to do whatever it is that Mother desires.
Even this incredible agony cannot stop him.
But his body exploding might.
The spear tears a chunk of its flesh out of its torso with another spray of disgusting, oily black ichor. It smells rancid, like putrified meat, hisses acidic when it hits the ground. The black-robed creature staggers again, shrieking as that light in its mouth brightens.
That barbed tentacle lashes out like a whip, seeking only to deflect the masses that charge at it with blades drawn. How successful this proves to be may yet be seen.
Or not at all, when an unseen force tears through the creature's body and draws much of its power from within -- that blazing light in its maw dims to a mere glimmer of heat, extinguished utterly when its body is cut entirely in half.
Unfortunately, this means Squall may be splashed with something ... utterly, utterly /vile/. It's charcoal-black, oily blood.
Number XI misses Squall Leonhart with her UNCLEAN, UNCLEAN attack.
Number XI hits Toushirou Hijikata with her TENTACLES D: jab.
While the dragoon is still in the air, mid backflip as he twists through the sky away from their target, his mouth opens in silent wonder at the motes of life energy sparkles away from it's source. Looks kinda like...
Like those motes from the Lifestream. Doesn't it?
He lands, craning his head back toward the JENOVA mutant as Squall spun into the air, creating a circle of cutting light. Cid Highwind fistpumps into the air and cries out as Squall finishes their target off.
"YEAH!! That's how it's don--" Cid looks down, then lifts a foot. His feet are covered in the foul-smelling, black ichor. Normally, a little nastiness didn't bother him, but... this was definitely beyond even his limits.
"--DAMMIT!!!" He just broke in these boots, too! The stuff was starting to eat through the leather...
...H...HOW?!
With a creature this sluggish, it should have been impossible for it to dodge a flurry of sword slashings. Again, he is thrown off when it produces weird tencacle things to fend them all off. To add to this, he and the remaining Shinsengumi members are whipped.
Tentacles. Eurgh.
Several steps are taken going backward, skidding to a halt. Hijikata is not happy. But when was he ever, really? He does see that Agent Genya and Squall take care of it before it decides to explode, the end result still disgusting as it is. Maybe it's a good thing he wasn't in range of that gunky stuff. "Guh..."
Genya Arikado frowns ever so slightly, sliding his hands into his pants pockets like nothing at all bizzare or odd had occured? Fight? What fight? There was no fight, merely an appearance of a goopy corpse. He approaches, watching the tentacle out of the corner of his eye before he crouches, scrutinizing with superhuman senses. Mostly sight, because even his immortal constitution would be tested if he smelled it.
"Fascinating," he says in his usual monotone.
Squall lands on his feet, and, as he sees the spurt of blood fly for him, he turns away to one side, watching it sail past him and hit the ground, as he rests his sword on his shoulder. "Hmph."
He pulls out his radio. "This is SeeD Rank 14, Squall Leonhart, ID #00307 requesting quarantine units sent to this position." He doesn't know what the living bomb was for, but he's damned intent on finding out.
Somewhere on the MUSH, Reno has disconnected.
Toushirou Hijikata has partially disconnected.
The split creature begins to decompose at a rapid rate, dissolving into more of that oily sludge.
Nothing short of offensive, that smell. Just about the only thing that might smell worse would be the breath of a Marlboros on its worst morning after one hell of a bender, if Marlboros could actually hit a bar. The sludge can, in fact, be collected and analyzed, but the dirt directly beneath the reach of a slowly growing pool of ichor will need to be removed.
"Well, I guess that's it, huh..." Cid, now barefoot -- hey, it was that or have that disgusting crap burning into his flesh if he left it there -- he plants the business end of Venus Gospel into the earth and looks around.
Whooooole lotta faces he didn't quite know.
He made a double-take. Vincent Valentine! No wait... he shook his head, clearing the image before taking another look. No, that guy... some kinda 'X-File Agent' who introduced himself before.
Then, a kid with a furlined coat and a nasty scar. Squall Leonhart, from the sounds of it... probably the same he's heard before.
Then there was the other smoker... young guy, too. Just as stoic as the rest of the bunch.
Cid felt a little out of place. Whole lot of young, somewhat 'pretty' guys... all with about as much personality as a stone wall.
"..." It was really hard to come up with something witty to say with such a cold crowd. Instead, Cid just crossed his arms and smoked awkwardly.
Genya Arikado rises, shaking his head. He is not a scientist. A paranormal expert, yes, but his expertise lies towards the supernatural, not the alien. He turns, looking at Squall and then to the raging Captain. "Good work was done here today. Likely many lives were saved. I commend you all." He turns then, starting to head towards the rendezvous point. That is to say, where the Shera will land. He'll board then and simply wait patiently for transport off of this world.
What? Stay and socialize? Tch.
Toushirou just stares at the mess left behind, wrinkling his nose a little at the stench. He snorts, glancing back over at the others, just as Cid is doing for the time being, his face expressionless.
His men are still down, or in the middle of slowly getting back to their feet, all of them needing more medical attention than he does. In due time.
Right now, he needs to get another cigarette from his pack. "...Yeah," he responds somewhat flatly, sighing. "The reports are gonna be fun."
WHEN: June 26th, 2008
WHERE: The Outskirts of Dollet
WHAT: A human bomb is headed for Dollet! You have three rounds to defuse it! Begin Mission? (Y/N)
WATCH FOR: Bomb is Dodgemonster
The smell of the sea is strong around Dollet. The streets?
Empty.
Because a threat is coming from beyond the Gate, it has struggled, shambled its way here. Is it its final destination? Just one of many stops along a great and invisible plotted path? None know, save perhaps the gibbering, staggering, wheezing -thing- that might have, perhaps, once been a man.
The area has been evacuated in any case, and the IPA notified: another of those vile creatures needs to get taken down before it can taint Dollet -- or worse, perhaps even the ocean -- with that disgusting /culture/ of JENOVA's mutated cells swimming in its veins.
The last one exploded.
You, few and efficient, have been summoned on the behalf of the IPA to deal with this before it can spread, supplied with transport, as needed:
Aboard the Shera.
Approaching the outskirts of Dollet, a lone humanoid figure trudges along in a long, hooded black robe, his feet bare and bleeding from treading long miles just to reach this place, mako-green and vacant eyes staring fixedly on some point in the horizon.
Your objective: Stop this monster from reaching Dollet. Destroy it before it can explode.
What is it with Jenova filled monstrosities attacking on Squall's watch. Regardless, SeeD has been deployed to Dollet Town. And at the head of that SeeD Contingent is, once again, the young Mr. Leonhart.
That's probably why support is /actually on the way/ this time. He's not getting jumped again. On the border of dollet, a small contingent of SeeD, with some armored vehicles, stay, watching the arriving robed figure. Squall's sword is raised, but not in an attack position, but rather in one to signal when to attack.
"Everyone. Wait for backup. When I give the order, open fire. Fire unit, cover us. I'll close in."
But, for now, he waits for backup to arrive.
The Shera's multi-tiered propellers sliced the air as it hovered above the outskirts of Dollet, it's stabilizing vents slowing the decent of the airship.
From inside, the Captain and his crew were preparing to make the first strike. His pilot-in-training took the wheel while he paced before the wide observational windows that held the enemy in view, trailing smoke from his cigarette.
"All right, jerks! It looks like JENOVA's little follower is down there, scaring the kind @#*&($ of Dollet! I'm sure you already know this, but the IPA wants this taken care of quickly. That thing's gotta go before it reaches town, you hear?!"
He spun around, planting his hands on his hips, looking over the
"Be careful out there, he could be dangerous! But to be on the safe side, we've got some covering fire for you--" No sooner is this said, then a rain of missiles shoots from either side of the windows arcing into the sky and heading straight for the man in a black robe.
"--this might not work, but that's why we're landing! Get to work, people!!"
Wait a minute, who the hell put Cid in charge anyway?!
Cid Highwind misses Number XI with his Death From Above super.
The end of a cigarette glows red-orange, the lighter clicking after its job is done. "All right, men. You got your orders. Now, find that...thing before anything else happens," commands the Vice Captain of his squad, a single wisp of smoke trail from his frowning lips.
Swords rise high above the group's head, a resounding cheer backing their morale. And off they go to help.
Reports have been breaking out lately, and Hijikata has seen and heard whatever came up from the last few hitting the multiverse channels within IPA headquarters. Well, now, instead of sitting around, he's being useful. Besides, it's not like him to NOT destroy something.
With a sigh and another exhale of smoke, Hijikata brandishes his own katana, casually following his men into the fray.
Special Agent Genya Arikado stands on the low deck of the Shera, frowning as missiles are fired. That was likely a poor choice. The dham-- er...government official adjusts the cuffs of his shirt, cufflinks glittering slightly before he adjusts his tie.
He takes a deep breath and waits a few beats for the airship to lower a bit. He takes a look around, hoping that the missiles will be a sufficent distraction.
He then jumps over the railing without a second thought, or even looking nervous. He drops like a stone, suit jacket rustling in the wind as he opens it on the way down. With the hints of what /may/ be a smile, he draws two weapons from shoulder holsters.
Those aren't standard sidearms. Black and tooled in silver, they're enormous. Likely .50 caliber. He aims them as he's falling and, when he hits the ground, fires, shells ejecting to the ground.
Genya Arikado misses Number XI with his John Woo With Heavy Caliber: It's Good To Be More Than A Man. attack.
(...does wait for the signal mean anything to these people?)
Squall suppresses some very unsavory thigns reagarding Cid, and turns to the troops. "Time's up! Open fire!"
The machine guns on the armored vehicles open up on the shambling monster, as Squall starts rushing forward, an Aura spell hitting him as he does so. He needs to do optimal damage to the thing, and this looks like their best chance. He's still got some distance to close, but hopefully, the machine guns will keep it busy.
You critically strike Number XI with your Yes. Machine Guns. attack.
Blanketing the ground with missile fire should have, certainly, taken care of the matter. As the smoke clears, however, one may never know whether it was missiles or gunfire that sent the black-cloaked figure to the ground. Small craters have been carved in the earth, and over one the humanoid monster crawls, wheezing.
Fingers claw at the charred and blasted dirt, and he starts to spasm. There is something terribly -wrong- about this, as the creature -- for it can't really be called a man -- releases a high screech of mindless horror.
And /something is moving under its skin/.
One arm twists, fingers cramping into a clawed splay, bone bursts out as strangely green spines, skin purpling.
Another scream, and out of the clear sky large hail begins to rain down on those that approach and attack, battering ship and soldier alike.
Number XI gets a glancing blow on Genya Arikado with her Blizzard! attack.
Number XI hits Squall Leonhart with her Blizzard! attack.
You take 22 damage.
Number XI gets a glancing blow on Toushirou Hijikata with her Blizzard! attack.
Number XI critically strikes Cid Highwind with her Blizzard! attack.
Cid has already left the bridge, readying to jump off over the side of the airship to join the rest before those missile finish blanketing the area. Some of the crew fistpump victoriously, feeling certain that nothing could survive that attack, but Cid continues to scowl. Nothing about this whole mess had been normal, so why would it ever be so easy?
All he expected to do was distract it long enough to let people take position.
'
He took up the Venus Gospel and jumped onto the railing with both feet. He crouched down, preparing to jump once again, pulling the aviator goggles over his eyes.
"--C-captain! The target is moving! How is it alive--"
"Of course it's alive! Now get outta here!" Cid threw himself over the edge, making his body straight as an arrow, diving for the earth. Something caught his eye on the way down, a change in the air. He curled only a bit before he was pelted with ice.
"Son of a b--" His curse was drowned out by the Blizzard and he was only able to get himself to land safely, although battered, spear ringing as he struck the ground, using it as an anchor.
"Oww!!"
If Sougo Okita were here, he'd so toss him into the chaotic blasts.
Unfortunately, he's not, so Moodswing Yasha needs something else to do while his men go charging forward from Cid's Ship of Doom. Actually, they've sort of stopped now that the missiles blasting and everything else has been exploding around them. Maybe if they use it to their advantage, they'd look cool running through everything. Plus, Hijikata can't let them show him up like this...
And then he gets hit by ICY WINDS. Ow. The man crouches after being hit, falling on one knee. His brow twitches, the ash from the cigarette falling silently as the air moves crazily around him. This annoys him, and his men also are affected by such. They don't run into elemental attacks very often.
"FINE," Hijikata says, to no one, hefting a bazooka onto one shoulder. One can wonder where he gets it; it's practically normal in his realm. "Eat this!!" he yells, adding another thing to explode at the target.
Toushirou Hijikata hits Number XI with his BAZOOKA GOES "THOOM!!" super.
Hail rains on Agent Arikado, and he frowns, taking a thump to the head. Unacceptable. This is where he cheats. Or rather, uses properties inherent in his weapons.
Of /course/ they're magic. He does hang out with 'Miss Enchants Everything' Yoko Belnades. Fueling the two firearms with his own power, one grows warm to the touch. The other crackles like a tesla coil. "How...disgusting." So says the guy who used to pal around with Death. The right gun fires, and from the barrel issues a bolt of fire. Oh fine. It's a heavy caliber bullet /surrounded/ by fire. From the left comes the same thing, replacing fire with violet lightning. He moves, maybe a little faster than your average human, but barely enough to be noticable. He closes on the creature, trying to get an optimal position to unload on it with supreme prejudice.
What he wouldn't do to borrow Soma's proton cannon.
Cid Highwind switches armor modes to On Foot.
Genya Arikado critically strikes Number XI with his BOLT-2 MUTHA FU---Wait. attack.
It uses ice magic. Looks like the fire unit was a good choice.
On the downside, Squall's advance is temporarily halted by the blizzard slamming into him, cutting him up with shards of ice. The SeeD falls back briefly, before regrouping towards the... thing.
(That's just freakish.)
And Squall finishes closing the distance, his gunblade slashing at the writhing monstrosity, with an underarm slash, following up with several more, a lunge, and then a burst of energy as he brings the sword down from overhead. And, with every slash, there is the explosive vibration from the blade.
You juggle Number XI with your Renzokuken combo.
Number XI breaks your combo.
Ice pelts the ground, shards imbedding themselves where they land. As the shambling, now groaning creature struggles to its feet, these pieces of sharp hail give off steam, beginning to melt while in contact with heated earth. It has hardly a few moments upright before bazooka fire blasts off its mutated arm. It isn't blood that sprays on the ground, but a kind of oily blackish ichor that hisses on contact with the ground, blighting what grass that remains.
Already the mangled remains of its arm writhe, squirming, reconstructing what of it that's left into some kind of ropy, barbed tentacle.
It moans again, and somewhere beneath that robe of black its torso begins to expand, bones cracking sharply. Spine arching, the creature opens its mouth again.
This time, it looks like a glow of embers lies within its very maw, and a wheel of flame spins outward from its body, rushing across the ground in a wave.
It is about half-gone. Time is running out.
Number XI hits Genya Arikado with her FIAAAAR attack.
Number XI hits Cid Highwind with her Some fire for you! attack.
Number XI hits Squall Leonhart with her FLAME ON SQUALL attack.
You take 14 damage.
Number XI critically strikes Toushirou Hijikata with her STOP DROP AND ROLL attack.
Cid shakes off what ice was left flaking on his skin and clothing, shoving the goggles back up to his forehead and slapping ice from his hair, muttering a string of profanity.
No sooner did he finish that, when the JENOVA minion decides to help with a little extra heat. Cid tries to dodge out of the way, but fails completely, getting singed in the process.
"Will you KNOCK IT OFF with the #@$*($ MAGIC?!" Now he's pissed.
Finally, with that done, he charges forward, running fast... boots thudding heavily as he picked up speed just before launching himself from the ground again.
This time, he plans to Jump, skewering the JENOVA mutant. Should he hit, he'll plant his feet on the thing's shoulders and YANK the spear right back out again, using it as a 'living' springboard to fling himself back into the air again.
"ORYYAAAAA!!"
Cid Highwind juggles Number XI with his Dragoon CIRCUS...? combo.
Number XI breaks Cid Highwind's combo.
The bazooka is now thrown aside, its usefulness used up for the time being. At least he hit it, and that's a good thing. However, it looks like there's going to be more done to take care of this thing completely. Dark eyes widen at the creature's mutating arm, its movements sending a chill down his spine. "What the -"
That's about all that comes out from his mouth right when fire and flames shoot out in continuous waves, his men and the others caught within the fiery grasps. Hijikata feels it, too, and he's going to suffer either first or second degree burns from this. He immediately drops to the ground, gritting his teeth as he rolls like he's never rolled before. Not being superhuman, some of his men cannot continue while a few others get back up simultaneously, swords still positioned to fight. Hijikata also gets back up without much fanfare, spitting the cigarette butt out to the side. His sword also goes into its fighting stance, the Vice Captain leading with a loud cry as all go attacking the thing at once.
Toushirou Hijikata misses Number XI with his Cutting into that Thing combo.
Fire. While Arikado isn't any more vulnerable to fire than your average person, he still dislikes being set alight. It's distasteful. It also /damages the suit/. That thing is expensive! He covers his face reflexively, the magical flame washing over him like a split second inside a blast furnace. As the heat dies, the agent breathes heavily, even his superhuman constitution taking a beating here. He could unleash his full power, but it's too soon. People don't need to see that yet. It'd be playing a card too early. Instead he oprts for something only a shade subtler.
Genya holsters his guns, brushes what char he can off of his formerly pristine shirt, and buttons up his coat. The man flexes his fingers and, using the battle as a distraction, chants under his breath. Hellish and blasphemous power crackles through his body as he shifts a little, unholy syllables pouring from his lips as the power of black magic pours from him. He reaches an apex and stops, holding onto the power for a moment as dark eyes regard the twisted and pitiful creature before him. He releases it with two words, spoken quietly, almost to himself.
"Soul Steal."
The power bursts from his hand in an invisible, yet almost tangible wave of hellish power. If he's on, it will connect with the wretched creature and center on him, striking again and again and again, drawing glittering motes of power, pure life energy, from the being. Where do these go? Back to Agent Arikado. His dark eyes narrowed, but those watching him may see a flash of gold as the stolen power pours into him.
Genya Arikado juggles Number XI with his I'm In Ur Face, Stealin Ur Souls combo.
Genya Arikado juggles Number XI with his I'm In Ur Face, Stealin Ur Souls combo.
Number XI breaks Genya Arikado's combo.
Number XI has been knocked out!
Even as the flame burns into Squall he doesn't intend on stopping the fighting. Of course, it HURTS. But it could be a lot worse. And he's got momentum.
The SeeD leaps into the air, even as Cid comes down, spinning in the air, energy following his blade, forming a circle of energy around him, that expands out, hopefully to strike the shambling monstrosity, and cleave it in twain.
You hit Number XI with your Fated Circle super.
Number XI has been knocked out!
This monstrocity, this aberration, does not intentionally ignore the pilot Dragoon -- it simply hasn't a mind for communicating, his thoughts full only of 'go to that place' that Eleven directs, and an unthinking, single-minded obsession to do whatever it is that Mother desires.
Even this incredible agony cannot stop him.
But his body exploding might.
The spear tears a chunk of its flesh out of its torso with another spray of disgusting, oily black ichor. It smells rancid, like putrified meat, hisses acidic when it hits the ground. The black-robed creature staggers again, shrieking as that light in its mouth brightens.
That barbed tentacle lashes out like a whip, seeking only to deflect the masses that charge at it with blades drawn. How successful this proves to be may yet be seen.
Or not at all, when an unseen force tears through the creature's body and draws much of its power from within -- that blazing light in its maw dims to a mere glimmer of heat, extinguished utterly when its body is cut entirely in half.
Unfortunately, this means Squall may be splashed with something ... utterly, utterly /vile/. It's charcoal-black, oily blood.
Number XI misses Squall Leonhart with her UNCLEAN, UNCLEAN attack.
Number XI hits Toushirou Hijikata with her TENTACLES D: jab.
While the dragoon is still in the air, mid backflip as he twists through the sky away from their target, his mouth opens in silent wonder at the motes of life energy sparkles away from it's source. Looks kinda like...
Like those motes from the Lifestream. Doesn't it?
He lands, craning his head back toward the JENOVA mutant as Squall spun into the air, creating a circle of cutting light. Cid Highwind fistpumps into the air and cries out as Squall finishes their target off.
"YEAH!! That's how it's don--" Cid looks down, then lifts a foot. His feet are covered in the foul-smelling, black ichor. Normally, a little nastiness didn't bother him, but... this was definitely beyond even his limits.
"--DAMMIT!!!" He just broke in these boots, too! The stuff was starting to eat through the leather...
...H...HOW?!
With a creature this sluggish, it should have been impossible for it to dodge a flurry of sword slashings. Again, he is thrown off when it produces weird tencacle things to fend them all off. To add to this, he and the remaining Shinsengumi members are whipped.
Tentacles. Eurgh.
Several steps are taken going backward, skidding to a halt. Hijikata is not happy. But when was he ever, really? He does see that Agent Genya and Squall take care of it before it decides to explode, the end result still disgusting as it is. Maybe it's a good thing he wasn't in range of that gunky stuff. "Guh..."
Genya Arikado frowns ever so slightly, sliding his hands into his pants pockets like nothing at all bizzare or odd had occured? Fight? What fight? There was no fight, merely an appearance of a goopy corpse. He approaches, watching the tentacle out of the corner of his eye before he crouches, scrutinizing with superhuman senses. Mostly sight, because even his immortal constitution would be tested if he smelled it.
"Fascinating," he says in his usual monotone.
Squall lands on his feet, and, as he sees the spurt of blood fly for him, he turns away to one side, watching it sail past him and hit the ground, as he rests his sword on his shoulder. "Hmph."
He pulls out his radio. "This is SeeD Rank 14, Squall Leonhart, ID #00307 requesting quarantine units sent to this position." He doesn't know what the living bomb was for, but he's damned intent on finding out.
Somewhere on the MUSH, Reno has disconnected.
Toushirou Hijikata has partially disconnected.
The split creature begins to decompose at a rapid rate, dissolving into more of that oily sludge.
Nothing short of offensive, that smell. Just about the only thing that might smell worse would be the breath of a Marlboros on its worst morning after one hell of a bender, if Marlboros could actually hit a bar. The sludge can, in fact, be collected and analyzed, but the dirt directly beneath the reach of a slowly growing pool of ichor will need to be removed.
"Well, I guess that's it, huh..." Cid, now barefoot -- hey, it was that or have that disgusting crap burning into his flesh if he left it there -- he plants the business end of Venus Gospel into the earth and looks around.
Whooooole lotta faces he didn't quite know.
He made a double-take. Vincent Valentine! No wait... he shook his head, clearing the image before taking another look. No, that guy... some kinda 'X-File Agent' who introduced himself before.
Then, a kid with a furlined coat and a nasty scar. Squall Leonhart, from the sounds of it... probably the same he's heard before.
Then there was the other smoker... young guy, too. Just as stoic as the rest of the bunch.
Cid felt a little out of place. Whole lot of young, somewhat 'pretty' guys... all with about as much personality as a stone wall.
"..." It was really hard to come up with something witty to say with such a cold crowd. Instead, Cid just crossed his arms and smoked awkwardly.
Genya Arikado rises, shaking his head. He is not a scientist. A paranormal expert, yes, but his expertise lies towards the supernatural, not the alien. He turns, looking at Squall and then to the raging Captain. "Good work was done here today. Likely many lives were saved. I commend you all." He turns then, starting to head towards the rendezvous point. That is to say, where the Shera will land. He'll board then and simply wait patiently for transport off of this world.
What? Stay and socialize? Tch.
Toushirou just stares at the mess left behind, wrinkling his nose a little at the stench. He snorts, glancing back over at the others, just as Cid is doing for the time being, his face expressionless.
His men are still down, or in the middle of slowly getting back to their feet, all of them needing more medical attention than he does. In due time.
Right now, he needs to get another cigarette from his pack. "...Yeah," he responds somewhat flatly, sighing. "The reports are gonna be fun."