[Week 14, Day 1] The nightmare begins again

[kannagara_gods]

Who: EVERYONE
Status: OPEN, VERY VERY OPEN
Style: Anything; Action - Comment spamming okay; Multiple threads okay
Where: All villages. Sub-threads. FEEL FREE TO ADD SUB-THREADS/LOCATIONS WITH CHARACTER THREADS.
When: Weel 14, Day 1 -- all times of day.
Rating: Possible R, just in case. Violence

Comments

HISATO

[kannagara_gods]

 

Allen's house - lvl 4 battle at midnight (mostly closed)

[whitenighting]

[Just before people begin to see terrible things flooding into the town, one house in Hisato suddenly has a hole in its wall, dust and particles of wood erupting from an explosion of gunfire.

Allen kind of doesn't really care about the state of the house anymore, though.

Dazed for a moment from the explosion and having just flung himself over Timothy and Dre to shield them as best he could with Crown Clown's cloak, he blinks before glancing sharply towards where the fire came from. No mistaking that gunfire, that -

Eyes widen, then narrow. There it was. Kannagara or not, whether it made sense or not, whether his eye didn't seem to work quite right here... No mistaking that. Nothing else looked like the soul of an akuma, no matter where it was, especially not that kind.

Level 4.]

[inurakuma]

[Timothy has seen a Level 4 before, back when several Akuma nearly leveled the orphanage. He knows how ruthless and terrifying they could be. But back then had been different: most notably, he had been distracted by his own fights with the Level 2s and 3s, so he hadn't been able to focus specifically on the Level 4 and all its terror

[need_some_shui]

[Dre can only just stare, eyes wide and heart thudding as his mind races. This is certainly something he has no experience with. Not even in nightmares. Was this a nightmare? Was he still asleep? Was this some strange side effect of this world? He is almost too shocked to even be frightened, just numbly watching as Allen throws himself over them.

Debris, explosions, this had to be real... it felt too much to be fake...and the way Allen had reacted...saving everybody again... but like he knew what it was....

is this something from Allen's world? One of the things Mr. Lavi had mentioned? The 'war'?

Mind suddenly coming back to him, and sense of danger slamming full into his chest, Dre covers his head]

W-what is that thing?! [He chokes out]

[darknessmatters]

[ A new place~ How interesting. It lowers its hand, blinking at the forms lying before it.

Small ones, and- An Exorcist. No mistaking that Innocence.

A calm breeze blows forward, into the wrecked remains of the home, and the akuma ignores the cold attacking its bare back. The air is still and quiet, and it can feel- nothing. Such a simple nothingness in this air, and it reminds him of death.

But... death is too simple, isn't it? This creature wasn't made to inflict mere death- No. Death should be violent, terrible, full of sounds- horrible, horrible sounds, such as flesh ripping and throats going hoarse with their agonized screams - but none can stop screaming. Such noises make the akuma feel at home, because that's all it seems to feel and hear - ripping and screaming. Its eyes narrow, glancing off to the side at something that isn't there: Can't you ever be quiet?

Slowly, those eyes return to the forms in the room.

The fear is evident, and it- it energizes the Level 4. Its blank stare becomes a light, excited smile as it steps

[whitenighting]

[It's an akuma, Dre. And no, it's strange because Allen's been so careful between happily talking with you about certain parts of his past and covering up and deflecting others.

This is one of the latter.

Allen's throat goes a little dry at its words and grits his teeth at the expressions on Dre and Timothy - but he stands abruptly, turning towards the Level 4 as he grabs his own left wrist with his right hand - pulling the whole arm seamlessly into a large broadsword, the cloak covering what would be an odd lack of an arm otherwise. But he throws a quick, urgent glance over his shoulder at the two younger ones.]

Get out of here! Timothy, get Dre out of here!

[You're an Exorcist and you've seen this before. Allen's sorry, but this is beyond you. Better to get out of here now.

Even as he keeps his back and thus his cloak towards the two, just in case, he frowns and watches the Level 4; no moves until the other two are safely away.

He does swallow hard, though, looking at something to the side and a bit above the creature.

Sorry

[inurakuma]

[Right, running. Not the best option when dealing with Akuma, since they can follow after, but if Allen's telling him to do it then he'll run.

Plus he has a reason now, he has to take care of Dre. Dre isn't an exorcist (as far as Timothy knows, at least), he can't fight off any Akuma. Timothy has to keep him safe. He can do this.

So why is she practically shaking with fear?

He knows he can't just stay there, so he nods to Allen and reaches out to grab Dre's hand and drag him off. At the very least Tsukikami, that invisible ghost only he can see, can help them get away from the Akuma, if there's any more outside.]

C'mon, this way!

[He doesn't anticipate anything being left here for them to come back to later, but surviving is more important than material possessions.]

[need_some_shui]

[Dre's shock at Allen's arm literally turning into a weapon leaves him devoid of any small amount of speech he had had left at the sight of the monster attacking their home. Though amongst all the chaos, perhaps the arm thing is something he can ask about later....when they weren't, you know, going to be killed in some horrible fashion that Dre is now imagining in scenario after scenario.

He can ask when they are all safe again...

...cuz they had to be....

...they had already lost Allen once... it just.. couldn't happen again...

it wouldn't be fair

When the hand takes his and tugs forcefully, Dre just swallows with difficulty and manages to nod before running]

K-kay.

[darknessmatters]

[ The little ones are running. The akuma only steps to the side, eyes following them closely- but nothing else. They would be small, vulnerable- so simple to dismember...

The monster takes a deep breath as it imagines the act. The way their flesh would tear, easily like fabric. It would make a similar noise as well. It thinks over the sounds the boys would make - the grunting, the groaning, the screaming, the begging.

Of course, the chase is the akuma's favorite part. Arms at its sides, the creature ventures forward, wings fluttering just a little in excitement. ]

Why are you leaving? The fun's just beginning...

[whitenighting]

[Not happening.

But they're running (where? he hadn't thought that far ahead... but someplace not here) and Allen darts quickly between the Akuma and the boys. Shifts the grip on the sword, holding the flat of it towards the creature like a shield.

Swallows hard, sets face for a moment.]

I'm not sure how or why you're here...

[Because it makes no sense, but this is what's in front of him, this is...

... this is blood come alive again, a doublebeat of the heart, enough that it's heady and makes him blink for a moment; a jolt straight from heart, tingling in the sword like he can experience every inch of sensation on the blade.

Then he smiles; humorless but not unsympathetic. Grips the hilt of the sword tighter and slants it a bit.]

Sorry, but I have to destroy you anyway.

[It's not killing when it's a machine. Not killing when it's also saving something dear. Not killing when it's a cause.

Life is clearer in this moment.

With that he can raise the blade with a cry and charge forward.]

[nec_metu]

[Lenalee had jolted awake as her Hitomi started screaming with everyone elses, and was still in the process of getting her bearings when there was a yell from the other room. And there's a moment where she hears that sound; the familiar whirring, metallic clacking- it sends a rush of awareness through her body, Innocence reacting to a known enemy or adrenaline at the automatic recognition, maybe both. Her boots are activated in an instant; she isn't sure if it's a conscious decision or not, and doesn't care.]

[An explosion rips through the air, and Lenalee barrels toward it.]

[darknessmatters]

[ Oh, so the Exorcist wants to play? This could prove... entertaining.

And he gets backup, of course. The more the merrier... Or, rather, the more Exorcists that show up to "destroy" the akuma, the more it gets to kill tear rip mutilate-

With a sharp giggle, the akuma turns its attention to the girl just now joining the fight; the look on her face is as intriguing as the hum of Innocence emanating from her. She reeks of a challenge- as does the other one, the boy.

Such fun, such fun.

It notes that pause, that beautiful hesitation on the girl's part. ]

You aren't sure how to play, are you? [ It grins widely, baring every single tooth in its twisted mouth. ] I can show you how~ [ And so it darts forward quickly, hand aglow and reaching forward to make contact with the girl, eyes wide and ever watchful. ]

[inurakuma]

[They're running, running far away, though Timothy doesn't know where yet. He's only been in this place for two days, he couldn't possibly know the different streets that crisscross this city. But he knows that they need to get away from here, or else they'll both be dead

[need_some_shui]

[Dre's instinct, fortunately enough, is not to scream but to take in a deep low and shuddering breath as if to say internally woah what the hell is going on?. And then with shifting eyes momentarily following the masses of almost crazed people, he adds silently just give me a second... I don't understand any of this...

The world quite literally looks like it has broken and is falling down around them, and it is almost too shocking for Dre to feel scared.

Just shocked to a point of feeling numbly disconnected from a good majority of it. Like he is watching a movie because his mind can't fathom any sensations.

And finally he nods to Timothy, making a quick distracted gesture towards the East]

T-that way.

[inurakuma]

[He nods to Dre, and he's about to take off again, but he hesitates when he sees the look on Dre's face. He sees it, and he feels sympathy for Dre, because not too long ago he was in this exact same position.

Not that he's much better now than he was back then, with only a couple days here and a couple weeks back home since that time, but he likes to feel like he knows more about dealing with monsters. He's going to have to learn how to become a hero, so he might as well start now.

Decision made, Timothy shoots Dre a grin that's trying to be confident.]

Don't worry, nothing bad's gonna happen while I'm here.

[He had hoped to be saying this to a pretty girl, but oh well, life had other things in mind.]

[need_some_shui]

[It had always looked so cool in the movies. To be on the run from the big bad monsters whilst some epic battle between good and evil took place.

But this... this doesn't feel cool. Or epic.

Though, as he looks at Timothy, and then steals a glance back in the direction of their house that is no longer in sight where Allen would be fighting, Dre finds comfort in the fact that, cool or not, movie or not...there still seems to be hero's and good people.

Its not just the bad guys.

So getting himself together he puts on a more seriously determined face and nods]

Thanks.