thirteenth voyage
[ Christmas morning dawns, and there's no light.
Komachi can't remember what happened before the darkness. There are just flashes of the same routine that she goes through every day, stumbling downstairs, collecting the mail. A different letter, this time. And then nothing ( Read more... )
Komachi can't remember what happened before the darkness. There are just flashes of the same routine that she goes through every day, stumbling downstairs, collecting the mail. A different letter, this time. And then nothing ( Read more... )
Taking a quick look around, she stops by at the center of the park. It's empty. Without taking more time, she activates her magic circuits, and a faint glyph appears at her feet. She'll attempt to detect anything unusual by the ground.
It didn't take long; there's something down in the earth that shouldn't be. But would shouting even help?
...
She relocates herself to where the feeling of irregularity was strangest, and to signal her presence?
She'll sanctify the grounds by casting Consecrate. ...It'll be too bad if whatever that's down there was a vampire or something, but as long as they're not Evil aligned or something decidedly demonic, it should be okay. A normal human would feel as if their surrounding air has just been purged, and other otherworldly beings might feel a bit strange. Other than that, it at least tells you that something is up above.
She'll wait for a reaction. If there is something, it'll confirm her suspicions, and if there's nothing? She'll start blasting digging anyway. The former would just be nice to have.]
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Throwing caution to the wind, she begins hammering and screeching at the top of the coffin even louder, her voice hoarse. Her tone is desperate and obscenities slip out like blood from a stab wound. Her knuckles bruised and raw, she continues knocking at the wooden coffin door, shut tight. ]
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There's... someone down there.
Okay screw the shovel (for the time being). She'll take a step aside and blast the earth away to make this faster. Chanting quickly in Greek under her breath, complex circles began glowing by her feet before she took a 30 feet jump in the air, extending her arms as if she was wielding an invisible bow. The bolt was one made purely out of magical energy, and aimed towards the ground, she lets go.
It was a concentrated blow that shook the earth, leaving a crater that was deep enough to thump the coffin and make a crack on it, even; there should now be some air and a faint ray of light coming through from above.
To Ciel though, it does expose the coffin's surface by at least a third. ...Well.]
Please hang in there a little longer--
[Scraping more earth off the surface, now; whoever who's in there might be able to tell that the pressure is slowly beginning to lift.]
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But her tentative knocking was brought to a sudden halt when she feels the blow to the coffin's lid, her body being rocked backwards, the coffin now jutting out at an angle. Her legs kick the stuffy air and the crack that has splintered the wood. She aims her feet to break through the opening, and dirt trickles down, covering her face, and she splutters and coughs and yells. At least that let in some air - this rejuvenates her somewhat. There's someone there, outside, right at that instant.
She punches through the peeling wood, soft burial ground breaking away. Then, some bright glowing sparks of light shatter though the rest of the lid. Komachi had been afraid to use her danmaku, in case a mountain of dirt smothered her, and in any case she was too panicky and light-headed to remember something as simple as that. Hopefully whoever was there dodged it. Ciel may see the end of a hand, red-brown fingers, waving out of the hole, raw and bleeding but still frantic. ]
Oi, hey, hey! C'mon, I know you're there! Let me out of heeeeere!
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The danmakus were easily dodged. She wasn't an elite class Executor for nothing.]
Stay still and put your hand back, Onozuka-san. I don't want to hurt you doing this--
[She'll give Komachi enough time to do just that: retract her fingers as her own hands glow blue. Lightning is then materialized onto the surface, to break the wood further and obliterate more earth out of the way.
What follows are thin rapier-like swords hacking into the side of the coffin, before already cracked and damaged wooden planks are pulled loose. It won't take long now, at least, for the buried girl to see white winter sunlight again, along with a familiar face.]
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C-Ciel?
How'd you - wha -
[ She doesn't care too much about an answer at that moment, but lifts herself out of the box, arms grabbing onto the exposed earth and landing on the frozen grass. She gazes up at Ciel, teeth gritted, but it wasn't her usual grin, more like a perverse, apologetic form of it. ]
Ah, um. I should say sorry now, sorry, sorry...
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You don't have to apologize; it's not your fault. May I see your hand? I'll stop the bleeding, and then we can go back to your house.
[She didn't need to ask about Komachi's circumstances. As long as they make it home and she recovers, that would be good enough.]
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[ She stops her gabbling and picks herself up, her long legs shaking. She extends her bloodied hand outwards, splayed against the wind. The fingernails have been worn down and the tips are an angry scarlet. ]
Mm! I'd like to get away from this place as soon as possible!
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She takes that hand and easily lifts the other girl up, and if needed, will help her stand and serve as support. Once Komachi doesn't seem like she'll topple over anymore, Ciel will clasp both her hands, before a cooling sensation will permeate into the tip of her fingers. The nails aren't growing back, but any bleeding from scraped skin has been stopped, the wounds now healed.]
Please be careful and don't move your hands too much; there are still splinters and nail fragments stuck in some parts, are there? We'll take care of it once we get back. [She then lets go and takes off her own coat, before draping it over Komachi's shoulders.] Here; it's all that I can do for the time being. Are you ready to go?
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[ She steadies her balance, her legs were just numb from being trapped but the feeling soon wears off. She nods in appreciation as the cuts are closed up. ]
Okay. I'm ready.
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Alright. Please hang on, and let me know if you're feeling too tired to walk; I don't mind carrying you the rest of the way, but walking a but may at least unwind your body a little and make it less numb.
[She'll again offer herself as support, and begin leading the way, once that's done.]
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I can walk, I can walk. But I'm still shaky. As long as it's at a slow pace I'll be fine.
[ She sticks close to Ciel, and if her legs shudder at any point will hold on to her, but tries to slope back into her usual stride as soon as possible. ]
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...People are lucky to receive coal this Christmas. I haven't gotten around to make a full patrol just yet, but the damage done has mostly been psychological. [She won't go into more details unless prompted. No need to make it sound more terrible than it already was.]
Alright. Please let me know if you need a break, Onozuka-san. [She's got you. :|b To Taylor Road, then. o/ At least she'll make sure that Komachi doesn't trip or anything; she'll be easily caught before she hits the ground anyway, if that were to happen.]
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Have people died? Have they killed themselves? [ She pauses, thinking to herself, looking like she's drifted off somewhat, looking at the harsh light of the sky after darkness for hours. Then she switches back to her peppy tone. ]
Ahaha. It's fine for now.
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[...]
Yes. I don't think that some were given a choice. If what I've heard of a phonecall was right, there was a person now stranded in a desert; he was probably left to die of thirst. Others are trapped similarly or given gruesome gifts that may incite suicide, and it's also possible that there are people who have been affected in a way that would drive them to hurt and kill others that they previously considered as friends. [At least this happens before her own death! /o/
...sigh] It's a mess, but yes. I'll go take a better look around town, later on.
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[ She listens to this news with chirpy smile still in place, not knowing what else to do, but then, talk of death itself does not scare her. She lowers her head and makes a 'tch' sound. ]
They control death, and others' choice to take it...havin' no fear like that...really pisses me off.
They shouldn't get too complacent about their power over us.
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