WHO: EVERYONE
LOCATION: EVERYWHERE
WEEK: 65
TIME: Early (12:15am onwards) Saturday morning through Sunday evening
WHAT: ANNIVERSARY EVENT
RATING: Inferi, violence, shenanigans - It could get pretty high. M to be safe, for now.
We will be posting another giant event log for the recovery stuff, this is purely for stuff during the event!
Please note
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Read more... )
"Do you really think you'll be alright on your own?" he asked instead, smile fading. If Kairi didn't want company, Yellow wouldn't follow her...but an uncomfortable ache threatened to rise in the pit of his stomach when he thought about leaving her alone out in the halls with the threat of Inferi looming all around. He hadn't seen anything yet, but there was broken glass everywhere and even now some strange, inhuman noises could be heard from a distance. And Kairi looked so scared. "Well, maybe I can just get you as far as the Common Room? Then I can head back to the Hospital Wing and wait for you."
Either way, Yellow had no intention of staying out in the halls. He was needed in the Hospital Wing and besides, he couldn't well protect his friends if he was just wandering around and getting attacked himself.
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Would she be all right on her own? No more then Yellow would be, and she could hardly send the younger student away now. If the hallways she had passed through had been empty before, there was a large chance they weren't, now.
Okay. She swallowed, nodded again, and glanced around. "I don't want you to go off by yourself either," she told him, trying her very hardest not to sound as worried as she felt. She reached out and grabbed Yellow's hand, squeezing it gently. "Thank you for coming to get me. Let's keep moving for the Common Room; it's safer and it's not to fa--"
A sharp screech interrupted her words, a terrifyingly delighted Ehehehehehe... ripping through the silence. Kairi jerked, her hand tightening over Yellow's instinctively as she raised her wand, her head rapidly scanning the corridor to find... nothing.
They seemed to be alone, but then there it was again, a creepy, almost inhumane ehehehehehehehe!, echoing off the dark walls.
[I hope this is okay. >_> IF NOT they can just, you know, run away and fall into a trap. <3]
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He was about to agree about heading for the Common Room when an eerie laugh tumbled through the hall, setting his hair on end. Yellow tightened his grip on his wand with one hand, the other clenched in Kairi's fingers. Looking around frantically, he tried to pick up where the noise was coming from, but it was no use.
"Too much echo," he said, starting to pull Kairi down the hall, eyes darting all around. "I can't hear where it's coming from."
He'd barely finished the sentence when something moving too fast to be human rushed out at them from the shadows-Yellow couldn't react fast enough-
[No, here is fine! I'll let you decide who gets attacked by the Jockey. ._____.]
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Something heavy and foul crashed into her shoulders. She lost Yellow's hand and screamed, stumbling backwards and just barely managing not to fall over. There were hands-- claws-- covering her face and gripping her hair and jerking her head back and she lost all sense of direction, didn't know where to point her wand or what was going on and that stupid laughter was still surrounding her, peels and peels of unholy giggles as she cried out and tried to shake this thing off.
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(she screamed, unable to suppress the reflex)
but his wand was already drawn and incantations were tearing through his mind even as Kairi fought the claws raking across her face. Lightning, the Chairman said lightning, he thought numbly, and shouted, "F-fultacio!"
Sparks shot weakly from his wand. Kairi cried out again, unable to shake off the Jockey. Yellow had failed.
(She'd never cast a curse successfully in her life, of course it wouldn't have worked now. Even if she needed it to.)
"Let her go!" he shouted, circling them desperately and trying not to show how helpless he felt. The thing only laughed. Fire. Fire, I can do this, I can do this. "Incendio!"
The flames were strong, stronger than he was usually capable of, but they veered off and fizzled out just before reaching the Inferi wrapped around Kairi's shoulders. Yellow couldn't do it. He couldn't risk hurting his friend. His will kept giving out and hindering the magic. "There has to be something I can do," he gasped, blinking back tears.
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The creature was horrible and strong and it smelled and suddenly, Kairi felt her shoulder smack into a stone wall with a bright, piercing pain. She tripped over her own feet and tumbled to the floor, attempting to roll, anything that might get this thing off of her...
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(She didn't want to fight!)
But then, without warning, Kairi collided with the wall, completely disoriented with the Jockey impeding her vision and movements. The girl fell, flailing, but the monster still wouldn't let go.
Something in Yellow snapped. The thing wouldn't stop until it killed her. Nothing he did could be worse than what the Inferi was doing now. Taking a deep breath, he drew his wand again. "Kairi, I'm sorry. Don't move."
(Sometimes you had to fight. She knew that. And sometimes your friends got hurt.)
"Incendio!"
This time, Yellow didn't let the flames falter. He gritted his teeth and aimed as best he could. The Inferi finally stopped its terrible laughter with a chilling shriek, jumping back, and Yellow ran forward, not letting up on the spell. He closed his eyes and put more power into the magic, trying to ignore its screams and the fact that, up close, the Inferi's face was still almost recognizably human. Yellow didn't look again until all that remained was a charred, oozing mass of flesh.
He lowered his wand, bile rising in his throat. Forcing himself not to be ill, Yellow slowly turned to Kairi and tried to smile.
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She struggled to sit up, to help Yellow, but a burning pain pierced her shoulder and she nearly dropped again. Levering up on her good arm, she was able to see just as Yellow fell in on the creature, and the flames ate it black.
Even when Yellow turned and offered her a timid smile, she just sat there, staring at her friend with one hand grasping her shoulder, trying her hardest to still the shaking that still trembled through her body. After a good moment she finally managed a quiet, "...Thanks," slowly trying to get back to her feet.
She swallowed, staring once at the charred mess that that had so recently been clawing her to death, then looked away again. This time, in a firmer voice, she repeated, "Thank you. Really."
There were soft thumps sounding from not far down the all, and Kairi gulped, walking quickly towards Yellow. "Let's keep moving..."
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The wash of relief he felt when she finally spoke didn't last long, however, and not just because of the sounds she had pointed out. "Your shoulder," he said, dismayed. He reached for the wound out of instinct and slowed his walk. With the adrenaline slowly draining out of him, the Inferi seemed so much further away, and Yellow could tell the wound was painful.
"Let me heal it," he said quietly, unable to look her in the eyes. He didn't bother to reach for his wand, not with the emotions still swirling around in his mind and making it difficult for him to choose a specific incantation. One hand began to glow white, and as soon as it made contact with the burn it started to fade-powerful magic.
Magic that Yellow couldn't afford to be spending right now.
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The groans were getting closer, and Kairi made the mistake of glancing back. Something... something had definitely just darted past the crossway just behind them. She gripped Yellow's hand tighter and pulled her around the next corner, heart picking up. Then again, had it yet slowed down?
Her other hand tugged at the charred remains of her sleeve and pulled the rough threads loose. Her shoulder felt... baby soft, like brand new skin. How powerful of a healing spell had Yellow just worked?
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Yellow was cut off as Kairi glanced over her shoulder and abruptly quickened her pace, pulling both of them around the corner. Was that another Inferi moving in the corner of his eye, or just a shadow? He turned his head too slowly to tell, movements just a tad sluggish, almost unable to keep up with his companion as they sped down the hall. Maybe he should have held off just a little bit on the healing spell...
"Kairi," he started, and then it happened.
One minute they'd been darting through a dark, relatively empty corridor, and the next a shimmering wall sprung up directly in their path. Yellow shouted, skidding to a halt, and whipped back around around just in time to see a similar barrier materialize directly opposite the first. He began to move to the left, but it was no use: within seconds they were completely boxed in.
Tightening his grip on Kairi's hand, Yellow fumbled for his wand with the other and aimed a spell for the magical barrier. A jet of energy fired from his wand, however, the second it hit the nearest wall it simply vanished, with only a handful of ripples in the surface left behind to indicate anything had happened.
"What is this? A trap?" he muttered anxiously, running forward to test how solid it might be...but the instant he released Kairi's hand, she vanished.
"No!" he shouted, spinning back around, but to no avail. He couldn't see her, or feel anything but air when he reached out a hand for the spot she'd been. He ran along the length of the confined area, but no use: he was alone. "Kairi!"
Outside the barrier, a number of Inferi were slowly being drawn in by the noise and light. They circled and clawed at the walls but were unable to get through. Spooked, Yellow drew back into one corner of the box; they were like an audience waiting for a spectacle. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind when a sinister laugh echoed through the ring and made his blood run cold. "Where are you?" Yellow screamed, spinning around. He was alone.
(She was alone.)
But then there was suddenly noise echoing from all around, aggressive music without any clear source. The roars of the cirlcling monsters became jeers and hollers, and a booming voice shouted, "Round 1…FIGHT!”
And then, abruptly, Yellow was not alone. An Inferi, terrible and rotting, appeared in the opposite corner, crouched to jump. Yellow pulled out his wand and braced for a battle. This time, he didn't need to be told twice.
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And suddenly she nearly ran into a wall.
An invisible wall.
It shimmered into place out of nowhere, directly in their path. She barely managed to stop before she smashed face-first into it; Yellow, slightly behind her, fared a little better with the abrupt change of pace. Kairi glanced behind her, just in time to see another shimmer flutter through the air, like ripples in a pond. The Inferi were still coming towards them and she felt something cold dig into her stomach. Without thinking, her hand moved for Sakura's medpack, flipping it open and reaching inside to blindly grab a vial.
Yellow broke their contact to run at the wall and-- and-- and Yellow was gone, vanishing like she had only ever been a dream. Kairi's eyes went wide, and she stepped forward to where her friend had been only moments before, heedless of the approaching undead. "YELLOW!" Where had she gone? What had happened to her friend?
She thought she heard something; a flutter against her ears, something that sounded like Yellow's voice and her name-- but then there other sounds to worry about, a chilling laugh and strange music, the Inferi collecting around their trap-box. At least they couldn't seem to get through, but their rotting, open faces this close was enough to give her the chills.
She crouched down, trying to see if there was another way out; perhaps the invisible wall was weaker near the bottom, perhaps Yellow had gotten out that way...? She carried that hope for a brief moment until she realized she was suddenly not alone anymore.
A new Inferi had materialized in the corner, directly opposite of her. It lifted a clawed hand at her, it's dead, reddened eyes staring hungrily down. Kairi froze, hand curving around the hard glass of the vial in her palm, barely hearing the voice telling her to fight.
Okay.
Okay. She watched it warily, gritting her teeth. Okay. If she had to, she could take this thing down. Anything to make this ... this spell give Yellow back to her.
In one smooth movement she rose, flinging the vial at the Inferi as hard as she could. Her other hand lifted her wand, a fire spell at her lips, just in case the potion wasn't enough to take it down.
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Yellow screamed, shouting a stream of words without registering them. The fourth-year tripped backwards and hit the ground hard, but the excruciating pain of burning was more than motivation enough to roll over. Tearing off her hat without thinking, Yellow used it to pat down the remaining flames on her clothes.
They can use elemental spells, she told herself, looking around wildly for where the monster would strike from next. Her newly-freed ponytail whipped around as moved her head. We learned this. We learned this. I have to pay attention! Ignoring the pain of the fresh burns on her torso and legs, Yellow raised her wand, spotted the target, and fired a stunning spell without waiting to see what it would do next.
"Where is she?" Yellow screamed upward, wondering who on earth could be controlling what was going on inside the barrier. Her only response was a renewed fervor among the Inferi outside...
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The way the inferi outside jostled and bounced in their excitement made for an unnerving audience. She was sure they were waiting for the other one to get up and eat her, but she would not let that happen. If the trick to saving Yellow was to defeat this inferi, she would not allow herself to fail.
Except the inferi wasn't dying. It was getting up, moving, head turning to track Kairi's movements; a wisp of decayed hair fluttered along behind it. It saw her and opened it's mouth as if to scream, and then-- it's hand lifted, not to claw her, but instead sending a foul stream of dark magic straight at her.
She dived out of the way, a split second too slow; the magic slammed into her left side and suddenly everything went numb. Her left knee gave out, her left hand abruptly could not grip her wand and she fell, slamming hard into the floor. She rolled, digging into Sakura's pouch with her good hand and flinging another potion at the inferi, although her aim was not her best at that moment.
As she struggled to get up and move before it pounced again, Kairi heard it -- that faint whisper, the touch of another voice, just as lost and scared as she was. She thought she could make out a faint where...? before the sound faltered and faded again. She pushed herself up using her good arm, grabbing her wand from where it had fallen. She would have to cast with her off-hand until the feeling returned to her right side-- if it returned at all.
"Yellow, if you can hear me, just hang on!" She reached over, pressing her hand against the very shoulder Yellow had helped heal not long before. Her magic warmed her skin, but the numbness was hard to undo. Her leg shook and threatened to give out again, so she shifted all her weight onto her right leg.
Okay. If she could not maneuver very well, she would wait for the Inferi to come to her. She collected magic in her fist, concentrating on equilibrium and control. If it came at her, she was going to give it one hell of a counterattack.
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Yellow cried out and threw her wand arm over her face, expecting more fire, but instead of the agony of a burn there was suddenly no feeling at all-her wand fell from numb fingers and clattered to the floor, and nothing happened when she tried to grab it in the air. Her arm was frozen. The creature's aim hadn't been spot on, preventing full-body paralysis, but this was more than enough to leave her effectively handicapped.
Panic rose in her chest: she was going to die; she wouldn't be able to save Kairi. It felt hopeless. But the voice was suddenly at her ear again, so quiet it might have been in her own head and achingly familiar, just hang on.
It gave Yellow the strength of will to fight her terror. This wasn't something she could or couldn't do, it was something she had to. There was no choice. It wasn't just her own safety at stake. And she'd faced far worse than this. Determinedly she leapt down to the floor ahead, not caring that it meant placing herself right in the line of the inferi's range even right as it was pulling back its good fist to strike. Her fingers closed around her target and she sprung up as quickly as she could, firing a bolt of electricity from her wand and not caring if the creature's blow connected first. "I won't lose!"
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--She hesitated. She had the thing right where she needed it, but for the briefest second as it lunged for her, that emancipated face looked hauntingly familiar. Then it opened it's fanged mouth and screeched, and Kairi swung into motion, slamming her fist home.
She missed.
The strike was off-center; landing on the thing's collar bone rather than it's head. She had hesitated a second too long and the thing had moved too fast, and a whisper of Yellow's voice distracted her as electric magic burst forth from the inferi's hands.
Everything vanished under a white-hot pain that consumed her.
She fell back, hitting the ward that kept her locked in with this thing, as every bone in her body lit up under a furious stabbing pressure. It took her a minute to realize she was screaming.
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