[Event] Operation Arizona

[soul_mods]

Characters: Those who signed up for Mission 128: Operation Arizona. List of participants here.
Location: Horseshoe Bend, Grand Canyon, Arizona
Rating: PG or higher, for death, destruction and the like.
Time: November 25, late evening for the pre-mission posts, then November 26 at 00:00 hours all the way until the whee hours of the morning of the

Comments

BLACK★STAR and TSUBAKI

[soul_mods]

[thisismyera]

Making an entry into the facility proper had been a relatively easy and strangely uneventful matter for Black★Star and Tsubaki. The two of them had jumped into the initial assault with their usual fervour, but in the first moment that an opening had presented itself the two of them had been away in a flash with a few quick bursts of Speed☆Star. Under the cover of darkness, they seemingly just disappeared from amongst their allies.

As eager as Black★Star was to wade knee-deep into a gigantic melee and show off in front of the assembled crowd, he was instead after something much bigger than small fry. Best to leave them to the other small fry. No, chances were, the place was holding at least one Witch. They'd - he'd - screwed up last time, but this time around, they were bagging themselves at least one of their souls. Unfortunately, the hard part was actually locating one said Witch

[scentedcamellia]

Tsubaki knew that she could rely on Black★Star's highly advanced senses to warn them of any immediately and nearby dangers, so she'd been focusing on other things; namely, listening for the wavelengths of things further away from their current location. The guests and those outside could handle the Kishin Eggs that swarmed beyond the base's walls, but their mission was to cause as much damage as quickly as possible.

This was something the were very good at.

"No, not yet. I'm still looking." Her voice was the epitome of patience, perfectly focused on her task. It was only a matter of time before one of their true targets showed themselves, used their magic in order to bolster their defenses or aid their minions. She just needed to be paying attention when it happened.

And then, suddenly, she heard it. The source wasn't too far away, either, and it was...familiar. Tsubaki focused on the sound, attempting to amplify it in her mind. "There...can you hear it?"

[thisismyera]

"Eh, alright," he answered with a note of impatience to his voice. He was about to start complaining and insist that they go back and take care of the main force out front on their own when he could feel Tsubaki's sudden increased concentration. Skidding to a stop, Black★Star flicked a quick glance about and then promptly closed his eyes. If he was going to know where he was going, he needed to match his breathing with hers and concentrate on their resonance.

Fortunately, that happened to be something else that they were exceptionally good at. Within a couple of seconds he was listening closely to the steady pulse that the Weapon had zeroed in on.

"Yeah," he drawled quite casually, then added conversationally, "Sounds stronger than the other ones." He hoped in the name of all that was Big - namely himself - that this time it was a Witch. Or at least a very advanced Kishin Egg. If he didn't break a sweat soon, he was packing up and going home. Or at least creating a huge enough distraction that somebody had to notice him and come

[scentedcamellia]

"It is," she replied with utmost certainty. She could tell by the noise it was making, even as distant as it was. Her skill wasn't nearly as advanced as Maka's so she couldn't make out more than a relative power level, but her ability to recognize the different harmonies of the wavelength improved as Black★Star began to move in the direction of the noise.

Tsubaki barely noticed anything beyond the steadily increasing music of their new target's wavelength. It pulsed like something mad, and soon she was sure it was a Witch. The way it twisted and fell out of harmony was something only a Witch's soul could sound, but there was still something strangely familiar about it.

And then she had it.

"Black★Star, it's the Witch from before. From Monaco." They were close now, and she remembered that small girl's wavelength well. Tsubaki wasn't afraid, in fact this might be a good opportunity. They had encountered her before, and even if they'd been beaten, they would be less likely to get caught in any of her magical traps. They

[thisismyera]

Black★Star's interest perked at the notion of fighting somebody potentially important, but he almost missed a step when Tsubaki told him exactly who it was. His pace slowed and he came to a complete stop just as he could see a doorway at the end of the corridor they were traveling along. He didn't move for a time; he was frozen in place

[scentedcamellia]

Tsubaki could sense Black★Star's resolve as she pulled her consciousness back into her form. His personality had already flipped to the other part of him that she knew well; the side that came out when he finally got serious, got down to business. He'd lost it last time, but now he'd found it before the battle had even begun.

The kunoichi was proud of him, and her wavelength swelled with confidence.

"Hai," she said quietly, before she made the familiar change, felt her body dissipate and reform into a blade hard enough to cute through anything. The Weapon pulsed with dark sparks of lightning that snaked down the length of her form, proof of her excitement at the battle to come.

"It's your stage, Black★Star," she said calmly, straight into his mind. "Show me what it's like to surpass God."