auroraexpress | Event: Mirror Image

Entry tags:

Event: Mirror Image

Who: everyone!
When: Day 19 evening and on
Where: outside

[As darkness falls in the jungle, an unusually chill breeze rustles through the trees. In its wake is silence, the purified fauna going quiet as if in dread.

Is it just you, or is the night darker tonight?

You may find the cause if you leave the train. Those who are caught alone outside will see the shadows grow suddenly long. The darkness coalesces into a vaguely human form, vague and faceless but radiating cold.

Before you can react the shadows surround you. Deep within, your most bitter, unpleasant feelings rise up in your chest. It's overwhelming, threatening to consume you, but just before it can it suddenly stops. The shadows recoil, dissipating into the jungle.

You're safe, but those negative feelings might be closer to the surface than usual.

Good luck, especially if you're one of the newbies just waking up.]

[NOTES: This event will OOCly end on Wednesday, but feel free to ICly push time forward as much as you like. There will be a followup post at that time, and you can schedule player-run trials any time after.

The emotional effect of this event can be as severe as you want. Your character could just be a bit grumpy, or they could find their emotions totally out of control. The effect lasts a couple of hours or until the character counters it with happier feelings.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[kyah~!

but she doesn't tell him to hold on, he figures he will. He will have to.]

We are leaving now.

[And she is taking off at a deadass sprint, though her grip on him is secure and surprisingly careful so he is not being jostled overly much. When they go deeper and the growth becomes too thick she jumps up and through thick tree branches.

It grows more unintelligible as time passes and she skips through branches less as they grow thicker and wider and longer, instead running along moss and lichen covered paths. There is a steep dip upcoming, but she is unbothered and simply crouches slightly and surfs downward, scattering greenery as she goes. It's like a roller coaster.

The jungle floor is distant.]

[ This is definitely going on a list of the top ten greatest rides of his life. Not that he remembers most of his life at this point. Shut up. Anyway.

Her grip is solid but that doesn't mean Crow is going to let up on holding on for even a single moment. He's pretty sure he hasn't had many opportunities to get whisked away by a beautiful woman like this, and while usually he'd prefer to do the whisking, this is entertaining enough that it doesn't bother him. It's exciting being around people stronger than he is!

He just hopes she isn't so much stronger than him that he doesn't get a chance to have a good fight against whatever monsters they run into. ]

[It's not long before the jungle starts attacking back. Tendrils snap from everywhere, but dodges, twists, and flips over every one, not at all burdened by Crow.

But then tendrils become shrieking mouths, and she pointedly jumps on one, freezing it in the process, to spring onto another branch and moves on like it's nothing.

Because it isn't.

She continues on until before she announces clearly, quickly.]

Tuck and roll!

[And then she's giving him a boosted toss, hoping he's nimble enough to do as she says, because within a breath of her saying so, a pillar of twisting vines that are much thicker than she is tall strike for her, narrowly missing Crow in the process, before there is a flash of gold and she has sliced them right down the middle before they could properly attack her.

Any and every way forward or backward is being blocked with interlocking growth and a shattering, inhuman cry that is a cacophonous mix of high pitched shriek and a rattling bass echoes into the evening. Birds scatter, fearing the danger.]

[ Fortunately for Crow, he's a pretty quick thinker-- and just as quick at moving. He manages to neatly tuck himself into a ball and roll out of danger before he springs up lightly to his feet. In an instant, he's pulling his guns out of the nothingness at his hips and holding them at ready, his eyes sparkling with excitement. ]

Now that's what I'm talking about!

[ He takes aim where the sound is coming from. ]

[A gargantuan bud emerges from the dark atop a mass of vines stories high. It continues to rise and rise. The shell of the bud peels back and pink and red petals bloom forth, with rows and rows and rows of sharp teeth that point downward. Comparatively thin tendrils emerge from the centre and lick at the air before the "mouth" of the flower shrieks again.

~~Let's roll for initiative~~

Fresh tendrils rush towards both of them in a bid to grab them while the mouth spits large, slick green spheres that are aimed roughly in their direction.]

[ Crow's first move is to dodge the green whatever-it-is coming at him. He's not too worried about his clothes getting grimy-- 80H is more than capable of cleaning up-- but he would really rather not get injured by goo. Not if he can help it.

He takes only a brief moment to aim before he fires off a shot at the monster. He's going for the "mouth" but since he's moving fast, his aim probably isn't perfect. Either way, he's gotta build up that CP before he can fire off anything really impressive.

(Or he could use Arts, but he's holding off on that for now.) ]

[The green spheres burst upon impact and there is a dangerous hiss in the air and an acrid smell as plumes of deep green smoke arise from sizzling bubbles.

It's acidic. Slower burning if still quick and powerful.

The mouth retreats into the shell to evade Crow's shots and golden vines lined with flowers raise themselves before firing a large volley of thorns as fast as bullets.

He may have a plan for them, but she doesn't know so before they can reach him, a magical circle appears beneath him and a glowing blue dome surrounds him.]

Azure cage!

[The thorns and there are many of them hit the shield like raindrops upon a puddle, rippling into one another over and over an infinite number of times before they freeze and dissipate.

A smaller bulb blooms open after the volley is fired.]

[ The magical shield is more effective than whatever he'd had planned anyway, but he's not going to take the moment to thank her for it. Later, perhaps. For now, he fires off a volley of shot at the smaller bulb that bloomed before he grits and calls out. ]

ARCUS-- activate!

[ A blue ring glows around him as he prepares his Arts attack. It's going to take a moment to be ready, though. ]

[Her shield will last a while so she is not concerned about it.

But--ARCUS? That is familiar. Hestia had one of those and so does Randy? But she will consider it, later, for now, she is dashing forward to do strike at the mass directly.]

[ The wait for the attack to be ready is a matter of seconds, but it feels more like an eternity. It's not until after 80H's strike that he can go, and he holds out his hand in the direction of the monster. ]

Haaaaaah!

[ A Crystal Flood attack comes slamming towards the monster, ice-cold and very strong. ]

[oh hey, neat.

But that hit is a success!!! And the monster is screech-booming, but it is not down for the count just yet.

A few moments later, the shielding fades away. Seeds the size of cantaloupes launch themselves in bursts which burst into a very stick goo that will harden either upon impact or destruction.

Meanwhile, thick vines are still swinging around trying to attack or herd into the grenades' line of fire. This monster isn't just powerful, it's also clever.]

[ Crow wasn't foolish enough to think a single Arts attack was going to be enough to stop the monster. He wants to get another big attack ready, but he's going to need to take care of either the grenades or the tentacles-- or better yet, the source. He's going to end up getting hit by a tentacle or two, but that's in service of aiming at the source of the seeds and firing off a few rounds. ]

Crow-san!

[Those are thiccck tentacles so be careful sir. But the grenades all go off before they can hit Crow, which is good, but if he looks around, he has a lot less room to manoeuvre now with the current branch path covered in sticky goop. It's not impossible, but it will make things hard mode unless he can get to another.

The monster shrieks and several mini plant monsters with large purple flowers on their back begin to scuttle down the trees, eight in all, half approaching Crow, the other half 80H.

This sure was a Call Allies.

Crow's shots land on the source of the shots, and they take damage, but soon after, it begins to heal and repair itself. But after that volley of seed grenades is fired, a pale flower opens up and begins to glow, just like the yellow flower after the attack with the thorns.

80H is also noticing that her damage, such as it was, is also beginning to heal. This sure is a toughie.]

[ God, I fucking hate Call Allies.

Fuck this shit, Crow's got a really great way of bringing down a whole lot of HP at once and he's gonna use it. Especially now that he's got the CP to do it. He glances around the area he's in, how claustrophobic it's become, and takes a moment to move to a more clear spot before he grins. ]

Yeah... you're done!

[ He says it in a cocky tone as he launches his ultimate move (or at least.... his earliest ultimate move): His S-Craft, Cross Raven. ]

[the extra sepith tho

But his attack is successful! Crow's set are all dead! Just one problem, the air is now filled with spores that are a suspiciously similar colour to the bulbs on those mini-butts' backs.

I'm gonna need you to roll a 1d4. :D]

[ Well... that seems bad and he doesn't think firing a shot in the middle of the spore-filled air will be a good idea. He glances over towards 80H.

I rolled a 1. ]

[Crow's vision swims, colours brighten and fade and bleed into each other from one moment to the next. Everything around is unblinking eyes and hungry mouths and waiting, reaching claws. Bells ring and belladonna whispers drip in his ear, sweet and utterly poisonous.

Paranoia spikes with the uncertainty of this distorted reality, but one thing is certain.

Everything is your enemy.

Seeing Those spores, 80H tries a different tact, freezing the enemies to dust instead, their glittering remains scattering by the winds of combat before she is rushing back and down to see to Crow.]

Crow-san!

[ Did Crow Armbrust, of all people, really need a confusion effect layered with paranoia?

He doesn't hear the name precisely, just the sounds of wicked whispers and he points his guns at her. He knows everything is topsy-turvy and wrong and he doesn't want anything to get near him right now. ]

Take that!

[ And he fires off a couple of rounds in her direction. ]

[ :D? everything is fine.

At any rate, unfortunately, while I would love to draw this out, 80H is not a dumbass (at least when it comes to this shit). She does not expect for Crow to attack her, but battles are chaos and the unexpected. She dodges his fire easily.

Dark thoughts and ideas float to mind. They would normally but she has improved enough to know to set them aside and ignore them. Unfortunately, the filters are weakened now.

And she wonders what Crow would be like under extended observation like this. For the same of knowledge and practicality, of course. She is insatiably curious.

But just as quickly, she calculates that the short-term gains are not worth the long-term losses, since Crow is not an idiot, and even if she could mislead him, he is already distrustful. It would not do to arouse suspicion. That helping is the right thing to do is so far down the list, in this moment.

She thinks of all this in the time it takes to dodge.]

Just a moment.

[She is about to cast a spell when a tentacle several metres thick swipes down in her direction, but at the last moment, she evades her silhouette filling in with white-edged black and into with four distinct bodies pointing in the cardinal directions. One of those bodies is her and she launches herself up and above the tentacle, her naginata swings around her waist and then above her head before she adjusts her angle and launches downward head-first and slashes it.

It bleeds green and writhes in agony but the wound also burns with spreading frost.

She does not stand idle, there is still Crow to contend with.

But the monster's adjacent petal head also launches those acid spheres once again.

Isn't this fun?]

[ Unless someone (80H) has an item or a spell on hand to cure him, Crow is still Confused for at least another couple of rounds. He shoots wildly in the direction of another sound, though whether it's 80H or the monster's petal head-- well, even he doesn't know. And he's definitely in no shape to avoid the acid spheres. ]

[She does! And she can cast very quickly, but she does not like the odds of trying to cast, wondering what Crow might have up his sleeve that he will use on her and dodging flying tentacles, acid spheres, and seed grenades.

The grenades.

If this does not work--well, she can fix it (probably! one way or another), but she flips up and twists to her side to kick seeds that were aimed for her in his direction, her force adding to the speed, before throwing an ice needle after it. Either he'll shoot it or her needle will hit, but Crow is looking to be hella covered in gunk.

Which will protect him from the incoming acid.]

[ Fortunately for Crow (?), he shoots at the seeds-- he's still a really good shot even when confused, and his aim is true. Which means he's about to be fantastically goo-covered, which is gross and he hates it thanks! ...But then again, he'd hate being eaten alive by acid more so ymmv. ]

[It probably helps (?), that those seeds look like little hellions that kind of want to eat his face off. In the wanting to make them dead kind of way.

80H continues to dodge, but she does take some splash damage from that acid a little. She will live.

There are multiple flowers blooming following that attack, but she has to deal with Crow now.]

Ma voix chante avec mes larmes. Je prie pour votre salut!

[Glittering dew drops of light gently fall on and around Crow, cool and cleansing, rain washing away impurity and his senses return to (Crow's version of) normal.

Still covered in gunk and acid, though. Give her a second.]

[ Still covered in gunk, but at least the hellions are gone now. Crow figures out that score pretty quickly--- ugh. Confusion is the worst. But he's whirling around now to deal with those blooming flowers. ]

ARCUS-- activate!

[ It's a risk, trying for another Arts attack when he doesn't know how soon the enemy will be ready, but he needs something that'll hit hard and he isn't ready to pull off another S-Craft yet. ]

[Well you do love gambling. But 80H takes that as her cue to try and keep Crow covered for a few seconds while he tries to cast. So she is cutting tentacles away as they snap to strike like so many giant snakes.

Her polearm spins in her hand before she drives the blade into the bark below. An intricate blue circle appears and all around them the goo left behind flash freezes before shattering, the resulting snow and powder floating upward before dissipating.

They have more room to manoeuvre, but that was not an issue for her. She still has an ace or two up her sleeve.

The enemy is relentless in its attacks, and raises its golden stalks to shoot thorns again.]

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CONFUSION!!!!!!!!!!!

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