|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 10:53 pm
[ . . . ]Orders were orders. Ami scowled at the text that summoned her to Excalibur's chamber. It sounded urgent, and she wouldn't hesitate to go, but it was always a pain to be ordered somewhere without notice. Especially when she was in the middle of writing something.
Luckily she was already dressed for a mission. She headed down to the chamber. It was just the same as it'd always been. Though she'd only been in the room once, it wasn't something you could easily forget. The power of Excalibur resonated through the whole room, like a soft hum in the background of every conversation, every movement, every action.
Ami tilted her head in surprise when only Dwight greeted them. The urgency of the text made her feel as though this was going to be a full scale mission, not one for a handful of people. Stealth mission then? Perhaps their job was only to assist the suns and moons that would be going on an external mission. That would make sense. He went on to tell them a bit of backstory about how hunters had been having strange dreams. That made sense too- perhaps there was a "dream monster" of sorts somewhere. She looked at the other three hunters that had joined her. The one who had a ... confrontation with about poetry, Ofie, the one who'd fought her over a bump in the hall, Melvin, and one she'd only been on a mission with once a long time ago, Before. The odds were not in her favor.
It only surprised her more when Dwight said that they were being promoted. She didn't react much external, save for wider eyes and a creased forehead. While a promotion should've been exalted, Ami immediately saw the error. Without Junpei, how was she supposed to do anything worthy?
Ami was about to ask how should be would be able to promote without a weapon, but Dwight answered that for her. This was a test. Not some simple school exam that would count for part of a meaningless grade- this was a test for her entire being. Involuntarily, she jerked as one of the patients began to convulse and spasm, medics rushing to him. She could almost see Dr. H now, sitting in some large leather chair sipping brandy and grinning at their stress.
A Dagobah? What was that? She shook her head, processing through the rest of it. Ami could figure three results.
First: She went to sleep and proceeded to have horrible nightmares, but she became a hunter and finally earned her rank.
Second: She went to sleep, convulsed and experienced seizures, then died.
Third: She refused altogether and remained safe, but forever weaponless and forever trainee.
It was as Dwight said. This was the only way to really prove herself beyond a doubt, because her life was on the line. Her first instinct was to deny the test. Above all things, Ami wanted to live. She had a strange tenacity for life, and wasn't about to waste it now on a shot at hunterdom. Being a trainee wasn't so bad, and even if she watched everyone else progress around her, as long as she was living she didn't mind.
Then a fatal error dawned upon her. No, that wasn't quite right. Without a weapon, how much longer was she really going to last on the battlefield. Quite frankly, she'd almost gotten killed multiple times since the horsemen dungeons. If Junpei remained anonymous for much longer, she wasn't going to live. She'd die an early death.
"I'll do it," she uttered quickly, regretting the words the moment they left her mouth. Her hands were shaking as a medic led her to a cot, her eyes staring at the bed like it was a demonic entity. She felt cold, her hands grew clammy the longer she clung to the medic's hand. This could be my death bed, she thought obtusely. If she died here, would they even give her a proper funeral? No, even if there was one, there probably wouldn't be many who came. Maybe Marcus, Wilson, Kat, Madeline, Lex-
A strange thought occurred to her. She had more friends than originally accounted for. As she sat on the count and splayed herself out, it dawned on her that she wanted to say goodbye to them. She was scared to lose them.
She downed the liquid before she could think anything else.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 12:37 am
Her first impression was darkness. Endless expanses of emptiness that stretched as far as she could see. She assumed at first she must have died. Death was sometimes described as a void, nothing at all.
It took her a moment to realize she was falling, and falling quickly. Her clothes fluttered everywhere, the air speeding up around her as she plummeted to the ground. She looked up- no rather, it was down- to see what exactly she was falling towards. Her body slowly rotated in the air, but it remained the same. A black nothingness was below her too.
Her feet pressed into something solid, though what she didn't know. As gravity returned to her, she steadied herself, clothing shivered back into place. There was still nothing. Eyes squinted as she looked around for something, anything to go off of. A strange ambient light filtered from above her, but that didn't provide anything. Perhaps it was a path, and she was intended to walk it.
A single step forward, and a pillar of light exploded from beneath her. She held arms over her eyes as doves erupted from the light, fluttering outwards and disappearing into the nothingness. As her eyes adjusted, she backed away, quickly weaving her feet with trained steps. An unsteadiness marked her demeanor while the sword revealed itself. It was a strange sort of stained glass, beautiful, but bizarre. Darkness stripped from the ground, it revealed itself in a pedestal of stone with crystals all around it. Excalibur then?
"Salutations, traveler. This is a dangerous path to travel for one such as you. I suggest you go prepared."
She didn't have time to investigate. Ami spun, looking for the source of the voice, but found none. Again, no time was given for her to deliberate. Then again, Dwight had said this would be a test.
Staff, sword or shield. The choice was obvious, wasn't it? She couldn't wield a sword properly, and a shield? Fat chance. She'd made a shitty moon- she already knew she couldn't defend herself, let alone other people. Besides, Junpei was a staff. She would do well with a staff. Her fingers wrapped around the object without hesitation, but her courage dropped as she looked back into the nothingness. The voice had no identity, and she had nothing to go off of. No hints, no clues. One couldn't make deductions without direction.
The staff thrummed in her hand, the neutral blue and green shifting to a more comfortable black and yellow. Had she been in the real world, she would've cried, but considering it was a dream- or death- she didn't find it that odd. She'd had plenty of dreams with odd, intangible messages from Junpei. Still, it was pleasant to have some semblance of a weapon back, even if it was fake.
"Junpei?" she said quietly, as though he might really respond. Perhaps a dream world would permit her that? Silence met her, as always, but she tried not to think too negatively upon it. After all, this strange death had granted her Junpei's likeness, at least. That alone she could take comfort in.
"Go on, traveler. What you seek lay still ahead."
At first, she was confused by the voice's directions, but slowly a staircase rumbled into position, creating a path for her. Although it led into nothingness, it was forward. She wanted to move forward.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
chiickadee rolled 2 4-sided dice:
3, 2
Total: 5 (2-8)
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 11:13 am
Before rushing off up the stairs, Ami decided to inspect her whereabouts. She wasn't rash, and liked to know her surroundings before she ran around like a chicken with her head cut off.
She moved to the edge of the platform, only to find darkness. She couldn't even see where the pillar began or when it ended. A slight nausea hit her as she looked down, the height overwhelming her. So the edges were not an option, and even dangerous. Duly noted.
The staff in her hand hummed with a familiar presence once more. Was it trying to tell her something? A low rumbling answered her question as the platform she was on began to quake and tumble. Time to go!
Considering she had no other option, Ami ran towards the stairs as fast as she could, breath labored as terror struck her. Was she really going to die in her death? With a final leap, she landed on the bottom of the stairs, out of breath and done with this shiftty post-death area. Perhaps though- perhaps this was a dream? Right, she'd gone to sleep. Did that mean ... she was strong enough to bare through it? So why hadn't she woken up?
Ami shook her head. There was no time to think about that. If that pillar hadn't stayed up for long, the stairs probably wouldn't hold out much longer. She tightened her grip on her staff, and began her ascension.
It was strangely quiet as she walked up the stairs, buying her time to think. If this was a dream, was there hope then? Had she succeeded, since she hadn't fallen to her death? A slight giddiness filled her as she realized it meant seeing her friends again, but she subdued it. This could still be post-death after all. She had no evidence for the contrary. But ... why would a higher power be trying to kill her even after she'd died? The only answer to her questions was the light slap of her shoes on the darkness, as she continued to walk up to another platform.
Another platform loomed in the distance. Strangely excited, Ami hurried up the stairs at a much quicker pace than she normally would have. As soon as she put a single foot on the pillar, the air grew static, buzzing with anticipation.
"Failure is not an option, but success may cost you everything. Are you willing?"
The words echoed in her ears as shadowy figures formed in front of her, undulating with odd twitching movements as their beacon eyes searched for her in the darkness. A determined look came across her face. Whether or not she was alive or dead right now, one thing was clear. She couldn't lose her. She had to fight.Quote: 5 enemies: they have 15 HP each! They auto attack (hit or miss) for 6 damage!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
chiickadee rolled 3 6-sided dice:
3, 5, 4
Total: 12 (3-18)
|
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 2:07 pm
One of the shadows spotted her and began shuffling towards her, almost like an undead. Ami swung at it, but it morphed into the ground, becoming a part of the platform she was standing on. For a moment, the phrase "that's not fair!" flashed through her brain, but that was silly. Of course this wouldn't be fair. Nothing dictated it had to be fair.
She decided to think about it three dimensionally. They were all around her, with the ability to sink into the ground. The only choice was to thrash at them until it eventually hit. There was no way to predict when they shifted into the ground, not from what she could tell. It was random, therefore her actions had to be random as well.
Circular too. Circular motions would create the highest field of damage. It would be awkward, considering this staff was far shorter than Junpei, but she would have to make due.
Plan made, she swung.
Weapon HP: 54
Enemies: 5
Enemy HP: 10 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 15
Damage: 5 (x3)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
chiickadee rolled 3 6-sided dice:
1, 1, 3
Total: 5 (3-18)
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 2:19 pm
The hardest part was putting her plans in motion. While Ami could analyze a situation quickly and create a plan for it, she lacked the stamina and power to execute it well. She'd always been last place in gym class in high school, sometimes even skipping gym days because she just couldn't be bothered.
Deus Ex was just the same, only a different model. She chose the labs whenever she could, avoiding any training that wasn't absolutely necessary to her regimen. She had always been a weaker, bookish sort. Ami wasn't meant for fighting and feats of brawny power.
So circular motions? Much easier said than done. While she knew where she needed to move, her body wouldn't do it. Luckily, the monsters only seemed to go for her weapon, as though it was a bugzapper to their pesky moth. It wasn't much of a relief though. If her weapon failed, she had an idea who they would go for after.
Weapon HP: 48
Enemies: 5
Enemy HP: 10 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 15
Damage: 0
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
chiickadee rolled 3 6-sided dice:
3, 2, 3
Total: 8 (3-18)
|
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 2:39 pm
Ami quickly sidestepped an incoming claw, pivoted on her left foot and kicked a beast with her right. Her foot quickly phased through the shadows, and as it exited the beast, she realized it was cold, icy cold. So hitting them with her fists wasn't going to be an option. It had to be the staff, or nothing.
Claws kept pinching, pulling at her hair, her skirt, her skin. Though she'd determined they were aiming for the staff, it didn't mean she didn't get some of the aftershocks.
With a grim look down she whacked another one on the head. Stupid things!
Weapon HP: 42
Enemies: 5
Enemy HP: 9 | 9 | 9 | 15 | 15
Damage: 1 (x3)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
chiickadee rolled 3 6-sided dice:
2, 4, 2
Total: 8 (3-18)
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 2:40 pm
Two of the shadows scurried off, phasing into the ground and moving from side to side unsteadily, as though they were unsure of their plan of attack. Surely these shadows don't have brains, she thought. They couldn't form sentient thoughts like plans and strategies. They were animals, running off instinct.
With a frown, she bashed two shadows that remained swiping at her. Ami at least had to applaud their stamina and tenacity- these things didn't go down after a hit or two. Then again, it could have simply been her weapon that was weak. Every time she saw a flash of yellow, she had to remind herself that it wasn't Junpei. It could've been a stick painted yellow and black for all she knew.
It was all she had though. Her feet obviously wouldn't work, so she had to depend on this fancy stick.
Weapon HP: 36
Enemies: 5
Enemy HP: 7 | 7 | 9 | 15 | 15
Damage: 2 (x2)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
chiickadee rolled 3 6-sided dice:
3, 4, 3
Total: 10 (3-18)
|
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 2:41 pm
How she wished Kat was here. As a sun, Kat specialized in dealing damage on the frontlines- she would have been much better at this. Though Ami was hardpressed to admit anything about herself, she was rather jealous of Kat and the girl's ability to be ... well-liked. She wouldn't have sat there on the sidelines, fretting about shadows and runic guns. Kat had the strength to just come in, guns blazing and ******** not given.
Guns ... guns!
Ami's hand went to her sides, hopeful and excited. Her hopes were instantly dashed. Of course her runic guns weren't with her- that had been a stupid idea. It was just her, and this staff. Again she was forced into gratitude- at least she had the staff at all.
She swung once more at a heartless, hitting it in the side of the head and sending it flying across the platform. Two more followed in suit. It was only then that she noticed a small crack forming along the side of her staff. Had that been there before? It must have.
Another swipe from the shadow, and a small splinter cracked.
"Oh s**t."
Weapon HP: 30
Enemies: 5
Enemy HP: 4 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 15
Damage: 3 (x3)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
chiickadee rolled 3 6-sided dice:
6, 2, 5
Total: 13 (3-18)
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 2:43 pm
The more she thought about it, Madeline would've been really useful too. A smile cracked across Ami's face as she thought about Madeline running up the stairs to help her, whooping some sort of strange battle cry as she swung her club around like a neanderthal. The image almost made her laugh, but as a shadow lashed out at her, she quickly stopped.
She couldn't waste time wishing for people that weren't going to come to her rescue. There was no knight in shining armor (or shining dress, Madeline) that was coming to rescue her. She had to do this by herself.
It didn't mean she couldn't laugh at the image of Madeline as a caveman a little more.
Weapon HP: 24
Enemies: 5
Enemy HP: 1 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 15
Damage: 3 (x3)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
chiickadee rolled 3 6-sided dice:
3, 5, 4
Total: 12 (3-18)
|
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 2:44 pm
It almost seemed hopeless. Perhaps she should've grabbed the sword. After all, that was the most damage-dealing source. Even untrained hands could swing around a sword and expect more than a few hits. Maybe this was actually a test of endurance, and the shield had been an unwieldy source of paradise.
Her breath grew a bit more ragged, but she was in shape. What minimum training she'd done had at least strengthened her. A year or so ago she would've been out of breath after the first ten swings. Now? Now she felt ... well a bit powerful. It was startling, almost anyways.
Suddenly, the edge of the staff lodged into the head of one of the shadows. For a moment, she thought her weapon had grown obsolete, the same way her foot had phased through the shadow.
Light exploded in front of her, taking the shadow with her. Small green balls of light flew forward, but soon imploded into light as well. Had those been some sort of internal possession then? She shook her head. Now wasn't the time to think about the anatomy of shadows. One was defeated. Only 4 more to go, and two were twitching in an unhealthy manner. She could do this.
Weapon HP: 18
Enemies: 4
Enemy HP: 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 10
Damage: 5 (x3)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
chiickadee rolled 3 6-sided dice:
2, 3, 4
Total: 9 (3-18)
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 2:44 pm
With the two twitching in the corner, she figured it would be a better strategy to take out the ones that were still a threat. That way, once they were out of the way, it would be easy pickings. There was the chance that they had regenerative abilities, but considering the first shadow had fallen, she didn't think so.
With a smirk, she realized that picking the shield would've been useless if Marcus or Lex was here. They were big shields themselves, with the way they always threw themselves out for other people. She wondered if they'd even miss her if she died during this dream. Marcus would, probably. Lex ... she didn't know. She couldn't read Lex like she could most people. He was an enigma, one that bothered her. Agitated, even.
The two she'd left writhing suddenly lashed out, bezerking into a sort of tackle-lurch at her staff. The air snapped with tension as she could feel the staff breaking under her hand. The more she pushed against the shadows, the more it seemed to bend. It wouldn't hold much longer now.
Weapon HP: 12
Enemies: 4
Enemy HP: 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 7
Damage: 3 (x2)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
chiickadee rolled 3 6-sided dice:
4, 1, 4
Total: 9 (3-18)
|
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 2:45 pm
Ami kept pushing against the shadows, which only made her staff groan and creak under the weight. This wasn't working. She couldn't keep pushing up against it, but if she let go... then those claws would be on her. Worse yet, her weapon could break regardless of anything she did to stop it. If only she could just leave this place, just go somewhere else.
Go ...
Go ...
Let go.
The insight came to her and she acted upon it quickly. She pivoted a foot and kicked, sliding backwards and simply trusting that she wasn't close to the edge. As the staff fell slack, the two shadows' weight pulled them forward, gaining momentum as they slipped. Ami spun, using that weight to whack them over the edge of the pillar, like using a baseball bat on an oversized baseball.
They exploded into light and green orbs, just like the first one. Two in on hit! She could've cheered, if she wasn't currently preoccupied with examining her staff as she ran to the other side of the platform. The crack was no longer a crack, but a great seam across her staff. It wouldn't hold out much longer, and she still had two more to take out. Perhaps she could bat these ones over the side too? No ... the trick probably wouldn't work twice.
Weapon HP: 6
Enemies: 2
Enemy HP: 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7
Damage: 1 (x2)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
chiickadee rolled 3 6-sided dice:
4, 4, 3
Total: 11 (3-18)
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 2:46 pm
Ami crossed her fingers (so to speak) and ran for the shadows. If she was going to take these guys out, she needed some momentum, and running across the platform would provide that. She needed to throw her weight into it, as much as she could. Otherwise ... otherwise she was s**t out of luck.
It worked somewhat successfully, as she could see the beacons of light roll in the darkness. That, and her staff stayed in one piece. She bit her lip and looked at the shadows with a strangely triumphant grin. It was strange, how proud she felt of that hit. Like she'd overcome the odds, like whatever God was laughing at her had suddenly quieted in the loud whack of her staff on the shadows' head.
A loud humming filled the air, and Ami looked back down at the staff. It seemed to be building, as though reaching a crescendo of power.
The air grew silent. Perhaps it'd been nothing. Maybe-
CRACK.
The staff split, light filling in the lights, as it had done with the shadows. "No- no!" The words were lost to a loud noise, the staff exploding into shards of light, dancing around her eyes. Each piece was a part of her hope, absolutely dashed by the despair she felt. No weapon meant no defeat. Four illuminated eyes fell upon her, malicious intent colored yellow.
They looked hungry.
Weapon HP: 0
Enemies: 2
Enemy HP: 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4
Damage: 3 (x2)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
chiickadee rolled 2 20-sided dice:
3, 17
Total: 20 (2-40)
|
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 2:48 pm
She was on her feet and running away in a matter of seconds, no questions asked. A more brash Ami might've tried fighting them with her hands, but no, she was cowardly. Luckily, the shadows didn't move TOO fast, unless they were phasing, which these ones didn't seem to be doing. Screw her friends, she would've killed for ANYONE right now. Anyone at all. Someone that could protect her.
Her eyes were wide and she scanned the area, panicked about what to do. The shadows were moving in faster now, and Ami realized they were coming towards her, boxing her off. She panicked, and dashed for the stairs, jumping over an outstretched claw. The momentum the shadow had built up in that swipe sent him careening over the edge, plummeting into the darkness. It exploded into light just the same. Only one left!
Footsteps pounded down the stairs as she rushed towards the bottom in an attempt to get away from the remaining shadow, thinking she could lure it over the edge just like the other one. That, and distance from the enemy was always nice for a long range user. She'd at least picked up a little bit from using a gun!
Down the stairs she went, down, down. The edge loomed before her and she bit her lip. If this didn't work ... She might be the one exploding into colorful light.
The stairs flew by in seconds, and she could hear the creatures morphing behind her, the strange squelching noise they made haunting her like a ghost. Her foot touched on the last stairs, and she turned around. There was no platform, so ... she had no choice but to face them. Face the enemies with dignity. If she died, well ... she tried her best.
Two bright flashes of light stunned her and her enemies for a moment. A sword and a shield materialized on either side of her, their green and blue standing starkly against the darkness. She blinked for a moment, but then quickly grabbed the sword. Perhaps a shield would have been easier, but she simply grabbed the first thing she saw. Like the staff, it flooded with a blazing yellow and black, humming with the familiar warmth of Junpei. A grin cracked across her face, a triumphant one. She COULD do this. Her. She didn't need protection. Didn't need Marcus, Lex, Wilson, Madeline, Kat- nobody!
She wasn't a nobody. A swipe of her sword, and one immediately dissipated into light. With newfound confidence, Ami stared at the last one with a smile that people didn't often seen. A genuine one.
Weapon HP: 54
Enemies: 1
Enemy HP: 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4
Damage: 8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
chiickadee rolled 2 20-sided dice:
5, 20
Total: 25 (2-40)
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 2:49 pm
One more thrust of her sword, and the last shadow was kaput. No effort at all. She could've almost been haughty if it wasn't in Ami's nature to doubt with pessimistic flair.
After all, if she had vanquished her foe, why was she still here? Shouldn't she have woken up? Or perhaps this was like she had secondarily assumed, and she'd passed some sort of twisted exam for the afterlife. Perhaps this was all there was to it. Maybe this was her new home, and she simply had to make due with the darkness.
She slowly began her ascension up the stairs. Since she'd been running, she hadn't had time to admire the artwork painted across the ground. It was oddly reminiscent of something that she couldn't put her finger on. Beautiful, but mysterious. Out of her reach. Odd, how she couldn't have seen that bustling around like she was before. Something about stopping to smell the roses came to mind.
Weapon HP: 48
Enemies: 0
Enemy HP: 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Damage: 13
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
