Fantasy Z O D I A C | Umbra [Currently CLOSED]

[Azukai]

The Sins of the Past
Kisaki

The old man remained silent as Amelia questioned about his daughter. For a moment, a hint of sadness flashed in his eyes, though it soon gave way to the cheerful nature he had maintained thus far. Thankfully, the girl did not press--the conversation's topic soon shifting to her own departure, as she grew somewhat unnerved towards the total silence. There was a small thwack as the man planted his cane against the concrete walkway and used it for support as he rose to his feet. For his age, his movements were surprisingly nimble; though he did maintain a humped back that left him looking, upward, at Amelia. "People call me Yatagarasu these days." he replied with a chuckle. Having answered her final question, he began walking forward, towards the exit of the park; though he came to stop when a single breeze drifted down the walkway with a sudden chill.

"The pup dares bark against its master." Yatagarasu muttered with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

A low growl began to stir from the underbrush of the woods. There was nothing obvious in the immediate area; however, whatever the source was, was close. Leaves rustled, twigs snapped, and the general feeling of a hunter's stare was placed upon Amelia. "It has taken an interest in you." Yatagarasu announced, nonchalant, as if it were a normal thing to say. "Tell me girl, how capable are you with a sword?" One hand remained on the handle of his cane, but the other now held the handle of a weapon. The sword was a beautiful piece, crafted into the shape of a Japanese katana. Peculiar, however, were the series of thin, crimson indents that branched along the distance of the blade.

"I am not young. My powers do not flow like they used to." Yatagarasu explained while offering the blade Amelia's way. In the distance, there was a dull thud as the source of the growl pounced onto the walkway--a grotesque, hound-like creature that stood roughly five feet tall and housed a series of wriggling vines that had erupted through its skin. A dark red sludge seemed to flow from its torn skin and any open orifices--the substances causing the concrete to smoke as it slowly ate away at all that it touched.

 

[Kisaki]

Amelia Diamond

"Yatagarasu? Thee Yatagarasu? Either your parents gave you that name since they thought it was funny or you just need to go to bed." Amelia huffed, brushing the strands of hair back that covered her eye. He was fast for old man, she had to give him that. Amelia turned to the exit of the park for her own departure. She stopped immediately once she heard a growl from behind the trees. It didn't sound like your average dog.

Amelia turned around slowly to the direction of the growl. Her eyes spotted the creature that made the noise between the trees. "What is that?" The girl squeaked as she ran to the old man with the cane. "What the hell did you get me into?" Amelia whispered angrily to the proclaimed Yatagarasu.

Amelia was a good swordsman. She praticed regulary with the swords she got from her father. "I'm good, why?" She asked. She didn't see any blades on him that she could use until he reached his hand out. "Oh... Go ahead and summon a fancy Japenese katana so you can kill this monster Amelia."

Most people would panic in this situation. Fear had no place in her heart for now if she wanted her and so called Yatagarasu live to see another day. "Yeah, yeah. I got it." Amelia said as she reached for the blades. In a instant, she felt an strange energy being emitted from the blades she held in her hand. "I can do this." She told herself as watched as the red hot liquid oozed out of the creature's torn skin. She had to find the creatures weak spot if she ever wanted to do some real damage, something that her father taught her. "I'll get it to attack first. You should get out of the way." Amelia said as she ran to the direction of the creature. She never thought of the day she would be fighting a monster with a pair swords she gets from a well known Japanese god. She thought it was perhaps a dream but she wasn't willing to figure out now. " Hey you! Come and get me you mutt!" Amelia taunted the creature.

Azukai

 

[Sinny The Fool]

"Clown & Tom B. Stone"

~Tom’s Warehouse~

Shortly after getting himself to work, looking through possible social media accounts, through Brookfield police’s database records and any possible ties to the deep web. It didn’t take long to discover, that there had been an almost impossible lack of information on the new associate of Tom’s. Biting on the inside of his cheeks, he almost felt beaten by the prospect that the most he could find was a growing criminal record of rather unimpressive proportions. He leaned back slightly on the recliner chair and looked back over to Tom.

“Well, it looks like aside from a growing petty record with the Brookfield police - your new ‘friend’ has done a good job at keeping his personal life to himself. If you want more from me, I’m going to need another in.”

Tom had already taken out another smoke by the time Clown had finished his hacking. Which might have not sounded very impressive. But Clowns hacking skills were no joke. The guy had once shut down the power to a high security Dominion building within seconds. He tapped the cigarette, dropping ashes on the floor as a result, but he quickly stepped on them. Putting out any possible fires. He found it odd that a man who seemed so interested in the mafia had no place in it. Although he was interested in making a name for himself, so maybe it was paranoia. Tom turned to Clown, heaving a heavy sigh, and blowing smoke his way in the process.

“Alrighty Clown, get your shit and let's head out. I want you to do some hacking while I'm getting my own info.”

“Are you su?- Okay..” Clown halted his response as he realized Tom was heading for the door, realizing that he would likely not wait for him. Clown quickly started packing up his equipment and stashing it all in a side strap bag that had been sitting at the side of the steel desk he was working on.

He said walking over and snatching up the keys to his muscle car. He felt like muscling his way around a bit. He made his way towards the door. Not stopping to wait for Clown. Once he got into the muscle car, he pulled out his cell phone. He had put Arlov’s number into his phone on the way to the warehouse luckily. He quickly sent him as text asking, "have you found me any info yet? I'm getting ready to head out. Need a few more things. But hopefully things should soon be ready.” Clown was rushing around the place, making sure to collect the appropriate cords, components and anything that would be essential for the Clown’s ‘work’. After Tom found his girlfriend's number in his cell phone, Tom waited to call her until he spoke with Clown about what he needed next. Once Clown entered the car he'd give him his next orders. After Clown had finally gotten his things together, he came rushing out the warehouse in a hurry and going into the back seats of the car; preferring the extra space.

Tom looked over to the backseat "Alright, so I'm kind of suspicious of this Orlov guy. I want you to see if you can't find any info about him on the cloud. Deleted data anything like that. Once you're done with that then find a member of the mafia to frame. You know what to do. The usual stuff. Don't forget to make a call to all his lackies at the right time telling them where to find the guns we'll be delivering over there. Oh, and make sure it's a mafia leader with a bad history of attacking other gangs. I want this set-up to go smoothly.”

“Okie-dokie~ I’m on it” Clown got to setting up in the backseat of Tom’s car right away, taking the equipment from his bag, piecing and placing it together to his liking so he was able to operate just like anywhere else. Promptly getting to work, he started off where he earlier failed to find anything - by looking deeper into the ‘Orlov’ figure by hacking into the cloud, and attempting to dig up any possible erased information on Orlov. Once he had finished looking into wherever he could about Orlov and possible erased information through the cloud, he’d move onto framing the mafia, through one well-known member in particular that Clown was already aware had a history for attacking or otherwise setting up other gangs - ‘Bruno Salvatore’.

Tom had gone through his contacts, and found Diana's number. Oh Diana, what a woman. She had originally been his executioner, sent to kill him by some of her higher ups in the mafia. But after escaping her grasp several times, and lots of back, and forth banter. They found they had a lot in common. Eventually they started going out. Which Tom would have never done if he wasn't annoyed by being hunted down. The girl was a prude, with a tude, and she was a mafia member on top of that! Of course her being fine as the most expensive china set helped. Oh, and she helped him out from time to time with his missions, which was a plus. He hit the call button, and once she answered he'd start his smooth talking.

"Heyo beautiful, it's been so long since we've last spoken! What, two days now? Feels like eternity when I'm away from your angelic self.” He started pouring on the compliments. "I heard about this gang summit thing, and I figured you'd be going. Soo, I was wondering if you'd let me be your date? It's been awhile since we went out together. I'd love to show off to all the other gangs. Oh...and I kind of have some business at the summit..so I really need its location if you have any idea where it is. Promise I'll be a good boy. You know I love ya, so how about that info? What time should I pick you up” he said in his most sensual of voices. Really pulling out all the stops for this one. He needed this win over the gangs. It would put him over the top on his mission, now all he'd need is for her to say one word, yes, sure, okay, any form of the word yes would work just fine.

​

(This was a collaboration post done by Solemn Jester & Sinny The Fool )
(Mentions - Depresso Espresso & Boss )
(Color Code - Tom B. Stone & Clown)

 

[Azukai]

The Sins of the Past
Kisaki

Yatagarasu watched with amusement as Amelia taunted the oversized hound. It wasn't the wrong decision, knowing there wouldn't be much point in fleeing; yet at the same time, fighting seemed a comical solution at best. Amelia was an ordinary girl with slightly above ordinary talents--she had nothing but her skill with the blade to keep her alive, as she squared off against a supernatural beast whose instinct was to hunt. "You are a peculiar one, girl." Yatagarasu commented as he turned his attention to the now pacing hollow. "Perhaps, just a little insane?"

Just like its prey, the hollow was content with a slow and calculated fight. Rather than charge at the whim of her taunt, the beast began pacing in a wide arc around Amelia. Here and there, a vine or two would whip towards the girl, testing the waters, but the hound itself remained at bay. Seconds went by, with the two combatants locked in a mutual stare, until the hound finally crouched and shot a scatter of vines directly Amelia's way. Apart from the attack, the hound made no further moves--it only watched for the outcome of its initial attack to determine its next move.

 

[Depresso Espresso]

Throne Of Thorns
Diana Young
Diana stood still as Julius crawled off the floor, dusting himself off with a pissed look, "DIANA! Why did you let them just walk away!? I order you to get out there and kill those son's of bitches right this instant!" He said fuming with anger as Diana pulled the cigarette out of her mouth with her mettalic arm, crushing it within her hand, "As it would seem. I'm now an official gang. I don't take orders from you Julius. And this is my hotel. Order me around when you have a sense of pride. Now get out of my fucking hotel." She said fuming with anger, her face was blank as could be as Julius was taken aback, giving a soft chuckle as the anger slowly faded, "So that's how it is then." He said quaintly before he moved back Diana, bumping his arm against her shoulder as he exited the building.

As Diana tried to calm down her phone rang, causing her to pull it out and reveal a familiar name that caused her to give a soft laugh, a smile taking place over her previous blank face as she pressed the answer button, his kind words were a shield for something but she just let out a sigh, "Good to hear from you too, spending a day or two in a host prison is really life changing, maybe you should try it some time." She said in a joking manner before he mentioned the summit, "Tom... If you want to talk about this you'll have to come see me in person... I'll tell you whatever you need to know when you get here... Bring some food, it'll be a long night in..." She said ending her sentence with a sigh and a "Love you" As she pressed the hang up button.

Sinny The Fool Solemn Jester ​

 

[SidTheSkid]

Devan W. Eldridge ~ Detective Stoner
High Status: 0% - Non-existent.
​

• IC

• (Location: Brookfield, Random Convenient Store )(Mood: Exhausted)
  (Interactions: Audrey Quinn )
  (Mentions: Idri Ave )
  
  Huh? What was she doing? Audrey's uneasy motions towards him were unexpected, maybe she had lost too much blood and was off-balanced? Wherever his thoughts were, Devan didn't expect for her to flounder onto the open space on his laps before wrapping her slender arms around him like he was some sort of teddy-bear! Awkwardly having nowhere to go he resumed his rigid posture, thinking that she was going to probably strangle him to death for making that pun which totally would've been justified but nevertheless the first thing that came out of the weary girl's mouth surprised him as she gradually drifted away into whatever 'episode' she was having. "Y-yeah, that baseball bat hit you pretty good alright." Babe? Was she attempting to flirt with him? Granted his charismatic ways even 'slayed' the most adamant of women but within this short amount of time? Standing completely still while his arms were out-stretched in a glorious t-pose fashion, Devan patiently remained in this motionless pose until hearing the hefty breathes of her tiresome slumber push through her soft lips, giving him the opportunity to gingerly remove Audrey's tightened grasp from his body as well as compassionately laying her onto the ground before utilizing his raincoat as a blanket, wrapping it around the proportions of her body furthermore adding the several packages of gauze to the back of her head as a makeshift pillow.
  
  "Uhhh, so what now?" That whole emotional experience was totally unexpected to say the least! Almost enough to make him drop whatever he was doing to reflect on the whole thing although noticing the twitching foot of the store-owner hanging out from behind the counter reminded him that he had unfinished business to attend to. "Oh nearly forgot.." There was a part of him that felt guilty knocking the poor guy out but in a place like Brookfield a whole heck of a lot worse could've happened to someone like him, if anything he was getting a break, kind of like a vacation! Or that's what Devan believed as he stuffing the person's unconscious body into the freezer room along with the other frozen food products. "You owe me." Feeling a bit generous, Devan cranked down the temperature knob to assure that the store-owner doesn't happen to freeze to death. Minutes later he had returned by Audrey's side with a plastic bag full of drinks, food, and just about any prescription pills that'll help him survey Audrey's condition throughout the night without having the urge to sleep bother him.
  
  Throughout the entirety of the evening he had begun monitoring the woman's health all the while looking outside the store windows to keep vigilant of any customers that were to approach, in a situation as screwed up as this one, all it would take is one lousy customer to screw things up.
  
  (Sorry, didn't really know what else to say! Writer's block kinda just consumed me.)
  

 

[Boss]

Haymaker P.2
Audrey Quinn | Devan W. Eldridge​

3:00PM
Brookfield
Convenience Store ​

Having been residing in the shadows of the aisles, Audrey and Devan were practically invisible to the public from the outside. Sun glare would reflect off of the store windows and efficiently hide the events that transpired within. This didn't stop consistent visits from potential customers who gawked at the unusual 'closing time' for that particular store. The two were safe from outside interruption at the least. What they weren't expecting, however, was an additional employee to emerge from the back room, having being done with lunch hour. Audrey and Devan hadn't been discovered at this point, but it was obvious that the employee noticed something was off the moment he recognized the front register was unmanned.

"Hey, Jon?" The puzzled employee called out, only to be answered by silence. The boy shouted even louder, still no response. His attention was directed to the 'closed' sign that faced outward rather than in. This was the red flag that sent the employee on a search for the missing cashier. In fact, he was headed in Audrey's direction.

Down with the Sickness P.4
| Lucy Black |​

2:34PM
Brookfield General Hospital | Sixth Floor
Room 633​

Pen and clipboard in hand, the nurse locked eye contact with Lucy with a face full of sympathy. The woman nodded as Lucy answered the bare minimum, jotting down even more words in response. "No, it's okay. You should feel much better from now on." She flashed a smile at the sickly girl before continuing. "We do get cases where people come in with similiar symptoms as you've experienced. In the recent years, Dominion research has actually identified what you feel as a supernatural sickness. I don't know if you're aware of any of that, but in short, supernatural energies are a lot like energy you'd get from meditation or.. positive energy, but they're toxic to the average human. This leads to my next question," The nurse shifted to cross her leg over the other. "..Have you ever witnessed or experienced a supernatural event for yourself? In other words, have you ever been in contact with something that felt uncanny or impossible? Strange people? Monsters?"

 

[Kisaki]

Amelia Diamond

Amelia rolled her eyes at Yatagarasu's words."Strange? Maybe, but crazy? No! I'm just trying to kill whatever this thing is so I can go home." Amelia said, keeping her eyes on the monster's movement. She felt the wind swosh at everytime should would run the at the opposite direction of the incoming vines. The girl stopped to catch a breather, but that didn't last long. She cursed when she saw the vines moving toward to her direction. However, Amelia was thankful for her athletic skills and stamina. She dodged the oncoming vines as she skid and jumped across the dirt ground. Amelia locked her eyes with the beast. "I think this thing is testing me. I might just go forward for an attack until I see an opening." The girl muttered, suprised by own ability to dodge the monster's attack.

"Is there anything magical about these blades that can help me here?" She asked Yatagarasu, readying herself for the next attack. Amelia did not know how long she would be able to keep dodging.
Azukai

 

[Idri Ave]

Haymaker pt. 2

Audrey Quinn
(Mentions: SidTheSkid )
​

Audrey "awoke" surrounded by blackness, before a figure appeared in front of her, their back towards her. Then the area laid out, it was a small village deserted with no signs of an enemy. She realised where she was she looked ahead at the figure, it was indeed her fiance, Nash, "Come on Audrey, lets head off this way, the rest go that way" Nash ordered the mission team, she followed, they went into one of the houses, "Nothing here lets keep moving" Nash commands "Wait.... We can't go upstairs.. someone's there, you'll die" Audrey tried to warn him grabbing onto his arm. But he pushed Audrey off him and continued upstairs. She started to go up. She tried not to look up knowing the sight she was about to see, but a force was stopping her from not looking. She closed her eyes while looking up, when she opened her eyes she saw Nash had been stabbed in the stomach by the enemy the nightmare re-occurring again and again. She opened her eyes sitting up with a jolt, it was a dream.

The sound of footsteps heading towards her. She looked around seeing Devan on the floor a meter away from her still asleep. She snapped her head back to the footsteps sounding closer, quickly she got up and went around hiding behind an isle ready to sneak up on the intruder. She turns another corner and is now facing the back of the employee. She quickly sneaks up and covers the employee's mouth making sure they can't scream. She pulls them along back to the back room, throwing them back in and shutting the door close and locking it. She leaned on the door wiping her hands together like there was dust on them, proud of her accomplishments. She then walks over the Devan poking him to see if he would wake up. He didn't. She decides to go get a drink of bottled water, no not for her. She walks back over to Devan opening the bottle and pouring it on him. She asian squats in front of him to see if that did the trick.

 

[silverlinedmist]

The transition between real world and.. Whatever this place was, had been disorienting for Zeke. He sat up, immediately feeling the pain from his mysterious wounds and cringing, barely making a sound as he observed his surroundings. The sight sent an unsettling chill down his spine, causing the poor boy to shiver harshly. Panic began to build in his very core as he glanced around, until remembering why he was here. He somehow managed to calm himself down enough to look around, finding the solution to get out, the only issue being the keys were too far away. Though he didn't want to, he noticed the strange contraption in the cell next to him, just barely within reach. He wasn't too keen on touching bones of unknown beings, human or not, but it seemed like it was his only choice for now. He stuck his arm through, stretching his arm as far as he could, his fingertips brushing up against the bone. So close, yet so far.

A low growl emitted from Zeke's throat as his frustration grew, turning from annoyance to outright anger. He knew what he had to do here, but he still didn't want to linger any longer than he had to. Sharp pains stung more as he squeezed more of his shoulder through the bars, biting on his lip as his middle finger could just barely wrap around it enough to pull it closer. He grabbed onto it, leaning back while still holding onto a bar for support. He took a few breaths, focusing on lessening his heartbeat and looking back to the key ring. A determined look formed on his face as he weaved the bone structure through the bars, lining it up to grab the key ring and bring it close to him. His arm was almost a bit shaky as he reached forward, bones in hand, but he had just barely lined it up well enough to snatch up the key. A small grin appeared on his face as he brought it back, placing the bones on the ground as he held the key in his hand. Eyes darted around the cell, trying to find exactly where the lock was. When he found it, he reached around, carefully putting the key in the lock, and turning slowly. It made a slight squeaking noise that was much quieter the slower he moved it. Eventually, it clicked, and the door was able to be pushed open with ease. A quick glance back and forth confirmed Zeke at least looked to be alone, so he quickly took off for the stairs while he had the chance.

 

[Boss]

The Underbelly P.10
Tom B. Stone | Clown​

12:47PM
Tom's Warehouse
Dealer's Car​

To the untrained eye, Andrew Orlov was nothing more than an average street thug. However, Clown's expertise in the digital realm far surprised that of a technician. His search would unearth a much more complex well of information on Orlov the moment he searched for Andrew's face on the deep web. Andrew Orlov happened to be a close associate to a known Russian crime mob dubbed 'Sasha'. Several pictures displayed Orlov in the company of a much more important figure, the supposed leader of Sasha: 'Nikoli Kross'. A far older and more sinister-looking individual, Kross was known as one of the many big cheeses who fought for territory over Brookfield. On the deep web were rumors of Sasha employing host refugees from the motherland itself. One rumor suggested that Kross was a host himself.

Sasha as an organization was a relatively new one. Gang activity within Brookfield hadn't reached it's prime until after the aftermath of the great war, when a concerning amount of cutthroats, deceivers, and general evil-doers began to surface in the absence of the war heroes. Sasha hadn't made itself known until a mere 5 years ago when they declared war on the Blizzards with no clear winner in the end. Every major crime organization in the city was under an oath of peace - one that was supposedly broken last night, hence the assimilation of the summit.

Corruption P.5
Camilla Ferrari | Sam Sarith​

???
???​

One by one, Camilla observed as the hosts around her stepped off the stairs and into the seemingly bottomless pit below. Confidence stemmed from the fearlessness of Kaivant and Sam, and Camilla too, leapt into the darkness below. The fall itself was strange enough. The speed picked up from the fall had had bled off as her descent into the ankle-deep ink was as soft as it could be. Camilla's stomach was more upset by whatever liquid they were walking in rather than the raw hollow energy that weighed down the air. Nonetheless, she accepted the pill that was tossed to her and took it without question, which alleviated the nausea almost immediately. The darkness inhibited Camilla's sight. Apart from those that had dropped in with her, she couldn't see a thing. Kaivant and Byakko had their own means of obtaining vision. For a moment Camilla did a double take - did Byakko seriously have night vision? Another question to ask later.

Soldiers of Ink began to take shape around them. Camilla could barely see past the second line of what she assumed to be hollows. Their ink forms reminded her of one of Dominic's stories of past, and his experiences with Fushinsetsu. The girl wondered if these things and Fushinsetsu were related, but remembered that he died during the great war. Camilla's thought train had derailed when she spotted Sam close the distance between them and hand her a harpoon, which she gripped with one hand.

"Keep Close. Don't get surrounded. Keep your exits open and always know where your going next."

This felt like the dog was being let off it's leash. Excitement quickly replaced her state of wonder as she grinned back at him. "Yeah, I got this." she scoffed. The army of ink began to close in on the heavily outnumbered group, but for some reason Camilla didn't feel fear. She lowered her stance to the ground, electricity began to spark around her which also traveled a small distance within the ink. An idea popped into her head as she broke off into an explosive start, splashing ink behind her as she went.

Camilla jumped as hard as she could into the air, easily clearing the first several waves of enemies and getting a good look at what they were just up against. As she flew over the countless lines of enemies, she mimicked Byakko's moves and infused the harpoon with her generated energy. One hefty spear toss later and the electric-infused spear impaled itself through an ink soldier and into the puddle of ink itself. The energy stored in the spear dissipated rapidly into the surrounding ink, causing a large amount of soldiers to melt into the puddle around the spear. Camilla landed by the spear, now standing in a clearing she made out for herself. This was fun.

 

[Randomfella]

Lucy Black
Brookfield General Hospital; 2:35pm​

"Supernatural?" Lucy looked down as she thought the notion over. With everything that was happening in the world it wasn't rediculous to think about, but still... The idea that these supernatural energies could be effecting her was strange to say the least. "Well..." She paused for a moment, trying to think of anything relevant to such a thing. "My parents-" The girl paused for a short moment as soon as she said that, almost like it was difficult to continue. "They disappeared not long ago, without warning, no one could find them, not even a trace, I still don't know if..." Lucy stopped once more, her voice full of worry and sorrow. "S-sorry... I shouldn't ramble." She quickly followed up, looking away before moving her gaze back toward the nurses' vicinity.

"I mean, I've had bad dreams about monsters before, even recently, but I haven't actually see..." Lucy began once more, attempting to find anything in her memory that could help, her words still stumbled nervously as she tried to adjust to the idea of such an illness. "W-wait..." Lucy quickly piped, thinking back to the day that led to her sudden attack. "There was someone at the door, I thought... I was expecting someone with the school, but..." Lucy slightly cringed at the thought of it, her body started to shiver. "A young man, from the college..." Images appeared in her mind, memories of the figure's face, though nothing came to mind, all she could think of were those eyes, as soon as she saw them in her mind once more the horrible visions appeared in her head, forcing her eyes closed. "N-No! I can't! I don't want to see them again!" Her heart beat increased rapidly, beads of tears and sweat formed in the sides of her clenched eyes, her body collapsing inward as she held her knees. She wasn't hallucinating like before, yet she panicked, doing her best to clear the images from her mind.

Boss

 

[Boss]

Den of Snakes
NIGHTMARE
| Ezekiel Kokinos |​

???
???​

The dank air thinned with a chilly breeze that was cast downstream of the set of stairs. A iron-enforced wooden door stood at the top of the lengthy flight Such architecture would only be found in places such as ruins or any other past era installation, yet the interior of Zeke's prison seemed well-kept. The wall-mounted torches lit the boy's way as he made his way to the top of the stairs. Upon opening it, the door would offer as much resistance as it possibly could before it gave way to a completely different world on the other side. Zeke had surfaced from the insides of a mountain. His immediate view granted him miles of vision in the direction of the eclipsed sun. Smaller lumps of land were dotted across the rust-colored landscape, while a large sandstorm was ravaging in the distance.

The exit opened up a path that twisted upward to the very top of the mountain, to which an ominous looking building was perched atop of. Along the past were corpses of both ragged humans and strange beast-like creatures covered in a black slime. A passing breeze would chill Zeke to his core with a hint of what he could expect from traveling up the path. A pile of corpses lay near the prison's exit, along with it was a small assortment of weapons caked in dried blood. A longsword, a bearded axe, a partially destroyed shield, and a bow with a quiver. It almost felt like Zeke wasn't the only person to attempt the journey to the cloaked building up above. The weapons were like a offering for his trip.

Grabbing any of the weapons resulted in a near miss as a elongated arm failed to swipe Zeke's head off his shoulders. The arm retracted into the darkness, revealing to Zeke a hunched humanoid figure with a strange darkness as it's mass. It's jaw opened to reveal a drooling smile. Zeke didn't have much time before the creature attacked again with an overhead swing of it's stretchy arm and claws.

Down with the Sickness
NIGHTMARE
| Lucy Black |​

???
???​

Upon opening her eyes, Lucy found herself in a completely different world. Her body was one of many that were strung along a network of webs that covered the entirety of a dark cave. Suspended in the air were lifeless cocoons, decorated like christmas lights. Any initial struggle warranted an eerie echo of skittering farther down the cave. Lucy's bindings felt loose enough. With enough struggle she could free herself from the daisy chain of cocoons, but not without a twenty foot drop and a lot of noise.

 

[Azukai]

Corruption
Camilla Ferrari | Sam Sarith​

The battle was relatively one sided against the constructs of corrupted ink. Flames, lightning, harpoons, and shards of wood flew through the air and impaled their targets or provided ground against the oncoming horde. Nonetheless, for every opponent that lost its form, another two would join the fray--at least until they all vanished in a single torrent of ink that rained downward and coated the living in a grotesque layer. "You've got to be kidding me." Byakko muttered with disgust. His body was soaked, much like the others, but he couldn't help but turn his nose towards the stench that now covered his body. Kaivant shook his head with a smile, just before a gradual wave of heat began to emit from his fluttering wing. The intensity was enough to dry the dampened clothes of his surrounding party--a bit unbearable, but a necessary evil in the grand scheme of things.

"That's all you got!?" Ryu exclaimed with a triumphant roar. He smashed his clenched fists together which caused a burst of wooden trunks to rise from the ink--an act of victory, nothing more, nothing less. "You are a fool." Kaivant replied in a neutral tone; his gaze directed towards the over sized hollow which still sat against the furthest wall. Its body continued to breath, just as ink continued to expel itself from the series of vines that had overgrown the area. "The battle is not over until the threat no longer moves."

Kaivant lowered his body into a widened stance that left his katana straddled against his side. He closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath, just before a burst of white flame exploded along the length of his blade. "May you be purified, Hanjiro" he muttered with a forward swing of his blade--an act that sent an arc of flame hurling towards the hollow. On contact, the arc sliced through the creature's body without so much as a drop of blood and soon engulfed its entirety in a pyre of flame. There was a satisfied nod from the man who vanished his wing and began to sheath his blade, though he stopped midway with a curious expression directed at the hollow. A single pulse of corrupted energy emitted into the room...

One pulse, became two, became three, just as the vines of the room began to violently thrash. There was no rhyme or reason to their actions, only random attacks that left the Chinese warriors dodging with a sudden sense of urgency and concern. "Uhh, boss, I don't think its dead." Byakko announced in a matter of fact voice that earned him a glare from Kaivant. "No shit." he replied before hurling another arc of flame that had little effect in taming the rampant growth. "I will tear the vines from its body." Ryu announced as he began a haphazard charge towards the hollow's burning body; however, he only managed to cross half the distance before all of the vines and the pool of ink suddenly retracted back into the hollow's body. In an instant, the room which had been covered by miles of growth and several feet ink was empty.

Silence filled the air. The Chinese warriors remained motionless, unsure what to expect, though the answer came quick as the sound of sloughing skin broke the silence. The trio watched with disgust as chunks of skin began to fall from the hollow's body and formed a pile of rotten flesh around its very being. Underneath the skin, was not the expectation of a corpse's skeleton, but rather, what appeared to be a human-sized seed. Its base color was black, though it contained blotches of blue that glowed with pulses of the same corrupted energy. Towards the bottom of the seed were the retracted vines that remained rooted in what was left of the hollow's lower body; while on top, was a large flower that glowed with the same blue energy that was contained within the rest of the seed.

CRACK

A series of vertical slits began to form in unison around the circumference of the seed, and slowly, its surface began to peel back in a torrent of ink that pooled around the immediate ground. THUD, from the seed fell a body. Its naked self somewhat small, about five feet tall, and was topped with a bed of white hair that contained a single blue streak towards the front. Striking, however, were the icy blue eyes that matched the glowing tattoos that covered its bare skin with a vibrant hue. "It is cold." The creature spoke in a child's voice as it began to gaze at its surroundings without particular interest towards anything. "Drab." It muttered. In an instant, a hurricane of paper forced the room into an immediate white-out given the sheer volume of paper that began to fixate itself to the walls. In a matter of seconds, the room no longer contained dirty stone walls or a ceiling defined by hollow energy. Rather, it was a scene out of a Victorian house--cream wallpaper that covered the fresh walls which were now lined with a series of bookshelves, filled to the brim with novels from the ages; a high top ceiling with a crystal chandelier that emitted a gentle, blue light, that filled the room with an ominous glow; finally, Victorian-style robes that covered the creature's body as he smiled Kaivant's way.

"It hurt you know...the fire." The creature spoke with his hand extended towards the man who unsheathed his sword and assumed a readied stance. A single sheet of paper began to lazily float his way. Kaivant was prepared to slice the paper the moment it reached the tip of his blade, though he was never given the chance. Before he could react, a colossal fist of paper rose from the ground and sent him flying into one of the bookshelves against the wall. There was a loud crash as his body collided against the wood...that was soon splattered, crimson, from a series of paper, born spikes that grew from the books and impaled his body in a series of heavily bleeding wounds.

"BOSS!" Ryu roared in a fit of anger that sent a wooden log hurling the creature's way. Laughter filled the air as the creature's body exploded into a flurry of paper, only for it to soon reform, hanging from a now missing portion of the chandelier. "You hurt me." The creature said while causing the chandelier to swing from the momentum it generated. Out of the blue, growls of hunger filled the air from the creature who looked surprised and grasped his stomach with one of his hands. "Food?" It suddenly questioned; its eyes fixated on the room's remaining inhabitants--drool dripping from its open mouth. "Food! Food! Food!"

 

[silverlinedmist]

The trek up the staircase seemed to last forever until he finally reached a door. A door, that obviously did not want to budge no matter how much he shoved or pulled on it. Zeke had found himself continuously looking behind him, unable to shake the feeling that he was being watched. In a place like this, that was the last thing he wanted. The funny thing about desperation and fear, though, is that it can often give you that extra shove you need in the time you need it most. His shoulder was starting to get sore from the beating, but he could feel the door moving about. With one last desperate attempt, he shoved the door as hard as he could, finally busting it open.
Only to be greeted by an intimidating sight.

Zeke stopped for a moment to catch his breath and regain his strength, before beginning to walk up the path, trying his best to ignore the corpses surrounding him. He didn't need the warning; He knew exactly what he was going to face. It would never be a bad idea to have some weapons to help him against the supernatural, though. Spotting a shield that, while damaged, could still be used for protection, he knelt down, feeling his hair stand on edge as he felt gust of air pass right over the back of his head, barely missing it. He grabbed the shield quickly, reaching for any possible weapon that lay near it to attempt to protect himself. As his eyes focused on the figure ahead of him, he felt a wave of rage hit what felt like his soul. Funny... He had expected fear.

"YOU!" he shouted at the creature, preparing himself for the next attack. Zeke was never the most sporty, but he kept himself fit enough to last in a fight. At least, for a while. His knuckles went white as he felt himself losing control of his emotions. Though, while he was angry, he was not yet irrational. He thirsted for the end of this creature's existence, but knew not how to destroy it. He could only keep himself alive until he saw an opening.
"You are the reason I'm here. You are the reason I am stuck in this situation.. YOU are the reason my family thinks I'm dead!!" He knew this creature, and the creature knew him as well. He had seen it in his nightmares before, numerous times. "Out of any other poor, helpless, fucking soul... You choose ME, when I never wanted anything to do with you or your disgusting powers!"

 

[SidTheSkid]

Devan W. Eldridge ~ Detective Stoner
High Status: 0% - Non-existent.
​

• IC

• (Location: Brookfield, Random Convenient Store )(Mood: Hungry)
  (Interactions: Audrey Quinn )
  (Mentions: Idri Ave )
  
  Fatigue cocooned Devan's dormant figure, swaddling throughout each bend and turn of his exhausted body as his mindfulness gradually fleeted from his body like a gentle whisper being carried to one ear to another. Eventually it was only a matter of time before Devan's tiresome eyes were 'consumed' by his eyelids, shielding away the light as he slept across from Audrey, feeling as if he was comfortable enough to pass out without having to worry too much about the recovering girl although only minutes later did she jolted up out of her slumber to the sound of danger, echoing in the form of approaching footsteps which was unaware to Devan as he was whole-heartedly letting out inconsistent snores out from his loosened mouth from time to time while continuing to enjoy whatever little sleep he could manage even if his dreams were shrouded in everlasting darkness. It was unbeknownst to him when the last time he had a good dream was, maybe it was the narcotics making them simply disappear?
  
  Whatever it was, it was rather discouraging to be surrounded by blackness as opposed to inspirational delusion perhaps it was life's way of telling him that he was too old to have a vivid imagination, that Brookfield's harsh lifestyle had depleted any source of amusement he had once had but then again it was relieving to not have to deal with the sapping nightmares that would make it impossible for him to sleep with all those bone-chilling screams sounding off like sirens during his rest... Without a doubt, that fact was probably the most horrifying to him. It was as if the 'Demons' dwelling in the city's living cesspool had scratched their way inside of his mind, chipping away at his humanity with their claws and enjoying whatever morsels of innocence they could get their grimy hands on until nothing was left except for a creature more depraved than a demon itself. This must've been a sign, an inevitable sign that it was approaching and that there was nothing he could do to stop it only 'prolong' its arrival but even then it would still inch closer, its twisted grin emerging from the shadows of his mind.
  
  "I'm already here." A soft-spoken voice cried out through his mind, soon being interrupted as Devan broke out from his own illusion with 'waves' of cold distilled water being poured atop of his head, trails of liquid dripping down his hair as he flailed his arms all around in a panic before meeting his eyes with Audrey and eventually calming himself down as his palm adjoined to his heavily beating chest. "Damn it Audrey! Nearly gave me a freaking heart-attack! You could've woken me up without having to waterboard me like i'm some P.O.W." Devan shrieked, still trying to calm himself down as he looked at Audrey doing some weird squat in-front of him. "If it weren't for the odd circumstance, i'd ask you how your heels are touching the ground like that but i'd much rather ask about the condition of your head wound." Devan diverted his sights to the bandages wrapped comfortably around Audrey's head, a piece of the cloth dangling against her ear as she remained next to him. "Also.. What was with yesterday? With the whole 'babe' comment?" Thinking she was hitting on him earlier, he really did want to know whether or not it was her cracked cranium speaking some gibberish to him or if she was making some sort of 'pass' at him. Regardless his thoughts were suddenly overtaken by a strong sensation of hunger once his stomach rumbled deeply, making him lean to the side and scoop a whole bunch of junk-food in-between them before picking up a random bag of chips and ripping through the package like a feral animal. "Well, not what i'd call the greatest breakfast date but I guess it could be worse y'know?" Shrill calls of 'help' followed by clanging metal rung out through the convenience store as he awkwardly pushed a chip in-between his lips, looking at Audrey with absolute confusion at another voice being heard aside from the store manager he had stuffed in the freezer earlier, obviously making it clear that he wanted some answers as to why another person was locked in the backroom's meat locker.
  

 

[Azukai]

The Sins of the Past: END
Kisaki

"It won't matter." Yatagarasu replied in a flat tone; his sudden lack of emotion far more foreboding than it was reassuring. Nonetheless, what he said wasn't a false statement--the battle was nearing its end, signaled by the guttural howl that flared the fur of the still-pacing hound. Once again, the monster chose to hurl two of its vines; an attack it anticipated Amelia to dodge. What she wouldn't have expected, however, was the invisible force that pierced through her midriff and left her with a gaping hole.

"A delayed reflection." Yatagarsu explained as he reached into his pants pocket and retrieved a small bullet. He tapped the bullet against his skull, before placing it in the chamber of a revolver which had manifested itself into his spare hand. BANG. There was no hesitation as he pulled the trigger and sent the bullet flying the hollow's way. The creature roared from pain as the projectile lodged itself into one of its front legs--an attack that seemingly did nothing more than piss off the monster who turned its attention away from Amelia and to the old man. It reared its vines in preparation for an attack, though it never got the chance to execute.

In an instant, the hound was flattened into the shape of a pancake against the concrete. Cracks began to spider underneath the pool of blood and skin, from the sheer force of gravity that was weighing on the specific location of the walkway. A few more seconds passed until the pressure seemed to dissipate, though it left the old man looking fatigued as he hobbled Amelia's way. "This is why humans fear the supernatural." He muttered as he observed her wound that was pouring out blood. "People fear what they cannot control." He reached into his pocket and retrieved a second bullet which was also tapped against his skull. Like before, the bullet was loaded into his revolver, just before he placed the barrel against her chest. "So tell me, Amelia--what do you fear." BANG.

 

[Randomfella]

Lucy Black
Nightmare​

Lucy began to panic once more, her body freezing up as she tried to take in everything around her. Why did she have to open her eyes? Where was she? Such thoughts passed her mind rapidly, blue eyes shivering as they moved to observe the cocoons within the cave; Well, as much as they could through her own cage in the darkness. The girl's breaths became rapid, slight movements of her hands making the lack of strength in the webs obvious... Hope? As her eyes slowly watched below, however, the short sensation was lost, despair fresh and ready to replace it. Eerie echos of skittering made themselves apparent even by the slight movements. Lucy froze even further in fear, her mind almost going blank at the thought of what lay in the dank depths.

Boss

 

[Sinny The Fool]

"Clown & Tom B. Stone"

~Tom’s Car~

Biting the edge of his thumb, Clown started getting to looking into other areas of the digital realm and digging in places most others wouldn’t think to look. To say the very least, Clown was quite interested in what he had found. “Well, well, well Orlov - aren’t you apart of a bigger picture.” He said to himself with a slight muse at the end. After his deeper search into the Orlov character, Clown convened this information back over to Solemn as he continued along with his job. “Seems like Orlov has some real close ties to a lesser known Russian organization know as ‘Sasha’, who five years back declared war on the Blizzards and since have been in a peace treaty with the other gangs in Brookfield.”

Tom had started the muscle car, listening to its engine purr. He could help but grin like a fool. "Love you too babe. See ya soon.” He told Diana before they ended the call.”Oh, how interesting. So he's a member of a gang of nobody's. Makes sense as to why he'd want to make a name for himself. Ok, we got to make a stop at my girl's place. Hold on tight!” With that warning, and little time to actually heed it. The sleek black muscle car went flying down the driveway of the warehouse. With a click of a button the gates opened, and they were off. Driving like the madman he was, he paid little mind to Clown who was still in the back, tumbling along the back seats. Once he was on the road he did slow down somewhat. Giving Clown a chance to recuperate some before he continued at a slightly slower, and less reckless pace. He made sure to head towards Diana's place while making sure to listen to Clowns info on the frame job.

Clown was able to gather himself back together, one hand clenching tightly to the seat in front of him, as Tom started slowing down Clown let out a relieved sigh "You could have warned me y’know, I have a lot of important things back here." sifting through his side strapped bag, he took out a pair of headphones, connecting it to his laptop and putting them on around his ears. Next thing on Clown’s ‘to do’ list; setting up the weapon shipment to a local that was relatively close to wherever the summit was to be held, all he needed to do was wait for Tom to obtain and convey the location of the summit to him.

Tom laughed at how pitiful Clown could be "please! You should know by now I do everything with my own kind of flare, and pizazz. That includes driving.” Tom turned on some tunes as he drove. Humming a happy little tune by some death metal band. He tapped his fingers and hummed along as if it was some pleasant old school classic. With his music blaring, and his crazy driving it wasn't long before he found his way to Diana's place. Her house, or hotel, casino? Whatever it was! Always mad Tom smile. Just thinking of how he'd have a million of these one day, if things went right, put some pep in his step. He turned off the car, walking out of the car, and locking the doors once Clown existed, who was reluctant to leave his equipment behind and took careful care packing it all back into his bag before getting out. Tom still had his gun on him, as he always did just in case it was needed. But he highly doubted Diana had any intentions of jumping him or selling him out. Otherwise, she'd have done so long ago. “C’mon Clown my man. It's about time I introduced you to my sugah Mama.” Tom called as he trotted through the doors, and into the building. Once inside he'd find someone he knew, and request they get Diana for him.

​

(This was a collaboration post done by Solemn Jester & Sinny The Fool )
(Mentions - Boss Depresso Espresso )
(Color Code - Tom B. Stone & Clown)

 

[Boss]

Corruption P.6
Camilla Ferrari | Sam Sarith​

???
???​

The one-sided tussle against countless ink soldiers was definitely a test of endurance. Camilla had just ample enough time to come up with her next plan of action before any ink soldier could land an attack on her. From one spot to another, she used her incredible speed coupled with the electric energy to clear out entire chunks of soldiers while staying on the move at the same time. It was good practice for her to exercise what she's seen from Byakko and make her own version out of it. Ink soldiers were way more interesting than lifeless dummies and reprogrammed Dominion drones. It was interesting enough for the girl's attention to drift from everything but the spirit of the fight itself, so when the entirety of the ink was ripped away, Camilla slid to a halt with a rather puzzled yet annoyed look on her face.

The events that followed were legitimately concerning. The same man who had displayed strength on the same tier as her father had now flown past her to be spiked on paper itself like he was nothing. Crimson painted the now Victorian flooring they stood on. While she hadn't known him for any longer than twenty minutes, Camilla couldn't help but feel concern for the samurai-ish host whose future looked dire. However, it wasn't just his future that was in question.

Camilla turned around to see the new player on the field as he dangled from the chandelier hungry. "So this is a Hollow?" She inquired to nobody in particular. It was the first time she'd seen a Hollow in person. Their yearning to feed was one of the major characteristics that drove their incomprehensible rage and behavior. However, she never imagined it would look so.. full of life at the same time. The creature could speak, and briefly complained about the pain it felt. That's another fact she failed to recall - that the hollows were capable of feelings and basic logic.

Nevertheless, the eyes that locked onto the hollow's form were anything but friendly. As Camilla started walking back towards the group, her mind took apart the situation and analyzed what she had seen so far. The hollow's method of dodging were much like her father's. Degrade into a more maneuverable form to effectively dodge in every possible direction. In their case it was easier. Paper was a hell of a lot more manageable than smoke. By the time she arrived where the rest of the party had stood, the girl had formulated a makeshift plan to deal with their new threat.

"Paper.." Camilla said, announcing her arrival. "..It must be it's bread and butter if it attacked and moved with it." Her eyes scanned the room, taking into account that the hollow could probably manipulate every inch of their surroundings to it's liking. "There's a small opening if you two plan on fighting." With firm belief in her tone, she glanced to Byakko and the enraged Ryu, who hadn't taken much action yet. "The moment its body changes into paper. I assume you can trap it if not completely destroy it like that." Camilla based this fact off of one of her father's own weaknesses. Whatever amount of smoke that came off of Dominic's body absolutely had to be returned in an equal amount or greater, lest he lose that part of his body forever. In her mind, the hollow's ability to shift forms were one in the same with dad's.

Den of Snakes
NIGHTMARE
| Ezekiel Kokinos |​

???
"Limbo"​

The deranged Hollow never gave a response to Zeke's shouting. It's sickened grin remained constant as it kept it's body twenty feet away and used it's long arms to close the distance. A heavy claw slapped into the shield, it's nails digging into the wood briefly poking Zeke's hand on the other side. A strong pull could nearly knock Zeke off his feet as the hollow was barely able to free it's hand from rending the shield. It's attacks were clearly telegraphed. Long, wide arcs were basically all the hollow did while it kept it's important body parts farther off. As a creature hunting for food it made sense. It's arms and claws could be used to strike unknown prey while the mass of it's body remained hidden. A brief glance at some of the bodies Zeke passed would have told him that it was that exact technique that befell those before him. The hollow remained stationary whilst swinging wildly at Zeke looking for a clean hit. Just why wasn't it getting any closer? Any steps forward and Zeke would realize that the hollow wouldn't pull back either. Further inspection would suggest that it's legs were either cut off or dug into the mountain itself. Nonetheless, the creature put all of it's effort into it's claws.

Down with the Sickness
NIGHTMARE
| Lucy Black |​

???
???​

As Lucy made even the slightest of movements, the webs that constrained her along the daisy-chain of cocoons would response, which in turn elicited even more skittering. Just a few wrapped bodies down the line was a spider the size of a family dog, yet it's appearance was most akin to a black widow. With the way it crept its way over the tied bodies and towards Lucy, it was easy to assume that it was after her. However, once the spider had made its way between the closest body in the line and Lucy, the body it passed began to make a groaning sound similar to a person yawning. The spider stopped, it's multiple eyes clearly focusing on the helpless Lucy. However, it's interest was quickly shifted as the webbing around the head of the previous victim had partially come loose.

It was the face of Lucy's mother.

Mouth agape, her mother's upside-down body was just barely breathing once air had seeped into her lungs. However, what followed next was truly nightmare material for the poor girl. As the spider responded to the woman's noises, it quickly skittered onto her cocoon and remained there. The woman suddenly coughed, and three smaller spiders tumbled out of her mouth. Lucy's mother then fell into a coughing fit, as more and more spiders had began to escape from within her, until her coughing had seized and there was a steady flow of hundreds if not thousands that marched out of her body and along the line.

"Pretty baby. Pretty baby. Very good mom."

An eerie, goblin tone echoed throughout the cave in a musical rhythm.

"Goooood mom. Very good mommy."

The voice continued to echo from further down the cave as eggs were hatching somewhere within Lucy's parent. There was no telling if she was next.

 

[Depresso Espresso]

Diana Young
(Tags - Sinny The Fool Solemn Jester Boss (Because Axel)
(Cassidy)
The small seating area was still in ruins, the boy from behind the desk still cleaning it up as a girl dressed in a pair of tight jeans that were torn as well as a long sleeved shirt, a bored expression on her face before she turned her head to see Tom, "Tom! Hey!" She said hopping up, putting down the pile of glass pieces moving over to him, a happy expression on her face, looking at the other person with him as she gave a confused look, "Here for Diana yes?" Her accent was an extremely strong one, sounding like she was from a European country at least.

She let out a sigh as she looked at the mess, "She had... some not very happy guests..." She said in a sad tone before turning her head back to Tom, "Think Diana's a bit shaken up from all of it... Or just very pissed... Honestly can't tell anymore," She said letting out a soft sigh before pointing at the hallway to the right, "Diana should be at the end of the hallway. Just head down there and knock on the door, should be open but I don't want her sending a sharp object or a bullet your way," She said offering a small smile before she moved back to help the other boy clean up the mess that was the broken glass.
Diana sat in the chairs around a circular table in what was a common room, some kids sitting down on the couches watching the tv as a few others cleaned up the dishes, conversing about what they did today. Diana had a cold glass of amber liquid sitting in front of her which she wished did something for her but it was just a normal liquid by any standards now. Picking it up she threw her head back drinking it all before putting the glass down.

By this point in time she was absolutely furious with what just happened. People came into her home demanding money and respect for her without any grounds, sure they helped get rid of the prick she used to call her boss, but then there's the problem of now answering to some prick worse than her boss. Lost in her own anger she decided to close her eyes, calming herself down slightly before she stood up, moving to the door of her bedroom shutting it with a loud bang noise which no doubt echoed into the main lobby somewhat. Moving to her bed she decided to lay down on it looking at the ceiling, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. "Axel. Did I make the right decision..." She said out loud in a strained tone, trying to keep her anger under control as much as possible, "Who am I kidding, It was just a fucked nightmare." She said letting out an annoyed sigh.​

 

[Sinny The Fool]

"Clown & Tom B. Stone"

~Common Room > Diana’s Bedroom Door~

Tom gave the girl a big smile as she approached. He had noticed the mess, and figured something had happened. He'd have to get the details from Diana later. "Alright, thanks. Good thing you warned me. I'd hate to end up shot because I forgot to knock.” He patted the girl on the head, and walked passed into the common room & towards Diana's bedroom door. He waved towards Clown to follow as he did. Making sure to avoid the mess, and saying hey to all the people he was familiar with. "Yo Jimmy, how's it been! Good to see you Susan! Oh Donald, you ever get that growth removed? Oh wait, that's just your head! Haha!” He said as he walked down the hallway. Before stopping at the door, holding his hand up to stop Clowns progression. "Ok, soo my girlfriend is kind of a mafia hitman...so try not to piss her off anymore than she already is.” He warned, as he eyed the door suspiciously. As if a barrage of bullets could come out of it any second. Clown tilted his head to the side, and though his expression couldn’t be seen it was one of tempered worry "She isn’t going to try shoot at me like you did, right?” Tom tapped his chin, taking a second to contemplate the probability of that happening. "Hmm, nah! I mean, probably..just don't piss her off… I'll vouch for you, should be fine.” He said in a tone that exuded no confidence, to which Clown responded under his breath "I’m going to die in this place..”

Tom turned back towards the door, and blinked a few times. Still seemingly thinking, "Hmmm..Hey! I have an idea! Why don't you knock!?” He suggested, with a tone of delight, and pride at having such a great idea. Again, Clown seemed startled even with the fact his face was entirely covered by a mask "Uhh, me? Are you sure that is a good idea?” he said shaking his head from side to side, making it fairly clear he didn’t want to do it "Y’know, I’m the uhh ‘stand in the back and listen’ type..I can knock on all the ‘digital’ doors you want but..” he went off into a silent train of thought for a few seconds, hoping Tom would interrupt and he’d need to say no more. Tom chuckled his carefree laugh, and waved at Clown. Dismissing his words of concern as simple paranoia. "Oh please! You'll be fine, now just go on up and knock.” He ordered, suddenly hiding behind the corner of the wall. "I'll be right behind you buddy! Promise!” He assured him, his head disappearing behind the corner. "OK! READY!” He called, as he covered his ears, and crouched down. Waiting to see what would happen. Suddenly a thought came to mind, and his head popped back out from the corner. "Oh, and don't mention her arm if you treasure your man parts.” He said before giving a thumbs up and going back to his crouching position."OK! Now I'm ready!” Tom informed Clown as he plugged his ears up once more.

"Her arm??” Clown asked with a curious tone in his voice, but quickly dismissed it with a nervous gulp and turning to face the door. There was no backing out now, and a thought crossed his mind ‘If Tom is hiding...Shouldn’t I be hiding too?’ but it was too late for second thoughts, almost as if by impulse he stretched one arm out while using his other arm to shield his face and braced himself as he knocked on the door.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

​

(This was a collaboration post done by Solemn Jester & Sinny The Fool )
(Mentions - Depresso Espresso )
(Color Code - Tom B. Stone & Clown)

 

[Kisaki]

Amelia Diamond
Azukai

An unbelievable pain interrupted Amelia's attack on the monster. "Fu-" Amelia croaked, reaching her hand over the area she was shot. "You could do that the whole time?" Amelia asked furiously after watching the 'god' shoot the creature. She slowly fell to the ground. " What are you going on about? You fucking shot me!" She furrowed her eyebrows at older man before a blinding light and the sound of a gunshot claimed her.

--
Amelia slowly opened her eyes to the sound of her mother's voice. "Oh my god! Did those goons do that to you Akano?" Her mother screamed after seeing a hole on her daughter's shirt and a large mark on her skin. Amelia only moaned in response. Amelia was ushered into the bakery, into the backroom that was near the kitchen. The older women slowly pushed Amelia onto a chair, and accessed her almost healed wound. " I'm okay ma! I'm not bleeding. Dosen't even hurt. " The younger girl insisted. Her mother shook her head. Amelia's mother looked over to the pair swords on the ground. " What are those?"


"Those? I...Those were a gift from a ..friend. I was taking them back to my apartment. " Amelia explained as her mother examined her chest. " I should be more worried about you. Those so called gangsters could come back tomorrow. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Don't worry pumpkin, I few things up my sleeves if they come back. Besides, your father decided to stay and help around the bakery. He's our muscly handsome bodyguard"

"Oh great!" Amelia groaned, letting the back of her head hit the chair. She would always love her father.

"Strange...Seems you are already scarring. I think you should go home anyways. I'll drive you." The older women offered.

" No thanks." Amelia quickly said as she remebered how crazy of a driver her mother is.

--
"I can't believe that old croaker shot me. Then he had a nerve to not answer my questions." Amelia mummbled as she walked out the bakery. Whatever happened in the park she wanted no part of. She would hang the swords up in her room and continue with her daily life. However, she was curious about how the gunshot wound healed so fast and what was the violent beast she countered. "What are you afraid of? Like I'll tell you." She continued to rant, walking down the empty alleyway. She would feel more at ease once she was at her apartment.

 

[TerraBooma]

The ink soldiers and battlefield faded away, everything moved in a flash. Before Sam could get a word in edgewise, the hollow had appeared and everything had promptly went to hell. The battle against the inky troops had been overwhelming in numbers but something they could easily control...a single rampaging hollow was trickier. Sam cursed as Kaivent flew back into the wall, paper like spears shooting into him and dropping the man like a sack of rocks. The sharkman darted over as he avoided attacks, dodging what he could, hoping his armor like skin would take the rest. As he moved, he waved his hand, another circle of harpoons manifesting around the boy and darting after him. If he dodged, the harpoons would try and follow him like a homing missles, trying to strike down the hollow before the rampage would spread.

Sam himself kept up a barrage of bullets whenever the chance arised, both firing at the hollow and at different spears of paper, hoping to knock them down before they could get close. The fact that this guy was made of paper meant going full aggro on him was probably a bad idea, especially with Sam's injuries. Instead he focused on falling back to a supporting role, slowing him and down and creating openings for the others. Eventualyl Sam made his way to where Kaivent lay on the floor, and did a quick check of the man's current state.

"Now ain't the time for naps Kaivent!" He said after firing off another bullet and starting to reload. He crouched down and gave the injured host a proper inspection.

 

[Randomfella]

Lucy Black
Nightmare​

Lucy's breath stopped as she watched on, helpless, was this where they had been this whole time? "N-no..." The girl slightly gasped, it was as if she was suffocating from fear alone, her eyes no longer shivered, instead they started to almost fade out. "S... Stop..." Lucy did her best, but her words could hardly be described as such, hardly discernible.

What could she do? She didn't even have the strength to watch what was happening, let alone help the only people she cared for, the only ones who cared for her. Lucy tried to move, but her limbs would not respond to her commands. Finally, she had found them, and there was nothing she could do to even attempt to help them. This thing... It was going to have its spawn consume them, and then they would do the same to her. "Oh my god..." The girl almost passed out from the thought of it alone.

"No..." Just as her eyes began to close, they opened wide once more. All that they had done for her, she couldn't just wait for them to die, couldn't simply do nothing! The girl's fingers began to twitch, soon her whole arm began to move. All she knew is she could do nothing like this, the consequences were regardless, she had to do... Something.
"Ngh!" Lucy grunted as she began to wriggle and squirm within the cocoon, her mind blocking off the terrible horrors that plagued it, her chest felt like it was about to explode, pain rising within it as she pushed through the feelings that moved to hold her back. Until suddenly... A snap... She, and her webbed prison, began to fall into the abyss below.

Boss