[BitP:R] Mortal World 3

[Shades of Gray]

<"I suppose you're right. But that's the deal - where ever I go, the world stays the same. Stable, reasonable... but it's not what I want. I want toil. Turmoil. Adventure.">

The man sighs. For the first time, his eyes seem to narrow for a moment as his thoughts drift. <"I suppose it's a selfish thing to desire. Even today, many people suffer and would like nothing more than the stable world we live in. And here, there are people like you who would not like that stability to suffer - it would be unfair to rock the boat.">

<"Yet I can't help but feel the world has lost something in this stability. People walk from day to day as if there's a veil over their eyes - like they can't see... see things that in the past, were common knowledge. It's like they've forgotten the meaning of this life.>"

Eirene

<I think most people are content living a routine; it's secure. We like to simplify things for ourselves, categorize them, so that we can avoid making tough decisions. But that's not really living, is it? It's like living a flowchart.> Eirene shrugs. <But whatever floats their boat. I mean, they must be happy. Or, at least, happy enough that they don't want to risk disappointment.> Eirene yawns. <Which is why I just never get disappointed.>

[Frozen_Feet]

<"I hope I'm not boring you with such heavy musings">, Mihail says in response to her yawning. <"Though I must ask - how can you never get disappointed? What's your little secret?">

It seems the dinner is taking forever. How many courses do we still have left? It'll be midnight before we finish eating this rate. Darn French cuisine...

[Terry576]

"I'm here for my friends, Sora-san. That's all." Kina looks around for a moment. "What, um, else can you do?" She eyes the roof especially. "Hmm...I have an idea. Though... I'm unsure. But we should at least get some attention."

Sora stared at Kina for a few seconds, then grinned widely.

"Kina-chan, if you reeeeaaally expected me to believe that, then you shouldn't have followed me. You couldn't have climbed up the walls to get to the roof, you couldn't have jumped up onto the roof."

He turns away. "Nice try though. What do you have in mind?"

"Don't worry, my pretties. You have all of my attention." There was a slight chuckle as it spoke.

"Voice-san I really would prefer having a name to the voice. " He sounded remarkably condescending for a sixteen year old boy.

"Wouldn't you prefer to allow us to look upon your beauty?"

[Nicklance]

Watching Sora fight from the vantage of his hiding place, Angelo is skilled enough to escape detection still. He checks his gun and his ammo and silently mutters a prayer in readiness to step in should the kids be unable to win against a Hollow like that.

That cero, nay the ability to fire a cero surprised Angelo.

[Kayne650]

"Voice-san I really would prefer having a name to the voice. " He sounded remarkably condescending for a sixteen year old boy.

"Wouldn't you prefer to allow us to look upon your beauty?"

The voice laughed again, louder this time. It sounded like a cross between a cackle and knives screeching against metal. "My, but you are a funny one! You can call me Trapper for now, boy. And the only time you'll see my magnificence is right before I eat you!" The voice seemed pretty confident in its abilities, and might also be quite distracted while it was talking.

[tgva8889]

Kina looks back at Sora. "Um, Sora-san, if you wanted me to believe you actually wanted to be friends, you'd, um, stop stressing your honorifics." She looks down, then looks back up. "Um, point that energy beam down. I'll tell you when to go."

[KnightDisciple]

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[Kaito's Group]

Longlegs' tongue is twisted aside by Kaito's telekinesis, slamming into the ground with inhuman power, leaving a small crater. Unfazed by the medium's power, the Hollow simply snaps its tongue back into its mouth with alarming speed. Before it can do anything else, however, Kaito's telekinetic assault lands on it.

It barely moves.

The Hollow's central body is pushed back a few inches, but it is otherwise totally unaffected by the assault. For a few seconds it sits still, neither moving nor attacking. Then, it slowly takes a few steps back on the wall, slinking away into the shadows until it is out of sight.

Seconds pass.

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Ken calmly observed the events as they unfolded. Had Kaito needed his help he would've intervened, but instead he had nothing to do but watch. "Well, that was anticlimactic. Shall we pursue it to avoid having it take us by surprise again? It could be a trap, but then again, anything could be one."

"I'm not of a mind to spring a trap like that. Still, if we try to sidetrack, I'm afraid it could hit us from behind."

He frowned deeply.

"Worst part is, I'm the closest thing we've got to a real ranged fighter. No offense to you guys. And I can't really just bombard the shadows or anything. Crap. You're right. Hm. Let's try a "V" formation. I'll go in front and be ready to pus stuff back. You guys are on each flank, and we can put our backs to each other if need be. Otherwise, we barrel through whatever we find. Sound good?"

Spoiler

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[Nakahiro's Group]

Nakahiro readies himself as the Hollow is fully revealed by Valeria's assault, concerned by the hollow's various natural weapons and obviously vicious demeanor. As it pauses to grandstand, he quickly speaks to the other members of the group.

"I'll try to keep the Hollow out in the open. Cover me if you can and see if you can find a weakness in it."

As Vilebarb is halfway through its second sentence, Nakahiro transmits to directly in front of it, already slashing up at its stomach with his umbrella.

Vilebard's hideous eyes widened in surprise even as it brought its forepaws to bear; most of the blow was blocked, but it did take a light slash on the stomach and some scratches to its claws before it hopped back. It hissed in anger.

"No more time for playing!"

With that, a rather large barrage of spikes was sent at the group of children.

[Terry576]

The voice laughed again, louder this time. It sounded like a cross between a cackle and knives screeching against metal. "My, but you are a funny one! You can call me Trapper for now, boy. And the only time you'll see my magnificence is right before I eat you!" The voice seemed pretty confident in its abilities, and might also be quite distracted while it was talking.

The boy smiles. "Excellent Trapper-san! It's always nice to know the names of the deceased."

A feral grin crosses his lips. "I am Sora, by the way. You should always be polite to those you are about to kill."

Kina looks back at Sora. "Um, Sora-san, if you wanted me to believe you actually wanted to be friends, you'd, um, stop stressing your honorifics." She looks down, then looks back up. "Um, point that energy beam down. I'll tell you when to go."

Sora looks at Kina with mock shock. "Kina-chan how dare you insinuate I am stressing my honorifics! You have disgraced me, and my honor!"

He listens absentmindedly as he gets down on one knee, putting his hand to the warehouse roof, his hand crackling with energy once more.

[nothingclever]

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"I'm not of a mind to spring a trap like that. Still, if we try to sidetrack, I'm afraid it could hit us from behind."

He frowned deeply.

"Worst part is, I'm the closest thing we've got to a real ranged fighter. No offense to you guys. And I can't really just bombard the shadows or anything. Crap. You're right. Hm. Let's try a "V" formation. I'll go in front and be ready to pus stuff back. You guys are on each flank, and we can put our backs to each other if need be. Otherwise, we barrel through whatever we find. Sound good?"

"I was actually thinking that I'd go in front of you two since I believe I'd best be able to take a hit, but if you're willing to do so than I guess that might be the best idea."

[tgva8889]

"Go!"

Kina does the only thing she can do: she holds onto Sora as tightly as she can, and waits for them to begin falling so she can at least get them to the ground without breaking their legs.

[Terry576]

"Go!"

Kina does the only thing she can do: she holds onto Sora as tightly as she can, and waits for them to begin falling so she can at least get them to the ground without breaking their legs.

Sora's grin widens as he blasts a Cero straight into the roof.

Spoiler

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Will the trapper absorb that as well, or is it limited to what is shot at the net/Trapper?

[Kayne650]

"Go!"

Kina does the only thing she can do: she holds onto Sora as tightly as she can, and waits for them to begin falling so she can at least get them to the ground without breaking their legs.

As they fall down through the building, Trapper is honestly surprised. That wasn't an expected tactic, but it excited Trapper. This would be fun. As they fell, Trapper scuttled down the wall to meet them and waited above the doorway, though they'd probably reach it first.

Once they got outside, they'd see a creature that resembled a spider only in the most basic of senses. It had eight legs and eight eyes, but it had a humanoid torso and arms like a person, and was covered in a white carapace from head to...spider foot. It glared at the children with an intense hatred mixed with hunger, and looked like it was about to pounce. If Sora and Kina went outside, they would have about one second to act before Trapper pointed its hands at them and fired a net of nearly invisible silk at them.

[strawberryman]

Vilebarb's hideous eyes widened in surprise even as it brought its forepaws to bear; most of the blow was blocked, but it did take a light slash on the stomach and some scratches to its claws before it hopped back. It hissed in anger.

"No more time for playing!"

With that, a rather large barrage of spikes was sent at the group of children.

Valeria counters with a deciblast aimed at the spikes, hopefully disarming most of them...

[Dorizzit]

Nakahiro

Nakahiro disengages Vilebarb and hops back as the Hollow communicates its fury. Seeing the incoming spikes and anticipating Valeria's reaction, Nakahiro transmits out of the way and into a nearby alley. In the alley, he quickly taps a few buttons on the side of his watch, creating a shield and then activating its buzz saw mode. Stepping out of the alley, Nakahiro hurls the saw at Vilebarb, planning to see which way it dodges before attacking it again.

Longlegs

Soon after the group decides their course of action, the Hollow reveals that it is far from done. Simultaneously, a grasping limb silently bursts from the ground behind each of the kids. Each one tries to grab them by their ankles and yank them off their feet before zipping back into the ground.

[nothingclever]

As the limb attempts to clamp down on him, Ken reflexively hops forward and out of its clutches. He spins around to see what tried to grab him and the state his classmates are in.

[KnightDisciple]

Nakahiro

Nakahiro disengages Vilebarb and hops back as the Hollow communicates its fury. Seeing the incoming spikes and anticipating Valeria's reaction, Nakahiro transmits out of the way and into a nearby alley. In the alley, he quickly taps a few buttons on the side of his watch, creating a shield and then activating its buzz saw mode. Stepping out of the alley, Nakahiro hurls the saw at Vilebarb, planning to see which way it dodges before attacking it again.

Vilebarb had dodged the Deciblast without undue trouble, though the few spikes not flung aside by the attack went wide, not realy shoving any danger at the kids.

Of course, that first dodge meant that dodging a buzz-saw of energy was more than a bit challenging. It managed to get its body out of the way, but the saw struck off a fair chunk of the spikes on its back, digging deep enough that, after a few moments, they didn't grow back.

The beast snarled at this.

"Lousy human-animals! Wounding me so!"

Longlegs

Soon after the group decides their course of action, the Hollow reveals that it is far from done. Simultaneously, a grasping limb silently bursts from the ground behind each of the kids. Each one tries to grab them by their ankles and yank them off their feet before zipping back into the ground.

Kaito isn't truly shocked, since he'd expected some sort of trap. Still, this wasn't exactly what he'd thought he might see.

As the limb reached for his ankle, Kaito aimed one hand straight down and one at the limb. With a grunt of effort, he sent out two distinct TK pulses. One helped him achieve greater lift with the jump he made at that moment; the other tried to shove the offending limb back.

This had the unforeseen side effect of propelling Kaito away from said limb while he was airborne. He gave a wordless yell of surprise, but managed to use another pulse to not hit a wall or land in anything. Instead, he merely rolled along the ground a bit, kicking up dust, before he shoved himself up into a somewhat workable ready-stance.

He was also about 15 feet away from the others; as soon as he realized that, he started jogging towards them while trying to stay alert.

[Kasanip]

Sayaka
[Nakahiro Team]

The spikes missed the targets. Nakahiro was being frustrating. There was no way she could try to protect him with his speed. But Valeria's energy made Sayaka feel very sick. It was not a good feeling. About the hollow's energy and Valeria's energy, Sayaka can't see the difference well.

[horngeek]

Izumi's eyes widen as the tentacle tries to grab her. Luckily for her, she is able to use Shunpo to dodge the blow. "Kaito, I might not be able to attack at range, but I can move faster than anyone else here. I'll respond to any attacks, okay?"

[Terry576]

As they fall down through the building, Trapper is honestly surprised. That wasn't an expected tactic, but it excited Trapper. This would be fun. As they fell, Trapper scuttled down the wall to meet them and waited above the doorway, though they'd probably reach it first.

Once they got outside, they'd see a creature that resembled a spider only in the most basic of senses. It had eight legs and eight eyes, but it had a humanoid torso and arms like a person, and was covered in a white carapace from head to...spider foot. It glared at the children with an intense hatred mixed with hunger, and looked like it was about to pounce. If Sora and Kina went outside, they would have about one second to act before Trapper pointed its hands at them and fired a net of nearly invisible silk at them.

Sora's eyes widen the instant the duo exits the door. He didn't need to see the silk, only the hand point. And considering his love for Ceros, it's no surprise that his first reaction is to try and pick up Kina and Sonido the hell away.

...of course, his lack of skill with Sonido causes him to crash right into the right wall of the warehouse.

"God damn it!"

[tgva8889]

Kina's first reaction, meanwhile, put them far enough away that the web misses them by enough to matter. Though she can't stop Sora from smashing into the wall, he might notice that he's definitely not where he should have been after the Sonido. Immediately after, she starts running away from the creature. "Come on, let's go!"

[Dorizzit]

Nakahiro

Nakahiro presses his advantage, transmitting to Vilebarb's side and slashing at its stomach with his umbrella.

"This will be a lot less undignified if you hold still."

Longlegs

From its hiding place, Longlegs withdraws its legs from the earth and begins plotting a new course of action as it moves. Three inexperienced children had dodged its attack with only a few seconds of warning. Extremely unlikely, but apparently possible. The Shinigami was troublesome, but looked just as green as the others. One had telekinesis; he posed the greatest threat. The third had no obvious powers, but it could also be that he was simply more conservative than the other two. Fine.

As the children advance further, two of Longleg's limbs whip out of an alleyway and launch themselves towards Kaito.

[Terry576]

Kina's first reaction, meanwhile, put them far enough away that the web misses them by enough to matter. Though she can't stop Sora from smashing into the wall, he might notice that he's definitely not where he should have been after the Sonido. Immediately after, she starts running away from the creature. "Come on, let's go!"

Sora groans as he jerks himself out of the wall. Damn, that one hurt. He really had to get better at that sort of thing.

He sprints after Kina, catching up fairly easily.

"Well, a temporary reprieve is better than nothing, I suppose." He looks behind his shoulder quickly, black filled eyes slowly fading away to their usual color. He turns to Kina and says, "Well Kina," She may notice the abrupt drop of honorifics. However, she'll probably chalk it off to fighting for your life usually makes you ignore those kind of things. "What do you propose we do now?"

[horngeek]

Izumi reacts quickly to the legs, putting herself between them and Kaito, and attempting to block… semi-sucessfully. She manages to block one, but the other does get through.

Geez… you've got two blades, why aren't you using them?

[tgva8889]

Sora groans as he jerks himself out of the wall. Damn, that one hurt. He really had to get better at that sort of thing.

He sprints after Kina, catching up fairly easily.

"Well, a temporary reprieve is better than nothing, I suppose." He looks behind his shoulder quickly, black filled eyes slowly fading away to their usual color. He turns to Kina and says, "Well Kina," She may notice the abrupt drop of honorifics. However, she'll probably chalk it off to fighting for your life usually makes you ignore those kind of things. "What do you propose we do now?"

"Working on it." Kina runs, thinking about what possible plans they could have. "I don't have that many options right now."

[Kayne650]

Sora groans as he jerks himself out of the wall. Damn, that one hurt. He really had to get better at that sort of thing.

He sprints after Kina, catching up fairly easily.

"Well, a temporary reprieve is better than nothing, I suppose." He looks behind his shoulder quickly, black filled eyes slowly fading away to their usual color. He turns to Kina and says, "Well Kina," She may notice the abrupt drop of honorifics. However, she'll probably chalk it off to fighting for your life usually makes you ignore those kind of things. "What do you propose we do now?"

"Working on it." Kina runs, thinking about what possible plans they could have. "I don't have that many options right now."

Trapper glares at the two as they run off. What good prey these two were turning out to be. It leaps off the wall and starts scuttling after them, its eight legs moving swiftly and dexterously beside it as it started gaining on the kids. Then suddenly, as it ran, it jumped to the side and started running along a building until it became even with Sora and Kina as they ran. At that point, it stretched out its hands again, shooting a line of webbing that stretched past the kids to the building opposite Trapper, and the webbing expanded to make a wall in front of them. Once that was erected, it walked along the wall to stand parallel to the ground on the web.

"Well, this has been fun. But what say we cut out the part where you struggle in vain for your lives and get right to the part where I eat you? I'll bet you are just delicious, boy. That Hollow reiatsu of yours is making my mouth water." Indeed, the monster had begun to salivate, a disgusting act that looked more like it had spider silk coming out of its mouth.

[tgva8889]

As soon as the creature begins to chase them, Kina seems to fall behind Sora a bit, just so that he is in the lead instead of her. As the creature outstretches its arms, Kina grabs Sora on the shoulder and suddenly they're running in the opposite direction, without even a slight break in pace. "How long do you think you can hold its attention? Is that energy beam thing your only ability?"

[nothingclever]

Izumi reacts quickly to the legs, putting herself between them and Kaito, and attempting to block… semi-sucessfully. She manages to block one, but the other does get through.

Geez… you've got two blades, why aren't you using them?

The second appendage is instead intercepted by Ken who runs towards it, turns his body as he nears it and grabs it by its side. With the leg in his grasp he tightens his hold while bringing it closer to himself and attempts to snap or torque it using force the hollow would identify as clearly unnatural.

[strawberryman]

[vs. Vilebarb]

Valeria frowns. Her deciblast was proving a boon to reflect the spines, but with Nakahiro in the front lines like that, it was risky... she considers...

"Sayaka-san, can you set something to keep it from leaving a small area?"

It's obvious she's up to something...

[Terry576]

As soon as the creature begins to chase them, Kina seems to fall behind Sora a bit, just so that he is in the lead instead of her. As the creature outstretches its arms, Kina grabs Sora on the shoulder and suddenly they're running in the opposite direction, without even a slight break in pace. "How long do you think you can hold its attention? Is that energy beam thing your only ability?"

Sora shakes his head.

"I can do a few smaller energy beams, and probably punch the bastard. With energy beams."

He thinks for a second. "Come to think of it, most of my powers revolve around energy beams."

[Kayne650]

As soon as the creature begins to chase them, Kina seems to fall behind Sora a bit, just so that he is in the lead instead of her. As the creature outstretches its arms, Kina grabs Sora on the shoulder and suddenly they're running in the opposite direction, without even a slight break in pace. "How long do you think you can hold its attention? Is that energy beam thing your only ability?"

Sora shakes his head.

"I can do a few smaller energy beams, and probably punch the bastard. With energy beams."

He thinks for a second. "Come to think of it, most of my powers revolve around energy beams."

As they bounced away, Trapper grinned and jumped off the web wall to chase after them. Once again, it started gaining on them, its eight legs keeping pace with Sora and Kina easily. It stretched out its hands, ready to create another wall in front of them...