hadriel_logs | Event Log: End of Arc 2

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Event Log: End of Arc 2

Who: All characters
What: The event log for the End of Arc 2
Where: All over the city
When: November 25th-December 12th
Warnings: A full-scale battle, including character death, NPC death, and various other ways to suffer

It was bound to happen. The Null warned you, after all, and this has been building for awhile - and now it's here. First comes the initial attack, the agents of the Null attacking Hope's temple. Then, an SOS, warning the city of what's happened: a betrayal, and Hope being injured. Luckily for everyone, thanks to the actions of his guards Hope survives the attack. Unluckily, his attacker, the goddess Delight, escapes and lets the Null in.

Flooding into the cave, the Null will attack anyone who they believe is resisting them. They'll destroy buildings and deploy dangerous crowd control weapons, in addition to their sheer strength and speed. Confusion empties the monsters in the tunnels into the city, to help distract the Null. Some gods fight, others provide safe havens, but everyone is in danger.

After about a week and a half of the attack, Fear summons enough power to teleport the city. This stops any new Null from arriving through the tunnels, but the remaining Null must be hunted down and destroyed, or else they'll signal their location to the rest of their species. The danger will lessen as Null are taken out, but things won't really be safe until Fear moves the city again, so don't get too comfortable.

What will you do? Run and hide? Fight? Help the fighters? Turn on the gods yourself? Whatever you do, it's time to make a decision.

► This log covers November 25th-December 12th.
► Feel free to make your own logs, as well
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you get taken out by the Null, please let us know here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Hmm, yeah, protecting one of the shelters seems like the better option.]

Firehouse, then. I don't know how much they know about what it's for, but I think we'll probably need it.

[He has to hustle to keep up with Law's long legs, hoping they won't come across any wandering robot squads en route. At least the fire station is close to the river?]

If nothing else they'll catch on soon that people are sheltering there.

[firehouse it is. He'd apologize for his long stride but he's not sorry, and he's got that determined hurry going on. Across the river there are definitely distant crashes and puffs of dust, possibly little explosions here and there, evidence that battle is still raging. Or, maybe it's just the Null reveling in destruction.]

...nothing's going to be left by the time this is over.

[Michael's assuming it's a battle, and if it's a battle, that means people are still fighting. So, good sign. It looks like the firehouse is still standing, too, so that's another good sign.]

Wasn't everything destroyed when the Door first opened? I guess we'll just have to start over. Assuming the gods are still around.

[But they'll all be dead if the gods are, so hey, that won't be a worry for long.]

Don't know. [that's one detail of all the helpful guides he hasn't committed to memory.] We're all fucked if the gods die, so here's to not letting that happen.

[he sees the firehouse, too, and gestures with his blade]

There. We can get into position before the next wave of them catches up.

[Now that they're close, Michael can feel the Visitor baring its ethereal teeth. It wants out, it wants to do what it's supposed to. And for once, the two of them are actually in agreement about what that is.

Still half-running to keep up with Law, Michael follows his lead to the fire station. There are others here too, and it looks like they've temporarily beaten back the Null, but that won't last long. Perfect timing for reinforcements.]

Okay so you just, uh, make sure I don't get murdered while this is happening, I guess? But you only have to worry about me, it'll take care of itself.

[Informative.]

[Law gives him a serious side-eye but simply nods at the direction. Easy to understand, even if he doesn't yet know what "it" entails.]

I can manage that much. Do what you have to do.

[meanwhile, he concentrates on looking around, trying to spot any approaching Null and anticipate attacks. It's clear at the moment so he just looks a but paranoid searching this way and that.]

[Michael tries to ignore Law's nervous energy and focus on the task at hand. Not that it requires a lot of focus. He finds himself a decent spot where he can sit with his back against some rubble, then sinks to the ground. He's already had to do this a couple of times without being able to sit first, and he has the bruises to prove it. If he's got the time to spare, he's going to try not to risk a concussion. And after that, it's just a matter of letting go. Simple, really.

He sort of slumps back against the broken stones, and the Visitor takes his place in the waking world.

The process takes only a matter of seconds. First one, and then another, massive skeletal hands reach out, perhaps from Michael's shadow, perhaps from thin air. They rake the ground, dragging forth arms, and then the skull-faced head. Eventually, an entire skeleton, its features a cross of ursine and human, has pulled itself into view. Shadows cling to it like some kind of ghostly flesh, constantly in motion even when the creature is still.

As it steps forward to take up position in front of Michael, the Visitor spares a glance toward Law with its glowing sockets. Even with the beast on all fours, they roughly share an eye level.]

[even while it's still taking shape, Law stops pacing and stares, wide-eyed, at what's coming from around Michael. The real shock of it is, he's seen this before. But it was only a dream, something he assumed was just a mental metaphor or something. All he can think is holy shit it's real. It's a real thing. That just can't be right...

The dream experience at the back of his mind is all the assurance he has that it's not going to attack him, but he still can't be quite sure. Law shoots Michael a quick look, seeing that he's completely out, and grasps now what he has to do. Nothing can get by him, or Michael will be pretty much dead. Right, then.

Sucking it up, Law puts his back to Michael, standing guard.]

I've got him. Just...

[shoo, creepy thing. There's Null on the march, they come out from between shops and start lumbering toward the sanctuary]

[The Visitor does not have expressions, since its face is bone, but its posture, the tilt of its head, and the flicker of the light in its eyes say something resembling recognition. It ducks its head in what could be considered a nod of acknowledgement, and then turns to face the approaching Null.

For a few moments it simply paces back and forth, waiting, unwilling to venture too far. But the Null continue to close the gap, and very suddenly, the beast rises onto its hind legs and shrieks. The noise is a bit like distorted radio static, piercing and shrill. And then the monster launches itself back down on all fours, already in a dead sprint toward the oncoming Null.]

[the one thing he didn't really want was to be recognized, but at least for now Law has no idea what the Visitor is or what it wants, besides a magic monster from inside Michael that can kick some serious ass. That's all he needs to know.

It's impressive to watch, at least, from where he is. He gives Michael another quick glance to verify that he's in no danger and not stressed by the appearance of the creature, but the sensation of movement nearby whips his attention back to the Visitor's fight and the surrounding area. Quite a few Null are more than caught up in that battle, thankfully, but a couple break away as if intent on letting nothing come between them and the firehouse. Law lets them come as close as they dare before the Room swells up around them. One flick of his finger sends the robots flying straight up and then around and around, crashing into each other in mid-air. He hasn't used Takt much, since it doesn't immediately destroy anything, but god does it feel good sometimes to just fling them around.]

[The Visitor tackles one Null head-on, driving it to the ground, teeth snapping. As the Null flails beneath it, the beast crushes whatever metal is unlucky enough to be close to its jaws, tearing chunks off in its pursuit of the core. Another attempts to come to the rescue of the first, but a powerful swipe from the monster's claws sends it sprawling back into its fellows. After taking a few seconds to dislodge the now-punctured center of the Null it's standing on, the Visitor abandons it for the next one.

Its movements are sweeping, powered by a force that shouldn't be possible for something without muscles or tendons. Despite being made of bone and shadows, its strikes carry weight behind them, enough to leave deep gashes on anything caught by its claws. When one Null gets uppity and sneaks in too close, the monster simply takes hold of it with its hands and starts pulling it apart.

Unfortunately its concentration isn't perfect. It attacks anything in reach, and its reach is long, but the Null have learned better than to concentrate their entire force on it, and indeed some of them do slip past. Here and there the beast looks up, but it seems Law is capable of keeping the machines away from its host.]

[He's got his part well in hand, yes. Law is tangentially aware of the pure metal carnage going on over there, but only as a ripple of movement at the edges of his senses since none of the Null resonate a life force and the Visitor...well. It's hard to say what he senses, there, it's indistinct and there's no time to ponder right now.

As some of the smarter Null close on his position, Law begins flinging them into each other, aiming to incapacitate them first and worry about carving out their processors second. It won't do to be busy with his sword hilt-deep in one robot when another can come up behind him and get at Michael. He fights smart, with deliberation, only bringing up a Room when he needs it and immediately banishing it when he has to focus on straightforward sword combat. These jerks have already started protecting their processors with extra layers of stronger metal, so every slash he makes is with blade coated in haki to cleave through those layers much more quickly.]

[The extra steel is a nuisance to both sword and talons, as the Visitor has to work a little harder to carve through some of the machines. Its brute strength only goes so far on the initial slash. For a time, the Null attempt to use that window to get the upper hand, and though the monster is quick to backhand them or snap its jaws on anything too close, it gets a few broken ribs and two lasered-off fingers before it manages to force back the horde.

Overall, it does not seem to notice these setbacks.

What it does notice is that more of the Null are diverting to Law's direction, and that he doesn't seem to be killing them all so much as smashing them until they're immobile. The beast apparently decides to take it upon itself to finish this job, moving to pounce on the Null that Law has knocked down or cut the limbs from.

Teamwork???]

[Teamwork!!!

It is faster, generally, to work together than to incapacitate and then kill each one individually on their own sides. But, even as the Visitor shreds everything around him, Law steps back, realizing almost belatedly how hard he's breathing. He didn't rest nearly long enough. Closing his hand to extinguish the Room, he puts his focus solely into cutting, aiming only for central locations where processors should be. Absolute conservation of energy, no wasted moves. Until this wave of Null is completely obliterated down to their component nuts and bolts, that's going to have to be his strategy. Getting too crazy might mean running out of steam just when Michael needs it the most.]

[The Visitor does not run out of energy. It's unclear what exactly keeps it going, but once it's out, it stays out as long as it wants to- so long as nothing sends it back. It doesn't run out of energy, but it may eventually run out of working parts.

An errant robo-punch knocks the monster's skull to one side, shattering the outer arch of its eye socket. The blue light that serves as its eye seems to spill out erratically for a moment before fizzling out. Undeterred, the beast does away with the offending machine in vengeance.

The Null ranks are thinning, but their smaller numbers just means the fight has become entirely close-quarters. This is unfortunate for anything in front of the Visitor's claws, but fortunate for anything behind it. Defense is not its strong suit (or even remotely on its mind), and it's starting to get fractured here and there.]

[Visitor pls...

The close quarters is just what Law needs, when he can't keep whipping out a Room every few seconds for big slashes and teleportations. He doesn't usually fight with his feet planted to guard a single post, so this is sort of unusual in the first place, but he manages, taking advantage of the thin ranks to focus on fully vanquishing each Null that gets close enough to him. His haki-clad blade spears straight into their central processors, and if he happens to miss the vital point the first time he'll just try again.

Two of them charge him at once, trying to overwhelm him and force him to choose a target, which is actually smart on their part. A wide swing ripping their carapaces open doesn't take either of them down, but one falters and staggers. Law goes for its processor, leaving himself open for a split second which the other capitalizes on, rushing him and slamming into him, throwing him back against the wall next to Michael's slumbering body. Law hits hard and begins to slide, but before he can collapse onto Michael, he pushes off and lunges at the Null instead, Room swelling up and fingers punching forward like claws.

What can he say? Mes works just as great on processors as hearts. They also crush just as easily as hearts in an angry fist. Two more down, how many more left?]

[The Visitor seems to sense the Null's proximity to its host, whipping around when the two robots go for Law. It shrieks when he gets slammed against the wall, but he very quickly appears to have that one handled, so the monster goes for the staggered Null instead.

It loses a bottom fang somewhere in the mess of metal, leaving it behind in its hurry to enact as much violence as possible. The creature tears up this one even more than the others, perhaps in punishment for nearly succeeding in its goal. It doesn't seem too rushed for time- there are only a few Null left, and they're getting more strategic rather than piling in all at once.

But if they're in no hurry to come forward, the Visitor is happy to bring the fight to them. It looks out over the tangled mass beneath it, releasing a short burst of high-pitched static before surging into the fray again.]

[Ow, that was painful. Thanks, Visitor? Law shakes himself alert and pushes past the exhaustion and injury to position himself directly over Michael. Glancing down quickly, he realizes that for all the damage the shadow-creature is taking, none of it seems to be reflected in its host. Michael looks completely fine, good. In that case, he doesn't feel even the slightest bit bad about what he's about to do.]

Room...dammit! Room!

[It takes a few fits and starts but he can finally get one back up, bubbling around the few remaining Null and their savage attacker. He only has seconds before it collapses again, but seconds are all he needs. He slashes outward several times, sending cutting rushes of air toward the melee, which split the metal robots into multiple pieces with almost no care for what gets cut off where and how the chunks look as they crash to the ground. Unfortunately, the Visitor is also in that field, so if it doesn't move out of the way, it might get a few wispy bits shaved off as well. Law flicks a finger upward, and the processors of the remaining Null float above their shells. Takt is so, so useful.]

Now, dumbass! Attack those, they'll all be dead!

[Any the Visitor doesn't get, he'll get a few seconds later. And that should be that, for now.]

[The Visitor is a little slow to realize that it's in the target zone, but after losing the spiny tips of a few vertebrae, it hunkers down and makes a kind of hissing noise. The lost black smokey stuff just sort of fills back in where it was unceremoniously removed.

Luckily, the creature understands English enough not to immediately take this as a threat and turn on its helper. Instead it goes for the floating metal canisters, the hearts of the Null. If it was in any way insulted by being called a "dumbass", it doesn't seem to show it. Maybe it's too busy crunching things.

When they've finished dispatching the remnants, the monster turns to give Law what might be an appraising look. Or maybe it's expectant? Waiting? Without expressions, it's difficult to read, but for a moment, the thing just sort of stares at him. And then, abruptly, it turns to limp off toward Michael.

Whatever it was looking for, it seems to be satisfied.]

[So sue him, he doesn't know what else to call it. Monster-face? (Monster-ya, really) Whatever, mission accomplished and then some.

Law stands panting for a moment, double- and triple-checking that everything metal in the vicinity is down for good. Nothing stirs, there's no sense of movement anywhere except the shifting ghostlike form of the Visitor. He doesn't have any more commands, so allowing his battle partner to return and take a break is perfectly fine. They did what they came to do for now, and he's spent. He goes to one knee beside Michael, leaning on his sword, and takes off his hat to wipe his brow.]

Thanks.

[it's muttered under his breath as the Visitor nears. It probably doesn't need his gratitude, but Law's a man who gives credit where due and knows when someone has helped him. They teamed up well, but now that it's over he's just going to. Kneel here. Okay?]

Edited (hands and hats are different things) 2017-12-27 18:53 (UTC)

[The monster doesn't react to the thanks, naturally. It's sort of a jerk like that. Instead it just stays the course and continues over to its host. The broken bones in its limbs that didn't slow it down before now seem to practically hobble it, the cracks and fractures widening until the bones are starting to crumble. The ghostly black substance begins to fall off in clumps, dissipating as it hits the dirt.

When the creature reaches Michael, it ducks down and stretches forward, as if it's pulling itself back in, though its actions don't have a physical effect. It dissolves as it shoves through him, leaving behind nothing but little traces of ash scattered in his hair and on the ground around him. They fade quickly.

And a few seconds later, Michael wakes up with a start, almost immediately bringing his hands up to grab his head. He's alive, so that's something, but he'll assess damages later. Just give him a minute. He's processing.]

[It's just as weird to watch in reverse, but at least now a lot makes sense. The thing from the dream wasn't a metaphor, it's real, and it comes from Michael. It's a pretty potent power, he's not going to dismiss it, and really, without knowing that this was the beast that did a bit of revenge killing a couple weeks ago, he's pretty okay with its existence. You know, for now.

Law is still breathing hard when he hears Michael move. He glances that way to once again verify no obvious drawbacks to using his power, and then slumps fully to a seat]

You all right?

[There is a bit of a drawback, but it's not exactly obvious. Images and sensations filter into Michael's head, blurred and out of order. Mostly it's the sight and feel of metal being rent by claws, but there's also a brief moment of Law, staring over at him. Except that's not where Law is now, and if it were Michael, he would've been looking slightly down.

Speaking of Law, he's apparently still alive. He seemed like he could take care of himself, so that's not surprising. Michael forces his eyes open and glances over. Oh, Law looks about as tired as he feels.]

Yeah, mostly. I think. You?

[yeah he's the very definition of trashed, and it shows]

Spent. I don't think I could do that again, I'll need to rest again.

[he's only got a few new scratches and bruises from being thrown around and taking glancing blows, but the fatigue has set in. It was a tough fight, too, even with the Visitor's extensive helpfulness. Good thing they're basically just a few yards from one of the sanctuaries.]

So that...was a thing I didn't expect.

Yeah, same.

[On the resting front. He's pushing it already, letting this thing out day after day. In the past, it's taken him a couple to recover enough to go back to work- the only times he ever calls in sick. Maybe he's getting better at it? Is this a thing you can get better at?

The next part makes him a little hesitant.]

It's... probably something most people don't expect? Not like I really want to advertise it or anything. People where I'm from don't react well to the whole "possession" thing.

Event Log: End of Arc 2

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