Mosaic City, located along China's coast, is quite large city sometimes called the Crossroads Between Nations due to its diverse population. While it was once a large tourist spot, the city was placed under a blockade as the military appeared claiming there was a radiation leak. The true hazard, however, is much more sinister.
You've got some interesting tricks I see! The croc seemed to be referring to the girl's healing. He knew that it would be an issue for him if the girl kept healing. He was probably right in targeting her in the first place. Not that it mattered anyway now. He had a back up plan. After taking some more attacks by the two non-persona users, the croc threw his arms to the ground, sending a shockwave of sludge at everyone.
[Sewer Special]
Everyone takes minor strike damage! Everyone is poisoned!
The wave of sludge that began to move at them like it was some kind of shockwave washed over them. The initial crashing of the attack damaged them more due to the Rakunda at the start of the match but it was nothing compared to the lightning that struck them a bit earlier. The problem though was that despite being able to withstand the onslaught and being able to brace himself against the sludge, Vice suddenly felt his vision flicker and the rising bile at the back of his throat made him stagger down to his knees.
His insides were burning, and he felt like he was turning into a furnace with how his temperature kept increasing. Nonetheless, Vice kept his shaking grip on the revolver in his hands and tried his best to reload it. It was significantly slower than the last time but it was done nonetheless. The young male raised his gun again as he tried to stand up along with it. Making sure to aim properly, and back at the Torso since he doubted he'd hit the head in his current state, the young man then fired off another salvo of bullets.
Post by Ayakura Alisa on Jan 22, 2014 20:13:37 GMT -5
I coughed again as I weathered a sudden wave of sludge that crashed down on us; this time, again, I felt the burning sensation of the poison, causing me to lurch back and almost puke again, but I stopped myself from hurling and simply kneeled, forcing myself to act and take more arrows, I soon aimed and started shooting at the crocodile again, coughing and spitting out blood to the side. God, this feeling was terrible. I wonder if there are medicines for this affliction. On top of that, he was taunting us; as if he knew that Chidori was our battery for recovery, so he decides to put us on a timer... Without any poison healing magic, we're stuck having to deal with the internal damage this will cause us. Ugh. What a situation. But we have to get rid of this Shadow before we can properly address that.
Post by Chidori Tsukino on Jan 22, 2014 20:24:03 GMT -5
As she prepared herself to attack again, the Crocodile shadow seemed to taunt them even further as it sent out a rippling wave of sludge. In the tight confines of the tunnel there was no way to dodge such a thing, and so all three of them were struck (admittedly a lot less damage than the lightning attack) but then...her nose crinkled and her insides began to burn. Poison - it had to be poison, and by the looks of things, all three of them got dosed with the affliction. Sadly, healing such statuses was beyond her current capabilities, meaning all she could do was try to counteract the ongoing damage...which would leave her unable to take the offensive.
Keep up the attack. The bell-like tone that Lucia projected the mute's thoughts through rang out, as she concentrated on casting another Media - warmth spread through all of them again, hopefully alleviating some of the pain that the poison was inflicting on their bodies; if it was painful for Chidori, it must've been hell for the other two. No way was she going to let this thing's taunting get to her - it was going down. Hard.
The attacks were starting to get to the croc. He knew that he wasn't going to last much longer. Still, the bullets continued to pound on him, as did the slicing of that knife. The poison was fast acting, sure. But who would outlast who? Turning his attention to the girl in the back finally, the croc decided to go for a stronger attack.
[Razor Bite]
Chidori is hit for moderate slash damage!
I'm gettin real sick of your shit, kids! The croc lashed out at the girl. The attack was one of desperation at this point. His words were just that. Only words. Words that he wouldn't be able to keep up with in a bit.
Vice had been poisoned and much as he wanted his body to move, to at least block the brunt of the damage from that attack, he couldn't will his self to move fast enough in order to do anything about it. He saw the Croc move past him, faster than he could react to, and the sounds of his attack connecting with Chidori had been enough to allow cold dread to seep into Vice's veins. He ignored the poison that was damaging his insides every second, the pounding in his ears that kept messing up his hearing, and the weakening of his legs.
"Screw off!"
That was fine. He didn't need those right now. All he needed was his sight to keep track of the enemy, his hands to fill in the chamber and pull the trigger, and his arm to make sure he could aim properly. It was with a cold comfort, even when blood and bile began seeping out of his lips, that he found when the hail of bullets continued nonetheless. He probably wouldn't be able to move properly after this, and he was going to be a sitting duck. That was fine so long as Chidori could heal them up again provided she didn't fall from that attack. He was also nearer to the shadow than Alisa was, and he was the one packing a stronger punch with his fire arm. He was gonna be the next target, he understood this, and he madly hoped that Alisa would be able to take the thing down before anything else could happen.
Post by Ayakura Alisa on Jan 22, 2014 20:51:33 GMT -5
The poison was taking its toll on me, but I no longer cared as the sewer crocodile lunged past us and attempted to sink its jaws into Chidori; and it was then and there that I decided I didn't care what happened to me anymore. Grabbing Izayoi once more, I scowled. I wordlessly dashed at the crocodile from my position, reaching out and starting to drive my knife into its back as hard as I could, trying to penetrate the skin and get it inside. I coughed and no longer cared as I could taste the blood and bile in my mouth; I think I was going to get rid of all that once this was over. At least, I hoped it was over, the desperation of the shadow was starting to become quite clear as it ignored us and went straight for Chidori, the one who was most valuable amongst the three of us.
I could feel the adrenaline power my arm as I began to push the knife into the tough skin of the crocodile, exerting all my effort to drive it in like it were an accursed zombie demon thing.
Post by Chidori Tsukino on Jan 22, 2014 21:15:53 GMT -5
It seemed the shadow was getting desperate; it launched itself past her two companions, bearing down on her as its jaws opened, revealing those razor-sharp teeth she had been mildly worried about even when they were far apart. With them getting closer, her body began to shake in a mix of pain from the poison, and pure terror of the numerous sharp edges coming her way. The fear flashed in her eyes as it began to chomp down, and she pitifully threw her arms up to block as much as she could - it was better than having it bite down near her neck or shoulder after all.
Nevertheless, it hurt. Bad. Shuddering, she was knocked clear off her feet by the sheer force of the attack, strengthened because of her weakened defenses coupled with her weakness to slash damage. Lucia flickered out of existence as the mute lost her focus, which was probably for the best, as she would have been screaming within her mind and it would have projected through her persona's innate ability. But it only lasted for a short while before her battle calm reigned over her fear, allowing her to pull herself together, if only briefly. Should she get attacked like that again however....it could very well put her in a terrified frenzy.
Up to her feet, she put a little more distance between herself and the shadow before concentrating on her princess persona, re-summoning Lucia to cast another Media - hopefully it would be enough to hold on until the others beat this thing into oblivion.
With a rather satisfied smirk and a devilish laugh, the creature moved back from the girl that he had just gave a nasty bite. He seemed rather full of himself at this point, noticing he had shaken up the girl a bit more than he had expected. He found it funny. Hahaha. . . You like that? Well how about another!
[Razor Bite(?)]
The croc lunged at the girl again, taking long strides in his approach. He could almost taste his prey already. But just as he neared, he felt his legs give out. And thus he tumbled to the ground with a few loud thumps. And then slowly, he began to dissolve into nothing. Buncha chumps. . .
It was still there, the thing had yet to die even after unleashing all of the attacks he had on his person. The thing was too sturdy, too goddamn bulky to really feel the pain from the bullets and Vice had just about a couple few bullets left to throw into the fight for this. The sudden warmth that spread across his chest made it difficult to concentrate. He knew he was being healed but the sudden change of his condition made for it to be difficult to suddenly cope up with.
His fingers were shaking when he finally managed to raise his gun again. His left eye was losing it already and his throat was beginning to gurgle. Even if he wanted to shoot, Alisa was still there too and he'd have probably caused friendly fire before anything else. He felt the weight of the weapon in his hand multiply immensely and his limb limply fell down to the concrete as his body removed its contents through his mouth.
It hasn't happened in a while, and Vice was thankful for that, but he guessed that he's yet to really outgrow puking out his guts after a fight.
"Ahah…fuck."
He swore, his voice still shaking as he wobbled to a kneeling position. Heavy deep breaths, heavy deep breathes, he repeated it as if it was his life line. It didn't cure the sickness, not even, but it did somewhat at least make him feel marginally better.
Post by Ayakura Alisa on Jan 22, 2014 22:20:12 GMT -5
I pulled away the knife from the crocodile shadow as it fizzled out and began to disappear, as it said some things I didn't quite catch nor did I quite understand. I kneeled down and began to cough. The poison was still there, even though Chidori was keeping us in stable condition, at least, in terms of bodily function, the poison would just amplify my illness. I slinked over to the murky bile in the sewer and expelled my puke into it. I soon approached Chidori after calming myself down and rubbing my stomach. Vice had asked if Chidori was alright. Coughing, I looked at her. "Well...? Are you alright? That thing bit you pretty roughly..." I wordlessly kept my knife away from her sight while attempting to see how she was.
My eyes were a little twitchy, but it looks like I was handling the poison better than Vice. I guess if you've been hit by it once, you'll start to get used to its effects. I still felt like trash and wanted to puke my innards out, but... Well... Dude's in agonizing pain. "I hope you aren't badly injured, Chidori. We should get out of here and recover from the fight."
Post by Chidori Tsukino on Jan 22, 2014 22:54:52 GMT -5
Despite everything, the Croc was still dragging on, seemingly full of endless taunting as it prepared to bite her again. Frozen this time, she stared with wide eyes as it began to move towards her...only to fall flat as its legs gave out; apparently the shadow had been running on mainly bravado for the last few attacks - the civilians had actually managed to do enough! With the faintest of smiles at the shadow dissipated, Chidori slumped to the ground, the pain having dulled slightly in most of her body...only to localise into a fierce headache. Or perhaps more accurately, a ball of pressure pressing against her temples. It was more aggravating than anything else, as she was somewhat resistant to the pain compared to her companions, but it made it hard to focus as she looked up, hearing her name mentioned.
Alisa had come over to check on her, presumably because of her freak-out when the thing chomped on her. Speaking of which...The mute looked down to her arm, which had been blocking access to the rest of her body when the Croc attacked; a large mark, riddled with impressions of small razor cuts occupied most of her forearm. She was bleeding a little, but her healing had already stemmed the blood flow and was setting her right, slowly.
Looking back up, she scanned the other two more closely and her heart ached a little; the poison was really doing a number on them both. If only she could help! Urg...thinking like that only made the pressure greater, until she was clutching her head in her hands to try and alleviate it. It kept building however, until she thought her skull was going to burst, like some little parasite was burrowing its way through the flesh and bone. On and on until finally...it stopped - or rather, it transformed. Warmth flooded from her temples, enveloping her body and clearing her mind. Suddenly, she could feel the power reverberating under her skin and she knew how to help them now.
Lucia appeared, as gently as a light breeze, kneeling around her as Chidori closed her eyes and mouthed a single, somewhat foreign word.
Amrita.
Unlike with her direct healing spells, this magic coursed through them all with a kind of surging current, cleansing them of any and all afflictions. Instantly, the knotting sensation and dull pains from the poison disappeared, letting her bring her full attention to bear, with only a slight grimace.
Hold still, I'll heal you both... Still feeling relatively strong, the brunette figured she could manage another couple of Media casts before she needed to stop, leaving enough energy to make it out of the sewer system. Calmer now, she seemed much stronger with the threat having passed. In fact, she even collected up what looked like a small piece of the Croc's resistant skin left behind, pocketing it to examine later.
Vice finally allowed himself to sit down from his kneeling position. The poison still wracked his body as if it was a plague but he was finally being able to cope with it to the point that it was only hurting him if he moved too much. Being out of a fight did wonders for everyone, specially those who had been hurt. Sure there may be nothing left to focus on aside from the pain but this way at least Vice was capable of being able to handle it. Slowly he managed to hear again though his sight was still wavering harder than ever. His legs were numb but given that he didn't have to dodge anything, then that was fine.
He listened in to the sounds near him, from Alisa and Chidori and to the eerie quietness the sewer had. He didn't know how long he had been trying to focus again but the poison had suddenly began to leave his system. Belatedly, he realized that Chidori, who was finally free from the clutches of the sewer croc, had managed to heal them…continuously even. Slowly but surely, and though the disarray still remained, Vice finally managed to recover enough that he felt like he could at least carry the girl to somewhere much safer.
Standing up, although slowly as to not aggravate any possible lingering afflictions in him, the young man then made his way towards where the two girls were. He had made sure to hide his fire arm at least, and the dim lighting of the sewer would be enough to hide the handles that he had on his back.
"Great to see you're fine, Alisa. And thank you, Chidori, for making sure we didn't lose."
Vice started, his tone light and conversational as a small smile tugged at the edge of his lips. He knelt down so that he could be leveled with everyone and conversation would be easier.
"I know its obvious, but I thought I'd say that we should get out of here. Exploring the next level can be done by the others, we really need to recuperate again."
Standing up this time to face Alisa, Vice sorta had an idea that she'd probably prefer to be the one to help Chidori up and thus took a step back so that he could allow the older of the two girls to go do her thing. He instead offered to take point seeing as he could probably soak the most damage now given their current conditions.
Post by Ayakura Alisa on Jan 23, 2014 0:25:59 GMT -5
I coughed and shivered, sniffling from a cold as I realized that some strange sensation coursed through my body, it felt like most of the effects of the poison were gone, but... I was still sick. I probably needed lots of rest. Despite the healing magic Chidori employed, I was still only human. Again, another indicator of my weakness which plagued my mind these nights. I was quiet for a moment, but I didn't want to spoil the mood or anything. I nodded towards Chidori in thanks, realizing that she could sort of... communicate via her Persona. That was a relief. But still, that couldn't have been too easy to pull off... Wouldn't that be tiring? Anyway, I nodded as well towards Vice.
"...Yeah. Thanks to the both of you, too. We couldn't have done it without each other's help..." I quietly said, thinking back to something rather infuriating that I would much rather not bring up. "I do agree. We should quickly get out and recover before something else comes up. Er... Chidori, you must be tired from that fight, using your powers like that," I coughed, still a little sick. "May I... uh, help you home?" I fidgeted a little, but the darkness of the sewer made it quite difficult to see properly.
I don't know why I was like this, but something about Chidori made me feel strange. I definitely wasn't myself. This wasn't like the unbridled rage and annoyance I'd feel towards a certain someone. Sigh. Maybe I really was screwed up or something.
Post by Chidori Tsukino on Jan 23, 2014 0:56:58 GMT -5
Both of them still looked utterly exhausted, which was fair she supposed - her magic could only sustain them so far before simply exhaustion overcame everything else. Still, she wished there was something more she could do, though the mute was well aware she was at her own limits for magic right now. She had some energy at least, enough to move her legs. Altitude changes however, could be an issue.
Nodding gingerly at the offer of help, Chidori offered a small smile and with Alisa's help, managed to draw herself to her feet, standing a little shakily at first, but gradually regaining her balance and composure. Nevertheless, a yawn suddenly took hold of her, catching her by surprise and promptly causing her cheeks to flush slightly in embarrassment. With her companions' help, they wouldn't have too much trouble getting out of the tunnels hopefully, provided there weren't any more shadows in the way - which seemed unlikely given the eerie silence that ensued in the wake of the Croc's defeat.
Feeling somewhat comforted by the gentle support of the other woman, the mute tried her best not to be a burden as she used what energy she had to propel herself back towards the entrance, leaning on Alisa only a little, and mostly for emotional support rather than physical.