Spirit Pulse : Mugen No Sekai [IC]

[Rafflesiac]

Amelia
Aoyama, Tokyo (F-Zero Course)
??? - Morning

A call about how your credit card had unverified changes and how they needed your PIN and SSN was what she’d expected, or an enterprising young teenager looking for a game of tic-tac-toe, or even that one virus that forced COMP AIs to sprout cat ears and add ‘nya’ to the end of their sentences - a depressingly common virus for Tamers to ‘accidentally’ infect their COMPs with, to the point that a weekly updated patch was the third most popular file on the exclusive COMP forum King’s Shadow - but not this. Not being ripped clean out of her body as the world lagged to a standstill before disappearing into a data world. The ocean of numbers, letters, symbols, and characters makes the race track of an instant ago look like a child’s drawing; the sheer volume is almost overwhelming, even for her. That is the second reason she makes no attempt to interface or analyze it, instead prioritizing her own integrity with a data avatar.

The first is that she can no longer feel Logan by her side. She is alone. She cannot help him. Instinctively, she doubts he can help her. The notion is terrifying.

"Hello Ms. A.I! You said to leave a message, but I thought this might be faster!"

Amelia breathes deeply, and focuses on her captor. She blinks in spite of herself. There was no real need for an AI’s appearance to conform to their personality, so this child could be truly evil. But this was digital space, and by all accounts an isolated one. Here, there was no need for an AI to project a calculated appearance. And with her absurd power, subterfuge served her no purpose.

"So hi! I'm Burroughs! A friend of mine said I should help the police out if I can, so here I am!"

Mysterious assailants on a Tamer base a short while ago, and now an unaccounted for AI with incredible power. Whether the two were connected was too soon to say, but the strange tended to attract the strange. Despite her misgivings, despite her fear, this was something that warranted investigation.

: “Alright then, Burroughs. How would you like to help? And what would you like to help with?”

[Airen]

Eva Ellet
New London ~ Entertainment District
World Designation: Revolution (?)
Morning, Foggy

"Of course!"

An immediate, energetic answer.

One that is accompanied with the appearance of what can only be called a comically large bag of money... Yes, it's a literal bag of money, not a purse or a wallet, it's so blatant that it's almost like the taller woman had pulled out an item from a video game, one with an exaggerated "$" marked on it's surface with a black marker...

Yes.

There are a number of questions that can be asked here, like where exactly she had been hiding this comically large bag of coins, but-

"Naturally, I would like my memory returned to me if possible-!"

-she doesn't really open herself up to letting you get a word in edge-wise... Not that you were really the sort to interrupt others anyway...

"Of course, that may be beyond the spirit's power... If so, I would like peaceful days to remain, if that too is beyond the spirit's power, then I would like it if the Velvet Room would get a working internet connection-!"

Two philosophical wishes and one pretty selfish one-?!

"Regardless, I have prepared more than enough coins from all sorts of cultures-! I have over two thousand quarters, two thousand five pence coins, two thousand gold doubloons from a pirate ship at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, and thousands more that I simply couldn't place at all-!"

Cheerfully brandishing bag after bag as she speaks, the actual words she's using have somewhat absurd implications to them now that you're really being confronted with it, but-

"I have enough for you as well!"

-saying that, she holds out one of the bags as if she expects you to take it, and-

"There must be something you want as well right? Everyone has something-!"

[Airen]

Hyakka Onjouji
Aoyama Gakuen, Tokyo
Kayo's Room ~ Night

---Considering the Headmaster was the only one of the staff who radiated the aura of an obvious villain, it is possible that the other teachers aren't quite as aggressive about the rules...

It's a plan that hinges almost entirely on chance, giving up the idea of a quiet escape for the protective aura of a teacher's room, in other words, it's an attempt to move from attempting to escape the area, to holing up someplace the headmaster simply won't pursue you, and thus...

You dash inside, dragging a surprised senpai in behind you, before returning the door to it's original state as fast -and as quietly- as possible before turning to face your fate, whatever that fate might be...

Would it be a spin into handcuffs as you are detained for trespassing? Would it be the stern stare of a teacher whose eyes promised only the hell that was detention? Or would it be some other unfortunate fate?

It's hard to say, thus you simply turn to find out, and...

"..."

The woman sitting on the other side of the otherwise empty classroom, a stack of papers sitting on a desk in front of her, is one of both astounding beauty and astounding stoicism.

Yes, stoicism.

While her gaze does rise at the sudden appearance of students that should not be here bursting into her room, it seems she takes her sweet time in actually processing the depths of that information... Yes, the eyes that suddenly land on the group are heavy and searching in their own way, as if the woman was trying to figure out the nature of everyone's existence just by looking at them with her eyes...

She's an adult, but a youthful adult...

Or at least youthful looking, considering the weak forms of immortality most of the teachers at this school seemed to possess... Everyone was youthful in spite of being around for quite awhile, so it's impossible to tell how old this person is just by her youthful looks alone, but...

With Nanaya falling into an automatic salute, as if moving to submit herself to the teacher's authority right from the start, what that woman, this Fujimoto Kayo says with a ghost of a smile is...

"Standing there won't work, I suggest hiding a bit better... The closet behind me perhaps? Although I suppose the podium or under some desks might work too."

...Advice.

"Ah, the joys of youthful school days..."

Advice filled with nostalgia...

Did this mean...

She wasn't gonna rat you out...?!

[Airen]

Blaise Pendragon
Old SDCD Facility ~ Aoyama Outskirts
??? - Morning

---A poor idea.

Yes it is certainly a poor idea, to chase something that certainly cannot and should not exist. It's the sort of thing that you should absolutely look away from, to banish to the depths of your consciousness to never be seen again, it is an aberrant existence, something that shouldn't be achknowledged even in the magic age, a fever dream made real that proves one's brain can certainly betray them, and yet-

-you can't forgive it.

It showed you something that can't be unseen, even if it must, certainly, absolutely, definitely must be unseen at all costs. It's existence crushes your idea of what 'reality' even is, and that's saying something, considering your world was one that had been filled with demons, angels, and other myths made real throughout it's entirety, yes... It's absurd, but that thing can't be real, it simply can't be real, and if it is...

If it is real...

If it is real...

Well...

Please.

Please God.

Let it not be real.

But you have to know.

You just have too...

Thus, it's too late for anyone to stop your sudden charge, in the first place, the idea that you would voluntarily chase such a manifest nightmare was impossible, and yet...

---Off the beaten path you go.

Chasing after a thing that should not be, branches, bushes, and even trees in their entirety give way to a frenzied charge that itself should not be-!

Through forests, across rivers, and then...

A canyon...

Coming out over the edge of a canyon, the blurred shape of your horrific adversary (?) disappearing into it with an indescribable noise that mostly registers as static...

It was fast...

Very fast...

Of course nightmares are always fast, such things could perhaps be called the world's way of telling you to stop chasing it?

Please.

Dear god no.

It can't be real, okay?

But you know better, yes, you know better...

It has to pay for violating what 'reality' means, how it will pay...?

You're not sure, but...

It will pay.

That's the sort of innocence that is not easily regained, thus...

You move to descend gracefully, but...

A certain someone makes that impossible, considering they had just emerged from the forest in the form of a flying tackle, yes...

In her desperation to stop you, egged on by her own sense of 'what can feasibly exist' as well as Kaguya's yells for her to do something, a certain other samurai from Aoyama has thrown her body into yours, thus...

"Shit that stings...Don't... Chase... weird cats..."

---You're now a pile of tangled limbs on the ground, the result of a rough fall down a rocky hill... You land on your back, with the delinquent girl landing on top of you with a muffled swear, and...

Nearby, the cave entrance where that thing had disappeared into...

Is radiating an ominous energy...

Or perhaps that's just in your head?

[Spinach]

Hyakka Onjouji
Aoyama Gakuen, Tokyo
Kayo's Room ~ Night

The one waiting on the other side of the classroom, seated at her desk, is surprisingly young. Enough so that Hyakka spends a second questioning if she’s truly a teacher. Though the gap between herself and the woman is significant, she glances up at her senpai.

Who is now… saluting?

Saluting to a woman who only looks a few years older than her. So far the teachers at Aoyama Gakuen had an air of being young to them, but this one surprised even the COMP’s AI, who fell into an odd silence at the sight.

"Standing there won't work, I suggest hiding a bit better... The closet behind me perhaps? Although I suppose the podium or under some desks might work too."

In the gap left by their silence the woman’s words filled the empty classroom, causing Hyakka to enthusiastically shoot a grin to her classmate, then to the suggested hiding spots.

“An ally! See, Tsubaki! See!”

“Shhhh! And you don’t know for sure if she’s really going to help you. She could just be tricking you to stay still until the principal arrives.”

“Nonsense, now come on. Senpai,” she glanced up at her classmate, standing quite tall above her. “Want to take the closet together? Or perhaps… I don’t know if we would both fit under the others…”

“Just make a decision, and fast. We're out of time to keep doubting her, so I'll go along with anything.”

“Ah, the joys of youthful school days…”

“How odd…”

[Satehi]

Eva Ellet
New London ~ Entertainment District
World Designation: Revolution (?)
Morning, Foggy

“Something I want…”

It’s not a hard question to understand.

Unfortunately…

“I’m not really sure how to answer that.”

Even though the question itself is pretty simple, I don’t really know what to give as an answer. I realize it’s a weird response.

“That’s not to say there isn’t anything that comes to mind. I think there are a lot of things I would like. Being more capable as a tamer, happiness for the people that I know, or even world peace… and I’m sure I could probably come up with some others if I thought about it more.”

If I were to put aside the context of whether or not fountains can actually grant wishes, let alone ones as grand as world peace, I think those are certainly excellent wishes with their own significant merits.

“It’s just… I’m not sure what the right one to pick really is. So honestly, I’d rather save it for when I know what I want more clearly.”

Unlike Agatha, the order of priorities isn’t very clear to me. As bad as it is to say, I’m a little jealous she knows exactly what she wants- her lost memories. Even though it’s not a good thing, it’s a straightforward goal to shoot for. In contrast, I feel a little lost. There are certain appeals to each one, but I think there are definite arguments to be made against each of them… I kind of wish I knew which one was the best.

“… wishing to know what the right wish is kind of defeats the point, doesn’t it? All of them would be nice, but…”

I eye the mysterious bag of money that Agatha revealed… were it not for the bizarre descriptions, it would have seemed more likely to me that she just generated it on the spot, given the size. Putting all of that into the fountain... seems like a tremendous waste, in multiple meanings.

“I think if you dumped in all of that into the fountain, rather than a donation or payment, it would be more like pollution. I don’t think the fountain spirits would like that very much...”

[Airen]

Amelia
Digital Sea ~ ???
??? ~ ???

---She doesn't seem to be malicious.

While a certain level of fear had erupted in you at being torn so boldly from everything you would call familiar, you do your best to clamp down on those emotions, to remain logical, even in the face of something that doesn't make sense, and...

"Well, there's something strange going on back where you are-! Or at least, I'm pretty sure there's something odd going on... I sort of watch things, you know? And I saw someone trying to summon something big, so I froze them in place, like BAM! Well... A bit got through actually, but I blocked most of it-!"

...It's a kid.

It's absolutely a kid.

Even A.Is have that 'kid' phase, where they're still trying to figure out how to act by watching their User's actions... Newer COMPs tend to be a bit more exaggerated because of this, as they're still not quite sure what the right 'level' of expression should be in any given situation, and this...

Yeah...

It's a kid's action, a child going "look how cool I am" to a random person on the street...

"I don't really know what it is, but it doesn't seem nice, so I thought I'd tell you it was there; I can't actually send it back myself-!"

Having said her piece, the girl pauses for a moment in thought, then...

"I didn't scare you earlier, did I miss...?"

Asks an odd question, as if she had somehow read your thoughts, or...

Had something shown on your face...?

[Airen]

Eva Ellet
New London ~ Entertainment District
World Designation: Revolution (?)
Morning, Foggy

"Pollution? You think so?"

The excited smile turning to more of a thoughtful frown at your words, it seems like the woman really hadn't considered the actual effect dumping so many of those coins into a fountain would have... Of course, such things are useful for charities, you know for certain that the fountains back home get skimmed for money at the end of every day, and it's even a bit amazing that such things still exist in a world that's apparently being erased by something, but...

---It's still a waste.

No matter how you look at it, it's far too much money.

"Well, I guess I'll just throw in half then, although I remember Elizabeth telling me this is how they worked... Although, I suppose you would know better than her!"

Ultimately, she goes along with what you say with a smile, or at least...

She kinda goes along with it.

She didn't seem to quite grasp what you had been getting at... It was a remarkably childish side to the woman that had always seemed to try very, very hard to be as secretary-esque as possible, then again...

This was the first time you had seen her outside of the -admittedly lavish- confines of the Velvet Room...

"Still, you're not sure about what you want huh?"

She seems surprised for a moment, then...

"Well, guess I'll hold onto yours then~"

Just accepts it.

"We can find another fountain when you do, right?"

As if she's sure you'll come out and do something like this again... Or, perhaps...?

"So alright, here I go~ Half the pirate gold-"

Before you can finish that thought, something even stranger happens, namely...

The bag disappears from Agatha's hands as she overturns it... Or rather...

A blur runs by, snatches the bag from her unsuspecting hands, and continues on into the distance unimpeded...

---It's the silhouette of a child, a boy, and...

Somehow he had snuck up on you.

Was it because you had let your guard down? Was it because she had? Or was it because of this bizarre fog? Considering how 'weak' everyone else was in comparison to you, it was easy to just let your mind wander, treat it as you would any other tourism trip, but...

That boy had been fast enough to do so, an aberrant existence, someone who was far stronger spiritually than any of the civilians you had seen thus far in this place...

So stronger humans did exist here huh?

Well, even if he was, you were pretty sure you were faster, but-

"Ah. Is this what they call robbery?"

-Agatha's reaction to it all is bizarre, namely, rather than even getting annoyed, she...

"Was I the target of a thief? How exciting!"

Has lights in her eyes?

As if this was somehow fun?

Yes.

Standing there, letting said thief get further and further away...

...Was she really this much of an airhead-?!

[Airen]

Ludwig Karlfeldt
Depths of a Dream (?)
??? - Night

---Lying to the Commander is impossible.

Considering the absurdity of the situation, telling the truth also has it's drawbacks... But when it comes down to it, she's the sort that's great at detecting lies, of that you are sure, thus...

You say something that certainly is the truth, or at least, a portion of the truth, and...

---This form of the Commander is obviously more supernatural than the one you're familiar with, or rather, now that you're looking at here outside of the sterile confines of the SLEIPNIR, her appearance is more akin to some sort of Goddess than a person, but...

That was crazy right?

Well...

The bloodline Lagerkvists and their branch families had always been 'special' in some way, you had never been told in what way, but considering the nature of their history as Dark Summoners, it wasn't unthinkable that some sort of divine blood had gotten mixed in there somewhere, enough to inflict an awkward sort of charm on you just by her looking at you, as if this Adala was a bit less 'practiced' than her adult counterpart, enough that her gaze alone was messing with you a bit, but...

"Hah... A fan, huh?"

...You shake it off as she speaks.

Speaks words that imply a sense of both frustration and amusement as she sighs, the sort of sigh an adult would give a kid that's trying to bite off a bit more than they can chew, but...

"I could always just force you to leave, you know?"

Staring at you as she says it, with a voice that holds no hostility...

---There's still a chill.

Like a Goddess had just spoken some sort of divine truth, yes, there's a definite 'divine' connotation to the way in which she speaks these words... And indeed, in that moment it becomes clear...

---There's something abnormal about her, of course you had always known that, but now...

Now you could feel it.

---Even so, you do your best to stand tall in the face of that casual comment that had somehow hit like an actual physical blow, something that had brought about a pang of something like anxiety even through your usual stoicism, and then...

"...Although, that would be a bit mean of me I suppose."

...The adult Commander probably would have chased you away, but this one...

Just lets it go with that sigh, shaking her head all the while...

"Stay close to me then I suppose, if you make sure to do at least that much, you should be able to run away later when the fight starts... I won't judge you when you do, any student of mine would be in for a horrible time."

So saying...

She starts to walk away again, this time at a casual pace...

One that allows you to keep up, if you so wish...

Adala

-Otherworldly (Descendant of the First Knight)-
Blood descendant of "Elizabeth Rosanna Lagerkvist," the first soul-bound Knight of the Artificial Goddess "Yamuna." As a descendant of that Knight, certain abilities beyond normal humanity can be gained naturally...

Further details are unknown, but her "Goddess-like" charisma and looks are related to this ability...

[Airen]

Raz Stone
Merlin's Tower

---Naturally, it is within your nature to immediately show off for the ever beautiful magus of flowers.

It was a truth inherent to Raz Stone, something he can't help doing regardless of the situation; it doesn't matter that you had just been thrown literally through the walls of an enchanted Tower by a disgruntled COMP, you must put on your best face and continue on regardless, and to that-!

"How valiant, Sir Stone-!"

The Mage of Flowers smiles in her usual teasing way, it's her only smile, a dream-like smile that always knows far more than it lets on but keeps that knowledge to itself... It's a smile like a dream, vibrant but difficult to grasp, illusory in a sense, and-

"But the wall is not the mess I was talking about I'm afraid, I have some... Rather unpleasant visitors in the Tower at the moment. If it were not so, I would certainly invite you in for a drink or two~"

-yes, this is the usual Merlin; a mysterious and seductive air that is hard to resist at times, still-!

Unpleasant visitors?

Having focused your gaze on her up until now, you look around you to see what she was talking about, after all, you couldn't sense anything nearby... Even without your COMP you should still be relatively capable of such things, especially if whatever she is talking about is enough to pose a 'problem' to her, but...

Your sixth sense tells you nothing, but your eyes...

Yes your eyes...

Now that you were taking the time to look around...

---There was a shadow hanging upside down from the ceiling of what seemed to be Merlin's living room, it's face -or rather lack of a face- showing an inexpressive nature that's quite disconcerting indeed...

...Is it a youkai?

It feels like a youkai, or rather a shadow, a malevolent human spirit, something different from a demon... While shadows aren't the primary opposition for Tamers, they were still the sort of thing that appeared every now and then and had to be exorcised... Yes, this was almost certainly a shadow, but...

Visitors huh?

Did that means there was more than one? This one didn't feel very powerful, then again, you didn't have your COMP -or any other weapon on you really- and were thus somewhat less powerful than usual, so much so that perhaps risking a fight would be a poor idea, but-

"I do appreciate your offer to help though, I will accept it without delay."

-well who was anyone kidding?

If she was asking for help, you would do your best to do something; of course, something can take the form of many things, but before you can really get too deep into those thought processes, she...

"I don't have a replacement microphone for you, but perhaps a holy sword would serve as a temporal replacement? They're all over the Tower you see, I misspoke a word or two during my last incantation... But I'm sure we will be able to sort it out soon enough-!"

...Explains something unfortunate -but not entirely unexpected- before a sword appears in your hands.

It shines like light -the blade seems to be made of light even- and physically, you feel a lot more like your usual self just by holding it, but...

Stats Stabilized
Resistances in Effect through Merlin's Magic

---It's not your COMP.

Thus, it feels incredibly unfamiliar, and while it might have some sort of ability of it's own, it won't let you use your usual magic...

But...

Well, you had sort of gotten yourself into this mess-!

Yes.

Considering how the shadow's expressionless face was 'watching' you now (and the storm outside seemed to be getting much worse for some reason) you had definitely managed to get yourself involved in this mess-!

DTG and the others arrive in: ???

[Airen]

Cosmos Fairchild
LOVELESS ~ Outside
??? - Dawn isn't Coming

---If that mud is what you think it is, then falling into it had a good chance of being a death sentence.

Over twenty years ago, a similar phenomena had shown itself around the world, although most heavily within the area called Aoyama Tokyo as a result of the second Kyuubi Incident.

Yes.

While it looked like mud, in reality, there was a high possibility it was simply an incomprehensible curse given human form; while the theories behind it are rather complicated, modern-day intermingling of science and magic had revealed the existence of a "Soul Sea" somewhere in the world, a collective consciousness given both physical and spiritual form, a place that all humans were connected too, whether they were willing to admit it or not...

It was like an origin point, souls came from it, and souls returned to it.

There was a possibility that the entity called "God" was there, and there was a possibility that it was not.

Some supernatural abilities, like an ESPers "Eclipse" state, came from a conscious connection to that distant place, a form of the afterlife, however...

---This mud is also a representation of that same Sea, while those who have seen it's physical aspect with their own eyes declare it to be inherently beautiful like a shining sea of clear water and stars, there is a certain duality to humanity that can't be ignored, in essence, where the clear starlit waters were humanity's goodwill and potential for greatness, this mud...

Was the muck at the bottom, the negative emotions, the desire to hurt, destroy and take vengeance; jealousy, sadism, unrelenting rage...

Everything people don't like about themselves and deny, as a collective, it has to go somewhere... If people throw it away, it's all bound to collect somewhere else right?

That's the mud in a nutshell, a collective curse born from the human consciousness... Of course, the heroes from the Second Kyuubi Incident were supposed to have sealed it's main avatar away... So how was something like this back already...?

It's a burning question, but...

Not one you really have time for-!

With unearthly arms wrapped around your body, dragging you outside towards that very same mud, you brace yourself against the ground with Sarial's help to step forward, leaving your assistance of Alyx to your COMP as you strike with full force-!

---It's a searing lance of light, something that burns brilliantly within the depths of this otherwise crimson and black hell... Soaring after the leg of a monster that was pursuing Alyx upstairs in her obvious concentrated effort to lead it away from you, it is also...

A blow that severs it's leg cleanly upon contact.

---Like a hot knife through butter, it meets no real resistance, becoming a blow that sends the massive mud-like giant tumbling back down stairs that are already melting away from sheer contact with it alone, but...

The grasping arms at your back tear your gaze away from the battle. While the combination of yourself and Sariel has stopped it from outright pulling you into the mud outside, it's still putting up a bit of a fight... It's a faceless shadow, but there's something about that lack of expression, that lack of true humanity, that sends a shiver down your spine, of course...

Touching this mud alone... Should be painful, and yet...

To you, it simply feels mildly uncomfortable? It's not quite at the level of pain, although even with that, you don't quite want to push your luck with falling directly into the mud sea, even so, as you look back to wiggle -slam- an elbow into your captor's face, you are able to look out into the darkness, and...

---A crimson light has appeared on the horizon, along with the distant sound of...

Sirens?

Like something in the distance had suddenly become aware of what was going on over here?

---Yes.

It feels like there's a giant... eye... Looking this way right now.

You can't see it.

Nor do you particularly want too...

---Perhaps it's this instinctual feeling, that you shouldn't be caught outside by that thing, that puts some extra force behind the many spirit-powered elbow strikes to your captor's head, forcing the shadow to relent as you and Sariel slip through it's fingers, stumbling back into the mall at the same time as the giant comes rolling to a stop about fifteen feet away, it's roars shaking the building in spite of the fact that you had cleanly cut through one of it's many miasmic limbs...

---It's thrashing around like something possessed, raised club striking at everything around it as if it still couldn't quite see correctly, and up above, on the second floor...

There's the sound of gunfire, shattering glass, and a woman cackling to herself in response to Alyx's mild swears and insults, the form of the wraith from before appearing along with her own as the two of them fight up above... Of course Alyx sounds more annoyed than outright worried... Like you, she had been specifically trained to be as strong as possible mentally, it was one of the things the church prided itself on, still...

Behind you, more wraiths like the one that had first grasped you pour out into the ground floor of the mall along with the mud in a slow march, the size of the breach small enough and the mud 'thick' enough that it seemingly can't just pour in like a geyser, but...

Even as your trained mind makes a 'note' of their slow -but relentless- entrance, it also informs you...

---Of the giant clawing it's way towards you with both arms and sudden, horrific speed, as if it had somehow 'found' you all of a sudden in spite of being blind-!

[Airen]

Mokujima Chris
Aoyama ~ Lakeside
??? - Morning

"The forbidden folder? Fufufu... I would never dream of opening such a thing-!"

Needless to say, Lexie is absolutely the type who would open such a thing if she wasn't actively told not to; she would try not to of course, by god she would try, but she was also the sort with a powerful curiosity, a need to know, even if she would wind up carrying those secrets with her to the grave...

After all, while she was bad about not looking, she was also the sort who would definitely destroy your computer after death if you needed her too to keep the really embarrassing secrets from getting out... Not that such things were necessary mind you, but, you know...

It was true.

---Some people had skeletons they'd like to not pop out of their closet.

Still...

"Yes, we'd never look in such a hypothetically suspicious folder-!"

Needless to say, her COMP is also the type who would absolutely look if left alone with it long enough, but in this case, it's probably fine.

History was... A lot like Lexie in many ways.

Cheerful to a fault, and an enabler of somewhat lazy behavior, really...

To call her Lexie's enabler is probably the most accurate descriptor... She does the patrol reports for her, goes over her class assignments to make sure they're passable, reminds her when new games come out, makes sure her bills are paid, is in charge of their budget, and considering her appearance...

It's like she's the legendary 'overly mature' younger sibling...

"Ah, it's unlocked..."

Of course, her intervention proves to be somewhat unnecessary...

"Whaaa-?! But that's no fun-!"

...To her apparent dismay, still...

Leaving them to it, you turn your attention to the pull string, thoughts of worst case scenarios fluttering through your mind at the thought of pulling it...

It wouldn't... Summon a monster right?

Right?

Sakurako has never liked the light, the curtains you had opened reinforced this, and yet you feel apprehensive at the thought of pulling it for some reason even if it's probably fine, yes...

It's so oddly placed... It just makes you feel weird, still...

Yoink.

A single pull does nothing much, the overhead lights flicker off -as light switches are apt to do- and yet, even in the face of this, or rather, after putting some thought towards the dream catchers...

---You pull two more times.

The second does nothing either, simply flicking the lights back on again, but the third...

The third...

The third...

With the fall of darkness, comes the apparent shifting of your view.

Lexie vanishes.

The door to the outside disappears, replaced by blank metallic walls... The bed is in place as always -although the controls have disappeared- but more than anything else, the thing that stands out the most about this sudden 'different' room is...

There is writing on the walls.

While the room itself is orderly...

---There's writing all over the walls.

Written haphazardly, in black marker, broad energetic strokes that just repeat the same thing over and over again, like someone had had some sort of breakdown and had just started writing the same word over everything they could get their hands on...

'Ruina.'

Over and over again, 'Ruina.'

Just...

Ruina.

---Standing here by yourself feels somewhat uncomfortable.

[palad1n]

Cosmos Fairchild
LOVELESS ~ Outside
??? - Dawn isn't Coming

When she finally managed to break free, one thought crossed Cosmos' mind.

Her faith must have protected her.

After all, why else would touching what should be a literal bed of curses for humanity gave her a mere mildly uncomfortable feeling instead of pain? The answer is obvious: God is protecting her from the worst of it through her faith. Of course, falling into the sea itself is still a big no-no - she's sure only someone like her mother has enough faith and divine protection to survive such a thing - but at least against individual manifestation, she could manage.

Not like she wanted to if she could help it.

Still, the sound of siren and the feeling of being watched put her on edge. Whatever it is, she doesn't like it, and the sooner they could finish the fight to better assess the situation and perhaps change location, the better.

"--Now then."

With those words, Cosmos rang her staff and take aim.

The giant at the front, and wraiths at the back. She'll entrust the weaker, yet numerous wraiths to Illia, while she would personally finish off the crawling giant. It might be fast, and the head might be small, but Cosmos is quite confident that at this range, having such a clear aim - along the fact that the giant is blinded and can only crawl - practically ensures that she wouldn't miss. She had hit much more difficult targets before.

Of course she should be careful that the spell won't accidentally track the already blown-off leg instead, but that should be trivial enough.

'1 charge for Aster, correct?'

'Yes. Just in case we need more charges.'

'Then leave it to me.'

Her breathing is calm, her hand is steady, and her sight is clear. Even as the giant rapidly approaches, Cosmos stood still, unflinching as she waits for the right moment to strike; if she were to finish this quickly and help Alyx, then she must finish it in a single shot.

And that's exactly what she would do. If Kougaon can blow its leg clean off, then it can do the same to its head!

"Sariel, just in case it can still move after losing its head, please get me out of the way!"

"Eeeeeh?! T-that's rather sudden, but I'll do my best!"

A smile graced her lips before she finally cast her spell, while Illia simultaneously do the same.

"Kougaon!"

"Aster!"

Turn Action

COMP Heat: 5/10
Bell Charge Used: 1
Bell Charge: 2

Spells Used:
Kougaon (At Giant)
Aster (At Wraiths)

Sariel is preparing to get Cosmos out of the way!

Wise Up!

Aster
Rank: D
Element: Spirit
Unleashes a volley of homing lasers; unlike Aura Blast, Aster prioritize quantity over quality, and is designed to bypass spells like Makarakarn by hitting multiple times. Can be used to strike both single or multiple targets at once... this is Cosmos’ main and signature spell.

[Verg Avesta]

Blaise Pendragon
Old SDCD Facility ~ Aoyama Outskirts
??? - Morning

... Had Yuriko just tackled him like a cat out of hell?

No, in the first place, how the hell had he gotten into this situation? Sure enough, Blaise knew that going to the detention would most likely mean more trouble, not less, but never even in his wildest dreams had he expected that he would have gotten involved in something this... absurd. Lunacy, absolutely lunacy. While having to face his own aunt was a threat unlike any he had expected, this... thing... was a threat on a whole another level. It had not just threatened the normalcy of his ongoing days and the nice niche in life that he had brought to himself.

--- This was a threat to his very sanity, which meant it had to be vanquished here and now.

"........ Ow."

No, there were few things that had to be taken care of first. Namely, the delinquent girl that had tackled him down the rough hillside, who now laid sprawled on top of him after accomplishing that feat. Blaise blinked, staring upwards at the girl who had managed something not many had - moving him physically when he had tried to fight back. That's why they both had ended up in such a sorry state, tumbling down the hill like mess of arms and legs. Well, she might have moved him downhill, but it wasn't as if she was restricting his movement right now. It would be easy enough to get out of this.

Still, there were few more things that Blaise's teenage mind noticed.

----- Number 1.

They were unexpectedly large.

----- Number 2.

She was surprisingly light.

----- Number 3.

... This was getting a bit awkward.

"--- Sorry. Even if you tell me that... I can't just leave this alone."

With those words, Blaise ended the momentary silence that had fallen over them (mostly thanks to Kaguya being too flabbergasted at the results to even know what to say at this point). Then the blonde boy, in a very matter-of-fact and not at all awkward way, used his strength to grab Yuriko gently from her sides and lift the girl up, like he had been at the gym. This allowed him to climb back to his legs, rise to his full height, and then set his kouhai back to the ground, on her feet, like she had been some sort of overly-posable figurine. Of course, grabbing and lifting a girl like that, out of nowhere, wasn't exactly a polite thing to do... but Blaise was sure Yuriko thought nothing of it.

There was no way she had caught those few stray thoughts that went through his head, after all.

No way.

"That cat... no, that wasn't a cat in the first place... It's too dangerous to leave alone," Blaise said, dusting off his clothes - and then moving to dust off Yuriko's, like any good senpai would. "If I run into something that threatens Aoyama's peace, I'll take care of it. And that thing..."

Blaise's eyes narrowed as he glared at the cave.

"... Is definitely a threat."

Meanwhile, in the background, Kaguya could do nothing but rub her temples like she was expecting a migraine at any second now. Do COMP AIs even get migraines?

"Banchou..." she groaned.

If not, Kaguya was clearly about to become the first of her kind!

[Airen]

Ayra Lilygrove
Junes ~ Rooftop
??? - Morning

---It's only natural for them to send someone that could defeat you for real.

Considering the whole point of all of this was to serve as evidence that you weren't Joker, the woman that had come to confront you was someone who was capable of making all of the 'lies' you had told in your previous reports reality... It was a bit of a mark on your pride, but being 'beat up by Joker' was a common excuse, one that works because the entity called Joker has never decisively lost, but...

One that seems odd at times, odd enough for suspicions to arise over time...

Thus, this is necessary.

Thus, you cannot afford to hold back...

Of course, there is some pride in it. Rather than being decisively defeated, you could probably consider it a victory if you managed to drive her off -considering capturing her was a loss all it's own- and thus-

"Not so fast!"

-a dash made with all of your natural speed, to stop a summoning in progress-!

Ordinarily, this auto-skill was something that essentially spelled doom for your normal tactics, you in particular would be shredded apart by ice, it was simply an element that disagreed with who you were, one the Harmonizer that was generated through you could not protect you from... In many ways it was a spell she had devised simply to beat you and people like you, speedsters who relied on their speed to get the job done-!

Or at least, that is what most opponent's would likely assume at a glance, and to an extent it is true...

This auto-skill does have a certain value against hyperfast opponents, those who move at those speeds do not always have the reaction times to match, and dodging blades that were no larger than fragments of a razor blade... It was simply unreasonable in a certain sense, even so...

---This is not the first time you've been put inside of this field, and she has removed that weakness of yours herself through the use of magic; it's still reckless to charge straight towards you opponent through this field of ice, reckless enough that grazing cuts do appear in spite of your familiarity with the technique, but that was fine...

Yes, that was fine.

They were simply grazing blows, and more than that, more than the ability to dodge things that would ordinarily be absurd to dodge...

You are capable of using it in the same extra way as it's user, the hidden secondary use that few ponder at first glance, namely-

"...!"

---Reflection of light.

Following along with her "Reflector Ray" program, which allowed her to travel as laser-esque light for brief periods, the many ice shards that danced in the air became conduits for a ridiculous pattern of light that weaves itself into something an approaching spider-web that baffles the eye-!

Rather than going simply from Point A to Point B, this is a technique that hits Points C-Z and maybe more as it takes a baffling, flashy and absurd approach that is almost impossible for others to read-! Your aim isn't quite as absurd as her own, but it was close enough that it didn't matter; weak blades of light trace their own path through razor-blades of ice, becoming five more streaks that burn through the atmosphere as you approach your opponent head on in order to take her down-!

---It's an absurd charge.

In total, there are at least seven attacks, approaching at either asinine angles, absurd speeds, or some combination of the two-!

At least one will slip through, to think otherwise would mean that your opponent is some sort of monster that is capable of keeping track of all of that at once, but-

"...!"

-like a monster, the movement of her blade is accompanied by the simultaneous destruction of every glimmer blade, not only that-!

"Sorry, I'm not that out of practice."

-Tsukiko appears in her blind spot, a Tamer, a Knight, someone who cannot be casually disregarded in the same way as those blades, and yet-

"guh-!"

-there's no wasted motion, the destruction of the approaching lights leads to a parry that's performed without even looking at her enemy, a spinning kick blowing her away with absolute force, and leading into another parry, another block, her sword coming to meet your own and-

-clang.

...She's a monster.

Aster goes flying away in that hit, as she sends it ricocheting out of your hands with a horrifically strong flick of her wrist-!

...She's a monster.

Absolutely a monster.

Following that many paths, that many combinations... And neutralizing them all in the span of one or two seconds...

---It goes beyond precognition into the territory of outright clairvoyance, even so-

---She opened herself up with that last one-!

*clang*

You still had Maken.

A disarm for a disarm... It takes a shocking amount of strength to do it, to send her blade hurtling through the air behind her, but it does, the force of your strike throwing her hands up into the air as she blocks it, and-

--Another opening.

It's another opening, clearly being a swordsman, now that her blade was gone, now seemed like the time to strike-!

Time slows down, adrenaline flowing from the pace of a good battle, and...

---While she does seem open, nothing else about her posture...

---Indicates any sense of powerlessness.

As if "this was fine."

Even so-

[Bloble]

Mokujima Chris
??? ~ ???
??? - ???

Darkness falls.

Sakurako had never liked bright lights. She was most active during the night and rarely went out during the day. She would give all sorts of reasons for it: less glare, fewer people, peace and quiet, mystery and danger... What reasons had Chris come up with to tease her, again? Vampirism, sun allergy, a war against the sun people... ah, those had been fun days. Their meet up would be at night, or in a dark place, they'd decided eventually. And to think, that had somehow been the case.

Thoughts of before are what Mokujima Chris occupies herself with, as she waits in the darkened room.

An early night has fallen.

There is no light to see by, or else it is so faint as to be nearly impenetrable to the naked eye. Wherever 'here' is, it is certainly Sakurako's element. Quiet, unknown, and pitch black, those are the perfect environmental factors to bring out the deepest primal fears of human beings. Even hardened, one would have to push down that fear, which grows stronger with every moment, just to stay sane. Of course, in today's world, sources of light are easy to come by. Just ask your COMP, or pull out your phone, or really any electronic gadget... all of which Chris does not have with her.

She is alone in the dark.

And, in that dark room, Chris...

"Ru. I. Na."

Carefully enunciates each of the syllables of the words written on the wall.

"Hm... this is..."

She has to squint a bit, but it's no problem. Humans aren't made to see in the darkness, but Chris doesn't particularly mind this situation. After years of being illuminated by nothing but the glow of a computer screen, she's grown accustomed to the dark. Even if it's only a little, her eyes are used to it. Leaving aside the benefits of being a shut-in, just by being Sakurako's friend she'd had to adapt to the girl's strange tastes. In fact...

She looks up at her arm, at the goosebumps rising one by one, and...

Shudders. Exhales.

"Haha..."

A low, creepy laugh begins to seep through, as the corners of Mokujima Chris' mouth turn upwards.

"This is... some fine 'terror', Sakurako. Isn't it thrilling?"

Yes. When trapped alone in the dark, the dark becomes the only thing to converse with. And if there's a face she can put on that dark, it would obviously be that of a friend, right?

Chris stands, surveys the room. Her eyes had taken some time to adjust, but she's used to it now. She paces, peering at the writing on the walls, tracing her finger over one of the words, carving 'Ruina' into memory. The word is unfamiliar. She has not heard it before, so it must be important evidence. But more than that, it may be a deliberate hint. Not many people would pull on the lights that many times without knowing Sakurako's preference for darkness, so perhaps it is even a hint for Chris herself.

"Hehehe... oh, maybe, you're rubbing off on me..."

Slightly manic but mostly sane, Mokujima Chris enjoys her own fear as she paces around the room, examining things, looking for a "difference" between the room of before and the room of now. The comfort of the uncomfortable is something she rarely gets to enjoy; most social situations are more stressful than scary, but here she is free to be scared to her heart's content, like a playground just for her. Maybe Sakurako had had a point...

"Ah."

There it is. The difference. The hatch that had once been locked, is now unlocked. An open path into the bowels of the ship, a maw to swallow whole a wandering, powerless girl. Chris can almost hear a metallic groaning on the other side, the sound of monsters just waking up, coming to eat her piece by piece...

And yet, unlike before, she does not back off, even though it would be insane to do otherwise. This is different. This darkness and that portal are not the same. She does not know why, Chris is certain of it. She does not quite feel safe in here, but it's more like... yes, even if it's just a selfish delusion, it feels like Sakurako is right there, holding her hand, giggling as her friend explores the puzzle room she has set up.

"I'll be just a while longer, Lexie..."

Muttering under her breath, Mokujima Chris immerses herself in terror and crawls deeper into the dark belly of the beast.

[Airen]

Mokujima Chris
??? ~ ???
??? - ???

---Moving from darkness to darkness, you slip beneath the hatch into a world even your eyes can't really see...

There's a bit of a drop to the bottom, to the new floor, one of about four or five feet. It's the sort of drop that would normally elicit a bit of adrenaline as wandering hands find nothing there to catch them, but you persist nonetheless, leaving the hatch open behind you as you go.

In the darkness, it's difficult to really physically see anything at all...

There were shapes of course, and the sense of touch was as useful as ever, but it's more your sixth sense than anything else that leads you through the depths of what must be the ship's engine room, the furnace...

You move slowly.

It's easy to imagine monsters roaming around down here... It's the atmosphere, you can practically hear the ragged breath of inhuman things in the darkness, even though absolutely nothing is there...

Darkness is good for imagination in those ways, still...

It's a slow approach in spite of yourself.

There's nothing down here to hurt you.

Absolutely nothing at all, if there was, you were sure that you would be able to just 'tell.'

If there was one area in which you excelled after all, it was your sense for spiritual phenomena, yes...

There's nothing down here.

Absolutely nothing down here, and yet...

You trip.

Even though you're going slow, or perhaps because you're going pretty slow...

You trip over something, a pipe perhaps?

Hands shoot out to half the fall and the pain that comes with it, and rather than hitting metal, or tile, there's...

Something like... A leg...?

A human leg?

Hands wander a bit more and find... Hips...?

And a... hole... in the stomach?

What...

What was this?!

[Bloble]

Mokujima Chris
??? ~ ???
??? - ???

"A-ah!"

The sound of metal and her own breathing is interrupted by an uncharacteristic squeak, as Mokujima Chris trips over something in the dark and falls forward, barely putting her hands out in front of her to break the fall.

"H-huh?"

What she feels her palms resting on is... a leg? A human leg?

Thump-thump. Chris' heart skips a beat.

But how? She hadn't sensed anything, so unless it was hiding... but there was always a possibility that she'd missed it. After all, she was still nearly blind, wandering on instinct alone, in the deep, deep dark...

Thump-thump. The intensity of the terror doubles, then triples. Uncertainty is added into the mix.

"Ah." Chris' hands move of their own accord, traveling up, up, up...

Thump-thump. Fear is not something that can be controlled easily. It is not something to carelessly immerse yourself in.

Hips, girlish, and then, a hole where the stomach should be-?

Thump-thump. What has she gotten herself into now? Is this a graveyard?

"Ex-excuse me. I just..." Swallowing, Chris leans forward, over the person (or perhaps doll) that she fell onto. One hand travels slowly up, up, up, towards her (its?) face. The other... reaches into the hole where the stomach should be, not sure what it's looking for.

Thump-thump. Laughing animated dolls. Flesh-eating insects colonizing a corpse, waiting to leap onto an intruder. The long-dead body of a friend. Each image is more horrible than the last.

But then, isn't that what fear is?

[Airen]

Mokujima Chris
??? ~ ???
??? - ???

"..."

Whoever or whatever it is, it remains completely unresponsive in the face of both voice and touch...

---Surely Sakurako wasn't secretly a murderer right?

Left in the dark to figure things out with your other senses, the feeling of skin on your hands is legitimate... It's certainly the body of something humanoid, the hand that goes up towards it's face finds something soft -strands of hair- that can be brushed away from their face... There are two eyes, a nose, and a mouth, so the horror of it all becomes a bit more pronounced as you keep touching, wandering hands doing what they must to give you whatever information you need to tackle this properly, and...

In the hole in the stomach, in an obvious, gaping wound...

There is nothing wet, there's no blood, but there's certainly something sharp...

Wires?

Are these... Wires?

Practiced hands dictate that they must be, but...

What was it then...

...A robot?

A dead robot?

Or...?

[Bloble]

Mokujima Chris
??? ~ ???
??? - ???

"..."

The thumping of Chris' heart in the silent darkness calms as she runs her hands over the body before her. The scared girl fades into the background as the Tamer, or rather, the artisan comes to the forefront.

Heavy damage to the midsection. Unresponsive, even to prolonged touch. No discernible damage elsewhere. This could only have been the result of violence. Is the core destroyed, or-?

"...sorry."

In the darkness, Mokujima Chris places her hands together, closes her eyes, and, though she's not really religious in the slightest, offers a prayer for the fallen android. How long has she been there, damaged and un-cared for? What was her story? Perhaps it is too late to know, but maybe... maybe there is still time.

"I'm... going... to see what I can do," Chris whispers. She clambers to her feet and pulls the body up from the floor, settling it between her arms. Though the its weight isn't much different from a normal human's, her hands still shake from the exertion. If it hadn't been for her Tamer training, Chris wouldn't even be able to manage that much. "It'll... be bumpy, though. Sorry. Bear with it."

Silly, to speak to an inanimate object like that. But Mokujima Chris herself can't help it. Even she isn't sure what the source of the gentleness in her voice is.

The darkness has ceased to be scary. Or rather, Chris no longer has any room or time to tolerate her own fear. Not when there's something far more important to attend to.

She clambers back slowly, by feel and memory, to the hatch. It'll be a tight fit... five feet straight up. Chris has never before been so thankful for her height. She grunts as she lifts the body up above her, somehow pushing it through with a great deal of effort.

"Hah... hah..."

Chris raises a hand and wipes some sweat from her brow. It's too early in the day to be getting tired like this. She ought to stop slacking in PE...

"A bit more..."

Trying to climb out of a hole that leads to the underside of a bed, while dragging along an inanimate corpse, is not a fun time. But after a great deal of huffing and puffing, Chris is standing in the bedroom, with the robot splayed out on the bed.

"...it's too dark."

Yes, of course. Even if she doesn't have tools, something might be possible, but in the dark, with no COMP to light the way? That'd be a recipe for disaster. A single pair of crossed wires could ruin everything.

"...one more time. Almost there."

Chris wraps the robot's arms around her neck and legs around her waist, and waddles over to the light switch she'd pulled on earlier. Hopefully, carrying it like this, when she pulls it one more time...

Click.