paixaorpg | A little too far into the hornet's nest [Active/Open]

Rika had been following along, curious herself. She had occasionally found herself jumping ahead to peek around corners, with the thrill of excitement she actually rather enjoyed.

But she did have to remember her body was not suited to fighting. She had been sticking close to Keiichi, and when he said they should go back, she wasn't about to argue.

"It could be dangerous," Rika agreed. "There could be monsters, 'raaawr'!"

There could be monsters? Say rather there were monsters. Monsters that wanted nothing more than the deaths of those in the city. Not precisely something one would want to invite to a simple walk.

But then again, they hardly cared whether or not they were invited somewhere. What mattered to them was their constant anger and the fact that people needed to die. So really, it was hardly a surprise that one of the monsters did indeed find the pair.

And if they had problems with large ambulatory cactus-looking creatures, well... so much the better, as far as it was concerned.

Keiichi laughed at Rika's comment. "Hideous fiends from beyond the deep, huh?" he joked back, wiggling his fingers predatorily. "We'll be demoned away if we're not careful!" Not that they could get much more demoned away than they already were, but he didn't mention that.

Of course, that was before he actually saw the monster. It had just been an indistinct outline in the dust at first, not something he'd really paid attention to, but when he looked back now, it was clearly visible and audible - and definitely Not From This Planet. And it was coming toward them.

He recoiled, blurting something that was probably inappropriate for the ears of preschool toys, the sudden urge to run like hell from this - what the hell was that even supposed to be?! - suppressed only by an acute awareness of Rika's presence. He wasn't leaving her.

A second later, with his wits somewhat back around him, he grabbed hold of her hand. "Run!!" he shouted, pulling her back the way they'd come.

Rika bit back a shriek as she saw the--the whatever it was--approaching. She froze for a moment, almost fascinated, but was pulled back to the reality of the situation by Keiichi, and she ran after him as fast as her legs could carry her.

Of course, given Keiichi was far taller and stronger than she, it was half running, half being dragged. But Rika didn't care as long as that thing didn't get near them.

Like the cactuars that had undoubtedly been their inspiration, the Sinspawn were fast - and certainly more than willing to keep up with the pair. If it had been so inclined, it more than likely could have caught up with the pair but for now it was more interested in the chase. If it were lucky it could even herd the pair into another of its fellows and wouldn't that be fun?

But even so, it couldn't resist the urge to send a barrage of needles at them even as it chased after them.

It might have been Venat's continuing shifting that finally did cause Cid to leave the walls of his temporary home. When he found the beasts - that truly could never have been the work of Ffamran - he cared little of the children that it as chasing. He stepped slightly closer, and watched with a scowl crossing his face, glancing to the side of him where Venat's presence hovered.

"This is what could be part of the problem?"

He turned his gaze back to the creature, watching its pursuit. "A peculiar being, I must say. But there's certainly no mist involved. I wonder... what could it be?"

((Keiichi and Rika are reversing order this round. ♥))

Rika was simply not fast enough in such a tiny body; the spray of needles caught her legs, and she cried out as they buckled beneath her, the pain jolting her nervous system.

She took note of the two--well, one was human the other certainly not--standing nearby. Would they help? She tried to keep moving but her legs screamed in protest.

"Help," she begged, addressing all three in question but looking at the creature (god or ghost?), as it seemed the best-equipped to handle such a thing.

The needles caught Keiichi in the back of the legs, too, and he stumbled with a pained yell, but the scream from behind him and the sudden tug on his arm as Rika lost her footing was what brought him to a stop.

"Rika!" he shouted, looking back in horror. She'd been hit worse than he had; there was already blood welling up where the needles poked out of her skin. (Even with the stinging in the back of his own calves, it didn't occur to him that the situation was probably similar on his end.) He doubled back and helped her up by the arm as fast as he could. "I've got you," he assured her, but he had his eyes on the still-approaching monster.

At least, until Cid caught his attention. He didn't quite make out what he'd said, and only glanced at him before returning to the monster, but - was the guy just standing there? He hoisted Rika into his arms, some part of him glad that she was so light. "Hang on tight!" he instructed, then started off running again, wincing with every step.

As an afterthought, though, he turned back to the newcomer, to find he was still just standing there, watching everything. "Hey, look out!" he yelled back in warning. What did he think he was doing?!

The arrival of yet another person didn't particular bother the Sinspawn, and even more so given that the man had yet to actually attack. Besides, it had wounded its current prey despite their attempt to continue to run away. It would be easier to deal with them first and then turn its attentions to the other.

And the simplest way to that was to send another barrage of needles headed their way as they ran. Of course, the fact that they'd turned meant that the needles were more than likely to hit them head on, but really, it wasn't as if the Sinspawn cared one way or the other.

((Venat's speech is italicized and only heard by Cid and Rika :O))

Cid tilted his head to the side, still a curious expression across his face as he studied the creature. How it moved, how it attacked - those needles reminded him of a creature or two you could find crawling about Ivalice. It didn't seem to be giving off any strange power that would be interfering with Venat's presence.

But the even more curious thing at that moment was the girl, which was a strange thing in itself to Cid, as kids generally were as pestful as these creatures. Yet Venat was commenting about her, and Cid had to agree that her eyes had honed in on Venat.

Only the doctor had ever been aware of Venat's presence. From time to time Lord Vayne would suppose the being was in the room, but never see it. Only Cid had that pleasure. So why? Was she simply guessing?

Ah, but they wouldn't get any answer if the girl was dead, unfortunately. "If you believe it's necessary, Venat," Cid sighed, withdrawing two guns from his sides - much better than Ffamran's sorts. He wondered now how this creature would react under being attacked?

He would probably regret casting with the lack of mist around to regain much, but still he put over a Shell and Protect on himself. He then waited until Venat had gone before the injured child before taking aim and firing on the creature, watching for its counter-measures.

Venat barely showed any sign of its presence before the girl, except that the barrage of needles didn't hit either of the children. It very faintly shimmered in reaction to them, then spoke in a fuzzy tone: "It would be wise to keep still, less the injury will only worsen."

((Reversing order again. ♥))

Rika heard the words, but of course Keiichi hadn't--and as she was being carried she was moving. But Keiichi had to have been hit as well, right?

"Stop, Keiichi," she said, her voice pained but taking on a more demanding tone. "You're hurting yourself."

And it seemed the man who had been with the god--she was pretty sure that was what it was now--was fighting the creatures. Perhaps things could improve from here.

Keiichi saw the barrage of needles coming, but too late to get out of the way, especially with his injured legs failing to respond like he needed them to. Instead he turned away, trying to at least shield her body with his own.

But the attack never hit him. After a second, he looked back over his shoulder just in time to see the second salvo falling to the ground, like it'd been blocked by an invisible wall, and the old man pulling a couple of guns on their attacker. Had he done that?

At any rate, he was buying them a chance, and Keiichi wasn't about to waste it. Ignoring the pain, he turned and forced his legs running again, but a step later Rika's words brought him right back to a halt. Stop? Here? "We can't stay here," he protested.

Haseo was zigzagging through the streets and alleyways, not running but gliding as he had taken out his dual guns, following the noise. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on but he wasn't going to sit by idly and do nothing. Despite this not being a game and he could actually get hurt, he could still fight as if he were in The World and so fight he would.

He just shot out of an alley intending to cross the street and into the next until he spotted a man and some creatures from the corner of his eye. He skidded to a halt almost as if he were walking on ice. As he glanced at the man Haseo noticed he had weapons drawn and looked capable enough of defending himself. He turned and looked to the other side of the street to see if there were monsters on that side but the only thing he found was some guy standing there apparently holding someone. Unarmed.

"What are you doing here?!" He snapped, not unkindly but not gentle either, it was an authoritative tone of voice that Haseo was unaware of he possessed. "Hurry up and get out of here!" His expression soon softened though when he noticed the needles sticking out of the boy's legs.

He cast one more glance at the man before gliding over to their side. So the boy was holding a little girl, apparently injured too. "Hold still," he muttered as he stretched out one arm. "La Repth!" he called out as he casted the curative spell over the both of them, seriously hoping that his magic would work here.

If it had been able to do so, the Sinspawn would have scowled at the most recent turn of events. It had gone from having two to prey on to have too many. Not the best of luck, but no matter. Sooner or later there would be a death after all.

Therefore the only thing left to do was pick its target and since the newest newcomer didn't seem to be attacking just yet that left only one target; a barrage of needles flying at Dr. Cid. Time to start taking out the threats one by one.

Cid may have been getting old, but he could fend for himself, without Venat as a shield. He didn't move much out of the way of the attack, and it still pierced into his outfit, prickling his skin. His face contorted, but the barrage wasn't as horrid the bullets and magic and whatever else those fools thought would kill him.

Venat, mostly, stayed in place, if only to shift a bit to watch the battle. If it was necessary, it would step in.

Cid continued to fire on the creature. He glanced briefly at the newcomer who cured the kids, raising his head in a faint bit of curiosity. This new kid reminded him on one of those pirates that had invaded his labs. Tch. He'd deal with them all when the time came.

Keiichi heard Haseo before he saw him, and even (or especially) given the circumstances, that was about the least necessary order he'd ever heard. "What the hell d'you think I'm trying to do?!" he hollered back across the street. First Rika was telling him not to run, now this weirdo was telling him to run (along with, oh, common sense maybe) - which, of course, just made it impossible to do either.

And of course it didn't help that he immediately did a 180 and told them not to move again. "Make up your mi-" he began, but was cut off by the spell, which startled him into jerking back a step. "What-?"

Whatever Haseo had just done, though, it sure felt like it'd helped... the pain in his legs was totally gone, all of a sudden. The fleeting thought crossed his mind that it really shouldn't have surprised him after everything else he'd run into here, but only for a second. Anyway, this guy was helping to bail them out, too... he and Rika had gotten way luckier here than they could have asked for. "Thanks," he said.

Things were happening very quickly. Odd things. In only a moment she felt much better--magic or the work of gods, but nothing she had seen before. The god was still there, but it seemed the new boy who had appeared had done it. She tilted her head, examining him. He did not have the feel of the supernatural, not like Hanyuu and the god that was shielding them.

It was all very confusing, but Rika did know she was being aided. "Thank you," she told the boy. "And thank you as well," she said, addressing the god.

Haseo was quite relieved to find his magic in working order although he didn't show it and he simply shrugged at their words of gratitude. He was considering their options now. He had no way of telling there would be monsters up ahead or not and sending them off alone didn't seem like a good idea.

"Stay hidden over there until the monsters are taken care of," he said as he motioned toward the alley he had just shot out of. At least Haseo knew for sure there were no monsters there.

Without another word he promptly turned around and glided (although it more looked like he was ice-skating on thin air) over to the man's side but before reaching it, his feet suddenly touched the ground and he was running as he dismissed his guns and pulled out his scythe out of seemingly nowhere instead. Haseo leaped up and swung his scythe in a wide arc, sending a harmful wave into the Sinspawn's direction before landing right next to Cid. This shouldn't be too hard.

So now at had two people to deal with, both armed? Lovely. Well, no matter, it could manage for a while yet even with the blow from Haseo's scythe. Pain was something it could deal with, and it would make sure that same pain was felt by any who attacked it.

Or at least, as best it could manage such a thing. Which meant that once again a barrage of needles hit the air, this time headed towards Haseo.

Ah, wonderful! The new arrival was useful after all; he could be shot at instead of the doctor himself. If the creature could deal with its current pain, then Cid would simply make sure that it felt more pain, continuing to fire at it. It would fall sooner or later, one could only hope. Though Cid did choose to step away from the newcomer.

No sense getting them both needled from being too close. Honestly, what was the boy thinking?

He probably wasn't.

Venat only acknowledged the girl with a glance in her direction, wishing her companion would calm down, but in no mood to reveal itself to any others. The battle could not be much longer, at least. There were only so many bullets that a creature of such a size could take, and with the new opponent, it should fall quickly.

Under other circumstances, Keiichi might not have listened to Haseo. Even right now, there was a part of him that wanted to go and retrieve his bat from wherever he'd dropped it (when had he dropped it?) and join the fight, guns blazing. (Figuratively.)

But he was out of his league here - outgunned, outclassed, and probably out of his mind. It was like he and Rika were the only normal, realistic, and most notably non-superhero types around anymore. That, actually, was the last straw that made him swallow his pride and head for the indicated alley, his friend in tow. One way or another, he still had her to look out for.

He didn't follow the alley all the way through; no telling what might be at the other end. It was only once he'd gotten a little ways in, just beneath a fire escape, that he began to realize she was a bit heavy to keep carrying like this. And the needles in her legs were gone, now, too... from the same magic that'd healed him, probably, now that he had a second to think about it.

"Let's wait here a second. Can you stand up?" he asked her, tentatively lowering her to the ground.

Rika didn't object to ducking down an alleyway; they were not traveling far. She tested her legs gingerly, and found them feeling quite a bit better; there was still a sense of soreness, but they were in perfect working order.

"I'm fine," Rika said, peering around the corner to see what was going on. After this was over, she would like to talk to the man and his companion god.

It was true Haseo was hardly thinking, he always had been the hack and slash type. Normally when dealing with run-of-the-mill monsters there wouldn't be any consequences either. Perhaps just bit of a HP loss which was always easily solved. Haseo hadn't considered things would be very different here.

He twirled the scythe around as if it's weight was nothing to him, using the blade as a shield. Although the scythe was quite large it wasn't enough to cover his entire body and while some of the needles bounced off the blade a few went right past it, piercing into his legs and the exposed flesh of his hands as he gripped his scythe. This wouldn't have been a problem in The World but this wasn't a game.

Haseo had to grit his teeth against the sudden pain. That was right, his consciousness was trapped in his PC body now. But he had never expected it to hurt like this. This body was supposed to be nothing but data!

"Vak don!" He yelled out in a frustrated voice, casting the spell that would send a rain of fireballs onto his foes. The spell had always looked impressive but truthfully it was one of the lowest Fire spells there was. Magic wasn't his forte.

It wasn't Cid's bullets that turned tide of battle, but rather the barrage of fireballs that Haseo had fired at it. True, it dodged as best it could, but even then a fair number hit and really, surviving magic attacks was exactly what it was best at.

Not to mention it was rather plant based, which brought along something of a weakness to fire.

So really, it should hardly come as a surprise that between Cid's continued onslaught and the fireballs the Sinspawn had finally had enough, falling to the ground with one last desperate rattle. And within moments of that, it exploded into what seemed to be hollow points of lights, vanishing upwards towards the 'ceiling' of the domes.

Good. The creature was dead. He glanced over to where Venat was standing over the girl, frowning. The small firefly-like flakes seemed to be what had been disturbing Venat, and for a moment it looked as though, even in his eyes, the Occuria was gone. Perhaps masked? No matter, after they were high enough, the problem faded - partially, anyway.

Killing these things didn't solve much then, it seemed.

He glanced at Haseo briefly, who had made a show of magic, and rolled his eyes. Then he made his way over to Venat and glanced down curiously at the girl. "You are an interesting one," he told her. Not many others held a conversation with Venat, after all.

Rika watched with a level of unease as the strange fireflies fluttered off. There was something about them that reminded her of a graveyard, though she couldn't place it. As the god's shadow fell one her--not something that would be visible to most, but she could see it--she turned her attention to it, watching as it appeared to fade for a moment.

And then the man who had been with the god originally was addressing her. She smiled a bit. "Something like that," she said, sounding much older than her body seemed to be. "I've always been able to see them. Since I was very little."

((Oh look it's actually my turn now... lol. Keiichi and Haseo are gone XD))

Seeing the gods, hm? Interesting indeed. He eyed her curiously. "And have you seen any others in this city, I wonder?" he asked her. He doubted there were any other Occuria here; Venat would, presumably, know about them. But he wondered if Paixao had any gods of its own - another species, perhaps? Even if they were merely acting as such. He had work that needed doing in Ivalice around the sorts... and if they were here, too... well, it meant he had more work to do.

"Perhaps it would be best to relocate to a safer location?" Venat suggested. They didn't need to deal with anymore of those creatures, after all, now that they pinned down the interference.

"Ah, quite right, Venat." He glanced around. Odd. The other child and the gunner were gone. That hardly worried Cid though; they were only extra problems to him that he didn't care do deal with. This young child was the only one that Venat and he cared for. "Do you have a place to stay, young one?"

"None until now," Rika said. She wished she could find Hanyuu somewhere. Seeing Cid and Venat together reminded her of Hanyuu; she and her were rarely apart. Except now, it seemed.

She nodded at Venat, and then looked at Cid. "I'm staying in a hotel near here," she said. "With--Keiichi?"

It was then she noticed he was gone, along with the one who had used some sort of magic to help them. "Keiichi!"

With the missing kid. Oh, that figures. Cid had hoped it wouldn't be a bother. He tried to look like he slightly cared, but it wasn't quite working. Even Venat hovered behind the girl and confirmed, "He is gone."

Vanished, gone forever, perhaps. Did it really matter? Such people merely hindered the girl. But oh, what was it that some people were hypothesizing? "I would not worry, young one," he told her as 'helpfully' as he could, "it is said that those who disappear from us, merely go back to a better place."

She nodded, slowly. She was still worried--had the monsters gotten him?--but it was better to think that he had gone back home.

And if he had gone back home, that meant she could, too. But not if she got herself killed here. She did not have time for tears. She looked up at Cid and Venat.

"I... Will be fine," she said, slowly and sounding far older than she was.

Indeed, she did seem older, and he acknowledged it with a small, curt nod. He was not one for children - he was not one for even his own, still young, son. Although, he did not even accept Ffamran as family. He would have written this child under the category of 'burden' if she had reacted in any other way about the loss of her friend, but she didn't seem like she would be troublesome at all.

Perhaps at the very least, she could be of some use, one way or another, and he wavered to one side, regarding her with a strong look. Venat made its way by Cid's side, and remained there. "Well then, will you be returning alone, or will you be with us?" The offer felt a bit strange, but in part, it would be Venat's wishes, and Cid hardly ever denied the rebel. "We hold a quaint place in the Villas Salonas."

"I will return to my hotel for now," she said, slowly as she thought it over. "But perhaps I will pay you a visit, if you do not mind?"

She found their company pleasant; she was comforted by the idea of gods being here, and it gave her hope for Hanyuu's eventual arrival. Though, if she were to leave almost as soon as she arrived...

But she could only hope.

A little too far into the hornet's nest [Active/Open]

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