RP: 5th Fleet [Chapter Seven] We're Not In Yamatai Anymore...

[Brett M]

Aya noted Kuroneko's absence with a sinking feeling. The black void of the night they found themselves in as they left the town did things no favour either, the darkness devouring everything except their meagre light. Her anxiety only deepened once they reached the camp. From what Aya could see, it seemed like Kuroneko had been locked in deadly combat with a fearsome beast. Abruptly, the sky blue skinned Nekovalkyrja felt very naked without the familiar feeling of her powered armour. Once this mission was over, she would never complain about them again. It certainly beat brigandine, that was for sure.

Like Freyja and Dimitri she hadn't left much at the camp, but that didn't make the damage any less serious. Every bit of food the monster - or monsters, come to think of it - had eaten was less food to sustain the group on their journey, for example. And that would be a serious concern now they had extra mouths to feed. The mystery of Adelaide's handmaiden piqued her curiosity, but there were more pressing matters to attend to. Still focusing on the ravaged camp around her, she said to Freyja, "Kuroneko is... memorable, let me put it that way. She's very friendly, though, so don't worry about getting along with her. And she's saved us several times before." As she finished speaking, she recalled the desperate firefights in the mall, particularly with Tulip - and how they had first encountered Kuroneko. Here's hoping that she hasn't bitten off more than she can chew...

 

[CadetNewb]

As the soldiers completed their grim task, Sif sighed at Dimitri's words.

"If we don't have sweets, that's ok." The way her ears drooped, and lack of her usual anger or sternness however, said otherwise.

"U-um, I have some here. Just a little bit left," Adelaide offered. Her ears perking up again, Sif immediately leaped up onto the princess's shoulder, and after accepting it, hopped into the canyon between her mountains. Though the princess gave out an "Eeep!" of surprise, she didn't complain as Sif ate her candied ginger. Most likely out of embarrassment, judging by the blush on her cheeks, visible even in this dim light. "I really wouldn't know what kind of creature would give your friend trouble though. All sorts of things come out in the night," she explained to Yuzuki. "There's just not enough clues around for me to go off of."

"Kuroneko could have killed most of the Hobgoblins in the village by herself, provided she had enough time to take them as she pleased," the cleavage bound Mini-Neko explained. Briefly eyeing Freya, she added, "And yes, she is also very memorable," emphasizing Aya's words. And in the present tense, rather than past.

"I...see." It was very awkward Adelaide to hear a little voice coming from her chest, and made having eye contact a little harder than normal - she had to thrust her chest out to get a better look at that almost fairy-like person that was riding her! "That, uh, still doesn't quite narrow it down though. There are monsters out there that are very powerful." As she said this however, Masato noticed something glowing underneath his vision. Blood didn't stand out under blacklight, but, most white things did. There was a single, tooth, round bodied yet curved, ending in an extremely sharp point laying on the ground off to the side. Rin meanwhile, noticed two things herself. First, on the nearby grass, was some of Kuroneko's clothing. And flesh. It practically looked like it was scraped off her even. Not entirely unlike what she'd see if someone attacked with a grater.

As the others chatted to one another, the party mounting up, Rin saw the second thing. A brief waver in the distant grass, different than how the wind was blowing.

 

[FrostJaeger]

Somewhere Besides Yamatai

Fortunately for the integrity of the (already fragile) blood vessels in Masato's nose, the Minkan was too preoccupied with looking at the world in ultraviolet to notice where Siv had relocated to; although he'd tested the vision-mode before, this was the first time he'd been able to actually utilize it for more then a few seconds - thus, the Santô Hei was (admittedly) "geeking out." Holy frakberries......I never knew this looked so freakin' awesome without any light pollution! I mean, frell, it's like...wait, what's that?


The newest member of Squad 13 made a Hmmm? of curiosity as he caught glance of a white-colored object laying on the ground. Perhaps a piece of parchment or something...

"That, uh, still doesn't quite narrow it down though. There are monsters out there that are very powerful."

...or maybe a tooth...HOLD UP! With a grunt of exertion, Masato hopped off of the wagon, intent on retrieving the object he'd located; after striding over to the aforementioned object, the Minkan bent down, retrieved it, and began heading back towards the rest of the party. "I, uh...I think I might have found a tooth or something..."


With his back towards the vast, gently-undulating fields of grass, the Santô Hei had no idea of the danger he was in......

 

[cyborgakadjmoose]

After she helped to load up the rest of the gear that could be salvaged, something caught Rin's eye in the nearby grass. She walked over to what appeared to be a scrap of Kuroneko's clothing that they apparently had missed. She crouched down and picked up the fabric, turning it over in her hands. That was when she saw and felt the slightly rubbery substance; it was very familiar.

"Skin? Flesh!" thought Rin as she frantically tossed the scrap of clothing back into the grass. While she was recovering from her disgust, Rin's sharp eyes noticed yet another thing. This time it was movement. While the grass was swaying gently in the breeze, there seemed to be something else out there in the grass that was moving differently.

Rin discreetly drew her bow and nocked an arrow. She slowly began to advance into the grass, switching her eyes over to infrared vision as she did so.

"I may have found something or someone hiding in the grass," thought Rin to the squad. She began to head towards where she saw the anomaly, her eyes glancing about her for anything odd.

 

[Syaoran]

Dimitri held back a chuckle at Sif's response to the offering of candies, he just wished he could do something to remove the worries from the rest of the squad and himself. When Masato spoke up about the tooth however he turned his attention towards him. "Kuro probably kicked the thing in the teeth or something, I bet it's more beat up than her." After looking out from the light his eyes had adjusted a little, enough to see the grass moving as well. He readied his crossbow and sword just in case.

 

[quantumditto]

Turning her head to where Rin was heading Freyja readied herself for a fight.
After all whatever had been here earlier had managed to spook an absolute badass and this was not the time for taking chances.
Ready on your mark Rin she thought the squad.

 

[CadetNewb]

The princess, on seeing Masato's find, bent over from where she stood on the wagon.

"May I have a look at that please?" she asked, reaching down towards the young man from on high. Completely oblivious to his own reaction, Adelaide pushed her glasses up and was soon carefully turning the object over in her fingers. Smeared with blood, the white enamel was otherwise spotless. "That's odd. There's no plaque on this tooth. Every wild animal's tooth has some sort of dental buildup of some sort," the young woman thought aloud. Looking up at the rest, she asked, "Maybe it's not a tooth? Have any of y - " The moment her eyes settled on Rin and what was in the red-skinned Neko's hands however, they widened to the point of being almost as wide as her rounded spectacles. "It's a Dirlagraun! A Displacer Beast! We need to go, right now!" A sharp whistle pecked at their ears as Sif put her fingers to her lips and blew.

"On the wagon! Move!" the Mini-Neko shouted at them.

Before they could however, the horse it came. Barreling out of the grass, a mass of rippling muscle, blood and rage roared and pounced at Masato. A bolt and arrow leaped out at the creature mid-air as both Rin and Dimitri turned and fired. Whistling through the air, the shots simply passed straight though it! However, what Masato saw was completely different. Peering into the ultraviolet and infrared spectrums, he saw it coming far ahead of what everyone else perceived, with a distorted image behind it. Dodging, he dove to the side as the creature landed. Its six paws digging into the grassy field's soil, the creature rounded on them and roared again, letting them all see it in its terrifying glory. Bloody and cut up, the Dirlagraun's six legs came to a crouch as it prepared to pounce again, only to turn its head and look as Freya stabbed at it with her spear. The dory passed straight into the creature as though it were thin air, and instinctively leaped back at the horrifying failure. A single tooth lined, squid-like tentacle protruding from its back lashed at her, jarring the shield in her hands as the many teeth screeched against metal.

"It's an illusion - it's always three feet from what you see!" Adelaide poked her head over the rim of the carriage. Letting out a squeak of shock, Sif wiggled her way out of her cleavage and stood at the edge. Eyes narrowed, she watched the fight unfold.

As Freya blocked and a few stray teeth broke off the tentacle, they all realized what it was that had scoured Kuroneko.

 

[Eistheid]

Already tried, unhappy, and generally displeased with the state of events, Yuzuki was hardly surprised when envy was heaped onto the pile of negative emotions. A quiet mote of rage flared to life as Sif settled into the Keeper's valley, Yuzuki unable to keep the thought of 'That should be me.' from her mind. In an attempt to mask her sour mood, Yuzuki yawned, an unpleasantly toothy display, apparently too tired to bother with the propriety of covering her too sharp maw. Just because she was upset did not however mean that she was not alert.

The explanation that the Lady Adelaide didn't know wasn't unexpected, after all Yuzuki doubted that even a learned individual of the world wouldn't know every species on it, it simply wasn't developed enough for that manner of cataloguing. Unable to fault the young lady, Yuzuki turned her attention toward the others taking note of first Masato's discovery, and then that of Rin. The shout and order that followed, heralded the arrival of the beast and what happened immediately after ward told Yuzuki all she needed to know.

The chosen language of 'displacer' told that either it had an exotic means of relocation such as perhaps some strange, crude, teleportation (an option she didn't doubt on this strange world) or it was illusory. The answer presented itself quickly enough as Rin and Dimitri's projectiles lanced through what was apprently open space, Masato curiously dodged something that was not there, and empty ground was torn up by an invisible foe. All of these events happened in the time it took Yuzuki to hop off of the back of the wagon, and from there she sent a quick stream of telepathic messages that she echoed, albeit slower vocally:

"Dimitri, Rin, Masato onto the wagon."
"Aim for where you see the ground being stirred up, not the images."
"Masato please share with the group what you're doing differently. You should be dead and we need your advantage. Also cover our archers."
"Freya you're with me, we have the best weapons for fighting close in."
"Aya, you're our backup, if it gets too close to one of us you need to get in quick to hurt it."

Boots hitting the ground Yuzuki for the moment unable to rely on her eyes judged her target based on the interaction with the ground, and the sounds that the beast made, using her ears and situational awareness to make up for the hindrance that the false images provided. Lancing her spear out in the direction of the torn earth near Freya, Yuzuki hoped to lessen the pressure on her ally while hoping that with their numbers, and some quick thinking they would be able to rally and turn the tide on the beast. After all escape was not looking like a favourable option.

 

[Brett M]

"A what?" Aya wasn't quite sure what to make of the beast's name at first. Any speculation was short lived, however, as the foul creature revealed itself. It appeared to be a parody of a feline form, tentacles twisting in grotesque ways as the beast tried (and thankfully failed) to flay her comrades alive. Adelaide's insight didn't make Aya feel any better about their latest encounter. Thankfully, Yuzuki was on it and already issuing commands like a seasoned officer.

"I've got your back." With that Aya unsheathed her sword and kept an eye on the developing situation, keeping just far enough back that she could respond speedily without compromising her situational awareness. The Nekovalkyrja knew that against such an opponent, a moment's inattentiveness would likely lead to a bloody and above all agonising death.

 

[FrostJaeger]

Somewhere Besides Yamatai

♫♫ Final Fantasy VI - The Decisive Battle (S.S.H Cover) ♫♫

"May I have a look at that please?...........................That's odd. There's no plaque on this tooth. Every wild animal's tooth has some sort of dental buildup of some sort...Maybe it's not a tooth? Have any of y-It's a Dirlagraun! A Displacer Beast! We need to go, right now!"

*whistle* "On the wagon! Move!"

Masato (whose facial features were doing a brilliant job of exploring the spectrum associated with the color red) could feel the beginnings of another "nosebleed," thus looking away back at the field in order to avoid catching Adelaide (along with everyone else) in the radius of the blood explosion - and blinking in confusion as he saw something move among the faintly-lit grasses. Wha-WHATINTHEACTUALFU-!


The Minkan was just barely able to react in time, drawing upon his body's inertia/gravity-manipulation abilities as he frantically evaded the nightmarish mass of NOPE and let out a yelp of "Seinaru fakkuberī!"("Holy fuck berries!").


It was then that a small portion of the seriously freaked out Santô Hei wondered why his companions on the wagon were shooting at the creature's...projection and, as he scrambled back to his feet, why Freyja went and made the same mistake, her blade passing through what had to be some kind of organic holoprojector. Wierd...it's...it's like...

"It's an illusion - it's always three feet from what you see!"

Then how am I seeing both of them...Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!

"Dimitri, Rin, Masato onto the wagon."
"Aim for where you see the ground being stirred up, not the images."
"Masato please share with the group what you're doing differently. You should be dead and we need your advantage. Also cover our archers."
"Freya you're with me, we have the best weapons for fighting close in."
"Aya, you're our backup, if it gets too close to one of us you need to get in quick to hurt it."

In the midst of dashing to the - relative - safety of the wagon, Masato almost replied out loud ("It's-!") in between gasps of air; fortunately, however, he was able to catch himself in time. Derp...way to almost give away everyone's secret, you baka! His breathing a bit labored after having all-out sprinted, the Minkan replied, "It's...<pant>..." - a grunt of exertion as he heaved himself onto the wagon - "...I don't know, <pant>......luck, I guess?"


A second afterwards, he sent a telepathic message to the rest of the group while moving to take position behind Rin and Dimitri ("Switch your vision to Ultraviolet! You'll be able to see through its...camouflage that way!), only to pause as he realized what the white-haired Neko had said - then, despite the danger everyone was in, laugh. I should be dead? Please, you don't even know half of it!


Those that had been looking at Masato when he laughed, however, would've noticed something far less jovial flicker across his expression...........

 

[Syaoran]

After the miss of his firstbolt, Dimitri was ready to draw his sword and go into battle, however hearing Adelaide's insight on the creature and then Yuzuki's quick thinking, he smirked and moved back in to the wagon, if he had support it wouldn't be a problem to make his moving a little more difficult, besides it gave him a height advantage. "Three feet separate...and he dodged early huh? Alright." The Nepleslian man loaded another bolt into his crossbow and took a breath, calming his mind. He didn't have the amazing variety of visions that the tailor made bodies of Yamatai had, but he wasn't without his advantages.

He focused his eyes on the image of the creature, nothing was mentioned about a time differential, but he was about to find that out. With his cybernetic eyes he focused on every little movement of the beast trying to ready where it's actions would take it and let his enhanced reflexes take him there first. The hard part was making that estimation of three feet and calculating the new path it would take. It was a task that needed a lot of his attention to pull off, but once he had a guess he didn't hold back and fired at the beast to see if it hit or he could at least get close enough to divert it.

 

[cyborgakadjmoose]

While Rin had a feeling something was going to jump out at her from the tall grass, she certainly did not expect the creature Adelaide frantically called a Displacer Beast. She ducked as it leapt out from the shadows and she fired her arrow at it, but all to no avail as the projectile seemed to only hit the air.
Hearing a command to regroup at the wagon, Rin complied; this way they could all fight back to back against this new threat. Activating her gravity control for a little more speed, Rin leapt up into the air and flipped down into the wagon.

Masato mentioned telepathically to switch their vision to ultraviolet and Rin closed her eyes for just a moment for the effect to take place. Upon opening her eyes, Rin saw the strange nature of the beast; it appeared to be in two places at once. Not wishing to take any chances, Rin drew three broadhead arrows from her quiver and knocked them all. She drew back her bow and waited for an opportunity to fire at the creature. When a clear shot presented itself, Rin would release her salvo at the creature.

 

[CadetNewb]

"You can't take it on!" Adelaide called out to them in fear - they were her last hope, and if they died, she would be helplessly alone. "Even seasoned adventurers have trouble with dirlagraun!" the princess warned them. Not that they listened.

As everyone sprung to action, Yuzuki's eyes narrowed - the moment her spear lanced out into thin air to the left of the monster, the adventuring soldiers heard a loud, hissing cry as its false image recoiled and leaped back. Six puffs of dirt were tossed up as the soil was torn up by its many feet, unseen by the average eye. At the same moment, Aya stuck close to the two both Yuzuki and Freya - their two spear users - as Masato and Dimitri clambered back up onto the open carriage. The two could hear an angry, annoyed, "Tch," as Sif stood at the edge, glaring at Masato. He had spoken in Yamatai-go yet again. But, that could wait. His cybernetic eyes spotting exactly what he was looking for, he brought his crossbow to bear as Rin did the very same with her bow.

A howling, piercing cry came from the eldritich panther as the shots struck home - Dimitri's bolt lodged itself in its shoulder, while several of Rin's arrows were spread across its body. Nocking and firing three at once, the spread of broadheads struck with one third of their normal power and failed to strike deep and true. Furious at further insult and injury, it t turned to look at the two shooters with a snarl. But Rin looked back at it, right in the eyes. Recoiling slightly, the dirlagraun roared before swatting aside the arrows lodged in its body with a tentacle and fleeing into the tall grass around them. The torch flames gently burned and crackled ever so slightly as everything fell into silence.

"Y-you. What. It. It left? No...fled?" the brunette adjusted her large, round glasses. "H-how? Wait, why?" Before anyone could answer though, Sif's stern voice overrode all other concerns.

"Mediocre. But good enough for now," she observed, small arms crossed across her small chest. "Rin," the Mini-Neko singled out the crimson skinned young woman first. "I hope you realize that if you nock and fire three arrows, they're all going to fly at a third of their strength and speed as they all share a single string. I myself hope you weren't trying to aim for both the beast and its illusion." Though Sif gave her the benefit of the doubt, it was embarrassing none the less. "Masato. Do not swear in front of the princess. Especially in Yamatai-go," she added telepathically. "Aya, good job backing up the spears - if it got past their points, you would have to cut it down. Same to Yuzuki and Freya for not letting it get past the points to begin with. Yuzuki especially for giving out good commands. Both out loud and telepathically." Looking to the young Nepleslian beside her, she continued, "Dimitri, there was luck to your shot, but it at least had some substance to build off of; like the others, you at least detected it."

With that review done, she ordered them all to finish packing and get on board; they needed to un-petrify their horse from fear and get moving. Though Adelaide could keep waiting speechlessly as her skin became even more like her family name, the handmaiden likely couldn't.

 

[Eistheid]

As Sif gave her evaluation, Yuzuki continued to scan the night her eyes for the moment still shifted into the ultraviolet spectrum as Masato had revealed that was how he had managed to avoid an enemy that none of the others had been able to respond to. Noting the minor praise, Yuzuki kept quite for the moment. When Sif fell silent after her orders Yuzuki filled the gap with a softer question than her spur of the moment 'suggestions', "Dimitri, you get along well with the horse, do you think you can calm it and get us ready to go soon?"

A moment's pause was taken before she continued, "Everyone pair up, make sure at least one other is watching you while you gather up anything that we can salvage. After that Freya and I should probably sit at the back of the wagon at each corner to ensure that we can ward off anything that tries to chase us." Tired and displeased with how long her day had stretched with three separate skirmishes, Yuzuki hoped that their harried group would be able to find some time to rest and gather themselves in the wake of the trouble they had continued to face.

Perhaps they'd be lucky and be able to enjoy a few days of boring travel.

 

[cyborgakadjmoose]

All Rin said in reply to Sif was "Yes." She had been attempting to aim for both the creature and its illusion. Despite the lack of power behind the arrows, she had still hit the target and the beast had made a hasty retreat. That was all that mattered for the moment. Rin chalked up this lesson for later, but at that moment she found herself wanting to use a GSR in her Daisy; a few depleted uranium rounds would have made short work of the creature.

"So Kuroneko is dead then..." she stated, surprised that she even said it. Maybe it was fatigue starting to creep in.

 

[Syaoran]

Dimitri smirked at the praise he received from Sif, it was the best he'd gotten in a while. "Well they say even the greatest soldier loses when he runs out of luck. So I consider it a skill too." He let everyone get to their work and moved to handle the horse like Yuzuki asked. "Yeah this guy's been with me a while." He tried to calm the horse, putting and feeding it to get it's mind off what just happened. "Good boy, we're strong enough to beat it so nothing to worry about."

 

[Brett M]

Aya was relieved as the dirlagraun decided discretion was the better part of valour and fled. The good news only improved as Sif deigned to compliment her and most of the rest of the squad on their performance. Like Rin, she found herself still sorely missing the extra firepower and protection that a Daisy provided, but she knew that it wouldn't solve anything to keep thinking "If only". It did not take long for her to finish up packing, but Rin's comment immediately seized her attention. Even if Rin was just tired, Aya wanted to prevent pessimism from setting in. "There's no way she's dead! I mean, it looks bad but she was in a worse state when we found her..."

 

[FrostJaeger]

Somewhere Besides Yamatai

Masato winced at Sif's rebuke, then turned and (aware of the risks associated with standing up while in a moving vehicle) half-bowed to Adelaide. "I''m sorry..." - a pause as the Minkan struggled to find the correct word - "...milady. I'll, um, do my best to ensure it doesn't happen again." Gomen'nasai, Hei-

"So Kuroneko is dead then..."

"There's no way she's dead! I mean, it looks bad but she was in a worse state when we found her..."

-sho." "When we found her?" Judging by his tone and expression, the Santô Hei was rather......confused by the comments of his companions.

 

[quantumditto]

Readying herself to move out Freyja was disappointed with her perfromance in the battle practically frozen still in defense hesitating to attack was for civilians, she was a soldier and would do better in future. The praise from Sif felt undeserved despite her instincts working she basically did nothing in the fight apart from block it's attack.

speaking up about their last mission "That mission was Fubar of hell, if kuroneko went through that this will be a walk in the park, Welcome to the unluckies by the way"

 

[CadetNewb]

As calm settled on the scene, those with augmented eyes adjusted to the dark, allowing them to take in the night.

"A possibility, however unlikey," Sif replied to both Rin and Aya's fears. "She was indeed far worse off when we first found her Aya. I believe this is merely a challenge and not a death sentence for her. Animals kill to eat and leave bones picked clean. Additionally," she pointed out, "There is that parting in the grass leading south, and the other leading north that we saw earlier. It is possible she has fled into the night, and will simply meet us at the next city." The Mini-Neko's argument was actually quite sound. With all the uproar settled, they could see her point quite literally; though faint, the hastily made paths away from the camp were clear. But, it also sounded like someone trying to reassure themselves. She practically confirmed it herself. "I admit, however, her silence is worrying," her voice echoed in their minds. It wasn't often they saw the little Neko's ears droop with worry, however slight. "It is true she had gone through a lot, though, you weren't there for that part Freya. We had split up after all."

Sif was honesty lost in thought to the point she completely forgot to chew out Freya's offhand mention of a 'mission' and their group, the 'Unluckies'. Despite this, Dimitri had her stiffening back to her normal self with yet another remark, just as the horse suddenly snapped back to awareness, snorting as it looked back and forward in confusion.

"Don't rely on or consider luck a skill Dimitri," she sternly chided him. "It cannot be trained, and is as fickle as - " She stopped and thought about it for a moment. There wasn't an appropriate Yamataian phrase for the moment. "Well, it's just fickle!" Sif crossed her arms, pouting as the carriage started making its way north. The Mini-Neko just couldn't come up with one fast enough! She simply huffed at Masato's telepathic apology however, both physically and mentally. Adelaide however, was warmer in her response.

"O-oh! Well, I'm probably the first noble you've met, so it's no big deal," the young woman blushed, timidly glancing away as color started returning to her cheeks. "Um. That aside, it looks like you're all talented, but still new to being adventurers. Not that I mean anything bad by that!" she raised her hands in defense. "I think you all will get better, but, in the meantime, I don't have anyone to protect me since all my guards were k-killed." The princess started twiddling her fingers as she struggled to find the right words to say. "Well, what I mean is, uh, are any of you willing to work for me?" she meekly asked, her cheeks slowly taking on an embarrassed glow. "I-it won't be a poor-man's job. I'll pay you well!" Adelaide exclaimed, her voice finally finding its strength. Staring at them with fire in her eyes, hands clasped together, she asked,

"Won't you please?"