((I swear I'm not addicted to prorastination! I can stop any time I want! I just, there's this thing that I really really gotta do first, it'll only take a few minutes, and I swear I'll be in a writing mood afterwards! ...Yeah! I don't have a problem!))
Tooru! Asha didn't think twice. The pain in her hand had raised her awareness.
Rush in front of Tooru and smash the Clay People away!
[Mercy]You react instantly, sprinting ahead of the others, directly towards the nearest clay man, the same one which Tooru shot an arm off of earlier. Now he looks thinner, but has regenerated a thin, nearly-skeletal looking replacement, though his perpetual fake smile remains. He draws that thin arm back as you approach, preparing to punch you, but you're faster than he expects--by the time he starts to throw the punch, you're already in range, moving at a full sprint. You juke to the left,
bringing the long piece of metal you're holding forward in a wide slash at his midsection, throwing your whole body weight into the motion. Your blow hits him just below his ribs, or where his ribs
should be, and his whole body folds around the blow. You feel the metal bar crack and shatter as you move past him, only a small portion remaining in your grasp.
You skid to a stop, hesitating for just a moment before Mina passes you, running to intercept the other two familiars. You turn around to look at the one you hit, and see that he's been split in two pieces--close to you, his clay legs and much of his abdomen are writhing on the ground, chaotically sliding around like two grotesque tentacles searching for something. One of them touches his fallen top hat, and immediately wraps around it, crushing the item. Further forward, his top half is moving at a frightening pace, dragging itself towards Tooru and Alida with its arms.
Before you can give chase, however, a bolt of bright energy lances into the monster, splattering the majority of its body and momentarily halting its forward movement--though you know it's still not enough to truly
kill this thing. Appreciative, you flash a smile up at Tooru, only for your smile to fade the next moment, when you see Alida's crumpled body to her right. At first, you're just confused, but then you notice the blood spouting from the back of her head, arcing several inches into the air. Then you see Aleksandra standing on the other side of the blond's body, her eyes wide as you've ever seen, and her mouth hanging open... and, of course, she's still holding her rifle, a wisp of smoke traveling out of the barrel. Aleksandra just shot Alida, by accident judging by the horror painted on her face.
You start to move forward, only barely remembering to give the nearly-destroyed clay familiar a wide berth, and watch as Tooru notices what just happened
right next to her. You think you can fix this. You can fix people, right? You've been able to fix everyone so far, you have to be able to fix Alida too, even if she was shot in the head. You've never healed anyone who outright
died, but you think Pumsy said once that magical girls don't die, or something like that, right? Alida can't be gone, you can fix her!
Your thoughts are interrupted when another familiar falls from above not far in front of you, nearly landing on Tooru. You don't see exactly what happens, but you hear Tooru scream in agony, and you see her fall to the ground on the other side of the monster. The new enemy--a clay
woman, this time--stands tall over Tooru, her left arm limp, the hand gone, but her right arm raised high. She's about to finish off Tooru! But you're just a few steps away, Alida can wait,
you need to save Tooru!((There may be such a thing as overstepping here, but I cannot resist.))
<Fight or->
The ashen one yells something and runs forward.
<Fight it is, then.>
No time for questioning, no more time for waiting. Time to fight. This weapon is heavy, but we can be strong. We can become the hero, who defends her friends and doesn't struggle under the weight.
You know what I mean, right? This body is too weak for the blade, but you are not your body.
((No bodymodding other people's characters permanently.))You hold your halberd defensively in front of you, asking what to do--but before you can finish the telepathic thought, Asha rushes ahead, wielding a fragile length of rust held together by a weak, hollow core of iron. You follow after her, surprised at the normally docile girl's speed, and watch as she skillfully bisects the first clay man with a single strike before he has time to hit her. Simultaneously, she destroys her only real weapon, and so comes to a stop before she reaches the other two charging familiars. Your grip tightens around your halberd, high and close to the blade, as you rush past Asha, towards the next target.
[Bravery]
You decide how you'll attack a half second before you're in range, the clay man already raising his hands high, intending to hit you with an overhead smash.
At the last moment before his strike hits you, you avoid it with a single step to the right and crouch low, bringing your halberd's bladed end close to your left shoulder. Then you push it forward as hard as you can with your body and arms, severing his leg just below the hip. You continue the motion, hitting his leg with your body and halting its momentum, before you thrust your left arm out and throw the limb away from you. You look up to see the clay woman coming to a stop just outside your sixth sense's range. You look into her eyes as you sling your halberd behind you, your hand sliding down the haft and aiming its blade to hit the falling clay man, neatly severing his
other leg before he hits the ground. You get to feel like a badass for just a moment before the heavy metal weapon's momentum continues its moving, and wrenches your shoulder painfully, sending you spinning around into the thick ash.
You quickly roll back to your feet, and sensing that the familiar you just dismembered is trying to crawl away from you rather than reclaim its severed legs, return to watching the clay woman. She's in a low crouch now, but aside from that hasn't moved, apparently content to watch you. You pause, unsure whether you should attack alone, or wait for the others to come assist you. Before you can come to a decision, though, the monster acts--but not by charging, as you expected. She
leaps into the air, high over your head and out of reach of your halberd, or even your magical senses. You spin in place as she travels over you, tracking her trajectory, and start running back towards the others, but she's faster than you.
The moment you realize that, you send a telepathic warning to Tooru, the familiar's clear target, but you're too late for her to dodge effectively. Tooru steps back just in time to avoid being crushed under the monster, but it still manages to reach out an arm, which smashes into Tooru's shoulder and throws the girl to the ground. You speed up, overtaking the dismembered clay man--still determinedly crawling forward--as you watch Tooru curl up and scream, her voice only barely audible over the painfully loud music. The clay woman raises her other arm, preparing to finish Tooru, and
you realize that you won't be able to reach them before the monster strikes."Alida!"
Shoot the closest clay man! I have to help!
[Joy]
You rush to stand up, your feet slipping a little in the water as you shoulder your rifle. You take aim at the nearest clay man as he charges forward, trying to find a good angle to shoot between your friends. Your hands are shaking, and your grandfather's rifle suddenly feels heavier than it's ever been before, but the others are already rushing forward, about to meet the monsters. The clay man you're aiming at draws back an arm, preparing to punch Asha, and you pull the trigger, the deafening boom of the gunshot half-surprising you.
You stumble back under the recoil, having not prepared yourself for it, and when you regain your balance and look back up you see the familiar you had been aiming at is split in two at the waist, Asha safe and standing over him with a short piece of rusty metal in her hands. Mina runs past her with her halberd in hand, Tooru is standing to the left, just past the door, looking shocked, and Alida--Alida is collapsing forward, dark red blood spouting from a hole in the back of her blond head. She falls into a pile, her body limp and unmoving, as the stream of blood forms a pulsing arc in the air. As you watch, frozen, the arc's height quickly lowers, until the blood is slowly bubbling out of her skull and staining her hair.
Horror washes over you as you realize that you just shot Alida in the head. You don't know what to do, a thousand thoughts racing through your brain and crowding each other out, making it impossible to process anything other than the fact that
you just killed her. You see Asha look up at you, confusion on her face, as Tooru take a few steps away from Alida, clearly horrified. Then the asian girl looks up at something beyond your view, and a bald clay woman falls from above, bringing an arm down on her right shoulder, both the arm and her body distorting grotesquely as she's thrown to the ground by the blow. You watch Tooru scream in agony, though the only sound you can hear is intense ringing, as the familiar stands above her, already preparing a second strike with its good arm. It's staring at
you, even though it's about to kill Tooru.
Tooru stumbled and nearly fell over backward again at the noise; unpleasant didn't begin to cover it. And continue stumbling backward she did; by the time she recovered from the screech, the clay people were already rushing at her. If it wasn't for her coordination and general athleticism suddenly ticking upward massively upon her getting magic, she probably would have just gone down; as it were, she scrambled backward.
Tooru retreats backward, trying to get breathing room using her Mobility. Once she has time to aim, shoot a Cheap manabolt at the first target of opportunity.
[Joy]
You take a few steps backward as the other girls rush ahead, Asha and Mina charging to meet the oncoming familiars, while Alida takes up a defensive position to your right, in front of the doorway, though she still seems a little out of it. You prepare to throw a manabolt, but hesitate; you don't have a clear line of fire at any of the clay people, and while you
think you could manage a shot anyway, you don't want to risk hitting one of your friends--and you're not certain the risk is even necessary yet. Still, you stay ready and prepared, watching as Asha meets the first clay man, gracefully sidestepping his heavy punch, and countering with a powerful swipe to his midsection... which
bisects the monster outright. You're about to let out a cheer, but it
doesn't stop moving, the legs writhing around grotesquely, as the upper body starts crawling towards you, dragging itself forwards on its arms even as Asha skids to a stop and spins around to finish it off.
You save her the effort, immediately launching a weak manabolt at the crippled creature. The glowing bolt lances forward, hitting it squarely in the right shoulder--and causing its shoulder, along with half of its remaining body, to explode spectacularly. It isn't dead, but a second bolt can fix that! You're just preparing to throw another, when you notice that Asha isn't moving; she's staring at Alida, apparently stunned by what she sees. You turn to check, surprised to see Alida crumpled on the ground, with blood spouting out of the back of her head. She's disturbingly still, clearly dead.
You unconsiously take a couple steps away from the body, the wounded monsters momentarily forgotten, as you try and process why she's dead. Your first thought is that there's another monster, attacking from behind, but when you look back through the doorway, you see only Aleksandra, her expression horrified, holding that oversized gun that she's been dragging along. No monsters. You immediately realize what happened: Aleksandra panicked about the monsters, tried to shoot one, and hit Alida instead. Your mind spins, trying to figure out what to do; should you grab Alida's soul gem? Her body? Grab Aleksandra's gun before she shoots someone else? Finish off the rest of the monsters?
[Joy]
[Mercy]
Suddenly remembering the situation, you spin back around to see how Mina and Asha are doing, Mina's voice entering your mind at the same moment, telling you to move. You react on instinct, jumping back, and an instant later another clay monster lands in the spot you were just standing in--and then it brings one arm down on your shoulder, and your world becomes an incomprehensible mess of
pain. You scream as you're thrown to the ground, the sensation of hitting the ash barely registering in light of the agony coursing through your entire right side.
It feels like an eternity before your mind is able to process what your eyes are telling it. The clay woman that had been behind the other two familiars, she's standing over you, her left arm gone, the sleeve of her tuxedo hanging empty, her arm destroyed by the same attack that hurt
you; you can feel some of her arm's clay, splattered onto your neck and side. It squirms like maggots, and you shudder. Though the woman isn't even looking at you, she raises her other arm high, clearly about to smash it into you, finish you off. You know you have to do
something, else this monster will kill you, but your mind just isn't working. It's taking everything you have to just stay conscious despite the pain, and you think you're losing that battle too.
((Alida's perspective tomorrow, as she's effectively isolated, and I love sending work to that mystical place. Next full update on Monday the 26th. Current labyrinth track is The Beatles - A Day in the Life (Instrumental).
As a reminder, due to Aleksandra being on the other side of the magic impossible door, she cannot hear anyone, even if they shout over the music. She can still communicate with Asha, telepathically.))Soul Gem: shiny!
Form and location: shapy and pinned...?
Age: enough
Hair Color: baby blondie
Health: reaaallyy awesooommmeee
Inventory: a stik on a chariot, some AWESOME SHOES on the ground, where shoes go, silly!
Totem: clubbing club for clubbing fishies
Stats:
Bravery: wow~
Joy: yeah!
Innocence: kay...
Purity: kay...
Mercy: yeah!
Creativity: awww ;-;
Love: awww ;-;
Abilities:
hopping Lvl2
hitting Lvl3+1
clubbing Lvl2
AHAHAHAHAHA! Lvl3 ON; OW! (easy now)
(❂‿❂) Lvl2
mememememe Lvl1 (MEME!)
Soul Gem: Glowing with a Vibrant light.
Form and location: Ring, worn on her left ring finger.
Age: 13
Hair color: Ashen
Health: Wet and ashy, and with a minor gash on her right palm. Not that that's anywhere near important enough for her to even register.
Inventory: One ribbon. And a short rusty metal shiv, broken off from a longer piece.
Totem: A Ribbon. The one her late sister wore.
Stats:
Bravery: Skilled!
Joy: Cursed ;-;
Innocence: Cursed ;-;
Purity: Amateur...
Mercy: Talented~
Creativity: Amateur...
Love: Skilled!
Abilities:
Mobility: Level 3
Close Combat: Level 2
Totem Manipulation: Level 1 (+1)
Heal and Steel: Level 2
Soothe: Level 3
Flagellation: Level 3
Memento: Level 1 (Given to Aleksandra)
Soul Gem: Glowing with a warm light.
Form and location: Ring, worn on her right index finger.
Age: 14.
Hair Color: Bright green.
Health: Dazed, a bit bruised, and covered in ash.
Inventory: A halberd! Which I have to keep reminding myself is not a glaive!
Totem: A halberd.
Stats:
Bravery: Amateur...
Joy: Skilled!
Innocence: Amateur...
Purity: Skilled!
Mercy: Cursed ;-;
Creativity: Talented~
Love: Cursed ;-;
Abilities:
Mobility: Level 2
Close-Combat: Level 2 (+1)
Regeneration: Level 2
Sixth Sense: Level 3
Semblance: Level 2
Projection: Level 2
Soul Gem: Glowing with a shadowed light.
Form and location: Necklace, worn around her... neck...
Age: 13
Hair Color: Bright scarlet.
Health: Everything on her right side is in utter agony, and even the tiniest movements only make it far, far worse.
Inventory: Seven paper talismans
Totem: Ofuda talismans, primarily thrown as manabolts.
Stats:
Bravery: Cursed ;-;
Joy: Talented~
Innocence: Skilled!
Purity: Amateur...
Mercy: Cursed ;-;
Creativity: Amateur...
Love: Skilled!
Abilities:
Mobility II
Mana Bolt III (+I)
Regeneration I
Totem Manipulation II
Invigorating Passion I
Outburst II
Duet with Reality II
Ward: Glowing with a foolish light!
Age: 12
Hair Color: Black.
Health: "Fine", though I don't think she would say that. Aside from the SUFFERING trauma, wet, and her ears hurt.
Inventory: A cute blue ribbon tied into her hair, and an ancient partially-loaded AK-47 held in her hands. She's wearing Alida's coat, it's a bit big and baggy for her, not to mention somewhat ratty... but it's surprisingly comfortable. Nice of her to pay for it with a bullet to the brain.
Stats:
Bravery: Skilled!
Joy: Skilled!
Innocence: Talented~
Purity: Amateur...
Mercy: Cursed ;-;
Creativity: Cursed ;-;
Love: Amateur...
Author
Topic: Pumsy's Seeds - A ~MAGICAL GIRL~ game inspired by PMMM (Read 149942 times)