June 2022 Event Plotting PART 2

[jigokumods]

Who ⬤ The selected teams
What ⬤ Finding the source of the cursed energy and putting an end to this.
When ⬤ /waves hands vaguely
Where ⬤ Kaigo no Bou
Content Warnings ⬤ Horror imagery, possible gore.

The tower that is Kaigo no Bou is an intimidating sight on normal days, but the way its black figure cut into the deep crimson of the cursed sky made it that much more imposing as the teams approached. Evidence of just how devastating the initial waves of the cursed energy had been to the nearby buildings was on clear display, everything looking warped and disfigured into shapes no longer identifiable as anything built for humanoid needs. Even the streets themselves seemed twisted and knotted, turning into something more like jagged slopes than thoroughfares. Even the entrance of the tower has been shifted from its original glass displays to a giant steel gate that Toraguma struggles to open for the rest of the group.

Within the tower itself, it's much the same. The Enma officers that had been brought along to help navigate each team would find themselves struggling just slightly, almost immediately, as the interior of the building was a menagerie of rust and decay. It was if the building was rotting, but not as a structure, but as a once living thing now reduced to a cadaver for them to navigate.

Well... it could be worse. Time to split into their teams.

Comments

Team Up; Daitengu, Minato, Billy, Hu Tao, Cain

[jigokumods]

Before we all take on the task of climbing 88 stories on stairs, let's at least see if the elevator's working.

[ The Daitengu mused, trying to keep higher spirits despite the dread air surrounding them. The central elevator shaft wasn't far, so it wasn't like they had a long walk through the lobby to get there. But even so, they gestured for everyone to stay close to them, to keep the chalice as near as possible to stave off any possible influence. ]

Knightley-san, you're on point.

[himbosupreme]

Got it.

[He already had his sword out, the white wolf standing silently at his side. Signalling it with a finger, they both approached the elevator doors to see if any lights were on.]

If anyone sees what could be a person, please tell me.

[watermemory]

Nobody yet. [Some shadows flickering at the edge of his vision, but if it's not coming at them...]

[Minato's going to be keeping a few steps behind and to the right of Cain, sword in one hand and keeping the camera in the other; stepping to the side so him and Cain are flanking the doors.]

If-- [when] we need to fight, I need to pass this to someone else. [Him and Cain's weapons are obvious, and he can presumably see Billy's firearms...] Miss Hu Tao, if you could?

[localweirdo]

[As Hu Tao looked around the area, there was nothing that seemed too dangerous yet. Still, she had to be on guard. Which was why when she heard Minato's words, she flashed him a smile.]

But of course! Hopefully we won't encounter any enemies just yet! [Granted, her polearm could only so do much but she can't afford to say that. As she looked over to Billy, she chuckled.]

What about you?

[21towin]

[The bandit's eyes danced around everywhere, taking it all in. The sights, smells, sounds, whatever was there. Potential entrances, exits, spots to hide, where his current companions were in relation to everything; all of it gets taken in and placed in the back of his mind with various mental notes.

His revolver sat in its holster and a few knives were hidden away on his person. Just an extra precaution.]

Just you an' the other three, hon.

[It was said with a smile of his own in return. Easy-going and relaxed. Nothing out of the ordinary yet. But that was also why he was letting his eyes wander over everything.]

An elevator ride to the top would be a sure godsend o'er havin' to take the stairs.

[jigokumods]

[ Spirits being up all around was a good thing.

Because as the elevator opened, what was presented to them looked well more like a hellish cage, the sort one would have expected some beast born from the den of demons to dwell within. There was nothing inviting within it, just more of the rust and choking tension of knowing they did Not Belong Here.

The Daitengu... shrugged. ]

Well. Could be worse. At lease we won't have to deal with elevator music, right?

[ Into the elevator they went, the door closing behind them with a metallic thud, almost as if a trap was being set. Fortunately for them, the thing seemed safe... for now.

The panel had no floor options. There was only one button, "up" ]

Normally we'd rely on Knightley-san's credentials to get us past the 80th floor. Unaccompanied civilians aren't allowed beyond that. However... I wonder if it's even going to ask.
[ Still, they pressed the button, and away the went... The elevator lurched to life, slowly picking up speed as it took them up the tower.

And more speed. And more speed. ]

Well that's slightly alarming...

[himbosupreme]

[Cain was going to ask if this was normal for an elevator, but the way it was shooting up and the Daitengu's response solidified it. Not long after, an uneasy feeling swept over Cain and Megumi's shikigami dog started growling and baring its teeth.]

Back! Away from the walls!

[Cain shouted as he saw a blur of motion from the side, a giant shadow coming into peirce through the cage with it's deadly talons. He grabbed whoever was closest to the wall to shield them, as it rocked the entire structure.

He could hear the wolf howl, leaping right for any limbs that had started reaching inside the elevator to rip them off. He stabbed blindly at the huge bird, hoping to dislodge it at least before it sent them all crashing down.]

[watermemory]

[Almost drowned out by the rattling of the elevator mechanism:] 'Elevator music'?

[As the elevator accelerates, to Minato it feels more than ever like a distorted illusion of the Ryounkaku. But from the camera feed, there's nothing illusory about the monstrous bird.]

--! It's real!

[Pulled aside by Cain, it's hard to maneuver without accidentally stabbing the wizard; but he manages to drive his sword home, severing one of the taloned feet before it can savage one of them. The creature is still a danger, but injured and off-balance...]

[Opposite of the bird, arms are reaching in through the bars; so pale they're almost blue, dripping with river mud. The drowned coming to drag them all down.]

[Minato sees the dog familiar leaping and snapping at the arms -- biting clean through one of the arms by the elbow. The limb dissolves into muddy water on hitting the floor -- and that poses a different problem--]

Don't let them douse out the chalice!

[localweirdo]

[As she felt the elevator moving higher, it was difficult to get a good view of the bird. There was only so much her polearm could do but now with it injured, the very least she could do was quickly make a leap before trying to attack its neck.

While she managed to attack it, it doesn't stop from moving.]

You got it! Although, you better be careful too! We don't know what those things might be!

[After all, if they do disappear into muddy water, what would happen should they touch it?]

[21towin]

You "wonder if it's even going to ask"?

[He's eyeing that elevator with much more suspicion now than before. But everyone stepped into it and away they went. Up faster and fast, higher and higher until...

Ah- of course it wouldn't be that easy.

The loud bang of his gun going off towards the more immediate threats of the grasping arms reaching for Hu Tao as she goes after the big bad bird. Blowing them away in a blink. The best way to make sure nothing bad happens is to simply not get near any of it at all.]

[jigokumods]

[ The bird didn't hold the shape of a bird as it was stabbed and shot at, morphing into something significantly less concrete in shape. Too many eyes, too many teeth, allusions to faces but made by something that only had a bare conceptual idea of what a face even was. But it did understand "sharp things stab", and "wet things splash", so it continued to try and thrust itself into the elevator, trying to grab the chalice specifically. ]

Bothersome little thing, isn't it?

[ The Daitengu's words didn't quite match up the real panic in their voice, doing their best to keep both themselves steady and try to body block the chalice. All the while, the elevator was still rocketing upwards, now going well faster than any thing with people inside of it had any business going. ]

We're going to have to bail out, I think!

[ Wherever it was they wound up, it was a sight better than where they were! Probably! ]

[watermemory]

[One last lunge and slash at the bird-creature, and it shudders, splitting in half and shedding black ichor onto the floor. One of the last faces he sees in the bird's spasms, a gaunt middleaged man with an incongruously friendly smile, makes Minato freeze and go pale for a moment.]

I...

[The Daitengu's words bring him back to the present. There was the door, or...] R-right. Knightley, can you get the ceiling open? I'll help you up.

[himbosupreme]

[He did not feel good sheathing his sword, especially not when whatever that bird was turning into was still crawling around trying to get in.]

Understood, we can go up top and get out that way. Aurora-stay down here and help these guys out, okay?

[The dog gave a bark as it continued circling the elevator and the Daitengu in particular, leaping and tearing at anything that tried to shove its ways in between the bars.

Cain made sure his friend was steady, then with Minato's help, boosted up to the ceiling hatch. He didn't have his magic, but he had brute force and proceeded to punch through the rusted old door out onto the top. It was easy to pull himself up and then reach down to Minato, but as the man was being pulled up, something else had crawled up as well.

It looked sort of like a middle aged man with a beard, but it was clear from his expression that Cain knew who this was.]

Cain, you monster...you've killed them all....

[Minato was up far enough that he could probably pull himself to the surface, which was good, because Cain had frozen in place.]

Team Down; Toraguma, Felix, Anna, Cloud, Andy

[jigokumods]

[ The other team was not so fortunate. Captain Shiki had told them the main elevator shaft that civilians could use didn't go down to the sublevels, so they had to find another way down. What's worse, it looked like the empoyee elevator just straight up didn't exist any longer, having warped instead into a bloody, pulsing root like structure reaching up from the lower levels. ]

Great... Well, I ain't climbing down something that looks like that, so let's see if the emergency stairs are clear.

[ At least they only had eight floors to go down... ]

Sergeant Andy, you're with me. The rest of you, watch our backs.

[notched]

Aye.

[ Soft assent from within her layers of leather armor. There is little of the woman underneath even visible, just her eyes between the drape of her hat and the leather gorget that covers from her collarbones over her nose. Her weapon is collapsed at the moment into a bladed cane, quick for slashing and stabbing. ]

[identitycrisiscore]

Roger.

[ Cloud's confirmation comes just after Anna's. After Minato suggested they have someone on each team be on 'camera duty', Cloud has set up his smartphone with the camera lens facing outward in a case that notches nicely into his suspenders. The built-in flashlight and camera hovering just over shoulder-level. ]

[ Cloud's battle armor, thankfully, is also his normal attire - suspenders, leather belly-warmer, metal shoulderpad and gloves. A heavy blade is strapped to his back, courtesy of Matoba, and a small red ribbon is wrapped around his left bicep. Cloud's as ready as he'll ever be. ]

[ ...And it was better to go down stairs than up. He knew that much from experience. ]

[killtime]

Sure, boss.

[ The twinge of wryness in Andy's voice as she steps up beside Toraguma is habitual more than anything. The katana at her side is standard-issue from the Department's armory — utterly unremarkable compared to the other blades in present company — and ammo will be a limiting factor on the handgun Kim Kitsuragi gave her, but she seems calm and steady. Ready to work. ]

[littleshield]

Got it.

[ Their surroundings look rather disconcerting, to put it lightly. But Felix isn't one to shy away from the way the environment appears or the high level of danger in this situation, or many others for that matter. He's come prepared as can be, and he feels ready to take on anything that'll come their way.

Felix keeps his eyes peeled on their surroundings, listening out for any small sign that would indicate something is about to come for them, at all times. ]

[jigokumods]

[ First thing's first; a way down. With the ghastly tendril where an elevator should be, Toraguma's instinct is to find a hole anywhere in the rot of the floor. He tosses around debris like one tosses balls of paper, grunting only slightly as he digs through the rubble until...

A hole.

Toraguma looks at the hole. He turns to the team. He looks at the hole again. ]

Well. Fuck.

[ A hole that they had no idea how deep it was, or if there was anything to land on, or even how they'd get back up.

But it was all they had.

Toraguma takes in a deep breath, holding it, and... ]

Everyone in the pool.

[ Leaps in. ]

[notched]

[ She has fallen from worse. Died, sometimes, but she has done it. She doesn't hesitate at all. It certainly feels like a height from which she could splatter to below but such things cannot be trusted when reality has been warped. Until she is dead, she is prepared to land on her feet; knees dipping deep to keep her balance.

She has a small lantern on her belt which she uncovers, attentive to their surroundings first and foremost. ]

[identitycrisiscore]

[ Cloud bites back the cutting remark he's about to make, but he too is used to falling from rather serious heights. He lets the camera linger on the hole they've found just long enough that it gets it in focus before he jumps down - his own light vanishing into the darkness below. ]

[killtime]

[ Andy should probably hesitate - she’s mortal now, after all, and she won’t walk off broken bones the way she could before - but it’s jump or turn back, so. ]

Fuck it.

[ She drops right in after Torugama, swallowed into the dark. ]

[littleshield]

Tch...! Just great.

[ Seriously, fuck's sake.

This situation is unhol(e)y enough. Felix looks kind of displeased at the fact that they're literally tossing caution to the wind by jumping into a dark space like that, but you know what?

He also has confidence he'll be able to brace himself and land properly. It'll just be all instinct—and so there he goes. ]

[jigokumods]

[ It's a long fall. Well longer than it should be. It gets to the point where it feels like one loses their sense of place in time within the darkness before the ground is suddenly just there, as if it had always been.

Toraguma clicks another notch on the flashlight in his jacket pocket, upping the intensity, so it can cut through the black a little more. It was difficult to pinpoint where they were... the whole place just stank of rot. Bloody looking mold and mildew clung to the walls, the entire place seemingly decaying from within. It certainly smelled like it. Ugh... ]

Sergeant. Any idea where the hell we are?

[ Something sounded like deep, scraping metal in the distance, like empty water drums falling over... but it was hard to tell if that was active noise, or just the destitute state of the building... ]

[killtime]

[ The landing feels like it comes both much later than it should and entirely too fast. Andy hits the ground in a roll, grunting as she pulls herself to her feet. Fuck. Dusting herself off, she feels for the flashlight clipped onto her vest, clicking it on. The darkness seems eternal, but she can make out enough to tell where they are. It’s not exactly how she remembers it, but… ]

It’s the eighth sublevel.

[ Somehow. And she’d dwell on how they managed to get here, except there seems to be more pressing matters. ]

Anybody else hear that?