Mortal Kombat - MK: Release
[Toggle Names]Description: Zach and Aranha each have a feather which lets them teleport to Nightwolf's location. The feathers' magic seems to have gone awry, as using the feathers trapped each fighter within the winding catacombs of Shang Tsung's palace. But then the island is split asunder by a blow from a fallen God. Rock faces fall away from the mountain, as pieces of the palace tumble to the ground and sea below. An escape route opens up. And Zach and Aranha realize that perhaps the feather's magic did not lead them astray after all...
[ARANHA]
"Oh fucking hell..."
Those are the words that leave the traceur's lips as he runs through the catacombs. While he had waited for the tournament to wrap up, he had a large portion of the catacombs mapped out in his head. Alternate exits if he needed to beat a hasty retreat, winding routes if needed to lose someone.
Having escaped Daniel Little's torture session, he realized that the detective was only letting him go in order to tail him to the person he gave the souls to. He needed to find an intermediary to pass a message to the Dahlia without him specifically leading the detective to her. He had a note in his pocket to do exactly that.
Unfortunately, in the process of finding that go between, things went crazy for him. The sorceror's magic reshaped the catacombs. Exits were blocked off. Once familiar pathways turned in ways they hadn't before. His situation was now desperate he needed to get out and either pass the information along to the Dahlia or just make sure everything was okay with sister in Bastion Village. It had saved him twice before. Maybe it will save him now...
"Nightwolf..."
[ZACH GLENN]
Zach Glenn had his own problems. The Dahlia had tasked him with, in retrospect, the thing he SHOULD have been doing after his return from the dead. He was back investigating, exactly, happened to Raiden. He had been searching for SOME clue as to the disappearance of the Thunder God and come up completely empty, and had a thought. Raiden worked through an intemediary, one who might very well have a vested interest in finding Raiden as well.
And Zach had him on metaphorical speed dail.
Pulling the feather from his pocket, Zach whispered the name. There was a familiar not novel experience of being /pulled/ somewhere, and when Zach got his bearings, well. There may have been a blistering oath. He been looking for a way out of the catacombs when he heard footsteps about half a second after he felt someone's presence approaching.
Recent events being what they were, Zach took no chances. The sword was already out, and the former Marine proceeded to ready his Colt M1911 by thumbing the hammer back
And really, there is no mistaking that sound for something else.
[HONOKA]
Dr. Tessitore had captured a number of both Earthrealm and Outworld varieties, but the machinations of the Tyrant Sorceror were quite difficult to divine. There were no formal lists of records from previous tournaments -- no sort of record of prior misconduct. No mention of the Majigen infiltration on the island. No real actionable information on Shang Tsung's abilities -- other than his apparent ability to see and hear anything that takes place upon the island.
There was only mention of the one name -- one that would not help anyone stuck here on the island.
"The White Lotus."
Coincidentally, further reference would reveal it has no correlation to the murderous associate of Tessitore's, the so-called Black Lotus. Rather, it refers to a group shrouded in mystery upon mainland Asia, marked by the sigil of the eponymous flower.
When the haze of pulverized stone and marble dust parts, a familiar sight will be presented before them. The two fighters were not lost -- and their magical feather charms did not... entirely... malfunction.
The familiar sight is the courtyard arena, upon which the grand Mortal Kombat tournament was introduced and commenced so many weeks ago.
A less familiar sight is a huge chasm running across the center of the floor. The side of the courtyard arena facing east -- facing the rest of the cataclysmic island -- is sunk 15cm lower than the rest, canted at a precarious angle. The bulky stone columns supporting the roof have buckled -- some have collapsed entirely, along with their attendant sections of roof.
But, there is another section of floor which has given way, betrayed by the support columns underneath the arena floor. Further inspection of the crack will show that there was a cavernous chamber resting below some twenty feet beneath the courtyard arena. And, in the center of the revealed room is a metal crate -- smooth, scratched and maligned by the falling rocks, but with only one adornment:
The sigil of the Society of the White Lotus.
There is a definite hum of electricity in the air. A heady scent of ozone. And a palpable, familiar presence.
The Thunder God himself.
[ARANHA]
His presence wasn't familiar. He never met the Thunder God before in his travels to Bastion Village. His main contact within the Full Moon Society was Nightwolf, however when he suddenly sees the catacombs open up and the courtyard as battered as it is by forces the Dancing Spider was ill-equipped to understand it was a welcome sight it meant at least a limited amount of freedom.
The chasms he spots and he moves closer with great trepidation. Darkstalker or not, he was still killable. His handling of Tessitore while he was still human was proof of that.
When he looked down into the chamber below the arena, he saw an insignia that was completely foreign to him but the smell of ozone... It was something he remembered from when he first used the feather to rescue his sister.
He then glances around and sees a familiar face. Zach Glenn.
[ZACH GLENN]
Zach, however, /has/ met Raiden. Experienced the Thunder God's presence before Majigen even, and it left him with a migraine for a week. The shuddering of the castle send had sent Zach sprawling to the floor. Raiden's emergence left him stunned for a good second. It wasn't until he parsed the falling piece of rubble that he was able to marshal anything like a reaction.
A swift roll to evade brought him back to his feet, and his gaze is locked on the errant god.
"There you are," Zach croaks, coughing from the dust. His eyes flick to Aranha, then back to Raiden. "What happened," he asks. He'd be snarky; it felt to Zach like Raiden had bailed on his responsibilities. However, the events of the moment left him a bit too shaken to be anything but bluntly honest.
[HONOKA]
Lord Raiden's prison may be devoid of detail, or any sort of vent, but it seems to be quite spacious. Each side of the metal container measures a good ten feet, allowing him full freedom of motion -- supposing the walls are only six inches thick, that is. The true measure of protection is afforded by the magical seals surrounding it -- only visible now, under closer inspection. Arcane sorceror's runes are etched upon the seams, visible only when they begin to take on a faint purple glow, an oscillation of intensity that happens once every ten seconds or so. The sorcerous runes are illegible to those without knowledge of ancient Outworld texts -- most likely the doing of the Tyrant Sorceror himself. The sorcery is of the ilk that can be sensed by those sensitive to either chi or psychic auras -- a tune that can be heard and felt with the same resonance simultaneously.
Zach will be able to sense the presence within. Long dormant, it feels like Kamui Kanna has been resting for quite some time, only stirred by the recent commotion. Lord Raiden's voice reaches out to him -- the feeling of fond memory.
The voice will be heard by both Zach and Aranha -- a thought willed directly into the mind.
< It seems I am no longer alone. And yet, the runes prevent the use of my full powers... >
The box begins to shudder, rocking slowly from side to side. The seams begin to crackle with electricity, that same ozone smell intensifying in a flash -- and then vaporizing in wisps of smoke.
Another presence can be heard -- and felt -- from the courtyard above. A shining, golden radiance fills the darkened room, casting the edge of the ceiling's sundering into a crisp shadow below.
Well.
Aranha won't have to go far to find the Dahlia. She is hovering -- and with but a thought, she leaps down into the cavern. Golden radiance spills into the room, stirring up clouds of dust.
"I've... had just... about /enough/ of your damn tricks, wizard..." The Dahlia's eyes are bloodshot, her eye sockets darkened from what could easily be weeks without sleep. Agitated, she passes a glance first to Zach, and then to Aranha.
She shakes her head in disbelief, a low rumbling chuckle erupting from the depths of her throat.
"I will rip this castle apart -- piece by piece!"
The Dahlia holds her hands out to the box, as another panicked, sleep-deprived glare is passed across to Zach -- then to Aranha. The chuckle continues. "I'll crush every single one of your toys, Shang Tsung... just like I have your champion...!"
Her form glows with a brilliant radiance. Her hands scintillate with white-hot energy.
And then...
Crunch. The ozone scent fades away -- and a sheer psychic =pressure= fills the room.
The sides of the metal box dent in from the pressure. With the Dahlia's accumulated power, she could end the Thunder God -- right here, and right now. The Thunder God himself seems... concerned.
COMBATSYS: Honoka has started a fight here.
COMBATSYS: Honoka equips a supreme Honey Yellow Soul Shard.
COMBATSYS: Honoka enters a trance-like state.
[ARANHA]
Aranha is a mostly a logical mind. Mostly. Sometimes his instincts kick in and tell him that something isn't right. and while it isn't a hundred percent accurate it has been right enough times that he'd be stupid to ignore it. The smell of ozone that was way too similar to his memories of his feather. He has no reason to trust this voice in his head. But his gut is telling him to trust it.
The psychic pressure that was familiar though not as overwhelming then as it was now. Such was the power that he assisted in giving to her. He can see the dents forming in the box.
"Dahlia! Stop! I seriously don't think you should destroy what's inside there..."
He's trying hard to be a if not the voice of reason here. He notices the glare at both him and Zach. He then reaches in his pocket as he carefully watches the soul enhanced psion in plain sight. A note is produced and while there's no sense of agression from him as he tosses it in the direction of the new champion's feet.
In the note:
Dahlia,
Little is seeking out the person I gave my power to in an attempt to bring back Dr. Hack and Slash back from the dead. Apparently when I killed her, I ended her contract with Jedah. He wants to drag her back so that she can form a new contract with him.
Aranha
(In order to confirm that it truly is him that sent it, a picture of a spider, a picture of a stick figure female getting stuck, and picture of a male stick figure wearing a bandana geting struck in a similar fashion with the female stick figure with the same hair style as the one in the previous picture looking on with what looks to be a horrified look on her face)
COMBATSYS: Aranha has joined the fight here.
COMBATSYS: Aranha studies the situation for a moment.
HONOKA
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Aranha 0/-------/-======|
ENCHANTED PRISON
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[ZACH GLENN]
Zach was looking over the prison when Honoka arrives on scene. Could be Shang Tsung pulling a fake... until Zach spots the signs of sleep deprivation, now worse than when he last saw her. And she was on high alert that time. There's not going to be talk to get through to her. The power washing off of her would be enough to send Zach to one knee if he had not already had his own mental walls up at full power. As it is, it just makes him even more uncomfortable.
Talking won't work, and Honoka is too strong as she is now. Zach could not enter that fight with anything less than full-on lethal force, and that was not an option.
"Glen," he murmurs, "Make yourself useful. Tell me how to get Raiden out of there quickly." The psion's eyes take on flickers of gold in the irises as Glen scans over the prison.
*It's well made. Perfect, because anything less than that wouldn't be able to contain Raiden.* "That's nice," Zach mutters back. "But not answering the question." *If it's not perfect, it won't hold him in. He /should/ be able to bust himself out. Go for the runes, or the seams. You'll need the sword.*
"Like Colonel Westington would say. Break everything," he says with a weak grin. He returns the pistol's hammer to an unready position; it won't help him. Zach's hand opens and then closes one finger at a time around the hilt of Drynwyn as the sword's blade flares with golden light. Zach leaps, flipping once to add momentum before bringing the claymore down directly on one of prison's seams!
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn has joined the fight here.
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn equips a flickering Sandy Yellow Soul Shard.
HONOKA
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Aranha 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 [E] Zach Glenn
ENCHANTED PRISON
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COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn successfully hits Enchanted Prison with Sweeping Strike.
HONOKA
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Aranha 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 [E] Zach Glenn
ENCHANTED PRISON
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[HONOKA]
Half-lidded eyes turn towards Aranha, her look of frustration on par with one reserved for gnats buzzing in her face. Power ebbs along her outstretched fingertips like raindrops, gravitationally attracted to the metal box. Her voice -- contrasting with the agitated cadence moments prior -- is calmer. Drowsier. "That didn't work last time, did it...? Heh..."
The power reverses flow, shimmering as it collects along her hand like dew to a leaf. The iridescent energy takes form -- two spheres, floating upwards like bubbles, vacillating between the hues of honey-gold and hot fuschia.
The spheres begin to orbit her, not unlike the diabolos she might be wielding on stage, aside from the lack of any real tether to her hands. They move of their own accord, circling around as she stares back at Aranha. Staring -- focusing upon him. Questioning.
The thoughts of another interrupt her -- the familiar thoughts of Zach Glenn. And a third.
The last Zach she encountered did not talk to himself. But neither was he really trying to get in her way with anything more than words. He did not... =help= her...
Metal scrapes against metal. The runes shimmer with brilliant light -- an arc of electricity lancing out, just hard enough to sting. One of the runes is shorn in half by the sword strike, with a loud sizzle -- but the rest of the runic letters reform, reconfigure to seal the gap with a lessened intensity. It will... take more of that.
"N-no...!!!" snaps the Dahlia, her calm demeanor dismissed with the blink of furious eyes. The man -- the =illusion= that looks more convincing than the last -- is working against her. He aims to break the box -- not to crush it, like she is, but to tear it asunder, to let loose whatever foul spirits reside within.
"STOP IT...!!!?!"
Her voice is a roar -- loud enough to hurt -- powerful enough to shove both men backwards a step -- forceful enough to send a distorted ripple across the surface of the enchanted prison.
A slip of paper crosses her path. Her vision droops, her eyes squinting to focus at the thing -- and then the paper is psionically swept out of the way, hovering a fair distance away from her.
But not to where she can read it, yet.
Her eyes drift momentarily to Aranha, before turning back to Zach with a wary, accusing glare. "S-stop 'helping', it's embarassing."
Panic -- raw, and disbelieving.
"I know what you're... I know what you're doing."
On the plus side, she's no longer attacking the prison itself.
But on the minus side, she's turning her right hand towards Zach.
And squeezing her right hand tightly, she aims to crush him with a vice-like grip. Distorted reflections of the two men stare back at them from the slowly-orbiting spheres. Eddies of palpable psychic pressure sweep the ignored note about, just into her periphery.
"I WILL DO THIS MYSELF, just GO AWAY!!!!"
She will find the truth behind this illusion, one way or another...
COMBATSYS: Honoka channels the glare of the vicious eye.
HONOKA
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Aranha 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 [E] Zach Glenn
ENCHANTED PRISON
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COMBATSYS: Honoka successfully hits Zach Glenn with Ishirishina.
- Power hit! -
HONOKA
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Aranha 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 [E] Zach Glenn
ENCHANTED PRISON
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[ARANHA]
Aranha watches as the note is brushed aside without her even looking at it. It was concerning since it means anything he would say in the next few moments would be discounted as the words of a traitor or possibly an imposter.
He hears a sound just outside of his field of vision of metal striking metal and of energy flaring. He turns to it and sees exactly what Zach is trying to achieve and he realizes he's gonna need help to do it. He begins to psych himself up. Before she had all that power, she was dangerous. He needed to several times better than he was in the first fight.
"Well, damn... I'm gonna have to do something uncharacteristically stupid, aren't I?"
His mind thinks back to tail end of his fight with Honoka and how she dragged him into a mindscape to work out the details of their deal with some things left out. He then thinks towards Raiden and Zach, recalling how the god spoke with him inside his head as well. <Hey. Can the three of us have a private conversation?>
It was a desperate gamble. He didn't know if he would be able to communicate with them back in their direction, and he knew at the very least, the Dahlia would have pretty good chance at hearing that thought and going nuts on him. Based on how she just turned on the one person she had asked for the Dancing Spider to give up his energy to resurrect, the rules have pretty much changed. But he had a plan and he wasn't sure he wanted the Dahlia privy to them already if she wasn't already.
The traceur launches himself towards the Scarlet Dahlia stopping just outside his kicking range before leaning over and bringing himself into a handstand. With a sweep of his arm, he sends himself spinning delivering speedy kicks in the form of foot slaps while still in that handstand.
"To think... You had me give up power to save his life."
[ZACH GLENN]
Zach's eyes flicker over the box, golden light slipping across them as both the warrior and the spirit survey the damage as it repairs itself.
*Keep at stressing-* Zach's eyes wrench towards the Dahlia as Glen notices the attck first. *Incoming!* Zach whirls, sweeping his left hand at the spheres while trying to put some of his own energy between himself and the incoming attack.
It... goes poorly.
Zach is thrown to the ground as the Dahlia's power rips through him, ellicting a scream of primal pain. He lays there for a long moment, his sword still clenched in his right hand while his left arm lays there looking burnt and mishappen. The hunter stays prone, gasping for air through the pain.
Zach glances at Aranha, as if he heard something. He cannot make out the words, or even the rought idea, but he caught /something/. "Just..." he wheezes as he sits up slowly. "Just keep her from killing me," he says weakly. "I can get Raiden out of there. If you give me time."
The Marine heaves Drynwyn up in one hand, his left arm limp at his side. Golden light flickers behind Zach's eyes as he spots a sequence of runes. *There,* Glen tells him. Zach charges in, planting his feet firmly before driving the tip of the claymore directly at what the guardian shade perceives as a weakening in the working.
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn successfully hits Enchanted Prison with Deep Strike.
HONOKA
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Aranha 1/----===/=======|=======\=------\1 [E] Zach Glenn
ENCHANTED PRISON
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COMBATSYS: Honoka fails to interrupt Inverted Tornado from Aranha with Niwen Horobi.
HONOKA
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Aranha 1/---====/=======|=======\=------\1 [E] Zach Glenn
ENCHANTED PRISON
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[HONOKA]
If the Dahlia were in her right mind, she might have looked at Aranha's note. Instead, the sleep-addled Ainu is forced to pay the most attention to the few things directly in front of her -- the unique, exquisite sensation of her crushing blow squeezing a portion of life out of Zach Glenn. The irony that Aranha brings up is, for the moment, lost upon her -- as she has still convinced herself that this Zach and Aranha are just like the last two that had obstructed her path. But there is one curious thought that occurs to her -- or maybe it's something she overhears.
She looks straight at Aranha. It wasn't a full thought -- just a general sense of communication -- but she knows the intent.
A patient, silky-smooth voice crackles at the edge of Aranha's and Zach's consciousness. The voice of the Thunder Lord.
<I believe I can accomplish that.>
While distracted, the Scarlet Dahlia hears another scrape of metal across metal. Seals crackle with light, sliced in two by the keen-edged blade -- and one of the seams begins to buckle. Moments later, the remaining runes begin to crawl across the seam, attempting valiantly to maintain the integrity of the seal.
"It was the right thing to do!" she insists, reaching upward to the note that is brought to her attention. The note obeys her unspoken command, floating into her awaiting hand as the two orbs continue spinning about -- the only rhythm keeping the juggler from losing all focus entirely. The note unfolds as the bleary-eyed Ainu woman's gaze shifts between the note, Aranha, Zach, and the box -- and, naturally, the sight of the traceur inverting himself right in front of her takes the utmost priority.
Using all her power to hover imperiously leaves her with a slight disadvantage when it comes to actually fighting. Her feet make the right motions to suggest she would be backflipping to a safer distance, but Aranha's dexterity wins out in this case -- his own feet battering her backwards and slamming her against one of the beleaguered support columns.
"GNNGH. Rude!" retorts the Dahlia, dragging her glowing hands across her injured face. In the wake of her fingertips is left a golden glow -- seeping into her pores and suffusing through the wounds imparted upon her. "Do you want me to read the note or not, dammit?!"
There was a thought that occurred to her -- betrayal? Is Aranha trying to communicate? It's right on the edge of her periphery -- but she's already stretched thin enough as it is. And with Zach cutting up the box...
"... I have to crush this..." she continues, looking downwards. She's not exactly talking to Zach, nor to Aranha -- "It's the source of all of Shang Tsung's power. Why... why else would he keep it so close to him? Why else would he keep sending wave after wave of illusions to repel me..."
The note unfolds as she lets herself sink back to her feet. Good ol' terra firma. But as much as she squints at the note -- nothing.
Her train of thought jumps to yet another track, as she glares back at Aranha. "... I =beat= Goro. With your strength. With my judgment, we =saved Earth=. Why are you continuing to question me?!"
[ARANHA]
What do you know? Zach managed to get the gist of what he was intending to do without having communicated it verbally. The problem was that Zach did communicate it verbally which meant it was now even more vulerable to subversion. When the Thunder God intercedes it ends up easing his mind. It means now he can share his plan with the Monster Hunter and the deity.
After performing the the spinning handstand kick, he whips his arm around to spin himself away from her which ends up being rendered unnecessary by the fact that she was sent stumbling backwards and away from him. Once more, he stands on his feet but the range may or may not be to his detriment.
<I was actually planning on keeping her busy so you can get him out but I may need to request a swap if thins get too hairy. Zach, you stand a better chance at enduring her attacks than I do.>
The after effect is that she is now willing to talk... Or at least more willing than she was before. It granted him at least what he saw as a potential opportunity.
"It's not that I'm questioning you. It's more that you are questioning us. Has it occured to you that we might have more information as to what's in the box than you?"
He takes a deep breath as he looks at her. He looks her right in the eye as he sees all the signs of sleep deprivation. She looks like she had gone through it as far he was concerned. His hand goes into his pocket and his fingertips brush the feather for a moment. He was not exactly what one could call a chi sensitive, but he was just barely sensitive enough to feel and smell the similarity between the one trapped in the box and the feather.
"As for why else would he keep it close to him, how about the fact that he doesn't want the being inside helping Earthrealm?"
He doesn't attack but he's clearly keeping himself between Zach and Honoka.
COMBATSYS: Aranha decides that discretion is the better part of valor.
HONOKA
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Aranha 1/---====/=======|=======\=------\1 [E] Zach Glenn
ENCHANTED PRISON
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[ZACH GLENN]
Zach lets out a snort at Aranha's assessment. He's not /wrong/, but the sheer level of power she can bring to bear makes the defense differences between the two men like using a sheet of paper and a newspaper to keep the rain off of you. One is more effective, but only for so long.
<One, maybe two more hits. The runes are faltering.> His eyes narrow. <Just need a bit... more... juice.>
Zach brings the sword back, putting his body between Dahlia and the weapon. His left arm still dangles, all but useless for the moment. And then he reaches for the energy within, drawing it forth, molding it into the shape he needs to break the case wide open. Golden wisps of power dance and whirl around the monster hunter as he works furiously...
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn gathers his will.
HONOKA
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Aranha 1/---====/=======|=======\=====--\1 [E] Zach Glenn
ENCHANTED PRISON
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[HONOKA]
<Until all the seals are all broken, they will redistribute themselves to keep me imprisoned. The sorcery is a masterwork -- bound to the very essence of my being. The stronger I push, the deeper the proverbial blades sink within me. You are following the right path, brave ones...>
Lord Raiden's voice does not suggest that he's in a significant amount of pain, but perhaps he just does not want to alarm the kombatants unnecessarily.
The Scarlet Dahlia glances back and forth between Aranha and Zach, as the spherical satellites continue their wide orbit around her. In her reasoning, the tells are all there: she senses signs of communication taking place, but no actual words being exchanged.
"Tell me, then -- what's in the box? And what's more -- what proves -your- credibility more than some slip of paper..?!" The Dahlia is more frustrated than angry, but she's still glancing warily between the two men. Zach has halted his attack on the prison -- and turned the sword on her.
"See, moves like that? Bad moves. I'm just playing around with you two, but if you pull that ipetam bullshit on me again, Zach..."
She raises her hand outwards towards Zach. And with only a brief delay, a katana flies into the room from above, and whistles into her awaiting hands. Weathered and broken, it does not seem like much -- but the awesome presence it gives off is more than enough of a disincentive to actually strike.
"... I'll just have to meet you halfway in that regard..." She chuckles -- slowly at first, and then rapidly and more emphatically, as she paces backwards, acquainting herself with the heft and balance of the heirloom weapon. She brandishes it at Zach, her radiant face alight with amusement.
"Listen... the burden of proof is on =you= now! All of this is... is crazy to me, right now, I'm working on an hour of sleep the past three days, so you're gonna have to prove... "
She distractedly wrinkles her nose at the box. And she takes one hand off the sword -- raising it, palm upward, towards the ceiling.
A shimmering curtain of golden energy erupts from the floor, walling both Zach and Aranha off from the enchanted prison.
"Prove why I should care. So yeah. I =am= questioning why I should listen to =your= voices when I didn't listen to any of the others. Sorcery convinced the entire Scarlet Guard to betray us -- sorcery has been infecting this sham of a tournament since the very beginning! And I stand poised to end it all..."
It's just at that moment that the note flutters back into her field of view. She squints at it -- and takes a good hard look at it, now that she's certain the two men won't be able to crack the prison open while she reads.
"Why the heck would I be worried about Daniel? I killed him already... You know this." Did she... forget he came back to 'life?'
Glowering at Aranha, she surges forward, shimmering afterimages of herself trailing behind her as she twists into a roundhouse kick. "You're not making any sense!" she cries, aiming to bring her sandal-clad foot crashing into Aranha's midsection.
COMBATSYS: Aranha dodges Honoka's Crushing Strike.
HONOKA
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Aranha 1/---====/=======|=======\=====--\1 [E] Zach Glenn
ENCHANTED PRISON
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0|---------------|------=========
[ARANHA]
As the Scarlet Dahlia talks, Aranha is quiet. In some ways she right, the burden of proof was on them. The problem was it was coming from a person who was angering him because she was in the midst of betraying the reason that he aligned himself with her.
He then turns to glance at the box and seeing a barrier between Zach and the Thunder God's prison.
He isn't given too much time to acknowledge it because the Dahlia quickly moves in trailed by afterimages and when the roundhouse kick comes in, he tilts over into a cartwheel letting the kick fly right over him.
"I originally written the note to be passed along to you. Daniel coming after you wasn't concerning by itself. Daniel bringing Jedah Dohma in tow is... I've fought Daniel, I fought you, I've fought Jedah. You can not handle Jedah and Daniel at the same time. You're not in the condition for it right now. The purpose of the picture was to remind of you of the moment I passed my soul charge. It was to be my proof that the note was coming from me."
Once again, Aranha doesn't attack right away his fist balls tightly as he grits his teeth.
"No one else knew about how I took that beating on behalf of my older sister which apparently in our world kept her from commiting suicide."
He digs in his pocket for the feather and raises up for her to see. "This feather was given to me before this tournament. Before even the god damn Majigen series. What is in that box is the source of this feather and is the only reason my younger sister draws breath. This feather pulled both me an my sister to safety away from Bargain Basement Distaff Doc Oc. I fucking owe it to that being in there to set him free."
COMBATSYS: Aranha decides that discretion is the better part of valor.
HONOKA
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|----------=====|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Aranha 1/---====/=======|=======\=====--\1 [E] Zach Glenn
ENCHANTED PRISON
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|------=========
[ZACH GLENN]
<There,> Zach thinks as the energies running through him near their peak. Zach looks up at Honoka, a little sad at her remarks. The information Raiden provides, however, grants the young man the insight he needs. Runes shimmer with gold that only he sees as Glen proceeds to highlight them.
"Not on you," he says softly to the Dahlia, truthfully as the air around the psychic starts to vibrate with amassed power.
<Sir?> Glen sends to Raiden. <You might want to grit your teeth for this one.> Zach opens his good hand, allowing Drywyn to slide free for a moment before rippling into nothingness. <Okay, Zach. Time for us to end this insanity. Time for me to get to work.> Zach's hand tenses open as lights start to twist and shape, even as the surprise flashes across his face. He reaches back, away from Honoka, but on a direct line with the box as he connects the dots.
They form swords. Spears. Knives. Staves. Arrows. All from different times, different places, as Zach forms his intent with the help of the shade at his right wrist. Then the shapes sharpen, gain solidity and definition. The arm wavers a long moment, as Zach almost loses his grip on the power he has craft.
Then there's that grin Honoka would recognize from Rhydderch, not quite a smirk but nothing nice or happy about it either, as he holds the whole thing together. Zach thrusts his arm at the box, launching the spectral weapons at Raiden's prison. Each projectile is aimed perfectly at a rune, some at intersections of the engravings. Each strike aimed to sunder the Sorcerer's working into so much scrap metal.
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn channels the veins of the burning blood.
HONOKA
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|----------=====|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Aranha 1/---====/=======|=======\=======\1 [E] Zach Glenn
ENCHANTED PRISON
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|------=========
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn channels the strength of the killing fist.
HONOKA
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|----------=====|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Aranha 1/---====/=======|=======\=======\1 [E] Zach Glenn
ENCHANTED PRISON
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|------=========
COMBATSYS: Honoka channels the fortress of the steel will.
HONOKA
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|----------=====|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Aranha 1/---====/=======|-------\-------\0 [E] Zach Glenn
ENCHANTED PRISON
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|------=========
COMBATSYS: Honoka endures Zach Glenn's #Claíomh Solais+#.
HONOKA
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|----------=====|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Aranha 1/---====/=======|-------\-------\0 [E] Zach Glenn
ENCHANTED PRISON
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|------=========
[HONOKA]
Luminescent orbs of spirit energy whirl around the Scarlet Dahlia, narrowly avoiding the cartwheeling traceur. The Dahlia herself pirouettes to recover her momentum, fingertips splaying out as she sweeps the orbs around much like her juggling star persona might. The circular soul shard swings from a loop of thin twine around her neck, settling back into its proper position as she squares her shoulder with Aranha. A rational person would understand that Aranha has done his level best at proving his identity; even in her addled state, the Dahlia is forced to acknowledge his admissions with a curt nod. Weary, she raises a gold-laced hand to her brow, rubbing her forehead. "... I've been fooled before, by similar admissions..." Nostrils flare with frustration as her half-lidded eyes take a momentary study of the traceur. "But none have entertained conversation for so l--"
Zach's actions tear the Dahlia's gaze away from Aranha. Their plan to distract her seems to be working well, for the most part -- her barrier had begun to shimmer and shake with her lack of focus. But now that she sees that Zach is about to make inroads against said barrier...
Anger engulfs her, washing away the calm that had begun to take root. Open hands clench into fists. Her mouth parts -- and lots of -angry- speech comes out. Ainu words that Zach would not know -- words that the Dahlia has never before uttered.
The barrier curtain ignites with fury. Faces of the fallen -- souls of the defeated -- open their jaws wide as they scream towards the arena floor above. Weapons of warriors from centuries past slam into the curtain of power, as if it were comprised of writhing bodies instead of refined psychic energy. A sword impales one soul as a gush of dark bronze fluid erupts outwards. A spear slams into another, its point obscured by mass of soulflesh. Arrows sink inward, vanishing almost completely. Each time, a scream -- to such a degree that all the individual voices blend into a chorus of anguish.
"NNNRGGGH!" The Dahlia doubles over, clawing at her face. Her eyes screw shut from the pain shared from the spirits as they absorb the blades and points of dozens of weapons -- more than enough to overpower the connection she had been using to issue orders to the spectral army. A moment later, the curtain shimmers, its flow resuming as before -- and the weapons, robbed of their forward momentum, clatter helplessly to the floor.
Panting through her bared teeth, she casts bloodshot eyes to Zach. "Fine! Fine! Let's... let's say I believe you, that you're both who you claim to be! What's to say =you're= not the ones being tricked? What's to stop the dark forces from speaking out to us in the Kamui's voice?!"
The words are sent to the minds of Zach, Glen, and Aranha: < She's delusional. Anything I say will be suspect. Gentlemen, she trusts you both more than I. You must convince her to stand down. By force, if necessary. >
"... Supposing I'm =wrong= about your being illusions, I've been trying not to hurt you two -- but it's clear I'm not getting through to you any other way!" Fingertips flick out to her left, and then she leaps forward. Her hand sweeps in an arcing trajectory for Zach's face, but the true impact will be delivered from the spirit orbs that shadow her movements, packing enough kinetic impact to send him careening across the room.
COMBATSYS: Honoka successfully hits Zach Glenn with Kunne Chup Kamui.
HONOKA
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|-----==========|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Aranha 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\1 [E] Zach Glenn
ENCHANTED PRISON
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|------=========
[ARANHA]
Aranha had been trying to play for time with the side objective of trying to trying to get the Shadow Advisor to see reason. He's at least making inroads on the see reason since she's actually considering that they might actually be who they say they are. That must count for something. How to prove that Raiden is Raiden without having actually met him before and only knowing him through an extension of his power. That might actually be a bit more difficult.
As he listens to the hellish chorus from the spirits screaming in agony from the attacks, the alternate universe version of himself shudders from a reminder of something in his past. But after the transfer, he's still in a passive state.
"At least consider the fact that he's been actively trying to avoid harming you."
Nope not any closer to proving that Raiden is Raiden but maybe it would cause the Dahlia to think twice before attacking the Monster Hunter.
He has to consider all of the things are going against him. He's unfamiliar with the sigils in the area, he's never met Raiden in person, and knowing the smell of ozone or the feel of his power was not enough to sway her. He doesn't know what he needs to do.
"In that case... What will it take convince you that it is..." He stumbles slightly with his tongue unfamiliar with the term Nightwolf used for him, "Heyoka?"
COMBATSYS: Aranha decides that discretion is the better part of valor.
HONOKA
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|-----==========|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Aranha 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\1 [E] Zach Glenn
ENCHANTED PRISON
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|------=========
[ZACH GLENN]
Zach's eyes narrow as the Dahlia's Spirit Court intercedes, enough of the spectral weapons for the barrier to withstand the rest. He drops to one knee, gasping for air. "I swear," he pants. "You had... one... fucking... job..." he wheezes. It's unclear whether he is refering to Glen or to Aranha at this point. He starts to stand, wobbling as he does so.
<Then we're fucked,> Zach thinks weakly. <Barely... managed it...>
And then the Dahlia, Honoka, charges. He turns just enough to face her, nothing in his stance suggesting anything like defensive movement. No sword to catch the blow, no knife readied for a counter-strike. Not even a flex of the knees to try and roll with the attack.
Zach takes the blow cleanly, the energy and the anger behind it enough to scatter his mental defenses like cobwebs before a flame thrower. The Marine bounces twice off the ground before crashing up against a wall. Too many voices roiling off of Honoka, the sheer /thereness/ of Raiden even behind the warded prison. It's too much for him to stand against as he pulls his knees in to his chest, curling up on himself as he clutches at his head.
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn gains composure.
HONOKA
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|-----==========|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Aranha 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\0 [E] Zach Glenn
ENCHANTED PRISON
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|------=========
[HONOKA]
The Dahlia's sphere collided with Zach, bashing into him like a wrecking ball at the same time that her open hand slapped across him. As her follow-through spin eases to a stop, she looks down at her hand, incredulously. It all worked according to the plan in her mind, but...
"Why... "
Her eyes cross, as the slightly-deformed orb reconstitutes itself into a perfect sphere, resuming its prior orbit. The coruscating lights continue to shimmer around the radiant Dahlia as she remains still, considering the situation for a moment.
She =listens=. She can feel the energies -- the injuries from the rising fountain of souls. She can sense Aranha's steadfast determination. And yet -- from the box -- she feels the same presence that terrified her so. The voice of wisdom. The voice of -strength-.
What would convince you, Dahlia?
Her brow lowers, as she lifts her eyes, turning her chin towards Aranha with a frown. "... You say the Kamui Kanna is so weak that he can be trapped within a prison, and then say that I should believe his intentions are pure because he has not escaped the prison. I may be uneducated, but I am far from stupid..."
The Dahlia turns towards Zach. As she focuses upon his fear, his doubt, his uncertainty, she... considers.
Is this what she -wanted- to do? She's gotten him to stop attacking the box... but she considers.
When has Zach ever done something against his heart?
And when has Aranha, for that matter?
Her expression softens. Her eyes begin to mellow out, the radiant fire dimming. There's no way she can continue to believe that Zach and Aranha -aren't- the people she knows them to be, now.
She spreads her hands out to the sides -- and the radius of the spheres' orbit expands rapidly. The curtain of souls begins to grow thin -- as the souls reconstitute themselves in other forms. Nearly a -hundred- translucent spirits -- standing around her with lost, perplexed expressions. "... If the kamui himself were to speak to me, I would consider his words fairly."
Aside from the shuffling of awestruck, displaced citizens of the spectral world, and the barely-audible whistling of the spheres as they displace the air around her: silence.
A moment passes.
< ... Ahem, if I may? 'Heyoka' is one of many of my names, yes. But you may call me 'Kamui Kanna,' if you wish. >
The Champion of Earthrealm's lips press together tightly, as her eyes begin to tear up.
While the orbs continue to spin, the barrier curtain is no more. The Dahlia raises an open palm to Aranha -- and then motions to the enchanted prison. She may harbor doubts -- but those are disappearing rapidly.
COMBATSYS: Honoka takes no action.
HONOKA
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|-----==========|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Aranha 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\0 [E] Zach Glenn
ENCHANTED PRISON
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|------=========
[ARANHA]
Aranha finally got her to stop attacking and to actually consider that the prisoner in the box is exactly who they been trying to say it was. She stopped attacking them and stopped trying to crush the being inside. He sees the spirit curtain come down and he considers for a moment that he could get to work right there but then that wouldn't foster the trust that he was trying to build between them.
He then sees the palm and the grand gesture indicating that he should proceed with freeing him from the arcane box. He glances to Zach and then to Honoka and he nods as he steps forward. Though Zach's attack didn't go through, the angles and targetted locations laid down the blueprint for where he needed to attack. Aranha immediately saw the problem in his particular case. It wasn't his most powerful of attacks but it was the attack he knew could hit multiple locations with precision. He'll weaken it and the others can finish it off.
His body glows blue. There would be no support from his alternate self for this one. And then he takes off running moving so fast that he looks like a living laser beam as he bounces from the arcane box to the columns and walls and assorted debris hitting those targetted spots on the box from a variety of angles until energy bleeds off of him and he rolls away.
[ZACH GLENN]
Zach is still curled up in a ball against the wall, trying to rally his own mental defenses once more. Between the venue, the dying, the coming back, and everything since then, a part of him thinks it's a miracle he is still himself. Still anything like functional. He looks up at Honoka weakly in response to the question, then glances at the prison when Raiden offers his two cents.
His eyes are red, his cheeks still moist. The whole right side of his face is a bruise, and cuts and scrapes from the tumble and the crash are still clear but starting to fade slowly. His eyes are wide, as if in panic. "I can't..." he whispers. "It's too much... too loud..." His eyes squeeze shut, and his head bows again. "...can't keep it all out..."
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn takes no action.
HONOKA
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|-----==========|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Aranha 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 [E] Zach Glenn
ENCHANTED PRISON
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|------=========
COMBATSYS: Aranha successfully hits Enchanted Prison with Joker's Wild.
HONOKA
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|-----==========|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Aranha 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 [E] Zach Glenn
ENCHANTED PRISON
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|===============
[HONOKA]
The seals splinter apart at each of the traceur's approaches -- each of the runic letters splitting apart as if struck by multiple explosions. The 'fabric' binding the seams wears thin; if he had struck once, the mesh would begin to heal itself. The successive strikes continue to batter against the edges of the cube, leaving behind only bare, scorched metal in their wake, with a residual blue glow.
She had convinced herself not only that she was strong enough to fight on behalf of the gods, but strong enough to combat them. The words of Aranha -- that he believes Jedah would be a -danger- for her rather than a sheer impossibility -- is enough of a testament to the powers she wields before her. And yet -- she chose to squander her powers, to waste her efforts attacking her friends, who had passed her identity challenges with flying colors.
And she demonstrated her childishness -- with Kamui Kanna as her witness, no less.
'You fail.' The words from Kenshi resound in the Dahlia's mind. She casts her eyes away from Zach, scanning the floor. Spears, arrows, knives -- none of them really sing to her. But one sword, she singles out from the rest. One sword is more vibrant, containing souls of its won. 'Sento' -- its very name means 'combat'. And here -- she had failed.
Outside, the mountainsides and the very island itself are slowly sinking into the sea. The roar is so loud -- and yet, the sheltering walls of the entirety of Shang Tsung's Palace block out much of the sound. There is not much time -- the fabric of seals around the cube are already beginning to stitch back together.
"Almost," she chides herself, her voice small. She has not failed yet.
Another sympathetic glance is spared to Zach. She wants to help him -- but there is a more pressing issue first. In a clear voice, she intones, "Forgive me." And with hands raised to either side, the orbs whirl around her. One, two, three ... eight complete revolutions -- each spin faster than the last. And the faster they go, the flatter the spheres become, until they are nearly two-dimensional.
A flick of the wrist, and the buzzsaw discs surge forward like a spinning top. Combined with the earlier strikes from Zach and Aranha's laser-beam flight, the power from the soul-charged Dahlia's attack is sufficient to slice at the top of the prison...
COMBATSYS: Honoka successfully hits Enchanted Prison with Kamui Atemka.
COMBATSYS: Enchanted Prison takes no action.
COMBATSYS: Enchanted Prison can no longer fight.
HONOKA
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|-----==========
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Aranha 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 [E] Zach Glenn
Nothing happens, at first.
And then, after several moments of pregnant silence...
The four walls of the prison fall outwards. The top -- there's not much to speak of, there.
And within, stands Raiden -- a wizened, beardless man with eyes glowing blue.
"I greet you in peace, warriors. Your faith has been tested, and you have all passed."
[ARANHA]
When Aranha watches as the Dahlia gets to work finishing what Zach had started, he both cringes and breathes a sigh of relief at not being the recipient of that particular attack. The dramatic silence becomes almost unbearable until the box falls open.
The being that stands before him wasn't exactly who the traceur was expecting but to be fair, he didn't exactly know who or what to expect. He had questions, he wanted to thank him for saving his sister even if it was indirectly so. He wanted to check on his little sister.
"Welcome back..."
He then looks over to Zach see if he needs a hand up. And he looks back at the mountain which was the path back to the catacombs. He remembers how his routes down there were strangely changed as if they were meant to keep him trapped.
"What the hell is Tsung up to? Is he throwing a temper tantrum because Scarlet Dahlia over here beat his champ?"
[ZACH GLENN]
Zach looks up at Aranha again when the tracuer offers the hand. He takes it, somewhat weakly, but manages to get back on his feet. He still looks like a million miles of bad road. "We need to go," Zach croaks. "There... there more fear about this island. More than usual, I mean." He glances around nervously.
"We should probably get out of here," he whispers. He makes eye contact with the Dahlia for a moment but seems to refuse to look directly at the Thunder God, as if looking at the being would make things worse somehow.
[HONOKA]
The Dahlia, herself, is awestruck.
In all her years, learning about the folk hero Okikirmui and his holy connection with the Kamui above, never did she believe that she would meet any of their servants. Any so holy as Nakoruru.
And now, standing before one of the true Kamui, she has shamed herself this day, attacking her very own friends, the people who trusted her first -- and trusted her to the last.
Earthrealm's Champion drops to one knee, then the other. Here, bowed before Raiden, her radiance dims exponentially. The golden glow is pulled inwards, her skin returning to an almost ashen grey. Her hair no longer glistens with threads of gold, but instead, the raven black of their origin. Her eyes are lowered, her lower lip quivering.
"Forgive me, Kamui Kanna. I..."
There are either four people here -- or a hundred and four. And every single one is judging her.
But two souls matter more than the rest. The two who stood with her from the beginning, and the two who stood with her now, at the end.
Swallowing, she lowers her eyes again to the floor. "Forgive me, Aranha. Forgive me, Zach."
It is loud enough to be heard, even as the palace itself begins to tremble, its very foundations threatened by the island's devastation.
"Thank you! I am glad to breathe fresh air again, such as it is." Raiden, for his part, shares a smile which might seem awkwardly out-of-place, given the circumstances -- but only because he has a far wider view of the situation. "Worry not, my child. Your faith in me and the Kamui was tested. But always remember -- all of you -- that faith in =yourself= is all you need." To Aranha, he offers... a shrug? "Shang Tsung? I have been locked in a box for several months. I have no earthly idea what that madman is planning. But believe me, children -- I will find out."
He looks out from beneath his wide-brimmed hat, seeing the very same things Zach is seeing. And yet, he doesn't concern himself with the specifics. "You are ... right about that. The island is in grave peril... But I ask that you excuse me for just one moment."
And with a loud crack of lightning and an aloof, enigmatic smile, the Elder God disappears.
"... I'm... I... "
The Dahlia can not lift her head from her deferential position. It won't take a psychic to know just how many trials she's been through -- or how many burdens she had taken on for herself, in this tournament.
[ARANHA]
Aranha goes over to the note and lights it on fire. The message had been passed along and he didn't want Daniel to an evidence trail to follow to the Dahlia for the sake of obtaining the power claimed from his battle with Dr. Tessitore to ressurect her.
"I think we need to head to a centralized location to meet up with the others from Earthrealm. Any suggestions?"
While he doesn't say it, he mourns the loss of his bags back at the castle. A good portion of his cat burglar tools were left in his room. When he was trapped in the catacombs, he expected he would hav a chance to go back for them. Nope. And unfortunately for him, there were a few items that would be expensive to replace.
[ZACH GLENN]
Zach stares at the empty space Raiden occupied. The shard at his wrist glimmers for a moment, and Honoka can 'hear' something just below what would be audible for her. The Marine glances at Honoka and Aranha. "H-he'll be back," he says softly before looking away, before looking down at the shackle with a stunned expression.
Then there is a loud *CRACK!* as the bracelet snaps in two pieces, before falling to the arena floor. The shard evaporates in golden light even as the metal corrodes and crumbles into flakes of rust. The skin where the bracelet rested is pale, with several tiny cuts and scars criss-crossing from the repeated abuse of just-sharp-enough edges.
Zach looks... sad, and Honoka notices the mental walls starting to come up again. "...he's gone. Said his job was done," he says quietly.
[HONOKA]
The Dahlia stares at the floor, guiltily. When presented with the actual proof she had asked for -- she cannot look divinity in the eye. Weakness. Failure. Even in the moment of what should be triumph, the sleep-deprived Dahlia had managed to tarnish the situation, sowing confusion where there was already plenty to go around.
Through it all, though -- the Dahlia has realized that she was never as alone as she believed herself. Momentarily free of the intense pressure from her soul shard's influence, she looks around -- and listens.
For a moment: silence, inasmuch as a room can be silent when the island is falling apart around her. The momentary lull is broken by only two: voices who agreed with her, even when they had plenty of reason not to.
Reluctantly, Honoka lifts herself back to her feet. "Let me think about it... but first things first..." The soul shard at her neck glows dimly; golden threads arc to the dozens of souls remaining patiently in the imprisoning chamber. She considers apologizing now, but fears that it would seem hollow. Rushed. Especially since her earlier pleas for forgiveness were not answered. No, actions speak louder than words.
First and foremost, she walks to Zach. His pain -- his feelings of betrayal are still fresh in his mind. But more than that -- the departure of Glen.
"I'm sorry... ." Her brow knits together, her lips pulling into a small, remorseful frown. She blames herself for this, of course; in her fatigue, her own emotional state is raw, left open to be read like a book. But to let him go on as he is now, without even a tacit acknowledgement...
She leans towards him, placing a light kiss upon his cheek. Before withdrawing entirely from him, she whispers a brief phrase in Ainu -- one which he would know well.
Secondly, she walks to Aranha, extending her palm towards him. "You took a gamble on me." The soul shard shimmers, and eight of the threads extending from it glow brightly, pulling taut. The souls attached to the other end disappear -- subsumed entirely into the threads, which congeal into a concentrated mass of soul energy within Honoka's palm.
It is this energy which she returns to Aranha, with extended palm. "Gambles require a payoff."
With the contribution returned, Honoka steps away, wandering over to the disassembled prison, and stopping just before it. She kneels down, retrieving the singular sword, distinguished from the many others by its ethereal blue glow. She grips the sword with both hands, reverently and respectfully, as she draws in her breath. She will meet Kenshi again -- but until such time, she has been entrusted with the weapon. She lowers the blade, murmuring quietly to herself.
The golden threads tremble as the souls tethered to them vanish. In an instant, their power returns to the confines of the soul shard. But she does not call on them for now -- she has already heard their silent approval. Honoka begins to walk towards the part of the room that lacks a full ceiling, looking upwards...
"We should meet near the shore where the boats arrived. All of Shang Tsung's guards were rushing in that direction -- if his behavior towards them in the past means anything, he's too focused on his own agenda to look after their welfare."
Blue and white lightning crackles across the floor. In the span of half a second, the sparks of electricity race upwards, building up a humanoid form molecule by molecule.
Lord Raiden flashes an aloof smile, shadowed by his funny cone-shaped hat. His hands a scroll. He holds it up to Aranha and Zach, as nonchalantly as if he'd never left the room in the first place. "Without getting into overly precise detail... by imprisoning me at the site of Kombat, he was able to leverage several loopholes to prevent the disqualification of Outworld from the proceedings. I shall take advantage of one of those loopholes, which allows transportation of a Kombatant to any location of their consented agreement."
The smile grows taut, as the Thunder Lord lowers his chin downward. "Where you go from here is up to each of you."
[ZACH GLENN]
Zach leans away from the kiss, ever so slightly. Not enough to avoid it, as if he was acting on reflex and stopped himself. It should be understandable; Zach's been experiencing a sort of sensory overload the entire time he has been on this island and this fight was something of a breaking point. He nods shortly at the phrase, a brief flash of acceptance coming off of him to try and smooth things over.
He brings himself to look at Raiden, his expression firming up. "You get us home," Zach says in a steely tone. "Us," he gestures at Aranha and Honoka, "And everyone else who was brought here for this tournament." His right hand flexes open, then closed, in a gesture that Honoka would recognize. "They shouldn't die because Shang Tsung's taking his ball and going home like a spoiled brat."
[HONOKA]
Raiden laughs softly, in a fashion which manages to be equal measures genial and condescending. "I suppose that's fair, but there are a few things to address first, before you can leave the island proper..."
Log created on 22:10:46 03/17/2017 by Honoka, and last modified on 13:03:05 03/20/2017.