DCW IRL Round 12: Distant Reflections Seen Nearby

[Nara-chan 38]

^What the heck, you just got another score mark on my annoyed list.

"Set.."

[Rukia Kurosaki 357]

Tamsin wiped her brow with the back of her sleeve. Hesh and Alice had done well, and with the three of them, that Reaper was down. Shattered into nothingness, it was no more a bother than the Shadows that raged all around. She looked up from her companions to see Shadows closing in and Iyana and Aquilas fighting the second Reaper on their own. Cracking her neck as Alice praised their work, Tamsin pocketed her knife and headed back to Iyana. She noticed the tear in the girl's bag and gave the skeletal commander an impatient look. "You did that, huh?" Shaking her head, Tamsin smacked the Reaper on the side of the head with her bat, enjoying the dry crunch of metal against bone. She then started taking down the Shadows that attempted to protect it, dropping them one by one. "Take him down, you two! I've got ya covered."

[Nara-chan 38]

"You did this, huh?" asked Tasmin. With one swift swing, she whacked her bat on the side of the Reaper, making a CRUNCH sound, and started fighting the Shadows that started to come to their leader's aid. "Take him down, ya two! I got ya covered!" she commanded

Iyana's body obeyed immediately. She sliced off his left foot, and ducked one of his clumsily shot arrows, seeing that he was standing on one foot. She quickly sidestepped to the other side, the side Tasmin had dealt with, and removed his floating ribs. The Reaper made a sound that was something between fingernails on a blackboard and a wolf's howl. Aquilas was also dealing damage, stabbing the chinks in the destroyed armor of the skeletal warrior.

She heard the sounds of Hesh's guns, and smiled. Even though they were all from different worlds, they were good people, and Iyana couldn't handle it if one of them died in battle, even with her newfound courage. She kept slashing and stabbing, adrenaline coursing through her veins.

(I'll leave room for Rye's actions. And what about Misaki?)

[tengaku squared 291]

(This is going so well, I'm almost afraid to mess it up. Then again, that never stopped me. )

 

Your group whittled down the army of Shadows to a handful and engaged the Reapers, the commanders. Infused with adrenaline, you kept fighting. Then one of the Reapers did a very odd thing: it began to cackle. The sound seemed to echo off nonexistent walls. All the Shadows went silent, then the Shadows and Reapers you were fighting disappeared into the ground. Your group began to look around, wondering what was going on.

 

The ground began to rumble, and a force of hundreds of thousands of Shadows began rising out of the ground a distance away, led by several more Reapers. The emerging Reapers made a similar noise to the first Reapers, but with the larger numbers the sound was greatly amplified. Then, the emerging army moved to surround your group on all sides.

 

As you see the emerging force, you realize that the force you fought paled in comparison to the emerging force. While the force you fought was several thousands large, this one appeared to be in the millions. While the previous force was a scouting force, this one was a full-fledged army.

 

You just ran straight into a trap. The question is now: what can you do now? Try to get Joshua's attention? Run away? Hold your ground and make a last stand? Is fighting this large a group even an option?

[Maltavite 61]

(I thought if make a last stand is worth it... Head on )

 

Hesh looked around. Full-fledged army was coming to their way. He scowled, "If that idiot didnt take away the explosives, then I'll blast their lifeless crew..." Then he realized something, "Then why don't we take a shot to learn these idiots a lesson. Tamsin, whack these fools while I prepare some surprise for them... Dont get flanked!" He opened his bag and start to prepping the weapon.

 

Because arrows cannot take down multiple enemies in one sweep, guns could do the job. Hesh muttered, "With empty eyes I looked ahead, with clarity I now look back..." He now held an Mk 46 machine gun. He began firing at the army to cap some of them.

[tengaku squared 291]

(Scuttle? That means to blow holes into a ship in order to sink it. I don't see any ships here. )

[Maltavite 61]

(Oh, you mean the Glock 18? Yeah, it's one of my favorite guns beside the other.)

[tengaku squared 291]

(Your statement feels a bit non sequitur.)

[A L 217]

(Knew this woulda happened)

"Guys," Alice said one word and took out the golden crystals she had crammed in her pockets.

"We might want to use these." she said, a ghost of a smile on her face.

[Maltavite 61]

Hesh looked at Alice, "To weaken these hordes to bits? I'm down for that..."

[A L 217]

"Ah, these are supposed to be your memories." Alice said to Hesh.

[Maltavite 61]

Hesh even wasn't stunned by Alice's word, "My memories? Whatever, hand the crystals..."

[Nara-chan 38]

 Iyana and Aquilas fought as one, slashing and stabbing the Reaper. Yet it didn't die. It just stood there like a broken anatomy model, skull devoid of all emotion.

 

 Until it made that creepy grin and cackled, disappearing into the ground with the remaining Shadows. She wiped her forehead, almost disappointed, and observed herself. Her leggings were torn on the side, with a nasty scratch mark on the side. Fortunately it wasn't bleeding. 

 

 It's time, a voice inside her whispered.

 

 She dug into her kind-of-damaged body bag and brought out her cellphone. "Guys, remember when we landed here? That message in the cellphone? Hesh, Aquilas, I'll fill you in later, but I received another message on it." She showed everyone the message, and was about to ask their thoughts on it when the ground shook again. She almost thought it was another grenade, but she looked at the horizon and saw another force of darkness. More Reapers on horseback were leading it, making the same noise as before, but with more Reapers, it sounded like there was a sound system playing that noise. She flicked her wrist and more knives popped out, but fighting this seemed impossible. The enemies a while ago were just a cohort. This was a full legion.

 

 Alice dug into her pockets and brought out some yellow crystals. "We might want to use these" she said. As Alice cleared up Hesh's confusion, she waited for that "feeling" Joshua had said that she would get if one of her own memories back,but there was none. Her eyes flitted from side to side as all the others collected their memories.

 

The legion was getting closer and Iyana took the arrow from the Reaper. "Prem, mind if I don't give you this? I have a feeling this will be a handy weapon."

[Rye 122]

"Go!"

 

Aquilas and Iyana advanced on their opponent, their sharp blades glinting yellow. They began slashing fiercely and aggressively at the Reaper, slicing through its bones and stabbing it through the chunks in its armor.

 

Aquilas managed to slash through the joint connecting the Reaper's arm to its torso, so its right limb hung loosely on its shoulder. She grabbed the loose limb and pulled it forcefully from the creature's body, the force so hard the Reaper's arm tore off. Iyana also managed to slice off the Reaper's left foot, and Aquilas smiled. She also noticed that not a single Shadow was rushing to the Reaper's defense. She saw Tamsin hitting each and every Shadow that came their way, thus leaving the Reaper defenseless. "Take him down, you two! I've got ya covered." Tamsin said, and Aquilas continued slashing at the Reaper.

 

Aquilas was about to drive her dagger through the Reaper's skull when it started making a distorted, cold sound, like it was cackling. Then the Reaper and all the other Shadows disappeared, leaving her group in the middle of the endless whiteness, as if no battle happened. The battle was over, or so they thought. 

 

It was simply the calm before the storm.

 

The ground around them started shaking, as if a massive earthquake just struck the Rift. The floor before them broke open, revealing an army of Shadows led by more Reapers.

 

The army this time, though, was a real army. The group they fought earlier was nothing compared to this one. This group's size was more than a thousand times larger than the one they battled.  And this one was probably led by a lot more Reapers than the one before. 

 

She was tempted to retreat. Her group didn't stand a chance against this legion. Suddenly, Aquilas remembered the angel's words.

 

"Show me what you got. The strength of the ego will be the your way out of the Rift." 

 

Aquilas took a deep breath. If she wanted to get out of the Rift, she needed to be strong. She needed to fight her way against the creatures, even if it meant her death. It was either death or getting out of the Rift. Besides, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to go back to her life before she crashed landed into the Rift. And even if I die, she said to herself, it won't be in vain. The others will be a step closer to getting out of this place. 

 

"I won't retreat. I won't let a bunch of soulless creatures who feed on the memories of people like us scare me away; we are so much more than that." She said, standing her ground.

 

She saw the black-haired girl---Alice, was it? holding out a couple of yellow crystals. A weird feeling soared through her body. She felt--strange was the only word for it, as if the crystals were drawing her in. Then it came to her---one of those crystals must be her memories, and this was the feeling that Tamsin was talking about, how you would know that you were near your memories. The memory crystals draw in the person who owns them.

 

She went over to Alice. "Alice, was it?" Aquilas asked. She took her crystal, and put it in her bag. She decided she'd just deal with them later; right now they'll just serve as a distraction. "I'm Aquilas. Nice to meet you, Alice." She said, then turned to face the army.

 

"Someone needs to call Joshua. We'll need some help over here." 

 

Dear, Moho-san,

 

I have a question:

 

I found three meanings for the word ego. Which one was Joshua referring to in his statement?: "Show me what you got. The strength of the ego will be the your way out of the Rift."

 

e-go (noun)

• a person's sense of self-esteem or self-importance. (synonyms: self-esteem, self-importance, self-worth, self-respect, self-image, self-confidence)
• (Psychoanalysis) the part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and the unconscious and is responsible for reality testing and a sense of personal identity.
• (in metaphysics) a conscious thinking subject.

Personally, I think the first two meaning may somehow be applicable to the situation. The second one since the Rift is probably a crazy place that will test your sanity and your sense of personal identity. Thank you!

[premiumemo 37]

"Aim... Shoot...Aim... Shoot..."

Prem was continuing alone for a moment fighting the shadows as everyone else was busy with the Reapers...

Suddenly there was a crackling sound, Prem turned towards the source of the sound, Tamsin and Hesh had brought down a Reaper...

Suddenly all the shadows started sinking to the ground... Prem jumped..! He thought he was gonna go down too... But fortunately he wasn't... And a sign of relief could be seen on his face... He bended down and started collecting his arrows...

He got up and then saw the next lot rising at a distance... "Whaaa... " came out of his jaws dropped...

He ran to the group and they were already taking, as he reached,"Prem, mind if I don't give you this? I have a feeling this will be a handy weapon." said Iyana...

"Yeah sure, I already have 290ish... " He said with a smile on his face...

Then Alice showed the Crystals...

Everyone took it except Prem... He backed off a little... And he continued listening Aquilas...

"Someone needs to call Joshua. We'll need some help over here." concluded Aquilas...

"I agree, we can't run away like cowards... But I don't see any harm in calling Joshua, moreover he is more experienced... Even if he can't fight with us, atleast he can tell us the way out of this never ending maze I guess... "

[Misaki-chan 164]

The clanking of swords echoed as Misaki and a Reaper dueled, now putting all of their body weight into their sword and trying to not be the one who gave up and caught off guard. It was good, far better than the Shadows that she had been defeating by the hundreds. But years of training weren't for nothing, and the girl suddenly pulled back, causing the Reaper to stumble just a tad. It was a good enough opening for the girl as she quickly lunged at it before stabbing it with her knife and pulling upward. She then quickly pulled it out before stabbing it again and again, hitting anywhere she could. The onslaught of damage eventually became too much for the Reaper and it soon fell. 

 

Her attention went back to the Shadows, who she had ignored while she battled the Reaper. And they did not seem to happy about seeing one of their higher ups fall. They attacked all at once, endlessly trying to kill her. When one was gone, another quickly took its place. Nonetheless, the girl didn't call for help but instead fought them all, slaying as many as she could. Suddenly, she heard a cackle echo into the nothing of the Rift. In a blink of an eye, the army was gone. Confusion struck the group as they slowly came together. What just happened?

 

The ground began to rumble as a huge army of Shadows and Reapers emerged from the ground. There were millions of them, probably too many for them to take on. But Misaki didn't run. She never ran. She would rather fight to her last breath then run and see another day.

 

"If that idiot didnt take away the explosives, then I'll blast their lifeless crew..." Hesh said. "Then why don't we take a shot to learn these idiots a lesson. Tamsin, whack these fools while I prepare some surprise for them... Dont get flanked!" He opened his bag and took out some strange thing, presumably a weapon. He then began to do do something that seemed to make it go "BANG BANG BANG" rapidly at the oncoming army. The girl jumped, unsure of what to think of the weapon. 

 

"I won't retreat. I won't let a bunch of soulless creatures who feed on the memories of people like us scare me away; we are so much more than that," the newest female member of their group then said, looking tall and brave.

 

Guys," Alice said, a ghost of a smile on her lips. "We might want to use these." 

 

In her hand was some crystals, their crystals, glowing yellow. Misaki took hers and looked at it for a second before deciding to pocket it away. They couldn't do anything with them without Joshua so there really was no other choice. 

 

"Alice, was it?" the new girl asked. Misaki watched as the girl took her crystal, and put it in her bag. "I'm Aquilas. Nice to meet you, Alice." 

 

As she turned to face the army, she said, "Someone needs to call Joshua. We'll need some help over here." 

 

"I agree, we can't run away like cowards... But I don't see any harm in calling Joshua, moreover he is more experienced... Even if he can't fight with us, at least he can tell us the way out of this never ending maze I guess... " 

 

Misaki did want to know what was in her memory crystal, so she added, "I agree. At the very least he can tell us how to access our crystals."

[A L 217]

All of her memories she had needed flooded her mind when Alice ensured Alita's demise. She had no use for the lone crystal in her pocket. She didn't need to remember her past or what had happened to her, she was in the Rift now.

 

The crystals floated in the palm of their owners and obtained a mellow glow, before disappearing in a flash of small concentrated light that eventually dispersed into white. The memories unlocked in their owners' minds.

 

That solves that. Alice thought to herself. The army they were facing was in way too great a number to be handled by them. Lucky for them they were 7 humans. And 7 was the key number to the mysteries of the universe and the Rift. She fumbled into her pocket, typing fast on a hidden cellphone before sending it to Iyanas'. Alice took out three bullets and fixed them into her revolver, muttering something about tight pockets.

 

"So, who wants to retreat and change weapons? I wouldn't mind wasting a bullet on you if you get in my way. It's suicide to charge at them with these knives." Alice said darkly but sarcastically.

[Maltavite 61]

Hesh replied with sarcasm, "Unless you have a lot of insanity to charged at the enemies with knife..." He looked at Misaki, "I'll shot anyone who feel back if I were you..." Hesh kept firing his Mk. 46 at the armee of Shadows. He chuckled, "Send a billions of Shadows to me and i'll cut them down, idiots!"

[Rye 122]

"So, who wants to retreat and change weapons? I wouldn't mind wasting a bullet on you if you get in my way. It's suicide to charge at them with these knives." Alice said, her voice tinged with sarcasm. She did have a point.

 

Aquilas looked into her leather bag. She still had a lot of ammo, but not enough for the incoming army of probably millions of Shadows. "I agree with Alice," Aquilas said, looking at the black-haired girl, who was loading her revolver. "I think I'll retrieve some ammo first before I get into battle. And probably get some explosive while I'm at it. They deal great damage, and are effective in fighting large groups." The others were still, staring into the army, while some others were examining their memory crystals. Hesh, meanwhile, was now shooting at the Shadows with his Mk. 46. 

 

Aquilas felt the weight of the memory crystal in her bag. It wasn't so big, just a small crystal with a yellowish tint, like their weapons. Aquilas wasn't planning to have the memories returned at the moment, anyway. It's not like they'll be of help in the Rift.

 

She turned to her companions.

 

"What now?"

[Maltavite 61]

Hesh looked at Aquilas as he sprayed his Mk. 46 at the Shadows. He cap forty of them. "Okay, Aquilas. You'll need this Glock 18 for the CQC in the case your gun click empty. If Joshua wasn't arrived, we'll run." He handed her his Glock 18.

[tengaku squared 291]

Dear, Moho-san,

 

I have a question:

 

I found three meanings for the word ego. Which one was Joshua referring to in his statement?: "Show me what you got. The strength of the ego will be the your way out of the Rift."

 

e-go (noun)

• a person's sense of self-esteem or self-importance. (synonyms: self-esteem, self-importance, self-worth, self-respect, self-image, self-confidence)
• (Psychoanalysis) the part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and the unconscious and is responsible for reality testing and a sense of personal identity.
• (in metaphysics) a conscious thinking subject.

Personally, I think the first two meaning may somehow be applicable to the situation. The second one since the Rift is probably a crazy place that will test your sanity and your sense of personal identity. Thank you!

Yes.

 

The army they were facing was in way too great a number to be handled by them. Lucky for them they were 7 humans. And 7 was the key number to the mysteries of the universe and the Rift.

Is seven the key number? I think there's another number that's far more significant than seven. Not that a single number could possibly help you. Ha!

 

On a completely relevant note, how exactly do you guys plan to contact Joshua?

[A L 217]

Youre overthinking. 7 is just considered lucky. Maybe we can use magic later.

[Maltavite 61]

(Or 13?)

Hesh hollered at his companion, "I'll kept these lifeless idiots busy." He kept firing his Mk 46 as he feel back to his companion's position.

[premiumemo 37]

"Maybe he already is listening to us... Hiding somewhere here..." Prem said looking above...

"Remember, last time also he already knew what had happened... He knew Alita was dead, he knew Hesh was gonna go alone..! He knew it all..!"

Prem again looked up and shouted, "Joshua..! If you're there you probably know everything... But here we aren't fighting for ourselves... We got nothing to loose here... We are doing this so there is no one after us who gets thrown in here and dies like a rat... We're doing this so that no one after us die without remembering their loved ones... We're doing this for you, your dumb coffee shop... We're doing this for Alita... C'mon man, fight with us, let's end this forever..! We might be 'stupid' humans, but I don't see your harm if you give us a shot..!"

"it's worth a try " Prem said to himself...

[Will he show up..?]

[Nara-chan 38]

Oh crap.

Iyana didn't really agree with Aquilas on this one. Joshua had stated he had no love for human beings. but she guessed he made them drink the coffee to fight his enemy. Amnesiac warriors were no good. So maybe he would come. But how would they contact him?

Hesh started capping off Shadows with his gun, and someone suggested a weapon switch. Iyana gripped her Swiss Army knife. she had gotten attached to this multi-purpose weapon. She wanted some explosives too, however, but she wouldn't trade her weapon.

Oh.

Joshua had mentioned getting rid of some explosives in Hesh's bag. But did he make them vaporize by angel-magic, or scattered them? She also remembered the explosion a while ago. Nobody had been armed with a grenade. Maybe Joshua had purposely scattered them for the 7 people to find. Only he could have the ability to make those Rift-able. She started patting the ground, hoping to find a grenade.

Prem started chanting something, and Iyana realized it was a call to Joshua. It could work, but she didn't want to do it, for some reason.

The cellphone

She fumbled in her bag and brought out her cellphone. She went to the Inbox and found something odd. A message unlike the others she recieved.