2756/The Purification Rite

The Purification Rite
Date of Scene:	07 August 2015
Location:	The Cavern of Death
Synopsis:	Sensing an overflow of evil from a certain location, a single priestess makes the journey to ultimately purge those who should not be from this world. She didn't expect that she would have help however.
Cast of Characters:	236, Rebecca Chambers, 652, Reiji Arisu, 847

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Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     The time had come. The region surrounding the Cavern of The Dead had seen a rise in the number of undead in recent weeks. They were more numerous, and they even seemed to be organized. Something was wrong. They were planning for something and no one knew what it was. What did undead want from the living world anyway?

     People were getting worried and before too long, requests had been put out to both the Confederacy and Union, as well as the Syndicate, in hopes that they would be able to spare the manpower to investigate this issue.

     However, it seemed that one individual had taken it upon herself to investigate the matter solo. Unaware that both the Union and Confederacy were aware of the issue, one Kanno Konoe set forth to take care of this situation. The plod of her shoes against the dirt was all that could be heard for quite a long time. Eventually, her steps came to a halt.

     The evil energy she's been feeling for miles was plain as day now. Before her was a graveyard, filled with desecrated headstones. Some intact, some half gone, others totally destroyed. To the sides were the beginnings of a forest. And far, far ahead, the mouth of the cavern's But there were no zombies or skeletons aimlessly roaming.

     No, like the reports said, they were neatly organized. Standing together in ranks. Rotting zombies and lightly equipped skeletons, armed with basic swords and spears. They were waiting. ...Waiting for something.

     But what?

     The priestess narrowed her eyes, but did not immediately make a move. There were a lot of guards posted at the entrance. Her eyes swept left and right, counting them up and considering the best path forward. She was not aware that help would be arriving, in one form or another.

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
    The Cavern of the Dead. In the Multiverse, that could be caused by anything and everything. In Raccoon City, it would most likely be a code-name for an Umbrella testing ground that was inside the underground or something of that nature. But regardless of what, why, who, or other factors like that, something has to be done! For Rebecca Chambers, dealing with things involving the living dead has become a bit of an unintended but useful skill for her, so she's decided to look into this matter in hopes of finding out what's going on and preventing anything bad from happening.

    As soon as Rebecca approached the general area and spotted the graveyard, she began to feel a lump in her throat as uneasiness began to overtake her. Given how many graves there were, it was painfully obvious there was more than likely going to be quite a lot of undead here, and that worried Rebecca. After a moment, she shook her head and reached into her holster to load her custom Magnum. Each clip held eight rounds and while she had plenty of clips, she knew that every shot had to count when dealing with the undead.

    "Why am I hesitating?" She mutters to herself as she gets a move on. "I'm with S.T.A.R.S., I can handle just about anything! This is supposed to be child's play for me!"

Audrey Stormfist (652) has posed:
    AUDREY STORMFIST, supervisor for KIRIN within the Murasame Zaibatsu, is prone to the same fits of boredom as anyone else; some days just have less going on. Less classes, less duties, less work. The stalled war against Shiva's warlord was a boon for business alright, but it also meant a lot of competition rose to support Ramuh's efforts. The end result is a lot more delegation of work, and a lot less of Audrey having to personally get involved. And that means more time to pursue hobies or assorted duties.

    Like punching undead!

    Ever looking for opportunities to keep her wits sharpened, the late teen in a blue, reinforced military overcoat, with her short dyed-black-from-blonde hair and purple-blue eyes can be seen walking around the area, sheathed gunblade to her side, sleek magitech gloves on her hands disappearing under her sleeves. Rather than bringing drones, she's come alone, though she's prioritized, of all her equipment, pieces of gear with holy spell matrices in them. Including basic holy shells for the magitech.

    She isn't so subtle that Konoe won't hear her arrive, as she walks in from behind, arms still crossed. "I see the notice was warranted. Organized undead, surely they must be working under a lord. A lich, vampire or necromancer of some sort. I don't suppose you've found traces of that already?"

    Might as well ask of any recon's been done.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    The appearance of a small horde of undead is enough to merit the intervention of the Union's newest monster-hunting organization. A man walks amidst the gravestones, a thin cigarette tucked between his lips. Blue-grey smoke trails in his wake as he makes his way toward that... That feeling. That undeniably unsettling feeling over in the distance. Reiji knows it well- the stench of undeath, the blight upon the ordered weave of nature.

He seems to be... pretty casual about his approach, though.

    The weapon rack in his hand sways as he strolls on up, the arms stored upon it clattering with every swing. A brass shell-casing clatters to the ground in his wake as he clears a safety blank from a distinctly golden handgun. Up in the distance, he sees them- a veritable army of them. Far too organized for a mere gaggle of ghouls.

There's someone behind this. Probably. Or else it's an entire undead regiment, risen at once. Whatever the case, he probably has enough tools for the job.

    Reiji nods to Rebecca as he passes her by, then casts a curious glance to Konoe as he nears her. Embers and ash flicker down from the tip of his lit cigarette as he spits it into the cobblestones ahead of him. He crushes it beneath his boot-heel. "No need to dawdle. Let's start thinning the herd. Their boss will show himself eventually."

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron has a modicum of experience with undead. Part of which involved him having BEEN undead at one point. An unpleasant experience. So he perhaps goes into this with more sympathy for these creatures than one might think of an ex-holy warrior. But no less ready to put them to rest when the need arises. No pun indended...

    Therefore, part of that help comes in the form of an older man with black hair, graying at the sides and top of his forehead. This man wears a leather breastplate and loose gray pants, with a red coat that's worn off one arm. He looks something like a samurai, but that sword is unmistakeably a two-handed sword.

    One might be able to tell by sound that he's arriving too -- his steps are audible. While he's not overly loud on approach, those boots make a distinctive sound on the dirt. Soft thumps that somehow only become audible once he's close.

    He heads to where people are gathering. The sound of his boots should have made his presence known to those that were aware. Audrey's words get a nod, those are good question. However when Reiji speaks up, he does as well, "Wait a moment. Let's see if we can save some time. If we know where to strike to cut the head of the serpent off, so to speak, there will be less danger."

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     Konoe heard them long before she saw them. Her ears twitched and quietly, she turned to look. First spotting Rebecca, then Audrey, followed by Reiji and Auron. "......." Who were these people? The priestess frowned in distrust, and stayed silent for a moment. But eventually, she spoke up.

     "It's obvious a higher power is organizing them. No standard undead would give off this energy permeating through the air right now." She turned her gaze upwards, as if scrutinizing the air once more." She sighed after, addressing Auron. "You have good ideas, unfortunately..." Her eyes narrowed once more, zeroing in on the undead guarding the entrance.

     They were being stared at.

     "We don't have that luxury anymore." She produced a handful of paper seals, body tensing up in preparation for what was to come.

     One of the skeletons posted by the entrance, wearing just slightly better quality armor than the others, pointed it's sword towards the group. The other zombies and skeletons immediately took heed and started a mad rush through the graveyard, crossing the distance at a speed that was beyond typical undead. There were about several dozen of them. Thirty two, broken off into three squads of twelve. One group zeroed in on Audrey and Rebecca, another went another Reiji and Auron, and the last group went straight Konoe herself. They didn't look especially powerful however.

     MEANWHILE

     "My lord, we have visitors." A hooded figure spoke into the vast darkness within a certain space of the cavern.

     A low rumble followed, as if a chuckle. The ground shook, and in the darkness, two massive red orbs lit up. "Very good. Let them come. Our conquest begins here..."

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
    "I'm not sure I follow," Rebecca says, trying to maintain a neutral look towards this woman who she's never met before. She doesn't want to indicate that she's confused, as that might make her feel uncomfortable or that she's dealing with an amateur, when Rebecca is more than that. Looking at the seals, Rebecca attempts to get a better look at what they are, when something else draws her attention.

    "Oh hell no."

    Indeed, it was so, as the undead were rushing faster than the usual zombies that Rebecca was used to (save for Crimson Heads, which were prototypes that never made it out of the initial stages.) Nevertheless, Rebecca is definitely not used to undead running this quickly, but that doesn't mean she's scared either.

    "Fall back!" Rebecca yells to no one in particular as a spur-of-the-moment thing, before she begins pulling back herself, opening fire on the nearest undead that are approaching her. Normally she'd be firing rapidly, but with a magnum that sacrifices clip size for power, every shot has to count.

Audrey Stormfist (652) has posed:
    "Then we had best figure out what lord these beings serve before we have to engage him or her. Surprise is no one's friend but the caster's." Perhaps there might be traces of the spells or tools used to organize these undead, around the premises or on the creatures themselves. Audrey glances about, even as the undead begin their charge.

    She seeks to visually identify if the undead were animated while still in their tombs, or if they were dug out first-- the hole and mess around the graveyard should allow telling that much, at least, unless they were careful to cover their traces.

    Certainly not one to act second, though, she also reaches into her pocket, pulling a long, glowing white spear. Nevermind the fact clothes don't work like that, hammerspace is great.

    The Heritor charges in, swinging the holy lance in wide arcs; she uses it to parry and knock aside weapons by the same token, and occasional bursts of magic from her allow the weapon to discharge small bursts of holy energy. Nothing especially fancy or powerful, but if the undead aren't either it'll leave a mark.

    "I would not bother trying to intimidate them through words, there is a fair chance they don't have the luxury of disobeying orders to begin with."

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    "Now, ordinarily," Reiji asides to Auron, "I would agree with you, but..." The undead horde lurches forward. His eyes flicker towards Konoe. "As the priestess says, we don't exactly have the time to search. Aim for the head or sever the spine. Use fire if you've got it, or holy spells if you have those."

    Flame cuts a burning ribbon through the air as Reiji unsheathes Karin. Gold is replaced in its holster in favor of a large, sawn-off shotgun. Fire and Wood, the two stages of Yang. Reiji surges forward, kicking his arsenal high up into the air as he leaps into the shambling swarm. "Hollywood," he intones, pulling the trigger on his shotgun, unleashing clouds of blessed, shredding shrapnel as he drives down into the thick of things. "Karin," he grunts, whirling the flaming weapon in great, slicing arcs.

    "Wood--" More shotgun shells fall to the ground at his feet. The air is thick with gunsmoke and a scent reminiscent of incense. "--Feeds flame!" Karin is brought about in a scything circle, its fire leaping into the clouds of fragrant smoke, consuming and transforming them into a widening halo of sacred flame!

Auron (236) has posed:
    It's true, none of them have introduced themselves. The samurai (from the looks of him) offers a polite nod. "Auron. Captain with the Union," he offers, by way of introduction. It's about all he has time to offer, too. Konoe points it out-- the undead are starting to attack. His sword is drawn, and he stances in preparation for the attack. He is a stable combatant, and plants his feet firmly on the ground to face the group of approaching undead.

    "You are probably right," he notes to Audrey's concluding comment regarding not intimidating them through words. And to Reiji, he nods. "Head or spine. Understood." Fire and holy aren't really in his repertoire. But that sword... is actually sharper than it looks. Normally swords of that size are more for bludgeoning than cutting. Auron's blade seems ot be able to do both. However there is no shortage of swings with the flat of the blade aimed at the head of undead that attack him.

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     Konoe frowned again. "I don't know. This could be the work of a necromancer. Or a vampire. Or maybe a being that was an accomplished mage in life, risen from the dead." She sounded very unsure. She could read the energy in the air, and tell that it was 'evil', but nothing more than that. She typically didn't /need/ more than that.

     Audrey's cursory glance of her surroundings would tell her that the graves surround them had most likely been dug up from the inside. It seemed very unlikely that someone dug them out and animated them. Rather, they were given power and they rose by themselves. ...Would that have been it? The evidence given so far made it seem that way.

     The group makes quick work of their opponents. Rebecca's shots are slow and methodical, always well placed. Each foe that got too close wound up having it's head blown off. "Braaaaaaaaain......sss...." One particular zombie uttered as it crumpled to the ground, it's own head mostly olbiterated.

     Audrey's choice of weapon is apt. The zombies are cleared away as if they were mere cannon fodder. The skeletons attempt to dodge and parry, but their skills and the quality of their weapons are woefully lacking. Holy energy seared through their bones, burning them to ash and leaving only their rusted, ill kept arms behind.

     Reiji's knowledge is considerable. He gave good advice. Destroy the head or spine, and use fire or holy. Zombies are used as meat shields by the slightly more skilled skeletons. The remaining few leap over the incinerating corpses or their allies, bringing swords and lances down to bear on the Shinra Operative. But it is for naught. Shotgun fire pick several of them out of the air. The rest block with their meager shields, but Karin is brought back around. Cleaving through both body and armor.

     Auron clearly expressed his experience at the art of combat. Planting his feet into the ground, he was ready for all who came at him. And come they did. They charged, aiming to surround the samurai. A notable tactic, if only it were against a mook and not an elite. Auron's simple cleave slices through the undead that attempt to surround him in a neat, horizontal line. There is a pause.

     "......."

     And then they all fall to the ground, their heads destroyed.

     Konoe just watched wide eyed as these FREAKS destroyed the enemy without ANY problems WHATSOEVER. "......." WHO WERE THESE PEOPLE? WHERE DID THEY COME FROM? Much more simply by comparison, Konoe flung out the handful of seals she was holding, sending them flying outwards. Each seal latched onto an undead, and proceeded to explode in divine light. They were put down without much fuss. A sigh escaped from her after. "The entrance is clear. ...I can feel that the energy is stronger within." She stared at the others, still horribly suspicious of them all. "....I'm Konoe Kanno." A simple introduction. And then, without further comment, she proceeded across the gaveyard and into the cavern.

     Inside, it was...much different then described. Someone had been doing a bit of home decorating. There were torches lining the cavern walls, illuminating the otherwise dark locale. Nothing was stopping them...yet.

Audrey Stormfist (652) has posed:
    Oh, were they supposed to introduce themselves?
    Audrey supposes that would probably be polite, in hindsight.

    "Audrey Stormfist. Murasame Zaibatsu, but not here on business."

    "Magic, definitely. The creatures dug their way out of their graves of their own power. Were this a feat of technology, certainly the man in charge would have had to dig them out first," Audrey says between swings of her spear. It's a generalized statement-- one that's wrong, even, given the Multiverse's endless possibilities-- but from her experience, that's how that works. "A powerful mage, as you say, is likely to blame. If he follows standard practices, he will be lightly armored and vulnerable in melee combat-- but it could be a dark lord, in which case he'll be woefully powerful in melee combat and armored." So basically: welp, it could still be anything or anyone.

    Maybe if Xiao were here, she'd be able to tell immediatly what they're dealing with.

    As the undead fall, the Heritor falls in line with the others, ready to head deeper in. "You use paper seals for combat? Interesting. How do they work? You must have to prepare them by-hand constantly." Mild interest is also given to Reiji, Audrey's eyes on his weapons. "And, that's an interesting setup for your blades. I've never seen weapons sheathed quite like that. I take it each serves a purpose?"

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
    Rebecca is a little surprised by the seals doing their jobs, but isn't shocked. She's read about mythology and things like that so she knows what's going on. Once the enemies were defeated, she proceeded after Konoe with her Magnum at the ready, after loading a new clip into it. "I'm Ensign Rebecca Chambers of the Union," Rebecca replied quickly to Konoe. "I'm also an expert with undead related things." The term is a bit loosely used, since Lickers, Hunters, and Tyrants aren't exactly the same as the undead here, but they fall under the same spectrum in some ways.

    Once Rebecca got into the cavern, she stopped suddenly. Almost like there was an unconscious signal to tell her to wait a minute. She looked around with her Magnum drawn, almost expecting an ambush or some creepy, unseen voice giving a spooky welcome to them. None of these happened just yet, but Rebecca was still feeling uneasy about it all the same. "I take it this isn't just a tomb of some kind?" Rebecca asks, not showing any hints of sarcasm in her voice.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    All the bodies hit the floor.

    Reiji lifts Karin to the sky. It slides back into its falling sheath with a hiss of steel. He catches the bulky thing, spinning it about before shoving his shotgun back into place. "Well," Reiji murmurs, cracking his neck, "That wasn't so bad. This lich must not have expected this kind of response."

    He glances back toward Konoe, quirking a brow at the seals she uses to burn away the undead. "Interesting," he observes, taking a moment to affix a fresh clip into Hollywood. "Not too many Youkai Miko around the multiverse. I am Reiji Arisu, agent of the Shinra organization. It's a pleasure to meet you."

    He turns, peering down into the cavern. Reiji breathes a brief sigh as he draws his handgun. "Auron, you take point," the exorcist says, "I'll cover the rear. Everyone else file in between us. Stick together down there."

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron doesn't relax when it looks like the zombies have fallen. There are probably more where that came from, and he knows it. However, he does respond to Konoe's introduction. "Good to meet you. Pity it wasn't on better circumstances." he offers a half-smile. Seems he's capable of some levity.

    Audrey's assessment gets a nod. "That's one possibility eliminated," he remarks as he follows Konoe across the graveyard and into the cavern. The technology angle, that is. Sure it could be any kind of magic... but at least they know it's magic. That's more information than they had before, at least. Rebecca's question gets a look. "That would be too easy," he quips.

    He nods, though, as Reiji notes that he should take point. "Good idea." He's accustomed to doing that anyway, and the ease with which he makes to take a position at the front probably tells of it.

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     Oh no. PEOPLE TALKING TO HER. Konoe awkwardly paused, and then looked aside at Audrey. "Um...I don't make them by hand." She raised an arm, and then, as if by sleight of hand, a single seal appeared between her fingers. In another instead, there were a handful. Another instant and it was back down to two. Then they were gone.

     She looked on ahead, keeping an eye out for any danger as they all moved through the cavern tunnel without resistance. "They're delayed spells. The writing on the seal invokes the spell once contact is made with a chosen target." Not much more was explained than that. She didn't seem good at this socializing thing.

     Rebecca is given a nod. "I'm not sure, but given the signs, it seems to be a tomb." A single glance about followed. "It looks like someone did some decorating though." A frown followed that. "Whoever this is must think very highly of themselves."

     Reiji is given an odd sort of look at 'Youkai Miko'. "......" It was a look that seemed to state that she wasn't quite comfortable with that statement. Trouble usually followed it. ...Well, they were already in trouble now, so she couldn't blame him this time.

     Auron is given a slight smile in return. It's forced, but more because she's not used to positive social interaction perhaps. Konoe is quick to follow directions and move forward after.

     After some time, they arrive in a large, open area of the cavern. The torches spread out and stone pillars begin to appear, ornately carved as if for a castle. Deeper at the end, a large set of ornate gates can be seen clear as day. They look heavy and imposing. A sickly black aura can clearly be seen emanating from them. SO WHO WANTS TO TOUCH IT?

     Off to the side, on the left, another tunnel appears to open up, leading down a different path than the one they came from. "That door..." Konoe muttered. But before she could say more, a loud clunk of metal interrupted. Followed by several more. From the other path, emerged a fresh group of undead.

     They were decked out in full armor from head to toe. Black armor with golden lining. Inside their visors, gleams of red could be seen. They stood at about seven feet, all wielding swords large enough to cleave horses. There were four of them in total.

     They lumbered towards the group with a slow, clear intention. They were in no rush. Looks like that door would have to wait.

     MEANWHILE

     "Ahahahaha! Excellent! Excellent! They are far more skilled than I would have hoped for first responders." A deep, echoing voice in the chamber of darkness uttered. "Their defeat will make my message to the worlds, every single world, clear."

     The hooded figured nodded. "Very good sir. Shall I prepare to meet our...guests?"

     The vaguely massive form obscured by the darkness made some sort of movement that could be construed as a nod. "Yes. Welcome them, but do not let them through so easily. We are making a statement."

     The figure nodded, and then in a flash of green light, vanished.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    Reiji doesn't worry too badly about untalkative Youkai Mikos. Maybe he's got his mind on the mission instead? Fortunately it doesn't take long for the group to fall into a proper dungeoneering formation- seems like these guys are relatively professional, on the whole. Soon, though, they come upon their next challenge...

A positively /noxious/ door.

    "I don't like this," Reiji mutters as his eyes affix to the door. But... They have other trouble. The exorcist grunts, turning his heavy, golden gun toward the second corridor. "Four contacts. Heavy arms, heavy armor."

    "Gold," Reiji growls, taking aim at the things' helmeted heads. "Firing. Clear the line," as promised, Reiji depresses the trigger. Gold roars as he fires, oversized slugs screaming through the stale air. Each one seems to light up as they peel through the air, igniting with the elemental energies of Metal. They should be able to punch through their armor just fine.

...Probably.

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
    "I was afraid of that," Rebecca replies, shaking her head. The fact that it was once used as a tomb means that there's definitely plenty of undead to go around here based on the size of it. She grips her Magnum tighter, narrowing her eyes as if anticipating another attack at any moment. And just like she expected, her sixth sense turned out to be right on the money.

    The sound of more undead approaching, and the armor they're clad in, it makes Rebecca scowl a little. "Did they know we were coming or do we just have bad luck?" Rebecca mutters to no one in particular, before stepping back a little and giving herself room to breathe. Then she opens fire again, using carefully timed and aimed shots to conserve ammunition.

Audrey Stormfist (652) has posed:
    "And you can just produce them at will, no need to write anything on actual paper? That must be much handier than the alternative, though I have to wonder how one teaches to summon pieces of paper like that, especially pieces of paper with spells on them." Perhaps it's just one of those worlds where magic can do anything; not that Audrey'll complain. Keeping tabs on what people can do is part of her job, and she's just curious besides.

    Big gate, corridor, and very large, armored undead. Different from the ones outside. "I believe they may have been expecting us, yes, or they would have sent their forces to push us out. One doesn't wait for intruders to make it deeper unless one intends to weaken them gradually-- do not waste too much energy on these. The lord is likely counting on it."

    Since Auron took point, the Heritor unsheathes her gunblade, lowering her spear for the moment. She checks the revolver chamber, and then flicks it back closed, raising the weapon up and opening fire on one of the massive armored undead. Since they're slow, she intends to weaken hers before it reaches her if at all possible.

    Bright white and gold shots flare out of the gunblade, pretty much generic magical shots enhanced by the holy spell matrix contained in one of the 'bullets'. The bullets aren't getting fired, they're just there to modify the nature of the shots, so there's no actual physical component to the blasts.

    "Those suits of armor are likely worth quite a lot. Seems a shame to outfir the dead with them. I wonder if they were burried with those or not."

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron watches Konoe do the sleight of hand with the seals, the brow of his remaining eye raising with an impressed look. he also notes the uncomfortable look from her at the phrase Reiji uses. He's quick to remind, "There are all kinds of people here in the Multiverse -- angels, demons, ghosts, dragons, and lots of others. What you are doesn't bother most of us. Only /who/ you are matters."

    Arriving at the gate with the sickly aura gets a sneer form Auraon. Nope, he's not touching that. He's no mage or priestess. He does ask Konoe, though, "Can you exorcise the evil from it?" He might be able to, in a pinch, but it's definitely not his forte.

    And then suddenly there are more undead. These are armored. "Hmf. More company." He gets out of the way as Reiji and Audrey fire, but not enough to leave them unprotected. It's as though he's accustomed to getting out of the way of attacks from allies behind him. Rebecca's words get a nod, "They know," he assures her. He leaves Audrey's question unanswered, since he doesn't really know. That and there's dead things to re-kill.

    As the armored undead head towards them, again he readies for battle. But he waits for the armored undead to come to him. In the meantime he concentrates his chi, channeling it into the blade he holds. When the group is close enough, that's when he makes at swing. An odd gleam slides down the blade as he swings. And should that blade make contact, a small explosion would happen at the point of contact, seeking to break the armor underneath it.

    Adding to the fact that he's just used ARMOR BREAK, Auron's blade is actually made for piercing through armor, natural or artificial. Its sharpness lets the edge of the blade slip easily into cracks in the armor, and its weight lets it have the power necessary to break through. Armor Break itself might not do a lot of damage, but it might make it easier for others to!

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     "....." Auron's words give Konoe pause. "...I see." She does seem to settle down a bit after though. Hearing that did calm her nerves just a bit. "Sorry." She muttered to no one specifically, before letting the subject drop. Wow, she was really bad at this.

     Upon the appearance of the heavily armored enemies, Konoe did not move to engage. She instead produced a single seal, for an undecided purpose, and waited. Auron's question is apt. The priestess nodded. "Yes. I can try. I can't help out in combat if I do. So...please cover me." And with that, she ran off towards the gates, seal in hand. Upon arriving, she skid to a stop and closed her eyes, seal outstretched as she began to focus...

     Reiji's choice of weapon was apt. metal piercing rounds. That would do wonders on that armor. However...the armored fiend he fired on anticipated the shot!? With a heavy swing of it's blade, the shot was cleaved in two! And then again, and again. Of course, with each shot deflected, the metal of the sword began to crack a little bit. This act could not be kept up and that was made clear when on the next swing, the bullet pierced right through the sword, breaking it in two, and then going straight through the head. At that point, it was just upon the Exorcist. "......Uuuuuuggggh....." A trembling groan was uttered, but it did not fall. As if through sheer force of will. With the remaining half of a blade, it raised it's arm, aiming to bring the weapon down upon Reiji.

     Rebecca's shots were well placed, but the armor her target was wearing was quite study. Each shot bounced off, but made a slight dent. Maybe....Maybe if she focused all of her shots on a single point, she could break through? The knight was shambling closer and closer, dragging it's blade across the ground...

     Audrey's shots have more luck. Since there is no physical component to them, they flare through the air and strike the armor. At first only washing over it, but then seeping into the gaps. Her target froze, and then began to groan in anger, clawing at itself before falling to it's knees. Seems like she had the right idea. But it would not simply go down! In one last ditch effort, the knight raised it's sword...and then with a burst of strength, hurled the weapon straight at Audrey, like a deadly, one way boomerang. It collapsed after, the holy energy doing it's job.

     Auron maakes an apt choice. ARMOR BREAK did exactly what it said on the tin. Cleaving through that fancy armor without resistance. His effort pays off as he shed the armor bit by bit from their foes. The others should have an easier time downing the remainder.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
Clever girl.

    The larger undead's shattered blade swings down in an arc to try and pulverize the Exorcist into so much dust. Its sword falls, it hits... The flat face of a weapon rack. Reiji pivots, guiding the blade aside with a gentle shove. Gold slides right back into its holster. The exorcist slams his foot down into the back of the heavy blade, and leaps upward.

There's a sound like a thundercrack.

    Chirai erupts from its sheath, the wakizashi trailing a wreath of lightning. Reiji yells a tremendous Kiai as he lunges forward and upward, swinging the electric blade in a blindingly flash arc, aiming to snag the cutting edge underneath the monster's helm.

...And up through its throat.

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
    "Dammit!" Rebecca exclaims as her shots seem to be doing little damage except for making dents. It's almost like this is some kind of a cruel joke. But then it dawns on her about the dents. Maybe she should try working on a single dent and trying to get it to break. "Can't hurt to try, I suppose." She loads yet another clip into her Magnum, and then focuses her aim.

    "That's it, I gotta invest in laser sightings, like Leon had!" She mutters as she aims for what appears to be the most damaged dent on the enemy's armor, firing repeatedly.

Audrey Stormfist (652) has posed:
    Massive sword incoming!

    Audrey drops both of her weapons, and reaches for the incoming blade. With a subtle nuance of magic, her muscles, arms and hands harden like steel, and she braces for impact, catching the weapon blade-first. It cuts into her gauntlets, but the real impact happens around her elbows and shoulders, where all of the pressure hits. She's forced a foot back, taking a step to avoid losing her balance wholesale. Though she's got a hell of an ache in her arms now, she considers the sword to make up for it.

    The massive weapon is studded into one of her pockets, disappearing in her inventory. She takes a moment to retrieve her spear and gunblade, the spear going the same way as the sword, while the gunblade is kept unsheathed, still humming with gentle white light.

    With her foe down, she decides to help Rebecca, lest the beast make it to the party. She flourishes the gunblade and dashes for the incoming undead, passing through the gunfire, hitting a wall, and flipping over the massive undead-- and then, coming down with a powerful vertical slash, hopefully aimed at the armored foe's back, if it can't turn around fast enough.

    Worst-case scenario she still has some leftover defense from bracing, that should hopefully prevent being cut in two outright.

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron actually finds a moment to half-smile a little at Konoe's words. He almost sees a familiar issue with his own ability to relate to people when he was younger. And when he was unsent too, but that's not a very nice thing to think about. Either way, once his Armor Break hits home, he makes for where Konoe is, intending to literally protect her, as he would a Summoner. Though he leaves enough space that he won't interrupt her casting, and should keep him out of the way of any effects that might emanate from Konoe.

    Once he's near her (but not too near), he holds his sword before him, flat edge blocking his center, effectively making himself into a wall. A wall with a VERY LARGE SWORD that is not afraid to use it if something undead gets too close to Konoe while she's trying to get rid of that aura.

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     Reiji expressed greater combat versatility than his opponent. Blocking with the weapon rack, the Exortcist is soon leaping upwards, drawing Chirai. With a sound like a thunderbolt, the weapon is expertly swung right into the point where the knight's helmet was opened. The gaps light up as lightning surged through it's form. And then finally, it collapsed, unmoving.

     Rebecca's gambit eventually paid off. Focusing her entire clip on a single point, the dent grew worse and worse until finally, the last bullet pierced through and entered the head. It might have ricocheted, based on the way it jerked this way and that briefly. Audrey's assistance made sure that the fiend fell once and for all.

     Konoe meanwhile kept her eyes closed and focused her energy. The seal she held aloft eventually began to glow a brilliant white, and the sickly black fumes coming from the gate were drawn into the seal. Little by little they went, and the sicking feeling coming from the gate lessened. However, as this was happening, one of the remaining knights that had been defeated jerked back to life.

     In one last, stubborn ditch effort, it proceeded to claw it's way across the ground, towards Auron, but more than likely, it's target was Konoe.

     'Do not let her open the gate.'

     The undead, with broken blade in it's other hand, weakly raised it and swung, mostly using the weight of the weapon at this point to try and bat the samurai aside and get to the priestess

Reiji Arisu has posed:
Not so fast!

    Reiji peels through with his strike, Chirai glowing like a beacon as it exits the other end of the undead's throat. He twists like a cat in mid-air, feet planting firmly on the cavern wall. The exorcist grunts, kicking off the corridor. He sails over toward the crawling corpse...

And then down into it.

Chirai seeks a second head.

    "Not today," Reiji growls as he strikes, lightning crackling around his hand as Chirai releases a burst of electrical chaos. "Hurry and get that door open," he calls, pinning the thing's body for Auron's inevitable strike. "Before we get more of these things on our asses!"

Audrey Stormfist (652) has posed:
    As her second target fell, Audrey would sheathe her gunblade, and then take a moment to examine the armor of the undead. She is curious; did that armor spend years in the ground or in a tomb, or was this necromancer, mage or dark lord rich and uncaring? It's not much information, sure, but it's something to go by. Did he equip his own soldiers, or just let them roam with what they were burried with?

    One promises expensive equipment. The other promises old equipment.
    Both are good, in their own way.

    This does mean she's too occupied appraising the armor and sword(s) to react to the reanimating one, but it seems Reiji and likely Auron will have that completely handled.

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
    There's just no end to the action. Using strategy and careful aim seems to be the best bet. Yet Rebecca seems to think getting the door open is the best thing to do here as well. "I'm running out of ammo here!"

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron is not exactly a pushover -- he's spent most of his life basically learning how to be the 'tank'. Besides that, he's got a massive blade of his own. So when the undead swings at him, he meets the swing with a swing of his own blade. He winces at the impact-- just because he isn't immediately knocked aside doesn't mean it didn't hurt. It's a heavy weapon, and undead are generally stronger than humans.

    Really, it's just bad luck for the undead thing this group as enemies. Auron's counter-swing bats the sword away... and then the undead thing suddenly has Reiji trying to pin it. Auron quickly offers a nod of thanks to Reiji before making a stab-- literally-- to separate the undead thing's head from its neck. That blade's wide enough to accomplish that just by stabbing the sword into the ground.

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     Audrey's appraisal of the weapons and armor would tell her that the sets these undead were wearing seemed to be very high quality. But they didn't seem to be new. Maybe this leader outfit his soldiers with spare treasure? Who knew.

     Auron and Reiji's team up finally put an end to the last of those stubborn, well armored knights. Seriously, whoever outfitted them sure knew what to do in order to go for maximum tenacity and durability.

     Konoe grit her teeth at Reiji's yell. "I'm trying!" She shouted back, though keeping her eyes closed. Before much longer, the rest of the black mist was drawn into the seal, turning it pure black. With a sigh of relief, she opened her eyes again.

     "It's gone."

     She held the pitch black seal away from herself and it spontaneously ignited, burning up into ash. Once that was done, she pushed the gates, and they gave way, creaking as they opened. "....." Inside, was only darkness. No torches, no lights, in fact what they seemed to be looking at was an /absence/ light. Nothingness. The void.

     From within this nothingness, a single hooded figure faded into sight. "Hello, and welcome." It sounded male. His tone was low. About middle age. His face was obscured by an ornate hood and robes. He was dressed like an accomplished magician, but the vibe he gave off seemed to suggest he was but a mere servant. And his poise suggested he was not here to fight them personally.

     "I must apologize for the delay. But I was ordered not to make this easy." A faint chuckle followed. "Of course, I was also ordered to defeat you. However...it would seem that you are all much stronger than we have anticipated." This was an undead, right? He was too well spoken, well dressed, well composed. Must have been a much higher rank than the previous.

     The robed figure turned slightly and gestured into the void. "My lord is waiting."

     Konoe didn't budge. She frowned and stared silently. "...This looks like a trap." She muttered aloud.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    Reiji rises from the shattered corpse of that horrible zombie-knight. He breathes a long sigh as he slides Chirai back into its sheathe, "Nice swing. Everyone still okay?" The exorcist pauses as he turns away, and then fires a round into the zombie's head JUST in case.

Can never be too careful with these things.

    Konoe gets the seal down soon enough though. Reiji nods as the door swings open. With a respectful noise, Reiji lightly clasps a hand around Konoe's shoulder as he makes his way inside. It's... Dark. Too dark.

Fortunately he has a torch.

A SWORD torch!

    Karin blazes as it comes away, swathed in a cloak of flame. And then there's... A guy. A tremendously suspicious guy. "...No kidding," he asides to Konoe, but begins moving to follow anyway. "Keep your eyes open."

    "Who is your master, anyway?" Reiji asks, moving to follow the man in the robes. Karin's flames twist in the darkness, casting light into the endless abyss. "And what's he want with all these undead? World conquest?" As is... normal for these kinds of things.

Audrey Stormfist (652) has posed:
    So old but not burried old. Then yes, this is a very loaded master. Or at least, one with treasures to spare. Never a bad thing to figure out when intruding upon someone's domain.

    Audrey watches as Konoe unseals the gate, seemingly with significant effort. Was the seal on it that powerful? She wonders if she could have just punched it open. Ah, well, what could have been. Or not been. Hard to say. Best to have let the shrine maiden do her work, likely.

    The appearance of the magician, evidently a servant, who invites them to go forward under excuse they're too strong for him draws wariness out of the Heritor, but all the same, it's also the sensible thing to do. It also reveals something: this master doesn't have perfect hold on his minions, or he's not willing to sacrifice his servant just yet.

    With Reiji asking all the right questions, Audrey stays quiet, following in the rear and keeping her eyes locked onto the magician. He may yet try to strike at them as they pass him, and she'd rather be watching him if so.

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
    Rebecca follows from behind, using her Magnum to keep an eye out for potential threats. She keeps her eyes narrowed, not liking this one bit and wishing it would be over already.

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron pulls his sword from the ground once the last of the undead had been dealt with. Reiji's question comes and he nods once. He's still all right so far. He then turns to stand with Konoe in case she needs help. Fortunately she doesn't -- which is good because his 'quick and dirty' way of breaking a cursed seal tended to be fairly violent. The paper with the curse burns, the door opens, and Auron makes to take point as he had before.

    And then suddenly... a very well-spoken undead. This doesn't surprise him as much as it might someone else -- unsent were usually indistinguishable from humans, after all, until sendings and Guado were involved. Or until they went fiend. Konoe's statement gets an affirmative grunt from Auron. Of course it's a trap. That's why he's staying on point.

    His sight's no better than an average human, and missing his right eye makes it worse, but his hearing is top-notch (mainly due to compensating for his sight). Hopefully it'll be enough to warn them of traps ahead. He remains quiet for the time being, concentrating of keeping his remaining senses aware to catch signs of likely trouble.

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     Konoe remained where she stood, only frowned as the others waltzed right in. Really? Were they doing this? Well, her plan was initially to destroy everything here. That would have turned out to be a herculean task with just her alone. Of course, she still would gone ahead with it, but that's neither here nor there now. "....." Sigh. Well, they were going. She'd better get in. And so she moved ahead to follow the others.

     Once they were all inside, the gates closed and the hooded figure moved right alongside the group. He did not seem to walk. Rather, he just drifted across the void. There really wasn't even a distinguishable floor to begin with.

     Reiji's Karin did light up their immediate surroundings, but there were no details. Everything stretching on in every direction was just pitch blackness. Regardless, the hooded man led them along.

     "My master is called Albert Cromwell. What he is, and what he wants...I will let him explain." Was his short answer. There did not seem to be any lies in his tone. Any with spiritual senses, would be able to tell that they were very much being watched as they walked deeper into this void. Any without would likely just have a 'bad feeling'.

     Nothing jumped out to attack them however. Were they at a stalemate?

     Eventually, the magician slowed to a stop. "We are here." And then he drifted aside and away from the group, giving them space for...something.

     That something revealed itself when a loud, booming voice echoed in front of them. "Hmhmhm...welcome, fools. To my domain." A pair of giant red orbs lit up in the darkness. Then, with an obvious flair for the theatric, orbs of light lit up in a circular pattern, illuminating the surroundings and revealing just who spoke.

     It was huge. Huge and rotting. It must have been about the size of an office building. Maybe five stories. It was dragon. A dragon zombie. It's flesh was falling off, revealing bone and organs in places, scales were gone in places, and it's wings were rotted, rendering the entity unable to fly. And the energy. The sheer, oppressive, evil energy that was wafting out from the gate, and across the graveyard. It was originating from this thing here.

     "I am Albert Cromwell. Fallen Divine Dragon. I must commend your group, for coming this far, and displaying such...skill." His mouth did not move, but his voice echoed across the chamber still. A low rumble followed. A chuckle. "I exist only to bring despair upon the world of the living. And it is through you all, that I will go, before I proceed across the world. Every world. None will remain once I am through!"

     So he said. Quite an actor, this one.

     "But before I destroy you, I will graciously extend an offer; join my army, and I will spare your lives in my ensuing campaign."

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
    "Albert?" Rebecca asks, being reminded of another Albert form her past, Albert Wesker. Rebecca scowls a little.

    She keeps a tight grip on her Magnum but hasn't levelled it at Mr. Cromwell just yet either. Instead, she just keeps a stern glare at him. She looks like she might open her mouth to speak, but remembers she's in the presence of a superior officer and decides to keep her mouth shut as a precaution.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
Well.

That's a giant dragon zombie.

    "What kind of dragon-name is Albert Cromwell?" Reiji murmurs to himself as the dragon commences his tremendous rant. The terrible scent of evil in here is almost enough to make him recoil, but the exorcist manages to keep himself from being too visibly turned off by... All of this.

Reiji's eyes flicker towards the others as the thing keeps on chatterboxing. His sword-hand tenses. There's only one proper answer to this sort of thing.

    As Albert keeps right on ranting, Reiji... Vanishes into a flurry of motion. The flame vanishes. His profile drops, body coiling like a wound spring as he surges across the void. The exorcist reappears for a split second in front of the sorcerer.

    Fire. An explosion blossoms from the mouth of Reiji's sheath as Karin razor-sharp weapon is drawn anew. Reiji leaps as he swings, moving forward and upward, aiming to cleave the mage in half from hip to collarbone.

"Your answer," the exorcist growls, almost certainly cutting the dracolich off mid-sentence, "Is 'Go to Hell.'"

Audrey Stormfist (652) has posed:
    One of -those-.

    Audrey is familiar with dragons-- on Galianda, they are revered and worshipped. Wise, powerful, intelligent. Not seen very often, if at all. Not heard. Certainly not full of themselves. But her time in the Confederacy-- on the Broadband-- has more than educated Audrey on the nature of Multiversal dragons.

    Haughty. Full of themselves. More bark than bite, and an ego to match.
    An inability to shut up.
    An inability to acknowledge weakness or inferiority.

    And worst of all, behavior that borders on xenophobic racism towards non-dragons.

    It's true, dragons are not the only ones capable of such bluster. It seems a trait shared by all those with scales, she'd go as far as to say. Like that incompetent king from Reptilon, and his minions.

    With a sigh, Audrey cracks her knuckles; Reiji's answer is much akin to what she'd have said. Instead, she silently takes a stance, bright white light flaring out of her hands. "Exorcise."

    Her form blurs, and she flash-steps to the dragon's face. One hand pulled back, she attempts to deliver a single, mundane looking punch, charged with enough holy magic to make a White Mage momentarily jealous. If it connects, the blow will strike at the very concept of the dragon's undeath, trying to utterly obliterate its ability to still defy death, white light seemingly to force its spirit out of its body.

    The more likely outcome however is just that it'll hurt a god damn lot, because this guy likely isn't just a bag of hot air.

    Also it puts Audrey in a very poor position if it has a breath weapon.

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron follows with the others, though keeping close to the front of the group to make certain he could try to intercept anything that came at them from that direction. To the great undead beast's credit, the sight of the zombie dragon, flesh and scalles falling off, does draw an expresison of surprise from Auron.

    And then he hears what the fallen dragon has to say. Not only does he want to destroy all the living -- and then what would he and his armies /eat/; these types /never think that part through/ -- but he's offering them a place in his armies. As mindless undead minions, no doubt. Auron raises the brow of his remaining eye. "...I've been undead once. It was... unpleasant. I'm not eager to repeat the experience."

    And then Reiji attacks the mage, with Audrey going after the dragon. Auron tenses, raising his sword, but doesn't attack yet. He stands before Konoe -- Rebecca is free to utilize him as a human shield as well -- to make certain that whatever retaliation the dragon has, it won't hurt her too much.

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     Konoe just frowned. From the beginning of this rant, she produced a paper seal and knelt down. "I'm not listening to this." She pressed it to the ground and began to focus. Right about that time, Reiji decided ROLL INITIATIVE and attack the hooded man! And Audrey let loose with enough holy magic in a single strike to make Kyra Hyral jealous, I mean- what?

     "I'm going to prepare a large scale exorcism circle. Sorry to hide behind you again, but please watch me." And then she focused all of her attention to the seal she had pressed to the ground of the 'void'. From the seal, a magic circle began to expand gradually...

     Meanwhile, Reiji's preemptive strike was...almost successful. The blade cut through the robe cleanly, severing it in half, but the wearer was gone. No, up above. What was revealed was a middle aged man with sickly pale skin, but otherwise, normal looking enough. He had short black hair and a goatee, and wore a simple tunic. He must have come from a medieval world.

     "Violence truly is the universal language." He murmered, dark magic building up in his hands. As he landed a ways away, he raised both hands, casting a spell. Dark lightning crackled and then barreled down, right above the Shinra Operative, aiming to electrify him completely.

     Audrey's strike connected! ...Against one of Albert's wings. It had curled forward as a shield. But even so, the blocked blow shattered that rotting, skeletal wing, and the dragon roared in anger. "How dare you! to refuse my generous offer! Truly peasants of the highest order!" Yep, he was dragon alright. Audrey had it pinned down pat.

     And she was also correct in assuming it had a breath weapon. He opened his rotting mouth and let loose a furious torrent of noxious black flame. Likely once a pure, orange flame, now corrupted with darkness. It went straight for the Heritor, as well as spreading and aiming for Auron and Konoe as well.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    The lack of a satisfying *squelch* of a divided body is all Reiji needs to know that he missed his target. Unfortunately for the sorcerer, Reiji Arisu is faster than the average swordsman. "Only when I'm dealing with this kind of bullshit," Reiji answers, rushing forward as the sorcerer sails through the air.

    Black lightning pours down in his wake, massive pillars of un-light flashing in a staccato rhythm with each footfall. Karin whirls once more as he closes on the mage- but it's not alone. A second sword, its blade almost utterly invisible, moves soundlessly through the abyss. Kuroshio makes no sound, no flash of light. Against the backdrop of Karin's inferno, it's likely that not even a practiced brawler would be able to track it.

    One more bolt of lightning pours down. Reiji lunges, the un-flash drawing his form into stark contrast against the flame. Darkdrift- Kuroshio- the Blade of Death and Mortality surges forward in a wicked thrust. He aims for the hollow of the sorcerer's chest, driving the invisible blade in a lethal thrust to pierce his foe's heart.

Audrey Stormfist (652) has posed:
    Sturdy, she'll grant Albert that. Having no time to both recover from her punch and avoid the breath. She just has time to cross her arms in front of herself, channeling as much magic as she can into bracing for the impact.

    The corrupt dark flames wash over Audrey, scorching and burning clothes and skin alike. She's not wholly consumed by the attack, but by the time it stops, she looks fit for an emergency ward. She is, however, still standing-- and against the instinct to scream in pain at the fact her clothes have more or less fused with her skin, she opens her eyes to glare.

    "Chakra."

    A slow, controlled breath.

    Magic flows to each of her limbs as she takes a stance, elbows to her waists, fists in front of her and closed. Her wounds heal-- unfortunately, her overcoat is ruined, but not molten into her anymore, so much as half-missing. The rapid regeneration leaves the Heritor blonde instead of black-haired, but otherwise practically pristine, as though nothing had happened.

    "Not bad. Not bad at all, for a dragon."

Attack        
Martial Arts    
> Instinct    
    > Viola    
Item        

    Audrey reaches into what's left of her pockets, producing two serrated knives. One glows an idle purple, the other a bright orange, as the spell matrices in them are activated. The Heritor leaps straight for the dragon again, thrusting both knives-- the first has gravity-1 on it, forcing Audrey and Albert towards one another (though he's huge enough to resist). The second has fire-1, just a fancy flaming knife.

    On impact, the Viola Heritor skill inflicts damage equivalent to the damage previously suffered by Audrey, as though mirroring it. Considering how badly she took that breath...

Auron (236) has posed:
    That's exactly what Auron was afraid of. He stances as well as he can behind his sword, hoping to block as much of the probably evil fire from getting to Konoe as possible. He keeps his face and the arm not worn in his coat close to the back of the blade to minimize the amount of damage the bared skin takes. That breath has to run out sometime, though, and he waits. Painfully.

    Once he DOES have a moment, he uses it. He pulls a tiny thing out of his coat, something like a ball of green water, and tosses it at the undead dragon. If it manages to hit, healing water will begin to wash over the zombie dragon!

    Now, for anyone else that would be a good thing, and one would find himself healed slowly by it. However, in this case Auron is /hoping/ that with the dragon's reverse negative chi, that it will act similarly as the undead in Spira and cause a poison-like effect instead.

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     STAB

     Through the black lightning, the man, who had the unfortunate luck of going unnamed in all of this sputtered as that invisible blade is thrust into his heart. "......." He looked down, and then towards Reiji. And like the mortal being he was. He sunk to the ground, life leaving his body. That was one down, one more to go.

     Audrey's rather clever combination of gravity and fire bewildered Albert enough to cause him to fall right into the trap. "What manner of-...Gravity!" But it was too late. The crushing imact of the damage he'd done to the Heritor can be felt returning to him. Not in any physical, superficial way, but on a conceptual level.

     "Argh!"

     He roared in anger as he buckled under the crushing weight of that equivalent exchange. He was ready to fire another round of flaming breath. Only to find a small ball of green water entering his mouth. "....?" What was that? It felt like he swallowed somethin-"Gah! It burns! How dare you! No one makes a fool of Albert Cromwell! I am the greatest dragon to have ever lived! Kneel before m-"

     Yap yap yap. This one sure liked to talk. Just as it was about to let loose another furious attack, there was a flash of light. One look below would reveal that the sealing circle that Konoe had been working on was completed. Konoe raised her gaze to the battle and frowned.

     DIVINE ARTS - OMNIDIRECTIONAL DEMON BINDING CIRCLE

     And then a massive pillar of spiritual energy erupted upwards, enveloping Albert entirely in it's light, as well as aptly, binding the massive creature in place. As this happened, the priestess shouted to the others. "Go! Hit him with everything you have! Now! I'll hold him!"

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    Reiji stares into the sorcerer's eyes as the life leaves his unfortunate foe. Kuroshio is drawn away, a thin contrail of blood serving as the only tell that its blade was even there. He whips the weapon to one side, shedding the red fluid in a quick, crimson spray before sheathing it again.

Now, all that's left is the dragon.

And Konoe is already on the job.

    "Not bad," the exorcist murmurs, sheathing the death-blade. Its killing edge won't do too much to a creature who is already dead. His other weapons, however, are another story.

    Reiji rolls his shoulders, feeling his back and spine crack and pop satisfyingly with the gesture. "Maybe if you spent more time trying to kill us and less time yammering, you wouldn't be in this position right now," Reiji narrows his eyes, "But it's a little too late for that."

    Another burst of movement. Reiji takes to the air, leaping over the dragon. Hollywood is in one hand, Karin is in the other. "I don't have a source of water, unfortunately, but..." Gunfire. Hollywood barks over and over and over, shells of arcane buckshot and shards of wood taken from a sacred, deified tree pour down in a painful, sanctified rain. Each round is enchanted- built specifically to slay spirits. The void surges with living essence, the raw, ever-expanisve power of ELEMENTAL WOOD.

But he's not done.

    The weapon is discarded, hurled up into the air. Reiji lands on the dragon's back-- and plunges Karin in between a pair of rotted vertibrae. Flame leaps from the magical blade, mixing with the sacred power of Konoe's circle and the living energies of Hollywood's blasts. FIRE consumes WOOD and for a moment, it's as if Reiji is consumed by a great conflagration of flame and light.

Then comes the lightning.

    Chirai comes away from its sheath, raised in salutation among the twisting funeral pyre. The corona of lightning that surrounds it draws on the intense heat surrounding it. The exorcist lunges forward, driving it, too, in between another set of vertibrae, this time closer to the dragon's head. Lightning surges out like a burst hydrant. FIRE turns all it consumes to EARTH.

    One more. Gold comes away from its holster. Reiji holds it aloft, arcs of lightning pouring into the glimmering barrel, causing it to blaze with brilliant, inner light. He slams a foot down, aiming to drive the Dragon's skull into the solid void underneath. Gold's barrel is slung downward, aimed at the point where its head joins with its neck. "Like I said before," he growls, drawing back the hammer at the back of his hand-cannon. "Go to Hell."

He fires.

    Once. Twice. Thrice. The whole clip is emptied, each shot blazing like a slug of solidified sunlight. Each one carrying enough force to pulverize steel. Each one empowered to tear straight through spiritual bodies like tissue paper. EARTH nurtures METAL.

It's not the full elemental cycle...

But in this case, with the others helping, it might just be enough.

Audrey Stormfist (652) has posed:
    In these circumstances that was the best Audrey had. She can't use Viola twice in a row, that would be kind of absurd. It's a bit taxing, besides, and being completely honest her entire body is still sore from being burned alive.

    Also she's currently extremely grumpy her hair regenerated and she's going to have to dye it again. Ugh. Blonde hair, how she hates it.

    Since Konoe has gone through the effort of binding the dragon down, though, Audrey would find it rude not to oblige. She unsheathes the gunblade-- scorched as it is, and having to practically peel the sheath off it-- checks the cylinder, twirls it once, and then aims the barrel of the weapon at the dragon's head. Presumably an eye, since that's easier to injure.

    "My apologies, but I have nothing witty to say."

    The fire-1 and holy-1 cartridges activate at the same time as MP flows from Audrey into the weapon, and what she lets loose is a simple but effective shot of holy flames. It will not be enough to finish the job on its own.

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron stumbles with the pain of taking the breath attack. His coat is smoldering, and he's having trouble drawing breath. But despite the pain he steadies himself, takes a deep breath. Center. Find it, and quick. There's no time for a long, drawn out moment to get his bearings. All he's concerned about is being able to breathe.

    And then Konoe traps the dragon in a powerful binding spell. Auron nods to Konoe's words to hit it with everything they have. Reiji attacks the beast with a cycle of elements. Audrey fires her holy flames at the beast. And then Auron adds his own to the mix.

    He picks up the jug from his waist, and -- takes a drink? No, that's not right. He spits the alcohol onto the blade in a fine mist, and then holds the blade aloft. Pure energy gathers around it in odd, almost runic sort of writing in circles around it, but it's like no earthly runes. These runes are drawn into the blade, where it begins to glow with pure golden energy, and Auron swings the blade down, likely cutting a furrow in the ground.

    But from that slash in the ground, four orange and black orbs fly up, aiming to strike the dragon. They're not just orbs of energy, either. Each one will try to suppress a portion of its power -- as if trying to seal the beast!

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     Wood serves as the origin.

     Flame devours Wood.

     Earth is born from Flame.

     Metal rises from Earth.

     The elemental cycle is incomplete, but it already did tremendous damage on it's own. If Reiji's partner were here, there is no doubt the completed cycle would have done even more damage. Thankfully, his allies made up for that deficiency.

     Audrey's combination of Fire and Holy is fired, making impact with one of Albert's eyes, peircing, and then tunneling deep within, mixing with Konoe's own binding divine energy. He roared in anger, struggling to get free as the group unleased their deadly arts upon him without reprisal.

     And then Auron swept in and landed the final blow. With runed blade in hand, and strange orbs striking each part of his body, Albert found his ability to resist rapidly waning. So much so that he had no remaining ability to continue to hold on.

     "NO! NO! THIS CANNOT....NO!"

     The combination of attacks and sealing energies did the job and Albert's body began to break apart. "I.....WILL....BE...BACK!" He voewed, as the pillar of spiritual energy consumed him. Once he was gone, nothingness followed.

     The void they stood in gradually receded, until they found their surroundings changing to that of a typical cavern. Interestingly, the body of the magician Reiji had killed was nowhere to be found. But still, whatever hold they had on this place was gone.

     Konoe stood and let out a deep sigh. "...It's done." She took one look around and nodded. "Thank you for helping, everyone. If you need healing, please come to me."

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    It's unfortunate that he couldn't unleash the full might of Shinra Bansho all on his own, but that's how it goes sometimes. Reiji leaps away, unleashing one last parting shot at the dragon's dissipating essence before the creature vanishes into the abyss. With some finality, he drops out Gold's empty slide. A fresh clip slides in with a soft 'click.' "Well," the exorcist murmurs, moving to collect the rest of his weapons as the last of the dragon's foul essence is banished to the four winds, "That was certainly somewhat more than I was entirely expecting."

    He takes a moment to slip a cigarette between his lips, lighting it with a quick flick of his lighter. Pale, blue-gry smoke wafts from its lit tip as he wanders back toward the others. "Nicely done," he says, nodding, "That could have gone much worse."

    Reiji turns his attention to Konoe, then. The exorcist cants his head slightly. "Your skills were surprising as well. We don't have many priestesses with that sort of power even in Shinra. You said your name was Kanno, right? Konoe Kanno."

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     Konoe nodded. "Konoe Kanno, yes." And she tilted her head slightly, curiosity written on her face. "...What's Shinra? You mentioned it before." Now that the danger was gone, she seemed to relax quite a bit. "Is that some kind of...hunting group?"

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    "The Shinra Organization is... Not exactly solely made up of hunters, but that is part of our responsibilities," Reiji explains, holstering his golden gun. He offers the priestess a slight smile, "Officially, our role is to safeguard and promote the harmony between man and spirit. Sometimes that means hunting down troublesome spirits, but most of our work is actually in mediation. We used to be based out of... /A/ Japan, but we've been expanding quite a bit lately. With talents like yours, you'd be pretty successful, I think."

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     "I see..." She stood there, processing it all. After several seconds, Konoe seemed to register fully what he'd implied. "Huh? Me? Successful?" She pointed towards herself, blinking a few times. "Would I really?" She tilted her head one way, and then the other, thinking about it. "...Are you asking me to join?"

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    "It's up to you, of course," Reiji says with a slight shrug. It's not like they haven't done this sort of field recruitment before, after all. At this juncture, it's not like they can exactly pass up promising agents. "We'd probably need to do an official probation and that sort of thing, but that's mostly a formality. I think it'd be a way to put those talents of yours to good use."

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron sighs, finally letting some of the tension leave him, but only after he's certain the dragon's spirit has departed. That's about when Konoe says 'it's done'. Auron sheathes his sword then and looks to Konoe. Audrey is worse off than he. So instead he retrieves a vial from inside his coat -- how do those things manage not to break? -- and drinks the contents.

    "I have a few healing items..." Looking to Audrey. "I think she's more in need of immediate healing." It's going to take more than a Potion to heal Auron, yes, but it'll take the edge off, at least.

    The mention of Shinra gets a blink. "...I know someone by that name," he notes. "He's an Al Bhed. A machinist. And quite the genius at it." He's quiet after that, as Konoe and Reiji seem to be discussing prospective employment.

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     Konoe, still confused, and a tiny bit suspicious, listened to Reiji's explanation. So this sort of thing was rather normal. "......." She thought about it, Auron's dismissal of healing getting a nod of understanding in return. Audrey though, she'd better help her. And so she began to approach the Heritor. All the while, she thought. "...Will I be able to help a lot of people with Shinra?" She asked Reiji. Auron's comment of another Shinra gave her pause. ...Damn Multiverse and it's million identically named things that are different.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    "I like to think we help as many as we can," Reiji answers. He can't exactly blame her for being suspicious. It'd be sort of weird if this random guy he just met came up and asked if he wanted to join some strange organization right out of the blue. "It's our job to keep the peace and promote positive relationships between man and spirit, so if you think that sort of thing sounds helpful, it's definitely in our wheelhouse."

    The exorcist gives Auron a bit of a look, then a shrug. "Sorry, I don't actually know anyone named Shinra. I just work for a group called Shinra." And that's not even the only Shinra out there! It's apparently a not-so-uncommon name!

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     "......."

     More silence as Konoe got to healing Audrey. She produced a single seal and held it out to the late teen, channeling healing energy into her. While she did so, she thought.

     ...

     ......

     Well, Reiji didn't seem like a bad person. And she did want to help people, as much as she could. She could at least try. If it turned out to be bad, she could just leave. "...Okay. If I can help people, then...I'll join."

     For now at least.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    "Good," Reiji says with a firm nod. MISSION SUCCESSFUL. Or rather, even more successful than it probably should have been. "We're presently working in conjunction with the Heaven or Hell detective agency, so I'll see about getting you an in there, too," he inclines his head slightly, then... extends a hand. "Well, for now, welcome aboard."

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     "...." Konoe stared at Reiji's offered hand. "....?" What? What was she supposed to do with this? "Um....um....;;" Her ears began to twitch and her tail swished about behind her. She was nervous. Oh god, oh god. A hand, what do you do with a hand?

     And spontaneously, without really figuring out what to do, she did the first thing on her mind and sort of poked at Reiji's hand in confusion. "....?" No? Maybe palm to palm? Pinky swear? WHAT DO I DO!?

Reiji Arisu has posed:
Reiji's hand hangs there for a long moment. The silence is thick. Tremendously thick. You could almost cut it with a knife.

She pokes his hand. Poke. Poke poke.

"...It's normally customary to shake a person's hand when you reach an accord with them," Reiji explains, looking just a liiiitttle bit incredulous. H-how sheltered IS this girl!?

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     "Sha....ke?"

     Konoee uttered with total unfamiliarity. Shake. ...Shake. ....Oh! She knew what that was! Smiling happily at figuring it out finally, the priestess took hold of Reiji's hand with both of her own, only slighly holding it with each at one end, and then she shook it.

     ....No. No that's wrong, Konoe. Stop. Please.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
"T-that's not--" Reiji's expresion just grows more and more uncertain with each passing moment as his hand is... Shaken. Sort of. It's really more like being... Jiggled around. There's something direly wrong here. How did this situation even come about? "I mean... Hold out one hand for me, would you?"

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     "Um...?" That wasn't it? But she totally had it! How could that not be it? Shake the hand! She did it!

     Pouting at being wrong, Konoe's ears flattened against her head and she held out a hand the normal way, copying what Reiji had done before. "Like this?"

Reiji Arisu has posed:
Ears. Reiji is used to picking up cues from those. It seems he upset her a little. Oh well, best to correct the problem as soon as possible. "Yes, like that," the exorcist nods, and then firmly takes her hand in one of his own, giving Konoe an extremely textbook handshake, "This is a handshake, you see."

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     And finally, after much struggle and hardship, Konoe is shown what a proper, actual handshake looked like. "Oh..."

     Shake shake shake

     ".....Hehe." And then came the amusement at discovering something new.

     Shake shake shake

     You can stop now, Konoe.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    This is not a normal situation. This is not at all a normal situation. Reiji's expression is unreadable as his hand is held captive by a perhaps too-excitable Neko Miko.

Shake shake shake

But-- but he doesn't really have the heart to stop her, either.

Shake shake shake

...Maybe this is okay. One step at a time and all that?