3246/A Taste of Fear - Suspicions

A Taste of Fear - Suspicions
Date of Scene:	21 October 2015
Location:	Soul Eater World
Synopsis:	Medusa enlists the aid of Yari in order to get some information from Shibusen, when their path is blocked by a dangerous duo.
Cast of Characters:	22, 691, 848
Tinyplot:	A Taste of Fear

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Medusa Gorgon (22) has posed:
    Death City.

    Situated in the Nevada desert of Earth 4242564, it's something else. The very centre of Shibusen itself, a place devoted to teaching the young meisters and demon weapons of this world. This time of evening it's dark, with the moon just beginning its sinister trip across the darkening sky. As a result, there aren't too many people outside, making it the best time for those who are less than welcome to make their way into the city.

    Obviously familiar with the city, the witch walks through the back streets of the city, her cloak protecting her from the cold night air as well as from any eyes that might catch notice of her and her companion. "Witches are not welcome in this place," she explains to Yari. "Which is a shame, as this place holds a lot of information as well. Information that I require..." Her golden eyes narrow as she glances up to the school up on top of the hill in the middle of Death City. "I do believe your particular skills might be a great asset tonight, as this is a very dangerous place to infiltrate, especially when they know my face. But they do not know yours..."

    A smile crosses Medusa's lips. "I will rely on you to help me get into the restricted section of the library in that place up there. Though I do warn you... there are meisters about, humans with the ability to wield demon weapons and use them to their full potential."

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Yari's right on time, walking beside Medusa. She's dressed in the best approximation of a schoolgirl's outfit as she could make on short notice. Two quickly forged student id's later?

'Ashley Arcana' for Yari, and 'Annie Maidensbane'. She went quirky for the cover names, given how people seem to name themselves here.

"Nnn. We should pose as a meister and weapon student pair then. Our disguises should hold up to a cursory inspection, but probably not much longer than that. Stay calm, walk like you know where you're going, and don't talk too much to anyone we find. If things go loud, I'll play distraction and you head to the Library Ma'am." Seems the ninja has a plan together.

Medusa Gorgon (22) has posed:
    Somehow Medusa looks quite amused at Yari's suggestion. "I'm afraid that won't work, dear~ I was posing as a school nurse here, and everybody knows my face in this city. For now I'm using Soul Protect to decrease the chances of us being found out. If something happens you will play distraction, and I will onwards to the library on my own," Medusa offers as a different strategy. "Sometimes being well known has its disadvantages..."

    Rather than heading up the main stairs, Medusa leads the way up another set of stairs. Luckily a ninja like Yari should have no problems keeping up, and it doesn't take too long before they arrive at one of the many side entrances to the academy. As it is a large school with students being around at all times it isn't too weird to see people about late at night, not here. There are always extracurricular activities, classes and whatnot. So hopefully they can make it inside without being noticed...

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Follow Yari does! She uses the rails more than the actual stairs like a proper ninja, skipping entire sections with well timed leaps as they head up the back stairs.

"Alright. This may be a challenge, then. Keep your hood down, we'll need to move quickly and quietly." Then, she shuts up, eyes sharp as she scans for magical signatures as they go up the stairs to try to detect anyone early.

Medusa Gorgon (22) has posed:
    "Don't worry," Medusa responds in a quiet tone to Yari as she too glances around the area, on the lookout for anything that might hinder them in their infiltration. "I have no wish to be recognized."

    After having worked at Shibusen for years it's easy for Medusa to know her way around, and she leads Yari into the side entrance and through the hallways, taking her time. If they rush, they will only draw attention to themselves. And so they go the paths less traveled, even if it's a longer way to go. But eventually the library is in sight, and Medusa slips inside, peering around from underneath her hood. There might be students or faculty around, after all. And in this place sound travels easily...

Franken Stein (848) has posed:
    Dr. Franken Stein is in the library, standing there and staring at a pile of books someone left out on a table. It's not his job to put books away, but merely ouy of boredom, he decides to keep his hands busy and his mind occupied with a simple task like proper placement of books while he considers bigger matters. While he is walking back and forth placing books, and then up on one of those rolling ladders, zipping first one way and then the other, coasting in and out of view, the sound of his work may travel around.

    But no sound travels quite as much as what happens next.

    Stein climbs down from the ladder with one last book in his grasp. On the cover it says, 'Excalibur'. He stares at it blankly, his glasses opaque, for several long moments, before moving to put the book back on the shelf. Right as he finishes doing so, a cane strikes him on the back of the hand.

    Stein turns to find a squad, stupid-looking white thing in a hat and neck-frill standing next to him.

    "HM!?" the lame-looking thing lets out.

    Stein just stares back at it.

    "I see! You too are attempting to check-out the legend of my life's work!" Excalibur begins.

    "No, actually, I was putting it ba--"

    "My legend began in the 12th Century!" Excalibur interrupts. "Would you like to hear the tale?"

    "No."

    "Who are you to decide whose legend is told!?"

    "You just asked me--"

    "It was a Tuesday, like any other, though perhaps it was actually a Wednesdsay. No, it was definitely a Thursday in the Spring, and very unusual. Though it may also have been a Saturday. I remember it like it was Sunday, but it was actually Monday, and it may have been in Winter. Yes, it was definitely a Tuesday in Summer, and big things were afoot. Do you know the size of my shoe?"

    Stein doesn't even need to look down to know that Excalibur wears no shoes. "You don't wear--"

    "FOOL! Whoever said anything about wearing shoes!? I get all my hats in the finest stores, but none so fine as that day in Autumn, a Wednesday, I think it was, when King Arthur said to me--Oh, yes! I am quite close friends with King Arthur. Would you like to hear the tale? My legend began in the 12th Century!"

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
And in they go! Yari pokes her head in, spies the Stein getting down the ladder. There's a smokebomb already in her sleeves just in case. Instead, trying to screen Medusa with a little flick of her tail at the woman, she's over into the stacks. She, at least, can play the student.

Excalibur is a great distraction, too. Yari pulls out a book at random as she moves through the stacks. Hopefully Medusa won't be noticed as Yari schoolgirls it up!

Medusa Gorgon (22) has posed:
    Oh dear. Medusa halts when she hears voices, and as she recognises both of those voices, she can't help but frown in displeasure. She lets Yari walk off through the stacks, hoping the ninja can serve as a distraction. For now the witch keeps to the shadows, making her way around the library and towards the door that leads to the restricted section. The information she needs will most likely be there, and perhaps if she's lucky she can make it there without Stein and that... /thing/ noticing her. But for that Yari will be essential. Stein is not somebody to be underestimated, Medusa of all witches should be well aware of this fact.

Franken Stein (848) has posed:
    Stein has already dealt with Excalibur before. Or rather, has failed to deal with him. Not even this technician can handle someone THIS obnoxious. So as he turns and runs a hand through his hair, looking aside with an expression of sheer annoyance and disgust on his face, he spots someone and is grateful for the distraction from the yammering awful thing next to him. "Ah! Excalibur, I think that person would make a fine partner for you." He points right at an unfamiliar school girl.

    "FOOL! Who asked what you thought? Only I am capable of judging the worthiness of he or she or it that can serve as my partner! To think that a FOOL like you would attempt to dictate to me! Clearly you need to hear the tale of my legend, which began in the 12th Century." Excalibur slams his cane down on the floor, then seems to have some sort of dream-like flashback of being a racecar driver. "It was a fine day on the Autobahn, as I participated in the Grand Prix!" Driving ahead and behind him are various other race car drivers, despite this not being where a grand prix is held nor what the autobahn is used for. Off to the side is a derigible.

    "I had spent my whole life training for this moment, a moment in which I would wind up bringing home the gold...!" His racecar goes sailing over the other vehicles cartoonishly and landing at the finish line. "...And becoming so well-known that I was offered an exclusive book deal to document my life's work! But there was a girl there!" A woman is putting a gold medal around Excalibur's neck. "And her enthusiasm was such that I continued to race, to keep her dreams bright and her eyes dry! I never saw her again."

    The race car drives off into the sunset in Africa somewhere.

    Then Excalibur thrusts his cane into Yari's face because somehow he has wound up right in front of her. "And this leads me to No. 75 of the 1000 provisions I would like you to observe in order to be my Meister. 'Celebrate Excalibur's birthday in grand-style!'"

    Stein has no idea who he has inflicted Excalibur upon, but he is not too broken up about it. Instead he just heaves a sigh, mutters, "He's as obnoxious as ever..." And turns away. He appears to have missed Medusa for now, but he's heading in her direction!

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Good, she's on her way.

Yari walks right up to the pair of Excalibur and Stein just as he suddenly inflicts Excalibur on her. She looks honeslty confused as there's a cane in his face. Oh, and Stein's going near Medusa. Snap.

"A celebration? I'd enjoy that. Actually, first, I could use some help from you two if that's alright. She comes flatly as she addresses the pair. Sometimes a ninja has to be bold. It's risky, but at least she can hold their attention and hopefully get Stein back over to her.

"Especially any legends about one of its knights. Sir Gawain. Can you two help by chance? You both seem very knowledgeable on the subject."

A smile. "If you do, then I'd be happy to be your Meister."

Medusa Gorgon (22) has posed:
    Nobody can handle Excalibur for long periods of time. No amount of power is worth it. As so, Medusa can't help but be nervous as she makes her way around the outskirts of the library, keeping to the darker aisles between the massive shelves. However, she isn't deaf either as she hears footsteps approaching. Stein, huh?

    This is not going according to plan, this is the worst of luck that those two are here right now. If Stein were to do the unthinkable and wield Excalibur...!

    The thought is too scary to even pursue further.

    Better try to make another distraction...

    Extending her right arm, Medusa lets one of her tattoos come to life as it slithers out from under her cloak, and it heads down the aisle behind her. And once it's a bit further down it slams its head into the shelves, then slithers up. It would be better if Stein was distracted, but also unaware of just who is sneaking around, after all. The less he knows, the better for her future plans.

    Either way, she has to keep moving, and she heads on further down the aisle. If Stein gets distracted, then perhaps she can cross the aisles and head on closer to the door leading to the restricted section.

Franken Stein (848) has posed:
    Stein holds up a hand as he continues walking away without looking behind him. "Sorry, I'm not very good at planning parties, and I don't know much about the 12th Century. But Excalibur will surely tell you all about it." he calls back with a smile. He totally ditches them both. Eventually just about anyone will be driven to Madness by the sheer annoyance of dealing with Excalibur. Thankfully, most people figure out to get away from him before that happens. How long can Yari hold out for the sake of the mission?

    There's a sudden crash down one of the aisles, and Stein slows to a stop, arms hanging loosely as his sides. His face is expressionless, but he tilts his head a bit to look in the direction the crash came from, without actually moving to investigate.

    His gray eyes are hidden as he remarks casually, "It sounds like some books fell over there." He puts his hands in his pockets, and then just stands there. "Did someone over there drop something?"

    His attention seems to be focused that direction at least... But can Medusa's snake tattoo answer the question?

    Tense seconds pass as he turns and starts walking at a measured pace towards the source of the sound, reaching out one hand to run it along the books and bookshelf to his side, between him and the intruder. "Is anyone there~?"

    Now that he thinks of it, he doesn't recognize the girl who is now being regaled with a likely nonsense account of King Arthur and Gawain, interspersed with cooking shows, and trivia about Excalibur's hygiene. A new student?

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Yari Takane's life is suddenly suffering. She nods at key points, even makes notes, but by the time they get into the tale of Gawain slaying a hippogrif with a muffin he baked (she can actually believe that one), she's literally quivering from irritation and annoyance. How is it possible for one creature to be so eternally insufferable?

She can feel her IQ dropping from merely being around him. But at least she's standing solid, but it seems it'll be up to Medusa to get around Stein for now!

Medusa Gorgon (22) has posed:
    No, the snake familiars are unable to mimic anything even closely related to human speech. Nor is it capable of intelligent conversation in the first place. Which is why no response is given from the direction the crash came from.

    The witch frowns, though as she hears Stein turn and walk towards the source of the disturbance, she takes the opportunity to quickly step over the aisle, her bare feet as silent as footsteps can get. Okay, she's closer, but it seems that Yari is unable to provide further assistance as she's left with perhaps the most dangerous task.

    While Stein is distracted the snake lurks above, keeping quiet as it coils up... ready to strike should it be noticed. And behind the shelves, Medusa increases her pace as she hurries towards the door. Her hand lands on the door knob, and she frowns when she finds it locked. Damn. It seems there's little to do. If she lingers she will be found, and perhaps she can give herself a head start.

    "Soul Protect... Release."

    Several things happen at once. Medusa extends her arms, and her magic is already flaring up as vector snakes coil about her arm before she thrusts her hand forward, causing them to race forward and slice open the lock to the restricted section. Meanwhile up on the shelf near Stein, the snake familiar lets out a hiss as it strikes, dropping down with the intent on wrapping itself around Stein's neck!

Franken Stein (848) has posed:
    The gray-haired scientist turns when he detects the sudden presence of a powerful witch in his vicinity. And that distraction costs him as the vector snake coils around his neck. He is left trying to grapple with the creature and pull it free, to retain blood flow (and air flow for that matter). As he struggles, he'll probably eventually attempt to use Soul Menace to blast the serpent, but at least for several moments, his attacker is buying Medusa time!

    Of course, there aren't many witches who wield tattoo snakes and can get this deep into Shibusen, so Stein kind of already has an idea of who is responsible. Which makes it even more imperative that he get free quickly and put a stop to whatever's going on!

    "In my day, we didn't have snakes in our libraries! We kept them strictly on planes, where they delivered drinks! Among them was a beverage called 'Snake Oil', which I invented, and was known throughout the land! HM!? What land!? FOOL! United Kingdoms of course! I have composed a song about this land and I will now sing it! Which brings me to provision No. 58, 'Never talk to me when I'm humming to myself!'"

    Excalibur clears his throat and begins to dance in the background as Stein uses the shelves nearby as steps to launch himself into the air and attempt to drive a Soul Wavelength attack into his serpentine attacker!

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Time to go loud. Yari sighs in what's either relief, or simply the strain of her mind bending under Excalibur's inanity finally getting to her.

Dropping that smoke bomb she's had at the ready for some time, a white cloud of smoke erupts around herself and Excalibur. She makes use of the distraction to pull out a duo of kunai with her tail and hand, trying to swiftly maneuver around Excalibur and shove both of them into his back! They're poisoned, paralytics, but who knows if it'll work on a demon weapon.

"Your singing is awful, Mister Excalibur." Oh /why/ didn't she bring silencing poisons!?

Not one to leave her ally undefended, she'll then turn around and offer a quick toss of a trio of shuriken towards Stein's back!

Medusa Gorgon (22) has posed:
    The snake hisses viciously as it coils up tighter around Stein's neck, threatening to choke him. However, there is very little the familiar can do against somebody with Stein's soul power. The blast utterly destroys the creature, and it withers up into ashes as it falls down around Stein.

    As she barges into the restricted section, Medusa is already well aware of just how little time she has. Stein knows her and her powers well considering they worked alongside each other in Shibusen and also fought. Most witches stick to one theme, and how make snake witches are interested in Shibusen itself?

    The witch quickly heads through the restricted section, running past the shelves as she looks up at the names. Meister registers, demon weapons, ancient history... she won't have long to find the information she's after!

Franken Stein (848) has posed:
    Excalibur is in the middle of singing, "Excalibuuuuuur! Excalibuuuuuuur! From United Kingdom, I'm looking for heaven, I'm going to Californiiiaaaaa!" ad nauseum while hopping back and forth and spinning. Yari's kunai, wielded by a ninja skilled at assassination, appear to swoosh through thin air in the smoke cloud, purely by coincidence as Excalibur turns on the spot and heads the other direction just as she attacks! Even his avoidance tactics are annoying! Particularly because it doesn't seem like he's actually TRYING to avoid Yari, nor even realizing he's under attack while his vision is obscured by the smoke! UGH!

    As the snake crumbles to ash, Stein flips in mid-air to hit the floor on his feet, and then goes charging forth to find the door to the restricted area sliced open. 'Someone' is no doubt inside. The Witch's soul he can sense and see the glow of even from out here, the menace and power that crackles through the air, tells him that the area is occupied. Stopping whatever the very Medusa-like infiltrator is doing is a priority, of course. But if Medusa left one snake trap, he has no reason to think she wouldn't leave others or have some other ambush ready.

    Unless, of course, she was counting on her trap stalling him longer, and didn't have the time to set a bunch of traps. That doesn't mean she's not in there waiting to vector arrow him the moment he steps through the door, but it does mean he'd be able to get away not walking on egg shells the whole way there. But as his attention is consumed by that, he suddenly finds shuriken zipping out of the smoke cloud and takes all three right to the back. They stab through his labcoat and stick there.

    Stein turns his head slowly to face the smoke cloud, unaware what kind of toxins is in his system now, but looking pretty annoyed by its no-doubt unpleasant effects. Or maybe that's still Excalibur's doing.

    "In short," Excalibur announces as he comes to a stop with his back to both Yari and Stein, standing on the opposite side of the smoke bomb's cloud from both of them. He taps his cane on the floor. "That's just the sort of HARDBOILED guy I was!" His song has NOTHING TO DO WITH BEING HARDBOILED HE WAS JUST REPEATING THE SAME LYRICS OVER AND OVER. ARGH!

    He has a powerful witch and unknown assassin to deal with, has been stabbed, poisoned, might have traps and ambushes to deal with, and something is going on inside the restricted wing. Stein says with an expression of pure digust, "Hey, Excalibur."

    Excalibur turns and lets out an incredulous, "HM!?" before Stein even says anything else, like he's already looking down his stupid nose at him.

    "I'll agree to your provisions. All 1000 of them."

    Excalibur just stands there silently for long moments. Letting the silence drag out. Stein can feel the poison creeping through his system as he stands there staring back at Excalibur while smoke continues to billow forth from Yari's smoke bomb, and Medusa continues to search for whatever she came for.

    "...I said--"

    "FOOL!"

    Stein grinds his teeth as a vein pulses on his forehead.

Medusa Gorgon (22) has posed:
    Behind her is the noise of more fighting, and Medusa throws a quick glance behind her, just to make sure she doesn't have Stein hot on her trail. Her attention moves up ahead to the shelves, and her eyes catch the sight of something promising.

    Ancient demons.

    Heading down the aisle, Medusa quickly scans the rows upon rows of books. It's not like she can take all of these books with her... so it's important to narrow down her choices. This was so much easier when she was actually on staff here at this school and she could easily use the information available here...

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Yari is generally a calm, rational, low-key person. But Excaliber is beyond even her tolerance!

"PLEASE SHUT UP SIR!" She howls at him as he dances away, seemingly utterly oblivious. A deep breath, and she tries to calm herself.

Demon weapons. Meisters. Yari puts two and two together. A quick series of handseals, and aether flows into her veins. Launching herself out of the smoke cloud and straight for Stein as she runs along the sides of the bookcases!

"Is he always like that!?" Comes the exasperated Yari to pretty much everyone in the room.

The poisons, oddly enough, aren't painful. It seems they're designed for a numbing effect, with a tingling like the worst kind of asleep foot ever.

With one final leap, pulling out a wakizashi hidden up one of her sleeves, she goes for a leaping sword-draw towards Stein's chest in a wide slashing arc! Unlike the kunai and shuriken, this blade isn't poisoned, but it's certainly sharp!

Franken Stein (848) has posed:
    Stein stands there with his face in deep shadow, only his glasses showing, finding he suddenly has a huge stack of papers in his hands. Where did he get them from between this moment and the last? Who knows! The miracle of Excalibur! Stein remembers the last time he suffered this 'miracle', when he went to find Excalibur in his cave. That was many years ago though. He'd rejected Excalibur then, stuck him right back in the stone. Now here he was, faced with the same decision. It seems Excalibur doesn't recognize him.

    "I would like you now to participate in provision No. 452, the five-hour recitation party!" Excalibur proclaims.

    Stein's blood feels like it's carrying ice to every part of his body. He hasn't even had the time to remove the shuriken from his back when Yari comes running along the bookshelves like a true ninja and leaps at him with her blade drawn. Stein tenses and raises his arms, but too slowly due to the numbness in hos body...!

    He uses all that paper as an improvised shield that reduces some of the blade strike's lethality, but it still manages to pierce the barrier and slice into his shoulder. Stein tosses the papers away, possibly redirecting the blade if it doesn't just cut right through the paper, and leap back into the restricted access area, arms raised, feet apart, stance stable. He is injured, numbed, but still able to fight, even as he glances off to the side, trying to spot Medusa (and any vector arrows coming his way), but his attention has to remain on Yari, as he calls out with greater calmness than he had for the Holy Sword's antics, despite said Holy Sword inflicting far fewer wounds, "I'm assuming you're not a new student or teacher here then."

    Excalibur, meanwhile, is left out in the main library, the towering book shelves reaching up to the twisted roof, the long main hall, the many floors, the ladders and stairs, and the books, all of the books! He stands there solemnly, resting both hands on his cane, staring soulessly from his bland, dumb-looking eye, head turned to the side.

    Staring. Staring! Staring!!!

    There is a total lack of observers, but even so, the view continues to zoom in closer and closer and closer on that maddening, unblinking eye!

    Until...!

    A single solid-white tear droops down from the bottom of the eye, seemingly part of it rather than an actual tear.

    How sad! Abandoned again!

    Excalibur has only one thing to say to this tragedy!

    "FOOLS!"

Medusa Gorgon (22) has posed:
    It does sound like Yari has her hands full out there in the main part of the library, Medusa notes as she hurries down the shelves, snakelike eyes looking to and fro, glancing over the book titles. Finally she halts though, and a leer crosses her lips as she reaches her hand out to grab some of the books. These should do nicely. Once she's tucked them into the shoulder bag she's gotten underneath her cloak she turns and heads on down the aisle back towards the door leading out of the restricted section. This place does not have any windows, so there's only one way in or out, it's not like Shibusen takes security lightly. Of course she would rather avoid Stein, but there's no choice in this matter.

    "Vector Plate!"

    That's the only warning Stein gets before a black arrow appears underneath his feet, aiming to throw him to the side unless he's quick enough. Appearing in the doorway leading to the restricted section stands Medusa, and she looks at Yari. "Let us leave."

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Paper!? It's pretty darn effective in cutting the power out of her attack, and the ninja cautiously leaps back, abandoning the blade into her clothes as Stein takes up a guarding stance. She actually smiles a little.

"Just an accomplice, nothing more." Comes Yari, ever humble. Not an uncommon trait for those of her skills.

She's only done this well due to having the element of surprise, and Stein's movements are frighteningly practiced. Her eyes narrow just a bit, analyzing his stance, before out pops Medusa.

At least Excalibur isn't an immediate factor.

"On it, Ma'am." She adds to Medusa, and offers a quick bow to Stein.

Then yanks out a full on belt full of magitek grenades from her bookbag, yanks the pins, and hucks the entire thing towards Stein along with a good three smoke bombs.

She'll trust Medusa to make tracks as she provides smoke-and-massive explosion based distractions before zipping off towards the exit at full speed.

Franken Stein (848) has posed:
    Ordinarily, Stein would be able to put up a better fight, even after being sent hurtling through the air and into a bookshelf by a Vector Plate. But with a combination of the slowing toxin and the aggravation caused by Excalibur, he's not at the top of his game. He still manages to get to his feet and start to give chase but then grenades are hurled at him. He doesn't know how magitek grenades work, doesn't have the time to try to disarm them in the moment before they explode, and with more smoke included, pursuit or throwing the grenades back is unlikely to result in stopping the intruders.

    If he could even try to grab them and throw them back before they explode. But there's one thing he can do still. As the belt of grenades and smoke bombs comes flying at him, there is a flash of white! Has Excalibur chosen to help him after all!?

    No, but Stein has raced forward the moment he saw the explosives incoming, evaluating all of his options in an eye-blink, removing his shuriken-torn labcoat, and used it to wrap the belt up, spin with it, and use the Vector Plate on the ground to try to increase the force of its rotation, before letting it fly back out into the main library.

    Maybe the bundle won't reach Yari or Medusa before blowing up. It almost certainly won't stop their escape or remove their prize from their grasp. But it might keep the rare materials here (and Stein himself) from being blown up, and might give some explosive impetus to the exit of the witch and the ninja.

    And probably leaves Stein gradually numbing more and more, and unable to do much else but try to contact Shibusen's security and get them to respond as quickly as possible...

    He even has someone on the grounds right now who may be able to help...

    Oddly enough, Excalibur appears to have vanished.

    Thank god.

Medusa Gorgon (22) has posed:
    Off Stein goes, and Medusa runs forward, gesturing for Yari to follow her. This time they are going for speed, and Medusa trusts the ninja is able to keep up with her. They are both quick and nimble, after all. And most likely quicker than Stein is.

    Then again, Stein isn't to be underestimated as he has strengths besides his ability to wield practically any demon weapon and the strength of his soul. He is a quick thinker and used to fighting, which explains why there are explosives coming back at them.

    Luckily she still has at least one more trick up her sleeve. "VECTOR PLATE! VECTOR ARROW!"

    Two Vector Plates appear underneath Medusa herself as well as Yari, and Medusa directs the black snakes to tear through the wall, leaving a space for them to be thrown outside and into the waiting night air. As they begin their plummet Medusa summons her remaining snake familiar, and it slithers out from the skin of her arm as it grows in size. It flies through the air, and it moves to snatch up Yari by the back of her clothes, all before it flies underneath Medusa to intercept her fall. The witch lands, her cloak flaring out, and she turns to look over her shoulder, giving Stein a sly look. "I'm afraid I can't stay to play with you today, Professor... until next time~"

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
There's this perhaps satisfying look of surprise on Yari's face as her /grenades are coming right back at her/!

Cue a flashback to her own little duel with Mantigora and a kicked grenade. Karma is a true wench.

There's a lot more of them here too. It'd be enough to take out Yari entirely as skill and luck combine for Stein's labcoat-based chuck of grenades, using his opponent's skills against them. Truly a frightening man.

But Medusa too is truly amazing, and just as the explosion slams into Yari with near-lethal force, her Vector Plate and Arrow catches her, Yari literally flapping in the wind as she's hauled aboard the Snake Train.

"I'm fi.."

"URK!"

Yari's face is one of intense pain and suffering, but thanks to Meduas, she'll make it out tonight with a few scarrs courtesy of Shibusen's finest.