5207/P:WtWM - Clash in the Forest

P:WtWM - Clash in the Forest
Date of Scene:	16 April 2017
Location:	Alberichstadt <P:WTWM>
Synopsis:	People have wandered into the Mirror Forest once more. It's up to Die Reisende to extract them while avoiding the Wolf and Woodsman in the middle of a battle.
Cast of Characters:	Janine Liberi, William Pauwel, 999, 1102, 385, Rebecca Chambers, August Kohler

---

Janine Liberi has posed:
    For those 'blessed' with the power of Persona, the mirrors reflect not the world, but the general state of the Mirror Forest that lies beyond. And tonight, they take a visage similar to those seen before. Humans without Persona are loose in the forest. Victims of the Woodsman's sick trials perhaps, condemned to survive the tests he arranges or become food in the belly of the Pale Wolf.

    But tonight, streaks of red and white slam into each other within the glass, an unprecedented event. Given the prevalence of pale and red colours on two of the terrors of the Mirror Forest, Die Reisende is immediately on-edge. The call is put out, with the advice to come packing some serious heat.

    To the cabin, through the mirror to the usual glade. The first thing to notice is that the above sky, normally nothing to pay attention to, is now dark and stormy, with flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder emanating frequently. However, the booming does not always come from the sky. Sometimes, it comes from the distance, where the sound of a huge battle is coming from. Occasional howls and snarls drift over, making the stomach clench with fear.

    Janine is here already, biting her thumb, just short of enough force to draw blood. Her sword leans against a tree, ready to be grabbed in a moment's notice. Normally this place is safe, but nowhere feel safe right now. The Pig is cowering in his hollow, of no use tonight. The battle that rages would strike fear in the stoutest of hearts, of course he would be afraid.

William Pauwel has posed:
Will is here, too! WILL IS HELPING! No, really. He's actually here and he's actually helping. The young Chaser is crouched behind a convenient screaming boulder (named so because it looks vaguely like a screaming face). His weapon is burning bright in his hands, shedding comforting light into the fearful murk.

"The hell kind of fate did we piss off for THIS to happen tonight, huh?" He shakes his head. "Hell of a mess we've gotten ourselves in."

Emily Branford (999) has posed:
    For once, Emily is not there the instant Janine is, but that's only out of having errands to attend at home. When the call goes out, it doesn't take the butler long at all to get there. And there's no preamble, either; she simply appears at Janine's side, with her black glove already in place.

    When Kohler arrives, without a word, she reaches into her jacket, and withdraws a solid-looking pistol to hold out. "P320 Compact. Here's the safety, here's the magazine release. Ten rounds. I have two more magazines if you need them."

Kotone Shiomi (1102) has posed:
Kotone Shiomi needs a few moments to show up, she was in the middle of writing an essay when the call came, and she couldn't leave mid-sentence. Not to mention she had to grab her naginata, evoker, and SEES armband so she can properly participate. She let Mitsuru know where she was going, and then off to Alberichstadt. When she arrives, she looks to be somewhat nervous but she forces a smile as she comes closer and removes her earphones so she can talk. "So, what's the plan?"

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
As usual, Yuna transforms into her Light Suit before stepping through the mirror - and as usual, somebody else would have needed to make sure the 'portal' was open for her. Elner's with her, as is Jiina; the green-and-white armored android is sticking close to Yuna, but they haven't combined yet.

"Whatever's going on," Yuna comments quietly, "it sounds like somebody's at least holding their own ... should I send Elner to try and get a better look for the rest of us?" she offers.

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
As soon as she hears that something's going on, Rebecca Chambers is quick to arrive at the situation. It doesn't take her long to find her way there, and upon arriving, it's obvious that she's really intent on looking into whatever's going on. The fact she's not a Persona user has left her slightly in the dark, since she doesn't get the strange type of reflections that the others get, but it matters not to Rebecca. There's a job to be done, and Rebecca's intent on taking care of it!

"I came as quickly as I could. I don't know entirely what's going on, but it doesn't matter." Rebecca's demeanor becomes more firm. "I'm ready to move out when everyone else is!"

August Kohler has posed:
After returning from Tellus, August neglected to look at mirrors. When Janine told him to take a look, he did, and promptly dropped a cup of water out of his hand, moved to grab his bag, and made way straight for the Shack. Once inside, he's taking immediate command, esecially after he hears the howls. "Alright, if you hear a wolf, /do not look in its direction/. It produces a fear effect if you even so much as glance at it. We're looking to find whoever is missing in here and get them home, primary objective."

August grabs the gun from Emily, looks over it, listens to her explain it, and readies it for firing, before holstering it. "Go ahead, Kagurazaka. Apply the Wolf thing to Elner, too, have no idea how the fear effect will work on him."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"I heard it explained earlier," Elner replies to August, "but I'll keep the warning in mind."

And with that, the little robo-faerie flits up and away, not straight towards the sounds of the conflict but at an angle ... trying to avoid getting a direct optical or sensory fix on the source of those howls, just as a precaution. Elner doesn't want to find out how sudden unthinking terror would affect it, either.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Janine is content to let August explain it all. The gnawing in her stomach has her on-edge and sticking closer to Emily than usual. Looking around, she reinforces August's warning. "Don't fuck around, and don't try to fight it. You'll just make it mad."

    Once everyone is ready, they set off. Footprints, thankfully, have been left by the stranded people, so following them may begin by whomever cares to track them. Elner, meanwhile, takes to the skies to get a look at what is making all that noise.

    It will probably have to take evasive manoeuvres to dodge the Pale Wolf that has been flung physically into the air.

    The beast soars like a hairball from the shower drain tossed to a bin. It's a hard sight to miss for the party, even without Elner's alert. "Shit!" Janine barks, before looking around. Thankfully, the tracking has lead them to their quarry. A group of three girls, cowering under the exposed roots of a glass tree. By the pyjamas they're wearing, looks like they tried the Persona game at a sleepover or something.

Emily Branford (999) has posed:
    Had she her sidearm, Emily would probably be leading the way barrel-first. But she doesn't; it's on loan to Kohler. And she didn't have time to prep her rifle. So it's with her whip in hand that she stays at the front of the group, moving with a swift but cautious step and an obvious tension in her right arm. It is only once they find the girls that she stands a little straighter, dismissing the whip and holding out her left hand to them. "Ladies. My name is Emily. We're here to get you out of here, so do come with us. Up you go." Her voice is gentle, but carries a note of firm authority.

William Pauwel has posed:
What can throw a wolf?

Will has a few ideas. They start with 'Woo' and end with 'dsman.' You can guess what it is he has in mind; it's not really all that hard.

Good thing Will's got a hat, though. Helps keep his eyes OFF the skies!

And, more to the point, on... rescuing a gaggle of pajama'd girls? "...Uh," Will blinks, blushing only a little bit-- because not even fear incarnate can keep him from being a dork. "Tch, alright. Headed over!" Will yells behind him-- and darts down under the sprawling glass roots to where the girls have holed themselves up. "Hey!" He calls, extending his free hand. "Y'all! Come with me if y'all want to live!"

(He's always kind of wanted to say that)

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Elner dodges easily enough as the Pale Wolf goes flying through the trees with the greatest of ease; the robo-faerie also manages to keep not-looking, although it's a little on the close side.

And with all of THAT revealing the three girls, Yuna pauses long enough to combine with Jiina, the android transforming into a large exoskeletal battlesuit around Yuna's basic Light Suit, before following Emily. She's being careful about how much attention she draws, though - counterintuitive as THAT might be, she's not going roaring off on her hoverthrusters and she's trying not to stomp TOO loudly with Powered Form's feet. "If any of you need to be carried," she offers, "I can handle one or two of you. Where did you come in from?"

She glances at Emily, "*Do* they need to leave the same way they came in?"

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
As the pale wolf makes itself known, Rebecca heeds the warning to not even look at it. She looks away as best as she can, closing her eyes a little and waiting until it's safe to look again. "That thing reminds me of the bizarre B.O.W. plans I found in Chechnya-373 last week," She comments. "Just looking at it is enough to give you the creeps, but I read that several scientists who attempted to look at it were mauled in less than half a minute." She shakes her head, before looking to Yuna. "I'm good, thanks."

Kotone Shiomi (1102) has posed:
Kotone doesn't really look at the monstrous powers of extreme danger or even give them much thought, still not quite understanding the power they possess. There are people in need, so she makes sure her Naginata is within its bag and she heads towards the girls. "Hey, are you alright? Can we help you?" She offers with a smile and a held out hand. "I'm Kotone Shiomi. What's your names?"

Janine Liberi has posed:
    The three girls huddle together with a thousand-yard stare on their faces. It's apparent that they did look at the Wolf before all this start, based on the fearful murmurings that are their initial only response to the party's prodding. Only after repeated calls for attention do they begin to snap out of it. They look to the party, eyes watery, their bodies trembling. They are not in a place to follow along. Either they need to be snapped out of it, or physically moved.

    Janine paces outside the tree, fearfully biting on her lower lip. "Come on, get them out of there!" she starts to yell. This is not a good place to be, they absolutely have to leave, with or without them. At least, this is what she starts to say.

    But the words catch in her throat as the Pale Wolf strides from among the trees.

    That launch did little to improve its mood. Shards of glass stick from it like splinters, but it seems entirely unhindered. It gives a side-look to the party and seems to sneer, taking a single step towards them. This one instant promises only agonizing death and terror, were it not for it's sudden sniffing of the air.

    And then the Woodsman barrels in to shoulder barge it, their fight beginning anew.

    This is close, far too close to them. They fight with no regard for their surroundings, fist and axe meeting tooth and claw. They have to leave NOW.

Emily Branford (999) has posed:
    Out comes the Wolf.

    Emily immediately turns around to face towards it - with her eyes towards the ground near its feet, rather than on the wolf itself. But she remains utterly still, her hand tense on her whip... and then there is Woodsman.

    It's all the distraction she needs. In the next heartbeat, Emily turns around, utters a brief, "My apologies in advance, miss," and then takes one of the girls onto her shoulders in an old-school fireman's carry. She will then proceed to get the hell out of there.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna lets out a barely-restrained yelp, not so much at the Wolf but at the Woodsman coming out of nowhere to fight it again. So that's what tossed the Pale Wolf.

Yuna just scoops up one of the remaining girls, in a modified princess carry rather than the fireman's version Emily went with. Powered Form does have its big exo-arms to make the weight more manageable, but Yuna uses her own arms to support the girl's weight with the exo-arms providing some added support and security.

Then she follows Emily. "Hang tight, we'll get you to safety as fast as we can," she attempts to reassure her passenger.

William Pauwel has posed:
Don't look at the wolf don't look at the wolf don't look at the--

Will looked at the wolf.

His face goes pale.

And then the Woodsman just sort of smashes into the pale beast like a locomotive made entirely of meat. Will shakes his head, clutching his face beneath the lip of his hat. "...Right. Okay. Come on--" He reaches back and hoists the last of the three girls onto the back of his motorcycle. "Let's go before they come our way again."

And with that, he speeds off after the others. Hopefully there aren't any more... complications.

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
The wolf shows up again and Rebecca looks down at her feet quickly. But then she senses something else here and she spots the Woodsman as well as she glances up just long enough to spot it. "Oh hell no," Rebecca says with a sigh. She begins to back away slowly, not sure if she should run or keep backing away, since she doesn't want to risk a rear flank attack...

August Kohler has posed:
The Woodsman and the Wolf. Duking it out. This is odd. Worse than odd, this is /bad/. August refuses to look at the Wolf - he's seen his worst fears, hidden amongst its fur before. Instead, he's moving to leap onto Will's motorcycle with the girl, hand at the gun. "You drive, I'll shoot. Just in case!"

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Time to go! Unfortunately, the dueling beings are fighting over the path they used to get here, so it's time to divert somewhere else. The two clash again, the Woodsman blocking the Wolf's mouth with the handle of his axe before twisting it to lay the Wolf on its back. He pulls it back, aiming a swing down at the beast's belly, but it rolls and bites at the man's ankle.

    It's a dangerous path the party has chosen, thick with the glass trees. Will's cycle can barely squeeze through some of the gaps, and those on foot will have to squeeze a bit. Making matters worse are the traumatized girls who struggle and flail out of instinct, assuming the party have come to commit horrid things to them.


And then the worst occurs.

    With the Woodsman's ankle torn open, the Wolf has decided that easier prey is better. And so he begins to lope after the party, his own cruel laughter shaking the trees. The girls scream all the harder at the sound of it.

Emily Branford (999) has posed:
    Emily's voice comes out in a sudden, sharp bark, forceful and commanding, entirely different from her usual, polite tone. "Miss, /stop that/. We're getting you out of this bloody forest and away from that wolf, but if you keep struggling it's going to /catch us/ first! So I need you to hold /very/ still and do /exactly/ as I say if you want to get the hell out of here." She's hoping the sheer, sudden surprise of it will get the girl to actually listen.

    Because she's already having a hard time getting through this side path in the forest without her rescuee adding to the difficulty. She's running as absolutely fast as her not-inconsiderable physical strength and fitness will let her. For a number of reasons, she can't use her 'extra' speed, so this is the best she'll be able to manage.

    Though as they pass a tree, a thought comes to her - her whip appears in her hand, and for a brief instant, she slows down. Long enough to snap off a quick burst of whipcracks, intended to weaken the trunk of a particularly large tree. Hopefully she's timed it to fall over right in the Wolf's path. AFTER they go by.

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
There's getting into a squeeze, and then there's really getting squeezed. Regardless, Rebecca knows she has to get out of here fast, and she needs to pick up the pace, being on foot and all that. Taking a quick deep breath, she tries to let the adrenaline surge through her as she runs as fast as she can, trying not to crash into any of the trees for fear they might break or something. At the same time, she's not even THINKING about looking back, heeding the old saying, 'Never look back.' (For more reasons than one!)

Despite the tightness of having to do a little squeezing here and there, Rebecca manages to keep a steady pace, breathing as steadily as she can to avoid hyperventilating or running out of air as she runs. "Looks like I'm getting my daily run in today!" She comments to herself without the slightest hint of a smile.

William Pauwel has posed:
There's only so much a Will can do when he's suddenly beset by the very incarnation of Fear. Capital F Fear. The kind of Fear that primordial man saw in the shadows in the corners of his eyes, the kind of Fear that skulked in the darkest places, hiding, waiting, until it could tear your throat out.

But, you know, that's... What technology is for, isn't it?

Man took fire to drive back the darkness. And ultimately, what is electricity but another kind of fire? Will keeps his eyes dead ahead, his heart hardening against the terror chasing him. He feels the fight or flight response-- and flies. He revs the motor as hard as he can, his wheels screaming against the unsteady ground. "Hang on tight!" Will yells to the girl onboard. And August. He's basically a girl too though, so.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna hadn't expected the path to be quite this narrow, but she's doing her best to minimize damage to the glass trees as she passes - mostly because she can't be sure if shards will hit her armor (which wouldn't be a problem) or her reluctant passenger (which *would* be). The girl's already struggling despite Yuna's attempts to keep reassuring her. "I know this place is scary and I know you're terrified, but we really *are* here to help you get back safely to Drachenblatt, just hang on --"

That's when Elner reports that the Wolf is pursuing THEM now. Yuna stifles the impulse to look over her shoulder. "Hold that thought but I really *do* want you out of here safely, I swear I mean you no harm. Close your eyes!"

Yuna's hoverthrusters erupt underneath her, boosting her straight up into the air even as the lateral-movement thrusters apply a bit of deceleration and spin her around roughly a hundred and eighty degrees. She stays airborne JUST long enough for Will's motorcycle to tear past underneath her and get clear. then comes down, leaning back a little to help regain some lost speed. Her eyes are closed -

- well, except for her left eye opening just a crack, just enough to make sure she's aiming right -

- just enough to see the Pale Wolf itself.

Both eyes squeeze shut TIGHTLY after that as the already-anxious Yuna gets overwhelmed by a wave of pure primal terror .... which winds up adding power to the blast from her shoulder-mounted beam cannons. Yuna may or may not be screaming her lungs out at the moment the cannons fire; hopefully the noise of the twin blasts smashing through glass trees and tearing through open air to slam into the Wolf will cover it up.

Hopefully for her dignity, that is. Plus, well, she didn't want to deafen her passenger.

When the blasts taper off again, Yuna turns to face forward and shunts full power back to her thrusters. She really really wants out of the Mirror Forest now thank you very very much.

August Kohler has posed:
The Wolf is pursuing. /The Wolf is pursuing/. August barks at Will to go faster, and then draws the gun, aiming behimd at the Wolf. He shuts his eyes tight and just begins firing off shots, hoping to atleast deter it a litte. He probably won't. But maybe he'll hit it in the eye?

Janine Liberi has posed:
    The girls all freeze at Emily's barked words. A voice of stern authority to lend some order to what their lives currently are lends a degree of calm to them. They all stop squirming, allowing the party to transport them more easily.

    But that doesn't change the fact the Wolf is still bearing down on them. Teeth caked in the gore of all that has died, claws that rend your very essence, eyes burning with a cold brutaility. A couple of August's blindfire shots hit it, but they don't even open the skin. Yuna turns, aims, peeks open an eye... and for the ultimate predator, that one instant is all it needs. Its influence begins spreading into her mind, ripping into her worst fears to play on. At least, that was the plan.

    Before a figure leaps from the trees to smack it on the nose.

    "HYAAAH!" it yells, actually managing to startle the Wolf. This leave sit wide open for Yuna's blasts to hammer into it, slowing it's gait just enough. As Emily yanks on the weakened tree, it falls in front of the Wolf, making it trip and sprawl as the party's saviour leaps off its muzzle to lands on the back of Will's bike. "You all chose a poor time to come here, friends!" says Spriggin Jack with a broad smile.

Emily Branford (999) has posed:
    Well, of all the things Emily was expecting, Spriggin Jack was low on the list. "Afraid we didn't choose the time, but you certainly picked the right one to pitch in," she calls out. "We're quite grateful!"

    He's created them an opening, and the girls have all stopped screeching and flailing. So by the power of 'sheer adrenaline', she intends to put on a burst of speed and make as much of it as she can. If they can just get out of here...

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
For reference, Yuna has some REALLY AWFUL worst fears. The less opportunity she (or anyone else) has to explore them, the better not just for her personally, but probably for at least a few worlds.

Spriggin Jack smacking the Wolf on the nose does help take a little of the edge off, even if Yuna didn't see it for herself; the only thing that stalled her firing enough for the Jack to get clear was Elner tracking the extra signature. And once they're all in forward motion again and Yuna can safely open her eyes once more, she grins in giddy relief to see him. "We didn't have much choice in the matter," she agrees with Emily. "How'd you know we - never mind that for now, but thank you!!"

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
Rebecca says nothing whatsoever, instead just pushing herself to run faster. "Keep going, Becky," She whispers to herself. She feels the sweat on her forehead and her lungs are starting to burn, but the thought of meeting an untimely demise or worse is more than enough to motivate Rebecca to run faster and faster. Right now, she's too afraid to even stop for a drink of water. She doesn't see Jack smacking the Wolf, which might be bad for Jack since she can't give her appreciation, but that's kind of trivial...

William Pauwel has posed:
Will... Will has never actually met Spriggans Jack. By some trick of chance and probability, he's always been somewhere /else/ doing someTHING else. But, well uh.

In all honesty, Will will accept all help, known, unknown or otherwise, when the alternative is 'end up in the belly of a giant wolf monster.'

Even when that help is now ALSO riding on his shoulders.

"Dang, partner!" Will whoops, ducking to dodge a creeping, twisting root. "That was a hell of a save! We'd probably be halfway eaten by now if you hadn't done that. But uh, we didn't exactly have a choice, you know?" He can't gesture to the girl ALSO riding the bike, but he'll trust that August will do that for him. "Still! Thanks a ton!"

Janine Liberi has posed:
    The Wolf is left in the dust. He starts to get back up, but the Woodsman lands on him from above, which puts an end to that quicksmart. The battle continues, but with the party leaving it far behind them. They return to the spring, miraculously alive.

    "Then why did you come here?" Jack asks, before noticing the three girls. "Ah! To save the fair maidens, of course. The same reason as I! How fortui-forti-lucky! How lucky it was that our paths crossed, for you!" He laughs again before hopping from the bike. "Get out of here chums! And try not to get on their bad side again. Not everyone can be as amazing as mee-ho!"

August Kohler has posed:
No, Will, August is not gesturing to the girl for you. Because he's too busy staring at Spriggans Jack. "You...actually made a /clean hit/ on the Wolf? Without getting fear-paralyzed? Last time I saw you fight, you got sent flying! Holy shit." There's a sense of awe, almost. "Thanks...Spriggans Jack, right? You saved our asses."

Emily Branford (999) has posed:
    They've made the spring, and Emily sets her charge down with surprising gentleness - then immediately takes a look around to make sure /everyone/ made it. Only when she's /sure/ does she turn and give Spriggans Jack a brief, polite bow. "Indeed. We'd have been in a pretty dire place were it not for you."

    Then, however, she claps her hands together once. "Now then, everyone. I do note that we are still in the same Forest as a very riled-up Woodsman and Wolf, so I might suggest that we exit as soon as possible." And so declaring, she reaches out to offer a downright gentlemanly hand to the woman she'd been carrying until now. "I do apologize for being a bit rough, miss. But you should be quite safe now. So if you'll just step this way with me..."