6702/Old Schoolhouse Exploration - First Lock

Old Schoolhouse Exploration - First Lock
Date of Scene:	14 July 2019
Location:	Thors Military Academy - Old Schoolhouse
Synopsis:	After a surprise visit goes south, Rean's sister runs into the Old Schoolhouse and gets waylaid by a monster. Things explode spectacularly.
Cast of Characters:	Rean Schwarzer, 7002, 1149
Tinyplot:	Old Schoolhouse Exploration
Tinyplot2:	Trails of Cold Steel 1

---

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
Anyone hanging around the main academic building half an hour after the expedition ends will hear a girl on the roof shout the following:

"You're the worst! Why do you always have to be so stubborn?! I hate you, I hate you!"

Moments later, a black haired girl in a black dress with tears in her eyes comes barreling out of the building, running further into the campus. Not long after that, Rean runs out of the building. "Elise, wait!" he shouts, looking around for his sister. He sighs, realizing she's nowhere near.

What even happened?

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
Mikoto was actually coming out of the cafeteria after the mission, deciding to stay behind a bit longer to eat (thanks Rean) and rest before she'd be moving on her way home again.  This causes her to hear the fight, looking towards the building curiously, thinking she may remember that voice..?

This becomes apparent when Rean comes out of the same building calling for someone to wait who was long gone.  Mikoto, curiously, walks towards Rean raising an eyebrow.  "What's wrong, Bean?  I mean, I know you're bad talking to girls, but wow."

She teases Rean a little, but it's in good fun...well for her.  She's still in a mostly positive mood, trying to read the boy a bit.  Maybe she pushed it a bit far, but at the same time, she wouldn't be the same without teasing him a /little/ bit.

Krusty (1149) has posed:
    Krusty is still here, though returned to wearing his uniform rather than parade around the school in his armour. He's not alone though, standing outside the building talking to a young woman in glasses wearing the same uniform as him.

    The shouting does briefly interupt them, Krusty looking towards the rooftops but unable to see anything specific. But then such drama isn't unexpected at s school. Even a military one.

    But soon enough a girl comes running out of the building. Krusty glances at her briefly as she heads off, before returning to his conversation, "Alright. We'll have to discuss the details of how to deal with this when we return."

    Then Rean quickly follows out of the building, no doubt searching for the girl. Recognising something of potential concern, Krusty hmms to his companion, "Though we might just delay leaving for the moment."

    Krusty walks up to join Rean and Mikoto. There's a light smile on his face as he asks the boy, "Someone you know?"

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
Mikoto and Krusty approach him, and while Mikoto's teasing earns her a brief glare, he eventually sighs and explains.

"My sister." Rean says. "She came to talk to me about my last letter to her, and she didn't take my response very well."

He looks around, hand on his chin. "It's her first time visiting so I've got no idea where she'd go."

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
Mikoto crosses her arms at Rean, sticking her tongue out at him.  "See this is what I am talking about," She chides, but as he states the issue, she sighs.  "Hm...well..." She says, and points in the direction she ran.  

"She went that way, any idea where that way goes?" Mikoto asks.  She says and is already walking.  

Krusty (1149) has posed:
    The concern that Rean has for his sister resonates well within Krusty, drawing out his own look of concern. He nods along slowly, moving a hand to hold his chin as she thinks. Unfortunately there's just not enough information to divine the girl's destination.

    So. "We'll just have to search then."

    Krusty turns his head to look at his companion, "Misa, head back to the school entrance and monitor it in case she ends up doubling back and leaving." Misa nods and turns, heading back towards the school's main gate.

    Krusty begins to follow Mikoto, agreeing with her initial indication of Elise's direction. He does ask Rean, "Anything specific in the letter's contents that might indicate where she went? If you don't mind the inquiry."

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
"Not...not really." Rean says to Krusty. "It was mostly about what I was up to at school, and I mentioned that I might not come home after I graduate." He says this last part rather nonchalantly, like it wasn't super important.

Rean nods, running ahead of Mikoto. "That way's the Student Union building and the library, so maybe she's hiding in one of them. Or..." He trails off. "The area in front of the Old Schoolhouse is pretty quiet, though there's no way she'd be able to actually go inside. I locked the door when we finished."

Meanwhile, Misa might spot a silver-haired boy in a green blazer...Or get spotted by him.

"Hey!" The boy says, giving her a quick wave. "Pretty sure that's not a Thors uniform. Making a visit?"

Krusty (1149) has posed:
    Krusty doesn't want to pry too much into the boy's personal life. But he does admit, "A rather heavy thing to drop on a family member simply through a letter."

    But that's enough about that. Considering their options... "Are you sure you locked it?" The quiet, isolation presented by the Old Schoolhouse would be an ideal place to go when upset. Of course, that could turn into a big problem if...

    "We should check there first. Just in case." Krusty picks up speed as he starts heading for the Old Schoolhouse.

    Misa meanwhile adjusts her glasses as she looks over the student addressing her. She's not impolite, but not exactly warm either as she responds, "In a manner of speaking. I'm looking for a young girl named Elise, who may have rushed past in an emotional state. Have you seen anyone like that?"

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
Mikoto gives Rean a look and shakes her head.  The look is full of disappointment and resignation.  Truly, Rean may have mucked this one up bigger than normal.  Not that she's mad, but boy oh boy does she understand the girl's feelings now.  

"Hmm...well it'd be weird if someone got in, wouldn't it?  However...if I were a betting girl..." She says and walks up to the door of the schoolhouse to check the door with her hand.  

After all, these things just happen.

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
"I guess, since she came all the way here to ask me about it." Rean says. He sighs when Mikoto looks at him in disappointment. She's not the first person to give him that look in the last hour. More like the third.

Rean shakes his head.  "Positive. I always make sure it's locked."

When they arrive to the Old Schoolhouse,there's a blonde haired boy in a white blazer standing in front of the building.

"Patrick?! What are you doing back here!?" Rean asks. "You know what, never mind. Have you seen my sister?"

Patrick nods very rapidly. "I-I was looking for her myself, actually!"

Then Mikoto knocks on the door. It swings wide open, very obviously not locked.

"...What?"  Rean says, staring at the door. Guess he was wrong after all.

Suddenly, a piercing scream comes from inside. "Elise!?" Rean shouts, running straight into the building, not caring if anyone followed him.

"H-Hey!" Patrick shouts, following behind the others.

-----

"Oooooh, that must've been the crying girl in the fancy uniform!" The boy in green says. "Saw her heading towards the back of the campus, near the gate to the Old Schoolhouse. Need an escort?" He says, with a wink.

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
Everyone gets on the elevator and goes back down to the 4th floor where the red door is. Or well, where the Red Door /was/. It's open now and there's a massive, headless suit of armor walking out of it, sword at the ready. Elise is lying on the ground in its path. It's lumbering closer and closer to her as the elevator finally reaches the ground.

"Elise!!" Rean shouts, scrambling off the platform.

Then, the giant raises its blade, and something in Rean /snaps./ That thing would NOT get the chance to hurt her.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Rean clutches his chest, his body being surrounded by miasma. His hair shifts to white and his eyes to red, and well, he looks /pissed./ He draws his sword, charging at the giant in an instant, then dashing through it in a flurry of slashes. The giant stops moving, and turns it attention to Rean, swinging it's blade down at him.

Krusty (1149) has posed:
    Krusty slows a little as they approach the Old Schoolhouse. Seeing only the blonde boy here causes Krusty's concern to raise considerably. This definitely seemed like the right place to go. And then Mikoto tries the door and it swings open.

    Krusty frowns. This is not a good sign. The sudden scream from within causes even greater concern, as Krusty quickly moves with well practiced accuracy. Within moments his armour and large two-handed axe appear on him with a brief flash of light. Krusty doesn't immediately charge in to follow Rean though, instead moving a hand to his ear, "Misa, we've found her. Regroup in the Old Schoolhouse and prepare for trouble." Krusty rushes in.

    Over by the school gate, Misa stares incredulously at the boy that just winked at her. However, at that point she tilts her head and raises her hand to her own ear. Shortly after she replies, "Roger."

    The boy in green will probably be rather surprised as after a few finger swipes at the air from Misa, a large menacing scythe appears floating there. Misa grabs the weapon, spinning it around to hold at her side as she replies, "That won't be necessary." Misa turns and starts to rush back towards the other side of the school grounds.

    The elevator reaches the appointed level and Krusty's eyes narrow as he sees Elise and the giant of armour. However, before he has a chance to react, Rean goes through a rather sudden change, launching into a rather aggressive series of attacks. It's a change that Krusty's seen before. More often than not in himself.

    Still, Krusty is not about to let Rean take on this foe alone. As he reaches up to grab the axe on his back, he says to Misa, "Look after the girl."

    Misa nods in understanding, swiftly dashing across the floor to Elise's side. She scoops the girl up into her arms, before backing off and raising her scythe in case of any attacks that might be sent her way.

    As for Krusty. He charges straight towards the giant. He leaps, easily clearing Rean's head as he brings the axe down in an overhead blow against the giant before landing again and preparing for it to counter.

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
"Huh, almost like I suspected," Mikoto says, "Well, no need to gloat about being right, she is probably not going to be in danger but still...no reason to take chances," Mikoto says and runs in with the rest of them.  Still, she is not transforming, she doesn't think the girl will be able to get anywhere dangerous, after all, they made it safe.  

On the way down, Mikoto looks back at Rean, "You should probably learn to say stuff in person instead of through letters, and also watch how you say things.  Anyway, you'll get a chance when.."

And then the door opens.  Mikoto's eyes are wide.  The door is gone, there is a giant monster, and the girl is on the ground.  What was more surprising was Reans...transformation?  Taken aback by it, as well as the anger seemingly radiating from him, she struggles to deal with it for a moment.  

However, forcing herself through the negative emotions, she transforms.  The Magical Girl outfit on her, as her soul gem is definitely more tarnished than before.  Not massively, but it's standing near an open bar of uranium.  Thrusting her sword into the ground, spikes of jade erupt from the ground behind Misa, aiming to keep her guarded as she goes for the girl.  

Mikoto's blade comes back up, dragging it forward as she rushes right towards the creature.  She swings in a massive arch, trying to take out its legs and set up Rean and Krusty for more devastating attacks.  She looks more winded than she normally would be too.  

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
Mikoto's strike makes the giant stagger, just in time for Krusty to slam into it. It performs a wide swing, trying to get the party away from it. Rean jumps back, an sheath and unsheaths his swordm creating an arc shaped slash through the air.

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
Mikoto's forced to roll under the large blade, utilizing her SONIC SPEED at the right moment. She runs behind the creature, trying to flank it with the other people before she spins on a dime, and thrusts towards the back of the creature.

Because the first rule of Dark Souls is Stab it in the back.  Because it's easy.  And because it does a lot of damage.

Regardless, she continues to stay light on her feet, trying to make the creature think twice against overcommitting on any one of them.  Though her speed quickly returns to normal speeds.

Krusty (1149) has posed:
    The large sword swung by the giant crashes into Krusty's axe. It's hard enough to send him skidding back, his whole body aching from the pain of the force that just hit him. It takes a few moments for Krusty to recover from it before he initiates another attack.

    Krusty soon rushes the giant again, the axe blade glowing as he activates his Onslaught skill. He starts to unleash a series of rapid strikes against the giant, his large axe moving with incredible speed for its size and hitting for equally impressive power.

    In the background, Misa continues to hold Elise close, protected by Mikoto's jade spikes. Notes of music appear in the air around the bard, a tune beginning to play as a soft, green light engulfs the two. Misa isn't sure as to Elise's condition, but a little healing magic on her won't hurt.

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
Mikoto's attack actually pierces the armor, and it screeches, despite not having a head. The same goes for Krusty's onslaught, leaving several cleave marks in the armor.
The armor raises its blade towards the ceiling, calling down several lightning bolts around it. Rean gets hit by one, and he screams. He recovers pretty quickly though, and it only seems to make him more pissed off. It doesn't really change the amount of negativity he's leaking out, but he charges at the thing again, sword surrounded in black flames as he whirls through the air at the armor's chest.

Elise is actually 100% fine. She's just unconscious. The music does, however wake her up. "...mm...Rean?" She murmurs, glancing over at the battle. She doesn't seem worried or frightened, though perhaps that's just because she's tired. She then turns to look up at Misa. "...Thank you, miss."

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
The lightning comes down and catches Mikoto off guard.  She wasn't expecting that, and is blasted back from the giant and falls to a knee sizzling.  Panting heavily, she grips the blade and drags herself back to her feet.  Luckily, for her, the soothing music and spells from Misa help prevent her from using more magic.

Her hands grip the blade as she thrusts it down into the ground once more, as Jade spites rip out of the ground right underneath the creature, trying to impale it at the midsection and try and keep it pinned in one place.  

The blade comes back up again, as she leaps for its body, trying to once more send her blade back into the creature.  Fall damn it...fall!

Krusty (1149) has posed:
    Krusty has no way to defend against the lightning, so all he can do is endure it. His face scrunches up in pain as the energy ripples through him, briefly freezing him still. Finally though the attack passes. The occasional spark still jumps between Krusty's armour plates. But he manages to recover.

    Watching the large creature lumber about with its large sword, Krusty gets an idea. The knight rushes forward, quickly reaching the giant once more. But he doesn't swing at it. Instead he turns his shoulder and attempts to slam his heavy frame into the large monster, hoping to unbalance it at the least, knock it over at the most.

    Meanwhile, "Misa." The bard provides her name. She remains where she is, watching the fight play out as she says, "He's fighting for you."

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
The jade spikes do in fact impale the creature through the leg, and Krusty's charge impacts the armor. It doesn't fall because of the spike, but there's a pretty sizable dent in it now.  It then does another wide swing, trying to shake Mikoto off of it and hit Krusty and Rean. In fact, it does hit Rean, sending him skidding across the floor.

Rean staggers to his feet, snarling at the armor. This thing needed to die already.  And then, he stops.  He looks between the other combatants and Elise, hunched over. ...He...was he forgetting something?

And then a few memories bliped through the haze in his mind.

The times he spent with his classmates, and the times he spent with the other Elites...

"Thanks for worrying about me. And thanks for reminding me to look up, not down."

...a reminder that he was more than this. That he could be better than this.  

"Thank you...both of you.  I don't know why you...even care, but I do appreciate it."

And that they all deserved better than his very worst self.

"Nrgh..." Rean grunts, returning to normal. He looks up at the He was done getting consumed by his own rage.  Straightening up, he loads up a spell, which then showers Mikoto in a rain of blue light, and then repeats that on Krusty. "Sorry about that." He says, charging up again to heal himself.

The armor lets out a roar. It's still pretty beat up and impaled. Could probably take it out in a round or two.

"Oh..." Elise murmurs. "It's very nice to meet you." She glances over at the fight again, and smiles when her brother regains his focus.

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
Mikoto has bounced off the armor again, she slides across the ground and lands in a slump on her knees.  Her sword is used to keep her upright, as she stares up at it.  The sounds of the battle are starting to be drowned out by a deep ringing sound.  

Her hand grips the blade, though words from Rean cause her to look up.  Light surrounds her.  Well...then she doesn't have to hang on anymore.  "Why?  You're stupid aren't you...you already know why." She says, finally, but then..

The upper half of her seemed to be oddly shadowed, her eyes brilliant for a moment.  She rushes in, aiming to leap on the thing's shoulders and swings the sword down.  She does not stop, repeatedly swinging the sword down.  Again and again...repeatedly.

Brutally.  

She does not stop until she is either dead, or the monster is.

Krusty (1149) has posed:
    The giant monster looks vulnerable. Krusty calls, "Misa!"

    Misa responds, "Right!" Thankfully she doesn't have to move from her position protecting Elise to do this. Spinning her scythe, she plants the tip into the ground. The soft music that had been playing changes tempo, becoming much faster with a heavy beat. The musical notes also shift in appearance and colour, along with the aura around the two, into a deep red. The aura also spreads proceeds to flare up around Rean, Mikoto and Krusty. They find that the damage on their attacks has been incresed.

    Krusty uses the opportunity while waiting for Misa to buff him to prepare his own attack. The blade of his axe glows once again and soon Krusty charges in. As he swings the weapon diagonally, he calls out, "Cross-"

    At the end of his swing, Krusty deftly brings his axe around to the other side, turning the blade before swiging diagonally in the opposite direction, "Slash!"

    The two slashes form an X against the giant. They glow with light before exploding.

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
Mikoto's strikes hit hard, actually knocking off one of the giant's arms, especially with Misa's buff going. Krusty's strike impacts the armor as well.

Rean's done healing himself, so he raises his sword in front of him, surrounding it in crimson flames. He then charges at the armor with a shout, and strikes it directly in the middle of where Krusty made his hit. The X and the burst of fire both explode together, and the armor finally falls, both literally and figuratively. It hits the ground with a loud and hollow clang. Rean hunches over with his hands on his knees, taking a few breaths.

"We....We did it!"  He shouts, looking between the others. "....I seriously owe you guys." And in Mikoto's case, in more ways than one.

Elise stirs, and Rean runs over to where she's sitting to check up on her.

The elevator comes back down, having gone back up at some point during the battle. This time it's carrying the entirety of Class VII, a pink haired woman, and Patrick.

"Whoa. When Patrick said you four were in trouble, I wasn't expecting this." the woman says.

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
Mikoto lands, breathless as the battle ends.  Blade held awkwardly at her side as she confirmes its death.  Standing up, she banishes the sword and her outfit, returning to her more civilian clothing.  Her hand holding her soul gem in her hand and frowning.  

It's not bad...but it's not good either, she closes her hand and dismisses it back into the black ring on her finger.  Her head turns towards Rean caring for his sister, and a sigh.  

She starts walking for the lift up, not giving any explanation, just moving with a brisk pace.

Krusty (1149) has posed:
    Krusty plants his axe into the ground, leaning against it. He still looks pretty calm and collected. Though those who look closely might notice a little sweat. And he's breathing a little faster.

    Misa relaxes a little herself, letting her music and the resulting buff aura fade away. Once Rean has rushed over to see to his sister, Misa calmly walks over to join Krusty. She looks at him, simply stating as a fact, "You enjoyed that."

    Krusty gives her a bit of a smile, "You know me. The big ones are more fun."

    At this point the elevator returns, revealing the others. Krusty looks over to them as one speaks and sees the pink haired woman. He then says more quietly to Misa, "Apparently the fun hasn't finished."

    Krusty hefts his axe up to rest over his shoulder and moves to meet Class VII. He nods to the woman who spoke and says, "It was a tough foe. But I think things have settled for the moment."

    Planting his axe in the ground once again, though with a more pronounced heavy thunk this time, Krusty proceeds to move his hand to his chest and bows, "Krusty, official representative of the Round Table Alliance of Akihabara." He straightens again and smiles, "I don't believe we've met, miss?"

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
"Sara Valestein, Instructor." The pink haired woman says. Class VII goes over to check on the armor, and they're generally surprised.

Elise is fine, and they talk for a moment, before Rean turns to look at the elevator. That's a LOT of people worried about this.
And then he notices a green magical girl heading out to leave. "Mikoto?" Rean says.