Scene #2999: Frozen Hearts

Owner	Pose
Elphelt Valentine	Not /all/ of the local populace in the Caverns of Ice are quite so murderous. Case in point: a small village of Yuki-Onna that are in a rather secluded area of the caverns. They've recently reported a sudden upheavel amongst some of the other, less well regarded settlements: stories of a strange being arriving, and then slaying monster and monster-girl alike. The group will assemble just outside the caverns, where a brave young frozen maiden waits with her hands in front of her, bowing deeply to those who arrive. "Hello, Outsiders. Please, come quickly. There's been more disturbances near our village." Comes the woman in her frozen voice. Yet, her eyes show pure terror. Elphelt is one of the first to arrive, and she squeezes the other girl's shoulder. "We'll stop whatever it is." Promises the android, her usual cheery voice reduced to mere warmth. In spite of her oddly repetitive movements, one might note her being completely on edge in the way she clutches her shotgun. The Yuki-Onna nods to the group, and begins to lead them off towards the village, avoiding the various traps and monsters that prowl even now. She occasionally motions for people to pause as some furred abomination passes, then leading on. Eventually, the group reaches the village. Buildings carved from eternal ice are all closed, the occasional child peeking out the window before being pulled aside. Elphelt shivers, and not due to any cold. "I...I can feel someone down there." She mutters to the others. "It might be a Gear, or..." She shakes her head, and then leads them through the village. The Yuki-Onna pauses at the path outside of it. Already, the sounds of gunfire and explosions can be heard in the distance. "I have to stay here with the rest of the villagers. Good luck. And please don't die. There have been too many already." Adds the icey woman sadly, before walking into the nearest building. The path ahead is long, straight, and seems to rise. At first, there's just ice illuminated by odd crystals set in the wall casting an eerie blue light. Half-way up the ascent, one begins to find the bodies: Yuki-Onna torn violently in half by bullets or otherwise shredded by some kind of incendiary. The sounds now echo off the walls. Even Elphelt can't hold a cheery demeanor, eyes gazing at each body full of pain and sorrow. She closes her eyes, chokes down a sob, and keeps going. "Let's stop this." She tells the others quietly, determination in her voice.
Haguro	Haguro's looking rather nervous and a little jumpy, although that's more or less her default mood on any given mission. Thankfully, she's got good trigger discipline, and her weapons are kept on standby rather than being aimed at anything actively. It's the only way she'd be trusted bringing literal turrets in on her shoulders and her wrist, after all! She's not quite sure what this business with the Yuki-Onna is, and the mere sight of... ... Actually, just about everything's making her nervous right now.It's not the Fleet Daughter's first time seeing a dead body, but that doesn't make it any easier to handle. She holds back a whimper before nodding in response to Elphelt, taking a deep breath before preparing her guns. Hopefully, she won't need to use them, but she's not delusional enough to believe that whatever did this would just want to talk it out. "Y-yes. We'll stop whatever's behind this senseless killing, and... H-hopefully, the victims will be at peace." She swallows nervously before giving Elphelt a single, awkward pat on the shoulder.
Kirito	Kirito's always up for slaying monsters in a game. It's a bit different in reality, but one thing remains the same: there's good to be done and people in need of help. So the Spriggan with the youthful, mischevious face comes quickly at the call. He arrives from the skies, swooping in but making a fairly gentle landing near the representatives... and Elphelt. Is she... wearing... a wedding dress... out here? But his attention's distracted from her when a strange pop-up appears in his HUD. The boy hovers a finger over whatever has his attention... and presses a button. When a certain person appears, they're going to have a surprise! "Feel someone?" he questions Elphelt, one hand drifting towards a sword on reflex. But both stay sheathed even when they reach the site of gruesome death. Kirito freezes solid for several seconds, inhaling sharply. But instead of freaking out he presses onwards and crouches down by some of the bodies to examine them with sadness mixing with anger in his eyes. "This wasn't a monster. These are burns and bullet wounds." Grim and now and ANGRY, the Black Swordsman rises and draws his black blade...
Grimm Hardy	It was such a strange message for Kirito to receive wasn't it? Out of the blue like that, a party request notice? Is UIM even compatible with ALO's party system? It seems to be. No sooner than Kirito hits accept on the pop up it vanishes with a blip, and a white circle of light forms on the ground just beside the black swordsman. Taking on a distinct runic shape it wavers and sputters for a moment before something incoherent seems to start pulling itself out of the ground. Vaguely man-shaped and made of wafting white glowing mists, the figure crawls its way to stand, form becoming less blurred and more distinct as it does, until a sour looking young man appears, incandescently white and phantasmal in form, Grimm Hardy rolls one shoulder out and pops his neck with a loud grunt. "Mngh. Faster than walking." Muttered vaguely, without even explaining WHY he's here. He seems to display an outright disregard for most things or people around him, even the Yuki-onna and their plight, and the carnage of the dead ice woman doesn't seem to affect him nor his composure in the least. If anything he seems to be squinting up at the corner of his gaze, scowling. HP: ?????? STA: ?????? "Wasn't me, I wasn't even here." He does note when the cause of death for the corpses appear to be obvious foul play.
Deelel	Deelel had heard the call for help and she was alien, though her style of dress almost seemed to fight this world someday. The glowing tattoos, just how she carried herself something different. She listens and starts thinking about what they might be fashing. She arrives a bit after Elphelt does. "Greetings." She sounds like she's about to say smething else but caught herself. She's the only program here after all. "Could be something from outside too, but we should be able to handle this, I have a few tricks that should help us out...." She looks at the body and grimaces there's also a sense of horror. User space lifeform left reamains, a defiant last act against hte universe saying I was here. "It will claim no more." She also glances to the Fleet Maiden whose joined it. "Agreeds." She flips out her wrist and the Dual Disc forms in her hand.
Elphelt Valentine	Awkard or not, Elphelt forces herself to give a tiny smile to the boat-girl! She nods, and turns around. "Yeah. Thanks for being here. I'm Elphelt Valentine." She introduces, first to Haguro, and by extension the group at large. Kirito gets a quick answer. "Yeah. Any Valentine like me can sense Gears, animals and creatures that have been modified into monsters. We can sense other Valentines too." It's the short answer, of course, but it'll do for now. Then, suddenly, Grimm. Elphelt makes a little 'eep' as she just appears from a circle of white light! The woman looks him over, and then keys up the mission-wide radio. After a few words, she frowns at Grimm, and just nods. "...Jerk. Come on." Seems Elphelt's rapidly losing her cheer today. She waves the group on, somewhat taking point, with Deelel right beside her: that disc looks useful after all. Then, the group breaks into the next cavern-village. Here, the sounds are deafening. The beautiful ice-carved homes are shattered quite literally. It's like stepping into an area where a fleet of aircraft bombarded it: holes and fire everywhere, buildings reduced to icey rubble, and the shredded and ripped apart bodies from high calibre bullets and explosives shrewn everywhere carelessly. There's only a handful of buildings left in the massive cavern, screams barely audible above the din of the culprit's weaponry. A figure floats in the air, dressed in a long, flowing cloak that bears some resemblance to the kimonos of the Yuki-Onna. This one, however, is covered with spikes similar to Elphelt's wedding dress, and bears much of the same symbols. The open front reveals pale white skin, and leather gun-belts adding modesty as well as serving to hold extra ammo. The female's face and hair, though white and blue respectively, are the spitting image of Elphelt's own, even including those big eyes. In her hands are gripped a rifle long enough to have been plucked from a tank, with two massive blades on the top and bottom, as well as a slightly shorter, but no less ludicrously sized minigun. A belt magazine feeds it from within her long cloak, both weapons currently mowing through an entire building. The woman stops suddenly as the group enters, and turns. She first raises her rifle at Deelel, her other weapon searching for a firing arc at the others, before her eyes meet Elphelt's. Both women pause, Elphelt nearly slipping on the icey floor. There's utter silence, neither firing at one another, even with Elphelt's own weapon pointed her way. It's the pale one that breaks the silence. "...I was not informed of any other Valentines in this sector. Requesting identification?" Her voice is entirely monotone, lacking even the coldness of the Yuki-onna. "You're...you're not Ram! I...Elphelt. I'm Elphelt!" She mutters. Then, she raises her gun. "Who are you?"
Haguro	"It's good to meet you, Miss Valentine. Even if it's not in the best of places... Ah. I-I'm sorry." Haguro gives Elphelt a small bow, biting her lip upon realizing just how terrible this sort of situation is for making first impressions. It's also at this moment that she realizes that she's way out of her element: No familiar faces, no open water, and the sun nowhere in sight. It'd almost be depressing if there weren't other people around. She offers bows in quick succession to Deelel, Kirito, and Grimm as well, eyeing the disc and sword in quick succession along with those tattoos. These sorts of weapons and... Delinquents were more common in the Multiverse, weren't they? "Oh! Um. My name is Haguro. It's good to meet you all." One more bow for good measure, and she's on her way in! The sight of the bullet wounds draws a low gasp from Haguro, glancing away quickly every now and then just to keep herself from getting too depressed about the whole thing. Thankfully, the sight of the woman eerily similar to Elphelt breaks her out of that funk. Of course, with all those weapons on her, it's easy enough to guess that she might have had something to do with the bodies. "Did... Did you do it? Did you kill all those people?" Although she sounds as if she's pleading for a negative response, the Fleet Daughter's turrets are already trained on the floating woman.
Kirito	A few weird things have happened here. Kirito's recognized Deelel and one of the Fleet Daughters - by loadout, if not personally - and Grimm... and the situation's moving awfully fast. Before things get too crazy he introduces himself though. "Kirito, Spriggan swordsman! ... This is Grimm." He tilts his head a bit to indicate the white phantom, who he's now vaguely unsure about summoning. But the time for pleasantries is over fast. Particularly when the CARNAGE is visible right in front of his very eyes. He doesn't give the rogue(?) Valentine the time to catch him... and instead goes on low but long leap in a path that takes him around some wreckage and circling around to flank her. He's quickly gauged the threat level of her weaponry and isn't going to be grouped up. She can onyl fire in one direction at once! But it's during that charge that he makes all the other important observations, hears some stunning dialogue, and comes to quick conclusions. Elphelt... is of the same kind as this murderer?! Kirito grinds to a halt about five meters away with Vox Unitas held out. "You have some explanation for this SLAUGHTER?!"
Grimm Hardy	Yes, Grimm is kind of a jerk. But he doesn't even seem to respond to Elphelt actually voicing the fact. Not much beyond a half-assed shrug anyway, giving back little more than a vague grunt as they make their way through the caves and into the site of a new level of devastation. If the plight of the locals here reaches out to him, he certainly doesn't show it. Retaining little more than that dour, almost uncaring, expression as he surveys the destroyed homes and panicked screams of the dead and or dying. The woman with the rifle however gets a long, even, stare when the other 'Valentine' begins to speak. He doesn't even ask if she's responsible. Casual as can be, and with all the air of someone who isn't a threat at all, he reaches into his jeans pocket and pulls out a smartphone, beginning to tap away at the screen with one thumb. Let the others demand explanations. He's already loading up his sorcery app and readying for a fight, while trying to seem like he really doesn't care.
Deelel	Deelel keeps her keyblade ready. "ID's Deelel." She's about to say more, but then somethng comes she's not quite sure what it is. She takes a look at the person for a moment. As a basic Deelel and her people ar enot bothered by look alikes, if one had the same user this was expected and the norm. Still she could get how it would bother others she looks at the raised rifle. She keeps her blade ready. "Are you looking into what's killing the loc...." She pauses for a moment things re getting bad here and she moves to flank Elphie. She sees she's not taking her twin well. "Or are you the killer? Elphie, we're here, we know your are the only you." Each person is different mentally and how they live thier lives mean they would end up different even from a double.
Elphelt Valentine	The pleasantries from Kirito and Haguro both get that same, weak smile. "I'm glad I have good friends along for this." She says to them, just before they burst into the cavern. The floating Valentine turns and stares down at Haguro, her head tilting. "That is correct. All redundancies in this sector must be eliminated." She starts. The words set Elphelt's teeth gritting. To Kirito, his outburst and the blades held out before him are regarded for a moment. She floats a little higher, hopefully out of leaping distance, but she's now turned her cannon in his direction. Seems she doesn't want to be caught in melee. "Slaughter? I merely carry out my duty as a tool for Mother, nothing more. Redundancies must be eliminated. What else is there to explain?" She offers, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Grimm's sorcery-loading gets utterly ignored, for the most part. At least, she doesn't spare him words. Elphelt nods to Deelel, right beside her, closing her eyes and forcing away tears. "No, she's not like me. But she's like my sister, Ramlethal. No. She /is/ one of my sisters." Finally, she addresses Elphelt herself. "I am Iria Valentine. My duty is to eliminate any redundancies in my assigned sector. Why is a Valentine showing signs of human emotions? We are tools, nothing more. Why are you outside of your assigned..." She suddenly seizes up, eyes going wide, before returning to normal. "I see. Mother says that you are defective, Elphelt Valentine. These redundancies have introduced abnormal emotions outside of your mission parameters. I will eliminate them, and return you to the Backyard." With that, too-thin arms wielding the pair of weapons as if they weighed nothing. The cannon is pointed at Kirito, and a massive explosive shell is fired at the man, racing towards him! Elphelt, Deelel, and Grimm have a wall of bullets as large as one's hand fired from that massive minigun strafing them. There's a number of broken buildings and fallen ice-statues nearby to find cover in. Elphelt smartly calls out! "Get down!" She rolls behind one of them, winged in her armored battle dress several times. She's bleeding on her side, and not inconsiderably. Those bullets are powerful. She then pops up, firing a series of shotgun blasts at Iria. The other Valentine takes the hit on her cloak, only a few managing to break through and give her concussive blasts.
Haguro	Just as expected. There's really no denying her guilt with that kind of admission, and Haguro seems less than pleased with that response. "Redundancies? But those were... Those were people!" Still, it doesn't seem as if there's any way to avoid a fight with Iria, and the Fleet Daughter's already heading for cover even before Elphelt calls for them to get down. "What kind of mother woudl want her children to become emotionless machines?" Haguro's not quite as fast on the ground as she is in the water, although she does seem to have lucked out in not getting shot at yet. Even with her armor, she'd probably still be in trouble if she got hit with any of those weapons head on. Well, she's not going to get anything done if she just hides the whole time. Stepping out from behind the wall of a building, she lines up all of her turrets at Iria, adjusting her aim slightly to compensate for the height difference. "Don't miss, don't miss..!" And thens he lets loose a volley of both shells and bullets, aiming for the woman's cannon-holding arm! Haguro's aiming a little high just in case, considering that none of her allies are flying (at the moment) while the only target it.
Kirito	Taking down what appears to be a combat android without hurting her much is a tall order, especially when Kirito's this pissed. His response to Iria's casual acceptance of the matter is to harden himself against her cutesy appearance. She's clearly not really a girl in any way that matters. He doesn't even dignify that with a RESPONSE, really. Except for a well-timed swing of his weapon! Vox Unitas glows a vivid shade of blue the same instant Iria takes aim and fires. The shell closes in at unfathomable speeds-- BOOOOOOM! In no time at all Kirito's engulfed in a nasty explosion. But within a few seconds... he emerges from the smoke cloud with FURY written all over his face. "UUUUUAAAAAH!!!" And by 'emerging,' that mens ROCKETING UP INTO THE AIR as if pulled by his outstretched sword. The Sword Skill 'Sonic Leap' takes him upwards, the blade aimed to cleave into that weapon. His momentum will take him sailing past and arcing back to the ground if Iria doesn't do something about that! And on close inspection, he took considerable damage there. A quarter of his hit points are gone and there's red marks all over his body... but that SHOULD have been a much nastier blow. What HAPPENED in that brief instant?!
Grimm Hardy	All the while as he tap-tap-taps away at his phone, Grimm has Iria in the corner of his gaze; dark eyes watching the Valentine with a sceptical mistrust bordering on paranoia, as long as she has those weapons in hand. He has little to say to her however, simply letting the two Valentines discuss the value of emotion and being tools. And then he doesn't need to be told to get down. As soon as the first shot goes off, the Undead flings himself aside, body rolling in a tumbling roll as huge bullets whiz by him by the merest reaction of an inch, as he skids to a halt behind a waist-high wall of wreckage and ice, he finishes composing his spell and thumbs the macro. Snapping up over his temporary cover, the Undead holds his phone out, the screen flaring a brilliant flicker at first before flashing with a blinding and strobing bright light as the phone hovers in the air all its own for a beat. Then it happens. With an audible tearing at the air and a CLAP like resonant thunder a series of complex magical sigils form in the air in front of him, gathering and coalescing energy into a streaming blaze of icy blue colored, soul-fuelled, energy lances out from the phone screen like a white hot laser, intended for the more offending Valentine. No words. No outcry for justice. It's just business for him.
Deelel	Deelel is doing her best to support Elphelt, htis likely isnt' easy to her. She looks to Iria for a moment narroing her eyes. "Did you just call me a glitch?!" Oh that just hit a button with Deelel, the keyblade is readied and she leaps into action a second before the bullets strt firing. Deelel's not taking cover she's getting on the move she's airb orn for the moment and that's when Deelel's Keyblade is then thrown at Iria like it's a boomerange, and it whips about like a blender as it heads for her, before it will simply return to her, but she might have made a tatical mistake, on the other han she's a heck of a distraction.
Elphelt Valentine	"They are not required in Mother's plans, therefore they are redundant." Comes Iria to Haguro, even as she continues to saw away at cover with that massive minigun. The remains of buildings are chewed up, but the cover chosen by the group at least holds for now. Nor does she seem to be running out of ammo either. Behind her, a few enterprising Yuki-Onna have started to gather and try to flee from the distracted Valentine and their saviors. For now, at least, they're not targets. Haguro's corner-sniping proves fruitful, slamming into her. She tilts to the side, pieces of her cloak falling off and even parts of the gun itself fall. And then Kirito rushes in! Not torn to pieces by her shot, Iria regards the man as he rushes for her. "...You are not normal. I will retain your body for Mother's study." She raises her own weapon, the bladed portion of the cannon striking right into Kirito's own swords! There's the sound of shearing metal, but it seems like he'll only partially cut into it! But Haguro's shots have damaged the cannon, bolts fall out, and finally the two manage to cut it in twin! The follow through adds a deep cut on her arm. She doesn't even scream. She simply drops the ruined weapon, and then aims a parting punch at Kirito. Should it hit, it's with the force of several sledgehammers. No surprise given the weapons she's using. "Children? You are mistaken. All Valentines are merely tools created to further Mother's plan. Nothing more. We only know what we require. Our existances are meaningless except for Mother." Then Grimm offers a dousing of energy lances that has the Valentine swerving and flying all over the place. She manages to avoid most, or take the others on her coat, but now it's all pock-marked with bullets and now energy-spikes. One catches her in that wounded arm. She looks at it, observing the damage, and then Deelel gets her attention. A keyblade comes her way, and once more, she raises that bladed minigun. This time, she fires at the keyblade, those massive bullets warring with the thrown mystical object. She wins...sort of. It gets deflected from it's straight path, but catches her on the shoulder, sending her twirling. She stops, right at the fleeing Yuki-Onna. She raises her minigun, slow from being battered so much, but it's inexorable. Elphelt leaps from her cover, and throws herself in front of that gun. "NO! We're not just tools, Iria! We're /PEOPLE/! Just like the ones here! So...so stop it! I don't care what Mother wants, or says! A Valentine can have emotions too, I'm proof of that. And that means you don't need to just kill people because she wants you to!" Screams the woman, arms out protectively. Iria looks Elphelt in the eyes, weapon pointed. Her finger tries to pull the trigger. It shakes. She blinks. "...You are defective. I should be able to subdue you. Why...why can I not perform my duty?" Iria's voice cracks. Something slips into the emotionless monotone. Confusion. Before Elphelt can say anything, the other Valentine seizes up. "Understood. I have exceeded operational perameters. Returning for repairs. Elphelt Valentine, I will capture you, and will see you return to us." Power then begins to build. Elphelt's eyes go wide, and she's shoving the Yuki-Onna bodily towards the exit. "We need to get them out of here, NOW! There won't be anything in here left!" She calls out to the others. El has managed to haul four of the remaining Yuki-Onna on her shoulders and is running away, but there's four more left! Eerie white power grows around Iria meanwhile, primal magic utterly alien to this world gathering around her.
Haguro	Although Haguro's rather pleased with herself about actually hitting her target, she doesn't show it. She's busy trying not to get shot up, after all, although she does take some painful shots against her armor. Just because the bullets don't break through doesn't mean the impact doesn't! Still, it's definitely a lot better than it could have gone if she hadn't had the armor on. "Elphelt's right... Even if you were trained and made to fight, that doesn't mean you can't be a person, too!" A kindred spirit, perhaps? Granted, the technological differences between Haguro's past self and Elphelt's and Iria's current selves were massive, but... Well, maybe she'd listen to reason another time. For now, Haguro had other things to worry about: Getting the remaining Yuki-Onna to safety! Hurrying towards one of them, she starts ushering the snow woman towards the exit to follow after Elphelt. "Sorry, but we have to leave now. Don't worry. Everything's going to be okay." She does make sure to keep herself between the Yuki-Onna and Iria just in case, glancing back at her every few seconds just in case.
Grimm Hardy	As soon as the sorcery comes to an end, and Grimm's phone sets back in his palm, sizzling with heat, he flicks the screen off and pockets it for later. For a moment longer he waits behind his battered and bullet-scored cover, crouched low and listening intently. It's a scowl that works its way across the dour Undead's features. Briefly his hand sets on the handle of the blade at his hip before deciding against it. Instead his grip lowers to a smaller blade at his boot. All this talk of mother and people as tools washes clean over the Undead as he glances towards Elphelt pushing the locals to safety, he's heading the opposide direction. Towards Iria rather than away, regardless of threat or risk. After all, without risks there are no rewards, as he attempts to creep around behind the second Valentine, combat knife in hand. Short of being stopped, or killed, he's going to attempt to ram it into Iria's back in a fast, vicious, and brutal plunge.
Deelel	Deelel says "You sound like a null unit from back home. IF a being has no function I long learned it can chose one on their own. After all that's how almost all organics live their lives. IF my people's Gods can do such? So can synthetics!" Deelel seems very worked up about it. She's got the attacker's attention at the very least or so it seems. "..." Deelel come sin for a landing catches her keyblade now. "I understand we need to move." She might be able to do something but she's getting out of here and doing what she can to help people getting clear.
Kirito	The gun is destroyed as promised and Kirito finds himself PUNCHED before he can properly counter. With a yell the Spriggan's propelled at hyper-speed down into what's left of a house with a mighty KABOOM! Well, now the RUBBLE is in pieces. Go figure. "That's way too much strength for arms that size... she's definitely a robot." The Swordsman grunts while getting up. He's up again just in time to see the exchange... and buildup of power. He can't be sure, but THAT looks like either a teleport or a SELF DESTRUCT. He's played WAY more than enough games to know that one. But yet GRIMM IS RUSHING IN! "Don't go DYING ON US!!" Is Grimm CRAZY?! Well Kirito's not really sure why he even came to begin with, but this isn't the time for that. Caught between going to aid Grimm or maybe pull him away, and the injured and/or fleeing Yuki-Onna, the boy makes a desperate choice. If Grimm dies because he's being stupid... oh well... With teeth clenched, he BOLTS for the nearest women. He's easily strong enough to carry two, one over each shoulder. It's a rough ride but there's NO TIME TO LOSE! "hurry up!"
Elphelt Valentine	By now, the confused Valentine turns to Haguro and Deelel. She doesn't even shoot, or track the Yuki-Onna. "I...I can be...a person?" Mutters Iria. It doesn't last long, however, as she's concentrating on her spell. It doesn't take all that long, unfortunately for Grimm. His blade comes rushing for her back! It's right then that there's a brilliant light. Power fills the cavern, heating it up, and causing slight melting to the various buildings. When the light fades? Where once there were corpses, there's nothing more than floating specks of dust. The same from where Grimm was. Where did they all go!? Thankfully, Kirito and the others are quick enough to get out. With Deelel and Haguro herding some, and Kirito holding aloft a few, the survivors all make it out. Elphelt peers back, her newfound sister gone. Yet, there's tears in her eyes, for all the needless death and destruction. Only when she's sure that they've saved everyone they can, does sit collapse back against the wall, hug her knees to her chest, and start sobbing. ~~Elsewhere~~ Grimm Hardy finds himself in a world of pure white. The entire landscape is flat, and to human...or Undead...eyes, it's enough to blind in this featureless place. A constant, low humming can be heard. But it's not empty. All around Grimm swims magic of the most powerful, eldest, most pure kind. There's no corruption in it at all, just pure power and potential and light all gathered in amounts that may indeed be infinite in nature. It stretches for distances beyond imagination, that may have no end, or may be just a few feet, or have dimensions folded on dimensions. Simply being in this area for a non-native warps one's senses to the core without protections. It might just pop into Grimm's head as he's being pressed on all sides by this infinite weight of magic and power, body distending from it all, twisted and ripped apart like a rag doll by a malevolent child. Yet there isn't any lasting damage at first as he's swept up in the flow. No, though he'd at first feel every kind of bodily pain from his form being twisted around in ways otherwise impossible, the Backyward isn't so merciful as to just kill him that quickly. The physical suffering would pale compared to the mental agony. Pure information tries to invade Grimm's head. Knowledge of the magic of the Backyard, every single aspect of Elphelt's world and universe being shoved all at once into his mind. It's enough to drive gods mad from just a glimpse, the Backyard trying to literally crush the man body and soul with a deluge of information. None of it, of course, would stick for but the vaguest of notions. In the end, it's pure information and knowledge that will try to rip apart everything that is Grimm Hardy and absorb it into the Backyard's flow for repurposing. Thank goodness Undead souls are so oddly resilient, and simply won't be drowned away, unlike perhaps everything else in the man.
Kirito	Out of the caverns, past all of the carnage... and back into some amount of safety. Kirito's stunned at how quickly what should've been a simple 'go stop a monster' turned into a heartwrenching muddle. He's looking glum himself. One eye's flicking constantly at the party HUD to figure out just what's up with Grimm if he at all can. He flumps down against the wall himself... and puts a hand on Elphelt's shoulder. He's not really good at this comforting thing, but gosh darnit, she seems to really need it! Deelel and Haguro are both given fleeting, haunted glances from the otherwise silent Black Swordsman.
Haguro	Haguro doesn't even turn around even when she feels that heat hitting her back, partially because she already has some idea of what to expect and because she's outright terrified of what she might end up seeing. The Yuki-Onna she's ushering out can probably even feel the shipgirl's hands trembling, but Haguro's careful to remain silent to not worry the poor woman any more than she needs to. That, or she's just so scared that she can't even speak. Either or. Once they're out, she finally notices something... Off. Following Kirito's lead, Haguro too gives Elphelt a gentle pat on the back. It takes her a while longer before she actually manages to speak up, though, the shock of what had just happened finally wearing off. "It'll be alright, Miss Valentine. We'll... We'll get through to her." She doesn't sound quite so certain, but she's trying to! Glancing around once more, she looks to Deelel and Kirito before furrowing her brow. "Um... Weren't there five of us before? That strange man's missing."
Grimm Hardy	Iria can't much be a person if she's dead, and that seems to be Grimm's intention with that knife in hand, scowling the whole way. He reels his arm back- he thrusts; expecting the satisfying meaty sound of cold steel ramming through flesh and bone-- But that's not what he gets. Too late by just the margin of a second, the White Phantom is lost a a world of bright white. As a Phantom or not, however, the Undead is certainly not immune to pain. In his defense, Grimm takes it like a champion, gritting his teeth and champing them with a snarl, while he can as his body is inundated with uncontrollable, primal, magics in this strange world that is the home of all things proven Law and Theory in regards to the world, causing his party icon in Kirito's window to show a frighteningly rapid decrese of HP until--... There's no one around to hear the snarling scream of defiant pain as Grimm Hardy sees forever, and is stamped out of being for it, is there? YOU DIED. Miles and miles and miles distant... It's with a sudden gasp, however, that he sits up, body soaked in icy sweat, hands fumbling automatically for his weapons as dark eyes open and he finds himself staring at the dark misty night sky, clouds looming dark and oppressive overhead as he sits up beneath the warm flickering light of a Streetlight he had lit before. Breathless, disoriented, confused, and angry, the Undead shuffles back to his feet, a corpse-like paleness to his pallor as he regains his bearings. That'll take him a little while.
Kirito	"He's gone." Kirito states weakly, as if finding it hard to believe. That's it. A simple answer to Haguro a few moments after his HUD goes fuzzy, Grimm's HP goes from ??? to gibberish and then vanishes. Darn bugs.
Deelel	Deelel :ios getting out of here hearing people out as best she can. She's able to help get as many people out as she can. She's going to run at this point once there's nothing else she can do and the basic drops to her butt to sit for a moment. "That...was not what I expected, what?! What about Grim?! Wait your saying he got Cubed?!"
Kirito	Kirito just grits his teeth for at Deelel's words. That looks like confirmation alright! But his expression softens back to just mopey sadness soon enough. "Yeah."