logsinthenight | EVENT LOG: ENTER MR SANDMAN (DEFENDERS)

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EVENT LOG: ENTER MR SANDMAN (DEFENDERS)

EVENT LOG:
ENTER MR. SANDMAN (DEFENDERS)

characters: those who signed up as defenders for the event
location: all around Beacon
date/time: november 16-29
content: the defenders attempt to drive off a spirit invasion
warnings: lots of horror! body horror, psychological horror, gore, violence, etc.. please cw all threads where appropriate! mods will do the same

in your closet, in your head.

It all happens in a matter of moments. Your friends, your companions, and even some people you aren't all that fond of; everyone who took so much as a bite of the spirits' feast suddenly collapses into a comatose heap. Which is bad enough already, but the worst, by far, is yet to come.

Before anyone can really figure out what's happened to the sleepers, the woods surrounding the town come alive with sound. Rustling, screeching, clicking, howling, and under it all, the characteristic hoots and whistles of the forest spirit tongue. But these aren't the friendly creatures that set up the banquet in the first place, and they aren't the familiar faces (or masks) from around Beacon. As they begin to emerge, bursting forth from the trees, these spirits reveal themselves as a horrifying army of terrors. And sprinkled among them, distinguishable by the emerald glint in their sockets, are the infamous "green eyes", the dangerous spirits that appeared once before.

Attempting to talk to these spirits is a moot point, made obvious by their immediate assault on anyone they get close to. They attack with claws and teeth, with limbs far stronger than they have any right to be, and the green eyes, as they are wont to do, will try to get into your head. Somehow, they seem to know what it is that scares you most, and they don't seem too hesitant to use it. It's not clear what they want— are they here to eradicate you? To frighten you? To send a message?

Whatever the case, one thing is very clear: you and everyone else, sleeping or waking, are in serious danger. Are you ready to defend Beacon?

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[ They aren't after the people sleeping, but then, maybe that much they should have figured out. Vanitas can't think of a time the spirits ever interacted with someone that wasn't awake, or alive.

And these ones— he'd known they were still out there. The ones that ripped him limb from limb. But even after that last time— when the foghorn happened, when the friendly spirits turned their backs— it wasn't like this. This constant onslaught, these twisted bodies with too many arms and too many mouths. They have to go through the woods to get to the museum. It had never been dangerous before.

Going back and forth had only been tempting fate.

There are Unversed in the museum already, ones that will alert them if something comes back to wipe them out, so Vanitas takes off after Jason Todd as he starts to lead the mob away from the building. He catches up riding on the back of another of his fledgling emotions and vaults off of it to land next to Jason, summoning his keyblade and landing in his ready stance. The Unversed slams both hands on the ground and prepares itself for battle, too. ]

[ Jay has his gun on hand, ready to be loud and obnoxious where necessary, but there's a certain tension in his entire body as he moves. The spirits don't exactly terrify him-- he's seen similar before. Been possessed by similar. It is what it is. But he wants, more than anything, to avoid a situation like when the fog horn went off.

When people died all over the town. After a party.

It's hard not to draw the immediate parallels. But he glances at his two companions, looking for where they're covering, where their gaps are-- and subtly trying to get a sense for their exact skills. He's got his guns, his utility belt, and every skill he's ever learned. he can cover everything in the middle. ]

[Jason had heard the stories of course, but this was his first encounter with the spirits that didn't want to compromise or put on awkward plays or be mischievous. As soon as that initial attack he'd had a much better, clearer understanding of that difference and he felt like, on some level, he had a better understanding for how he could help here.

Though he wished they hadn't been caught so off guard in the process. How had he gotten to that point in the underworld of all places? When spirits and monsters lurked in this constant darkness he should have been ready like a properly trained Roman...

He had no armor, but he was at least carrying a sword, one he had equipped himself with some time after the discovery of the armory. He would trust the others to have his back or, at the very least, be able to fend for themselves. He hadn't seen Jay in combat, but he had gone on an exploration with Vanitas awhile back and at least had a basic understanding of his abilities.]

[Jason's right, there certainly is a difference between these creatures and the cuddly, well-meaning sort that typically lurks around town. It's almost like you can feel it in the air, not hate exactly, but something a lot like it. Anger. Fury. Ill-intent.

For these three in particular, it seems to be coming from a gnarled tree just at the edge of the nearby woods. Or, wait— that's not a tree at all. It's a spirit crouched behind one.

The horned, four-armed Thing rises up to its full height of nine feet or more, and seems to set its sights (wherever those might be in that wooden face) on the trio. It stomps forward, the weight of it shaking the very ground, its limbs creaking. As it nears them, it picks up speed, and in a demonstration of simple-but-effective tactics, swings its bulky arms in a wide arc in an attempt to swipe all three of them (plus that Unversed) away.]

[ It's big— but Vanitas has seen bigger. He's fought larger foes, has created larger foes himself... though not in this place, where despite the fact he should be at the peak of his power, he can't summon the kind of strength required to make something like this at will.

But even so— he can feel the negative emotion rolling off of this thing. The fury, the intent to harm. He can practically taste it on the back of his tongue, like the feeling is his own. That's how strong it is.

It's fast. Faster than anything that large should be. The wide swing is easy to see coming, but the trajectory makes maneuverability difficult. The path they're fighting on isn't large. It's not built for this kind of battle— it's built for traveling. Vanitas dismisses his keyblade and reaches out to grab the shirts of both his companions. The spirit is winding up as Vanitas yanks them both backward, toward himself, and back through the Dark Corridor he summons behind him.

They don't go far. All Vanitas does is pull them through the darkness and out the other side— directly behind the giant moving tree. Unfortunately, his Unversed isn't so lucky. It gets cleaved and slams backward into the brush, bouncing and hitting the very tree this monster had crawled out from behind. Vanitas resummons his keyblade. He suspects fire would be best, but they can't make fire here, so: ]

Cut it's limbs off!

[ he's not totally unused to that feeling, not after the lighthouse. But the good news is, all that negative energy in the air? it's enough that Jay can feel it, and maybe once he would have reacted to it. but instead, he just grins. maybe a little too amused by this situation, but.

You couldn't make it any more obvious how evil that thing was-- so what was the point of a gun, when you had something specifically for fighting evil? he holsters his gun, and calls his all blades to his hands instead ]

Don't need to tell me twice. I'll go left.

[ so someone had better go right. no need to have them all going the same direction, after all. he takes off running, and leverages the swinging limbs. he times his jump to kick off of the bark-- up and over, jabbing the blade of the sword down into the tree.

magic swords. that were specifically for hurting evil magic creatures. ]

[That is DEFINITELY not a nymph and it is not like any other monster he's fought before either. Well, okay, it has more limbs and is bigger than it should be, at least Jason can work with that much. Actually, compared to the Titans and Giants this creature is practically puny.

Just as he begins to crouch -- to either dodge roll or fly into the air -- he feels a hand on his shirt and is yanked back. He recovers quickly on the other side of the Dark Corridor, his eyes still locked on the enemy.]

Right!

[Jason's moving even as he calls out the complementary direction. The wind in the area beginning to pick up and clear out some of the low hanging fog. As soon as he is on the creature's right he jumps in the air and comes down with not only his blade but a strong blast of air as well. This isn't a pleasant breeze, but a directed blast that could hopefully topple a tree in a storm...or in this case a tree-like spirit.

The sword, while perhaps not magical, is in the hands of a powerful demigod and should chop through a tree from sheer force of the blow alone.]

[Evil is a very subjective thing. Anger itself isn't necessarily evil, and when you're dealing with a very inhuman scale of ethics, well, the waters get a lot more muddy.

But regardless of any evil-smiting powers, Jason's weapons are still weapons, so they'll do the trick anyway. His blade stabs down into the tree limb, causing the creature to make a low sound of annoyance. Which turns to a much louder sound of annoyance when the other Jason staggers it back with a blast of wind and takes off one of its arms. So far so good, especially considering none of them have ever fought a tree monster before.

Er, wait. A tree monster?

While the four-armed giant attempts to right itself, a creaking moan erupts from the woods behind. A second beast lumbers forward, as if materializing from the trees. It's near as tall as the first one, and stinks powerfully of old swamp water.

This one doesn't swing its arms— it doesn't need to. The thick, rope-like tendrils that make up its fingers instead lash out, seeking to ensnare its intended prey. Namely, Vanitas and Jason-the-demigod. Heads up, boys!]

[ The second one draws Vanitas' gaze, simply because his placement has put in a position to be something almost like a lookout. It's hardly on purpose, but Vanitas still sees the lumbering shadow move before the others do.

Vanitas isn't used to operating in a group, and certainly not one with more than one person in a battle situation. Really, most often he's used to being the one attacked— so he doesn't think to check on the other two when the second monster comes for him.

Instead, he swings his his keyblade broadly, cleaving the vines that comes for his vulnerable limbs— he isn't keen on a repeat of his last encounter with deadly spirits.

His Unversed rights itself and gallops back toward the one-armed spirit, lobbing spheres of darkness at the monster that explode on impact, like mini grenades. ]

Oh look, it's his uglier older brother.

[ helping literally no one with that quip. but he can recognize they have two huge problems that they should hope don't swell to three. or four. he knows how brothers, work, after all. you can never have just one. still, he has a strong feeling his blades would be more effective against a bunch of thinner branches.

sort of like that time Dick had claimed he fought to a draw-- but it was his stupid stick against Jay's larynx, versus Jay's gun to Dick's temple. That sort of imbalance. he quickly takes an appraisal, and decides to rush forward, arm swinging in an arc to cut through some of the vines. ]

Yo, Jason number 2, trade dance partners?

[ seriously he should probably be less glib about this. ]

[The limb might have come off, but the fighting is far from over. It was too easy to just have one monster, so he barely bats an eye when another tree creature joins the fray. He does, however, have to watch his footing as several vines snake their way towards himself and Vantias.

Jason spins back, easily trading places with his name-twin.]

Be my guest. Gives me an opening.

[He returns his full attention to the first tree spirit and decides to try something he hadn't done since dying. Now that Vanitas and Jay are away from it and facing the second tree monster he has a clear shot after all. Jason literally flies at it, raising his sword high. Wind may be good against trees, but he can think of something that fells a tree every time: lightning.

Jason strikes at the tree again, this time slamming the sword in like he's burying one of his capture the flag poles.

There's no flash of light, since light doesn't exist here. The only warning they get is the crackle in the air as Jason brings a bolt of lighting crashing down onto himself, the sword, and (of course) the tree. After all, the only guarantee he had that it would strike where he wanted it to was if he served as the conduit. Luckily, being the son of Jupiter comes with an immunity to lightning. He can't say the same for the tree.

He pulls his sword out, now buzzing with unseen but very real electrical sparks.]

[The vine creature seems... mildly annoyed at having half its weird fingers chopped off. Probably because it has more where that came from; the vines seem to regrow almost as soon as they're removed. This time it does decide to swing its arms a bit, enough to try and lash both Vanitas and Jay like a cat o' nine tails. Er. Ten tails? Whatever.

The now three-armed tree groans angrily at the little explosions, which make small holes in its bark. But its bark is thick, so it isn't down just yet. It raises a wooden fist to bring down on top of the Unversed, apparently hoping to smash it like the incredible Hulk.

And then there's the little problem of getting lightning'd. Yes, such a powerful current will usually topple even the oldest of trees... but typically because it catches on fire. Which, of course, this tree does not. The strike sends a spiderweb of cracks along the surface of the tree's bark, accompanied by the high-pitched whine of super-heated air escaping. The tree stops in its tracks for a moment.

And then, creaking loudly, swings both arms on one side inward, as if to crush Jason against itself.]

Edited 2019-11-20 06:49 (UTC)

[ The Unversed is tough, made stronger by all the negative emotion presently all over beacon, but its far from the most powerful thing Vanitas has ever made and despite its supernatural sturdiness is hardly immune to being crushed. The arm comes down on top of it and it flattens under the pressure, exploding outward into a curl of Darkness like smoke. Vanitas feels it lash back into his body, the pain scoring him as much as the little thrill of strength that comes with his magic returning.

Its the sort of thing he's familiar with, though, and it doesn't faze him enough to distract.

Regardless, he's just a little too slow this time, and when the lashing of the vines comes down Vanitas dodges most of them— but one catches him, the unreal weight of it knocks him off balance, and the final one connects across his midsection. The crack of supple wood meeting armor isn't as loud as that lightning strike, but it still echoes, and the tapered edge splits Vanitas' armor where its thinnest at his ribs. The fabric saves him from a bloody wound, but he can already feel the bruise forming.

With a furious shout he pulls on the Darkness and cloaks himself in it. It shrouds his lantern momentarily, and Vanitas almost disappears against their black surroundings when he throws himself forward, flying through the air with his keyboard brandished for his opponent's skeletal face. ]

Show-off.

[ though it's not like he has time to really focus on what the other jason is doing. Jay's got bigger fish to fry-- the fact that the vines regrow is an annoying complication. that indicates they need to get closer. Which means they need a distraction-- and there was one guy there that could create a hundred little distractions, which was good enough. That, plus a portal...

He dodges most of the vines. unlike Vanitas, he has no armor. Just stubbornness-- and maybe a little bit of blessing from the Lazarus Pools that give him a healing boost. Gotta keep a check on that. But one stray branch knocks him forward, and he can feel the soreness left behind, even as he tucks and rolls back onto his feet, and jumps back out of reach.

And then realizes Vanitas is basically 95% to the plan he would have made in the first place. ]

Vanitas! Gonna need a lot more distractions!

[ and his all-blades come back to his hands. time to cut vines down to size until said distractions are ready-- especially with his angry friend doing exactly what he wanted to do. ]

Shit!

[He'd seen that going differently in his head. The sword is free and Jason pushes off to fly up and out. Unfortunately, the limbs are large and he doesn't quite make clearance. So, while he's not crushed, he is smacked heavily by the incoming swing. Jason slams into the ground like a swatted fly, though less direct strike and more like what happens when you just swat it off its course.

He's lucky he's durable, but at the same time it hurts. Jason lets out a groan. There's definitely going to be some bruising on his back. No time to think about it though, he rolls out of the way so as to avoid fulfilling the bug analogy made earlier. The cracks he sees are reassuring to say the least and once on his feet he starts running at the tree from a new angle to hack at it again.]

[With the Unversed dealt with, the three-armed spirit is down to one direct opponent. Who is making its job easier by coming close again, or that's probably what it's thinking. Luckily for Jason, its strategy isn't exactly nuanced; it swings its lone arm toward him, low, and then, in case he jumps it, swings the opposite pair in higher up. Jury's out on whether or not it considered that he might dodge any other direction.

Whatever the case, Jason may or may not notice that as it moves, bark falls from it along the lines of the lightning cracks.

The other tree-spirit roars and whips one hand of its tendrils up to shield its face. The other hand's worth of vines snakes up to try and catch Vanitas en route. There's no attention paid to Jay from either creature. The vines might not be ground-level enough for him to hack right now, but he's got quite an opening.]

[ Either up close or distant, fighting this thing was going to be dangerous either way. Though they all have some brand of far reaching weaponry— Vanitas didn't see that lightning strike, but he could smell the ozone, feel the way his hair stood on end when it hit the ground close enough to make his skin prickle— in all of Vanitas' experience something like this would eventually need to get up close and personal.

Or rather, it wasn't really his experience. Rather, the experience of a boy he'd slept in the heart of for ten long years.

He hovers there, like some kind of black fly, bringing his keyblade down in a flurry of attacks— on the spirit's face, then on the hand it raises in an attempt to defend itself. Of course, lingering as long as he does means it leaves him open to be grabbed, and Vanitas only stops swinging when the vines wrap around his body like the coils of a great python.

But even so, he wasn't deaf to Jason's shout, and he points VoidGear straight up in the air before the vines can pin his fighting arm to his body. ]

Haaaaah!

[ There's more than enough negativity to draw on in the area, and Vanitas pulls as much of it toward himself as he can. There's a strange sucking sensation, something unseen, the shadows all around them seeming to bend toward Vanitas like he's some kind of singularity— and on the ground, handfuls of Unversed pull themselves up, a veritable swarm of creatures. Whether it's a response to what they're fighting or not, every one that comes up looks a little like it should belong in the woods with these spirits. They surge forward, clambering onto both spirits, weighting down their ankles.

On the three-armed spirit, they start digging their needle-like hands into the gaps in the bark, trying to pull it off. ]

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EVENT LOG: ENTER MR SANDMAN (DEFENDERS)

Vanitas + The Jasons

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