Majima was forced to back away the moment his knife-wielding arm was kicked, keeping a tight grip on the bladed weapon as he skidded backwards into a halt. It was a legitimate adrenaline rush for him, given that the last time he was able to fight like this without holding back was a good enough time ago. He knew that this was wrong to go this far, but his demon instincts told him otherwise. Much like withdrawal, his need to fight as if this were a life or death situation overcame his humane restraint.
Getting himself to stand up straight, the yakuza saw from the corner of his eye that Maeve was throwing daggers at him, circling around him as she did so. Laughing in an unhinged manner, he went to work on dealing with those thrown knives, deflecting them with his own. When it came to the last that he would have to swipe away, he purposefully blocked it in a way that the redirected dagger would fling itself up above him. Backing up a step or two, Majima performed a kick at the air, managing to line up the tip of his shoe with the handle of the blocked knife. It would be no surprised after this maneuver that Maeve would see one of her thrown daggers flying straight back at her.
❝ You've been doing terribly well so far... it's just been a fucking long time since I got to let loose like this, and I ain't sure when I can do this shit again. ❞ Majima was simply having too much fun with this, standing there as he observed his right arm be surrounded by those shadows once more. As if it was reacting this way after having this arm be kicked, it looked like it was healing the possible bruising he could've gotten, and by extension spread those shadows to his knife. It wasn't long until his knife appeared to have darkened electricity sparking through it's blade.
❝ But if I'm not gonna get a big ass gash any time soon, you'll get one instead! ❞ He couldn't himself from saying this as he rushed at Maeve again, knife ready to stab her. Regardless if she dealt with that kicked dagger earlier or not.
@Hahli Nuva
Majima made an audible hiss once he was cut by her dagger, backing away as his shadows slowly went to work on regenerating this wound he gained on his torso. ❝ Original, huh? Didn't wanna use this right away, but if ya insist! ❞ Sheathing his knife and tossing it away, the yakuza threw off his jacket, going completely shirtless as another set of shadows surrounded his twitching right arm. He began to run towards Maeve, but veering to the left.
❝ This's what yer wanting, right?! AHAHAHAHAHAHHA!! ❞ Majima roared in twisted laughter, rearing his right arm back for a punch despite being not so close to Maeve. However, in mid-swing, the shadows around his right arm combusted, barely getting to clear out as a long monstrous arm appeared to practically punch the air out of Maeve! Regardless if the punch connected or not, Majima skidded his sprint to a halt, allowing his rather demonic right arm retract to a manageable length. It looked like this transformed arm of his could extend to extreme lengths to reach his opponent from afar.
@Hahli Nuva
As Lapis continued to heal Blake with her usage of Miracles, the strange bleeding appeared to have gotten worse for Lapis, but she chose to ignore it. Until it was obvious that Blake was going to live through this, she wasn't going to let up. Even if Wyatt did what he could to ensure that Lapis wasn't going to get worse from doing this, it looked like he was stopping the bleeding from her head. Actually, it was only the bleeding that was being stopped, as Lapis looked like she was going to faint regardless.
@Lucky
❝ Majima... I've... known him for awhile. He's helped me a lot in the past. Before I was taken away by these girls... he went out of his way to protect me when all sorts of yakuza families were after me for my ownership of an empty lot. I didn't realize until halfway through that he was originally hired to kill me, but he chose to protect me instead... I remember... getting shot after trying to negotiate with one of those yakuza families, and Majima rushing to my aid... I don't remember running into him ever again, after I was hospitalized from that incident... but I was able to live a normal life for a bit afterwards... ❞ Makoto recounted the amount of trouble that they both went through. ❝ Only now that I learn his name... that he's the supposedly feared Goro Majima, the Mad Dog of Shimano... it doesn't fit him. I hear all about he's the one yakuza patriarch that others don't want to get violent with... but I know for a fact that he's not a bad man at all. ❞
Remembering all these things, she placed her hand over the watch she had on her wrist.
@Yun Lee
Julianne Stingray was a hard worker. She ran the main bar in Electric Town, styled after VA11-HALL-A in her own world. She provided drinks to everyone, no matter the type. UN Soldiers on shore leave, Coalition diplomats, and multiversal refugees all came to her bar. However, tonight was a slow night. Jill instead sat at her own bar, mixing a drink for herself to take the edge off.
@anyone
❝ Hello? ❞ Papi tilted her head at the strange moving bush that momentarily had ears sticking out of it. Were they shy? Without much warning, the harpy lifted herself off of the ground and grabbed to a few of the bush's branches with her talons, trying to uproot the plant to see who was hiding out of curiosity.
@York @Lucky
❝ . . . ❞ The woman couldn't help herself from sending off a playful giggle, as if finding the question funny. Aside from that, she did come here for one thing. Crouching down at Majima's side, she casually took out a syringe filled with a blue liquid. It didn't take much effort to pull up his sleeve and injected him with that unknown substance, but it take effort to immediately distance herself away. In that moment, an immediate reaction came from Majima's right arm, those same shadows surging out as if trying to overwhelm the strange drug. Soon after, those shadows retracted back into his body, much like this demonic power of his becoming dormant for now.
With that out of the way, the woman stood back up while disposing of the used syringe, using a phone to contact someone. Once again, she purposefully ignored Maeve, at the same time attending to this strange business to herself and to rile up a reaction from Maeve. It was fun being able to do both: annoying someone and getting a job done.
@Hahli Nuva
With the quiet atmosphere of the Electric Bar, it was calm enough for someone to be straight up passed out at the bar counter. Only now did this man wake up from his drunken nap as another customer walked in. What was he up to again? Homare Nishitani couldn't get himself to remember what was so important to be around in Avalon anyways. Something about that Empty Lot owner winding up here and him needing to fetch her over? Bah, it wasn't that important now. For some place that the majority of the Omi Alliance not knowing about, he found Avalon to be a helluva time better than washed up Sotenbori.
Slouching in his seat, Nishitani lazily fished in his pockets for his pack of cigarettes and his lighter. Something about a good smoke after an intoxicated nap sounded really good right about now. Probably for the best, he was too much in a daze to really process the words that the other was saying in a low voice.
❝ Miss bartender lady, mind givin' me that real strong stuff? Y'know? ❞ The Kijin Clan patriarch shot a sly look at Julianne. Well, guess he was considering on drinking more by the looks of it.
@Minerva @Cromartous
"Oh Hello, are..." The Old Man swallowed his words, pulling his own head from his own hand. A glimmer of alertness and excitement rose pulled him from his slump and back into the land of the living. "Are you alright?" The crow sung coarsely "Big night, was it?'❝ Hello? ❞ Papi tilted her head at the strange moving bush that momentarily had ears sticking out of it. Were they shy? Without much warning, the harpy lifted herself off of the ground and grabbed to a few of the bush's branches with her talons, trying to uproot the plant to see who was hiding out of curiosity.
@York @Lucky
❝ . . . ❞ The woman couldn't help herself from sending off a playful giggle, as if finding the question funny. Aside from that, she did come here for one thing. Crouching down at Majima's side, she casually took out a syringe filled with a blue liquid. It didn't take much effort to pull up his sleeve and injected him with that unknown substance, but it take effort to immediately distance herself away. In that moment, an immediate reaction came from Majima's right arm, those same shadows surging out as if trying to overwhelm the strange drug. Soon after, those shadows retracted back into his body, much like this demonic power of his becoming dormant for now.
With that out of the way, the woman stood back up while disposing of the used syringe, using a phone to contact someone. Once again, she purposefully ignored Maeve, at the same time attending to this strange business to herself and to rile up a reaction from Maeve. It was fun being able to do both: annoying someone and getting a job done.
@Hahli Nuva
With the quiet atmosphere of the Electric Bar, it was calm enough for someone to be straight up passed out at the bar counter. Only now did this man wake up from his drunken nap as another customer walked in. What was he up to again? Homare Nishitani couldn't get himself to remember what was so important to be around in Avalon anyways. Something about that Empty Lot owner winding up here and him needing to fetch her over? Bah, it wasn't that important now. For some place that the majority of the Omi Alliance not knowing about, he found Avalon to be a helluva time better than washed up Sotenbori.
Slouching in his seat, Nishitani lazily fished in his pockets for his pack of cigarettes and his lighter. Something about a good smoke after an intoxicated nap sounded really good right about now. Probably for the best, he was too much in a daze to really process the words that the other was saying in a low voice.
❝ Miss bartender lady, mind givin' me that real strong stuff? Y'know? ❞ The Kijin Clan patriarch shot a sly look at Julianne. Well, guess he was considering on drinking more by the looks of it.
@Minerva @Cromartous
The woman wasn't at all fazed by the fact that her phone was pierced through by a single dagger, her communication device being rendered useless just like that. That unwavering smile still stuck on her face, not at all bothered by this possible set back. Prompted to explain herself, she remained silent even when it was this close to an inevitable fight. Seconds later, the woman merely made a gesture that was similar to shrugging, expressing that she didn't feel like explaining or saying anything at all. Blink once, her eyes was a dark shade of brown and a bright flush of pink, blink twice, those drastically different eye colors swapped places from left to right. Blink once more, the colors alternated again. It was unclear what she was exactly conveying here, but with how she's simply standing there with that smug smile of hers, it might as well be a taunt. An invitation to come at her for a fight.
@Hahli Nuva
❝ Eh? Pretty damn sure I'm alright if I can take in more smokes. ❞ Nishitani rose an eyebrow at the Old Man's question out of concern, before taking another swig of his cigarette. Any other person would've taken that question with thanks, but he was the sole exception to that expectation. The Kijin Clan patriarch is best explained as the walking example of the world's worst role model, if his track record starting from elementary school is anything to go by.
❝ Big night, though... that's one way to say it. ❞
@Cromartous @Minerva
"Return to the abyss from whence you came, fiend! Raaaaaaaagh!"
Feeling a wave of electrifying (not literally) adrenaline come over her, probably playing a part in strengthening her further, Riesbyfe felt bold enough to pick up the boar's entire body with her bare hands, metal fingers digging into the beast's flesh tightly as she stumbled lightly, but found her footing.
She knew she couldn't maintain her position for this long, barely even able to lift the entire beast off the ground, but once she did, the former shield maiden made her move, clumsily but still effectively (she hoped) throwing it right at the ghoul with the hopes of taking them both down like a hard slam!
@Gummi Bunnies @York @Lucky
Majima was forced to back away the moment his knife-wielding arm was kicked, keeping a tight grip on the bladed weapon as he skidded backwards into a halt. It was a legitimate adrenaline rush for him, given that the last time he was able to fight like this without holding back was a good enough time ago. He knew that this was wrong to go this far, but his demon instincts told him otherwise. Much like withdrawal, his need to fight as if this were a life or death situation overcame his humane restraint.
Getting himself to stand up straight, the yakuza saw from the corner of his eye that Maeve was throwing daggers at him, circling around him as she did so. Laughing in an unhinged manner, he went to work on dealing with those thrown knives, deflecting them with his own. When it came to the last that he would have to swipe away, he purposefully blocked it in a way that the redirected dagger would fling itself up above him. Backing up a step or two, Majima performed a kick at the air, managing to line up the tip of his shoe with the handle of the blocked knife. It would be no surprised after this maneuver that Maeve would see one of her thrown daggers flying straight back at her.
❝ You've been doing terribly well so far... it's just been a fucking long time since I got to let loose like this, and I ain't sure when I can do this shit again. ❞ Majima was simply having too much fun with this, standing there as he observed his right arm be surrounded by those shadows once more. As if it was reacting this way after having this arm be kicked, it looked like it was healing the possible bruising he could've gotten, and by extension spread those shadows to his knife. It wasn't long until his knife appeared to have darkened electricity sparking through it's blade.
❝ But if I'm not gonna get a big ass gash any time soon, you'll get one instead! ❞ He couldn't himself from saying this as he rushed at Maeve again, knife ready to stab her. Regardless if she dealt with that kicked dagger earlier or not.
@Hahli Nuva
The combined efforts following Lapis's Miracle to severely weaken the two beasts sustained heavy damage to them. In fact, the large ghoul in particular was seen to be fading away after being struck by the thrown boar due to Riesbyfe, meaning that one of the two major threats had been taken care of. On the other hand, the boar was still active despite roughly landing on it's back, exposing its underside!
Lapis was about to act before the boar could do anything else, but stopped herself once she overheard Wyatt behind her. It didn't take her long to decide that her Miracles could save Blake, and that the others could handle the boar from here on. Forcing her crystal sword to shatter, she rushed over to Wyatt and Blake.
❝ A-Alright! I'll see if I can make this work! ❞ ... and maybe save him just this once. Lapis felt doubtful of herself. It had only been less than ten minutes that she's discovered how to use the magic unique to the Witch of Miracles, and she was pushing herself to use that same magic to save her brother from death. It was nerve-racking, even too good to be true. She wasn't sure if she could pull it off, that she might as well be an indirect cause to another of his deaths. It was a miracle in itself already that he was here in front of her, breathing and all.
Getting herself to raise her magically generated arm over Blake's body, Lapis tapped into that same energy she used to nullify the Wrath that was coming out of the summoned demons here. If she was able to purge that essence away, then she figured that it would do the same to the Wrath infecting her brother. The process was slow, but progress was being made. The deathly pale skin started to regain color, his breathing becoming more in-tune, and his eyes slowly closing as if he were in comfort rather than in pain.
As Lapis was busy with this healing process, she felt a piercing pain from inside her chest, but she forced herself to ignore that sensation. Not now. Not when Blake's life was at stake! She wouldn't realize or notice this at first, but Wyatt would be able to notice that a blue liquid ran down the side of Lapis's head. Almost like...blood in the color of blue.
@Ver @Lucky @York
There was a desire to ask more about Majima's situation, but Makoto refrained from doing that. She felt like that was alike to intruding on his matters, going off of the fact that he's been hiding his identity all this time due to his involvement with the yakuza. It wasn't like she would explain that case to Alice, noticing that she didn't happen to recognize his name and that it wouldn't be necessary to share that detail with her. Though, she found herself being asked by Alice about that girl who brought her here in the first place.
❝ No, I... don't. ❞ Makoto shook her head. ❝ I don't know how long... she's been with me. It's weird, actually. Before I met her, I was resting at my apartment after my work as a nurse... and I woke up to her telling me that we needed to go... ❞ Much like retracing her steps that led up to her being here in the same room as Alice, Makoto recounted how she came to meeting Miyo. That alone implied that Makoto was being moved somewhere, but the reasoning for that was unclear. It didn't look like Makoto was told why she needed to be moved by that woman anyways.
❝ Her name, she told me it was Miyo Takano... and that she was taking me somewhere that was far away... and with someone else too. ❞ She took a moment to pause, trying to remember any other details that she knew about Miyo and this other person. ❝ Right... before I would fall asleep, when we took rests at night, I would hear them talking. I don't understand much about what they were talking about, talking about a Core and an Institute... but I remembered the weird names they called each other... Miyo was called Lambda by this other girl, and Miyo would call the other girl Lapis... ❞
@Yun Lee
❝ Hello? ❞ Papi tilted her head at the strange moving bush that momentarily had ears sticking out of it. Were they shy? Without much warning, the harpy lifted herself off of the ground and grabbed to a few of the bush's branches with her talons, trying to uproot the plant to see who was hiding out of curiosity.
@York @Lucky
❝ . . . ❞ The woman couldn't help herself from sending off a playful giggle, as if finding the question funny. Aside from that, she did come here for one thing. Crouching down at Majima's side, she casually took out a syringe filled with a blue liquid. It didn't take much effort to pull up his sleeve and injected him with that unknown substance, but it take effort to immediately distance herself away. In that moment, an immediate reaction came from Majima's right arm, those same shadows surging out as if trying to overwhelm the strange drug. Soon after, those shadows retracted back into his body, much like this demonic power of his becoming dormant for now.
With that out of the way, the woman stood back up while disposing of the used syringe, using a phone to contact someone. Once again, she purposefully ignored Maeve, at the same time attending to this strange business to herself and to rile up a reaction from Maeve. It was fun being able to do both: annoying someone and getting a job done.
@Hahli Nuva
With the quiet atmosphere of the Electric Bar, it was calm enough for someone to be straight up passed out at the bar counter. Only now did this man wake up from his drunken nap as another customer walked in. What was he up to again? Homare Nishitani couldn't get himself to remember what was so important to be around in Avalon anyways. Something about that Empty Lot owner winding up here and him needing to fetch her over? Bah, it wasn't that important now. For some place that the majority of the Omi Alliance not knowing about, he found Avalon to be a helluva time better than washed up Sotenbori.
Slouching in his seat, Nishitani lazily fished in his pockets for his pack of cigarettes and his lighter. Something about a good smoke after an intoxicated nap sounded really good right about now. Probably for the best, he was too much in a daze to really process the words that the other was saying in a low voice.
❝ Miss bartender lady, mind givin' me that real strong stuff? Y'know? ❞ The Kijin Clan patriarch shot a sly look at Julianne. Well, guess he was considering on drinking more by the looks of it.
@Minerva @Cromartous
With the beast at its last legs, the demonic boar attempted to unleash another surge of electricity with the intention to do one last bit of damage to the attacking party that was against it. That would never happen, fortunately. Sudden and abrupt, all sorts of explosions bombarded the boar, continuing on as the boar was weakened to the point that it couldn't escape this vicious assault.
By that time, Lapis managed to finish up the healing process for Blake, who appeared as if he wasn't infected by the Wrath essence at all. It was a miracle in itself that she was able to stay conscious after the fact, nausea swelling up in her chest as small hints of blue colored blood went down the side of her head. Training her sights towards the downed boar. she only got a glimpse of it fading away in darkened smoke, defeated after a set of colored explosions did the last hit on it.
Lapis was aware of who was here and able to do that last attack, seeing them address her.
❝ Well well well, I didn't expect you to handle that demon for that lo- ❞ Lambdadelta smiled once she started to walk into view, but she froze the moment she realized Lapis's condition. Just the hint of blood coming from her out of all people, that warranted an extremely concerned reaction from the Witch of Certainty. ❝ L-Lapis, what happened with you?! I thought you said that you don't get hurt like that! And what's with that... magic arm?! ❞
❝ I... I guess I used my magic too much, Lambda. So much for being a miracle worker. ❞ Lapis sighed in response, not exactly understanding this so much. As for the last question, she glanced at where her left arm used to be, only seeing the strange blue energy flaming in that empty space meant for an arm. A magical flame of blue. Without warning, it faded off, as if there weren't any other needs for its power to be used. ❝ Not sure about that though. Maybe it's a part of the magic I got for being the new Witch of Miracles. ❞
Lambdadelta could only remain silent, letting that sink in as if this was more of a shock than a pleasant surprise. As she remained silent, it was clear that Blake would eventually recover in good health and that the demonic boar was slain without actual damage or casualties.
@Lucky @Ver @York
-Intermission End-
The Rust District
Franziska von Karma walked out of the courtroom with a satisfied smile. This had been the sixth case she had prosecuted since arriving in the city of Avalon, and once again the foolishly foolish fool of a defendant had been found guilty.
"These attorneys are such fools." Franziska remarked. "And their clients even more so. These cases are just too easy."
"To be fair, the defendant's guilt was rather obvious. And his lawyer was clearly an appointed defender who didn't believe in his client's innocence. And the odds were stacked against him." SHIELD agent Shannon Ford stated. "You had Sherlock Holmes, insurance investigator Johnny Dollar, Nancy Drew AND Nick and Nora Charles testifying against him."
Franziska nodded. "He was foolish to think his crime would not be found out in this place, of all places. And his attorney ... such a foolish fool. Trying to claim it was his client's alternate universe counterpart who committed the crime. Thanks to organizations like your affiliates and the Coalition, we have means of telling who is from what universe. It's his own fault for not hearing about quantum signatures."
Shannon nodded. "I'm off on official business. If I am needed, you know how to reach me." With that, the SHIELD agent left the area.
Franziska von Karma decided to head off toward the Mist Gardens. Perhaps there would be something far more interesting going on than this recently concluded case.
Black disappeared in a flicker of light, leaving Zamasu alone to explore. Before he could finish he next rotation of the Garden, he soon found his eyes meeting with Franziska's.
"Tell me" He spoke with the same respect he had shown Black at the start of their reunion "When you walk around this garden, what do you see? What do you really see?"
@Chris Lang