04 - A vacancy for a meatshield is open~

[drakenguard]

Who: Yamato and YOU
Where: Taurus Ward
Summary: Yamato feels like he is The Only Sane Man and he is so sick of scorpions. So sick of them.
Warnings: Er, fight scenes, maybe some cussing.

Somehow in the span of a few days the entire population of Hinoto-Ri had gone insane

It left Yamato feeling a bit wrong-footed really, because everything was devolving as quickly as it had back home. Although there was no void devouring the entirety of world, or aliens invading, there was still the raw panic of people mindlessly reacting to a dangerous situation. Some were screaming in hysterics, some were downright psychotic and violent - and now, on top of all that, strange scorpion like creatures had morphed out of nothingness, vicious and deadly with snapping claws and poisonous stings.

Also Yamato's demon, Arioch, was being difficult with him, enough so that he simply didn't bother summoning him any more. It was just him and Remiel now.

Perhaps it had been a mistake to go out when all of this chaos was unfolding, but Yamato was no the kind to cower or hide when shit went down. So he had strolled out into this insanity, determined to get to the bottom of it...

And somehow ended up getting in skirmishes, retreating and fighting, all the way to the Taurus Ward. Hiding back in his room was sounding more and more appealing with each passing second, especially as he and Remiel were both low on energy - both physical and spiritual. Remiel could only use their physical energy to replenish their spiritual for so long before it began to be more of a liability than anything of use.

So now, to put this tl;dr log to an end, have a somewhat exhausted Yamato and Remiel resting under a protruding eave of what could be a strip club for all he cared. The entrance was closed, and the interior quiet - it was still the middle of the day, after all, despite the nightmarish insanity going on.

Comments

[travelingtheworlds]

Oh, geez! It wasn't just Sasha derping up at play here. This man was scolding her, and Sasha didn't always take well to being scolded. "My magic is not useless! It's just not very useful right now, thank you very much! Besides, summoning a Persona takes precious seconds extra that those things could've used to swarm me. Wouldn't you try the faster tactic at first, too?"

Sasha, just admit that you screwed up and really should have taken those few extra seconds out to use your Persona, swarm or no swarm.

[drakenguard]

"Of course. The Persona has its advantages in not being dependent on a summoning medium, however you can only possess one. Usually this system can support the summoning of two demons, with an unlimited stock to draw from should one die."

Yamato frowned suddenly. "However, my other demon is acting peculiar..."

[drakenguard]

"Are you still barking, woman?" Yamato drawled, glancing over his shoulder at her. "I have no time to deal with your foolishness."

He certainly wasn't going to point out how summoning the Persona, precious seconds or no, was still the better choice than using ineffectual moves. Like, come on.

[travelingtheworlds]

Okay, that did it. "Foolishness?!" Her hands balled up into fists at her sides. "Okay, fine, I screwed up! I admit it! Are you happy now? I was actually going to use my Persona, but then you wiped out those things anyway! I was tired of running and I was going to stop and use my Persona, but I didn't get the chance to!" Yep, she was still barking. Except now she was barking mad. Beware the angry tiny woman!

[greatseal]

"Peculiar how?" It would be an advantage to have two allies in battle, but Minako decided she still preferred a Persona. It was at least an ally she could depend on, and not another being with a mind and goals of its own.

[meaningdies]

Naoya hissed as the spell crashed down on him. It was a good move, and if he were thinking logically he would have retreated.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, he wasn't. Cleopatra lashed out, a poisonous fog drifting over the battlefield. Provided it worked, she'd be following up with something else...

[poweryetunknown]

"Hey." Neku spotted someone else trying to approach, and sent Narasimha out, jolting them with a Zionga, before returning to hover near Neku and cast a Diarama on Yamato.

"If you're running out of energy or something you should probably pull back. No sense in getting killed over something stupid."

Or well. Killed again.

[drakenguard]

"Arioch is being difficult. I assume it has something to do with the current situation," Yamato said. "It would be a shame to trash him if it continues afterwards though. He is a good physical orientated ally to have."

[drakenguard]

"Damn-!"

Yamato lifted up his sleeve to his nose as the fog drifted over the battlefield, holding his breath as he hastily backed away. Remiel was at his side in an instant, the angel stretching one wing around him as if shielding him from the fog.

...but Yamato could only hold his breath for so long, and the fog was lingering.

He took stock of his situation then. Scorpions amassing, Naoya was apparently one of the psychotic ones (what a shame), and Yamato was hopeless outnumbered. A retreat would be necessary. Too bad he wasn't exactly...agile.

Yamato lowered his sleeve and inhaled, wincing as the poison fog burned the back of his throat. He coughed but battled through it, turning on his heel and bolting, Remiel following after him.

He hated to retreat - but he was no fool.

[drakenguard]

"It's fine," Yamato said, straightening himself up a little. "The Libra and Pisces wards are just like everywhere else, so there is nowhere safe to return to."

[drakenguard]

Yamato gave an irritated sigh, looking back at his phone. He shouldn't have encouraged her by acknowledging her like that. He flipped the phone closed and lowered his hand, staring down the darkness of the street.

He didn't have time to be dealing with annoying women. He needed to find Kaito - and possibly Shijima if he hadn't gotten himself killed already.

"Are you done? If so, leave to wherever you need to be. I have something I need to do."

[poweryetunknown]

"Seriously? Shit. These things are even worse than the Taboo Noise - at least those didn't swarm all over you." He turned and sent a Mabufu at the approaching swarm, before barreling through some with punches and kicks, darting out of the way of the stingers.

"Oh come on!"

[meaningdies]

Naoya followed after him, Cleopatra's eyes glinting and her form just barely out of range. Behemoth trailed behind the two, before tilting over to his side and starting to roll after them.

Better move fast or else there might be a Yamatocake.

[greatseal]

She didn't recognize Arioch as a Persona, though she thought maybe she recognized the name from researching the history of others. Judeo-Christian lore, probably, but she didn't recall details. But regardless... "If whatever's happening can affect people, maybe it can affect demons as well?"

Hopefully Yamato could keep his team under control.

[travelingtheworlds]

If Sasha could think of more to holler at him, she wouldn't have been done. For better or worse, she couldn't, and so she just gave up, throwing her hands up as she did. "Fine. Bye. I have better things to do than get lectures from jerks, anyway." With that, she walked off, fuming all the while. Maybe she should have tested to see if her magic worked on him... it may not have been so effective on monsters, but hey, fire is fire.

[drakenguard]

Yamato doesn't pay the woman any mind, stalking off down the street. Sorry Sasha, he just wants to find Kaito.

[drakenguard]

"Possibly..." Yamato looked troubled. "To think it effects demons as well... it just means we have to get to the bottom of this quickly. I'm growing tired of these scorpions and possessed citizens..."

[drakenguard]

Ugh, of all the ridiculous-!

Yamato threw himself to the side again, rolling on the floor and to his feet just as Behemoth rolled past him. Remiel was still by his side thankfully, but now...

Hm.

Behemoth in front of them, Naoya behind them, and no clear way to escape. Yamato was exhausted and tired and his vision was a bit fuzzy at this point, and Remiel was in no better condition.

"...shit."

[greatseal]

"Same here. The question is -"

Whatever that was ended up cut off by the scorpions finally reappearing. A small group scuttled into view from a side street, spreading out and moving towards the humans as soon as they noticed their presence. Minako raised the naginata. "We'll have to deal with these first!"

[drakenguard]

Yamato let out a low grumble of irritation, flipping open his phone as Remiel flanked him. The angel only had one attack move, Holy Dance, but whatever remainining spiritual energy it had was to be reserved for emergency healing. Angel Stigma can only be used so often before it became a liability.

As the horde charged towards them, Yamato quickly pressed a button on his phone. The sky split open with a sudden scream, a burst of light smashing down into the group. The scorpions let out alien sounding shrieks, the light of Judgement greatly injuring them.

[greatseal]

Judgement may not have finished the enemies off, but it was enough. The lead scorpion shrugged off the attack and leapt at Minako, only to meet the blade of her naginata. It flopped sideways with a heavy gash to the head, lifeless.

The others were still a few yards away so she drew her Evoker and fired, summoning Quetzalcoatl. The serpent beat his wings and a blast of wind split the battlefield, sending the rest of the enemies spinning and slamming into abandoned parked cars, dead or close enough that they couldn't attack again.

"Let's go!" The vanguard may have been defeated, but they couldn't stop to celebrate. More were sure to follow.

[meaningdies]

He laughed, and summoned Garuda, and stepped back as the birdlike demon rushed towards them while Behemoth rushed up from behind them.

"Nowhere to run!"

[drakenguard]

There was nowhere to run, but Yamato still had one more ace up his sleeve-!

"Remiel!"

The angel lashed out instantly with Holy Dance, the Almighty attack slamming into both Garuda and Behemoth with enough force to make them falter. Yamato simultaneously cast Judgement, and for a precious few seconds, the entire battlefield was blinded by the bright light.

When it cleared...

Yamato and Remiel had taken the opportunity to slip past Behemoth, and into a narrow alleyway. It wouldn't stop Naoya, the scorpions, or the Garuda, but at least that Behemoth won't be able to chase after them.

[drakenguard]

Yamato nodded curtly and off they went, passing the still twitching scorpion corpses and further down the street. They reached the outskirts of the Taurus ward without any more obstacles, although Yamato knew it couldn't last.

And lo, he was proven right when they turned a street corner, almost running right into a group of the crazed infected. It was only Yamato's sharp instincts that saved his life when he automatically jumped back a step, almost knocking Minako over in the process, as a shard of ice pierced the space where he had been only a second before.

Ah. Of course. Trust them to run into Persona users.

[greatseal]

Minako stumbled as Yamato knocked into her, but managed both to keep herself from falling and not to stick him accidentally with the naginata. This was not a good situation. Crazed or not, those were people, and she couldn't hurt them directly.

Lakshemi blocked ice attacks... but she also had nothing but ice to attack with in return, which would not end up being useful. She decided to switch to Orpheus instead, targeting the ice-user's Persona with Agidyne. With luck, that would be their weakness.