thenearshore | 28 - The Hungry Forest (Final Battle)

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28 - The Hungry Forest (Final Battle)

Who: Everyone!
What: At the heart of the mysterious forest lies a magical trap.
When: Nov 14, evening
Where: Within the forest
Summary: Working together, and with the (reluctant) help of some menaced cultists, the rescuers have pierced the wooden wall into the heart of the forest.

The sky is clearly visible here, but it’s an evening one – it’s taken the day to work their way through this far. Those with some astronomy knowledge will also be able to tell it’s a sky on Earth, and anyone who can climb up above the treeline will see a vast, mountainous and wooded area, with the lights of roads, train tracks and small towns glittering here and there. They're clearly not in the Heavens anymore. Somehow, in their journey through the forest, the rescuers have emerged onto the Near Shore.

An icy breeze is blowing, and although the vegetation is unseasonably green and lush in this clearing, there are patches of snow visible at the foot of some of the trees, hinting that they're fairly far up the mountain.

Rescues

The clearing here at the heart of the forest is vast, and five colossal sigils are etched into the earth, each one holding an incredible amount of power. It’s on these sigils, North, South, East, West, and Center, that the trapped gods and shinki can be found. Those unlucky enough to be at the Center sigil are bound by hypnosis, each staring at a firefly spirit that hovers before their unblinking eyes. These victims are still and unresponsive, and the spirits will need to be destroyed to free them. The firefly spirits can be harmed by both physical and magical attack, though they likely won’t stay still to let themselves be easily extinguished.

The captives trapped on each of the other sigils are around the edges of the clearing, entangled in vines, brambles or whatever other limbs the trees could provide to bind them to this place. Some may also be under the effects of the hypnotic fireflies if they’ve been particularly troublesome, while others who have fought less might have only those bindings needed to prevent them fleeing. Regardless of how tightly they're restrained, all of the kidnapped gods and shinki on all of the sigils look drained, the severity depending on how long they’ve been there. Some are merely tired-looking, whereas others are barely clinging to consciousness. Whether their power is being used to feed the spell or being stored for something else to come, one thing is clear – those trapped need to be freed before anything more can be done.

Sigils

Those sigils beneath each group of trapped gods and shinki are powerful constructs, brimming with energy and meticulously maintained by the cultists up to now. It’s the same power as what blankets the entire forest, but it's focused on each of those five points. They must be the source of the spell that's caused all of this.

If the spell is to be broken, the sigils need to be broken as well, but it’s going to take more than just scuffing out the etched lines to break the magic. Attacking with shinki in their vessel forms or using blessed water to wash away the magic will be most effective, but for those who didn't bring blessed water or don't have the energy left to transform, there's one other option. The clearing is lit by traditional paper lanterns hanging from the trees all around, and any object set aflame with these lanterns can be used to burn the spell out of the ground bit by bit.

The trees and any remaining soulless shinki are still furiously opposing the rescue efforts, the surviving cultists are continuing to work on maintaining the spell, and it will take time to fully destroy the sigils. However, as the sigils deteriorate, the effects of the spell will begin to fade, and characters will find it easier to access their supernatural powers to speed the process along. Gods' and shinki's powers (that is to say, the special power they gained as a god or shinki, rather than canon powers) will be as effective as a shinki or blessed water against the sigils.

But be careful. As each sigil breaks, some of the magic escapes, but some is captured by the remaining sigils. For the spell to fully disappear, all five must be destroyed – and quickly, because there’s only a matter of time before this power becomes unstable.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Gojyo doesn't have a knife -- or claws, for that matter. He'd relied on his summon weapon, and without it, all he's got is a stolen stick of wood and a blister raising up in the middle of his palm. Chikusa and Ken are working frantically to free Hakkai, and all Gojyo can do is stand back, out of the way.

They aren't the only ones who found their kidnapped friend, he sees, glancing back at the other groups of bound prisoners. (It's only a glance -- he can't bear to look away from Hakkai for long.) People are pouring out of the woods, swarming over the captives... everyone will be freed soon. It's a huge relief, knowing that all those people are going to be taken care of without his help.

He really didn't want to have to leave Hakkai's side. ]

Who did this?

[ His voice is low, out of respect for Hakkai's condition, but there's no mistaking the steel there. Because now that Hakkai's awake and (nearly) free, the next thing to do is find whoever did this and kill them. Obviously. ]

What were they trying to do?

The forest... surrounded the path while I was walking to the school. Then the trees attacked. I didn't see anyone--

[Hakkai's mouth is dry, too. He grimaces, mouth working against a tongue that seems to be trying to glue itself to his palate, and tears his arms free as Ken finishes clawing the vines thin enough to break. His legs are a few more seconds' work.

It's perhaps inevitable that as soon as the last vines part, he realizes that he can't, in fact, stand. His hands and feet are flaring into agonized sensation as he moves, and circulation returns: how long was he here? It had been morning, the last time he'd been aware...

... and he's stumbling, and falling forward, while his mind struggles against the fog in an effort to remember.

He manages, on a wheezing exhale as he collapses:]

The bento later?

[What were the people responsible trying to do.. Well. Chikusa actually has the answer to that question... but there's no point in saying it now, especially when the only other person in this group that he really trusts to do anything with such information is pitching forward.]

[Chikusa jerks his hand out over his wrist, making sure not to accidentally stab Hakkai when he grabs him, and tries to move his shoulder against his so that the man can stay upright for a little longer. He doesn't have any doubts that Ken will be grabbing Hakkai, too, so he just looks back to Gojyo.]

Grab a bottle of water. Not the canteens.

[The canteens are blessed water. Sure, it wouldn't hurt Hakkai if he drank any of it, but, still. Chikusa wants to save that for emergencies.]

[Ken does indeed catch Hakkai's other side, holding him up much more easily than Chikusa even though he's shorter. if Chikusa is a pipe cleaner, than Ken is a tree trunk - stocky but solid.

But Ken is sniffing the air, frowning, before he looks over at Gojyo.] Did you get burned?

[Apparently the smell of skin being seared reached his nose.]

[ Water, yes. Damn, Chikusa really thought of everything, didn't he? All Gojyo brought was rope and lighter fluid. He hates to admit it, but that's one point for Team Deadpan. And then he takes stock of the way Ken and Chikusa mirror each other to support Hakkai, and he's forced to add a couple more points to their tally. Hakkai really doesn't need him as a shinki, does he? Not with those two. What did he do, to save Hakkai? He squished a bug and opened a bottle of water, whoopdie-doo. ]

Don't worry about it. Here.

[ He hands the opened bottle to Ken, since he's slightly closer, and takes a step back. There's other people working at freeing the other captives, but there's a lot of other captives. Some of them probably need help, right?

He meets Chikusa's eye, briefly. He can't hold it. ]

If you've got him, then I should... [ His voice trails off, but his intent should be clear as he glances back over his shoulder. They might all be puppets running around with stolen memories, but they're still people. Nobody deserves to suffer like this. ]

[Hakkai's struggling to stand on his own, but his knees seem unwilling to listen to his efforts, and his vision is stubbornly blurred. The water bottle, though, catches his attention, as Gojyo hands it to Ken, and glances over his shoulder. He's trying to do something else? There's...

Hakkai tries again to bring the clearing into focus. There are people moving everywhere, flame and magic flaring around them. His mouth presses into a flat, thoughtful line for a few seconds.

Then he moves again, reaching to take the water bottle from Ken's grip.]

I'm no good -- [His voice runs dry. He takes a swig from the bottle, almost inhales it, and has to stop to cough for several seconds before he gets it back.] --in a fight just now, but I can handle sitting down. You three all should help. I'll be fine.

Ken, ignore Hakkai. [...] His orders, I mean.

[Gojyo's constant fidgeting hasn't passed him by, after all, and Chikusa sighs as he helps try to at least get Hakkai out of the sigil. He doesn't like it, and he doesn't like Hakkai having been in it for as long as he has. Once they're out of there, well, Hakkai can collapse onto the ground then.]

I'll take care of whatever needs to be done... [A dry look towards a certain redhead.] With... Gojyo.... I guess...

But sit there... [Just gotta grab that pack- ] And eat. There's ground chicken. Ken, eat yours too.

[It sounds like a mother fussing over a pair of unruly children, but he has his reasons for this. He'd packed the bento in case him, Ken, and Nanako all got lost for an extended period of time in the forest... but now it's in handy here, too. Hakkai hasn't eaten for over a day, so he'll need the energy to feel better again... and Chikusa has noticed that Hakkai tends to eat more in a regular setting if someone is eating alongside him. Ken's earned his reward for helping anyway.]

[Ground chicken, rice, flaked salmon, scrambled eggs, strawberries... There has to be something Hakkai can eat in there.]

[Ken fidgets for a second in frustrated indecision. There's a lot of things going on here he doesn't like - Gojyo blowing him off about his hand getting burned, Gojyo trying to run off and help other people instead of staying with the person he's obviously worried about for reasons Ken can't begin to comprehend, Chikusa suggesting running off with Gojyo instead of him, Hakkai ordering them all away and trying to leave himself defenseless.

It's not often that the people Ken is with make such bad decisions that he decides his can't be any worse, but now is one of those rare moments.]

No way. [He says this suddenly and stubbornly.] Gojyo hurt his hand, so he's not gonna be able to help as well as us, right? And you and I work better together anyway, Kakipi. So he should stay here with Hakkai-sama, and me 'n Kakipi should go help other people, right?

Oh for fuck's sake.

[ He makes one good selfless decision, with the goal of helping people, and the two assholes he's relying on turn around and drop their burden back on him? Unbelievable! How's he supposed to learn good habits this way, huh? Geez.

Gojyo grabs for the bento in Chikusa's hand, to bring it over to Hakkai. ]

Go, then. I'll stay here. [ He's not so injured that he can't fight, and he's certainly capable of serving food, opening water, and carrying exhausted gods back to their temples when those gods are ready to leave. And the longer they all stand around and debate who should stay, the longer those other people are without food, and water, and, y'know. Hope and shit. He's got a heavy wooden staff and a backpack full of fire -- they'll be fine. ] You've got thirty minutes then I'm takin' him back to the temple myself.

[Hakkai, hanging on Ken's shoulder, seriously contemplates arguing. It's just embarrassing to argue about how little help he needs when he can't stand on his own, though, and so he breathes out in what is almost (but not quite a sigh) and forces himself up.]

I'll just sit down, then.

[He does successfully manage a few steps, enough to get him away from the sigil, and a few more on sheer stubbornness before pitching into a movement he plans to call, if anyone asks, "sitting down."

It's definitely not a collapse.]

[Oh. Ken's outburst is such a surprise that Gojyo has no opponent for snatching the bento out of his grasp. It's not often that Ken goes against him when it comes to plan making.... So either this decision is really important to him, or Chikusa isn't seeing something so obvious that a dog can see it.]

[...Well. He guesses that's settled, then. Heaving up the backpack, he tosses it closer to Hakkai and Gojyo.]

There's more in there... [Three more, to be exact- one for Ken, one for himself, one for Nanako. Well, one of them is going without after all this.] Remember.... Eat with him.

[But that's all that can really be said. If Gojyo looks, he'll find other things in there, like a first aid kit and rope, other necessities.... So Chikusa figures it doesn't need to be explained. All he does is turn away, starting to shuffle off.]

You'll protect him as well as we would, right? [Ken says it more like he already knows it's a fact, and he's more pointing it out to help Hakkai and Gojyo understand his logic. He says it with a nod to Gojyo, anyway, not waiting for a reply before trotting off after Chikusa.

You can consider it being benched if you like, Gojyo, but considering Ken and Chikusa's loyalty...being left in charge of an exhausted, vulnerable Hakkai is a huge gesture of trust.]

[ It's a gesture that earns both their retreating backs an extended display of a middle finger, is what it is. ]

Those two are really something else.

[ Hakkai, there's a bento here. Eat all of it. ]

Un fucking believable.

[Hakkai laughs a little, accepting the bento, although he's sticking with finishing off that bottle of water for now. He's desperately thirsty, and perhaps once he's dealt with that he'll feel like he has more of an appetite.]

They're stubborn.

[ Oh, hey, he is thirsty, huh? Gojyo reaches over to lay a hand on Hakkai's arm, near his wrist. ]

Take it slow, okay? You drink too fast it won't stay down.

[ Trust the bartender. The bartender knows about rehydrating after being dry for a long time. ]

I don't need that brat layin' traps for me if he finds out I let you puke up all that water.

Of course, of course. [Hakkai tries another scratchy laugh, and lets his hand sink down under Gojyo's touch, resting the water bottle on the leaf litter. His blurry vision is starting to become very annoying; after a moment, he tries wetting his fingers from the bottle, and scrubbing at his eye, in an attempt to clear it.]

Thank you.

I didn't do anything.

[ It's true. He got beaten up by some shinki, he got lost in the forest -- again -- and now he's babysitting because a couple of teenagers decided he was too worthless to join in the rescue efforts going on all around them. He didn't even think to bring anything useful. ]

Thank the brat pack. They're the ones who thought ahead here.

[ In fact... did Chikusa bring anything like a washcloth that Hakkai could use to wash his face? ...There's gauze. Gauze will do. Gojyo hands over a wad of the soft stuff, along with another water bottle. ]

Here. He's got everything in here.

Mm. [Hakkai's tone is dubious; Gojyo is here, after all, which suggests he'd fought his way through the forest. He doesn't have to have been the one to pack the bag in order to deserve thanks himself.

He lets it go, though, and takes the gauze, attempting to unscrew the water bottle cap. His hands are starting to shake badly enough that, to his annoyance, he can't make his grip good.]

Could you...?

[ Shit. ]

Yeah, no, here, lemme have it.

[ He's been missing two days. Has he been tied up that whole time? No wonder he's shaky!

He pours too much water on the gauze at first and has to squeeze it out. ]

Close your eyes.

[ There's grime and dried blood and who knows what else all over Hakkai's face. There's a hot shower in Hakkai near future, but for now a quick sponge bath for his face will have to do. ]

Are you hurt anywhere? Can you move your toes?

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aaaand split

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