thenearshore | 009 | Where Your Demons Hide

009 | Where Your Demons Hide

Who: Everyone!
What: Emergency demon fighting
When: Late May 5-Early May 6
Where: Just outside of Tokyo
Summary: The demon from the school has reared its ugly head again and needs to be taken down.

On the evening of May 5, the Heavens suddenly receive an influx of prayers from people in and around a certain town just outside of Tokyo. There seem to be a lot of people in the area that have suddenly stopped responding normally (or at all). The situation continues to spread as the night goes on until not only is the whole town suffering from this malady, but the neighboring towns are starting to become affected as well.

With so many gods and shinki on hand - including new ones that have just appeared - the Heavens have issued a request for any available gods and shinki to go investigate what might be happening down on the Near Shore. New gods and shinki will be given the low-down on what's happening, but not much more than that.

The situation will continue to expand until just a little before dawn, when the demon finally has enough power to revive.

Drained Humans

Many humans in the affected areas are walking around despondently. Oftentimes, they are just walking into things or getting hit by things. There have been a few car-related incidents as well. Anyone who was present for the high school incident will recognize these symptoms as something that was happening to people in the school. The glazed looks, the spiritless responses and reactions. So this should be fairly familiar to some.

No One's Safe

Unfortunately, being in the town will start to wear on anyone who is there. Gods and shinki alike will find themselves growing more despondent the longer they spend in the town. All of their energy will be slowly sapped from their bodies, and shinki in particular will feel almost like their existence is draining away.

Hellish Circle

There is a large park in the center of the town. Drawn all around this park is a magic circle, large enough to encompass the whole park. There are candles around the edges of the circle, and in the center there is a cup filled with blood covered by a mask with a swirling eye pattern on it. Stepping into this circle will not only make you extremely tired and suddenly drained, but it will also bring bat-like ayakashi bearing down on you.

The Demon

The Demon itself rears its ugly head just a little before dawn, springing out from the center of the magic circle and looking right pleased with itself. It stands about 5'8" tall, so it is largely unimposing, but there is an aura about it that makes it undeniable that it is powerful. The demon will gladly fight anyone who comes at it, though most he will just shove out of the way without a second thought.

In Summary:

Help the drained people
Try not to get drained yourself
Be careful about being corrupted
Fight the demon
Have fun~

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[The last two creatures, and Zack seems to know it even as Sephiroth voices it. He leaps up to meet the first in a vicious uppercut, the blade that Sephiroth has become tearing into its body. It falls with a shriek, shuddering and convulsing on the ground as it spends its life. Zack has not a second thought for it, turning instead to eliminate the other creature just as efficiently.

Only when the final short fight is over will he release Sephiroth back to his normal form, bending over himself and breathing hard for a moment. Being so close to this barrier is taking a lot out of him. The adrenaline of the fight had kept it at bay but now that there are no threats present, he feels it pressing close.]

[ Sephiroth comes to stand on the ground with the edges of his long coat dancing around his ankles. His eyes immediately move to Zack but Sephiroth doesn't say anything. He's exhausted, drained and that too is disturbing for it feels unnatural. For now, the air is silent, but he looks back at the circle. ]

We should go out of the affected area until these effects diminish.

[Sephiroth has a good point; proximity to the circle is weakening them both. Zack shudders at being so close to it, straightening up and glancing at the barrier and the circle. He still can't tell much about it other than the obvious, and staying close really won't serve them at all.]

C'mon, let's go this way.

[Not that one way has any real advantage over another, at least not as far as Zack can see. But he's trying to be decisive here, and not give Sephiroth an opening for caustic remarks. Zack sin't in the mood to deal with it.]

[ For once, Sephiroth is in no mood to make caustic remarks. Though, to be fair, that could change at any time and probably will. Without protest, he follows behind Zack, still a bit miffed and pleased both. He cannot explain the reasons why; he's not sure he knows them.

It isn't until they're a good distance away that he stops and leans against a wall for support. Loathe to show the small weakness, the trembling in his limbs demands otherwise. ]

This is unsatisfactory.

[ 'This' meaning the entire situation into which they've been thrown. ]

[Zack stops when Sephiroth does, a short distance away from the man. Now that the immediacy of the fight is gone and some of that adrenaline is seeping away, emotions are starting to surround him again. It feels like a chokehold on his heart, an ache deep inside.

Sephiroth, with his lack of memories, has it much easier here.]

I just want to know what caused it.

[He also wants to know why Sephiroth just ran off to the scene without him, but Zack doesn't know how to broach that subject without it sounding accusatory. He's in no mood for an argument right now; he just doesn't have the heart for it.

What especially hurts is seeing the tremble in Sephiroth's limbs and knowing that his Shinki is unlikely to accept anything Zack could do to help.]

Does it matter? [ Scorn laces his voice and a moment later he clarifies. ] Yet again these Heavens throw us into a situation with no word on what we face. Not even the smallest of details.

[ Nor does Sephiroth really care about the direct cause or the damage it might ultimately do. He's certain that he'll survive. What does piss him off the sheer ineptness on display. (Note: he does not count his own for that was a test. ) ]

Any issues caused by these events rest on the doorstep of their incompetence.

I think it matters. [Zack kicks at a small pebble, watching it tumble away.] A threat to the powers that brought us here may be worth investigating, either from the viewpoint of a potential ally or a potential source of information on how we can utilize a power that the Heavens consider a threat.

[Maybe he's thinking more like Sephiroth and less like himself; Zack doesn't know. He is trying to think strategically, because they were lucky this time. What if Sephiroth had gotten injured or blighted? What if Zack hadn't found him in time? They're a team, and that means being concerned with his Shinki as much as Zack is about himself.]

I'd like to know how often things like this happen, and on what scale — and if there's a pattern to any of it.

Depends on what you mean by 'like this'. Events larger ayakashi attacks do not seem to be uncommon. That someone dislikes those in charge is obvious. The only name I've found linked definitively is Susano'o. A god who in his last incarnation tried to rebel with shinki and ayakashi he supposedly created.

[ Sephiroth is a jackass, but he listens when it matters (to him). ]

As for a pattern, it is possibly too early to tell since there is currently no obvious connection between some of them.

[ Still he wonders if it mattered. This world seems so small to him. A stream of mindlessness. He's also too tired to work up more than mild irritation right now. ]

That will be the hard part, I think. It seems that ayakashi attacks are a regular enough thing in general that anything more nefarious could be hidden among them quite easily.

[Zack puts both hands on top of the low wall and boosts himself up so that he can sit on the bricks. It doesn't give him much in added height or sight advantage, but it does let him rest a bit. He's still feeling a bit drained, like he's expended energy that just isn't being replaced.]

I'd like to do more research into this world, too. I want to find out more of the history behind the gods — I'm sure I haven't been told much at all. But maybe learning the past will open up some more clues about the present.

[ Sephiroth won't protest Zack's continued presence. His god is one of the two people that Sephiroth doesn't find somewhat reprehensible. ]

Where do you plan to start?

[ There's a tinge of curiosity in his voice. Something other than complete disdain for Everything even if it is slight. ]

Since I don't think the Heavens are going to be forthcoming with answers, starting here in the human world seems prudent.

[As they talk, Zack ticks off his ideas on his fingers. At least the conversation gives him a good place to focus.]

I'd like to examine the temple in more detail. Maybe those stone carvings can tell us more, the ones that aren't worn away by time and weather. And here, they've got to have libraries. We might find something useful in books. And I think we should examine more closely the people who offer up prayers to me — what motivates them, and what do they know about Hephaestus, that could give us a lead in finding out more.

And too, I want to know why what happened today did, and I want to know why being here like this is making me feel strange.

[It's a gamble, that last statement; Zack knows that Sephiroth could see it as a weakness. But still, he's trying to reach out to the man.]

So you believe we should answer these prayers?

[ Sephiroth isn't against the idea, but it's clear he doesn't like it either. His hold a baleful quality that borders on downright hostile. The idea of helping these humans even for his own wants isn't one he likes. ]

As for today, finding out who did this may be the only place to find actual answers. I doubt the ayakashi set up the circle in the park. [ He pauses and then states very matter-of-factly. ] Whatever is affecting the gods and shinki is likely what affected these humans.

[ That's about as close as he wants to get to admitting he's having issues with it, but that feeling of unease increases in him. ]

I think it would be foolish to turn away any possible source of information based solely on pride.

[Yeah, he went there. Besides, the more prayers they answer, the stronger they grow — or so he's heard.]

I agree. I think it would be foolish to doubt the cunning of the ayakashi, but the ones we fought off didn't seem interested in anything other than straight attack. There was very little strategy to them, other than an attempt to overwhelm. [Whether these were simply lesser beings, guard dogs of sort, or whether most ayakashi are like this, Zack cannot day. Or was protecting that circle important to the point of their own sacrifice? There's simply too little information, though Zack does believe that some other force must be driving the actions of the ayakashi.

He looks sharply at Sephiroth at that last statement though, It's as much an admission of something being wrong as Sephiroth is likely to make, and Zack knows that well.]

How are you feeling?

Hnn.

[ The sound is short and terse. Sephiroth doesn't expect Zack to understand why he finds it so abhorrent anymore than anyone else would. He only knows beyond any doubt that these humans are only worth the effort for what might be discovered. They do not deserve help at all. Killing them or letting them rot in their own misery is better. But outside of a sideways glance, Sephiroth keeps those thoughts to himself.

To the last, Zack gets an equally sharp look. Sephiroth is tired and it feels like something is pulling away pieces of himself, shredding him like paper and only his resolve to keep steady keeps him whole. It's unsettling, it's maddening, and it feels horrifyingly wrong in ways that he cannot name and for reasons he does not know.

But he won't say those things. What he says instead is: ]

I'm fine.

[ Even though he suspects Zack knows the lie. ]

[Zack doesn't expect a positive reaction to the idea of helping out those who offer up prayers. Sephiroth had disdained it in an earlier conversation and he doubts that's changed since. What he does wish is that he could more effectively help his once-friend, could return him to the man Zack used to know. That seems so dim a possibility, but Zack knows he don't stop, not if there's the slightest chance of getting Sephiroth back.]

I know. You don't like it.

[And Zack does know that Sephiroth's statement is a lie. But that knowing doesn't soften how much it hurts. Oh, he can't say it's unexpected but that doesn't change the sting of those two little words. His own expression, open until then, immediately closes off and he hops down off the wall.]

Of course.

[ Sephiroth's frustrations rouse themselves enough for acid to spill off of his tongue. ]

Do you so desperately wish to know how draining this incident is? I would think you could feel that for yourself. Is it from pity? Some sense of responsibility? I will lighten your load. You need not worry about my state of being. I am fully capable of attending to my own needs.

[ His mouth snaps shut just as quickly and Sephiroth pushes away from the wall, forcing is posture to remain steady. He will not fall. He will not fail. He'll be damned before he allows some cheap trick to make him weak.

Never again. He thinks. It must have happened before, right? Something in his former life to make him feel this strongly. Viciously, Sephiroth brushes that line of thinking away. ]

I'm going back.

What I really would have preferred was that you not lie to me. What I really would have preferred was to dissect how this is affecting each of us, to better prepare for and guard against it happening again.

[And maybe Zack should have expected this too. A darker part of his mind tells him that he needs to stop reaching for a friendship that died a long time ago, but he pushes that thought roughly aside as well. It's too painful right now, and makes him feel sick to his stomach.]

Yes, I'm your god and yes, I'm responsible for you. Get over yourself and get used to it. If you just keep running away from it, you're going to run out of places to go.

[Not that he thinks his words will stop Sephiroth from walking away! And frankly Zack isn't going to do anything to stop him. He's feeling more and more agitated by the moment and combined with the effects of the demon circle, it's making him feel quite ill — not that he'll let Sephiroth see that, of course.]

I expect to see you back at the temple in the morning for training. It's clear we've a lot of work to do.

[ The look Sephiroth gives to Zack is likely familiar. For it's the one Genesis had received when Sephiroth condemned the man to death. That look of resolute surety designed to hide and reject the turmoil inside of him. ]

I am not yours. We've been paired together and nothing more than that. Do not think that because someone made this arbitrary decision that it gives you any claim to what I am. I leave because standing in this stinking town for another moment is so distasteful that I see no --

[ He stops and he laughs, but there is a brittleness to the sound. ]

Why am I even talking about this?

I don't know why I expected you to want to understand.

[Why had he expected anything different? Without his memories dealing with Sephiroth should have been easier, but it's not. And just having that hurtful look directed at him is like a blow, but Zack also knows that he probably deserves it. It's clear that he's failing someone who he considered a friend in their life before, and he just doesn't know what to do — especially when he can feel the turmoil and the rage in his Shinki, but Sephiroth either can't or won't let him in.]

Then just go. And don't get yourself hurt.

[Though truthfully, Zack would welcome a fight himself right about now, action to take the place of pain and let him not think too much.]

[ For a moment pressure of Sephiroth's anger becomes nearly unbearable even for him. He wants to explode, to demand to know why it matters. He wants satisfaction and to once again feel as if he's on firm ground. Right now he feels anything but. Everything in him rejects that feeling with a harshness edged by some unknown fear.

And then it's all gone. Locked down and locked away so tightly as if none of it had ever existed. He'll deal with this on his own. He doesn't need anyone else.

Of course, the truth isn't that simple. Somewhere buried under pride is the tiny notion that Zack, his god, is important enough to matter in some small way.

Without another word, Sephiroth turns and then takes to the air, vanishing out of sight. ]

[There had been no hope from the very beginning, and maybe Zack had been lying to himself to think it could have been otherwise. But it hurts to see Sephiroth suffer so, to see him so determined to be a loner that he rejects everything Zack offers. It pains him all the way to his heart and once Sephiroth is out of sight, Zack sinks to the ground, shaking from rage and frustration and despair. He doesn't know how to fix this, and he doesn't like the idea that it would be so much easier if he could just stop his heart from feeling.

He loses track of time, just sitting there. He knows he should leave, knows that he'll probably feel better if he can get far enough away from that circle and whatever it's summoned. But he's having a hard time finding enough will to care that much. It feels like he's torn asunder any sort of progress he'd made with Sephiroth, and he just doesn't know what to do. He's not sure how much more rejection and vitriol he can take from the man.]

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009 | Where Your Demons Hide

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