[As the fox barks out a little ball of flame to light the painting on fire, the painting screams. Then, a moment later, a shadowy figure quickly dives out of the painting and into another painting further up on the wall.
At that same moment, the force controlling Estelle lets go. She is free to do as she wishes now, there's nothing controlling her anymore!
...the painting is still on fire though. And it's returned to a normal painting of a nondescript woman.]
[Estelle doesn't budge when Sylvain slams into her, and she doesn't respond to Bucky's question. She stumbles when he shoves her, though, one hand still tightly gripping the necktie while the other falls away...
But suddenly, it's as if the puppet strings have snapped, and all in an instant, she's back.
A horrified gasp escapes her lips, her eyes wide with terror. She falls to her knees and throws the necktie aside.]
I...
[Her voice falters. She knows she should go to Sylvain, see what damage she's done. But she doesn't dare. Even though she can move freely again, she feels paralyzed.]
[ he doubles over himself, gasping for breath. his throat stings, skin angry and raw where the wire-thin scabs over his neck have been disturbed. he's able to recover soon enough though, and his gaze falls to estelle with a slight frown. ]
It wasn't you. Don't worry.
[ there isn't much time to reassure her—it'll have to wait until after they finish the job. the demon they're after is already on the move, and there's no chance in hell they're letting it get away.
he thanks the other two for the quick assist, before asking, ] —Did you see where it went?
[ if they're able to locate it, he'll draw his sword and give chase ]
[ he thought burning it would help but!! the art!!! no!!!!
once the fire's simmering down, though, he turns to estelle and sylvain. ]
It went up, but more importantly - are you two okay? Do you need to see a doctor or something? We don't have to deal with the demon right now, it can wait if you both need time.
[Is it alright though? Because as Bucky glances around, he does eventually see a portrait of himself. But it's not himself as he is now, oh no. It's of The Winter Soldier. Emotionless, armed, and ready for murder. And in that portrait, the Winter Soldier turns and starts shooting at someone else off-panel, only for blood to splatter into the portrait's background. At the same time, Bucky will feel the compulsion to wordlessly turn and murder his teammates, starting with Sylvain. Sorry for your shit luck, Sylvain.
And speaking of which, at the very same time, Sylvain won't see Bucky. He sees another face, one much more familiar. And scarred. And menacing. You better be careful Sylvain, it looks like Miklan is finally here to finish you off.
Estelle and Kazu get no portrait-effects for this round of tags though. They're already going to have their hands full. But Kazu does get the fire out?]
[ As he stares into the painting, his gun lowers, more mesmerized by what he sees than focused on his task now.
And then he finds another task.
Sylvain is already right in front of him, conveniently. All he has to do is calmly, quietly, adjust his arm so that it's aiming for the throat. A bullet through the neck severing the brainstem will be a quick and easy way to get Sylvain out of the way so he can move on to the others.
[ —what? is the demon masquerading as miklan, now? (react first, ask questions later.) sylvain moves by battle-honed reflex—and also, because this fucker has tried to kill him so many times before, he knows better than to stand still.
(Why can't you stay dead—)
hopefully, he'll be able to knock away miklan's (bucky's) arm before he gets a bullet through the throat.
and if he's not dead, he'll be returning the favor, attempting to cut down his brother with a vicious, downward slash across his neck and torso ]
[Estelle is still just sitting in a daze. She hears Kazunari, but doesn't react...
But the sound of another gunshot makes her snap out of it, and she jumps to her feet, whipping around to see Bucky and Sylvain trying to kill each other.]
No... stop!
[She's about to interfere, but stops short when Sylvain swings his sword. Instead, she shoots a terrified look at Kazunari.]
The... the paintings... which one was it? If we destroy it, they'll stop, won't they!?
No... [ shakes his head. ] I mean, yeah, but it'll just move like it did before. We have to actually get rid of it. There's a chant for it, right? Can you remember it? And fast?
[ meanwhile kazu's pulling out a new summoning paper, just in case, and looking for his fox friend. ]
Somehow, despite Bucky shooting at point-blank range, he manages to miss Sylvain. Maybe Sylvain bumping Bucky's arm at the last moment did it, or maybe the hallucination was off slightly. Whatever the case, the shot goes wide, and...
COLLATERAL DAMAGE roll: 2 (Kazu)
...hits Kazu in...
LUCK roll: 2
...the side, but I'm making it non-fatal and just really messy because Kazu's luck needs some divine intervention at this point. So it just goes through him shallowly enough to miss all of his internal organs and just make him bleed a lot instead.
Meanwhile Sylvain's 9 is enough for him to get a swipe at Bucky for a shallow cut, but no serious wounds with that. The boys will now have to contend with a fire-breathing fox in the mix though, it's trying to nip at both of them to get them to stop. Nooooo fighting! (The illusion has not shattered yet though, the fox is just trying to stop both of you.)
Estelle's MEMORY check: 13
Estelle has a good idea of what the fatal verse for this demon might be. There's two possibilities and it's a coin-flip between which one is right, but if she fails the coin flip she can also just say the other one right after it if she's wrong. The question is, does she want to spend 2-4 turns chanting with all of this nonsense going on around her?]
[ He grunts--both at his FUCKING IMPOSSIBLE miss, and the cut Sylvain manages to land on him. This is embarrassing. And now there's a fox in play? This is getting messier by the second, he has to get this done fast.
He attempts to punch the fox out of the way--with his left hand, thank you, can't set this arm on fire! And then he jumps back to get out of range of Sylvain's blade, and aims another shot. At the throat again, because he needs this one to be a quick, clean kill already. ]
I, I might know it, but it's going to take too long! Those two, they're...
[She looks back at them in alarm and then yelps when a shot rings out and -- Kazu gets hit!?
She runs over to his side.]
Kazunari, are you -- are you okay!? [Probably not, he just got shot.]
Your familiar... [A look at the poor fox, which is in the middle of this brawl.] Can you try burning the painting again? I'll use a barrier to block the demon. That way, it can't escape into another one!
[ the bullet rips through his side, sending him stumbling backwards against the wall, clutching at the wound. it takes a moment for him to catch his breath, and he only sort of parses what estelle is saying...
but he calls out to the fox, albeit weakly, as he points to where the shadow went: ] Burn that one.
[ if that doesn't work... he'll summon the big frog to get between bucky and sylvain instead. at the very least, it might buy them some time. ]
[ he'll try to avoid the fox best he can, but he's definitely not letting miklan ("miklan") get away. especially not after kazu gets hurts.
miklan takes aim again, and sylvain tries to duck and weave, and take him down before he can try again. (he's completely deaf to whatever's going on around them.) ]
[I am just preserving it here, forever, that Ray did not have to roll but still rolled a 2.
Anyway, Bucky and Sylvain are still fighting!
ATTACK rolls:
Bucky: 14 Sylvain: 4
Sylvain's strike swings wide and misses, but Bucky's shot hits him this time. Not quite in the throat specifically, but it hits the collarbone, tearing a nice hole in the skin there and cracking Sylvain's shoulderblade. That's going to need some serious attention soon!
Estelle's plan is a good one though. The barrier can be used to keep demons in as well as out, so the demon has nowhere to run when Kazu's fox jumps up and belches a fireball on it. A priceless painting was destroyed in the process, but the fire burns the demon good.
In the moments before it disappears, the demon will force one last nightmare vision onto Kazu, pulling from his memories to make Kazu see himself as refracting and distorted. For a moment Kazu will actually think he's starting to refract, but all of the hallucinations disappear as the demon burns away to nothingness.
From the ashes of the painting falls a lone piece of paper, untouched by the fire. It has the logo for the Starlight Hotel on it, but it is otherwise unreadable for now.
But uh. You guys definitely need to get to the nurse's office ASAP. Time to go!]
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guestservices) wrote2022-06-19 07:55 pm
no subject
At that same moment, the force controlling Estelle lets go. She is free to do as she wishes now, there's nothing controlling her anymore!
...the painting is still on fire though. And it's returned to a normal painting of a nondescript woman.]
no subject
But suddenly, it's as if the puppet strings have snapped, and all in an instant, she's back.
A horrified gasp escapes her lips, her eyes wide with terror. She falls to her knees and throws the necktie aside.]
I...
[Her voice falters. She knows she should go to Sylvain, see what damage she's done. But she doesn't dare. Even though she can move freely again, she feels paralyzed.]
no subject
It wasn't you. Don't worry.
[ there isn't much time to reassure her—it'll have to wait until after they finish the job. the demon they're after is already on the move, and there's no chance in hell they're letting it get away.
he thanks the other two for the quick assist, before asking, ] —Did you see where it went?
[ if they're able to locate it, he'll draw his sword and give chase ]
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[ So much is happening!! Bucky drops his hands, no longer pulling Sylvain and Estelle apart. He's instead staring at the wall of paintings. ]
It's nearby! I didn't catch exactly which painting it went into, but it's around here!
[ POINTING HIS GUN AT THESE PAINTINGS ]
no subject
[ he thought burning it would help but!! the art!!! no!!!!
once the fire's simmering down, though, he turns to estelle and sylvain. ]
It went up, but more importantly - are you two okay? Do you need to see a doctor or something? We don't have to deal with the demon right now, it can wait if you both need time.
no subject
And speaking of which, at the very same time, Sylvain won't see Bucky. He sees another face, one much more familiar. And scarred. And menacing. You better be careful Sylvain, it looks like Miklan is finally here to finish you off.
Estelle and Kazu get no portrait-effects for this round of tags though. They're already going to have their hands full. But Kazu does get the fire out?]
no subject
And then he finds another task.
Sylvain is already right in front of him, conveniently. All he has to do is calmly, quietly, adjust his arm so that it's aiming for the throat. A bullet through the neck severing the brainstem will be a quick and easy way to get Sylvain out of the way so he can move on to the others.
He shoots. ]
no subject
(Why can't you stay dead—)
hopefully, he'll be able to knock away miklan's (bucky's) arm before he gets a bullet through the throat.
and if he's not dead, he'll be returning the favor, attempting to cut down his brother with a vicious, downward slash across his neck and torso ]
no subject
But the sound of another gunshot makes her snap out of it, and she jumps to her feet, whipping around to see Bucky and Sylvain trying to kill each other.]
No... stop!
[She's about to interfere, but stops short when Sylvain swings his sword. Instead, she shoots a terrified look at Kazunari.]
The... the paintings... which one was it? If we destroy it, they'll stop, won't they!?
no subject
[ shit! fuck! today just keeps getting worse! ]
No... [ shakes his head. ] I mean, yeah, but it'll just move like it did before. We have to actually get rid of it. There's a chant for it, right? Can you remember it? And fast?
[ meanwhile kazu's pulling out a new summoning paper, just in case, and looking for his fox friend. ]
Keep them apart? Please?
[ HELP ]
no subject
Bucky: 5 (nat 1)
Sylvain: 9
Somehow, despite Bucky shooting at point-blank range, he manages to miss Sylvain. Maybe Sylvain bumping Bucky's arm at the last moment did it, or maybe the hallucination was off slightly. Whatever the case, the shot goes wide, and...
COLLATERAL DAMAGE roll: 2 (Kazu)
...hits Kazu in...
LUCK roll: 2
...the side, but I'm making it non-fatal and just really messy because Kazu's luck needs some divine intervention at this point. So it just goes through him shallowly enough to miss all of his internal organs and just make him bleed a lot instead.
Meanwhile Sylvain's 9 is enough for him to get a swipe at Bucky for a shallow cut, but no serious wounds with that. The boys will now have to contend with a fire-breathing fox in the mix though, it's trying to nip at both of them to get them to stop. Nooooo fighting! (The illusion has not shattered yet though, the fox is just trying to stop both of you.)
Estelle's MEMORY check: 13
Estelle has a good idea of what the fatal verse for this demon might be. There's two possibilities and it's a coin-flip between which one is right, but if she fails the coin flip she can also just say the other one right after it if she's wrong. The question is, does she want to spend 2-4 turns chanting with all of this nonsense going on around her?]
no subject
He attempts to punch the fox out of the way--with his left hand, thank you, can't set this arm on fire! And then he jumps back to get out of range of Sylvain's blade, and aims another shot. At the throat again, because he needs this one to be a quick, clean kill already. ]
no subject
[She looks back at them in alarm and then yelps when a shot rings out and -- Kazu gets hit!?
She runs over to his side.]
Kazunari, are you -- are you okay!? [Probably not, he just got shot.]
Your familiar... [A look at the poor fox, which is in the middle of this brawl.] Can you try burning the painting again? I'll use a barrier to block the demon. That way, it can't escape into another one!
no subject
[ the bullet rips through his side, sending him stumbling backwards against the wall, clutching at the wound. it takes a moment for him to catch his breath, and he only sort of parses what estelle is saying...
but he calls out to the fox, albeit weakly, as he points to where the shadow went: ] Burn that one.
[ if that doesn't work... he'll summon the big frog to get between bucky and sylvain instead. at the very least, it might buy them some time. ]
no subject
miklan takes aim again, and sylvain tries to duck and weave, and take him down before he can try again. (he's completely deaf to whatever's going on around them.) ]
no subject
Anyway, Bucky and Sylvain are still fighting!
ATTACK rolls:
Bucky: 14
Sylvain: 4
Sylvain's strike swings wide and misses, but Bucky's shot hits him this time. Not quite in the throat specifically, but it hits the collarbone, tearing a nice hole in the skin there and cracking Sylvain's shoulderblade. That's going to need some serious attention soon!
Estelle's plan is a good one though. The barrier can be used to keep demons in as well as out, so the demon has nowhere to run when Kazu's fox jumps up and belches a fireball on it. A priceless painting was destroyed in the process, but the fire burns the demon good.
In the moments before it disappears, the demon will force one last nightmare vision onto Kazu, pulling from his memories to make Kazu see himself as refracting and distorted. For a moment Kazu will actually think he's starting to refract, but all of the hallucinations disappear as the demon burns away to nothingness.
From the ashes of the painting falls a lone piece of paper, untouched by the fire. It has the logo for the Starlight Hotel on it, but it is otherwise unreadable for now.
But uh. You guys definitely need to get to the nurse's office ASAP. Time to go!]