A Trudging And Crawling Evening [Lance's Awakening]

The night life had been the highlight, or rather the defining moments for Suzie Q. It was an evening unlike any other. The streets were occupied with moving bodies of people, perhaps to laugh and enjoy the delicate peace that the Queen has laid over the people. But beneath that veneer, there was a rising interest to interfere with such deluded harmony. Yet, even under that, there were eyes that watched and waited...

It was a quiet evening for some as the activities in the streets had died down in an ebb, perhaps it was a time for some to find reprieve in slumber until the next moon rise. But there was someone in the streets, for whatever reason he was there, no one really knew but him.

Yet it begs the question, was he also as protected?

It seemed like another evening as usual, as if going through the motions again and again. The mundane ruled the lives that lived in the city. Everything was as predictable as could be, and from there, existed stability. It was a state so painstakingly crafted by the wiles of the Government. Yet, even that was fragile and susceptible to even the smallest of deviations.

Something was quite different, the air felt "off". As if entering a realm of a different kind of frequency, yet the world around him didn't seem to change much. It was a very subtle, yet noticeable enough shift. Would the boy think it was just a mere trick of throbbing cranium? Or was it his utter sense of fatigue causing him to perceive something out of the ordinary?

Did it explain the sudden growing stench if iron? Out of the streets near the boy, someone came out to meet him, someone that looked utterly fuzzy looking as if a kind of wavy static of a television screen.


Despite the distortion, a kind of smile can be seen spreading across its features. From behind, the stench of that metallic smell was growing worse.

"J--t a fr-end. -hat'- yo-'re p--blem?" it wondered with a small jerking tilt of its head. It almost seemed confused at why the boy was starting to panic. It wasn't every day that someone just started to panic laying their very eyes on it. But, a small thought began to rise and with it, a realization. "Oh. You're one of those. Man, what a goddamn pain, and hungry too... Maybe they won't mind if I take a bite."


The distortion began to fade away, something was becoming clear. And that something was something otherworldly and dangerous. It was tall and slim, anorexically so. But he could begin to feel something wanted to invade his very mind from the superficial outer barriers to the most intimate interior. It was a threat. But with all threats, there was a kind of safeguard, unintentionally or not.

Lance began to feel something deep inside of him was stirring as a response. The small seed of madness that was implanted five years ago began to sprout. With a sprout, it began to explode with power and energy. The boy would find himself armored from the insidious influences of the demon, complete with his mask and the ethereal figure that came from the Sea of his own Soul.

It forced the demon back, snarling and irritated. It had been too slow, but no matter. This was just a mere fledgling, it would not be stopped from having its dessert.

Everything that had happened flew by like twisting abstract thoughts of the subconscious mind. It bore questions with nothing to question, a status quo that changed as it remained the same. A return to something new. None of it made very much sense but none of it needed to, that was the point of a dream. To most people it was a nightmare that ended in death, be it a swift ones at the hands of a monster or a slow, dragging death as the people lived their lives in a constant state of paranoia, fear, and subservience. They didn't understand, they couldn't be prepared for it. Not like Ritsuko. She was aware and at the same time very unaware. Like a dream. Demons were demons, ruthless abominations out for blood. At least that's how the stereotype went. Subject 39 new who the real abominations were. But it begged the question of her own blocks and how she hadn't been able to interact with other Demons until that night when Aoide had granted her power. It hadn't been her first time seeing them, something was different. Something not easily understood or explained. One who could answer that question would have quite a bit of influence.

But she had hope. Riding on the coattails of an awful experience she'd finally managed to find her first bit of luck. Or, rather, seize that bit of luck. Ritz wasn't granted any sort of fortune, she was thrown to the wolves. And so she decided to grab a pelt while it was fresh. The rush was like no other, it validated her existence. With bloody, murderous violence came an eager swell of joy. The troubled young woman could freely take out her aggressions and flex her own skillset, she could be proud for once that she turned out to be the monster she was raised to be. It gave her answers. It gave her leads and feelings of satisfaction. It made her happy to kill something for once, to give into her baser instincts and let everything loose like she did with her guitar. That sort of optimistic determination had fueled her with a rising energy... an energy that quickly faded long into the night after many drinks.

Ritsuko was here chasing another dream. Vague and jumbled thoughts of meeting someone and playing her guitar for money for... ??? It wasn't all that clear, but she had a desire and so her feet slid wearily one after the other as she stumbled down the sidewalks to the entertainment district. Her posture was hunched as she zigzagged her path down the street, dull eyes unfocused and swimming in her head, passing a whole lot of no one. It was late. No one was here. Nothing made any sort of logical sense but that didn't matter when you were three sheets to the wind and had set your heart to something. The alcoholic musician had committed to traveling to Suzie Q for... something... and she'd be damned if that something wasn't going to happen the way she wanted it to. Probably. It wasn't easy to remember what she was trying to do, but when she got there she'd end up alright. Probably.

But it wouldn't ever happen that way. Through some contorted train of thought Ritsuko would begin venturing down the alleys. Because she was used to it and they were faster, sometimes a little bit more dangerous but it took her away from people. ...there weren't many out this late at night anyway, but it was a habit that was hard to break. Her nature wanted her to run off to the darkened corners and hide from prying, intimidating eyes and the stifling presence of others. Others that would encroach upon her and do her harm. Mentally. Emotionally. Physically. It was safer to keep her distance. Thus as she loped down the shady alleyways with an uneven gait, when she heard yelling she was loathe to approach it. Such things weren't her problem, it wasn't her place to get involved. Did she even care? What was it to her if some poor sap was getting mugged or killed? It wouldn't affect her life in the slightest. But this was different. Something felt off. Even in her hazy stupor she could feel the tension in the air...

Blood. That's what it smelled like, it was the stench of blood. The shock of her finding halted Ritsuko in her tracks to sway while her mind processed the information. She'd smelled blood on that woman just before running into a demon of her own and the demon itself smelled of blood.

Her feet hurt. The streets were empty and no one could help her. Her feet hurt because they were slashed open with broken glass, she could scarcely walk. The streets were empty because they were lined with bodies, mangled limbs and torn sinew clogging the gutters with crimson debris...

"Nggh... hhh..." the flighty guitarist breathed heavily, engrossed in her troubling memory as she gripped the bridge of her nose. Her eyes squeezed shut tightly, and when they opened back up they were pitch black, a single yellow iris in her right eye piercing through the veil of darkness. Black, smoky tears began to run down her face, disappearing into haze as soon as they left her skin and the rest of her measly form coated itself in a black ichor. The pitch dark sludge sloughed off of Ritsuko to reveal her inner self, a miserable creature with a deep frowning mask, clad in a cloak of grey with scars to cover every inch of exposed skin. The fog in her mind began to lift as adrenaline pumped itself into her fatigued mind, sharpening her senses even in her bleary world view. If nothing else she functioned on muscle memory: eliminate the threat. Find the source of discomfort and destroy it.

The demonic young woman swept into the next alleyway at a wobbly yet respectable pace, keeping low and staying relatively quiet when she caught sight of the event that triggered her bad memories. Not a mugging, not in the traditional sense. But she'd caught the flash of blue, the metal odor, and saw before her the supernatural entities that stood out among the bland backdrop in Suzie Q's overlooked underground. A demon, no doubt and... a Devil Summoner? But which kind were they? Was it a Cadet or a thorn in their heel? It certainly didn't look like a Cadet. Cadets usually carried an official air about them and traveled in packs, but she couldn't be overly sure. Either way this was now her own fight. If the worst came to it, she could pin the bastard between the demon and herself and make things easy, she already knew the demon was the lesser threat between them. And if it were the other way around this could be a step in the right direction. Psyche Terrorists. She was one, technically, but not part of the fold. Ritz didn't know what they wanted or what they were after or what their plans were, just that they were rogue Devil Summoners. Learning more could be beneficial... but she'd have to do it right.

TWAAAAAA-A-A-A-A-ANNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG

The low growl of base echoed throughout the alleyway as she slowly and methodically approached, keeping her thumb on the strings and her fingers on the frets. Her soulful note's purpose was twofold: it served as a warning to her approach, an omen of what to expect, and it was a distraction and a shift of focus. Both she could use if both happened to be beneficial. And if they didn't? She wouldn't be the one facing the consequences. She wasn't closest to the fiend.

TWAAAAAA-A-A-A-A-ANNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG

What ho? Yet another this soon?

N'yeah, it lookss tha' way.

And this other budding flower, hmm hmm! Wondrous, stupendous! Will this be a duet, or a duel I wonder?

Doessn' matter. Th' only thing tha' matterss iss 'f I get what I wan'.

And what is your desire, my child?

'M either gonna find ou' wass goin' on with th' asssholess in th' masskss 'r I'm gonna beat a Cadet's ffucking brainss in.

Dull and uninteresting developments are these, very straightforward and not original at all. Yet mayhap this may yet develop further? A tangled web, hmm hmm?

Anythin'ss better than nothin', thinking can come after I paint th' ffucking wallss.


Of course it was a trick question, the logic behind it only apparent in Ritsuko's own sloppy mind. A Cadet would answer one way, a Terrorist would answer another, and the demon would just be a demon and do whatever the hell it would do. In a roundabout way she was talking about all three of them, yet that part wasn't at all clear in her drunken haze. Her steps moved evenly and slowly, ominous in a way as she lolled her head from side to side, fingers effortlessly gliding over the strings as she played her melody. Even in her blacked-out state it was all too easy, just like breathing. She was music. And it was looking about time to make that music a little more percussive.

Strengths/Weaknesses:

How did it end up being so late? She had only gone out for a quick walk after deciding that she couldn't sleep that night. Something had been eating away at her, and especially with all the weird dreams she's been having recently she wasn't quite in the mood to fall asleep straight away. Yet she kinda lost track of what she was doing and wandered off way further than she initially intended. She'd shiver slightly. Something was off, the air felt cold... Although it had been warm just a moment ago and usually the cold didn't bother the young vixen anyway. It was a strange feeling she carried with her as she traversed the allies in her usual fashion, deciding it was about time to try and head home. She knew the paths around Endy via the ally ways way better than by street. They were faster too! But she had to admit, they were a little creepy at night... Especially today for some reason...

Suddenly she'd stop. Something had caught her attention, something she wasn't too fond of, it stang, it was an awful sensation on her senses. W-why did something smell like blood...? The girl would freeze for a moment when she first noticed this, yet her shadow would insist she kept moving, standing around would do her no good. It was time to move and if something did happen he'd be sure to protect her, yet he needed her to be active in order to do that. Then another of the girls powerful senses would cause her ears to perk up from under her hood. The first of a distant commotion, something she couldn't quite tell what it was from this far away. Yet the second, was the definite noise of a... Guitar?

Not able to help her own curiosity. The girl would begin rushing towards the noises she had heard, trying to keep as quite as possible at the same time. The closer she got the more powerful all her senses would overwhelm her body. However within all the madness, she could detect one smell she recognized. The girls appearance would morph as she turned the final corner, her hair, ears and tail would turn a pure white and her clothes would change from their usual pinks and red to whites and greens. A new trick that Terra had learned to help the girl keep herself out of trouble so no one could notice her as easily. Yet what she saw when she turned the corner wasn't fully what she expected.


Her eyes first locked on to the woman playing the guitar, the main thing that had attracted her over here. From the noises she made to the similar smell the girl had learned earlier that day. She was fairly sure she knew who it was... Yet in the dark it was still hard to tell. That and her attention was dragged off by another set of figures standing in the ally. One of which clearly not human and most definitely the cause of all this commotion...

"Callie, be careful... It's another one of those beasts." Callie's shadow would warn from within her mind.

"W-what are they doing here? I didn't know that they came out in the middle of the city!"

"Seems like the more adventurous ones do..."

"W-well... What do ya say Terra? You ready to lend a hand?"

"Nehehe, I thought you'd never ask!"

As the pair discussed from internally, the girl would unsheathe her daggers and crouch down into her battle ready position she had been practicing. There was only one of them... This shouldn't be too hard! She's had to deal with much worse before... Y-yet, she had always had 8D and Zavie by her side before... Them not being here made her feel kinda nervous, what if these other two weren't as friendly as she hoped? This could all go very wrong. Regardless of her fears, it was in her nature to help out anyone in any time of need. And this was no exception!

"More lambs to the slaughter?" it hissed with a kind of relish at the growing number of enemies, "Excellent. I shall have a nice feast this evening."

Ghoul, Level 7:

The wretch grinned slyly from beneath her tragedy mask. It was a good answer, a Cadet would've taken offense. All of them were inflexible ego-maniacal pricks like that. Or fanatics frothing at the mouth for their "liege". Did no one ever attend a fucking history lesson? If one thing people were evil, if another they were goddamn ignorant.
"Hmm... I didn' think sso..." her voice echoed, both in a giggling laugh and a contemptuous growl with the duality of her voice. Now that she could see he was wearing a mask she could feel a little at ease. Cadets didn't wear masks. They could lie to people face to face. She tilted her head back, training her shaky eye on the abomination looking for a feast.
"Then I guess tha' meanss no one iss here to die f'r the queen. But y're gonna die ff'r my enjoyment." As Ritsuko made her threat her poised fingers hovered over the strings, prepared to strike a more meaningful chord of power she was approached from behind. Aoide squealed in response to the approach as Ritz turned her head and stumbled backward a few steps along the edge of the alleyway. More clearance that way. More room to evade in case something went wrong.

Unlike him the new girl before her wasn't wearing a mask, although her face was somewhat obscured by the dark and her hood. This was either another Psyche Terrorist out on patrol (did they even do that?) or an incredibly stupid Cadet willing to help the people. She could tell from her voice and stature that she was another dumb kid. It was honestly disgusting how children were being roped into this, on both sides even. But it was their future to decide what world they would live in, even if kids had to learn to kill. The adults wouldn't fight for it, they had "lives" and had lost sight of their dreams and ideals in favor of safety and stability. Fuck that. Life wasn't living if you marched along the same beaten road listening to fucking idiots the entire way there because they didn't know better. She was one of few that opposed that. Children shouldn't be fighting, she knew better than anyone.

...but that wasn't about to stop her from letting someone die by their own choices.

If she was a Cadet she'd let her die here in an alley to prove her point: you sign up with the government to "be a hero", you were actually a pawn meant to throw your life away to monsters. No one cared about who you were or your future as long as you were useful. She'd love to see it on the news: Cadet Found Dead From Demon Attacks; How Safe is Endymion?" It'd be worth a laugh if she knew it wouldn't be propagandized to funnel more stupid recruits into the meat grinder. And if she was an "undesirable" like her maybe it'd teach her a lesson in how dangerous this game was and exactly what she wagered. You had to be ready to die for your ideals. And kill for them. Ritz was ready for that, she'd been waiting a lifetime for it. Anything less than total commitment was a waste of her time.

As she eyed the younger one her fingertips began to dance along the frets, playing a determined combat melody. She would impart her desire to demolish this low-ranking fiend before her to the little girl, filling her with a cocky sort of arrogance and determination to destroy.
"You heard'im. Ladiess ffirsst," slurred the plastered musician. She'd keep her distance as the others tested the waters. This wasn't exactly her fight and even if more than a little tipsy Ritz wasn't stupid. Others could stand and face the threat while she assessed what she was up against first. In the meantime she strummed a confident battle rhythm to urge the others to fight for their lives. They'd need it, otherwise she'd need to intervene.

How interesting a development, quite the epic!

Not like I care, 'ss'not my ffight.

Is it not? How mistaken I was...

'ss my isssue, no' my ffight. I c'n sstand to gain ffrom th'ss but I'm not o'ligated.

How wise a stance. Or heartless. We shall discover which is which in time...

The girl would nod towards the boy, good at least she wasn't just barging in here all uninvited when she wasn't really wanted. For all she knew this could be an arranged thing or something they wanted to deal with alone for whatever reason. At least she could now count on the fact they knew they were fighting for the same side, for the moment at least... "I'll help anyway I can!" She'd say as she approached closer, stopping for a moment as the other person turned to face her. The vixen could feel her eyes piercing through her even with the fact they were wearing a mask. She was clearly being judged right now... S-she knew she didn't look all that much the part of a fighter... Y-yet she knew she could really help when needed to! She'd be sure to prove herself to that fact!

Although she was caught slightly off guard by what happened next. As the woman began to play her guitar, Callie would purposefully lower her ears flat on her head so that it wasn't quite as loud. As loud as the music was however, she could feel herself being inspired by it, feel the power run through her body and bring her new found life at this late hour. It almost felt similar to what Zavie had done before during the fights they'd been in, although there was a distinct difference to it. Yet she couldn't fully tell what or why.

"Looks like they're leaving the first strike to us Cals!" Terra would say joyfully to his host, as he too readied himself for battle. He almost felt like they wouldn't of seen any action today at all! And was excited to sink himself into the midst of battle. He'd ensure that Callie stayed safe, he wasn't all too sure about the other two though... Suppose if Callie felt it was right to he'd try to protect them too, which lets face it he knew would be the case right off the bat anyway. "Well if they're both gonna just get themselves prepared, I'd say it was time we did make our move! Nehehe!"

The girl would nod, a large smirk forming on her face as she felt the rush of battle flow through her once more. She loved this game, it was always so much fun... Except that one time where things kinda went wrong, but she wouldn't let that happen again! No one was gonna get hurt on her watch no matter who they were! Gripping her duel daggers tighter, the girl would crouch slightly before springing into action. "If you insist! Let's get this party started!"

Stats:

Passives:

Action:

(OOC: Whoops, forgot the second strike rolls. Thanks Dai.)

2nd Strike misses on 1, 2, or 3:

2nd Strike crits on 1: