The apocalypse is nigh!

[mieudesuno.livejournal.com]

Asch agreeing to a drink with Emperor Peony? Luke studying more or less willingly? Asch chuckling? Uncle Jade?

It would appear Abyss Dressing Room has inexplicably stumbled upon the four signs of the apocalypse. This must explain why there is suddenly a horde of monsters poised to attack. Redheads! Denizens! Defend your nexus!

...Just be careful with those artes. Looks like the apocalypse is a lot fuzzier and noisier than anticipated. As such, every arte used spawns at least two dozen cheagles. And Mystic Artes spawn about fifty.

Good luck. And welcome to Luke's Asch's anyone who isn't Tear or Ion's hell.

Comments

(is this okay?)

[oldest7yearold.livejournal.com]

[Guess it's lucky then that this Luke is wandering around holding a sword - a sword he recently got from Asch. And what with having gone for as long as he has without swinging a sword around that often, he's eager to get back out there and practice the blade again.

So when he runs into a semi-familiar guy in a turquoise coat, facing a few monsters on his own, he leaps into action, leaping forward and driving his sword at the nearest monster.]

(It's absolutely okay. And good thing Asch armed him in time, huh? :D) Also [1/2]

[hymnotic]

[ It takes Luke by surprise when his other, technically younger self shows up to the fight, but he won't say he's not at least partly grateful for it. He's not incapable of taking a group of enemies out on his own, but it's certainly more problematic than it would be with someone else there.

So, while the other Luke takes on one of the monsters, he'll rush toward one of the Ligans, using a punch combo that honestly looks something like Rending Thrust without a sword. ]

[hymnotic]

[ ...And, in fact, it kind of was rending thrust without a sword. Which means there's now a swarm of cheagles around him rather than the added oomph his arte would have given. ]

Wh...what the hell?

[oldest7yearold.livejournal.com]

[The barehanded tactics admittedly take Luke by surprise, but before he can address the issue... fluff. dozens of balls of fluff.

And that's exactly what he would have said if you hadn't beaten him to it. However at that point, one of the Ligans that they're facing decides to remind them that they're still facing the apocalypse. A snarl makes Luke turn, flinging an arm to protect his face.] Gah-!

[Claws rake down his arm, making him flinch, but it's not the worst injury he's ever experienced by a long shot. He attempts to knock the monster away with a Raging Blast - only to find that instead of the red light that usually bursts from his plam, a dozen pink cheagles appears instead.]

What's going on here?!

[hymnotic]

It's like a bad joke. [ A really bad joke. Seriously, maybe Luke felt really a little bad for never letting the people he cares about know he's really alive, but this is like he's being punished for it. Because, truthfully, Mieu would have been the first in line to glomp him, right? So it only stands to reason that if he deprived the damn thing of its chance to cling to him, he'd be bombarded by hundreds of them. Or, at least, that's the best he can come up with.

The other "best" explanation he can come up with is that this is all Lorelei's fault.

He kind of likes that one better. ]

Ugh... if those attacks are out, then... [ Here, Luke jumps back, taking a defensive position momentarily before... casting? Yes, he's definitely casting a fonic arte. ] Arise, violent waters, and drown my enemies. Blessed Drops!

[ Well, on one hand, it was worth a shot - maybe fonic artes would have yielded a different result from strike artes. And, in a way, it did yield a different result. Unfortunately, that result was even more cheagles than their strike artes had forced to show up. So now there are waves of blue cheagles just popping up out of the ground. ]

Oh, come on.

[oldest7yearold.livejournal.com]

What are we supposed to do if we can't use any artes? Just keep hitting them?

[Ignoring the stinging - thankfully it's his non-dominant arm there - he proceeds to fend off the Ligan, occasionally striking in a few hits of his own.

And he did notice those artes, BTW, you'll likely be asked about those once this ordeal is over.]

[hymnotic]

[ Just imagine the WTF reaction if Luke had used a hymn. ]

Kind of seems like the only choice we've got... [ Which means Luke's fist drives right on into one of the monsters now. ]

(I don't think fights with NPCs are my forte...)

[oldest7yearold.livejournal.com]

[Oh, the WTF factor would have been intense. Not just because of the fact that it was a hymn, but also the likely resulting deluge of cheagle fur.

As it is, he pushes through a few more strikes before driving his blade home, finishing off the Ligan - or at least sending it scurrying. It's then that he turns on the third monster of the group, which was aiming a swipe at the other Luke.] Watch yourself!

[hymnotic]

Whoa.. thanks. [ Have a grateful smile, Luke, before this redhead gets back to the monster he'd punched; he kicks it, intending to drive it back. ]

Ugh... this sucks without artes...

[oldest7yearold.livejournal.com]

(OOC: Oh man, this thread is going to have to be before this kid has his conversation with that Lorelei/ai because otherwise he'd be HeroicBSOD-ing on so many levels. Seriously. (http://community.livejournal.com/abyssdressing/295716.html?thread=51559972#t51559972))

No problem!

[The issue of fighting without Artes is that over time, the body learns to recognize and use openings, almost without thinking - "Don't think about your reaction, just react" as Tear would say. Except now...] Fang Blade Hav- Augh! [... he can't do that. He has to stop and thing.

N-no kidding.

[hymnotic]

[ ooc; O-oh god, poor Luke. D: ]


[ There have been very few times Luke has lamented his choice to stop using a sword in the past nine or so years. Unfortunately, this would be one of those times. Especially because he's still prone to the whole just-rush-in-and-attack method of battle.

So it takes a moment before he puts it into high gear, drop-kicking one of the monsters before breaking into a vaguely brutal punching combo.

Man, but it's been a while since he's had a good fight against just monsters, so he does have to admit it feels kind of good to just let loose like this. Even if that effect is somewhat marred by the constant stream of "mieu mieuuuuu"s coming from the cheagles that had popped up from their arte usage - damn if that sound doesn't still make him twitch. He'd almost begun to think he was past that, but it's not like he'd ever tested it in since his rebirth. ]

[oldest7yearold.livejournal.com]

(OOC: Methinks I'm going to have to make a "somebody talk to Luke and snap him out of this" thread, his brain's kind of broken right now.)

[It was cathartic for him too, though this Luke is not going to be the one to experiment in what a Mystic Arte might do - given that sources say that his Mystic Arte finishes with a blast of hyperresoance, and we all know how much he's trying to avoid that at the moment.

Using another Devil's Inferno, and suddenly red and pink cheagles are covering him, nearly forcing him to the ground. It's like Alfred Hitchcock's Birds, only with tiny, mieu-ing balls of fluff.] Dammit, where are they all coming from?!

[hymnotic]

Beats me. It's like some kind of punishment for how I'd treat Mieu. [ It's the kind of punishment Tear would give for his treatment of Mieu, probably.

Not that he has too much of a chance to really think on it as another ligan comes at him, forcing him to kick it... except it's considerably harder to do when he has cheagles clinging to his leg. ]