#fragmentation 2

[shiningpunisher]

Familiar

They had driven to a more remote part of the city and a quick scan of the area showed that there were few wraiths. Any straggling ones were quickly dispatched, and the group finally disembarked from the trusty car to rest for the night.

It was agreed upon that they would sleep in shifts. Tasuku offered to keep watch first, and though their driver being the first scout was met with initial protest, Tasuku had insisted that having Jack with him was like having two pairs of eyes. It would be better if the others rested first, he had said.

So he sat outside the abandoned building, numb to all that had happened, and watched Hive City’s grey horizon silently.

[stormspriggan-blog]

Into the Fire

If there was one boon to the situation, it was that Shuu and Valt hadn’t been separated when they were beamed back to Hive City proper.

That was the only good thing. Still soaking wet from their watery excursion, Shuu and Valt were greeted with the horrific sight of ghost-like monsters swarming the skies of the city. And they were hostile. 

It was all Shuu could do to pull the injured Valt behind him. The destruction was already clear; citizens had abandoned the streets in a panic, leaving stores dark and in a mess. Shuu ducked into one and tugged Valt after him, retreating into the darkest corner of the store as wraiths flew about outside.

“We should be safe for now...” He glanced at Valt, and his eyes drifted to the open wounds in his arm, still bleeding heavily. Shuu’s eyes scanned the darkened wares for anything he could use, and settled on a roll of tissue paper. He tore open the package and handed Valt a sheet.

“Press this over the cuts and apply pressure, even if it hurts. ...How do you feel?”

[jackryuuenji-blog]

Confirmation

That blue blur just now...

"Tasuku? Tasuku!” Jack ran after the boy and grabbed his arm, immediately feeling relief that Tasuku was alive. Very much alive, from the looks of it.

“You’re safe... Thank goodness.”

But it didn’t take long for the lost look on Tasuku’s face to register, and relief immediately metamorphosed into worry.

“Tasuku? What’s wrong...?”

[shiningpunisher]

How long had they been sitting there in the cafe? Minutes? Hours? Tasuku lost track. It had taken him as long to come to terms with what had just happened--no, that was a lie. He hadn’t even come to terms with it. He had merely numbed himself to it. Frozen his heart over, as he had done so countless times in the past.

Even so, he had to wonder.

“Hey...Jack...”

“Do you think...I did the right thing?”

[perpetua-anima]

They were cleanup crew again, it seems. The first thing he did was to head to the academy and see what they were up against. Being described as ghost might mean that physical means were ineffective. He’d have to rely on magical defenses.

He also had to rely on his phone and sent a message to all his students.

[Text] Hurry to the academy. [Text] If you can’t, call.

@genesismaiden

[perpetua-anima]

He heard a screeching noise and turned around. Instinctively, he dodged backward, narrowly avoiding getting swiped with a claw. These things are damn fast.

Kicking his feet off the ground and jumping back, he sent a concussive blast towards the creature and managed to send it flying back a bit. Stomping his foot on the ground, he created a spear of earth and kicked it towards the thing.

“So physical attacks work, huh?” However, the creature would start scratching the earthen spear.

“Corrosion,” he muttered to himself as he felt a presence behind him. He ended up off shooting an earth spear as he turned around. If it weren’t a ghost-thing-creature, well, he hoped they would be able to dodge.

@haruto-valvrave01