Echo doesn't say anything but instead suddenly hug Germaine tightly, starting to cry.


To his left, Hitan can probably sense sudden danger.

He has three seconds before the gun goes off. Either he needs to disarm the hitman or get out of the way very quickly, as well as possibly warn Germaine and Echo as they are in the range that the bullet might hit.

Last edited by Echo (July 16, 2021 23:53:28)

(Timed mission o.o)

(ok wait where'd the gun come from I can't see it in any other posts)

(TW: Violence)

It takes two seconds for Hitan's voice to announce, as if over an intercom within this section of the mall: "Attention, all customers. There is at least one active shooter in the southern section of the mall."
He's speaking faster than usual, but the words are loud, precise, and yet, calm. There is no sense of fear coming from his voice--only a slight sense of urgency, bringing a compulsion to act.
There is certainly no indication of any of those emotions on the young man's face as he moves towards the hitman and the preparing shot and the killing intent. He moves like a predatory bird, aiming directly for the kill. There is no hesitation. There is not even an eyebrow furrow. There is only a cold blanket of certainty in his eyes. It's a complicated confidence, one that someone like the gunman cannot understand.
They are not allowed the time to understand. They are only allowed to see that one glimpse of his eyes before the opposite of their expectations--a storm of immense pain--hits them.
First, the arm of the hand that will pull the trigger feels the wrath of the storm. As if a doll's arm, the entire bottom portion of the arm from the elbow down is disengaged from the rest and flops uselessly to the side. Causing this break is no particular feat of strength; rather, it is a feat of knowledge, of knowing the exact angle and needed force to break an arm from that position just like that.
The gun is confiscated. And then the other arm breaks. And then, bones snap--bones connected to the knee joints of both of the hitman's legs, which also follow in their fracturing. The joints crinkle into pieces within the flesh. And then comes the inevitable fall.
However, it's not an easy fall. In the process, the gunman is turned so that they are falling with their chest and face, not their back, is facing the floor. If they haven't blacked out from the pain yet, they are able to experience the luxurious experience of their face hitting the hard mall floor. With the amount of force that they somehow find themselves subjected to as they fall, they likely also hear the crunch of more bones--teeth. The taste of blood will follow soon after.
Hitan doesn't bother pushing them down further. What use would that be? They are like a broken doll with fallen arms and legs. What can they do now? Bite him, without any teeth? He doubts it. He secures his grip on the gun, knowing there are more bullets inside, and glances around at the inexorable mayhem.
"A pity," he murmurs to himself, before the announcement continues: "Please stay calm, find refuge, and alert the authorities. Thank you."
A crackling sounds, and then the message concludes.
Surely, there will be more to come--but at least what was needed to be done has been completed.

Hitan smiles at Favian from his positionas he retains his hold on the gunman. It's still the same smile as before as he only says one sentence: "Your parental privileges are revoked, good sir."
He disappears the instant before the next trigger is pulled. Fascinatingly, the gunman is knocked slightly to the side, but it's a bit too late, and...well, the bullet's travelling its way to Favian's head now.
Meanwhile, Hitan reappears by Germaine's side, apparently not worried at all.
"Sorry again, miss." he states while the alarms start blaring like there's no tomorrow. Apparently staff here are actually pretty competent. "I just ask that you hold her tightly, but please make sure to take care of yourself as well."
 

The bullet disintegrated before it could even reach a foot away from Favian.


This time, he spoke directly to Echo.

"I can make it stop. All of this can be stopped if you just come over here. Remember your siblings?"

Echo suddenly looked over to Favian, eyes wide.

"It's all your fault. You know that, don't you? All of this is your fault, if only you weren't so disobedient."

Despite Germaine's protective hold on Echo, Echo started to pull away. She started to pull away because... All of this would stop, right? All of this would stop if she just... 

The hitman pointed their gun at Hitan and pulled the trigger again. It didn't go off. Again and again they pulled the trigger, but the gun stopped working.

Suddenly, they dropped the gun. Their eyes shot red, turned white, and had those two little purple pupils. Their skin tinted from the sudden change of vein colouration. They fell backwards, but were dead before they hit the ground.

He laughs.
His laughter is beautiful. It sounds as if it is something that can purify everything. There is no sign of the pain that definitely emanates within his being as a result of letting himself do so. 
It's also a bright, pure sound that not even Helen has heard--at least, not for a long time. And, just as with everything bright and pure, it is only a temporary existence. And with that, Germaine's barrier is secured a little more, even if it seems nothing else was done to it--and Echo's mind clears a little. 
The laughter dies down a little bit, but still he's smiling, with a little look of curious disbelief on his face. 
"Her fault? Echo's fault?" he voices, asking no one in particular, but he looks at Echo and Germaine while saying so, apparently paying no heed to the surrounding danger.
He giggles a bit but swallows the impending laughter back. "I have not heard such a good joke in a long time. It seems I must give thanks, again."
Still keeping his glance on Echo, he speaks once more. "Her siblings and her were forced through a 'killing game' conducted by you and other vile adult individuals for your own selfish aims. Echo survived.
"Her brother Heilo and the others would be alive if not for you and the others of your kind. You were the ones to subject the children to the pain and torture, relishing it all without an ounce of regret or wish for redemption as you watched it as if it were a show that you knew it was not. Then, you were the ones to force divinity upon her after manipulating her with unjustified regret. Whose fault is it, then? It is obvious." His eyes flicker back to Favian, though the entire time it would appear as if he were addressing the other in the first place.  
"A soldier forced onto a battlefield for a battle she never wished to fight does not have an ounce of fault. No, the wrong lies entirely upon the foolish generals and commanders, seeking for nothing except their own greed and, in this case, the pain of those who were forced to serve them." 
Is it an illusion, or is the feather resting upon his ear glowing a little?

(the target is for no one to die, Favian being kinda forced to back out, but that's it, really. Something will happen at the end to Echo but it'll be pretty temporary if Alma gets there in time)

Echo looked up at Germaine with her tear-stained face. She stopped trying to pull away.

"People are getting hurt," the words come out softly. "They're getting hurt because I'm not..." She stopped at the end, her voice quivering. Echo's scared, but she doesn't want other people to get hurt. She somehow had placed herself into a "sacrifice one for the majority" type of mindset, with herself being the sacrificial piece.

Favian went back into that emotionless state, studying Hitan carefully.

"You're a smart one, aren't you," he said, tilting his head up. "You're very smart, yes. I almost want to give you a free hit. I wonder what damage you could do to me. You're too smart, too kind. Someone like you wouldn't understand, though. I don't think you would."

Off to the side suddenly appeared a man quite similar to Favian. His hair is much wilder, though, messy. He doesn't join in the fight. It seems that he doesn't care at the moment.

The man crouched down beside the corpse of the first hitman, examining the blood with a faint grin.

"Ah... pretty..." he breathed, dipping his fingers in the blood. "So beautiful..." He didn't seemed bothered by how gross his actions were when he put some of the blood in his mouth.

Last edited by Echo (July 18, 2021 07:35:14)

"They won't get hurt. You are not alone in this. "
Germaine's eyes met Echo's directly. They presented a source of solace, understanding, outward calmness...but through all of that, the green glow coming from the irises hinted vaguely at conflicted thoughts Germaine was repressing.
For the truth was that it hurt her to focus solely on Echo while violence and disorder raged outside the barrier. It hurt her to feel she was not helping enough. It hurt her to hear Hitan's words, to think of the things Echo had not told her. 
She gently brushed Echo's cheek to wipe away the track of a tear, an action so peaceful it certainly seemed out of place in the whole situation. 

(*screams through tears, clutching heart in full emotion* Y'ALL GOING HAM ON THE DIALOGUE, HUH. I'M GOING TO BE DEAD FROM FEELINGS BY THE END OF THIS)


Echo stared for a moment, nothing behind those eyes of her's. It was that usual intense stare of nothingness, and then there was warmth. Warmth, ironic for a winter goddess.

Echo manages to smile, a small smile. Despite how small and scared it was, despite how it trembled, it was filled with hope. It was a small, scared, hopeful smile.

Echo manages to nod to Hitan, a quiet, "Okay..." coming from her lips.

"I'll stay."

Echo goes back to tightly hugging Germaine. It was comforting to Echo to be close to someone trusted at this moment. But Echo wants to help. She's thinking of how to help despite being behind the barrier.

Echo felt a little less scared, enough so to finally be able to take a bit of action.

"Germaine... I'm sorry... It's going to be...cold..."


Favian watched this small exchange. He didn't feel anything from it, not even a twinge of hatred towards Hitan or Germaine. Not frustration or anything... No. He did feel something: boredom. He was bored. He thought, no he hoped, there would be more blood.

Favian stepped out of the way of ice spikes shooting out of the ground. The spikes were large and sharp, made to do serious damage.

"Hm."

Favian looked over at Echo, who gave her blank stare back.

Echo scratched at her neck as frost formed on her skin and clothes. No matter how many times it has happened, it still felt uncomfortable to her.

Echo's body temperature is starting to drop rapidly, so she probably feels like a little ice pack against Germaine. The air is starting to get cold in the southern mall area, not just behind the barrier.


Faust had started eating one of the corpse's arms. Bro, seriously what the HECK- Faust is giggling to himself about beauty or something like that.





Phantom, Alma, and Malaika have around seven or a little less minutes until they reach Germaine, Hitan, and Echo.

(*cries in emotionally invested in this thread*)

((I was waiting for @Eliza cause there's a cue for Phantom in Galaxian's last post, but Ig I can go too))

A faint sigh slipped from Germaine, warming her lips for a moment. She almost smiled.
"Go ahead."
Another opportunity to help. Warm energy flowed from her to Echo. It should be enough to strengthen the goddess.
Anything else (read: Faust) was getting ignored, at least for the time being. The people in the mall should already have evacuated with the alarms. Favian still had his sights on Echo for some reason. Did he want her back that badly? Perhaps taking Echo out of the mall and to a safer place would be a good idea.
"Were you with anyone else before running into him?"

(ok what does pick up mean lol help)

Echo looked up to Germaine and nodded.

Hello. My name is Hitan, and I am in the southern section of the mall with Echo, Hitan says pleasantly, before adding: as well as someone who was supposed to be her biological father; in case you are curious, he has chosen instead to cause as much disturbance and violence as possible to try to take her instead. Anyhow, I am taking this is Phantom? Could you please also inform the other friends of Echo to respond to this call?