GGaD » Panic at the Disco! but it's Not a Disco, it's a Mall

SpecterTheGreat · September 14, 2021 16:52:50

Yes, by magic this time. Sorry for not specifying.

What Germaine sensed in Francis was "harmless" poison, an intoxicating substance, an unnatural fever, and pain added to that. The area Silence had sliced shouldn't require healing. The problem with the other effects was that Germaine could not get rid of them. Something might have been possible if she were closer to Francis, at least to clear the alcohol-like thing a little. Germaine didn't have power to cancel the hex. Maybe its source can be traced, though.
The action she decided to take was to draw Francis's sensation of pain away into her own body. Little by little, making sure the feeling wasn't strong enough to incapacitate her, Germaine proceeded. Because she didn't know just how much pain the demigod was in, this might not be enough to make all of it go away. Also, it's not a heal. If there is damage or another source for this then that is still there.

Last edited by SpecterTheGreat (September 14, 2021 16:53:14)

GalaxianExplosion · September 14, 2021 17:05:19

(Hitan: Should I transport him somewhere else?
Silence, answering another question [again]: I have poisons)

Hitan laughs slightly, albeit telepathically. Thank you, but no thank you. Shall I transport him, then? I promise that it will be a temporary arrangement.

Echowo · September 19, 2021 16:51:21

To be fair, the Narrator hasn't been having a good month mentally due to exhaustion, so there was no way the Narrator was going to be sure on what they were suppose to have Silence answer or even know what the questions were in the first place. Please refrain from teasing, it's making my mind hurt.

The pain Germaine took felt like a terrible ache in her joints and muscles. It wasn't something searing nor was it something stabbing. It was an ache that wanted to crumble you up into pieces and leave you broken on the ground; it was an ache that wasn't just physical, but emotional too. It would bring cold tears to your eyes slowly, as if your were in the middle of a sad realization. It was a pain that made you want to sleep everything away, and it made you wonder how long has Francis felt this kind of pain, and if the pain was heightened by the hex.

Silence thought for a moment before nodding.

Malaika and Lumi were suddenly and unwillingly moved over far from Alma and Favian with thornless vines, both of them shouting at Alma in concern. Echo looked over, her eyes wide when she saw the large, hand-like, black, crystalline appendage torn from Favian's side (Favian now on the ground with broken, grey vines surrounding him) and shot through the middle of Alma's torso.

All around Alma, where his blood hit, large vines shot up and slashed at Favian, who in response ripped the false arm out of Alma and disintegrated and stepped out of the way of some vines. When Favian ripped the arm out, more blood spurt out, covering the ground and transforming from liquid to roses and vines.

For a moment, it would have seemed like Alma was losing, but after a few seconds it became clear that Favian was getting overwhelmed by the vines, not able to dodge and disintegrate faster than Alma bled.

Favian thought Alma wasn't boring. Alma was not boring, but rather very impressive and irritating. Irritating enough that Favian wanted Alma dead, but impressive enough that Favian wanted Alma to have an entertaining death. Something that he would broadcast on the TV. Favian could dream the headline now: "Famous Musician, Alma Amor, Found Dead in a Local Mall!

Wouldn't that be very amusing? If only Alma would die quicker, like how Malaika would.

Malaika would be an easy kill, but due to her boring way of fighting, she wouldn't be an amusing death. Maybe if she had fought Favian with a clear mind, she would have a good chance of winning.
Brute force wasn't her strongest skill, Favian knew that, it was obvious. She was strong, sure, but she wasn't coordinated nor was she stronger than Favian. Favian almost wished he hadn't enraged Malaika as the fight would have been much more fun if she was able to actually think.

Basket Cat · September 28, 2021 17:49:16

Phantom took his attention away from Faust and looked at Alma, fighting Faust. This is bad... he thought. ...I don't know what to do. Should I help him? he looked back at Silence, as if asking them for some sort of answer.

SpecterTheGreat · September 29, 2021 02:14:27

Germaine tried hard to not let the pain show on her face. Echo was right there, she couldn't see it! But because this time Germaine drew the sensation gradually, she kept some control over her reaction. There, right before her limit, that's where she stopped.
Her vision got a little blurry. Wait, no, it's just some tears. She wouldn't wipe them away. She just looked away, towards Alma who was bleeding.
There, for a moment, Germaine refrained from healing. The connection between Alma's blood and the vines was noticeable enough. By healing, maybe she would be taking away the opportunity for defense and offense. And yet, she didn't want him to bleed out. Germaine decided to wait a few more seconds.
At least nobody else seemed to be in critical condition, right?

Echowo · October 1, 2021 12:49:09

Silence made eye contact and gave a toothy smile of encouragement, perhaps noticing or sensing Phantom's uneasiness. Or perhaps they were just not concerned, not scared. Perhaps they really were thinking, "This is it, we're going to win." Whatever the cause was, Silence, knowingly or unknowingly, gave some kind of form of inspiration. It's not exactly a form of telling Phantom what to do, but perhaps it would push him to make a quick decision.

Echo very gently hugged Germaine. She wanted to say, "It's okay to cry", she wanted to ask, "Are you hurt?" but the words wouldn't leave her mouth. It was a hesitation to ask these things, so instead she hugged Germaine and hoped that somehow, some way, that Germaine would feel better as if Echo said those words, as if Echo said something nice.

Favian asked Alma, repeating something he said earlier, "All of this for a little girl?"

"This and more."

Favian didn't understand that answer. This was pain, this was torture, and yet Alma willingly let himself go through this and would willing go through something worse for a pathetic child?

Favian found this reply very interesting.

Basket Cat · October 9, 2021 18:42:25

Phantom, a determined expression crossing his face, vanished immediately, appearing behind Favian in the blink of an eye. "You're really one to talk," he said darkly.

GalaxianExplosion · October 11, 2021 19:54:37

(I've been holding off on responding to this, not only because of schoolwork but also because of personal reasons.
I'm not sure how to say this with more tact, so I'll just say it right away. I have been very bothered with the reaction I got from Echo regarding my teasing and has depleted my motivation for POVing here. Their reaction reminded me too much of that Nimarfira had back in 2019, where the conflict escalated to the point of driving him from the community and resulting in him having negative recollections of the event even one whole year later. I'm not sure I could have called Nimarfira a friend at any point in time and vice versa, as we were not close, but he was a member of the community who I didn't want to make unhappy. So, you can imagine how much I want to avoid similar situations now, especially with anyone I do view as a friend with no doubt.
I have pondered what I can do in this situation specifically, but honestly, comments like that are in my personality and I don't find it worthy to try to change that by force. I don't see what I said as wrong, though in more ideal situations, I would be able to change myself in that aspect. I cannot. On the same token, I also cannot just drop out of the thread, as that would be irresponsible. So, as usual, I want to find a balance.
Therefore, with my efforts to do the above, I ask that:
1) All of you respond whenever you can and do not wait for me. I will respond when I must, but not in between, even if that is what I wish to do. Please try to keep Hitan as irrelevant as possible in the thread from this point onward, and I will do the same. That way, I can continue POVing without feeling like I have a great risk of offending someone.
2) All of you tolerate me responding in a bland, concise manner. This is going along with the above purpose of avoiding any remarks that could be offensive as well as making my presence less important. While I can't say they can be ignored, as that feels impossible, I'll try to make the POVs as ignorable as possible if the thread would be re-read.
3) Please do not think of the following actions I narrate as accurate. Hitan would not act as I narrate him. The way I tell his descriptions from this point on in this thread will only be my best attempt at making him still functional while not being entirely OOC.

I am not sure how to deal with this problem in other threads, but this is the one that is causing the supposed issue for me at the moment, so I find it prudent to voice this here. I will keep thinking about the issue in the meantime. Please don't worry; the situation is a product of some degree of emotionality, but the product here is the result of rationality only. If you feel offended by this, I can only apologize once again for putting my needs above yours and having no better way to go about this, and I hope you can forgive me.
Thank you.

-Galaxian-)

GalaxianExplosion · October 11, 2021 19:57:03

The angel, his movement soft, clenches his right hand into a fist, and then Francis is teleported somewhere secure (as implied). As long as he does not need to re-appear in the thread, he should be where he needs to be in the future.

Echowo · October 12, 2021 03:22:29

Favian turned slightly to look at Phantom, his eyes resting on the teen and slightly widening. From his back ripped out multiple more spider-like appendages that clawed and reached at Phantom. Favian's pause gave Alma enough time to get closer. What happened next was very fast.
Up from the ground and out from Alma's body were thousands of rose vines, wrapping around Favian and spearing through him.
Alma stumbled from the weight of the vines attached to his body, the feeling of his organs being ripped out causing him to momentarily fall to his knees. The vines returned back to the ground, and the vines withered away from Alma's body.

The thorny cacoon of what was probably torture fell away, revealing that Favian... was gone. Completely disappeared, not even a hint of his presence there. Alma's head shot up and he looked around.

Faust... Faust was gone too. He was stuck on the ice spikes, seeming to just be high/drunk and enjoying himself, but now he had dissapeared as well. There one moment, gone the next.

Alma throat burned, something tearing through his skin as it came up. He gagged, slightly clawed at his throat, and threw up, large amounts of blood pooling red petals and a large, thorny rose stem. Then another came up, mainly leaves, petals, and thorns with a few large rose bulbs. Alma shuddered, his body burning. It was hard to pull and push air out of his lungs, his chest felt heavy. He couldn't focus on himself, though.

There was still the possibility of danger.

Alma looked around again, now his focus on everyone else. Doing a quick magic presence check, he couldn't sense Favian or Faust in the mall. Alma threw up again; it was only blood. The man wiped his mouth with the back of his wrist and looked around again.

Alma called out, his voice raspy, "Is everyone okay? Can someone do a presence check? I think... I think they're gone!"

Echo pulled away from Germaine, getting as close to the barrier as she could without breaking it. Her speech tumbled out trembling.

"Is it over?"

Silence's whole body was tense, they realized. The entire time, it was tense, ready to run and fight, yet they barely did anything at all, it felt like.

Lumi breathed out a silent sigh. It wasn't from being worn out, but rather it was from the relief of hope.

Malaika stood still, trying to pick out any movements that wasn't the group's.

Somehow, the mall seems quiet now, despite the hell flames and smoke, despite how much of Alma's blood stained the floor, despite the terrible mess that was made, the mall seemed... quiet. Peaceful.

(@Galaxian- I didn't mean for my statement to come off so negatively. Can we talk this out in PMs or on our message thread or something?)

GalaxianExplosion · October 12, 2021 17:26:49

(It's okay.)

"Please keep your guards up. If they can vanish so quickly, one cannot eliminate the possibility that they can re-appear again with the same spontaneity."

Basket Cat · October 13, 2021 20:16:34

Phantom dashed over to Alma, kneeling beside him. "You're hurt. You need to rest a bit." Well that's putting it simply.

Echowo · October 13, 2021 20:44:56

Alma smiled up at Phantom. Well, to be honest his smile might have been a little alarming as his teeth and mouth were stained in his own blood.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Alma said. "I still have most of my blood, so everything will be alright!"

Taking a closer look at Alma, his skin had turned completely into a dark green color on his hands and part of his wrists, and on his face his cheeks were flushed in the green coloring. Something, horns of some sort that rather looked like branches, were poking up from his hair. On his forehead dimly lit some sort of symbol, perhaps a sigil of some sort. There were a few tiny white flowers popping out of his injuries and around on his neck. Also, now looking at him, most of Alma's clothing is ripped up, as well as he is drenched in his own blood.

Bro?

Alma stood up slowly, doing another presence check. Nothing, not a hint of Favian or Faust.

Last edited by Echo (October 13, 2021 20:47:12)

SpecterTheGreat · October 13, 2021 22:46:06

With Francis gone from the scene, Germaine's connection to him got severed. Her tears fell and she wiped them off once Echo let go.
Germaine's breath was easily audible inside the barrier. It did not dissipate, at least not yet. The quiet of the area and the sudden disappearance of the enemies didn't seem right. But it was good. Now, she hoped they wouldn't return.
Just to make sure, she ran the requested presence check on the surroundings. Also to check the status of the others nearby. Germaine reached for Echo's hand and closed her eyes.

Echowo · October 15, 2021 02:09:52

Germaine could sense that their presences weren't there, it was only the Group there and a bunch of corpses.

The Narrator will ask which hand Germaine is reaching for.

Okay, status update!

Malaika: Still recovering from whatever the heck Favian did to her, but she's doing pretty good. Her body just seems tired.

Lumi: Has a few scratches, but overall pretty good

Alma: How is this man standing??? He is covered in his own blood and as well as he lost/used up a WHOLE LOT OF HIS BLOOD. This man is strange, his body definitely isn't happy with the stress it's under. He does seem to be in a lot of pain, but he also seems to be casting small counter-spells against the pain so he can ignore it. Going into more detail, his lungs are filling up with some liquid-- blood. Blood, and as well as roses are growing within his chest. Alma seems to be having trouble breathing due to this. All over his body are gashes from where Favian attacked, and the middle of his torso is still ripped open (although, it is repairing itself quite quickly).

Echo's status was suddenly unable to be read, and Germaine may have felt a bit of a sudden jolt of electrical shock run through her. Something was off.

Alma hacked out some more blood and petals. He didn't think he really overdid himself, so Alma was not too concerned up until now. Alma wiped his mouth and did another presence check, and then another, wanting to make sure. He then pointed at himself and casted a spell, trying to clear his lungs up faster. Coughing up blood was getting annoying.

Basket Cat · October 15, 2021 09:08:29

Phantom stood up, looking incredibly alarmed. "Dude, you're not fine. You've lost way too much blood."

Echowo · October 15, 2021 15:19:00

Alma looked down at himself and then back up at Phantom.

"Oh, I guess I have. Huh. Oh well! My body will regenerate pretty quickly, I think," Alma smiled. He then asked Phantom, "Are you okay? Did you get any injuries?"

GalaxianExplosion · October 15, 2021 15:57:45

"Pardon the interruption, but something is wrong with Echo." He squares his gaze on Germaine and the goddess, not particularly tense but also not particularly relaxed.

Echowo · October 15, 2021 16:24:42

Echo tilted her head, confused. Something was wrong with her? She felt alright, other than the emotions left from this traumatic experience.

Echo asked, "Something is wrong with me? What did I do?"

GalaxianExplosion · October 15, 2021 16:27:42

He gives her a smile. "Perhaps you cannot feel it. Miss, could you possibly specify?"
"Miss" is Germaine, of course.

SpecterTheGreat · October 15, 2021 16:38:06

At the same moment, Germaine opened her eyes quickly to check on the goddess.
"Echo?" she asked, her tone wavering towards concern. "Are you feeling well? Are you okay?"

Echowo · October 15, 2021 17:27:29

"I think so?" Echo said.

Step out of the barrier~

"I don't feel sick."

Step out of the barrier~

"I'm happy everyone is alive!" Echo tried to smile.

STEP OUT OF THE BARRIER~

"Is everyone else okay?"

STEP OUT OF THE BARRIER.

"Will Alma be okay?" Echo asked, looking over at Alma. Alma noticed this and gave Echo a thumbs up.

STEP OUT OF THE BARRIER!

Echowo · October 15, 2021 17:29:36

(btw this is Cassiel talking to Echo, so no one can really hear them except Echo, which is kinda funny because Echo is like "nah, Imma ignore that")

GalaxianExplosion · October 15, 2021 17:39:59

(Specter, permission to move Germaine forcefully?)

SpecterTheGreat · October 15, 2021 17:40:49

((Granted))

GalaxianExplosion · October 15, 2021 17:54:48

He speaks, not to anyone there. "O Divine One, in this instant, I forfeit all to act as your conduit--"
The illusion peels back temporarily, only through his eyes, which turn a bright silver. He focuses on Germaine--for that instant, for him, nothing else exists.
Tie established.
You. It would be cruel to break that.
Silver sparks dance around the barrier. They pop, pop, pop into black mist. The fog vanishes, just to burst back into existence, all within an instant. They seem to brighten.
Whatever existence he has become in that moment yanks on Germaine's being--away from the goddess whose hand she is holding, away from the potentially vulnerable position she is in, away from the purpose of all of this in the first place. At the same time, "he" moves forward. as if poising himself to slam into the barrier whose creator he has forcibly separated.

Echowo · October 16, 2021 21:15:46

Echo watched silently, wide-eyed.

Don't you want to leave the barrier?

Echo asked, nervous that something bad was happening, "Is everything okay?"

Leave the barrier! Leave the barrier!

The place Favian had grabbed her started to itch, the place on her arm, near her shoulder.

Last edited by Echo (October 16, 2021 21:16:54)

SpecterTheGreat · October 17, 2021 02:38:09

"Tha-"
The reply cut off, and in the next moment Germaine found herself separated from Echo.
She stared in shock for a couple seconds, unsure of what had just happened.

Without Germaine reinforcing the barrier from the inside, it quickly began to become brittle. Little cracks appeared all over it as if on glass. Now Germaine couldn't do anything to keep her barrier from breaking in a few moments.

GalaxianExplosion · October 17, 2021 03:17:28

This is for the best, but...
He cuts his path short right in front of the barrier, almost touching it, but not quite, his eyes washing the fragments in front of him aglow with silver.
Now I--

He sees something.
It's not something that will forfeit all he has done, but it forfeits what he was going to try to do.
That...
That existence. The existence of that. Such a little thing...with such great consequences.

So it was no use after all.
At least this was for 'the best,' right?
At least, without changing the outcome, you changed the other.
By hurting her, she won't get hurt.

At least, not so badly.

His eyes go back to reflecting the golden barrier. There's not anything else he can do except to wait, and then to act again. But at first, the preparations...

He steps in front of the goddess who doesn't know him, reaching his hands out.
"I'm sorry," he says, his very existence being someone who cannot do anything until it's late, too late, even after he has seen all that can happen. "Perhaps this is not a debt you know I owe, but shall I try to repay it?"

Echowo · October 17, 2021 04:07:09

Echo looked down at his hands, then back up at his face. Echo looked up at the face of someone she couldn't remember, her eyes wide and curious and scared. The corners of her mouth twitched up uncertainly.

"Debt? I don't think... Don't worry about your debt to me! You already paid it off! You must have forgotten!"

She masked her fear and uncertainty away.

Echo grinned nicely, her voice childish and silly and unknowing of what was going to happen.

"Yeah! You must have forgotten! So don't worry about it!"

Echo was lying. She didn't understand what Hitan meant, she didn't remember what she had done for Hitan. Echo just believed that her past self wouldn't have held debt against Hitan. She felt like what Hitan did today was more than enough to pay his debt, whatever that debt was. Hitan doing even more for her felt wrong.

The itch in her right arm got worse, now spreading. Echo took her left hand and tried to scratch her shoulder through her jacket. It didn't quite hurt, but it was annoying. It felt like someone- Favian- was still beside her, squeezing her arm. It felt bad. Why did her arm itch so much? Maybe she was allergic to Favian, where he grabbed her now irritated because of him. Yeah! That made sense, right?

The veins near her neck, the ones near her collar bones that peaked out just a bit from under her jacket, were turning a bit darker. Echo's irises were slowly turning from the light shade of blue to a darker blue tinged with a beautiful violet.

Echo said, "Yeah! Yeah! You paid your debt! Don't worry about debt! Uncle Alois told me that debt can be stressful! Stress is bad!"

She was so unknowing.