Shinryu Investigation: Phantom Forest

Shinryu Investigation: Phantom Forest
Date of Scene:	08 March 2014
Location:	Phantom Forest
Synopsis:	This is what happens when you have Reize being the only person who saw the map for investigating the darkness. Reize leads Avira(much to her chagrin) and a few other folks to what was presumed to be the Crater where Shinryu was at...
Cast of Characters:	Invading Fiends (Aka: Reize Seatlan), Avira, Deelel, Kaydin, Aerith, Edison Reece

---

Reize Seatlan has posed:
There are many regions where the time of day is easily noticable. One can tell when it is day or night within many types of forests. However, for a place that has been rumored to be filled with the dead, the forests block off all sights of light. This maze of overgrown twisted trees and shrubbery.

This forest seems to move from time to time, leading to what seems ot be an endless loop. There is no real destination. There are faint sights of the undead that lurk around; ghastly creatures from time to time.

Welcome to the Phantom Forest.

Upon entry of the area, Reize is leading a group with him while he places a hand over his head.

"Okay!" He gives a bright smile, "I think this is where the crater is supposed to be! Edison showed me the map and I remember the Crater left by this Shinryu dragon being here!"

Pause.

"...I don't see a black blotch here." He frowns, "Only spooky trees."

Avira has posed:
"Why do we let Reize hold the map?" Avira questions immediately. "Because I sure don't mistake ink blots for /geographical features/. Ugh. I should have brought Mimir with me." In Avira's defense, she hadn't known that Reize would be /leading/ this investigation. She just agreed to meet up with a group looking into the Shinryuu crater.

There's a bag slung over her back with a number of various survival and camping-related implements in it. It looks like she's completely ready to spend a few days out here investigating the spreading darkness.

"Honestly though it's a huge crater. It shouldn't be that hard to find."

Deelel has posed:
Deelel looks at Avira as she brings up the point about letting Reize near the map? She has to think hard on that for a moment she figured it could be worse right? They could have no map, she seems to be kitted out for the trip, she's got the strange grid tech cloak on which she often does and looks over to Avira for a moment as she checks her own smaller pack, most of her big stuff was comact when it was not in use after all. She's made sure to pack what she'd need and she leans on her light staff.

"We might just fall into given how big I hear it is."

Aerith has posed:
Aerith doesn't respond to Avira's question for the moment. She remembers this place well enough, and it is horrificly easy to get lost, considering. Yet she follows, knowing that the Phantom Forest is not the location of the exposed World Heart.

She's just waiting until Reize figures it out for himself.

The thought brought a smile to her face as she finally answered Avira's query. "Hey, he gets the map because he's leading the expedition." Seeing as she was right next to her, Aerith leaned over and muttered into Avira's right ear. "For what good that does us, anyway."

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin walks up to the group, having followed Aerith a long way and decided to finally approach, not approaching before due to his...fame with the group. "The last time I saw Reize navigating, he believed Manhattan was goug. With all due respect, he has the navigation skills I would have if I did not have access to the corridors of darkness."

Edison Reece has posed:
Phantom Forest. A place where the dead seemed to lie. How fitting.

For a while now, Edison has been investigating the rumours about wells of darkness showing up. He's not been very lucky in regards to that, with every single rumour being something more or less stupid... apart from that chest at the bottom of a cave.

Oh wait, that only had Twenty Bear Asses. Stupid quests.

Either way, and after a quick trip to a place called New Ivalice, the Ranger is checking out the last of the spots named in rumours, this dark, damp, dreary... damned desolation.

So far, nothing. They say this is the place where the dead are ferried to the Netherworld, something that amuses him in a way. What would people back at home say if they knew of this, a veritable gateway to the realms of the dead?

He makes his way through the forest, though, the denizens keeping some distance from him after a bad case of lead poisoning. Who knew Bombs were so finicky when it came down to molten metal? Somebody also wandering around would probably cross paths with him.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
This creepy woods is where the dead have arrived and thrived. Although the dead have not risen, per se, it is mostly the ghastly creatures that reside in this fabled forest.

Reize looks over at Avira with a frown as she comments about his cartography, "Ooii! I was handling the directions pretty well!" He rolls the paper up, then he brightens, "This should lead us to the Crater where Shinryu left his mark."

For a moment, Reize looks ahead to see the forest, feeling a strange melancholy of familiarity. "...Ngh. I remember this place well." He looks more thoughtful. "There was a monster here so long ago that would go after the spirits, devouring them before they could catch the train to go to the afterlife.

The talk of the crater returns, in which Reize brightens, "Oh! Yeah! It shouldn't be difficult to find. The crater was supposed to have a dome of black energy that has been growing." He looks at Avira, "When I met with Edison, we were in a spot where the darkness had left a spot. It did not expand,but he mentioned that the on at the Crater was the only one that expanded.

Aerith and Kaydin are glanced over, but Kaydin gets a wary squint from the boy. "Oii, my directional senses are not that bad!" His antenna hair twitches in irritiation. It is a good moment that Reize can catch Edison off the corner of his eye.

 !!!

"Oooii! Edison!" The boy turns and waves his way, "I think we made it to the Crater! It looks like it may be just ahead, right?" He looks ahead, "...Did it really reach that far here?" Pause, "Wait, why are you here? I thought you were exploring another area?"

Aerith has posed:
Oh... oh my.

He still didn't seem to get it, did he?

Aerith giggled at his antics. The poor, adorable thing. She was surprised that he was even the leader of an organization that sought to repair worlds when he got this lost.

This place got people lost anyway though, so she wasn't that concerned. At least, until she heard about the monster. Then she considered calling up her staff. "Avira, I think we should tell him before he gives us a personal meeting with this creature."

Avira has posed:
"No you're not." Avira says dryly, ignoring Aerith's mutterings in her ear. It'd be easy to just declare HERSELF the leader of this expedition, right? "You have no idea where you're going!" She takes a moment to throw Deelel a helpless look. "I'm not sure if I packed enough food to be lost for days."

But she grows quiet when Reize mentions a monster that was devouring spirits and a train to the underworld. She remembered that train to the underworld-she's ridden on it, in fact.

When Kaydin shows up, Avira narrows her eyes. "...Kaydin." she says evenly, "It's been a very long time. Tell me quickly, are you still with Baron or have you left them? I've heard things."

Deelel has posed:
Deelel does not like the woods at all, the dead should not get back up. Seriously this is like insane even those infected by the late Abrax3s were still techinally alive. Just acted like the undead or so the reports she found showed.

"Right let's move and really? I think I heard about that. Reize and ...."

She trails off shocked to see that Kaydin is here, he'd vanished a long time ago but here he is.

"All right lets be careful and not fall in shall we?"

She seems in a good enough of a mood but she does add

"If we need to check the map later we can do so, lets give Reize a chance?"

She thinks back to the fight with the creature here and how she first met Hades.

"I brought some as well with me if we need it."

She'll let Avira handle the issue of who Kadyin is with now...

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin looks to Avira. "Wish for a chance to get even when I captured you for Lady Morrighan? I no longer serve Baron. If I bend knee to anyone specifically it will be to Aerith. Other then that, my desire is to protect the innocent like I should have been doing before Baron became corrupt." Kaydin says to Avira. "Wether or not you trust me, does not matter, if it helps." He says, as if giving her an option to not trust him before looking about. "I can scrounge for supplies, if we become lost. I been living in Targ woods, and training in the corridors of darkness all this time."

Avira has posed:
"Actually it's less that arresting incident in the past." Avira grits her teeth for a moment. "That is ancient history as far as I am concerned...and perhaps something that helped me out greatly in the long run. But since you no longer serve Baron, then we'll have no problems."

Smirking, Avira hooks her thumbs on one of her belts. "I stole Baron's water crystal a while ago. They've got a bounty on my head. Fortunately I don't need to worry about you today, do I?"

She turns away and heads after Reize. "Oh and one more thing." she adds, not looking back at him. "I want a rematch."

Aerith has posed:
Aerith glanced between Avira and Kaydin. Okay, she'd forgotten about all that. Not the whole crystal thing, but the fact that these two did not necessarily like each other. Why he'd followed her here, she had no idea, but she was glad of his presence.

Until now.

"I'm sure it can wait." She glanced toward Kaydin. "Right?"

Edison Reece has posed:
Edison stops at the voice, and turns slowly towards the voice, confused. "Reize? What are you doing here? The crater is on the northern islands..."

The Ranger makes his way towards the group, wondering to himself how in the world did that boy get here, instead of going to the place where, y'know, big honking crater. "Anyway, I'm still looking for more pools of darkness, but so far, no luck. Everything I looked into was just another deep hole on the ground." he shrugs. "How did you people end here, though?" he asks, eyeing the crowd and recognizing a few faces from past adventures, "I'm not an expert cartographer, but I don't think the map was /that/ badly drawn."

Ignorance really is bliss.

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin widens his eyes in surprise and his grip tightens on his sword. "No...You do not need to worry about me..." He says with clenched teeth but when she wanted a rematch, a sadistic smirk on his face, a chance to get her for stealing the crystal of his homeland but when Aerith says it can wait, he finally snaps out of thoughts of beating Avira and looks to Aerith. "Of course. This objective is much more important. Lives are at stake." He says sincerely.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Glaring at Avira, the antenna hair joins the boy by pointing at her like a dagger. "I do too!" His cheeks puff in indignantion, then he folds his arms, "We should be fine! We are almost at the Crater!" As for Aerith's comment, the boy notes, "The creature was long destroyed," Reize thoughtfully notes.

A glance is given towards both Avira and Kaydin's interactions. Truth be told, Reize would like to know where the Dark Knight stands. He has not been the most consistent person in staying with an alignment. In fact, Reize thinks Kaydin flips a coin to decide who he is helping in a day.

And... Avira brings up a rematch. The boy flashes her a thumbs up.

And then... Edison brings the bad news.

"Wait. It's not?"

Insert the sound of glass shattering. Hopes. Dreams. Everything. Reize's sense of direction has lead him and the group astray!

"But..but... this is the north, right?"

Suddenly, the sound of the train is approaching. The loud whistling sound of 'CHOO CHOO' pierces the air. The tracks running are barely audiable, but the group will notice a line of ghastly creatures following over towards the path. Patiently, each person is making their approach along the northeastern side.

Avira has posed:
Since she's not turned towards Kaydin, Avira's unaware of the return smirk. But at least he sounds willing for a rematch, which pleases Avira. "I've grown a lot stronger since then." she says ominously. "But yes, another time, we're busy with this expedition."

Edison then aptly points out that they were on the wrong /continent/ in the world of ruin. Avira facepalms. "SEE? I told you! Why do I even listen to you, Reize? ...no really, why. I was actually at the fight where the crater was created. I already know where to find it."

Looking to Deelel she adds, "We should probably turn around, we're just going to get lost if we keep following hi..." she trails off, hearing the distant whistle of an approaching train. Though she's no Maira, she sees the trail of spirits crossing their path and holds up a hand.

"...don't go near them." she warns.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith shook her head as they come to a shaky agreement...

And then stopped in place when she saw the trail of souls. They were a lot more visible to her than to Avira, so much so that she could see their forlorn expressions. So if there's anyone who knew not to disturb them, it was her.

There wasn't even time to laugh at Reize's sudden realization that they were going the wrong way. She just stood there, silent, head bowed.

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin turns his head at the sound of the train and readies his sword as he looks about before simply watching the spirits. He makes no attempt to go after them or impede them, but he does remain ready incase something did happen.

Edison Reece has posed:
The Ranger blinks, eyes the crowd, blinks again. Opens mouth, closes it again. Checks his compass.

Cut him some slack, it's the first time he's seeing Reize's orientation 'skills'. finally, he opts to just point to the the north, roughly to the direction that the crater should be. Of course, the distance means he's probably some kilometers off the right mark, but you can get the gist of it, right.

The train's whistle announces the departure of... the departed. Edison turns toward the source, but makes no comment, instead giving a short bow in salute of those who would leave for their last trip.

Deelel has posed:
Thing might explode, then Kaydn manages to difusse it, for if he's lying hopefully Avira will be less likely to want to punch him. Deelel has little love for Kaydin but if he walked away for real? That's enough to not have her be actively hostile.

"We can do that later and Avira, I wish to speak to you about something later, you have given me an idea."

Edison gets a boit of a look oer and she nods to him.

"We had a little map trouble."

Reize does mean alot of Deelel she's not going to insult him about his direction sense.

"That sounds like the Phantom Train..."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Reize looks at Avira with a frown, "But... but... I.." His antenna hair flops in shame. This is sad times for the boy. The young adventurer hangs his head low with comical tears flowing, "...I could have sworn the map told me that it was here..." Though, with Avira mentioning about being at the fight, he blinks, "You were...?"

But then, the trains situation make its way ahead.

The ghosts have lined up. Restless spirits of those who have fallen. Whether it is by natural age, war, or the enroaching darkness, many ghastly beings have gathered together. Many of them seem frightening creatures, yet others....

"Momma! This is the first time that I've gotten into a train ride," a little boy is tugging onto the hand of an older woman.

Meanwhile, the older woman gives a gentle smile, "Well, let us take the train together."

During this time, Reize passes over to see the interactions of the ghosts. However, upon seeing the little boy and his mother, his expression becomes more somber. One that is filled with forlorn. However, something knocks him out of that state just as quickly.

...There is a glint as whispy cratures make their way towards the ship, cutting in front of the line. It did not seem like ghastly creatures. Seemed like something else.

"...Guys? Did you see that?"

Aerith has posed:
Wait...

Aerith, her head still bowed, opens her eyes. Something was not right here. Her eyes narrowed as the whispers in the back of her mind warned her of... something.

She looked up, scanned the line in front of her, but found nothing. "No, Reize. But I don't like how the air feels right now."

Avira has posed:
"It is the Phantom Train." Avira says quietly. "Here to take the departed to the Underworld." Departed or inexplicably unwilling. Not many people outside the World of Ruin get a ride on that train. "Yeah, I was there, Reize. On an airship. The skies were thick with Heartless and that horrible dragon thing Shinryuu. It was like the end of the world."

She remains still for now, not approaching the ghosts or in any way trying to interfer. Whatever thoughts she has about this undead procession she seems to keep them to herself, her face showing a bit of pain at the mother and child souls talking to each other. She can only imagine whatever tragedy caused that arrangement.

Then some other creatures that did not resemble ghosts seem to flit ahead of those in line. Avira narrows her eyes. "Yeah, I saw it too." she admits. "Those things seemed out of place. C'mon, let's follow them." She's not even going to wait for Reize to confirm before she takes off, slipping alongside the trail of ghosts but not stepping into it or crossing it if she can help it.

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin nods. "I agree, I do not like how things feel." Kaydin says as he begins to move with the others. The sight to the ghosts simply got a curious gaze but nothing somber from the Dark knight. In his line of work, death was common. Unfortunate, but common.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith followed, unsure of what this feeling was. All she knew was that it felt wrong, but without any idea of why just yet. In the back of her mind, she prepared to call up her staff, just in case things got ugly.

Of course, if something bad could happen, it would...

Edison Reece has posed:
"You saw that as well, huh?" he said, harshly eyeing the train, "I don't think there are people in a hurry to go to the other side."

People are already makinf their way there, and Edison follows, his armor coming into being as he approaches the Phantom Train. Something was very strange here, and he had a feeling that he'd need to provide more lead injections.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Reize is already moving off towards the train just as Avira moves, Reize is drawing both of his boomerangs, not certain what is ahead of them. However, just as Aerith agreed: It does not feel right. Something about the presence of that wisp felt wrong. As Avira slips alongside of the trail, the boy tries to keep out of the ghost's sight.

As they start making their way towards the train, the group will find that something is wrong. The Phantom Train has about an hour before departure. It is awaiting for the spirits to go through.

However, something is keeping many of the ghosts from boarding the train.

There are fallen demons from all over the place. They've boarded the train. There is a sudden shudder from the Phantom Train. It is not a comfortable one.

Once the party board the train, they will find all of the ghosts staring at them. However, they are not moving. They just gaze at the travelers. It is not out of wariness at the travelers.

It is out of /fright/.

Simultaneously, all of the ghosts gesture their heads at the path that leads to the next car.


"...Buh?" Reize looks at the group, "...It looks like something here has spooked th ghosts."

Aerith has posed:
Spooked... more like mortified. No wonder they looked so forlorn, they were being denied access.

Aerith's eyes narrowed.

Her right hand closed on the pale green wisp of light that she'd called up mere moments ago, and her six foot long Spirit Staff manifested with a flash. "We need to clear the train."

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin nods "Must be something pretty bad to be able to frighten the dead." Kaydin says as he readies his sword before looking to Avira and Reize, and when Aerith speaks up, he nods. "Consider it done." He says as he looks to Reize and company. "How do you want to go about this?" He asks Avira and Reize.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel totally did see that, she takes a bit of a step back and brings up her staff.

"I did see that, and Reize prehaps one of us can double check the map once we get going?"

she pauses at the dead and make a respectful bow to them. It's strange to know your gods can die by violence and such. Sadly Deelel's never caught on to her friends are aging and will die someday. Prehaps her ignorance is for the best.

She seems a bit concerned about the othe thing ans she mvoes to follow it quick as she can,

Avira has posed:
Avira moves swiftly, never having forgotten her ways of navigating through forests quietly and quickly. It seems like all too soon she has come upon the waiting Phantom Train, its presence making her shudder just slightly.

Board the train...? The very notion seems like nuts to her even though Avira's very well aware that living people can ride the train (and not die, given how one can strive to stay alive in the Underworld). Despite that, she doesn't hesitate and follows aboard, a look of dismay upon her face.

"Spooked the spooks." Avira mutters. "What could unsettle the undead, I wonder? Maybe that spirit-eating creature you mentioned earlier has returned." She keeps her voice low as she moves through the car. "We need to find what's doing this first, Kaydin. Though maybe you should take the front. You're pretty solid, after all."

Edison Reece has posed:
"Scaring the dead..." Edison eyes the next car with a frown, not that people could notice it behind the faceplate. "I guess they just caught some freeloaders on the train... wonder if they have any idea where this line goes." he joked darkly, aiming one of his guns at the door. "I'll keep an eye on the door as you open it. Just don't get yourselves in the line of fire, please."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
For the ghosts within the ship to be spooked, the situation is proving serious. The group will also find that the train has been shuddering violently. The Phantom Train is becoming more violent as a toot bursts.

Something is agitating the Phantom Train.

Who dares disturb my progress?


Meanwhile, the group continue along towards the car, making it over towards the very end of it. As the ghost watch the group pass by, it merely turns to face them.

What lies ahead is not from this world... It is an Outsider...

Those are the last words of the ghost until they reach through the car.

They will find that the entrance takes them to a path where there are a lot of dark creatures around. There are about 5-6 of the creatures about. Their backs are turned towards the group. They have been fiddling around with parts of the train.

As they turn around, the creatures reveal themselves.

...Fiends.

These fiends have arrived from the darkness left as a ramnent from something. The fiends hiss at the group before they take a more aggressive stance. One of them even leaps through the door and past the group.

Whipping his head around, Reize shouts, "Ack! Guys, I'll take care of that one!" The fiend is running somewhere, but Reize won't let it get away.


As for the rest of the fiends, they snarl and hiss towards the group with a malicious look. Then, they grin. "More dinner..."

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin nods as he moves ahead between the people and ahead. When the fiends reveal themselves, he smirks. "Should find something else, I give indigestion." He says when they call him dinner. He then lunges in to send two slashes towards one of the fiends, hoping to kep them from progressing back at a pace uncomfortable to the others.

Avira has posed:
Avira pauses. "...did the train just...talk?" She looks to Aerith, who she knows is extra sensitive to spirits. "Can the train actually talk? Is it talking to us? I mean, yeah, it could be another one of those spirits on the train, right...?" Turns out it was the spirits. HA HA NO TRAINS CAN'T TALK THAT IS SILLY AND MEANT FOR CHILDREN'S TELEVISION SHOWS.

"Oh, /fiends/. They must've fled after all the destruction by Shinryuu." Avira had some vivid images of battles between Heartless and Fiends a few weeks ago, even finding an old friend amongst them. Good thing Valeth isn't here with these guys.

"Hmph! As if!" Avira snorts and withdraws the Spine. She slips sideways and leaps over seats to get at her quarry.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel is not going to get into the fight, just yet. Deelel while experianced and quite good in a scrap? She needs to do some preperation as she was not built for it, a little bit of extra runtime use was never a bad thing and that's what she was doing she runs the commands and gets herself ready for the ssault.

"Right... let's get to this!"

Edison Reece has posed:
The Ranger's head moves at the fiend's words, in an unspoken 'Oh really?' Seriously, these guys couldn't make it any easier, with them coming to the train that ferries souls to the underworld.

"They really weren't the smartest of the litter, were they?" he asked, opening fire with fast, accurate shots of his guns. Some of them might really give the fiends a case of poisoning...

Invading Fiends has posed:
These fiends. They are human-sized, lanky built creatures that carry a hunched posture. They have massive claws that act as long blades. The dark-skinned creatures have a bald-shaped head and multiple sharp teeth. They only smile with a frightening gaze. As these creatures hunch over, they watch over the gathered group like preys, sizing them up and watching each move made. A sadistic glee washes over their features.

With the Dark Knight taking the frontlines of the battle, the other creatures spread out, taking the rear. The space within the cart may be expansive, but there are a lot of seats and other things in the way to make the battle pretty cramped.

As Kaydin lunges forward with a pressing slash, the beast reaches for a seat and tears it off from the train, having it collide with the blade. While the blade slices through the padding and against the hide, it was only a mere scratch thanks to the weapon cushioning its blow. The creature lunges forward with a claw swipe at Kaydin's chest.

The chosen fiend of Avira is met with a hiss. Its eyes widen as the woman essentially tackles it down. This has the creature rolling along the seat from the impact. However, it seeks to take hold of the woman and draw those cutting claws into her arms.

One fiend is picked off by Edison as a round strikes it down. The sapping of the poison dart runs through its veins, giving it a mild indigestion. The effects of the venom run in its bloodstreams. It sneers and it leaps from seat to seat before diving at Edison to knock him on the ground, possibly at the car's edge.

Deelel meets with another fiend hopping from seat to seat. Then, it springs at her with its claws out with intent to pierce her.

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin manages to avoid the claws before bringing his sword foreward, this time intending to cut through the creatures defenses as he slashes at him once before a second slash to cut through anything the creature may use as a shield.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel is fast on her feet and she's quick on the draw with her disc as the fiends come for her she's already moving the moment they turn to come for her. She's then in the air as they strike, her own disc is lashing out already as she launches the shot it bounces back. She catches it as she lands and the disc is soon flying once more. While Deelel is making some more air time again, she intends to try to keep these things on the ropes.

"It never fails every time we come here, something has broken, Reize! We're becoming the train's cleanup crew!"

Avira has posed:
Valeth had retained the shape of a human too! Though Avira didn't see him as THIS feral. The closer he got to Shinryuu the more he seemed to 'loose it' though. She'd have to track him down later...but for now...

Getting into close quarters carried the risk of getting too close to the claws. The fiend singling her out seizes her by the arms and digs those claws in, earning a yelp of pain from the short woman. Only about a second or so passes before she strikes back pretty violently.

With her arms pinned, she fights back with a vicious headbutt.

Edison Reece has posed:
Edison grunts as the demon, forces him to the ground, opening a nasty gash in his armor as well. However, the Ranger is used to this kind of adventures, and instead of panicking, he smacks the side of the head of the fiend with a chop, trying to get him off him. In the other hand, his second gun is aimed at the torso of the fiend before its owner does a double tap, hopefully making the bullets travers the short distance onto the flanks of the monster.

Invading Fiends has posed:
The claws of the fiend miss their mark, but instead rending against one of the seats of the train. This causes a nice rip on the normally pristine train. This is making the train shudder in the most uncomfortable way.

The Train is displeased.

While Kaydin gives a heavy arc of a slash, the breast brings its claws to grab the padding to use it as defense once more. However, the sword cleaves against the padding shield and tears against its hide. The fiend screams and then it spits out a cloudy dust in his eyes.

The fiend that had targetted Deelel had tried to hack against her, but the disc manages to deflect it. It hisses and it turns to see her bringing the disk out once more. It is smacked across the legs, landing harshly on the train's ground. Peeling itself up, it roars in rage and it.

Avira is locked by the monster's claws. It hisses out at her with the intent to rend her. Of course, the headbutt takes it by surprise and sends it flying across the car. It rolls along its back and t lands violently on the ground. It hisses before shooting the nails from its claws at her arms.

As Edison swings at its head, the beast sweeps its head away from the swiping hand, and then it bounces around the ground to get away from the trajectory of the bullets. "Kekekkekekee!" It bounces around like a hopping jelly bean. It then shoots out its claws at the man.

All of the creatures lunge out to swing their claws at the victims.

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin manages to avoid the brunt of the attack, dust only managing to barely get into the corner of one eye before he wipes it away. He grunts as he moves in, bringing his sword upwards to try and knock his fiend into the air before sending a kick right for the beast to try and kick it out the window, or through a window, whichever happened first.

Edison Reece has posed:
"You think this is funny?" the Ranger asks at the cackling fiend, just before the latter decided to display its amazing shooting claw skills. Too bad Edison was mad now.

Twisting his torso to avoid the claws, the Ranger punched the fiend's face, intent on following up with some more generous displays of overly enthusiastic affection. First, he spins on his heel and extends a leg roughly at head level. Then, he tries to grab the fiend by the shoulders and smacks his forehead at its face, before finishing to a knee in a place dear to every male.

Avira has posed:
Based on Avira's reaction, she certainly wasn't expecting it to be able to shoot nails at her! She does have her breastplate on which prevents her from taking a nasty shot to a more vital area. The chintinous bullets stick in the leather and metal though and some penetrate through to the skin.

"You wanna play the range game!? Fine!" Avira jabs the Spine into the floor of the train before lifting her arms up as if she were holding an invisible bow. Where the arrow would be a blue shaft of light appears, solidifying into an ice crystal. Much like firing an arrow, the ice is shot at the clawed fiend.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel keeps on moving and seems to be in quite the little dance of death with the fiends as they try to get her and she counter attacks. this time they wised up a little bit to her evading one of her attacks, however he's swit enough t not get caught by it's counter attack. Again she moves disc once more in hand? She launches it but it's a distraction as she's coming in with her armed light staff to hit it with the powered point before flipping away to catch her disc on the rebound!

Invading Fiends has posed:
Kaydin knocks his fiend into the air, followed by a kick. That kick is enough to have the creature fly out of the window with a scream. It lands on the ground with a harsh thud. Rolling on the ground, it hisses out.

...Then, the light of the Doomtrain falls upon it.

...One can hear a painful screech as a flash of light occurs from outside of the train.

Who's next?


Kaydin is good. His first demon has been dealt with. Right? Another one pops up towards Kaydin from behind with a sneak attack!

The cackling fiend is punched in the face, losing a bit of its teeth. And then the leg slams against the head. Headbutt and then.. The fiend's pitch scream is... higher than normal.

The arrow strikes true to the fiend fron Avira, causing its body to slowly freeze in place.

The light disks strikes at the creature, it keeps smacking and smacking until it can't take it anymore. The monsters are growing pretty angry.

All of the demons are tearing in the air, claws are slashing all over the place. The dark dust kicks off as they tear along the air to rend towards the party with harsh intent.

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin looks to be hit by the fiend from behind only to sidestep at the last moment. When it goes past him, he smirks as he tries to stab into the creature now, his stabs quick and he looks back to the others to see if they need any help with what they are doing.

Edison Reece has posed:
Edison tries to hit one of the enemies in the midst of that mess of limbs and dust, but the fiends are too fast, too agile. New rends are opened in his armor, reminding him that these are not your run-of-the-mill goblins, and that he has to step up his game as well.

Guess what? He knows what to do. Waiting for an opening, he starts firing... and doesn't let up, laying a deluge of bullets on any enemy unlucky enough to get in the path of the bullets. And he does this advancing forward, looking for one of the fiends to show them the meaning of 'up close and personal'. This will not be pretty at all.

Deelel has posed:
So Deelel is not so quick this time, actually she's not quick enough at all as the creatures come in at her. She's got some good hits in but the monsters are angry they are ripping into her. Deelel's cut up, in some places and she's looking pretty battered from the looks of it. She's not yet finished as she takes her disc in hand and engages the thing in close range, her movement is looking like she's almost dancing to some unheard song. She strikes brutally efficently and without a bit of mercy for these things.

Invading Fiends has posed:
Kaydin manages to avoid the surprise attack from the monster. It hisses in anger, then it turns to see the knight plunge its sword into its heart. The fiend gives a grunt before the sword pierces it. Its body slowly detiorates into nothingness.

Meanwhile, Edison is undergoung lots of wounds from the fiends. The fiend prepares to move in for the kill until it is lit up with a deluge of bullets. As the man advances forward, it continues to become ripped apart until it disappears in the black mist.

Deelel's dancing maneuver gives brutal strikes to the fiend, shattering it into tiny pieces. It too fades into the black mist.

Thankfully, Avira managed to have things handled on her end, vanquishing the creature itself before it decides to get loose.

It is moments later that Reize has managed to arrive back, looking a bit worse for wear. Cuts, bruises, and torn clothes show that the boy has been in a bit of a toussel. He winces, "Nnggh.. Those things were horrible. Thankfully, one of the ghosts managed to help me deal with the fiend."

He looks around towards the group, "Is everyone alright?"

With things clearing up, it looks like the ghosts are starting to finally board the train.

The train will depart in 5 minutes. If you are alive, leave now or you will join the departed.

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin does not seem to have any injuries. He looks to everyone else and nods to Reize when he comes. "Some healing for the others but we have completed our goal." He says and when the announcement came, he begins to look to others. "I think we should take the hint and get off." He says as he begins to help the injured off.

Edison Reece has posed:
"I concur." Edison says, brushing his fingers across the several cuts. The armor took the burnt of the attack, yes, but he'd need to take a look on these wounds and treat them accordingly. For now however, he was able to leave by his own. "No sense in staying around longer than necessary, trains wait for no-one.