[PM][Dunan] Week 248: Control Room

Cad · Oct 22, 2012

The bleeding prisoner wanted to help, wanted to be able to release the immense strength that his comrades had been able to. He knew they could do it though, they would be able to get through the barriers...because they had no other choice. This was where the Gotei would shine – in the darkest hour, in the most distressing of times and when their backs were against the wall. Failure was not an option.

Igasho’s desire to help was over shadowed by his urge to get more information out of March – and time was running out. Energy swelled within the room, washing against the former assassin almost as quickly as his own strength faded. The bearded man turned his attention back to the human, eying his gestures, his movements, as the others attacked the barriers.

“What happens,” he asked quietly, taking a breath and speaking up before continuing, “...what happens when the last barrier is broken? How can we get our friends – and ourselves – out of here, alive?”

167/561

Rob · Oct 23, 2012

As the time ticked down ever so steadily, Nana gazed upon the fourth barrier for a second before looking back at Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi. Sighing softly at herself she closed her eyes for a moment and began drawing out the flame of life from within. Slowly her left arm began to engulf itself in a blaze of fire as she turned around to face Ishin once more.

The air had begun to dry up, making it difficult to breathe the closer one got to the Amaterasu matriarch, and soon she too was engulfed in flames.

Nodding softly in the captain’s direction she motioned for him to attack alongside her before gathering all the strength she could muster under her feet and prepared herself for the first two of four flash blossoms.

Ishin readied himself. First, he used his gravity to warp the barrier slightly, giving them a spot to aim for that would be pushed to its stress limit. Nothing seemed noticeable at first, but after a moment the barrier could be seen physically bending and warping where his power was taking effect. He balled all his muscles up, getting on the balls of his feet to give him a faster start.

When she finally launched herself from her position for the first time she blew up in a ball of fire, the air crackling all around the room before the steel of both her blades crashed mightily upon the barrier, making cracks and shattering energy all around her.

She did not dawdle around, though, for she had already disappeared into a flash of brightly lit fire again to test the barrier’s strength again, this time she thrust both her blades upon the crack she had created on her first go.

Then, just as he was about to burst into his own flash blossom, dark circles seemed to appear out of the air around Ishin. They seemed to be holes in the sky, almost as if they were trying to swallow the room and envelope it in a blackness much akin to the darkness of space. Just before he disappeared, several meteors the size of watermelons came rocketing out of the inky blackness at nearly the same speed he had just then begun to move at. The result was that they struck the barrier at precisely the same moment as his senka attack, compounding the force of both with his gravity altering effect with an explosively concussive force. When his attack was through, and without a moment’s hesitation, Ishin was out of the way so that the others could attack, but his gravity was still holding the wall, straining it in a way it was never meant to be strained.

By the time Ishin had left his mark Nana was already on her third flash blossom, pressing more and more of her strength towards her feet, making the air surrounding her cry in agony at the sheer speed of her movements. But, she needed to go even faster, she needed more speed.

As she exploded in one last senka she began to swing Murakumo mid-swing, pouring in an enormous amount of reiatsu so as to create a large as possible flame, before crashing both her companion blade and her zanpakutou into the barrier breaking through whatever resistance it had left.

As Nana finished her attacks, the energy shattered and flew towards them, drawn by the force of Ishin’s gravity effect. Altering it almost imperceptibly fast, shards seemed to slow in midair and congregate around Ishin, where they fell to the floor and fizzled away as he dispelled his gravity warp.

Nodding softly in Ishin’s direction, she blazed up her companion weapon once more, before turning to Tsubaki. “Mabara-san, get a move on!”

[Rob: 340/840]
[Ish: 280/???]

Nutella · Oct 24, 2012

Okay.

Yuurei took a last glance at the wall, imprinting its kanji on her memory just before the wall was cracked by Nana's attack. Me, mo, ri... chi?

Shoving the slightly tattered red-violet scarf away from her front, the ebony-haired mystic turned towards the human and tried to face him rather calmly, auburn eyes carefully examining the multitude of wounds on his surprisingly whole body.

"So," she started, trying to make her voice loud enough to be heard over the din of Nana and Ishin's malevolent wall-crashing, "are the glowing kanji a part of another password, just like the separate kanji given to us in the maze?"

started turn somewhere at rawb's 2nd
turn on that last long long comboturn.

Inks · Oct 24, 2012

March continued watching the fireworks – the vicious battle between shinigami willpower and martyr constructs, the clash of swords and spells and fire and steel against barrier after barrier – for a long moment after Igasho and Yuurei had each asked their questions. That didn’t mean he didn’t notice them watching him, though. He even noticed them talking to him. Gosh, answering questions was such a pain...

The immortal had taken up a post against one of the room’s glowing walls to watch the shinigami work, his ankles crossed, head tilted to the side, one arm crossed over his chest and the other tapping idly against his collarbone. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. The light from their attacks reflected in his too-bright eyes.

“What the point in having a countdown” he asked without looking away from the spectacle, “if you guys break all the barriers before there’s even a chance for it to be dramatic?”

Then he looked over at Igasho. “What happens after you guys break the last barrier depends on what you do, doesn’t it? As for you and your...uh, friends and all of your dear little lives...” the immortal’s grin crooked slightly. “I suggest not being dumb. But then, what do I know – I have a terrible track record when it comes to getting through situations without dying.

“Now, you – little Scarf girl – what were you saying?” March turned his gaze to Yuurei, his expression caught between amusement and confusion. He uncrossed his arms to tap a finger against the back of his hand. “The kanji Raifu-chan gave each of you in the maze are a part of this password, aren’t they? Or...Oh.”

The white-haired man paused. “Ooohh,right,” he said, drawing the word out. He crossed his arms over his chest. “He didn’t tell you. Haha, gosh, he really didn’t tell you guys much of anything! You probably didn’t even know there was going to be a password until I told you just now. Oh irony! Well don’t you worry about a thing, Scarf-chan. You dears have one half of a password, I have the other half. Together, we’ve got the whole ‘password’ business covered.

“And as for the barriers...” March’s grin was replaced, briefly, with a considering look in the direction of the remaining walls. Then he shrugged, and the smirk returned. “No idea!” he chimed. “I don’t think they mean anything important, though. Probably just Snowflake’s determination to hide messages in everything he does. Did. I meant 'did'.”

[410 / 1617]

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Rob · Oct 25, 2012

As the previous barrier dissolved, Ishin steeled himself. He knew this final barrier would be tougher, and knew that if they didn’t take it out, right then and there, that something fairly bad would probably occur. He got into position and used his gravity effect on the barrier again, this time focusing it onto a single section so as to put even greater strain on it. When he was satisfied with how precise he had gotten it, he nodded over to Nana.

“Now or never!”

Just as Ishin spoke up, Tsubaki appeared right next to the captain and the vice-captain, nodding softly in both of their directions. The cumulative release of reiatsu from all three of the shinigami was impressive to say the least.

“Right,” Nana responded calmly as she took a look at the flaming blade on her left, and then she was gone again, her feet carrying her all the way into another quad flash blossom while Tsubaki prepared the strongest of her strikes.

Grinning softly at the sight of this last barrier she brought her blade down upon it, the sheer force of the reiatsu from her strike and Nana’s blow from her second senka making the air around them shriek in despair.

And again, Ishin launched his attack. Once again, the air around the combatants became an angry black color, darker than night. Once again, meteors rocketed out of the darkness and struck the barrier. And, once again, Ishin flew into his own Senka, hitting the barrier not even a second after Nana’s assault hit the halfway mark. When he finished, he fell back, just like the last time, to allow the Tsubaki and Nana finish up.

Taking advantage of the increased damage upon the barrier produced by Ishin’s power, Nana erupted in one final flash step, the air around her crackling every centimetre of the way towards the final barrier’s weak spot.

Taking in a huge chunk of oxygen she blasted into the barrier with all of her might, while simultaneously Tsubaki’s sword plunged into the great wall as well.

Appearing right next to the former captain of the Eleventh, and the current captain of the Seventh, Nana placed both her hands on her knees and breathed out heavily.

“Never again,” she said calmly, but completely out of breath as she looked up at her companions.

[Rob: 230/1070]
[Ish: 160/???]

Hi.

lilmangoseed · Oct 25, 2012

The final barrier shattered from the combined powers of the three titans. Incredible waves of force and reiatsu had been released in a mere matter of seconds. Though Lilith herself was the Mystic Captain of the Gotei Thirteen, the explosion of power had forced her own fingers to tremble as the sheer force of their reiatsu threw her hair back and made every breath more strained and thin. Ishin’s astral boulders, Tsubaki’s raging strength, and that frightful speed of the noble herald... Lilith couldn’t even see Nana but simply watched the sparks of her blade hit against the wall. She knew the Amaterasu matriarch was strong, but this... was a power she had only seen matched by the Soutaichou himself. Such an exciting, terrifying spectacle.

When the final shard tumbled to the floor, a deep groan resonated on the opposite side of the room in an electric decrescendo. As the eyes followed the sound, they found a timer on the far wall. It stopped with the final numbers imprinted on its face:

0:33

That, Lilith realized, must have been the two-minute timer connected to, what March described as, Raifuku’s disco barriers. A long sigh of relief passed through Lilith’s lips. But despite what should have been a moment of reprieve, it was easily interrupted by March’s continued rambling. Lilith grimaced at his loquacity. She preferred it when he was the quiet one back in the last room...

Eventually turning back to the group closest to her, the mystic nodded to Igasho, then asked, “Will you..?” He understood without further explanation and then drew closer toward her to help lift her up.

Lilith turned to March, then Yuurei, and explained, “Well I think we’ll have to collaborate a bit to figure out that trifecta. If I did... In fact, if any of us did, us being here and out of Meiro would be much less probable.” She squeezed her palm, remembering back to... a frown of mixed emotion crawled over the corners of her lips.

She chose not to think too deeply about the events in the maze and then quickly recovered her dialogue, “My kanji was ‘Oku’ or ‘heart.’ Do either of you remember yous?”

[365/1353]

Rob · Oct 26, 2012

Leaving Tsubaki and Ishin to their respective selves for a moment, Nana stepped up towards the three control panels. She could see the prisoner captive make his way towards Lilith and knew the ones they left behind would be with them soon.

Sighing softly to herself she placed her hands on each side of the middle control panel and tried to get a look at the one in front of her. Closing her eyes she cursed softly under her breath. If there ever had been a moment where she would’ve enjoyed having a manual of something, it definitely would’ve been now.

It wasn’t that she wouldn’t be able to figure this out, it was just that she had rather not. Electronics were never her forte, and that too was out of a sheer feeling of disdain for anything electronic.

They felt unnecessary, and only proved to her once more that they did nothing but pit man against man.

Speaking up, her voice loud enough so that everyone in the room could hear her, she said, “Oku no in. I did not have a different kanji than you, Maikeru-taichou, but I do vividly remember all three of them.

“Oku no in, inner sanctuary, it’s almost ironic really.”

Looking back over her shoulder she saw Igasho and company nearing her. Focusing on March she asked, “I don’t suppose the kanji from the barriers we broke is also part of the password? True to memory, was it not?”

[245/1315]

Nutella · Oct 27, 2012

"True to memory...?" she mumbled, pondering upon the vice captain's words. "That doesn't sound like password at all. Inner sanctuary sounds more like an entrance pass to me..."

Sighing, she turned back to the immortal. "Maybe that's where your password comes in!" There was a silly smile on her face, almost as if she was convincing herself that all would go well. After all, they were so near. "Still, we're not techie enough to figure out how those three terminals work. If you do know however, shall we go?"

Moving aside, she gestured March to walk first, figuring that it might give the human a chance to escape if she left him behind.

Inks · Oct 27, 2012

“I don’t suppose you could step away from that console?” March asked, staring ahead to where Nana stood, completely ignoring Yuurei's enthusiasm. And her questions, too. “Fév̱go̱, Miss Mom. I like that self-assured self-confidence thing you’re going for, I really do, but I don’t feel like dying right now...and I don’t think anyone else here does, either. You all've been pretty eager to survive thus far, have you not?” The immortal pushed away from the wall he’d been lounging against (although, admittedly, it had been less ‘lounging against’ and more ‘crushed against, with no chance of moving’ for a moment there, thanks to the sheer amount of reiatsu sweeping off the attacking shinigami). He made his way across the room with a teasing grin on his lips and his coat swishing against the backs of his legs.

“I kid. I trust you like family, Mother dearest. Anyway, like I was telling little Red Scarf,” he gestured in (roughly) Yuurei's direction with his gloved hand as he walked. “If our Snowflake had any reason for putting katakana on those barriers of his, it’s not something he shared with moi. My personal opinion, though? It’s just another sad, sad attempt by a sad, sad old man to make someone understand his sad, sad lives. Like anyone cares. Really.

“No, all you darlings need is what you’ve already supplied, Mom.”

March stopped a yard or two shy of Nana and the middle console and winked at her. “As a matter of fact, I could input the password all on my own-sies. There’s no need for you retrogressive types to even get involved. ...I probably shouldn’t though. I mean, a chance to ruin everything at the very last minute, with just one, simple word?”

The man’s two-tone blue eyes danced with mirth and vitriol. “I really, really shouldn’t.

“So I won’t!” And with that, the vicious light in his gaze was gone, replaced with the light-hearted whimsy most came to associate with March’s good moods. “So, in my stead, two things you should know. The right is right, as Snowflake said, and, as Scarfie said, ‘Okunoin’ is a cute enough phrase all its own, but you’ll need to add ‘no Sentami’ to it to get the full picture.”

March crossed his arms and, with an emphatic nod of his head at the correct console, said, “Hurry it up, kiddies, I haven’t got all day. Uncle March’s got a date later, and he doesn’t plan on missing it.”

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lilmangoseed · Oct 27, 2012

The wounded mystic, unable to stand without Igasho’s support, hadn’t spent much time looking at the kanji. In fact, as she had curled up into a ball in the corner of the room, she was barely aware that anything had been written on the walls. But fortunately, she had caught Yuurei’s thought process regarding each of the characters. Memory Shima? Memory Island? Before Yuurei had seen the final character, Lilith wondered if the phrase attempted to spell out “Memory Shield.” But the last barrier read, “Truth.”

In a moment of mixed appreciation, Lilith smirked and considered Raifuku’s final words to them... “Break through the memory shield in order to reach the truth.”

While she pondered the thought, her orchid gaze caught Nana’s as the herald moved to the right terminal. The two women shared a small nod before Nana input the final password: “Okunoin no Sentami” – “Inner Sanctuary of the Lowly Outcasts.”

...of the lowly outcasts.

As if by instinct, her left hand moved to the pocket of her haori. Slowly, she pulled out a small, wrinkled piece of paper that was sodden and stained, bearing its own bruises of war. Awkwardly unfolding it, Lilith re-read Adelaide’s notes on Raifuku.

Although he was considered the “villain” of this war, his expiration – Lilith’s eyes narrowed in March’s general direction – a victory, there was still a great deal of depth regarding his ambitions that deserved to be explored. He was a flawed man, but that glimmer of goodness Lilith had seen in his final moments bore a shining element of truth and clarity, unearthing a strange feeling in Lilith that made her want to reflect on this lifestyle, on the Gotei, on the people – her eyes drifted to Ishin – that she held most dear.

When Nana was done, a clicking noise was heard in the background. Down the corridor from where they originally came, lights seemed to brighten, filling the area with a new sense of fulfillment. “Let’s bring everyone home. Yuurei, please check on Adelaide.”

The mystic captain turned to the rest of them, and upon seeing each of their faces, she saw a necessary revolution to bring justice to those who deserved it. Even in such a small group of people, Lilith thought she might understand some of what Raifuku meant. Neither Ishin nor Igasho deserved to be branded as criminals. Nana was a woman that commanded authority as if she already wore the haori.

“And Tsubaki-san...” She turned her head to the fierce warrior queen. “...If you are willing to risk the consequences with me, under my jurisdiction, you are invited to stay n the Tenth Division and come home to Seireitei.”

Final [447/1800]

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[PM][Dunan] Week 248: Control Room

Cad

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Rob

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Nutella

Homoerotic Subtext

Inks

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Rob

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lilmangoseed

Mango Queen

Rob

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Nutella

Homoerotic Subtext

Inks

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lilmangoseed

Mango Queen

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