melodiesoflife | Ghostbusters II

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Ghostbusters II

WHO: Rukia Kuchiki, OPEN
WHAT: With maxed-out Ghostbuster and Beastmaster at her disposal, Rukia's well-suited to do a lot of asskicking in this event. Suit up. Have Ghostbuster adventures with her.
WHEN: October 23rd - October 30th
WHERE: Aqures Ixen

I. It Begins

She'd almost forgotten about her PKE meter altogether until it started beeping wildly. Rukia frowned down at the device as it quivered in its strap at her waist, and she shifted her bag of groceries to the other arm so she could unlatch the meter and study the screen. The Ghostbuster job was left equipped after the Crystal Caves as it had been rather useful, and she couldn't switch Beastmaster to anything else for another week at least. Neither seemed like they'd see much action back in the city, but maybe she was wrong. Why was it reacting like this?

Something was nearby. It registered as nothing more than a white dot on the radar, so she had no choice but to investigate for herself. Hopefully it wasn't just another Hero with a Vampire job--

What she saw froze her directly in her tracks. A man with his head jutting sharply to the left had his hands wrapped around another man's throat, squeezing hard. And the PKE meter was going nuts at the strangler. Rukia dropped her groceries without a second thought, reaching back to activate her proton pack. It hummed to life as she whipped her arm back and seized the particle thrower.

"OI!" she shouted, and flipped the switch. Hot beams of energy lanced from the tip of her weapon to slam into the undead, who released his victim and quivered with a low groan. The other man staggered back, gasping for breath and clutcthing at his reddened throat. Whatever she was dealing with wasn't a ghost; she couldn't capture it in a trap and stash it away. Instead the body vaporized into dust, and she could have sworn she heard a faint sigh of relief.

She relaxed, moving her thumb from the switch before holstering the weapon and rushing toward the man. "Are you all right? What was that?"

"I don't know," he panted, shutting his eyes tightly as his hands shook. "I don't know."

Rukia had an uneasy feeling that she did know. After all, it had died like a certain other creature she'd encountered fairly frequently just last week. But what would something like that be doing all the way out here?

* * * * *

II. Base of Operations

After a few days, Rukia was starting to make a name for herself out on the streets. She posted up fliers telling citizens to contact her, either via Mognet or by sending some sort of magic up toward the sky, if they ran into any trouble out on the streets. Armed with her PKE meter, she was usually quick to arrive on the scene, and she had no qualms whatsoever about jumping on the back of her chocobo Yuki to rush to the rescue.

But formidable warriors were usually the first to make enemies. She'd been the subject of an ambush twice now, and she was certain that whoever was responsible knew where she lived. While she did trust her housemates to be more than capable of defending themselves, she didn't want to put them into danger simply because she needed sleep now and then.

Moving through the city, it wasn't long before her exploration (and zombie blasting) to take her past the fifteenth district. One building in particular seemed a bit more sturdy than the others, and after poking around inside, she realized that it was meant to be a fire station. It was dusty and dirty with lack of use, but hey.

The pole still worked.

Stocking up on food that wouldn't go bad if left out, and bringing a blanket and a pillow, Rukia decided this was as good a place as any to lay low when she needed to take a break and rest.

[OOC: Individual threads available upon request! Partners to team up with, people to save, zombified heroes to capture, possessed heroes to square off with, bring it on. (9'_')9 Rukia's ripped.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yuri happened to find his way to that location as well, though he's not entirely sure what's even going on anymore. There's a few things he took out and somehow he's grateful for his job classes. Otherwise, he'd be pretty screwed without abilities or ways to take down the zombies he faced. Ambushes were never his forte so he used the geography to help him to some extent.

AT some point he almost ran into RUkia as she was stocking up on food. A wave from him towards the girl as he walked up to her. Eventually, Repede would join the two. He was doing his own hunt while Yuri was handling his own ends.

Halloween was indeed a freaky experience. He's never had it in his world but seeing it is here, he probably never would want to celebrate in his home world.

Edited 2016-10-28 16:47 (UTC)

"Yuri?" she blinked, surprised to be running into him here of all places. That surprise quickly changed into a proud smile, however. "I see you've found my secret headquarters. Impressive, isn't it?"

Rukia shifted her groceries to her left arm so she could open the door to the firehouse. It meant planting one foot on the second door for leverage, as the hinges were rusted and the wood swollen from several rains, but eventually she wrenched it open and stood aside to admit her friend.

The inside honestly wasn't that great. Thick sheets of dust mantled the floors, and cobwebs choked nearly every corner, nook, and cranny. The pole didn't seem too bad off, and even appeared polished...probably because Rukia slid down it so often to move from the second floor to the first when she was in a hurry.

"Have you equipped your Ghostbuster job? You'll find it has its uses against what we're facing out there."

"Yo, Shorty," He greeted with a laugh when he caught sight of the girl smiling and he stopped in front of her after a few more steps, "Impressive? Well, it could use a few tweaks here and there but I do admit you got a knack for it."

He replied another laugh from his mouth as she talked about her base and how impressive it seemed. Yuri admitted she was pretty good at this but at the same time he didn't want to send her to Cloud 9. That's a little too much praise for him. Then again, Rukia was a rather amazing individual, who happened to be his good friend. He adored her very much.

He glances around as Repede starts sniffing here and there trying to scope out the hide out that Rukia had created. Looks like she made a game for the dog, somehow.

"Yes, for the most part. I hear ya on that. I'll definitely make sure to keep it on me," he paused a moment before adding, "So aside making a base, you're hunting stuff out there as well?"

Rukia's proud smile turned serious as she nodded once. "I am. I was a fool to think this month would be peaceful. After so many days of silence..." She breathed a sigh, then shook her head. "I'm glad I kept the Ghostbuster job equipped just in case, it turned out to be invaluable. Ghosts aren't the only creatures affected. I take it that's what you two have been doing as well."

Her head turned to follow Repede's explorations for a moment as he made himself familiar with the headquarters, then looked back to Yuri.

"You're welcome to stay here as well, if you wish. I came because they would have followed me to our home. I had no desire to risk the health and safety of the others. This district is relatively unknown, and should be safe so long as I'm mindful of any followers. The PKE meter ensures that isn't the case."

"It's not your fault. Given, how quiet it's been, I'd probably feel the same if I wasn't so on guard all the time. There's nothing wrong with wanting to relax or thinking you had well deserved rest."

He's not going to judge her for wanting something peaceful. Heck, he'd probably settle for that too if he wasn't so up tight right now in regards to everything. That's just his life though and she was right. The job helped him and Repede through a lot of things.

Eventually, he rolls back to the two them and sits at their feet, listening.

"I'll take you up on the offer. It's kind of late anyway. You could always use a hand or two, given what's been going on. Don't sweat it. I'm sure we'd all do the same thing if we were in your situation. Glad to see you're okay."

Rukia placed her hands on her hips, ducking her head with a quiet chuckle. Yuri never changed. It was somewhat comforting, honestly. She lifted her arm and thumped the heel of her fist against his in friendly camaraderie.

"You too," she smiled. "This will be much easier with a partner, I'll admit." It was likely that she would work with Jade at some point as well, but for now, it was good to be working alongside Yuri as an ally again.

And Repede too, of course. Rukia grinned at him as he sat at their feet and ruffled his soft fur. "Come on upstairs. There are four beds. A little dusty, but we can shake most of it off for a safe place to sleep." Rukia turned to lead the way, shrugging out of her proton pack to hold it in her arms and hang it in the lockers before heading up the stairs. "The only thing we're truly lacking is running water, but we can stock up on that easily enough during the more quiet hours."

The stairs creaked beneath even Rukia's light weight, but they held up well enough. She glanced back at Yuri, studying him curiously. "And how have you been faring? Is all well with you?" Or did he have something weighing on his mind that would require him to throw her over his shoulder to coax it out of him again?

Yuri laughed at her gesture. He returns it all the same. Rukia hadn't changed at all either. He was grateful that they were friends. Of course, he still worried about her no matter what she had to say about the matter.

"Strength in numbers they say," he gave her a smug look as he started into the area a bit more, exploring it some as Repede licks Rukia's hand after she ruffles his fur. Lucky for her he still thinks she's younger than most people and she feeds him. She gets a lot of thanks on that regard. Rukia also seemed like a person that reeled Yuri in when she needed to anyway.

"I can scout some water out with Repede later after we've rested. We can fill our containers with water and keep it for a rainy day or something."

He paused a moment as he followed her halfway up the stairs, "Pretty much. I got nothing to complain about and things have been oddly controllable to a certain extent-- at least until this."

He replied with a shrug. He does sound honest and doesn't seem to be hiding anything from her.

One day he'll learn he's been licking a dead woman who's super old. It was doubtful anything would change much between them, Rukia loved the dog dearly as a member of their household, and deserved as much care and protection as anyone else. For now, she was pleased at the little display of affection. "Good boy," she praised him.

It seemed that Yuri was fine too. She wasn't picking up any signs that things were out of sorts with him, and as he wasn't hoisting her up onto his shoulder like a sack of flour, she could relax.

"At least they don't have any particular hours in which they're more active than others. As far as I can tell, they're just as likely to move about in the daylight as they are in the darkness. We needn't keep any odd sleeping schedule in order to fulfill our duties seeking them out."

Rukia ascended to the second floor, hooking a right toward the small sleeping quarters. As she'd said, the beds were dusty, but one of them was a good deal cleaner than the others. Given the dent in the pillow, it was a good guess to assume that was the place Rukia slept.

"I try to vary it nonetheless. Zombies don't seem to need sleep, but if they truly are being controlled, their puppetmasters may need rest. As such, I hunt for them in the daylight on weekdays, and take on a later shift on the weekends to ensure I can clean out as many as possible."

He doesn't need to know that since he'll probably ignore her if he does-- except not since he's gotten quit attached to her in the last few months he's been around. Yuri pats the dog on the head as he was messing around with Rukia. Repede knew who his allies are. That's all there is to it and he can tell if someone is pretending to be something they are not.

A dog's instinct after all. He gives her a bark for her comment. It was a loud proud one. Yuri won't be doing that unless they will be running from something that's trying to kill them. For now, they're going to enjoy a peaceful moment of rest while it lasts.

"You got that right. It'd be problematic if they did. We'd have to be on our toes all the time."

He adds a matter of fact. It's true. Having some schedule might make things even more complicated for them all. For now it is best to assume that they have no such schedule. Yuri looks around a bit more as he makes it up to the sleeping quarters. It seemed perfect for rest in his opinion. For someone who sleeps under the stars a lot, he's happy to have something on his back.

"Sounds like you'll like the help. Leave the night shifts to me. Even during the weekdays. Repede's rather keen at night as well. We might as well give him something to do."

He suggested as he listened to her.

She seemed to be considering his offer, resting a thumb against her lip as she stared out the cracks of the boarded window. "...Perhaps. But I'm not certain I feel entirely comfortable at the thought of you handling a shift entirely on your own."

Sighing, she unhooked her communicator and set it on the nightstand. If a fellow Ghostbuster called in need of aid, the noise would wake her and she could be out the door in a heartbeat.

"Not that I think of you as less than capable. But the consequences are severe." Her look was hard, all previous traces of joviality vanishing. "Surely you must have noticed that some of the faces of the dead were disturbingly familiar." Rukia folded her arms and closed her eyes. "Were you to die and rise as one of them, I may hesitate."

"What's there to be uncomfortable about? You know I'm pretty capable of handling my own and I'll be with Repede so it's technically by myself, Shorty."

He replied with a small laugh as he rested his hand on her head. He's gotten too familiar with her lately and things like this seemed rather natural. Rukia was someone he held close to his heart after all. Even if she was centuries older than him, she was still childish in her own right and short. He can't help but feel like he has to protect her sometimes even if the girl is capable of her own. He never once really doubted her abilities to adapt and be something amazing but a part of him still thought about the vision and about her past. She shared a similar past to him and having died before she had a chance to experience life was pretty depressing. Guess he'll add something with rabbits to his list for shopping this year as well.

He snaps out of his thoughts as she starts talking again, "You are right on that part but I'm pretty careful when I need to be," he adds reminding her as careless as he can be, he's good at being stealthy as well. Yuri really insists that he can do this but he does understand Rukia's concern on the matter.

"So that's what you're worried about," he speaks up after a moment of silence following her statements. Yes, he does remember seeing shockingly familiar faces that he rather not talk about. However, he can't get too sentimental about everything. He moves his hand from her head as he drops it to his side.

"Makes sense. It's hard to take down something that looks like a friend, family, or hell, even someone who you met once or twice but with that in mind, I still think it's fine for me to handle it."

Except he's not really arguing with her. He really doesn't want to. If she wants to do it together, he won't stop her.

Rukia fell quiet. He was right. If anything, she needed the help more often than he did, and Repede was an excellent companion to watch his back. She was being uncharacteristically fussy, even clingy. What was wrong with her?

Gently she brushed at his arm to take his hand off of her head. "You have a point," she conceded. Arguing would serve no purpose except to highlight her paranoia which clearly had no point in existing. Perhaps she was just tired.

Dropping to sit on the edge of the bed, she pried off her boots and set them neatly on the floor. "We'll be able to cover more of the city and rest more easily if we split up the times we patrol. You have your communicator, so contact me if a situation arises that requires my assistance. Tomorrow we can work up a schedule and a map."

It's not her fault to be honest. Everyone feels that way about the people they care for and with things being a bit more ominous than usual, he can't blame her for feeling like she needed to be protective or clingy. It doesn't change that she's doing the best she can for the people she cares about. Yuri understands that and he's not going to lecture her about taking care of him.

He knows he can but at the end of the day, they both need the companionship of the other. It's been a hard month.

"Good to hear, Shorty."

He replied as he lets his hand fall back after another hair ruffle attempt.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll bring us all breakfast in the morning. Now you go rest your silly head and I'll make sure nothing creepy gets in with Repede. If anything happens, Acrisius will be my message to you."

"Then I sincerely hope it's your face I see in the morning, and not his," she said sternly, stabbing a finger at Yuri's chest. But despite her strict demeanor, she could still manage a smile.

And please stop messing up her hair. She smoothed it back down again with a frustrated sigh.

"My thanks to the both of you. Don't hesitate to call for me if you need backup. I will arrive as promptly as I'm able." Reaching back, she gave her pillow one light swat as if to wipe away any lingering dust, then pulled her legs up to slide them under the blanket.

"Good luck."

"Hahah, I'll make sure to be back in one piece bright and early, Shorty."

He mused with a last pat on her head as he steps back. She was always so stern. It was rather entertaining but at the same time he got it. She was like a mix of a worried older sister and a spoiled little sister. Yuri accepted it whatever it may be about Rukia. After all, she was fine with him being the way he is.

"I'll call you if there is a need but I think we got this."

He smirked at her comment.

"Thanks. I guess have pleasant dreams, Shorty."

With a wave of his arm he is off with his dog.

It was probably obvious why Jade had become the prime target of the zombie hordes that rampaged/shuffled/crawled along the streets of the city. With his Holy magic, Life and healing spells, ability to transport himself and anyone else immediately out of harm, it was clear that he was not only competent but much too useful to the Heroes. But if he were to become one of them, the tide could be turned.

They laid numerous traps to catch the researcher, attempting to invade his home en masse, having one hide under his desk at the lab, even screaming for help only to turn on him when he drew too close. It was obvious that they wanted him dead, and they were relentless in their pursuits.

As far as they knew, his only weakness lay in his limited magic. He could only cast spells and teleport so many times before he needed to rest, so they came at him in an endless tide, hurling away their numbers as they tried to whittle him down to nothing more than a physical combatant.

Now, they were sure they had him. Every corner he turned, someone was there to raise a knife or a cudgel. They thundered after him, driving him down an alleyway where they were sure he'd be cornered at last.

A prominent zombie shuffled forward with a wide smile, blood leaking in thick gouts over his purple lips. "Jade Curtiss. Why continue this struggle? You would enjoy rich rewards as one of our own." Bones crunched in his shattered shoulder as he lifted his hand, holding a cruel curved knife. "If you don't resist, the pain will be brief, before you claim your right as a true necromancer."

Jade was slightly out of breath as he halted before the dead-end and turned around in time to see the horde round the corner after him. It had been an exciting little run, but it seemed there was no prolonging the inevitable.

"Oh, whatever shall I do~?" He spread his hands rather theatrically. "I'm sorry, but I seem to recall earning that name all on my own. My taste in friends isn't so poor that I'd need your approval."

Despite the brave front, it was apparent he was really quite helpless to defend himself. After all, what could a mage do with no magic left? He could only stand there with a forced smile while the zombies came closer or closer, filling up the narrow alleyway with walking corpses.

Though, with Jade, it was often hard to tell if a smile was truly faked or not. In this case, it actually wasn't.

"Whoops~" As the leading zombie lurched at him, he grinned innocently and, with the magic reserves he did in fact still have, teleported out of the way.

The zombie's grunt of frustration was audible as he swung at nothing more than the air. His head jerked back as he quickly started scouring the rooftops overhead in search of the necromancer. And that was a pity, because the ~~bigger~~ more formidable threat was directly in front of him.

Rukia did not share Jade's smile, nor did she have anything witty to say. She'd been standing behind Jade all of this time, and the moment he teleported to safety and out of her direct line of fire, she retaliated immediately. Hot crackling ions streamed out of her particle thrower, rocking the small woman faintly where she stood. But she'd braced herself, feet spread apart, her grip firm. The energy lashed out and slammed into the zombies as she swept the particle stream back and forth. Every zombie it touched stiffened into a gibbering, shrieking mess before falling into a twitching and truly lifeless heap upon the street. Some of those near the back managed to run before Rukia could cut them down, but it was safe to say that the major bulk of the assault was put to rest here.

When there was nothing left moving, she finally eased her thumb off of the trigger and stood a little straighter. There were so many of them. Judging by the dirt clumps in their hair and the grubby state of their clothes, the majority of the force had not been recently killed, but likely dug up from the cemetery. That was a small comfort, but there were still too many that bore no signs of ever being buried.

"They'll need time to regroup. You should be able to rest and regain your strength," she spoke aloud in the alleyway as she rested her weapon against her shoulder. "That was an effective strategy." While she couldn't say she was entirely comfortable with the thought of letting him get that worn down and presenting himself as bait, the plan still worked, and she was pleased that he trusted her enough to use her as a sort of hidden weapon.

The remaining zombies scrambling out of the alley met with a sudden end as light rained down upon them. Jade stood on the rooftop above, lowering his arm as the light of the holy magic faded and revealed the scorched corpses, lying still on the ground. That should take care of the loose ends.

"It was good exercise, too." He had teleported back to Rukia, hands slipping casually back in his pockets. "But you're right, I could do with some rest. Shall we head back?"

While he never allowed his magic to deplete completely -- you never knew when an emergency would hit, after all -- he was admittedly reaching his limit for today. The hordes had been remarkably persistent to the point of annoyance. On the bright side, the single-minded assault had made it easy to lure them all in one spot, so he couldn't complain too much.

It was almost fun, hunting them down with Rukia. Or it would have been, if it weren't for the civilian casualties.

She might have told him that he would make an excellent shinigami someday, if not for the morbid implications attached to such a compliment.

Rukia gave him a brief once-over after he descended, and deemed that he was all right. Satisfied, she nodded in agreement. "Would you prefer to walk or teleport?" He seemed to have strength enough for either, but she preferred to leave that up to him. He was notoriously good at hiding his limits she knew, as their foes had just learned.

"I wish we could find the root of all this. Whoever's behind it is definitely targeting Heroes of Light specifically." Did that mean it was a grudge, or were they merely attempting to take out their biggest obstacles before proceeding with their plans?

"We shouldn't dawdle out here when we're not ready to fight back. Let's go." He placed a hand on Rukia's shoulder and in the next instant, they were back in their base.

It was a pretty good one, Jade had to admit. Dirt and dust aside, there was plenty of space for a pair or a small group to operate from, as well as the kitchen and beds to allow for a prolonged stay. Shouldn't be too hard to defend if they got any zombies trying to break in, either.

He wasn't sure he fully understood the appeal of the fireman's pole, but Rukia seemed fond of it.

"Until now it was always the 13 Moogles, but... It didn't look like there were any survivors last year." He shrugged. "Although as we can clearly see, death doesn't guarantee anything in Crystallis. I wouldn't be surprised if we ran into them again."

At least Narasimha was finally behind lock and key. That didn't mean the Avatar couldn't have put something in motion before his capture, though.

'Fond' was a severe understatement. There was a reason she'd got along so well with Ray Stantz during the brief time he'd been a part of Crystallis.

"No, it wouldn't surprise me either," Rukia remarked thoughtfully. "I'm not entirely certain how this world's cycle of life and death compares to the one I'm more familiar with, but we do know that the restless souls of the departed do appear under certain circumstances." What those circumstances were, she didn't know, nor was she aware what made some spirits harmless, and what made some of them manifest as Shifters or Poes.

She shrugged her pack off of her back and rolled her shoulders, massaging her fingers over the nape of her neck. She liked the proton pack, but it was heavy and unwieldy. A good night's rest would see her right.

"You have theories?" Rukia said, more a statement than a question. She knew he did. Jade was clever, able to keep two steps ahead of most of their enemies. It was a quality she envied. Rukia was no simpleton, but she wasn't quite near Jade's level of sharp intuition. Whether he did or not, she was already moving to the kitchen to boil some water and begin fixing their humble supper.

Edited 2017-03-22 00:20 (UTC)

As the week went on, formidable warriors often found themselves crossing paths whether it be on individual patrol routes or even coordinated watches of the various sections of Aqures Ixen. Ghostbuster had a useful skill, in terms of keeping in touch with other Ghostbusters too, considering Mognet had become unreliable.

Sephiroth's visit to Rukia's abandoned (or perhaps never used) fire station wasn't quite unannounced but he had contacted her with regards to distributing some supplies in her direction since she seemed to have found a safehouse of sorts. That had been several hours ago, and against the background of comm-silence, anything could have happened.

Eventually, the crackling of the radio came alive-

"I'm right outside, coming in. Over."

It didn't take long for the left door to creak open, a small stream of dust drifting from the edge of the woodwork. One might expect the thousand-yard-stare of a battle-weary veteran to appear on Rukia's face, given how busy she'd been tracking and blasting all of those zombies.

But the vivid sparkle in her eyes couldn't have been brighter. At long last she was in her element, and she wore her confidence well.

"Greetings. Please come inside," she invited him in with a smile, lifting the door just enough so it wouldn't drag on the warped floorboards as she pulled it open for him. "I trust you weren't followed?"

All the horror zombie-based books she'd read (and there had been plenty) indicated that they were supposed to be slow and mindless, but these were far more clever. Either the books were entirely misguided, or there was someone pulling the strings who still retained a sense of intelligence about them.

At least Sephiroth were savvy enough not to linger in the doorway, as soon as there was room enough for him to step inside he did so, stepping away and leaving enough time and room for the door to be reset exactly where it had been before he came in. He hadn't even caught Rukia's eye contact -priorities first- but when he did for a sharp breath of a moment he connected with that particular confidence about her. It's that type of a sparkle that he used to remember being confronted with every morning when he'd look in the mirror.

Needless to say, the silver warrior's confidence hadn't quite been as sharp as that, for a long time. Seeing it on Rukia pulled harshly at the fact that he missed it. Quickly he turned whatever expression that thought caused into something more appropriate; like double eyebrow raise, to tease a bit; didn't Rukia know him a bit better than that-

"-you can trust that."

Hence he'd been much later than he'd intended to be, after all. Sephiroth shrugged the strap of the backpack he wore down from one of his shoulders and gestured with his head for her to lead the way deeper into the building; he wasn't about to drop the bag on the floor in the doorway and leave her to it.

"I thought as much," she chuckled, amused by his expression. "Let's head upstairs. I try not to leave things down here beyond my gear." She gave a brief nod at the proton pack that hung neatly on the wall. She would have used the lockers, but unfortunately they'd been rusted shut.

Quickly she jogged up the stairs, the light thump of her feet dislodging small puffs of dust from the underside of the staircase. The second floor was quite a big cleaner, as she'd taken a few minutes to rearrange some discarded boards to stack them against the wall next to some other forgotten building supplies, and the constant foot traffic made by herself, Yuri, and his dog Repede had cleared an obvious trail in the thick dust that wound from the sleeping quarters, kitchen, and fireman's pole.

"Where have you elected to stay, by the way? Are you and your roommates well?"

"Makes sense."

Sephiroth took care to keep the volume to his low tones measured, not that there were any zombies that had followed him, but sound carried in buildings that were unoccupied for lengthy periods of time like this one had been. It was as if the dust itself might resonate any tiny sound out of all proportion.

He ascended the stairs behind Rukia a lot slower than she had jogged up, unsure if he trusted them with the weight of himself plus the pack that he had on his back. Once safely on the second floor, which seemed very much to have only been partly constructed, Sephiroth's iridescent eyes flicked around in the gloom as he surveyed the temporary base Rukia had made for herself and her own. It was good that there seemed only to be a couple of them that had disturbed the dust here, discretion was the best advise that could be given to any Hero of Light staking it out against the undead problem that the city faced.

"I tend to operate between the 12th and 8th Districts, currently. There are a handful of groups spread out still but I for one am tired of this game already. It'll be over soon enough."

That he didn't mention who he was staying with, or how they were, leaned heavily towards the predictable fact that Sephiroth were again trying to spread himself to cover as many bases as possible. Never dedicating solidly in one pursuit or another, always taking on multiple responsibilities and trying to tie them all off without getting tangled.

A few strides later brought him to the small kitchenette area, only then did Sephiroth slowly swing the military-grade backpack around and start to produce the tinned and dried supplies that he'd managed to procure mostly from within the military that had been present within Aqures Ixen.

"How about you and yours?"

Rukia smiled as she picked up one of the cans, nodding in satisfaction before putting it down. "Thank you. This is exceptionally thoughtful, and appreciated." The less time she had to dedicate toward feeding herself, the more time she had to focus on her duties of tracking down the zombie threats.

"We're doing well. We try to keep our schedules and patrols erratic. Sometimes we go together, other times we spread out. These zombies are not always the mindless creatures presented in my tales of horror."

Because of course she had to have read a zombie horror romance novel at some point.

"Jade and I have partnered up on several occasions as well. You're welcome to stay and rest here whenever you wish. There are four beds," she motioned toward the open sleeping quarters. "And I can perform some healing courtesy of my chocobo so long as I maintain the Beastmaster job."

"It's hardly gourmet food but it should tide over, especially if you're controlled with the portions." Two or three more tins and a couple of sachets were taken out of the backpack and placed down on the side as Sephiroth closed the bag again, and for the time being set it down on the floor.

"Hm, you're right." He nodded along with her appraisal of the varying levels of intelligence exhibited in the zombies that had been terrorizing the City thus far. It matched his own experiences closer into central Aqures Ixen and that, in a roundabout-way, was reassuring. "There are many unaccounted for, also."

A further nod as the offer was made; Sephiroth was always polite to the last, even if he might never actually get around to taking her up on it. Still, it was good to know that the option were there even if his attention did linger on one of those beds that were made up. Perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea?

"It's appreciated. I should make another drop before it gets too late though-"

Though really, given the perpetual gloom in the City there was no way to tell the time of day. Given the short days during this season, it could be already getting into the evening which would make any new excursion outside all the more treacherous. Not that Sephiroth wouldn't be fine on his own, but there was always the chance-

"I'm not picky," Rukia promised with a grin, appraising the cans and neatly arranging them on the table. How thoughtful to include dog food for Repede as well!

She listened as he spoke, one hand on her hip, then glanced toward the window with a pensive frown. It was definitely going to get dark soon, and might even do so before he departed. If he was making this drop alone, then it was pretty much guaranteed he'd do the next one solo too.

"Why don't I go with you?" she offered, heading for the fireman's pole and resting a hand upon it. Because stairs were for the weak. "The sooner you finish, the sooner you can rest. It will be safer to have someone watching your back as well." Hooking an elbow around the pole, she jumped and slid down to the bottom with a rusty squeak.

There was definitely a zombie here somewhere. That's what bothered Rukia the most -- why was there only one? It made no sense, given that they'd always attacked with a sort of pack mentality. Much as she would have liked to believe that their numbers had been wiped out by the dedicated efforts of the Heroes who went after them, that just didn't seem likely. Her PKE meter didn't always function correctly after it exploded just before their fight with the Soulcage, so it was having difficulty pinpointing the zombie's location.

She kept her head up, eyes sharp, scanning the streets around them. The meter said they'd passed it a few times, but where...? Could it possibly be in the sewers? Rukia turned her head to look at Jade, a small serious frown on her face. Perhaps that's why the meter was having a hard time picking it up. If the elevation between them was different, then maybe it was below.

Or above...?

There was a soft whistle before something bit sharply into Rukia's thigh. She was stunned. An arrow was sticking out of her leg?

Then another sharp impact slammed into her chest and she gaped in disbelief at the feathered shaft protruding from the right, just a few inches below her collarbone. A zombie archer was...?

No, she had to take cover! Wincing, she tried to dart to the left, but the sharp pain that shot through her leg dropped her instead to the street. It was fortunate that she'd stumbled, as a third arrow zipped just a few inches over her head. It might have otherwise impaled her through the throat. She dropped the meter and brought her particle thrower upright to blast blindly toward the rooftops. That's where the shots were coming from. It wasn't entirely her aim to hit the zombie itself, but to at least give it pause before it could loose another arrow while she tried to figure out where it was.

"Jade!" she barked sharply. If he'd seen the trajectory of the arrows, then he probably had a better idea of where the shooter was concealed.

Jade had no means of detecting the undead and thus could do nothing while Rukia was trying to locate their target. He'd been scanning the street up and down, gaze lingering on any alleyways that could hide an ambush, when he heard the whistle of the arrow. He whirled around to see the source of it buried in her leg. "Rukia!"

Then the second arrow hit her in the chest.

For one terrible second that nevertheless seemed to last an eternity, Jade felt as though he had been the one that had been struck. The shock didn't last long. As Rukia fell to the ground, a rush of rage rose within him. The calculating, pragmatic part of him took over, seizing on the anger and sharpening it into icy, deadly, focused fury.

He knew precisely where the archer was. While the particle beam was distracting the zombie and throwing off its aim, Jade called on his magic.

"Holy."

The rooftop exploded in a burst of white light. It was an utter overkill. Jade wasn't about to leave anything up to chance though. With Vanish, he was instantly up on the roof, standing over the quivering remains of the zombie archer. Blood Pain's blades pierced its head.

Although his blood was still boiling, he wasn't stupid enough to waste any more time. A split second later he reappeared at Rukia's side and crouched down to check her injuries. The leg wound would probably be alright, but the other one...

"Try not to move." Jade left the arrows in for now and leaned in close to try and gauge how deep the arrowhead had gone. It didn't seem like it had hit a lung, but... Treatment couldn't wait. Even with healing magic, arrow wounds were unpleasant to deal with.

He slipped his arms under her shoulders and knees and carefully scooped her up. Trying not to jostle her too much, he stood up and teleported them both back to the base without another word. Thank goodness for her small build -- at least she was easy to move.

He would have preferred to take her to the hospital, but the staff was overworked as it was with the growing civilian casualties. It seemed this was up to him. Who knew studying autopsy back in his younger days would prove so useful after all this time...

"You are...as ever...fascinatingly efficient," she managed to chuckle. Now that the threat had been vanquished, the full pain of her injuries was starting to set in. She let her particle thrower clatter to the ground as she put a hand on her knee, wincing. Beads of sweat were scattered over her brow. Rukia held herself as still as she was able as Jade leaned over her. He was close enough that she could pick up the light scent of his shampoo, and there was something oddly comforting in that.

There was no blood bubbling up in her throat or leaking out of her mouth, so his assumption about her lung was probably correct. There were still dark stains flowering over her Ghostbuster's jumpsuit from both of her wounds, however.

She didn't try to resist him as he picked her up, her breath stilling momentarily as she braced herself for the shift in position. Her head tipped into his shoulder to rest there and she shut her eyes. The dizziness of his teleportation spell lasted only for a moment, as did the disorientation when she parted her lashes to see the dusty fire station's interior. It was silent inside, save for the occasional gust of wind that whistled between the boarded windows.

Her breath was quick and slightly labored, but not wet or rasping. She could bear her pain well enough. "Thank you..."

Edited 2016-11-17 01:09 (UTC)

Jade carried her to the sleeping quarters and located the cleanest bed there -- though it might not stay clean for very long with all this blood. Once she was lying down, he left her briefly to grab the medical pack he'd brought a day or two before. You never knew when you needed to perform field surgery.

A change of gloves, antiseptic, mild anesthetic... He always kept his scalpels clean, so this was as sterile as he could make the treatment.

"Sorry about this, but I'll have to impose on your privacy a little. Please bear with me." Although it was said jokingly, Jade had gone into full doctor mode, completely focused on what needed to be done. After cutting a part of the fabric so it wouldn't snag on the arrow, he unzipped her jumpsuit just enough to uncover the wound. If the arrowhead was buried too deep, he might have to widen the opening a bit so he could pull it out...

It wasn't a complicated procedure, at least. He worked as quickly as he could without causing her unnecessary pain. Once the arrow was out, a weak healing spell -- about all he could do with his depleted magic reserves -- helped close the wound. Just barely. Too much movement and it would just open again.

"One down. Keep still until I can get it bandaged." With that, he moved on to her leg. Removing the second arrow came first.

Edited 2017-03-20 15:21 (UTC)

Rukia was as stoic a patient as one might expect. She didn't blush, nor even consider that her modesty might be compromised. She trusted Jade wholeheartedly, not just as a friend but a medic. He moved with confidence and precision, and that gave her all the reassurance she needed.

The olive green tanktop she wore underneath was damp and dark on one side with her blood. She did not flinch beneath the cut of the scalpel; her only indication of discomfort was a tightening of her jaw, and the way her fingers knotted in the blanket beneath her until her knuckles paled. But she didn't cry out. Once the arrow was removed, she slumped with a shaky exhalation of breath, sweat dripping down her temple.

"Thank you," she murmured, soothed by the touch of his magic.

At his instructions, she gave a nod to show she understood, and pressed a clean cloth to her shoulder just in case the magic wasn't enough to seal the wound completely shut.

She didn't want to speak for fear of interrupting his concentration, so she withheld her remarks and questions in favor of watching him work. Her gaze rested briefly on his scarred hand, and she frowned to herself. Who had treated him for that injury? Surely he wouldn't have done it on his own, it would be next to impossible with only one good hand available to him.

But she had a funny feeling that was the case.

"Your magic seems depleted. If you need an ether to replenish yourself, by all means," she informed him frankly. "Don't push yourself. This one is not as serious."

Edited 2017-03-21 23:58 (UTC)

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Ghostbusters II

II: Base of Operations

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II: Base of Operations

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Team Kickass Gets Ass-Kicked

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