melodiesoflife | Will you play with me?

Yuna was late but after hearing that Ib might be in trouble she came running, her steps rang through the city as she quickly moved. She had her proton pack strapped across her back and hearing that it was some sort of ghost made her ready for the encounter. She wasn't expecting a doll.

"Ib?"

She wasn't really wanting for Kaji. She ran in with the intent to fight and rescue the poor girl. She had not fought a doll before now and she only had guess what needed to be done to rescue her.

"What's happened?"

"I heard that," Sparks mutters to Billy and his deep sigh, even though he was thankful for that and Kaji's buffs.

He answers for Yuna when she arrives. "Reckon that ghost's done somethin' with Ib. Be careful to not hit the doll she's holdin'. Just in case."

Ghostbuster Sparks's other Job is Pirate, whose Piracy ability doubles the strength of the proton beam being shot at the doll, on top of Kaji's Enlightenment. He wasn't going to mess around with this one.

Edited 2015-10-20 02:48 (UTC)

Billy cast a protective shell around Yuna as she arrived, as well. It was the least he could do to support the ghostbusters. He didn't have anything to say. He didn't think a prayer would help exorcise this particular ghost.

Maybe one of his gunner abilities would help. It was worth a shot, at least, to see if his Status Bullet ability could affect the Doll's body.

The doll lets out an enraged shriek which quickly warps into an echoing laughter as shadows gather around it. Once the transformation is complete, a very different creature stands against them. The Ib doll it was holding is no longer visible.

"People who can't play nicely... should just disappear!!"

A wave of darkness sweeps out, doing damage to the group and carrying with it a poisonous fume.

[OOC: Darkness attack with an added poison effect.]

Kaji recoils in horror as the Doll shows its true form, something even more monstrous than he had imagined. He lets out a cry as the wave of inky blackness hits him, he can feel the poison instantly affecting him. Crap. If that limits the amount of time he's standing, then so be it. He's not going out alone.

It still has Ib, now clutched within one of those coils of darkness instead of little porcelain hands. No. He needs to hurt that thing back. His proton pack fires, sending a stream of light aimed somewhere near the center of the shifting mass. Such a strange weapon, but if its his only way to make that thing feel pain he'll use it.

Feeling that poison take effect makes Sparks regret swapping out his Gunner job. Ribbon would have been nice to have here, but at least the Shell spell helped against the Darkness magic. It's best that Sparks has Ghostbuster to deal with this creature. What's a little poison, anyway? Nothing he couldn't handle.

"Ain't no playin' around as far as we're concerned. That ended the moment ya took Ib."

He quickly addresses the others. "Give it all ya got! I've got yer backs." With On Board, Sparks can deliver an attack along each one of them, hitting the Doll with his double-strength proton pack each time.

Yuna felt the darkness and while the feeling was familiar she didn't care for it. She shook her head falling the poison as it slowly sapped her energy. She faced the cruel looking creature with a determined stare.

She wasn't going to let Ib get her.

Her fingers reached for her proton pack, switching the backpack on so that it hummed to life. Her fingers were then on the gun, pointing at the creature and then shooting the powerful beam.

Billy's guns didn't seem to affect the amorphous creature. He slipped his guns back into their holsters. If he couldn't beat the monster, he'd make damned sure the Heroes who could kept fighting.

Ignoring the nausea the poison brought forth, he held out his palm toward Yuna and cast a silent Esuna. Ladies first.

The doll shrieks in pain as the proton beams tear into it. It's a ghost. The proton packs are devastating. Even something this powerful can't withstand this kind of damage for long.

But it's not above some dirty tactics. The shadowy tentacles writhe, and it moves a small object into the path of their beams.

"Cease!! Or will you destroy her as well?"

Why yes. It would use a little girl as a shield. And it may be their imaginations, but there seems to be fear in the Ib doll's eyes.

Kaji cries out, and the tactic works; he jerks the proton beam away, pointing the beam at the sky, leaving a bright trail of wavy light aimed above them for a few seconds before he can think to disengage. Ib!

"You cowardly, soulless, son of a-" Kaji!

He breathes hard, staring at Ib, the fear in her eyes, her eyes, that is no doll. His teeth are gritted tight as he keeps on staring. Shoulders move, up, down, as his mind tries to think. You're no fighter, Kaji, you're a thinker. So figure a way out of this. Hard when she's looking right at him.

"We aren't- leaving you behind. And we aren't going to hurt you. We're going to take you back with us. Okay? I'm going to take you home. Just- close your eyes, and it'll all be over soon. Okay?"

Sparks jerks his proton stream away, grimacing. He can see the panic on Kaji, and as worried as he is about Ib too, Sparks needs to make sure everyone keeps a clear head hear. He clamps a hand down on Kaji's shoulder in order to metaphorically ground him.

"We'll get her. What we need to do is keep hurtin' the ghost. Ib's transformed, but she ain't a ghost. Hurt the ghost enough, and I can use the trap on it. Should be enough to take the ghost 'n leave Ib behind, I reckon. Ya with me?"

He turns to the other two as well, to make sure they were in on the plan.

She was thankful to Billy and as the poision lifted she released a breath of relief, flashing the boy a smile. She remembered him, even if he had forgotten.

The plan was good in theory but they couldn't hit Ib. Yuna turned off her proton beam and then softly whispered a name. "Celes." She hadn't wanted to use her beast master job or bother her moogle but she knew that he would come. The little ball of fur zipping through the air at moogle speeds.

"Get Ib. The doll. Be careful." Yuna continued to whisper but she didn't really care of the creature heard her. She wasn't going to let Ib get her.

Celes zipped forward and at Yuna's command aimed to swipe Ib from the dolls hands.

Billy heard Yuna whispering to her moogle, but he doubted the creature would let its shield be taken so easily. Not unless the creature was distracted.

He drew out his guns again and opened fire as he stepped forward. He kept his bullets aimed down and to the side, as far as he could from the Ib-doll and the moogle and still hit the creature.

The bullets couldn't really hurt it, but he hoped it was annoying enough, or that the fragile mage now within striking distance was tempting enough, for the creature to focus on him instead of Ib.

The squishy healer type suddenly presenting himself as a target is indeed too tempting for the ghost to pass up. It reasons that if it can eliminate their ability to heal the negative effects it can cause, they won't stand a chance.

It lashes out with a shadowy arm, striking at Billy and trying to knock him to the ground. It misses the quick little moogle darting in until it's too late. Celes snatches the doll from it's grasp and it roars.

"NO! I WON'T LET YOU!!!"

It tries to grab the moogle. Now may be their best chance to hit it with everything they have...

Kaji's shoulder tenses under Sparks' grip, and he whispers through gritted teeth so that the kid won't hear, "We miss the margin, even by a little bit, and we've just killed her..."

And then their companions act in a flash. Healer's down ~~you had one job!~~, which distracts away from the bravest moogle that Kaji has ever seen.

"YES!" Kaji crows as Ib is flown out of that thing's grasp and back to safety. What was the moogle's name? Celes? Oh, you're getting all of the treats when this is over.

There is a fierce, prematurely victorious grin on Kaji's face. It's the kind of expression that Asuka would normally be wearing. Relishing the win even as you know you are about to cause your opponent worlds of pain. "Now to make you pay for that!" He fires up the proton pack again, and there was a part of him that truly enjoys sending the ceiling light right in the middle of the doll's form.

"Ooor, that could work." Sparks is pleasantly surprised by this turn of events. He'd like to give Billy a lecture about running into play decoy, but it'd be hypocritical of him. He was ready to do the same thing while holding the trap, but now he doesn't have to. With Yuna and Kaji focusing their guns on the ghost, he grabs the trap and flings it over as close as he can to it. Then he fires his own gun again, sparing no firepower on this creature.

"Alright, keep it up!", he yells, before stepping down on the trap's trigger.

Yuna smiled when Celes retrieved the little doll. She was going to make sure to spoil the little moogle as well, more so because he hated being used for Yuna's beast master pet.

With a renewed sense of strength she continued her attack towards the doll, her feet taking a few careful steps forward in order for her beam to get a better shot of the doll.

Celes, with Ib in hand, zips over to Billy's side. The little moogle pulls a potion from his pocket and puts it into the heroes hand while hiding behind the heroes torso. He's not always the bravest moogle and with the Ib doll with him he wasn't about to keep himself in view of the crazy looking doll monster.

The doll's shadowy arm grabbed Billy's legs out from under him, and he went down hard. His head connected harshly with the ground, and for a moment, he was stunned.

The moogle's potion being pressed into his hands made him stir. "Get...Ib...away," he ordered, his words coming out a little fuzzy. They were still too close to the creature, and it would take back its Ib-shield if it could.

He fumbled with the cork to Celes' bottle. Logic was still making funny circles in his head, though, and he didn't trust himself to make his own retreat until he got that potion inside of him.

The combined assault of three proton packs tears into the shadowy form of the ghost. It lashes out with shadowy arms, almost at random now. There is no coordinated assault here, this is the random flailing of a pained and desperate creature.

"DIE! DIE! ALL OF YOU DIE!!!

And then the trap opens under it. It struggles against the pull as it's slowly pulled down into the the small box. Right before it's pulled in, it resumes it's doll form. And the last sound it makes is a tearful cry.

Once it's gone, the little Ib doll starts growing, until Ib is back to her normal size. Only then does she find she can move again. But she doesn't, not right away. She just trembles and stares at the people who saved her, realizing just how close she was to dying. Or worse, being a doll forever.

The first one to reach Ib is Celes. The little moogle threw his arms around the young girl, plopping himself in her lap as the young girl began to tremble.

Yuna walked up to her but she didn't want to crowd so she stayed back, allowing Celes to comfort her.

"It's okay now."

There is a loud clash as Kaji just drops the proton pack, sliding the delicate machinery off his shoulders and letting it fall where he stands. Forget all of this, there's nothing more important right now than Ib.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." He drops to his knees and reaches out to draw Ib right up into his arms. She can keep on holding the moogle if it helps. "We're all here, it's okay now." He'll give her a shoulder to cry on, literally. His voice is far gentler than anyone other than Ib has heard it before.

"You're safe now."

Billy pushed himself up onto his knees, but held back from joining in the crying and hugging. Ib needed a little time just being comforted by someone who really cared about her, and Kaji seemed to have that covered.

He ducked his head and cast a quiet healing spell over the entangled man, moogle, and child. He'd get the poison neutralized once his head was a little less spinny.

Sparks let out a quiet sigh of relief. He gathered up the still-smoking trap, and muttered something to himself about what might happen to a ghost once stuck inside. Oh well. That's the ghost's problem now, wasn't it?

The poison had left him feeling queasy, so Sparks wasn't too keen on sticking around. After giving Kaji and Ib a few moments, he walked over near them and addresses Kaji quietly.

"C'mon, hombre. Let's get her home."

The tears start falling as soon as Celes hugs her, and she clings to the moogle like a lifeline. Somehow this had been a more terrifying experience than fighting the giant robot at the Eidolon temple. At least then she could do something.

Being trapped in that tiny body, unable to move, to talk.... it was terrifyingly claustrophobic. And watching as the doll wandered around and attacked others, being unable to even warn them....

But when Kaji kneels down next to her, she releases the moogle in favor of throwing her arms around his neck and sobbing into his shoulder.

"D- daddy..."

Her voice is quiet. And, given how distraught she is, Ib might not have even noticed that she called him that. But she has been thinking of him that way for a while now.

Without another word Yuna moved to pick up the proton back that Kaji had dropped to the ground. Celes fluttered to her side to bury his head in her shoulder to hide the tears that fell down his cheeks. He was a good moogle but he hadn't experienced anything like this before.

There wasn't more to be said so she waited for Kaji to take Ib home. She'd drop off the pack but it was clear that Ib needed her father right now.

The word startles him, but, to Kaji's credit, he doesn't stiffen up. Everyone else will see the briefly conflicted look on his face. Daddy? He's no father, he's no role model, unless it's a life example of what not to do.

But she needs a father right now. So. Maybe it's the kid's choice. A hand goes to the back of her head to pet her hair and settle her in against his shoulder. Daddy it is.

Kaji scoops her up and stands up with Ib still held tight against his chest. "Thank you, everybody." Voice is quiet but wavering a little. "Come on, let's get you home."

He isn't sure who will follow, but if they are just as concerned as he is, it's understandable. His priority is to get her home and get her into bed so maybe she can just pretend this was all a bad dream.

Billy forced himself up when Kaji tried to leave. "J-just a moment," he called out. If the poison was left unchecked, it would keep eating away at Kaji. He did not want the man to pass out with the child still in his arms.

Billy took a few shaky steps toward the pair. "She needs you to be strong," he murmured to the man, hoping Ib wasn't able to hear. Kaji might have look briefly panicked about his new responsibilities, but Ib needed him to be steadfast and sure... and, most importantly, present.

He cast the Esuna spell to nullify the doll's poison. "If there is anything else either of you need..." he offered quietly.

Ib just clings to Kaji, ignoring everything else in favor of the simple comfort of safety. Not that she isn't grateful, and she'll definitely thank everyone who saved her. Just... not right now. Right now is just crying and clinging. More than anything else, she just wants to go home.

Yuna would follow just to drop off Kaji's gear and then leave the young girl to recover. She knew that Ib would need her rest.

Will you play with me?

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Plan? Heroes of Light don't PLAN, Sparks. Pshaw.

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