tushanshu_logs | Just One Mistake (July Catch All)

Entry tags:

Just One Mistake (July Catch All)

Characters: Valdis and open
Date: July 8th and onwards
Location: Various
Situation: Various
Warnings/Rating: In headers

On top of Wan's disappearance, the attack on Anton and Anton's subsequent illness, the vision had taken its toll on her both emotionally and physically. It seemed that Malicant's influence would never truly be gone from Keeliai. The Cultists, the soul gems and now this message that had somehow reached almost all of the other foreigners through a power she shouldn't have been able to access. The events of last month seemed to pale in comparison to the trauma of seeing the last moments of the five hatchlings. Her hatred and fear of Malicant had been rekindled and without Wan, she didn't know how she could curb either emotion. The other two people she could rely on were in no condition to help, Anton was too delicate right now and Raine had lost her brother. Those foreigners who hadn't experienced Malicant's reign were probably confused by the vision, having no reason to understand, and those that did probably hated her for what had happened. Zelgadis and Bakura had both lost their hatchlings, and she had inadvertently forced them to relive those moments. It seemed that, no matter what she did, she always screwed everything up.

[OOC: please use format: Name | Date |Location |Content Warning, if you are posting your own starter. this is for my sanity. PM if you want me to set up a starter. This is also the follow up log for The Vision log]

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Holding back didn't seem like an option anymore, and to be honest, she was tired of it anyway. Day after day, fight after fight, cutting her power down to a fourth of its true potential, always watching her movements, slowing her reflexes. It was exhausting and it was annoying, but it had the wonderful affect of making people underestimate her.

"Will hurting me further make you feel better about yourself, Bakura?" She asked, her scarlet eyes fixed on him.

The summoned creature was an ugly thing and clubs were so prehistoric. She drew Revelations and held it loosely in her hand as the creature charged, sidestepping the first swing and then spinning to slice the creature's arm from it's body, following it up by removing it's head. And she did it all without shifting her gaze from the white haired man.

"If so, you will have to do better than that."

A moment after the words left her lips, a sharp pain went through her chest, she faltered slightly, but drew on soul energy to quickly revitalize herself.

Edited 2015-07-16 02:16 (UTC)

The same jolt of pain hit him as well, although he was ready for it, and thus bore it with only a faint grimace that quickly smoothed away. The Ring hummed against his chest with its dark energy, warm even though the cloth of his shirt, as if with a thrum of anticipation. Yes. It has been too long.

"Then perhaps you should be less easy to hurt," he answered, even as he summoned a second creature to the space between them: Dark Resonator. While weaker than Abaki was, it had a its own special effect: it could avoid destruction once per turn, and since Valdis was the only one attacking... she would find it considerably more difficult to get rid of, as it would instantly regenerate.

"But no. Hurting you is incidental. I'm just here to make sure you know you cannot get away with what you tried yesterday."

Edited (i can spell AND HTML) 2015-07-16 02:27 (UTC)

"And what exactly did I try yesterday?" She countered, watching him with one eye and the new monster with the other. So far, it had made no move to attack and so she made no move to counter it. This new style of battle was interesting to say the least. She knew next to nothing about his dueling or the affects his monsters would have on the environment and her.

She was aware of the confusion surrounding them, how the kedan didn't understand why two foreigners would go at each other again. She didn't even truly understand Bakura's wrath, unless it had to do with the vision, that anger she did understand.

"You took it upon yourself to decide what I am and am not, and you've far from earned that right."

The Fiend waited another heartbeat, then lunged at Valdis with its strange tuning-fork weapon ready to strike her.

So she wasn't allowed to have her own opinion anymore? That didn't stand up to scrutiny at all.

"It's called freedom, Bakura," she hissed as the monster charged, "You do not possess the right or power to decide my opinions."

Again, she sidestepped and slashed at the monster.

"And your opinions do not define what I am," he retorted sharply, as it seemed that her trait of making things about herself had not abated. Her blow merely rung off the creature's floating body, and it was knocked back several feet, but otherwise undamaged as it came at her again.

"You don't get to decide what I'm afraid or not afraid of, or whether I have honour or not, just because you didn't get it."

"I never said they did," She hissed, her voice echoed by other voices, inhuman voices as her red eyes began to glow and the glow of her sword began to fade. She swung at the monster again. "But the fact that you are so angry tells me that I struck a nerve."

Again, the monster bounced back and she followed up by rushing it and striking it with her palm, sending it tumbling away through a fire fountain. This was pointless. She shot Bakura a look of pure loathing before rushing in and a slight rustle of air was the only warning he would get before the flat of her sword swung at his head.

Naturally, Bakura had been waiting for her to make a strike at him, and sending out an un-injurable monster had been his way of goading her into doing it. So he was ready with a counter, and activated one of his Traps.

"Dimension Wall!" he said, and the force of the blow that would have struck him, instead struck Valdis from behind.

But that was only half his move, and he used the distraction to call into being a second creature. "Flip, Gravitic Orb," he added, and the sparking ball's effect kicked in, hopefully forcing Valdis to stand down for 'one turn' -- the equivalent of one attempted attack between them, in such a situation away from a dueling field.

"You should take a look in the mirror before you speak out struck nerves," he said. "I'm not the only one who's angry."

If she wasn't so pissed off, this fight might have been fascinating. The force of the strike left her head spinning, she was lucky that she wasn't trying to kill him or the impact might have knocked her out. The gravity of his second attack, might have stopped her if she was human, but she summoned more energy from the depths of the Void and used that strength to move, stabbing her sword through the orb and destroying it.

She felt something shift, but ignored it, focusing on putting some distance between herself and Bakura. If she could get close enough to touch him, then she could open a pathway into his soul, he couldn't defend against such an attack, but performing such an attack could backfire horribly for both of them.

"Tch," Bakura scowled, as Valdis summoned the strength to move even against the card's effect. Too weak a monster? Or just too broad a definition to force on the real world, even with the Ring's accompaniment? Either way, it hadn't worked, and there was no point dwelling on it now.

Seeing that she was trying to move away, he changed tactics briefly. "Swords of Revealing Light," he called, and multiple blades of shining Light energy rained down, stabbing into the cobblestones and forming a sharp barrier ringed around her. He was more used to this card being used against him -- it was a favourite of both Yuugi's and the damned Pharaoh's -- but Bakura hoped that its elemental attribute would provide an extra bit of effectiveness here.

"I decide when I'm done with fixing you," he said. "And I'm not. Figure out a way to make peace with that, sefatjiw."

Whatever that shift had been, it increased in power when the swords of light came down, trapping her in place. She pulled back on her dark magic, trying to think through the pain, which was growing increasingly stronger as the light element fought against the darkness. It was infuriating.

"You call this fixing?" She growled.

Revelations dropped from her hand, the glow dying instantly and she reached for the Void, which gleefully rose to her aid. Dark shadows materialized and lashed outward at the swords, but they were repelled. She called on more and the darkness almost shrieked in happiness as it lent more strength. Directing it all at a single point, Bakura, Valdis released the scythe, which shattered the shining swords that stood in it's way.

"Yes," he said harshly, and as the shadows of the Void rose around them, his fingers instinctively found the hilt of his knife... but relaxed, and didn't draw it. And as the scythe came at him, he didn't move.

No. He was wrong. This was wrong. Everything was wrong. She pulled back on the scythe, slowing it down, or at least trying to. It fought against her grip and she began to feel cold. It was a familiar feeling, though she had only felt it once before, right before she had attacked and tried to kill Gene.

It was happening again, she was feeding the wrong wolf, and everyone would pay the price if she couldn't get a grip on the Void. She pulled back harder, feeling everything weaken. She would be fast enough. Why didn't he move?

"You fucking idiot!" She shrieked.

Not knowing what else to do, she snatched her sword from the ground with inhuman speed. She flipped it around, slicing her hand on the sharp edge as she did so and plunged it into her chest. Unearthly screams filled the air and the dark shadows dissipated instantly.

She was faster than he could follow, and he only got a half syllable out before she ran herself through. "Don't--!" and he immediately he started toward her.

She thought she remembered the pain from the first time, but banishing darkness would never not be painful. She dropped to her knees, pulling Revelations from her chest once she was certain that it had done it's job. She almost laughed at the sight of the blood, shock making her dizzy. She really had made a mess of things again. At least she knew Bakura didn't want her to die, minor consolations, but she'd take what she could get.

Edited (My bad) 2015-07-16 05:38 (UTC)

"You're a fool," he said as he reached her, just as she hit her knees, although there was no vitriol in the words. "And people say I go too far to make a point..."

But she had made one-- that she had the control he'd accused her of lacking, and whether or not he'd had any part in her gaining that was irrelevant. The bottom line was she had it now, and he'd been wrong: he had nothing else to offer her, in terms of making herself better.

He drew on the Ring's power once more, because this would need as much strength as he could muster. The gloom of the Shadow Realm deepened around the pair, but not enough so that they lost sight of the Fire Sector plaza. "Activate Spell," he said evenly. "Reversal Quiz."

The still-lingering Dark Resonator exploded, as did the hidden Trap he'd had, which could have stopped either Revelations or the Void scythe, at least temporarily, if he'd activated it. The terms of Reversal filled, the Spell exchanged their energies... and their injuries, as well. The sword wound on Valdis disappeared, and although it didn't reappear physically on Bakura, it suddenly felt as if he'd been run through even as the sensation vanished for her.

Yet even with the Ring, he didn't have the reserves of energy to overcome the sword's power, and he fell backwards. The Shadow Realm around them faded away, taking him with it.

The Ring, no longer worn by anyone, hit the ground, bounced once, and was still.

She heard him through the shock, might have smiled if not for the pain, but then the pain faded and as it did, so did Bakura. Horror filled her, but was soon replaced by an exhausted calm.

"I guess we both lose," she told the ring. Then the second wave of purification hit and the dizziness returned. She couldn't stand, just like when Raine had hit her with that light spell so long ago.

She pulled out her radio, her bloody hands shaking, and tuned it to Erskine's frequency.

"Erskine..." she said, fighting off another wave of disorientation, "I'm in the Fire Sector..." Why was this so embarrassing. "I need help."

He wasn't doing anything particularly special when the call came in. Mundane chores to keep the Hotel running smoothly, so that Anton wouldn't have to bother. He usually kept his radio on the top of the front desk whenever he was around it, just in case, although no one ever called him.

...wait, was that?

No, really. No one ever calls him.

Eyebrows knitting together, Erskine reached for the radio when Valdis's voice came through.

"I need help."

Fire Sector. He could find that. The Hotel could manage without him for a few minutes. One last glance in Anton's direction, to make sure Shudder was keeping to his rest, and Erskine was out the door.

"I'm coming," he replied into the radio, hoping to God he sounded more reassuring than he thought he did. "I can get to the Fire Sector but you're going to have to guide me from there, I barely know my way around. Keep talking."

For a few seconds she was afraid he wouldn't answer, so relief washed over her when his voice came over the radio. Keep talking? Give directions? She could barely think straight, knew she was going back into shock, but at least she wasn't dying anymore, thanks to Bakura.

Dying. There was enough blood on her and on the ground that she should be dead. Anyone who had seen war would know that at first glance. Erskine was sensitive, perhaps this had been the wrong call, but it was too late now.

"The Plaza near the main market," she replied finally, "Any of the Kedan near the Hotel will know where it is." She waved a shaking hand at a kedan who was brave enough to approach her, noting his concern, but dismissing him anyway. She eyed the small contingent of Snakes that had appeared at the edges of the plaza.

Even if it hadn't already, this whole fiasco was going to get back to Yunxu. Once the Kedan had backed off, she reached out and picked up Bakura's ring, the movement bringing another wave of nausea.

"Please hurry."

The pause before her answer was enough to let him know that bolting from the Hotel had been the correct response. She'd said she needed help. Erskine hadn't bothered to ask what kind, or how bad is it. He thought he knew Valdis well enough by now to know that she didn't ask for help lightly, wouldn't ask without being straightforward about it unless something was very, very wrong.

A quick check with a couple of kedan sent him the right direction, he hoped, now outright running toward the Fire Sector. "I'm trying," he replied. "I'm almost there, I think. Hold on. I'll be there soon."

He ducked around a cluster of kedan, pressing unthinking hands to shoulders and backs to keep from knocking anyone over, darted around a corner. All that was left was a straight shot to the Plaza, or so he'd been led to believe. Erskine clicked his radio on one more time. "Nearly there, Valdis. Hold on."

And then he was kneeling beside her, and the sheer amount of blood made his stomach twist painfully. He'd seen that amount of blood come from people in the war so many times. Nine times out of ten, they'd ended up buried shortly thereafter. Erskine didn't have an issue with the blood itself, however; he'd been a soldier too long, wouldn't have survived with a weak stomach like that. Instead he pressed fingers gently to her forehead, her neck, stared into her eyes, assessing the damage.

"What the hell happened?"

The Snakes merely hung out at the edge of the plaza, watching. The Kedan who had approached her still stood nearby, occasionally shooing away anyone who got too close. The clatter of shoes against the ground was the first sign that Erskine had arrived. The kedan, recognizing him as a foreigner, stepped aside to let him pass, but didn't leave, still watching them carefully.

She might have laughed at the phrasing of that question if she wasn't so deep in shock. Her skin was paler than normal, cold to the touch and her pulse elevated, her pupils dilated despite the brightness of the day. She tried to steady her breathing, to make the world stop shifting so that she could answer.

"She was attacked by a man with white hair," answered the kedan who was standing guard. "They fought for a time, and then a great darkness appeared and went after the man. She turned her sword on herself and the darkness vanished." he paused, lifting his head to look at the Snakes, who hadn't moved from their position. "It was unsettling..." He shook his head, "The man ran over and did..something, then he disappeared."

One of the Snakes finally started forward and the Kedan looked over at him and then back at Erskine, "I wish I could be of more help, but I don't understand you foreigners or your powers." The other Snakes began to move as well, most drifting back into the crowd and others moving toward them.

"Erskine," Valdis said, finally finding words, though her voice trembled, "We need to go."

Dammit, why hadn't Valdis called Raine or Aqua instead of him?

Ravel listened to the kedan with half an ear, making note of the important points: man with white hair, darkness... turning the sword on herself. Right. He nodded absently at the man, more intent on trying to ascertain if there were any wounds that needed immediate attention.

The shock. The shock was going to be the biggest problem, from what he could tell. They didn't have the luxury of leaving her here with her feet elevated until a healer arrived. They had to go now. He'd have to do the best he could--he was no healer, but he knew enough battlefield medicine to be of some small use. Erskine shrugged out of his suit jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. Warmth. Basic first aid for shock.

"We will," he acknowledged with a nod. "Just let me-"

He reached for Valdis's sword and immediately recoiled upon grasping the hilt. Magic. It felt... wrong.

Suck it up, Ravel. They didn't have time for this.

Gripped the sword again, ignoring the sick feeling in his stomach. Sword in its scabbard. There.

That done, he slipped his arms under Valdis and cradled her to his chest, levered himself up to his feet. "We need to get you to a healer. Can you call Raine?"

There wasn't a single wound to be found and if she hadn't been so deep in shock, she might have been able to move under her own power. The light weight of his jacket on her shoulders brought back memories, memories that were both painful and happy at the same time. It was almost too easy to imagine that it was Dante lifting her from the ground again and not Erskine, but she pushed the thought away.

She felt oddly secure in his arms, a far cry from her opinion of him when they first met. And her sword hadn't rejected him, proof that he didn't carry the same darkness that others did, that she did.

"Milyn," she said softly, resting her head against his chest and closing her eyes. "Not Raine." Because Raine was friends with Bakura, and, though she hadn't meant to, she had caused his death.

Valdis was in no shape to call anyone, and Erskine didn't want to have to stop, set her down, pull out his radio, and heft her back up again. The extra movement couldn't be good for her and it would cost them time he wasn't sure they had. They'd just have to go straight there. He didn't think to question why they needed to visit Milyn instead of Raine.

Not for the first time recently--not even for the first time directly following an attack on a friend, as sad as it was--Erskine cursed himself for not getting out and learning more about the city while he'd had the chance. What good was feeling secure within the Hotel if everyone he knew was suddenly getting hurt and he didn't even know how to help them?

Ah, his old friend guilt.

He'd been meaning to visit Milyn, he really had. He'd just... not quite made it.

"Would you believe I can count the number of times I've been out of the Hotel on one hand?" he chuckled, trying to keep his mood light for Valdis's sake as he crossed the plaza. "Well, no, that's not strictly true anymore. I think I'm up to two hands. Look at me go.

"Er. Where are we going, then?"

He was being funny to cover up his nervousness, she appreciated that, but his guilt confused her. It wasn't as if it was his fault this had happened and to be honest she wasn't really certain who to blame for it. But then again, sometimes you couldn't assign blame to anything. She laughed softly, trying to make him feel better.

She couldn't remember the last time weakness had lingered for so long, even after the fight with Anton she had recovered completely within a few hours and even then she had felt good enough to bicker with Dante almost immediately after reviving. Right now, she simply wanted to sleep, to close her eyes and slip away into the Dreaming. But she wouldn't, she was far too stubborn.

"Water Sector."

Just One Mistake (July Catch All)

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