Shenanigans 3: Revenge of The...Guy (Mao/Mei)

Mei was just musing along in her head within the tunnels until she heard a loud "get back" yelled throughout the area. That was strange it almost sounded like... Mao's voice... and if get back yelled out of desperation meant anything then, well she was in trouble. While Mei knew that mao was capable this was a fire mage, or so Mei believed with a name like the arsonist, then again they could have been a plant mage of something just to mess with everyone. No time to think, though, so Mei started to run as fast as she could to catch up with them, thankfully she wasn't so slow as to miss a chance to try and help out. Looking through the walls she saw the fight going on, it was a pretty impressive. A giant snake hit her from the toilet water, and besides being unclean it looked like something was inserted into her. Mei could only guess a bit of poison judging by how the fang's were working, still the thing was destroyed in one fell blow, which was actually a good thing for Mei, it meant she wouldn't hit any kind of spirit or person in the way right now.

If it wasn't obvious already, Mei didn't like to use her magic too often, or at least in ways that caused her to get tired and deplete her resources, but right now was a good time to do such a thing. Welling up some magic power within her, Mei caused all of the magma she was using around her to become ethereal, which, of course, meant getting rid of most of the magma within the waters edge to prevent it from melting through and damaging the pipelines in the long run. No, now it was just her body, and the other spell she was conjuring. Taking aim as a magma bow formed in her hands, she aimed all five of the arrows to hit her target at once well the first volley anyway. Since they were made from her magma, they would not only go through the wall for a surprise attack, but they would also cause massive damage, possibly more than would be expected. Launching said arrows at the poor girl after she had but finished a little taunt, Mei let the sparks fly.

The first barrage sent the girl flying to the side as her left side was intruded upon by the magma arrows, which exploded out into more magma upon impact... then as she was flying in the air, the second volley hit, and then when she was at the height of the sewer system roof, a third barrage smacked upon her, causing her to fly up into the roof, crash upon it and fall down within a pool of magma, which Mei quickly moved out of the way to see what had happened. Appearing from the left sided wall that she had fired out from, Mei held her bow with five more, and last, arrows loaded within it.

"Sorry that I'm late to the party, little buggers took longer than I thought to take out. Sorry for ruining your hero moment too, just saw the chance and took it, didn't want her trying to escape right? Hopefully, I didn't kill her..."

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HP Total: 100%/100%
MP Total: 75%/100%

used:

The member 'That Adopted Kid' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Damage Dice' :

It burned. It burned.

How she cursed this weakness, the pain evoking a memory she couldn’t properly envision, but it felt as though she’d been hurt greater than this a time before. False pain blossomed all along her arms and legs as if she’d evoked the diamond armor and someone bathed her in a wave of unbearable heat. She could feel it fusing to her skin, searing flesh every second to the point she could almost smell it.

’I have to kill them.’

The thought struck without warning as her eyes opened a little, pupils dilated into slightly elongated slits, though it’d go unnoticed from her position. Her friends were too busy unleashing their wrath upon this person…who was it again? Everything felt scrambled right now, an illusion dripping down over her vision and lacing her senses with another possible scene, one that set her body rigid as instincts kicked in, and the single thought stuck in her mind.

Lying beneath the water some of the crystals survived, unharmed from the blast and unfused as they remained away from the pair of walls. Beneath the jacket her uninjured hand twitched before she raised her pointer and middle fingers like a gun barrel to send the things rocketing forward. By this point their foe was worse for the ware, the woman shakily reaching for something at her hip and popping the top off as her chest heaved with ragged breaths. ”It’s…not over…yet!” she cried desperately, hand raising to chug the contents as the chain of shards erupted from the water and passed over the magma for their target. Their form dissipated and what little control she retained went towards guiding their path as the disfigured diamonds spiraled towards her neck. Rather than the clean intended kill it became a messy affair as the heated minerals wrenched apart soft flesh even as it began to latch onto her with its rapid cooling.

Desperate gasps escaped – or attempted – as the vial dropped into the sludgy waters, hands clawing with quickly evaporating vigor to remove the burning substance. Blood already burbled up as it painting the crystals a darker hue. A pained expression as the need for air became critical crossed her face, eyes rolling upwards before the woman’s body finally gave out and she slumped forward, face first into the murky depths. Only by the light of any nearby magma could one see the slightly dark rivers of blood escaping into the poisonous waters, the gentle stream urging her hair to follow its path.

This didn’t feel quite right, Mao’s eyebrows furrowing against her half-lidded eyes and she murmured, ”No…it was the wrong one…”

Dmitry stopped dead in his tracks, knife still in hand, as Mao condemned the criminal they were here to apprehend with but a motion of the hand. But it wasn't the gruesome death of the town's local arsonist that disturbed Dmitry. It was the look about Mao herself that sent shivers down his spine, as if she were a completely different person. It wasn't that he was scared for his own life, but that he knew full well that this was related to her memory loss. He had to act.

"Mao, that's enough," he said as he walked over to him, tucking the knife into his belt. "She's dead now." It seemed as though she couldn't hear him, which worried him even more. Dmitry grabbed her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes, his face a couple of inches away. "Mao! That's enough, wake up!" Still she seemed to be in a trance, causing Dmitry to panic. The summoner grabbed her head with both hands and pressed his forehead to hers, his eyes so close to hers that it would likely be all she could see if she came to.

"C'mon Mao, you gotta snap out of it!" He pleaded with her, his heart beating out of his chest and fear in his voice. He didn't know why he was so scared. He simply felt like he would lose something important if he didn't do something.

"Please...don't do this to me..."

Mei saw a scene that she really didn't want to see again. Mao basically going crystal Rambo against the poor villain... and here Mei wanted to try to keep them alive, but you know, that's just how the dice rolls. Perhaps that is why Mei was a taken aback by Mao's display, the goal was to keep person alive after all, and Mei didn't say poor person, because they weren't guilty she said it because that was just a horrible way to die. Mei didn't know how to really react at this, it was a very poor situation, and well Mei now believed she was going to be the one to have to take care and report it. It was strange, she didn't know this boy, but she figured she could trust him with mao, after all he had been selfless thus far with her, more so than Mei ever had been, so she was sure her hastily placed trust was uh, well placed.

"Uh, don't worry guy's I'll just go and report the job as well done, and the sad fact of this person not making it out alive..."

With that, Mei just jumped up through the ceiling of the place and went along the streets to try and locate the job provider, and get this whole thing sorted out. Hopefully she didn't leave Dmitry in poor hands, unlike Mao who was in good hands, but Mei was sure it'd all work out.

That wretched light faded, but it didn’t matter. She’d already realized that it was the wrong mark. ’But who’s the right one?’ It was a confusing thought she latched onto, momentarily unable to reconnect to reality as if she’d become lost in a black abyss and it might be the only guiding light. Why did she hold such an urge inside? Such an instinct? Life shouldn’t be taken so lightly so why had that even come to fruition? Though something went a little wrong with the spell even if the woman visually missed it the form had misshapen somehow. If not for the calming power of her magic Mao might’ve begun to panic at her lack of awareness even as something prodded at the outer recesses of her mind.

Eyes remain locked on nothingness, her head aimed at her lap without actually seeing it as an outside force touched her, moved her. She temporarily considered lashing out, but the idea quickly vanished. If they wanted to do away with her then that was fine, her life meant nothing after all. So long as she accomplished her proper functions…

Something continued to nudge at the edges of her consciousness though, determined to pull her out of this little cage of stupor. Why were they bothering? They didn’t seem to have control so what did they care? Wasn’t she supposed to wait right now?

Slowly something broke through the dark haze, an orb of gold and an orb of sky poking through as she slowly became more and more aware of her surroundings. The wall and ground hurt, the air stunk, and there was something laying over her body even as something – or rather, someone – came rather close. Blink once, twice, thrice, and then she moved. The uninjured hand rose up until she lightly poked him on the nose, eyes still a little blank yet more alive than they’d been mere moments ago, ”You are…a bit close…for a stranger. A kind one….but I don’t think I’ve done anything to warrant or earn your concern, have I?” More and more the previous state ebbed away until she could no longer recall the brief lapse in consciousness nor the darker thoughts related. Worse than that she cringed, the pain of moments ago coming back to her in full force.

Finally, as if to answer his pleas, Mao's eyes seemed to go back to normal, causing the mage to fall onto his back as all the air in his lungs was released in one enormous sigh of relief. 

"Oh...that...that's good..." He said, panting heavily from his prior stress. "Now...if it's all the same with you...I think I'll have that heart attack now..." The day had certainly been a lot more stressful than he had anticipated. But what was that feeling earlier? Why had he been so worried? And that rage earlier...

'It seems this one is quite precious to you,' Hati said with an air of disbelief. 'Guard her well, boy.'

Dmitry opened his eyes again as Mao cringed, reminding him of her wounds. The summoner got back on his feet and walked over to the woman to help her to her feet, careful not to touch any places that might still hurt. After that, they began making their way out of the damnable sewers, hopefully never to return. 

"Look...I get it," he said on the way out. "I know what it's like...realizing something's...missing. That you've forgotten something you were supposed to remember." He tried to be reassuring, hoping she wouldn't feel guilty or something. "You don't have to remember me. Because...well...you're important to me...and that's not gonna change." Not this shit again. Why was he so nervous? This was something he had to say, dammit! 

"We're gonna fix this," he said in a rare, warm tone. "I promise you. I won't just let this happen to you. We are gonna fix this."

This man acted so relieved at her waking back up and it caused a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. More and more she tried to deny the cause of it as they left that place. Yet it seemed he wouldn’t let her avoid the subject whether he did it consciously or not. The bottom dropped out of her though as the reality of the situation could no longer be ignored: he knew her. Worried over her. This man acted so familiarly with her and yet so kindly that Mao could no longer deny that they must’ve been friends.
 
Except she forgot him.
 
Forgot another person.

’How many does this make?’ A dark and cold feeling began to fill the woman as he assured her they’d fix this somehow, his tone only barely warming the surface. The world suddenly felt so lonely, so cold as Mao began to wonder just how many people she’d managed to forget and how many times she’d have to go through this same song and dance. Did he hurt on the inside like that other woman had so openly? How many more would she unwittingly harm all because of this…this…could she even call it a condition? ’I don’t even know why I’m forgetting people. Surely there’s a cause…’ Right now more than anything she wanted to return to Sabertooth and hide in the safety of her closet where the woman felt sure things couldn’t find her, assuming it was even an outside cause.

Mao had gotten silent on him, which left Dmitry worried. He knew what she would likely feel towards the people she knew she had forgotten, and she deserve guilt. The mage stopped, turned to his rabbit eared friend, and grabbed both her shoulders before giving a light shake. 

"Mao! This isn't you're fault!" He almost shouted at her, doing his best to keep her from sinking down. "You didn't do this, alright? I told you, we'll find a way to make this right! We're gonna get your memories back!" He released her shoulders, realizing he was being a bit forceful.

"Please, Mao. Don't start shutting things out. I can help you. Let me help you. I know you don't remember me and I get that you might not trust me, but give me a chance to help you fix this." There was a steel in his voice now. He was intent on getting those memories back, but he had to let her in on his secrets if she would trust him on this. He looked away a bit, ashamed for once at what he was about to tell her.

"A long time ago...I threw away my memories." Dmitry had never actually said this to anyone out loud. "Something happened to me and...I lost some people. But I was stupid enough to want to lose the memory of those people so I wouldn't have to hurt anymore. It's the only thing in my life I regret." He exaggerated the events that led to that event greatly, but the result was what was important.

"I know what you're going through Mao...all of it. So please, let me help." 

At first the guy didn’t sound so bad, his confidence and bravado in his desire to help her heartening and evoked a small flame of hope in her. It snuffed out however with his story, his confession. The feelings it created were too chaotic, too jumbled in her head then. All Mao could make out was the sadness over the loss, yet the anger and jealousy in even having an option to forget. In a way she’d lost people because she couldn’t recall them, people she may never run across again or have to face the harsh reality of this realization process. At the same time he let them go so easily….so why try to help her so desperately? Why not simply cut free as he’d done unto the memories of those already gone?

”But if you can’t even keep the happy memories of them alive, what use is it to bring mine back?” she murmured, a frown etching into place, ”Am I worth more than these people somehow? I can’t imagine why…Would it not be easier to merely cut me off as well then, and save yourself the trouble and pain?”

Walking a few paces away and hiding another wince from the pain – she would not enjoy removing the cooled bits of molten crystal, she tossed the words over her shoulder before departing, ”I suppose it’s up to you which you choose, I’ll accept either answer…but if you prefer to drop those who bring pain alongside happiness then it’d probably be best we never meet again.” Mao left him there, tail swaying with each step as she sought out a doctor in the meanwhile.