not_meatbuns | Rebel 23 [Action - Foward-dated to tomorrow evening]

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Rebel 23 [Action - Foward-dated to tomorrow evening]

[Today has not been an easy day.

It started last night: the steadily rising murmur of voices echoing off the Boundary, so many overlapping and talking at once that the sound has become almost like the buzz of a monstrous insect. She had gone to bed early, entire body aching, hoping that some rest would take care of it.

This morning, it still wasn't gone. The buzz was louder than ever, so loud she could barely hear anything else. And the feedback... the pain was nearly overwhelming. Her head throbbed, lungs burned. But she could do this. She could handle it. Just some tea mixed with the right herbs and the pain will go away.

It took far too long to remember what those herbs were. How many times had she mixed this up before? Why was this so hard now?

Several hours later, as she sat at the front desk of the clinic finishing up some paperwork, the blackouts started.

At first faint, ghostly images of home, familiar faces she knew weren't in Luceti, would flicker in and out around her. And then Luceti began to completely vanish from time to time, leaving glimpses of Orient Town, the lab in Sector Seven, the Kagutsuchi NOL branch, and Ronin-gai to take its place. Memories collided. And the bone-deep terror set in.

It isn't until she starts coughing that she decides to leave the clinic early for the day. Being around other doctors with a blood-flecked handkerchief is just asking for more trouble than she's willing to risk.

Time to go home. Time to just curl up in bed and call it a day and pray that it will be over in the morning.

It isn't until her hand is on the doorknob to her old apartment that Litchi remembers that she doesn't live there anymore. Shaking her head, trying to think clearly, she turns back to head in the right direction.

Disoriented and pained, she starts to make her way back to House 48. But the going is slow; not only is the way blurred from her memory from time to time, but her coughing is just growing worse the longer she walks.

This can't be it. Not here. Not now...!]

[[ooc: The thread with Noel will chronologically come last. ♥ Litchi will not be available after that thread. Beforehand, though, feel free to run into her anywhere along the path from Community Building 2 to House 48.

Also, I gotta leave for work pretty soon, but I will tag when I'm home. ;;]]

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--NO!

[Noel manages to finally rip herself away from Litchi; a mere ten seconds later. She staggers away, her legs shaking and causing her to collapse onto the ground. She gasps for breath, unable to keep herself calm from what just happened.

The Power she possessed caused her to see...]

No, no... I...!

[And Litchi, for her part, has gone completely slack. Arms hanging limply at her sides, her eyes are blank, no spark of recognition within them. She wobbles slightly, the pain still wracking her body. And yet, her expression is completely emotionless, eyes locked on some invisible horizon, seeming as if she is staring past Noel into a world only she can see.

Which isn't far from the truth. All Litchi can see is an endless expanse of darkness, within which is a single, terribly alluring azure light... so warm, so welcoming...

It's calling to her.

Who is she to ignore it?

Her voice barely more than a hoarse whisper, she breathes out the only word repeating in her mind over and over...]

Azure...

[Squeaking frantically, Lao Jiu tries to sign to Noel to get up and run. This is out of his control. There's nothing left for him to rein in.

Litchi Faye-Ling is gone. All that remains now is the Boundary.]

[Her breathing still hitched, she barely looks up. Lao Jiu is trying to get her attention, but for once... Noel isn't very focused on the panda, instead looking right back at Litchi's emotionless, blank eyes.

She...can't move...]

...Miss Litchi?

[Noel's only answer is a mirthless laugh, almost a hiccup. Her eyes gleam despite absolutely no trace of a smile on her lips.]

Azure... Azure...!

[She staggers a step forward, another, more shrill laugh breaking free of her.

Knowing full well that there isn't much time to waste, Lao Jiu abandons his post on Litchi's head. He leaps down, scurries as fast as he can over to Noel and up her arm, gets a pawful of blond hair and yanks. The time to run is now. Get moving, lieutenant!]

[That laugh causes Noel to whimper. She tries to find the strength to move away, but she can't.

Why... Why is it always like this? What did Noel do to make this happen?

Thank god Lao Jiu was there; the painful tug of her hair causes her to snap out of her state of despair.] Ow--!

[Realizing what the panda is trying to tell her, Noel haphazardly gets to her feet, backing away from Litchi as Lao Jiu remains on her head.]

Edited 2010-09-05 00:08 (UTC)

[I... I need to get out of here!

Not bearing to be able to stay in the same place with Litchi anymore, Noel turns her heel and attempts to run away from the woman.

She doesn't have Bolverk.]

Edited 2010-09-05 00:10 (UTC)

[She stays absolutely still for nearly a full minute, a brief glimmer of confusion crossing her face as the azure light draws further away. It... it's going too far. She has to stop it. She has to catch it. That is where she belongs.

One leg twitches before she takes a lurching step forward. And another, smoother than the last.

A golden aura causes a brief sheen around her. Her eyes flicker with a light that is bordering on ruby red.

And then she's off like a shot, feet flying faster than they ever have before.

The Azure will not get away from her.]

[She's going to keep running and running; unlike yesterday with Tsubaki, Noel doesn't have a destination in mind. She just wants to get out of there--as far away as possible from Litchi.

Not wanting to risk losing Lao Jiu, she takes the small panda off her head and cups him into her hands, holding him close as she maneuvers around the trees and shrubbery.

It's only two minutes in that Noel realizes she's lost and there's a strange noise coming from behind her; likely Litchi. Fear overwhelming her, and without a proper weapon to defend herself, all Noel can do is to run faster. ~~WHY DIDN'T YOU LISTEN TO KOKONOE >8C~~]

[All this brush is slowing her down. The Azure is getting too far away. The golden aura throws off a harsh glow around her as she spins and casts a much stronger version of her usual All Green -- three glaring jets of flame bursting out of the ground right on Noel's heels.]

[Noel was too terrified to look behind her, hoping that somehow she'd manage to lose Litchi. She noticed her surroundings had begun to lighten up, followed by hearing the incoming explosions headed her way. She screams in fear, and the moment she feels her back begin to burn jumps and rolls away for dear life.

When she turns around to see just what Litchi had done, her breath stops short; the grass and shrubbery caught in the crossfire had burned, leaving nothing. Making sure Lao Jiu was still in her grasp, she quickly pulled herself to her feet again, moving to run again, but not before screaming:]

Miss Litchi, please stop!

[The words fall on deaf ears. Satisfied that her path is cleared, Litchi just starts forward again, picking up speed when Noel starts to run again.

The Azure... it's so close...!]

[Oh god, oh god. You know what? Running in a straight path may not be a good idea. Quickly glancing to her side, Noel will make a sharp turn and force her way through more shrubbery and any other similar obstacles onto hopefully eventually another path out of here. Maybe that'll slow Litchi down?]

Edited 2010-09-05 04:02 (UTC)

[Here's another obstacle, but Noel may not be so lucky to avoid this one, as a big burly man happens to step out into Noel's path. He ain't exactly sure what's going on, but the fact Litchi is chasing Noel around can't be good.]

The hell's going on here?

[No. No. The Azure... something is blocking her path.

Remove the obstacle. Nothing can get in the way.

Litchi's body all but blurs with the sheer speed she shifts into her attack with. Launching into a fiery jumping kick, she means to knock Goroh clear out of the way.]

[You have no idea how thankful she is to see you right now. She can get help!

...Only, you've blocked her way out, and she's been forced to skid to a stop.] Mr. Goroh!

[She doesn't have much time here--] Miss Litchi, she's--kyah!

[Just as she turned around, Litchi was already soaring in; intent on taking Goroh out of the picture. Noel moves, her reflexes managing to get herself out of the crossfire in time. Goroh, move!]

[He moves, but not out of the way. Fortunately Noel moved on her own, or he'd have to push her out of the way. He brings his sword out immediately, turning the flat end of it up in defense and blocking the kick. His left hand moves up against the other side of the weapon, keeping it solid in spite of her kick.

And when foot meets metal, he just pushes back to throw her off balance.]

[Being thrown off-balance only works so long. She recovers with a flip and lands neatly on her feet.

And whirls immediately to attack again, charging in to ram him with her shoulder. ~~Sword? What sword?~~]

[All Noel can do is stand and watch helplessly as the two fight. Her eyes widen when Litchi charges in again; her speed almost...inhuman.]

Watch out!

[No point in him sticking around for that. He's fast and agile for his size (ask him to do a backflip some time, he will make that shit happen), but even he has trouble getting out of the way of that one. For the most part he does and she ends up getting him in the side of the arm. Well hell if that isn't going to leave mark in the morning. For a skinny woman, she packed a punch.]

The hell's wrong with you, Litchi? Calm down!

[You see these eyes? These completely blank eyes? They're a good indicator that Litchi is not at home. Her body may be moving, but it's clear from the blank stare that she's not really seeing anything.

Although there's a faint glimmer of annoyance in her face now. The obstacle hasn't been removed. She moves from the shoulder charge into a flaming flip-kick.]

Miss Litchi... [This is almost surreal to watch. What should Noel do? What can she do? Right now, she's...useless.

Is it... my fault?]

[This would be so much easier if Litchi was someone he could just slice in two, but trying to defend himself in close combat against someone he can't bring himself to hurt? Pretty damn hard.

He ends up throwing himself backward, letting the kick pass inches from his face, as he flips backwards, lands on his hands (no easy task with a sword in hand), and pushes himself even further back until he's completed the back flip on his feet. He immediately pulls out his blaster and fires a warning shot in front of her.]

Bitch, don't make me shoot you. You're not the only one in this town who can patch up wounds.

Edited 2010-09-05 17:34 (UTC)

[She stops in her tracks, seeming confused. All this time, the things blocking her path haven't struck back. The Azure is still out of reach, and now...

She stays back, her breathing a little ragged, seeming as if she's waiting on the next move.]

Please, don't! [Sorry, Goroh. For a moment there, she actually thinks you're going to shoot her down.] Th-There has to be another way to stop her! We just need to find a way to wake her up, and...!

[...uh, how? noel, stop being stupid.]

Can it, Blondie, she ain't in her right mind. Better I stun her now, we sort out everything later.

[His thumb moves up to the power settings on the blaster. He's got a feeling for someone like Litchi, the standard stun setting isn't going to be enough. better turn it up a few notches.]

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