Ao Oni Finale

dragomorph: The location, it was eventually decided, was a large mansion a ways out of town with an unusual number or basement floors.  Nobody really knew why it was designed that way.
dragomorph: But it worked to everybody's advantage, since Hiroshi had noted prior to his disappearance that the Onis seem most at home in place that resemble domiciles.  And frankly, if there's any place he's going to show up, it's here.
dragomorph: It looks like this place was once lightly dotted with monsters.  Thankfully, there doesn't seem to be any Hiroshi corpses on the way -- but there are plenty of monster corpses, and you're pretty sure they're not Hiroshi's doing.
shinigamikitsune: Rudolph took out a pad and pen on instinct, making quick outlines of the corpses for later research before jamming the notepad in his pocket. "Look like we should expect trouble."
DLWriter7: They are, of course, the great and mighty prodigy Palom's doing, who had time traveled into the future with his mystic arts to pave the way.  Palom refrains from commenting on the obvious, however.
DLWriter7: He continues to tug at the others intermittently and ineffectively, instead.  "Come on!  There's no time for notes!  The only thing you need to write down is that they're dead."
EricOverbringer: Dave is strolling along with his hands in his pockets and an aura of calm so intense that it HAS to be an act.
culuculu: Shampoo doesn't give them a second look, they're down so no worries. She continues to run, gripping her new weapons.
EricOverbringer: but he might only be ironically nervous
EricOverbringer: It's not like the Onis killed him already in another timeline.
shinigamikitsune: "Sorry. There's just a chance we may run into them later." Rudolph apologizes sheepishly as he examines the room, wanting to call out for Hiroshi, but knew it'd draw any Onis that may be in the area.
dragomorph: You all continue to descend the floors, until finally you reach one last room -- a large one, that must have served some strange purpose you can only imagine.
dragomorph: There's an alter, and columns, and a circle in the middle.
dragomorph: But more importantly, there's Hiroshi -- back against the wall, rod held out in front of him, a look of terror on his face -- and easily ten Onis surrounding him.
dragomorph: It seems you all have arrived in the nick of time!
EricOverbringer: Okay, game face on. Introspection about mortality later.
dragomorph: The Onis seem to be approaching him slowly, almost as if they're relishing the situation.  Which is odd, since they didn't seem to show much emotion in the past.
shinigamikitsune: The man cursed as he quickly looks for a means of distraction, a weapon - anything.
DLWriter7: Palom considers briefly the possibility that Hiroshi has some sort of super luck innate magic power, given that he managed to get the most powerful person on the island as his roommate.  ...I mean, given that he's gotten this far alone.
EricOverbringer: Dave produces his sword. The Snoop Dogg Snowcone Machete, not Wild Excalibur.
EricOverbringer: And slashes along the ground, creating a zone of slippery ice
EricOverbringer: under the onis' feet
DLWriter7: "Hey, ugly!  Eat lightning!"  The electricity that crackles forward is not especially strong.  Just a distraction, for now.
culuculu: Shampoo jumps over everyone and swings her melon hammers on one of the oni.
dragomorph: The Onis are so intent on approaching their prey that the don't notice the ice until they slip and fall!  Others stop for a moment, jolted by the electricity into a brief paralysis.
dragomorph: You've definitely got their attention now.
dragomorph: (Shampoo, Palom, Dave, Rudy)
EricOverbringer: Dave: "Okay! Now get out of there you dumbshit!"
EricOverbringer: This is directed at Hiroshi, not the onis.
dragomorph: Hiroshi gapes for a bit, then runs, putting enough distance between himself and the Onis.  "I'm not gonna ask why you're here!  Just keep them off me for a couple minutes!" he yells.
culuculu: Shampoo swings one of her hammers at the oni's neck, the other towards the gut area. "Hurry up whatever you doing!"
dragomorph: ((http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLZI_A16QvU ))
EricOverbringer: Dave: "Sure okay. I'll just stop the army of invincible helldemons. That's easy."
dragomorph: (Shampoo)
culuculu: The Amazon rushes in and spins her hammers in a wide arc, smacking the onis in front of her.+
DLWriter7: Ir is time to break out the awesome.  Palom waves his wand around a little bit in the air, mostly for no reason aside to look cool.  His momentum is shattered by Hiroshi's words.  "...What?!  We're here to rescue you, moron.  Geez!  I went to a lot of trouble screaming myself hoarse for you, you know."  Grumble, grumble, Palom sends a disgruntled wave of mage arrows towards the onis.  +
dragomorph: One of the Onis is pushed back by the assault; it's hard to say if it's hurt.  It has a worringly familiar blonde haircut.  It reachs out, attempting to strike her back.
dragomorph: A few of the other Onis are also pushed back by the arrows.  You're definitely keeping them on their feet, but they seem more annoyed than anything.
dragomorph:  A few more push towards Dave and Shampoo, attempting to grab and bite their heads off.
dragomorph: There's another Oni with blonde hair -- and much more disturbingly, a somewhat broken and FAMILIAR pair of sunglasses on its head.
dragomorph: Hiroshi begins to chant, a light glow surrounding him and the rod.
dragomorph: (Dave Shampoo react)
EricOverbringer: Dave almost loses it right there, staring at his shades and hair on an oni
EricOverbringer: But gets his shit together just in time and dodges to the future, reappearing two seconds later.+
culuculu: Shampoo grits her teeth, pushing forward even harder with her weapons. These creatures look familiar but they're in the way. So she has no qualms about attacking them.+
dragomorph: The Oni going for Dave whiffs; the one going for Shampoo is pushed back by the force of her blows.
dragomorph: They are, at least, being pushed back.  You can't say you'd be able to win a long term battle like this, but just a little time should do it.
dragomorph: (Dave)
EricOverbringer: Dave captchalogs a PILE OF CRAP into his sylladex as he gets some distance between him and the onis. This creates a conflict with his array of SUITARANGS, ejecting them from his vaguely abstracted inventory in a deadly spray of spinning blades directed at the blue monsters.+
dragomorph: There are now a number of Onis with sharp pointy things stuck in them.  They seem very put out by this.  Hell, you may have even drawn blood!
dragomorph: ...unsurprisingly, the blood is blue.  Still, they waste some time trying to pull them out.  The sunglasses Oni seems drawn to Dave particularly now.
dragomorph: It rumbles over, aiming to strike, as if through some strange sense of resentment.
EricOverbringer: Dave is the opposite of drawn to this
dragomorph: Hiroshi continues to chant.  The rod glows brighter.
dragomorph: (Dave react)
EricOverbringer: He runs, leading the oni in circles around the room
EricOverbringer: nothing graceful about it+
dragomorph: (Rudy)
shinigamikitsune: Rudolph steps back, grabbing the knife and a candle stick before he slips into the shadows. It's as if the man suddenly disappeared. A moment later from far to the left - a candle shot out of the dark towards one of the Oni - causing Van Richten to reveal himself.+
dragomorph: Through some lucky shot, you got the thing RIGHT in the eye.  It makes an odd sort of noise and begins fumbling blindly in the direction Rudy's in.
dragomorph: [Rudy react]
shinigamikitsune: Rudolph was already moving darting to the left and back into the shadows to vanish once more.+
dragomorph: The Onis seem to stop briefly, as if remembering something -- and turn towards Hiroshi, now glowing properly.  With a final shout, he plunge the rod in the ground.
dragomorph: Even without sticking in, it stays up, glowing and sparking.  He runs over to where you guys are.  "Okay let's go!  Now!" he shouts.
dragomorph: Some of the Onis try to grab the staff, but can't seem to grasp it; others are attempting to move towards all of you.
dragomorph: You have five minutes.  Get moving.
DLWriter7: "Since when did you learn magic incantations?"  Palom wisely takes a half minute to stare in some mixture of surprise and awe.
DLWriter7: Alright, maybe an eight minute.  Then he begins to hightail it as fast as his tiny legs allow.
dragomorph: "...it was ingrained on the staff, you know."  Which, when Hiroshi thinks about it, makes how easily he was duped into nearly using it wrong even dumber.
shinigamikitsune: Rudolph was out of the shadows like a dart. "Please don't scare us like this okay." He stated, not quite angry but more concern. "But let's keep moving."
DLWriter7: "If you don't have any magic potential, you could chant my spells all you want, and you'd just get a headache and a sore throat.  See?  I told you you should learn black magic!"  Indoctrination was very important in times of acute stress.  "Or white.  We could really use Haste..."
dragomorph: "Can we TALK ABOUT THIS LATER?!"
culuculu: "Yes, lets keep moving before we all get KILLED!" Shampoo yells as she sprints behind them, watching the oni with a critical eye as they start moving towards them.
DLWriter7: "But if we die, we'll never get a chance!"  Palom shuts up, anyway, after applying his own layer of ice to the floor behind them.  Sadly, Warp had a casting time of Far Too Long To Not Be Horribly Murdered.
EricOverbringer: Dave just generally makes himself scarce
EricOverbringer: He COULD retreat into a safer time period, but he's not sure when that would be.
dragomorph: You begin retreating.  Some of the Onis begin following.
dragomorph: As you make your way back to the second basement from the third, you are given a reminder about the nature of death and Onis.
EricOverbringer: and he's not just gonna leave everyone behind
dragomorph: Namely, that stuff that dies around them turns into them, as the old monster corpses are right now attesting to.
shinigamikitsune: "Damnation!"
dragomorph: Hiroshi yelps.  The Onis resemble, rather than humanoids, whatever creatures they were before.  Which means a whole diversity of BAD.
DLWriter7: "No, Hiroshi always just says 'damn'; I don't think there's any countries involved."
culuculu: "Well now Shampoo feels silly for ignoring these things earlier..."
dragomorph: Hiroshi looks behind them, and in front of them.  This... could be it...
DLWriter7: "Time travel guy, can't you make a lot of copies of yourself or something...?"  Palom, finally, begins to sound just the tad bit on edge.  The staff starts up its usual glow.
EricOverbringer: "Yeah sure, and if any of them die we ALL die!"
EricOverbringer: "So fuck you, no decoys."
DLWriter7: "...What?"
dragomorph: "I'm sorry I brought all this down on you guys..."
culuculu: "We're not dead yet! Acting like that will kill us faster"
IckyChips: "Yeah, you can apologize later.  Now we have to concentrate on getting the hell outta here!"
shinigamikitsune: "We're still alive, let's look for another path - huh?"
EricOverbringer: Dave blinks, though no one can tell when you wear sunglasses inside.
dragomorph: "...huh?"
DLWriter7: Palom chokes in the middle of calling his next attack.  The stafflight fizzles out.
culuculu: Shampoo's arms slacken in surprise, almost causing her to fall forward due to the weight of her weapons. "What the-"
IckyChips: The old iron duct grating above their collective heads rattles as something hard bashes into it.
dragomorph: The Onis, which had begun to close in, look up.  Wha?
IckyChips: Then it rattled again and falls to the ground with a clatter, and a crowbar-clutching arm loops over the side.  A skinny bespectacled man that looks familiar pokes his head out.
DLWriter7: Oh.  Great.  More people to get killed.  Palom sighs a little.
EricOverbringer: Dave: "What are you doing up there?"
culuculu: Shampoo tilts her head and stares at him, this is unexpected. "Ah, ni hao. Want to help us out here?"
shinigamikitsune: "You know how to make an entrance, might making an exit for us too?" He smiles a little, relieved to get some assistance.
IckyChips: "Hoshit!"  Gordon ducks back in when he realizes he's being watched.  "C'mon, It would have been stupid to just waltz in through the front door!"
dragomorph: Hiroshi gets it.  He runs over and reaches up to get some assistance.
EricOverbringer: Dave helps Hisoshi up, then climbs up after him
DLWriter7: Float! is what Palom would cast now except he was in the wrong game for that.  He will look dubiously up at the trap door.  "...This is kinda familiar."  For some reason, he glances down at the floor for a few moments before hopping up and down ineffectually in place.
DLWriter7: "Hey!  Some of us can't reach!"
dragomorph: Uh oh, the Onis are moving in now!  Better do something to push 'em back!
culuculu: Shampoo grabs Palom's collar and hoists him into the air.
shinigamikitsune: Rudolph glances back and looks at the grate. Quickly he grabs it and throws it at the Onis with all the force he could muster.
culuculu: "Come on and stop playing around," she yells as she jumps up right after him.
dragomorph: Well, that made them stop for a moment.  That should be enough!
shinigamikitsune: And Rudolph goes to clamor up after them.
IckyChips: "Are we all accounted for?"  The guy's voice echose through the vent.
dragomorph: They converge, but a moment too late, grasping at air where Rudy's foot ought to be.
dragomorph: "Present."
DLWriter7: "My dignity got killed.  It's going to come after all of yours now as a blue monster."
shinigamikitsune: They did however gain one shoe. Just won't fit any of them. "Indeed, we should get moving."
IckyChips: "Alright.  The way out is back up here.  This place is layed out like a damn Escher painting though... I wouldn't be surprised if we crawled out of a refrigerator in the next neiborhood."
dragomorph: 4 minutes remaining.  Go go go.
DLWriter7: "Anywhere away from here is fine.  C'mon, let's go!"
IckyChips: Those crouching and creeping closer will find Gordon has added a safety-orange hunting vest and... is that a shotgun?
dragomorph: The grates are convoluted, but at least one gets the gist that going "up" is a good idea.  And it is, for the most part.
IckyChips: "What's the hurry?  You sound like this place is gonna self-destr..."  He glances at everyone's faces.  "Ohjezus, yeah, let's go."
dragomorph: Until, next to another grate, you suddenly here an unpleasant... skittering on the metal ahead.
IckyChips: "The fuck?"  Something about a skittering noise in the vents causes his hackles to raise in a way that he can't explain.
IckyChips: He's not going to try to explain it either.  He brandishes the crowbar and clambors forward as fast as possible.
dragomorph: And in front of him are... well, they look sort of like Onis crossed over with cockroaches.  And they are approaching fast.
shinigamikitsune: Rudolph tenses, holding the knife.
EricOverbringer: Dave: "Fuck this."
DLWriter7: "...This is so dumb!  What, so when they step on germs, they turn into oni-germs?"  Palom scowls.  But he knows how to deal with cockroaches.  "Fira!"  A wave of fire flares forth.
dragomorph: THey seem to back up, but... well, being Onis, they're tough.
shinigamikitsune: "Wait-!" If these grates are metal...
dragomorph: More importantly, that grate is now HOT.  Hiroshi yelps and kicks out the grate next to them, jumping out.
EricOverbringer: Dave scrambles out after him, not caring about how he just burned his hands on the metal
dragomorph: At least the heat seems to be bothering the roach onis enough to distract them.
IckyChips: "OhcrapohCRAP--"  The man that WAS on point half-falls unceremoniously after him, landing with a meaty thud.
shinigamikitsune: Rudolph groans in pain, scrambling after the others to get out, and slips on his way out.
culuculu: This is a bad day. She tumbles out and lands like a cat, hands and knees burnt red and unable to hold her weapons due to the heat.
IckyChips: "Ahahaow... man... Way to go, firebug!  You could have roasted us like a baked potato in there!"  Shotgun at the ready again, he gets his bearing.
EricOverbringer: Dave: "Shoot the vent! While they're all bunched up!"
EricOverbringer: "Shotguns can shoot through metal, right?"
IckyChips: "...I don't see why not."  C-chak!  BLAMM!  BLAMM!  "Go on, MOVE.  We gotta get out of here, remember?"
dragomorph: You can hear some squeals in there, at least.  It's hard to say whether it killed any, but it actually seems to have hurt them.
dragomorph: The good news is, you guys are near the stairs up to the first floor, and there's no Onis blocking them.
EricOverbringer: Dave continues running.
dragomorph: The bad news is, there's a few former monster Onis in the room as well.  Hiroshi doesn't even bother to look at them and bolts up the stairs.
culuculu: Shampoo rips of the egde of her shirt, wrapping up her hands like a makeshift bandaid, grabs her weapons, and runs.
shinigamikitsune: Rudolph pushes himself off the floor and staggers after, still holding onto the knife.
IckyChips: "AHAHAH!  You like that you hellbugs?  Call me the Orkin man!  AHAH... hah..."  He stares at the other onis for maybe a second, before taking off in a panicky sprint himself.
DLWriter7: Running is the theme of the day.  Palom follows suit.
dragomorph: You can start to feel some sort of pull from down below; the staff must be close to taking effect at this point.  You're nearly at the door -- but guess, of course, what's there as well.
dragomorph: There's a few with hair; probably victims from the invasions.  There's a few hairstyles that give Hiroshi pause for a moment, looking WAY too familiar...
EricOverbringer: Dave: "Emotional trauma later! Focus!"
dragomorph: Looks like it's time for the final push...
shinigamikitsune: Rudolph's eyes narrowed as he glances for a quick way around.
IckyChips: "Okay, that's it--" He grabs... is that a GRENADE from his vest?? "Everyone down! OhgawdIhopethisworks..."  He pulls the pin and lobs it from the lobby's center to the door.
EricOverbringer: Dave drops
dragomorph: Oh hey, what is this strange thing?  One of the Onis picks it up and eats it.
dragomorph: ...and explodes.
IckyChips: "..."
culuculu: Shampoo screams and tries to hide from the explosion. Ew, monster guts.
dragomorph: Well, if you wanted to scatter them, mission accomplished.
IckyChips: "HEY!  I found something that kills 'em!  Let's get out of here!"
shinigamikitsune: Rudolph had hit the floor, and stared almost in disbelief.
EricOverbringer: Dave: "oh god it's all over me"
DLWriter7: "Wait!  That's the ice c -- "  Palom promptly tumbles backwards head over heels.
dragomorph: ...some of the smaller parts seem to be twitching, though.
dragomorph: Hiroshi runs, shoulder to the door.  It's probably locked.  Fuck the locks.
shinigamikitsune: "Ugh. It seem to just knock them down." The man gets up and moves closely.
dragomorph: The doors seem too solid for Hiroshi's thin frame, though.  Help, or...
culuculu: Shampoo smacks the door with her weapon. She wants to get out of here now to get this muck off.
EricOverbringer: Dave skids to a stop right in front of the door as Hiroshi is about to hit it and kicks it by the door knob.
DLWriter7: "Eww...."  Palom cannot really provide any help in the door-smashing department, but he is quite helpful in staring at the twitching parts as he passes.  "I think it's still alive..."
shinigamikitsune: Rudolph pulls something from his bag. "Let me try something -" He held the lockpicks. "Or we can do that."
dragomorph: Wham.
dragomorph: The Onis are converging, but the pull is getting stronger.  Hiroshi dives out the door.
EricOverbringer: Dave sprints out after him
DLWriter7: Palom experiments with dropping an icicle on a smaller part before quickly scurrying after.  "So if all the monsters on the island are being drawn here now..."
IckyChips: Gordon follows after in a scrambling lope, turning back to cover them with the shotgun.
shinigamikitsune: Rudolph ducks low and runs out, glancing back to make sure everyone else is out.
culuculu: Shampoo follows everyone out
dragomorph: The Onis converge, attempting to chase them out the door.
dragomorph: And then, there's a loud... sound of some sort, and they fly backwards back into the house.
dragomorph: The rumbling continues; Hiroshi crouches low.  What's going on...?
IckyChips: "I don't know, but I get the feeling it's worth observing at a distance!"
EricOverbringer: "Smartest thing I've heard all day!"
DLWriter7: "They're being sucked inside!"  Palom states the obvious for everyone.  Then he turns around to see if there are any onis flying towards them from the distance, because that would be pretty cool.
culuculu: "All of them?" Shampoo stops and stares at the scene. Is this really, finally, the end?
dragomorph: As you retreat away, the pulling sensation gets strongest, yet you do not seem to be affected.  However, you see something in the distance.  Several large blue... streaks.
shinigamikitsune: "Duck!"
EricOverbringer: Dave: "GET OUT OF THE WAAAY!"
DLWriter7: OK maybe not so cool.  It is handy to be short for once.
dragomorph: Hiroshi dives into the bushes near the entrance.  The forms streak by, and you catch glimpses of terrible faces and forms.
culuculu: Shampoo drops and rolls to the edge of the road.
shinigamikitsune: Rudolph is laying flat.
dragomorph: Too many eyes, horrible faces, and people who look a little too close to human for comfort.
dragomorph: After what feels like forever, the last form -- a small flat thing trying to run away and failing -- is pulled in.  The doors slam shut, the house glows.
EricOverbringer: Dave has ended up off the road next to Shampoo
IckyChips: "GAH!"  He hits the ground as one goes bouncing over his head, and meets up with the two.  "Okay, I think I'm safe in saying this is the weirdest thing that's happened to me today."
dragomorph: Runes begin to crawl around the house, surrounding it like chains.  One final large rune appears on the door, one final flash... and then all is calm.
DLWriter7: Palom has crawled a little closer to Hiroshi in the chaos.  He slowly lifts his head as the last of them are drawn inside, watches as the magic takes effect, and then simply gapes for a few long moments after.  "...Hey, Hiroshi?  ...Do you think the people who died will go back to normal...?"
dragomorph: Hiroshi stands up slowly, staring at the house.  "I... don't think so," he replies finally.  "I have no proof..."
DLWriter7: ".........Oh."  He stares at the house a little more.  Clears his throat a little.  "...I guess we did it.  ...You did it."
dragomorph: Hiroshi stares at the house a while longer mutely.  "...it shouldn't have had to be done in the first place," he says, softly.
shinigamikitsune: Rudolph slowly pushes himself up, and realizes for the first time that he's missing a shoe.
DLWriter7: In what is doubtlessly a record of some sort, Palom drops his stare to his shoes and keeps silent for a long few moments.  "...No!  You did it!  ...Vriska was right.  You were always the hero.  ...And it's all over!"  There is an odd sort of defiance in his voice as he turns towards Hiroshi.  "Guys, they're all gone!  Forever!"
EricOverbringer: Dave: "Yeah, that's..."
EricOverbringer: "That's great"
EricOverbringer: He's staring at the house
dragomorph: Hiroshi looks towards him.  It occurs to him that of all the traumas one could have faced... He awkwardly, after a bit, puts a hand on Dave's shoulder.
EricOverbringer: Once he notices, he shakes it off. "Thank god this is over with. Let's get out of here."
culuculu: "It finally over." Shampoo eyes Dave but doesn't do anything else. "We should celebrate."
EricOverbringer: "Let everyone know to stay the fuck away from this house"
IckyChips: "Smart idea."
shinigamikitsune: He places a hand on Hiroshi's shoulder. "what's important is that you tried to do everything you can to help." Rudolph smiles. "I think a good sign stating the obvious would do."
dragomorph: Hiroshi nods.  He doesn't exactly seem exuberant, though.  "...let's head back.  I think I owe everybody a better explanation of things."
IckyChips: As they walk, Gordon eyes his vest and shotgun.  "Hey, uh, any of you guys know where I can get a decent lawyer?
IckyChips: I get the feeling I'm going to need one once they realize I broke into that gun store to get this stuff.  Ten-day waiting period, my ASS."
DLWriter7: The calm after the storm is always melancholy, filled with a slowly loosening tension that did nothing to relieve the frenetic emotions that had just been experienced.  Palom refuses not to be happy.  ...He can't not be.  With a wave of his staff, a giant ice block appears.  A few minutes later, he waves again, and it is stone.  A stone monument, reading, "The Blue Monsters Are All Gone.  All Hail Hiroshi!  Also don't go in unless you really want to die."
DLWriter7: Then he hurries to catch up.  This called for ice cream.