towerofanimus | BAD BEHAVIOR! An Exercise in Futility!

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BAD BEHAVIOR! An Exercise in Futility!

Characters: Lina Inverse and anyone nearby!
Setting: Library and the cafeteria at different times, starting shortly after Fun and Games.
Format: Starting in action, will follow you.
Summary: After her rough wake-up here and what she's witnessed regarding the 'game', Lina is going to try and get to the people in charge for answers. It's not going to work.
Warnings: Magic explosions to start.

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Cafeteria - 6:00 AM, March 1st
[Lina strolls into the cafeteria, and looks around for the elevator, and once she finds it, positions herself a fair distance from it. She holds her arms out, forming motions as she speaks, before wind kicks up around her as she starts an incantation...]

"Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows; buried in the stream of time is where your power grows..."

[Do you stop her, or just watch, to get caught up in the aftermath?]

Library - 8:00 PM, March 1st
[Lina lies in the middle of the library - the shelves have all been blown apart, the tables turned over and broken, along with the chairs. A number of terminals close to the elevator are either destroyed or heavily damaged. The damaged things, as well as Lina herself smolder a bit. On closer inspection, Lina's hair is frizzled, and the pair of swords she normally carries are gone. She's also unconscious, and her muscles are twitching periodically.]

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[ Luca stops in the middle of carrying her breakfast tray to a table, and stares at Lina. That looks like magic, but the chant isn't one she's ever heard. Still, if there's one thing she knows, it's that you don't interrupt a mage in the middle of a spell.

So she just watches. ]

[Interrupting her would probably be good for Luca, and any others in the cafeteria, though, not that they know just yet.]

"...I pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand before the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hands! Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I possess!"

[As those words are spoken, an orangey-red sphere forms between Lina's hands.]

"DRAGON SLAVE!"

[It's released in a high-powered beam with a fair bit of kickback - though the harsh wind that hits is only a precursor to the explosive force unleashed once the beam hits the elevator doors. Nearby tables and chairs are atomized, the rest are knocked over, broken, or both.

Lina collapses in the midst of this, falling to one knee after being hit by a strange exhaustion.]

[ "Be destroyed" ... uh-oh. When that sphere coalesces in the mage's hands, Luca drops her tray down on the nearest table and covers her face with her arms, bracing for kickback. She's far enough away that she just stumbles backward, but her breakfast -- and the table it was on -- is a lost cause.

When it looks like everything is safe, she tentatively approaches the collapsed Lina. ]

...are you nuts?

[That feeling doesn't sit well with her, and she pushes up, scowling at the unharmed door and walls around it.]

No, just determined to get to the bottom of things!

[She holds a hand up and back, as if to throw something.]

FIREBALL!

...

[Nothing happens.]

[ Frown. Looks like Lina ran out of MP. ]

Well, don't push yourself. That... Dragon Slave thing didn't so much as make a dent. And I'm not surprised. People have been stuck here at least six months.

[Lina is totally pouting now, and tries a couple more times.]

C'mon...!

FIREBALL! ... ... ... FIREBALL, DAMMIT!

...that wasn't supposed to happen, and neither was this! Dragon Slave doesn't drain me that much!

...it doesn't? Are you sure you weren't already running low?

[ She glances from Lina to the doors and back again. She seems pretty sure of herself... ]

It's a big spell, but I can usually throw out a few before I gotta worry about getting close to being tapped out!

[She grumbles, huffs, and kicks at the non-existent dirt.] This isn't fair!

Then why wouldn't you be able to... [ She folds her arms and thinks. ] I don't know a whole lot about magic, just have some friends who can use it, so I've got nothing.

...well, I can think of one reason it'd just up and fizzle out, but that's got nothing to do with this situation.

[She sighs huffily, then pulls out what looks like an odd sword handle.] Guess it's time for Plan B.

[ If Lina says so... Luca just shrugs. She can't think of any. ]

You're gonna attack it with a sword?

[Lina frowns a bit, then sighs.] I can't cast for some reason, so may as well try my other options.

[And with a shout of "Light, come forth!", Lina charges at the elevator door. She swings, and the sword bounces off once, then twice...then disappears from her hands.]

[Yosuke had planned on just passing by, but the utter chaos he sees as he does makes him stop and take a closer look - and when that closer look turns up Lina in the shape she's in? He is less than pleased. Panicked is a far better descriptor, as his face pales and he glances about for anyone that could help]

Hey! Anyone there? Shit... you dumbass, how could you- dammit!

[And so, out of options, Yosuke does the one thing he can think to do - he drops down into a crouch and waits for that tarot card to start descending before leaping up and shattering it with a slash]

SUSANO-O!

[His persona appears and vanishes, and a green healing glow surrounds Lina before pulling its own vanishing act. But only time will tell if it was worth anything, so he waits]

[The sensation of being healed a bit was enough to stir her - it felt slightly familiar, but more strange than familiar. She groans, trying to sit up, and winces when she finds it rather painful to move her muscles.]

...feel like I got hit by a landslide...

For all I know, you did. Now stay still for a second - my healing's okay, but it's not the best around. Let me hit you with another one.

PERSONA!

[And he's happy to repeat the same process, hitting Lina with another healing glow of Diarama]

No, just got zapped... A lot. [She grumbles, rubbing her neck, and tries to conjure her own healing spell, and comes up with nothing.]

...my magic's gone again?

[He sighs, a mixture of worry and exasperation before taking a seat next to her]

We'll worry about that in a minute, once I know you're alright. You nearly gave me a heart attack when I found you, and I'm not taking any chances.

[Lina's face tints just a little red at the show of concern, and she attempts to shove his arm a little.] Oi, why're you stickin' your neck out so far for someone you barely know, huh?

[Granted, she appreciates it, but emotionally mature she isn't.]

[He smiles at her display of spirit, glad she's feeling well enough to be like this. The blush is even a little cute, but it's hardly the time for those kinds of thoughts]

I didn't realize a few healing spells were really sticking my neck out. But the way we met aside, you seem like a good person and we're all in this thing together. Isn't that enough?

[There's an annoyed frown on her face - not even getting thrashed will deter Lina's usual brash manner.

A few moments pass, and she shrugs.] I keep forgettin' people here aren't from my world is all.

[Yosuke raises an eyebrow at that - and well, now he just has to ask]

You make it sound like your world's a pretty harsh place. People don't really help each other out there?

It's not totally unheard of, but you mostly get it from the goody-goods and hero-types - most everyone else either wants something for their help, or just doesn't care. [She shrugs a bit.] I tend to fall in the second camp, myself.

[He nods, but something doesn't seem quite right about what she's saying. At the very least, a question nags at the back of his mind that he can't help but ask]

Hey, if this is too personal don't answer it, but well... if you don't care, what were you so eager to get back to that day we met?

[Lina's quiet for a few moments, mulling over whether she should answer. Yousuke seemed like a decent guy, and he'd just healed her back from being unconscious...]

I... I was in the middle of a big fight. The kind of fight that if you lose, well, that's it. End of the line.

[He's quiet for a moment, and then nods]

Yeah, that makes sense. I probably would have freaked out the same way if that was the last thing I remembered.

... and for what it's worth, I'm sorry.

Nothin' you need to apologize for. You aren't the guy causing trouble at home, or the person that brought me here, so.

Well yeah, but that's not why I'm sorry. I just... I think I get what you're going through.

If I had been brought here just a few months earlier, I don't even know how I'd be holding it together. Hell, I kind of admire you for doing as well as you are.

[Nina's eyes widen at the sight of all the destruction, and most of all, the twitching, unconscious girl in the middle of it. Immediately she rushes to Lina's side, gently shaking her.]

Wake up!

[Without knowing what caused all this destruction, all she can think is that she has to see if this girl is alive and try to get her to safety, if she can. Somehow.]

[Lina stirs with a groan and a scrunched-up face, not quite coherent yet.]

Nnngh, five more minutes, Amelia...

Romeo saw Lina, who he had spoken to in the cafeteria. He didn't know what her words meant but he moved closer to her, curious about what she was doing.

For a moment, Lina continued the incantation - "I pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand before the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy han--" She stops after her eyes open a crack and she spots Romeo. The wind stops, and Lina looks rather confused. "Romeo, when'd you sneak up on me?"

"I didn't sneak! What are you doing miss Lina?" He looked at her in confusion.

"I, uh..." She pauses, scratching at her cheek with one finger for a moment before glancing at the elevator door, then back at Romeo. "I was trying to find those bad people you told me about."

"Oh!" Romeo nodded, "Some people tried to smash the elevator before, but it doesn't work. It's got a spell on it to stop magic breaking it or something."

Lina frowns at what he says, then puts her hands on her hips with a pout. "It's warded, huh? Guess I'll just have to break that ward, then!"

Her hands move forward, and a white orb forms between them as she makes motions. "FLOW BREAK!" Said orb flies forward towards the door...and fizzles out upon impact.

Romeo watched with wide eyes as she threw the orb towards the door. "You're magic!" He shook his head though, because there were lots of magic people here. "It still wont work though miss, the bad people are really powerful. I think we need to find another way to them, there must be a secret way somewhere!"

"...no kidding," she says, half-mumbling. Not even the spell for dispelling magic worked! Her arms fold, and she scowls. "Don't suppose you've got any ideas as to where to start looking for that?"

Romeo shook his head. "I don't know where they are, we don't see them much. And I don't know how to get to where they are!"

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BAD BEHAVIOR! An Exercise in Futility!

Cafeteria

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