An Eerie Encounter [Rapture/Invite]

The manner of her speaking may have rubbed other people the wrong way, but whether or not it bothered Hans remained to be seen. His personal feelings on the matter didn't factor into it, and he was still just trying to do his job. Whether it was those who abused the supernatural for their own selfish desires, or some kind of supernatural monster run amok, Hans needed to determine whether or not Rapture would pose a threat to innocent people- though he was already inclined to feel the contrary. Her helping Facade with this issue and the fact she also fought against a giant skeleton. Still, it wasn't outside the realm of logic to think that there were even some people with good intentions who later see the ends justifying the means. So he was just wanting to double check and cover his bases.

"I'm honored that you shared that with me," Hans said sincerely after Rapture finished explaining her spirits' origins. His knowledge of the spirit world or the supernatural was more limited to europe, he knew of things like Yokai but didn't have much in the way of experience with them. "We share a similar line of work it seems. How frequent do you need to do spring cleaning?" Hans asked thoughtfully when she mentioned her "house cleaning."

Rapture considered his question and the possibility of actually having him help her. He intrigued her, at the very least, and held him in some regard seeing that Facade had asked him to lend a hand. The German might be considered many things, but ill-advised is not one of them. With that in mind, she continued. “There’s no set date; these spirits are linked to Japan and will wander through on anniversaries of their deaths or something of the like. They’ll come in during the early hours, when it’s night time for them and day time for us. You see, the shrine is a bit of an anomaly. Step into its walls, and you’ll be transported to Asakusa, Tokyo. Go back outside, and you’re in Jump. Why that is, I don’t know. But check any GPS and you’ll find that it’s true. Prove your mettle here, and I’ll have you on a really active day. Should be interesting at the very least.” The girl paused, retrieving a spell tag from her kimono. The kanji for “welcome” had been hand-painted on it with skill and had already been taped on the back so it could stick to something easily. “Give me a moment,” she implored Hans, leaving to place the talisman on the front door of the theatre. She doubted it would actually do anything to goad the evil spirit, but at the very least would give her something to do. She didn’t like to talk for long periods of time and was admittedly feeling a little helpless. Returning to the white-haired man, she first stopped by Azura to see if anything had changed. It hadn’t. Moving on, she rejoined Hans.

“Western spirits aren’t my specialty,” she admitted. A rare occasion. “But they are spirits, when it comes down to brass tacks. Maybe my sign will move things along. In the meantime, tell me more about Anslem.”

There was a shinto temple here in Jump? That was news to him, even though it wasn't unheard of even in this day and age. It was just rare in modern society. There weren't as many superstitious people, which was both a good and bad thing. He was partly aware of spell-tags, as it did fall into his field but it wasn't one he had focused much on. Hans didn't deal with blessings or entreat more divine entities for aid, not that he was above it. He wasn't sure why she seemed to be putting emphasis on him trying to prove himself, but shrugged it off as he waited with Anselm for her to come back. "I think you pique her interest," Anselm mused.

"We both share something in common, and don't have much time for others. It's a rare luxury to meet a kindred spirit," Hans thought back simply as she returned, asking about Anselm.

"Of course- he's an unfortunate victim of the European Witch Trials," Hans began, pausing to see if Anselm had any issues with him speaking about him.

"I would rather speak for myself. It's quite rude to talk about someone as if they're not around," Anselm growled in response. It wasn't often that Anselm got to talk about himself, as it was even rarer for someone to be interested enough to ask. Hans already knew all he needed due to the involuntary sharing of memories when Anselm tethered to him. Plus he seriously didn't think Anselm would overstep himself with a spitirualist here.

Hans' body give off a brief and different air, as his eyes blinked and turned completely yellow. Rapture would be able to see that Hans was now giving off a much different aura about him. "Ah, much obliged," Anselm spoke through Hans with an otherworldly overtone, much like he and Hans were physically speaking at the same time. Hans' shadow also looked more like his body. Anselm's aura would have an earthy vibe to it, but it also gave off a vague scent of ash to it. "It is what the boy said. But I was a simple farmer whose only major mistake was falling in love with the wrong person, excluding some personal views regarding religion but I digress. Her father didn't approve of our relationship, and it was but a simple matter for him to organize our neighbors againt me under the pretense of witchcraft," he went into alittle more detail, there was a pause and the air around him became very icy. Understandable considering he was recalling a very traumatic experience in his lifetime.

Rapture listened intently, acutely aware that what Anslem had to say held much importance. She treated him with the respect she would her own spirits, and did not skip a beat when the spirit took over Hans’s body. She did wonder, however, what it would be like if her spirits spoke through her in that way. Indeed it would be strange, especially due to the fact that they spoke to no one but to her and themselves to start with. Rapture noted his German accent and wondered if Facade would be interested to meet him. Most likely, as it was rare for anyone to be living––well, existing––and be older than he. Whether that would come to fruition was another thing. As Anslem spoke of love, she instinctively yet figuratively recoiled, restraining herself She saw no merit in the thing but reminded that of all the people in the universe, that opinion made her a minority. So many spirits she dealt with were marred by love. Such a powerful and unyielding thing.

So he had been wrongfully accused of witchcraft? What a terrible ordeal. Rapture couldn’t help but wonder how he died, but took the safer route and didn’t pry. Religion was taken into account but abandoned as a conversation point. The yokai priestess opted for something different. “So how did the two of you meet?”

Both of them had "a" german accent, though Anselm's was audibly different through the age of the dialect from where he was from. "As you may surmise, my death was not... a pleasant one. I was understandably outraged and refused to go. The boy may paint me as some kind of... unpleasant and vengeful creature. But I am fully just in seeking retribution against those who did me wrong, which I did through the passing of time," Anselm continued with understandably mixed emotions. Rage, sorrow- more rage. "My life and happiness had been taken away from me- and I would deny it for the kin of my so called neighbors and friends while I was forced to see my beloved marry someone else and everything I know slowly change despite my efforts," Anselm's voice was cracking and through control of Hans' body, he was shaking with fury, giving off an aura of unnatural fear.

Then Hans seemed to mentally step in, covered in a cold sweat for a moment as he steeled himself again. "Apologies for the interruption... it's an unpleasant experience to relive. But to make a long story short, he was the first supernatural that I officially encountered in my line of work. I went to the now city where his village once stood, gathered information and discerned what was just rumor and what had a grain of truth- then I found the place where his spirit remained tied to our world. Among other things, he mostly attacked anyone passing through the old forest that had grown around his old farm," Hans started to explain, still slightly shaken over Anselm's ire. Hans' shadow looked more like fire as it writhed beneath him. "I was also to test this lantern here, which was designed to instill fear into spirits in order to drive them out of hiding. Because while I can see spirits as clear as you, not everyne has that luxury, and I can't see them if they're hiding their pressence in something. Needless to say I was to try and send Anselm off the afterlife but... he was... more difficult than I anticipated and he tried to take over my body. Which as you can see, hasn't gone the way he originally intended," Hans continued, feeling like that had been so long ago since Anselm was a belligerent and angry spirit. He still was but now it was more akin to a grumpy old man yelling at kids to get off his lawn... excluding the rage that still burned like smoldering coals.

Rapture listened with what could only amount to as tentative morbid curiosity. She felt she had opened a can of worms as Anslem told his story and was admittedly relieved when Hans stepped in. The two seemed to hold quite the tension between each other, the red string of fate tied messily yet firmly. So tight, in fact, that it seemed a bit dangerous to have plucked, but it was too late to go back. She knew what it was like to be sharing the same body with a less-than-enthusiastic spirit; all four of her spirits weren’t keen on being together, with each other or with her. But they had found a symbiosis that admittedly still needed work now and again. But her spirits didn’t have unfinished business. They had all been exalted as celestial deities, their lives having been lived to their fullest. All had died honorably but one, most in battle as they had wished. For being Shinto spirits, they sure held a lot in common with the warriors of Viking origin. The Blue-Eyed White Mother Tiger, however, had been murdered protecting her children. Her sacrifice allowed them to live, granting her some peace of mind at the very least. Enemies had been dealt with, qualms had been settled. Then again, each spirit had a much longer time to deal with their Earthly affairs than Anslem had. And they had technically agreed to join with Rapture, not captured.

Before she could get lost in her own thoughts, Rapture turned her attention to the lantern. Certainly an interesting tool, on of a good amount of interest. She would like to see the device in action, perhaps at her own sanctuary. “It’s strange to meet someone who can sympathize with such a specific instance,” she commented. “Imagine what our spirits would have to say to each other if we weren’t here. Probably a complaint department, and I wouldn’t blame them!” she laughed, a rare occurrence indeed. So rare that it warranted a questioning look from Facade and a few of the boarders, not that she minded; imagining a hot gossip session was pretty funny, current situation be damned.

It was rare and also strange, he agreed. Based on how their interactions had gone thus far, he had still not gotten used to the odd break in seriousness. "I wouldn't either," Hans said with a ghost of a smile. He was being less perceptive of the others nearby and was just enjoying the moment, which was an odd thing to specifically signal out in his mind. "Well, guess we're going to have a long night," Hans said innocenty enough, completely not acknowledging how it may come off to someone else. It'd probably add more fuel to the gossip. But who knows?

Assuming there wasn't anything else, night would get under way proper. It was almost a cliche for anything "interesting" to happen late at night. But for all intents and purposes, that's how it would work in this instance. Hans was used to all night steak outs, and while physically appearing as relaxed, he was vigilante. In fact, he was so still he almost looked like a dead body with his complexion. But regardless of that, Hans was expecting things to go down any time now.

And he would be right, as a cold air seemed to gently waft in. This was followed by a slight headache, prompting him to sit up and look around the room with just his eyes. Rapture would feel... something like a tickling sensation in her head, as if something was mentally running a hand over it to look for something. Hans stood up, hand on his lantern as he gave it just long enough to be noticed by Rapture. Then he clicked the lantern on, bathing the room in an eerie yellow light that woud immediately bring up an uncontrollable sense of fear. Then it felt like gravity just increased ten fold, his headache suddenly shooting up into a migraine that forced him to his knees as something made a distressed sound. It didn't sound even remotely close to being human...

Rapture likewise apart from the lantern's fear inducing light, also feel a more painful pressure in her head as a shadowry shape seemed to manifest itself by them. It was tall and slender, with a pair of wiggling writhing limbs as described. It's head was also unusually large and bulbous with a pair of seering, burning orbs for eyes. It's body seemed to make wet, whipping sounds as it's limbs moved but did not look like it had much of a solid body apart from that. The creature recoiled, instinctualy moving away from the light for a moment before it tried to regain it's composure.

Rapture would also be able to tell by looking at it by it's aura that it was... probably as far from anything she personally knew. It gave off a dark, cold and unnerving vibe but that was all that she'd be able to discern from it. It was like this creature shoudn't be here.

“Action cures fear. Inaction creates terror.”

As a deep sense of dread enveloped Rapture, the girl remembered a quote that her father once told her. She felt glued to the very spot upon which she stood as a paralysis in her bones and nerves settled in. At last, the creature had shown itself, a strange and alien like being with little in the realm of reality to describe it. A mental block took hold as a gnawing pain began to rattle her brain, making her eyes well up with tears. Such a sensation was foreign to her, yet called upon dark memories of when Ryuuzaki’s father used psychological warfare against his own daughter in a misguided attempt to make her stronger. This type of feeling wasn’t even warranted to the likes of giant skeletons or hungry demons… no, this was different. Something primal and unyielding.

••••

Facade experienced similar emotions, albeit back with personal memories of horrors of yesteryear. The fire that consumed his body, deaths of cherished loved ones, feelings of helplessness when he could to nothing to alleviate a dire situation. As his golden eyes fell upon the creature, he instinctively held his arms wide open as if to protect the twin sisters, Sakura and Azura. Meanwhile, Voodoo took a similar approach as he guided the residents of Le Théâtre de Petits Cauchemar to one side of the stage and out the back entrance to a different room. Now, just the twins, Rapture, Facade, and Hans remained with the incorporeal entity.

••••

Voodoo’s actions prompted Rapture to conduct her own, finally able to rip herself back into the present where she forced herself to take deep breaths and focus. Whether this enemy actually bled was still up for question, but that didn’t matter to her. She wasn’t about to take any chances, and so began chanting quietly, drawing energy from within to assume the form of the Great Red Dragon. Her eyes began to turn red as well as the tips of her black hair, and soon a burst of black flames engulfed her entire body only to disperse and reveal new, all-black attire. Another incantation was said, causing the hilt of a sword to appear in the middle of the petite powerhouse’s chest. Grabbing the hilt, Rapture pulled and procured a blade made of boiling blood. But instead of attacking the creature straightaway as was her nature, she waited.

“Morte,” she whispered, “it’s your call.”

Hans forced himself back to is feet, feeling much what was described earlier. It felt like something was in his head that shouldn't be there, and it's mere pressence was overwhelming. "Kill it!" Hans managed to force two words out through grit teeth as he flicked his arm out, calling forth his Autum's Harvest Scythe. Hans would be the first to try and take a swing at it with his scythe as one of the creature's set of arm tentacles wrapped around each other into a singular working arm.

It flicked it's arm back and wordlessly ripped several seats out of the floor to quickly move them in Hans' path. Then with another flick of it's arm, it knocked Hans off his feet as the flying chairs launched into him with incredible force. "Grave Mote, unnecessary. interference... irritating," The Creature mentally intoned as Hans got right back to his feet with some help from Anselm. It didn't seem to be paying him much attention and seemed to be taking more of a specific interest in Rapture as it pushed its other hand out, releasing psionic energy that would intensify her already terrible headache by ten fold- if she did't move of course.

"You are not welcome here demon!" Anselm rasped through Hans, swapping control with him and giving him some relief from the crushing mental pressure. It still bothered Anselm too but to a slightly lesser extent. The scythe in his hand would burn with otherworldly fire and seem to come more alive in his hand.

Facade thought better of staying and ushered the twins out of the stage just before chairs started flying. He contemplated staying and helping somehow but figured his physical attacks would likely to nothing to an incorporeal being. He trusted Rapture and Hans to deal with the creature and exited swiftly. The shapeshifter settled with the fact that he would be a great deal more helpful as moral support.

••••

Rapture didn’t hesitate in moving out of the way as the creature turned nasty, sending a slew of chairs in Hans’ way with relative ease. It was frightening enough just in presence and appearance, and now it revealed itself to be a physical threat as well. She wielded her blood sword with both hands, strategically aiming for the arm first in order to test a reaction. She wasn’t about to go plunging her blade in all willy-nilly even though that’s what she wanted to do.

“You better bleed!” she commanded through gritted teeth, slicing at the creature’s appendage.

The creature not only missed blasting Rapture, but was also rewarded with its still extended arm being cleaning sliced off with a pained howl of sorts. Anselm in Hans' body, moved in next and used the each of his scythe to swing at the creature's mid-section. Rapture was safely far enough way that he didn't need to worry too much about accidentally hitting her if it moved- which it did!

The creature took to the air and unnaturally "shifted" through it as if the air was water as it's severed arm seemed to fade out of reality- another one growing from the stump that was left behind. This just got more... troublesome. "This does not concern you ash and grave mote. I require the dust mote," the creature intoned again.

"A thousand pardons, let me just- BLAH!" Anselm sarcastically replied before Hans' mouth stayed open, releasing a black and yellow glowing arm that shot up. Growing twice in size, the hand would try to slam the creature into the ceiling.

Instead the creature was forced to move again, trying to get distance from Anselm as it mentally ripped out some more chairs, and threw them at Rapture. It would follow close behind this barrage, psionic energy crackling from its eyes for a moment as it would try a slightly different tactix. It'd release a conical blast of otherworldly light, which would more or less stun anyone caught in it. It'd would be much like someone suddenly just losing all conscious control of their body and "fainting" while still being aware of what was going on around them.

Anselm wouldn't get the brunt of it but it was still enough to make him almost fall flat on his face as he was chasing after it, him and Hans swapping places again. The fact that Hans and Anselm shared a body but had separate minds was probably why they were able to keep standing in the first place. This must mean that with more spirits, Rapture probably had more tolerance against it's mental assaults.

Rapture narrowly missed the chairs yet again, doing a dodge roll out of harm’s way. While the bulk of her concentration lay on the bizarre creature, she couldn’t help but wince at the amount of damage being done to the newly-renovated theatre. Facade had put a lot of hard work and money into it, and although he was certainly more worried about his flock, he had to be groaning at the amount of property damage being done. At least the residents were safe.

Seeing that her attack had done little as the creature regenerated, Rapture grit her teeth. Hans’ scythe seemed to lack power as well, but she didn’t have anything but her blood blade to deal with supernatural entities. Perhaps she would need to aim for the head like on would a zombie, or perhaps enough hits would slow it down. As a conical beam from the beast’s eyes was unleashed, the petite powerhouse put even more distance between it and herself.

She felt lucky to have dodged both attacks but did not want to feel lucky again. She wanted to feel successful. Grabbing the holy of her blade, she gave a command. “Supuritto!” the yokai priestess said and the weapon split into two smaller katana-like blades. She rotated one in each hand, getting a better feel for the new configuration before charging at the alien-like being, leaping high into the air, and driving one blade in each eye.

Hans had yet to be able to actually hit with his scythe yet, but it was treating it as much of a threat as Rapture's blood sword. So far she had been the only one to even do any actual damage, regardless of it having regenerated. Something else which wasn't normal. Hans back in control, would give his scythe before moving off to the side getting ready to try flanking it as Rapture went in for another attack.

In response to her attack, one of the creature's arms would suddenly widen and form an impromptu barrier that it brought toward Rapture's blades- letting out a pained grunt as th blades pierced and nearly got to its eyes. Its eyes would then light up for half a second before releasing a pair of eyebeams THROUGH its own arm, aiming to knock Rapture backwards as Hans moved in to back her up. It immediately whippe its head around and fixed Hans with what could only be described as a "withering" glare and whatever it was seemed to stun Hans.

That migraine that Hans had been dealing with this whole time ramped up and for a moment everything went black for him as body just seemed to freeze dead in its tracks... until a familiar haunt creeped out from his shadow. Anselm grabbed the alien monster by the throat, lifting him up and slamming him back down hard. Hans snapped out of his stupor as the creature turned its' withering gaze on Anselm who starte to freak out as if he was on fire again. Hans swung his scythe as it levitated back up onto it's feet, ripping through part of its torso with another ear splitting shriek of pain.

Rapture wasn’t surprised that the creature blocked her attack, but was please that she had caused it pain. The thing didn’t bleed after all, but at least it could feel. As a counter attack, the creature aimed a set of eye beams through its own arm. She was nearly able to dodge the attack, but came up short as it connected to the top of her head. It sent her reeling, an immense pain shooting through her mind that made her drop her blades. Her eyes welled up with tears as she staggered, trying to right herself. A wave of dizziness flooded through her, but she managed to stand upright. A few moments went by that seemed like hours to the yokai priestess before she could retrieve her blades. Gritting her teeth, she prayed to the Great Red Dragon for clarity and strength. In turn, a surge of energy ignited her nerves and she let out a battle cry. She had become so accustomed to simply wiping the floor with native yokai that she had grown complacent in her assault. This thing did not follow the laws of nature that she was accustomed to, but she held on to the idea of helping free those who had become servants of ‘The Eternal Mother.’

Looking to Hans, Rapture gained even more confidence. He and Anslem made one hell of a pair. She and her spirits made their own formidable force as well, and the fact that she had not just one, but four helpers of her own granted reassurance. There was nothing left to do but attack again, and attack she did. This time, sliding past the creature and attacking from behind, blades aimed for the base of its bulbous head.

And then the creature would explode after Rapture cut through its head. Causing its entire body to seemingly shatter as it seemed to billow out all round them, bombarding them with smells, sounds, thoughts and vague memories. Failure, unacceptable outcome- unanticipated interference. Mind... slipping, need nourishment. Beloved... will not make same error. Were some of the stray thoughts, along with brief flashes of dark metal corridors, a deep pool of sea water, and something... else- something far off but waiting. Then the creature's "body" completely faded out of sight, leaving them to process what just happened.

Once the creature was gone, the terrible migraine that both of them would be suffering in different degrees would start to fade with it. Hans would be breathing heavily, sweat clinging to his brow as he waited a moment to make damn sure that it was actually gone, and then he'd flick his lantern close; removing the air of fear as Anselm returned to his hiding place in his shadow. He would look at his sctythe, trying to tell if the creature's "body" had left any viscera but found none. A look around would also confirm that other than the seats it hurled at them, and a faint... dampness where the creature had been standing or floating, there was little to no evidence that it had even been here.

"You alright?" Hans felt the need to ask a stereotypical question everyone couldn't help but ask after dealing with conflict. What did he just experience? Was it- was it dead? He wanted to believe that it was but something what it had apparently been thinking stuck out in his mind. "Will not make the same mistake, in particular stood out. Beloved? Was it... talking to someone? Maybe the eternal mother? What did that make the creature then?