Day of the Living Dead

Belinda

It was a massacre. We were completely outnumbered, surrounded by undead on every side...and even worse, some of them were our own allies. According to Nel, the mage assigned to our platoon, the dark, heavy smog at our feet served a purpose: to convert any fallen into even more minions to fight. To make matters worse, the only living enemy we could see was a lone, hulking minotaur. Any who approached, friend or foe, got their head ripped from their shoulders by its jagged axe.

When he first approached, my lieutenant had charged him head-on...the first to fall. At some point, the tide turned in our favor, the undead staying dead and the mist dissipating. With only a handful of squadmates left, I had hurled myself at the beast as well. I was conscious for long enough after my head hit the dirt to see my sword strike true: straight through the heart...

...so why is that same beast standing before me, now? Why is that same smog at my feet?

Why can't I move when he swings his axe at me?

Dusk Blackwing

"Kara, are you sure about this?" The ride is bumpy enough already, ignoring the fact that she's sprinting. Without my legs, it's all I can do cling tightly to her scruff.

"There's no time!"

As we approach the village, I can see she's right. Dark smog -like a smoke machine caught fire- stretches across the forest floor. Whatever we're fighting, they're attacking the whole village at once...I just hope I have enough mana to deal with all this...

Camilla

The smoke brushes over my feet, and I feel a sense of unease.

'We have company.'

Getting up, I rush back outside, Gilford on my heels. "Everyone into the church!" I say, but I'm not even sure what we're fighting, yet. It's then that I see a hand pierce through the dirt nearby, boney. Another pops up a few feet away, and another. Countless skeletons begin pulling themselves out of the dirt. Shit...

Quickly weighing my options, and with Gilford here, I rush off toward the barracks, kicking bones away as I go. The trainees are already there, holding their own against a series of zombies that have come from the east. "Captain!" One of them tosses me a sword, and in one swift motion I catch it and hack into a skeleton behind me.

"We need to get everyone into the church! Susan, Charlotte, you're here with me! Everyone else, focus on clearing a path!" I shout to my troops, not wasting a second to chop into a rotting corpse.

Within seconds, they become more organized, with the two I called out slashing into zombies, while the four others focus on the skeletons digging their way out of the earth.

'Let me help.' A spectral wing shoots out of my back, and I can feel it bash into another undead that I was about to cleave into. My sword faintly glows, and I can feel a burst of strength cut through my exhaustion and lingering aches. 'This is too large a horde to not be commanded by something stronger. Let's hope it's on the weaker end, like a necromancer, and not along the lines of a lich.'

A hissed voice pierces through the fighting: "[D] Oh, so this is what's left of the mighty Riverbend? How the mighty have fallen."

My eyes scan the battlefield, eventually falling on a skeleton with tall, straight horns. A devil?

"[D] If the nephilim really is here, it must be incredibly weak. I doubt we have much to- AGH!" He's cut off by a streak of flames hitting him(?) square in the chest. "[D] You bitch! I'm monologuing here!" He raises his hand, and a ray of darkness shoots back to where the fire came from.

Nephilim? My grip on my blade tightens. My 'wing' flaps, giving extra height to my leap across the horde, landing only a few yards away from the devil. "[D] You'll have to go through me to get to him."

Torch [Goblish]

I duck behind the peak of the roof, the darkness fading a short ways beyond where I had been. After crossing the river, I'd climbed to the roof of the tavern as soon as I could. I'm not great with close-combat...that's normally Shadow's job. But from here, I can see almost the entire town being overrun, and focus my fire on where it's needed most.

Where would Chief focus first? Completing my scan of the battlefield, I see that most of the humans are running toward the stone building in the center of town. He'd want to help them. Get them to safety before fighting the boss.

I chastise myself. I should've known that. Redirecting, I launch a barrage into the roads, though I don't know quite how well skeletons burn...

Luckily, I spot Chief riding in from the north on...a fox?

Dusk Blackwing

"Kara! Slow down!" My knuckles are whitening from how tightly I'm gripping her fur, but the ride hasn't become any easier. It takes all the effort I have to even conjure a light blade without falling off.

Surprisingly -or maybe unsurprisingly, considering our bond- she actually listens, and I can sit up a bit. Though, without use of my legs, I'm still leaning heavily on her for support. Regardless, we're coming upon the north edge of the village, and I can already see a number of skeletons, both clawing their way out of the dirt and already free of it. As we rush by, my blade cuts clean through those I'm able to reach. Something about undead being **** to light damage...

They rake their bony fingers at me and Kara, and I try my best, but some of them do connect. Without me possessing her, her defense is way lower than normal. This was a bad idea...

As soon as I think that, Kara pounces on a pair of skeletons, forcing them back into the smog. "What's the plan, Dusk?"

Though, maybe this isn't the worst situation in the world.

(Be)Linda

I push myself off the ground, finding myself once more with the always-strange 'blindsight' I get without...my head.

My head! Where's my head? I try to look around, but all I see are zombies and skeletons...and this dark mist that covers the ground.

I hear Xerxes' voice, but I can't listen to what he's saying, my focus on the mist. My hands reach out, swiping along the dirt path. I feel the bumps and kicks of the other undead tripping over me, but they don't do much else.

Suddenly, I'm pulled up, away from the ground. No! I'm hefted onto a furry shoulder. Xerxes again, and his voice sounds a bit more panicked. Despite my struggle, his raw strength keeps me in place as he barrels through the horde. Nononono. I desperately scan the ground, obscured by the smoke. No...no...

Desperation is a strong motivator. It can lead you to make decisions you otherwise wouldn't, some saving your life, and others...

I unsheathe my dagger, stabbing Xerxes hard enough that he recoils, letting me go. I fall on top of another skeleton, but the pain is dulled. My head...my head...

Camilla

"[D] ...you aren't the nephilim." His hollow eyes glow slightly, unlike the rest of the skeletons here.

"[D] No shit." Without another moment's hesitation, I lunge, only for my sword to meet a black, shadowy shield.

'Careful. Contrary to popular belief, necromancers actually stem from priests, defensive casters. Your usual style might not work.'

I step back, readjusting my grip. Then I'll have to try something else. Once more, I leap into the air, over the necromancer and land behind him, trying to cut right into its exposed spine...only for another shadow shield to come out.

"[D] I may be weak physically, but Melanoche has gifted me enough power to easily dispose of pests like you." Its eyes glow brighter, now clearly a faded blue, and the shadow shoots out at me. I duck to the side, but it's quick enough to still cut into my left shoulder.

I grimace. "[D] Fuck off." My sword moves on instinct, making several strikes in the short time, only to be blocked again and again.

With a pause in my strikes, the skeleton laughs. "[D] I've fought enough of you swordsmen that I know how to defend myself, girl. We're on completely different- AGH! This town is full of bitches!"

While he ranted on, I charged my blade with light magic, and pierced through the shield that came up to block my strike. Finally. We both stare at the chip in his forearm. "[D] You've fought swordsmen. You haven't fought me."

Dusk Blackwing

Kara and I make short work of the skeletons in the north, or at least what's left of them. Based on some of the glassy spots on the ground, I assume Markonath passed through here, too. I take a breath, and Kara does as well, feeling a brief reprieve before we throw ourselves back into the fight. "You doing okay?"

"A couple scratches, nothing big. You?"

"You mean other than my legs not working and being strapped for mana?"

The fox stiffens beneath me. "Right, sorry."

I chuckle. "Don't worry about it. Let's clear out the-" I pause, hearing something nearby. "Did you-"

"Yeah, I did." She readies herself, looking around. "The skeletons!" She leaps forward, just as one is standing up so she knocks it back down. "They're not staying down!"

Shit...that's REALLY not good. "Let's get to the church. We need a plan."

Rose

This isn't going well... Charlotte and Susan are doing well enough, but I redirect Darcy from 'skeleton' duty to 'zombie' duty. With Camilla abandoning the line, they need the help. Though, that only leaves Nia and two others clearing away the living bones. It's manageable...but I'm glad Dusk was able to join in...though I'm curious how he's moving so fast... Unlike with the rest of my flowers, I can only ever get bits and pieces out of him, but it's still helpful to know he's here.

He's heading to the church, too. That's good. This'll serve as a good test of his leadership in a crisis. It'll look good when the king comes...but he'll need help; mana. He had to use a lot to heal the twins... 'Maggie, are you able to make mana potions in these conditions?'

'If I had the right ingredients. Gilford might-' There's a pause, a spoken conversation. I could peak at who she's talking to, but I'm already focusing too much on the soldiers. 'I'll need some time.'

'Make it quick.' ...but I have to assume it won't be. There's that tea that Garth makes, but that will run out before it can turn the tide. That leaves more natural sources... 'Astrid.'

The young woman doesn't respond, her eyes focused through the trees, but I know she's listening. 'Never speak. Always listen,' as her sister says.

'I need you to do something for me.'

"I'm not leaving you."

...strange... 'I can protect myself from a few rotting corpses long enough for you to do this.'

"It's too dangerous."

Hmm... She's never done this before... 'Do I need to talk with your sister about this?'

Astrid stiffens. "...no..."

'Then listen carefully...'

Diana [Demonic]

I stare down at the village, the ants fighting desperately to survive. And of course he ordered me to protect the queens...if only I knew where Daisy is...

A cough turns my attention to the back of the tower balcony. Violet's stirring, but still too weak to move. "...daddy..."

That asshole. Did he take Daisy with him? I turn my attention back to the ground, spotting the devil in question quickly approaching the church on the back of a fox...but no Daisy. I grimace. Where are you? It's as if she just vanished... With nothing better to do from up here, I extend my wings. I'll have to fly through the town and hope she catches my scent.

I fall from the tower, feeling the refreshing sensation of the wind running through my hair...I'd forgotten how it felt to fly. I pull up mere inches from the ground, using my momentum to speed across the village. None of the undead -not even Dusk- are quick enough to react to me as I zip by, fluttering my wings to get back above their reach.

Alright, time to find Daisy...

Camilla

I wipe the blood from my face after one of the zombies leaves a nasty scratch. 'I told you to be cautious.'

I know. It's not easy fighting an army by myself, you know. I lost track of the others, but I have to assume they're on their way to the church.

I grunt, another blow from a zombie hitting me in the back. 'It was a mistake not get armor.'

I know! Another gash, but I quickly retaliate, decapitating the zombie in question before leaping into the air again. The necromancer had left me behind too, but I could clearly see him now. Another flap of my wing, and I'm diving at him, sword outstretched. Feeling the mana flow through the blade, I cut right into him, landing between his ribs.

"Gah!" He's stunned for a second, but turns his head around to look at me, his eyes glowing a brighter blue than before. "[D] I'm going to enjoy fucking your corpse."

Another surge of dark magic, and I'm thrusted back into the horde, knocking some of them down. "[D] Like that's gonna-" I pause, the necromancer's arms stretched out into the air.

"[D] From brightest day to darkest night! Let the darkness stop the sunlight!"

Darkness shoots up from his hands, gushing up and out.