*. REBEL

NINE THE PHANTOM – BLAZBLUE

( app. stats. perm plotter)

' Struggle all you like, you're not strong enough to save yourself. Your dreams will die with you, leaving only cruel reality. '

meet nine the phantom though she'd prefer if you called her nine. if you knew her from before, no you don't, shut up

formerly known as konoe a. mercury, she's one of the famed ten sages– think of strong wizards– a member of the famous six heroes, and creator of the ars magus & nox nyctores (magic & weapons unique to blazblue) one of the greatest magisters to ever live

or well, those titles belong to the one named konoe, to the person she was 100 years ago before being betrayed by terumi and thrown into the boundary which altered her in irreparable ways. now, she is a phantom of her former self, someone who learned the truth of the world and angered by it, set out to change it herself

most of what made her a hero before her time in the boundary, leaving her as 'nine. nothing more, nothing less'

her view of the world became bleak, a contrast to her desperation to try and save it before, and she holds no care for it now, deeming it to be flawed with the only hope of saving it by destroying it in its entirety

while largely antagonistic, nine's goals were good in nature– even skewed and altered, she still was trying to save the world, but went to such extremes to do so, stepping on any and everything in her way in order to achieve that goal

though she claims that side of her to be gone, the humanity within and the hero she once was peeks through at times, much to her own chagrin

is one of the most prolific mages of her time and considered at the top when it comes to her mastery in magic and sorcery

has a contract with a fire elemental she can summon at will (not right now)

but she doesn't so she's content to remain perched upon the wooden fence lining the pumpkin patch, one leg crossed over the other.

" Surely you're not going to let a walking vegetable beat you." she calls out after another pumpkin manages to slide through between the gap in his legs, which caused the man to fall face first into the dirt. " I'm beginning to almost feel sorry for you."

after all, she did sneak up on her. in a haunted house. in a dark hallway. on purpose.

" I never pinned you for the type to do this. If you're looking for a thrill, I could deliver far better than this junk heap."

i'll probably reblog this in the morning because it's quite late but time to kick things off here.

          “I get what ya mean, but you can still give it a shot. Even I got a nice surprise or two from this last year– never thought it’d happen, but wouldn’t be the first time my guess was wrong.“

@worldrebel​

Green eyes were wide at the assortment of colorful confections in the window. The entire street was a montage of endless eateries, and he felt his stomach growl loudly as he took in the sight before him. He couldn’t remember what his favorite foods were, or if he even had any. Maybe he didn’t even have a preference for sweets, he couldn’t know until he tried them.

Not that those thoughts were occurring to a six year old even every color in the world danced in front of his vision, hands pressed against the glass as he documented every swirl of frosting.

Someone left and the sweet smells wafted out, enticing him forward, but…

A furrowed brow, and he pulled out what he could only assume was a phone. When looking in the window, others were paying for their pastries with this. Turning to go the other way, he bumped into someone’s legs, almost dropping it on the process.

“Um…” Looking up at her, her long pink hair reminiscent of his own pink streaks. Maybe she could, or would, help? His therapist was kind, so were his teachers, so…

“Could you teach me how to pay for stuff?” Holding out his phone, but careful not to let it go, lest it get snatched. “I saw other people doing it, but I’m not sure how.”

     she needed to think and in order to do that, she needed to calm down. it’s not that the witch was freaking out to a high degree or going off on an angry tangent about the current situation, but she was restless. antsy. one heeled foot tapped repeatedly against the pavement, arms folded tightly across her chest as eyebrows remained furrowed in thought. the stick of a lollipop protruded from her mouth-- a saving grace it was. sweets worked wonders in helping calm the itch in her bones and giving her mind time to slow down and properly process something. her sister always told her too many sweets was a bad thing, but Nine hardly listened.

          if they helped her, then they weren’t bad. besides, the sweet taste was just a bonus.

   it was someone running into her legs and a nervous voice that dragged her out of her thoughts, expression relaxing for a moment as she glanced down at the other. a child. why were there children running about without their parents? he looked to be younger than Celica, a young teenager at the most. probably not a child but he was still young in Nine’s eyes and she wondered if the people who brought so many others here had no problems kidnapping kids and the like.

         despicable. if she ever encountered one of them, she’d be sure to give a swift kick to them for doing so.

   “ How to pay?” echoed the witch back, one eyebrow raising. that’s right, the currency here seemed to all be digital and not everyone was expected to know how to do so. it’d be good of him to learn and she had nothing else to do. besides, Nine herself was also seeking to get something from this shop, so it’d be getting two birds with one stone.

         “– In the kitchen, back here!” Almost perfect… The kitchen was a mess at this point– he had been trying to clean it once the bulk of his work was done, but his exhaustion was getting the better of him by that point… But rather than passing out on the floor, the Reaper forced himself to stay away for the finishing touches. By the time Nine finally arrived, Ragna was working on the final stretch of his work…

    Even as the witch walked in, his back was facing towards her while his hands remained busy at work. A tired glance was offered back at her, a weary and small smile greeting her.

         “About time ya got here… I was honestly tempted to do this last week, but we were still busy fightin’ and all that. Even so, I knew I had to finish this as soon as possible…“ With a final nod to acknowledge his work was complete, he finally put the bag of icing aside before lifting up his final product. Nine was finally greeted with what was so damn important to show her…

    A cake. A modestly sized cake… but one absolutely packed with sugar– way more than any human should possibly be able to tolerate. But Ragna knew that this was… most likely the right amount for it to be “perfect” by Mercury standards. The icing matched her own colors, purple and pink. And to tie it all up, a simple message was written across in white icing.

                             Happy Birthday

         ”… She’s not here to do it herself. So… I did it for her.”

    she could smell the confection the minute she walked into the kitchen-- it was impossible not to as it practically filled the entire space up with a sweet scent. she's almost distracted by whatever it was to the point of forgetting to ask why Ragna asked her to come over. the smile is met with a raised eyebrow, one hand coming to rest on her hip. he...didn't seriously ask her all the way out here after a war to eat some cake, right? the Reaper was many things, but ridiculously foolish wasn't one of them. 

       deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt, she takes a step closer and it's then that she can make out the words on the cake. Happy Birthday. if that wasn't enough to have whatever annoyance she was preparing to verbalize die on her lips, it was his words that had her go quiet. she didn't need to ask who he was talking about-- Nine knew right away and their name is spoken in a breathy exhale.

                   " Celica. "

    her beloved little sister. the person Nine was more than willing to raise hell for. the mere mention of her is enough for the witch to remain silent for a time, gaze focused on the cake. maybe it's the exhaustion that clings to her so heavily that has the hardened features of her face....softening. it was slow. gradual, but they relax and for a moment, Nine smiles. it isn't a fake one, nor one tinted with ire. it was a reflection of a smile she would always have around her sister or Trinity. a smile from befor Terumi, before the Dark War, before the Boundary.

                      it was a smile that belonged to Konoe, not Nine the Phantom.

         “I know, I’m bein’ a pain in the ass… Normally I’d just wait till later, but not for this. It’ll make sense when you see it… Door’s unlocked. See ya in a bit.“ He let out a relieved sigh as he hung up the phone, glad that Nine was willing to play along. Ragna figured he wouldn’t have much time to complete this last task, but at least it’ll be a nice note to end this fiasco on.

    Doing his best to remain awake and alert, the Reaper’s last stand before a long rest lies in the kitchen. With any luck, he’ll have everything finished before the witch gets here. Guess he better speed things up…

   she has no clue what the Reaper is up to and it has her burning with curiosity. it's enough of a driving force to keep her awake during the trek to his house, weaving through groups of people celebrating their survival and the debris that still riddled the ground. it took her longer than expected reach his home -- understandable, given the circumstances -- and she knocks on the door once before entering. unlocked, just as he said.

    // @worldrebel​  |  Unprompted

    Well, it’s about damn time that this mini-war finally ended… And the Reaper felt utterlyexhausted by it all. But now wasn’t the time to sleep… without any conflict to worry about, Ragna had made a beeline right for his home in Archimedes. All the things he had gathered beforehand were still there… He’ll still have to find and thank the flag girl for helping him secure the area for this. But now it was time to work. And in the middle of that work, he needed to make a phone call to a certain witch…

          “Hey, Nine? Finally glad this shit’s over now… But before I pass out, I need you over at my place for somethin’. It’s really important… can you make it?“

She's not a religious persin by any means but she thanks whatever god is out there that this is finally over. it's a relief, but one that is overpowered by pure exhuastion, the Sage had been pushing it for the past two weeks and it's finally coming back to hit her full force. she doesn't regret it of course and would love for nothing more than to possible just pass out right then and there. but, of course, someone has plans to disturb that. 

   " Really? " she's not that happy in the slightest-- can't it wait until tomorrow? both of them vould use a week long rest....but he said it was important. and his help against the Beast was appreciated and proven to be invaluable, even if they didn't kill it. going over there was the least Nine could do. she's silent a moment before groaning, one hand rubbing her eyes to wake up more as she begins moving.

    Fighting the Black Beast for this long… His brief encounter back in the Dark War already clued him in on what it was like– but that fight ended too abruptly. The moment he made contact with the damn monster, everything just… stopped. However, that won’t be the case this time. There’s no way he can stop the damn thing like last time… so his best bet was to fight fire with fire.

    His right arm carries the power of the Black Beast. What better way to combat this unstoppable force of destruction than with its own power? He should have started off this fight with unsealing all of his restrictions… yet that was always a last resort. Ragna needed to see if he could handle this Beast without that dangerous power just yet.

    Despite his best efforts, it seems his opportunity will have to be delayed. A certain Witch just had to step in and pull him out of harms way. And her damn, reckless teleporting got the Reaper falling over, landing right on his ass on some hard concrete once the Sage released his jacket sleeve.

         “Gh– What’s your deal, huh?!“ He barked back defiantly, slowly getting back onto his feet to meet her glare. “I ain’t gonna get killed that easily– you outta know that by now! We both know I’ve got a damn good shot at taking it out!”

    “ My deal is that this shot that would be pointless waste if you got taken out before you even got the chance to do anything! "  yes, she was well aware that it was quite difficult to kill the other and that he would do everything in his power until the very end. that he was the only other person on this island who had as good a chance against the Black Beast as she did. she knew that all very well but what one could do means little if they’re not careful.            

           “ This is not some battle where you can take it out on your own and I will not deal with anymore pointless deaths because some idiot got savior-happy! “

  she could have just left him there and let whatever injury befall him as a cause of his own actions. had this been happening back in their world, she would have without an ounce of hesitation. but things are different now. taking that course of action wouldn’t sit right with her-- of course, she wasn’t going to outright admit that. not now when that thing was the more pressing issue.

  she shifts, tearing her glare away from the Reaper to back where the Beast continued its rampage. gloved fingers curl tighter around her spear, the scowl deepening. she takes a moment to calm herself before continuing. 

  the warning booms, volume of the witch’s voice rising above that of the Beast’s screeching and sounds of destruction that echoed throughout the ward of Archimedes. no sooner had those words left her lips did the severed head of the Black Beast began to thrash about, knocking into shattered buildings and leaving new craters in the already ruined street. from seemingly nowhere does Nine land next to the other woman, feet stumbling on the debris riddled ground as she struggled to erect a barrier before the two just in time to deflect the head from trying to bite the two of them in half. sparks shoot out in every which direction as its teeth scraped against the invisible shield-- that angered the Beast’s head and Nine curses under her breath as she pours more magic into keeping it strong.

          she is, admittedly, tired. every little movement of her limbs has varying levels of pain coursing through her system-- both from over-use and from untreated wounds that color her skin in dark purples and reds, some dripping fresh with blood through the tears in her clothing. she did not have time to take care of them. the pain was nothing more than a bug bite ( none of this will ever compare to what the Boundary could do.) and thus, she could ignore it. she will ignore it because the Black Beast was something that required her undivided attention.

            ....that and making sure SOME people didn’t get themselves killed.

    the severed head screeches once more as it rears back to hit the shield with no holds barred. the witch’s gaze narrows, fingers flexing as she raises her spear with her other hand. in an instant does flames burst forth from the blade, searing the shadows which make up the head and sending it skittering back.

        “ The heads will move, attached or not. Don’t be so careless running in, Yayoi and do not stray too far-- the seithr will kill you if you do. “

   ❝And mine beautiful tails like blood.❞

The she-fox is clearly displeased, a bottle of shampoo in each hand as she’s trying to discern which might best remove the stench.

       “ Blood, hm? I’ve found that to be the most difficult scent to get out.”