Hunting (with) the Exorcists

[Harri-chan]

The arrow struck the spider through the eye, and it backed away slightly, two of its front legs lifting from the ground and flailing. It didn't die however, and started to charge again.

Blaze's bullet caught the spider in the head, and it stumbled, losing its footing, crashing to the ground in a tangle of giant, hairy legs. Another huge spider came skittering out of the trees right behind it, rushing straight at Logos!

Rosemarie swung her scythe, slicing one of the spider's legs on half! It stumbled to one side but didn't fall, and then lunged at her, and she only just missed having the two giant fangs plunge into her.

The spider in front of Lucy was caught by the blast and lifted right off the ground, spinning through the air as it was flung back and crashed hard into a tree, before slumping to the floor, now on it's back, legs twitching. Two more spiders came around the tree and stalked towards Lucy.

"There's too many!", cried Elliot.

[Blaze]

THe spider shot by Okuni was stunned long enough for Jean to leap up onto it's back, two large bladed rosaries trailing from her sleeves. She swings them in a wide arc on each side of her, attempting to cut off the spider's legs!

Logos approaches the spider closing in on her, twirling her bo staff at high speeds, suddenly hurling it at the spider in such a way that all the momentum it built while twirling is retained, flying at high speeds towards the arachnid's head.

"Shut up Elliot! It's not over until it's over." Lucy snaps, stamping down hard on the boy's foot. She shakes her staff again, letting out a low whistle, the jangling of the hoops and her whistle seeming to build on each other, reaching a high pitch when suddenly a cyclone seems to tear through the clearing, blasts of air flying at the spiders!

[Harri-chan]

Jean's blades cut through the legs of the spiders, and it's carapace thuds to the ground, but if they hoped for time to congratulate each other,they would be disappointed, as two more of the creatures crawled from the trees to take it's place.

As Logos launches her staff at the spider, it recoils in pain and hisses, and seems momentarily dizzy. As it's side, the spider that Blaze had shot in it's head was staggering back to it's feet, and the pair bumped into each other as they orientated themselves, before racing towards the two girls again, the ground starting to shake from all the spider feet!

Rosemarie finds herself trying to fight off two of the beasts, slashing and jabbing at them with her scythe, but they slowly push her back towards the center of the little clearing, where Elliot had just let out a loud from having his foot stomped on! Lucy's cyclone rips whirls around them, both the advancing spiders being tossed back into the trees where they came from, but more and more were emerging. Six more appeared at the edge of the clearing, stalking towards the little group.

There was a creaking of trees, the sound of leaves swishing as several of the trees began to lean slightly, and a spider even larger than the rest pushed it's way between them. It was over twice as tall as any of the others, and purple markings streaked across the dark black hair on it's body. Now there was a definite shake of the ground each time one of it's eight giant legs made a stride forward.

[Blaze]

The Exorcists begin to pull back towards the box, making a tighter defensive perimeter, Lucy pulling the wolf and Ellliot with her. When the enormous spider appears, they all focus on it.

"Must be the queen... she said it could only be killed with one weapon." Blaze mutters.
"We should test that." Logos says simply, speaking for the first time.

The group gives a firm, resolute nod. Blaze swaps her handgun for an anti-material rifle and begins firing at the joints between the queen spider's abdomen and legs to try and make it stagger. Okuni's arm glows with a blue light as she channels her chi into the arm, firing much faster than she was before, letting loose a hail of arrows tinged with the blue light that come down on the queen like rain. Logos and Jean rush at it, leaping off the backs of smaller spiders to leap at the queen, Logos aiming to land in it's head and stab it with a red sword she produced, Jean swooping under it, rosaries lashing out from her sleeves to try and entangle it's legs.

Lucy meanwhile tries to keep the spiders back, blasting with bursts of hair to knock them back, away from her, Elliot and the wolf.

[Harri-chan]

While Blaze's shots seemed to hit their mark, there was no staggering or stumbling from the giant spider, while Okuni's arrows bounced off the creature as if they were no more than straw. The smaller spiders hissed as Jean and Logos jumped over them to reach the Queen. The tip of Logos' sword jabbed at the spider, but it turned it's huge head and it's fangs snapped at the blade, snapping it in half! Jean would fare no better, her rosaries entangling the legs, only to burst when the creature moved.

From around the edge of the clearing, more and more spiders were pouring in from the trees. For each one that Lucy managed to throw back, four or five more were taking it's place, and even some of the dazed ones were getting back to their feet!

"Alas!", came Melanie's voice, again with no sign of the girl herself, her tone emphatically theatrical.

"It seemed surely this was the end for our brave heroes... but at that very moment... the saviour arrived!", she squealed.

Lucy would feel a very strong tingle pass through her. Sparkles seemed to swirl in the air around her, a light coming off them, growing brighter and brighter. Her clothing began to shift around her body, the material seeming to melt and reform. It was now black and white gingham cotton, a little dress with puffed, short sleeves, a round white collar, and a knee length skirt that was suddenly filled with petticoats that tickled her thighs! White socks came up to her knees, and her shoes became polished mary janes with the smallest of platform heels on them. Her underwear grew into a pair of ruffled white cotton bloomers that just peeked from under her dress, while upon her head was a white cotton bonnet. It was elasticated around the rim, a little loose and puffy around her head, and the edge was all frilly!

The sparkles then surrounded her staff, and it began to grow, getting longer until it was a full foot taller than Lucy herself. The material turned black, and the head of the staff re-shaped itself as a carved, wooden spider, which then began to pulse with a soft, white glow...

[Blaze]

The Exorcists, to their credit, refused to stop fighting. Logos stomps on the queen's head and runs up her back, Blaze and Okuni switching their attention to the mounting crowd of minion spiders, Jean spreading her rosaries among the trees in an attempt to create a tripwire strong enough to stagger the queen.

They even ignore Melanie's taunting narration, until she mentions a savior. They look around and spot the changed happening to Lucy.

"Ergh... I hate having to work with her, but..." Blaze mutters, before blasting her way over to Lucy to defend her as the changed continue, soon joined by Okuni. The girl herself seems stunned by these changes, eyes widening as her staff changed.

"H-Hey! That was a gift, you jerk!" she yells at the heavens.

[Harri-chan]

Lucy could feel her staff vibrating with renewed power as she yelled up towards the sky as the fighting continued around her. Rosemarie thrust her scythe through the body of one spider, and then squeezed the trigger along the shaft, a bullet firing from the opposite end, and flying through the head of another of the creatures. The red-haired teenager in the short yellow dress was shifting about, and she tried to lift her hands to her rub at her eyes, making a confused sound when she found them tied. Elliot's blue eyes widened and looked over the girl as one of the spiders raced up behind him.

[Blaze]

Lucy looks around at the carnage and hesitantly points her staff at the spider sneaking up on Elliot, trying to release some of it's power. The other Exorcists continue to fight, Logos raining blows onto the back of the queen.

[Harri-chan]

The vibrations from the staff grew stronger, making it shake in Lucy's hand for a second before firing a bright beam of white light through the air. When it reached the spider, the creature exploded like a piñata, into a shower of glittery black confetti! Elliot's mouth fell open, and he looked over to meet Lucy's gaze. For all the efforts of the other Exorcists, they seemed to be doing no damage to the Queen, and she didn't even seem to be tiring!

[Blaze]

ALl the Exorcists stare at the place where the exploded spider once stood in shock. Lucy actually looks somewhat nauseous, but she turns her gaze at the queen spider and points her new staff at it, letting the power build and releasing it! Logos hops off when she realizes what Lucy intends and joins the others in defending Lucy.

[Harri-chan]

Even some of the spiders seem to pause when they realise what had happened to the one Lucy aimed her staff at. Rosemarie was thankful for the brief respite as she was in very real danger of being overwhelmed by the increasing number of them. When Lucy turned her weapon on the queen, she could feel the same thrum of energy pass through it, and this time it vibrated a little longer before releasing a blast of the same white light, but even brighter than before, filling the clearing before it struck the Queen, and seemed to get absorbed into her. The glow spread across the giant spider's body and it's long legs, and the hordes of it's minions abandoned their attack, and en masse turned to flee back into the forest that surrounded them.

[Blaze]

Lucy stares down the queen as the other Exorcists breath a sigh of relief. Jean goes to check on Rosemarie while Lucy yells at the queen.

"Y-Yeah, not so big now huh?! You should just run away!"

[Harri-chan]

Within seconds, the group was alone in the clearing with the Queen, which was trembling as the bright glow covered it's entire form. Rosemarie turned to Jean, a little out of breath, nodding her head to show she was okay. The Queen staggered towards Lucy, the glow getting brighter and brighter, nearly blinding those watching... before the giant spider suddenly burst, becoming pink and black confetti which was throw up into the air, and then fluttered back down over the group.

[Blaze]

Lucy gasps as the Queen 'pops,' shuddering even harder.

"A-Augh... I killed another..." she mutters, eyes shimmering. Logos tries to reach up and pull her back down to Earth as Blaze checks on the werewolf girl.

"You were very impressive Miss Rosemarie." Jean says with a smile.

[Harri-chan]

"Thank you... as did you all...", replied Rosemarie in a stern tone, while her gaze turned towards Elliot and the girl with red hair beside him. The girl was sat upright, her wrists and ankles still bound, her hairtousled and her dress bunched up. She looked... terrified. Her green eyes were wide as she looked up at the Exorcists from the floor, although Elliot wore the same expression, huddled beside her.