The Will to Fight: Ongoing: Red and Purple

[voidtreckermods]

Dawn Attack

It's been a busy few days of fighting demons, attacking keystones and fighting both on the demon and human planes. On the morning of day nine of the month of Kazoo a gate opens close to the base camp that the two teams have made.

It seems the demons have decided to focus on this unexpected threat, because it is a sizable force, with a number of the large demons. They march towards the camp with single-minded focus, the opportunity to stop these unwanted defenders taking precedence over their desire to destroy the city.

The advantage to the landscape being as ruined as it is, is that there isn't much to stop the lookouts from seeing this force headed towards them. A gate opening is not subtle. There should be enough time to make sure the defenders are ready.

Scouting Ahead

Once that skirmish is won those on the Red team will find their SCA's beeping, with an exclamation point far out to the east.

A group of demons is congregating at the location indicated. Investigate why, defeat the demons and close any gates nearby.

It will take a while to get there and there is plenty to do on the way for those that follow the exclamation point. Roaming packs of demons, gates to be closed. Exhausting work, especially for those going in and out of the demon gates.

Protecting the City

Once it is clear that these defenders are not going to be easy to wipe out, the attacks on the city itself get more frequent. The demons have changed tactics: rather than sending in large groups they open many small portals, sending small strike teams to harry and target individuals.

Some of the attacks are clearly meant as traps: they open the gates in or very close to the city, to lure the Voidtreckers in to where they will be affected by the spell. Ranged attacks may be useful here.

Comments

[shutupnail]

Well that was gruesome. Piccolo didn't have any complaints. Holes tended to end up in opponents whenever one punched them hard enough. He nodded at Cassie in passing. Good team work.

With that down, Piccolo looked for another target to attack. There were plenty of small fry in this rush attack but he was less concerned with those right now. He looked for something larger to take on.

His eyes locked onto a target on the other side of the battlefield. Without a word, he flew off to engage it. Cassie was left to either sweep up here or follow him to the larger target and help take it down, too.

[subcircuits]

"Oh no," Devero says with a crooked smile, "you've discovered my secret plan to take breaks without looking like I need them." In fact, he reaches over and picks up the second bowl of stew to start in on his own meal.

He nudges Koumyou with an elbow. "Anyway, I only boss because I care."

[subcircuits]

"Sounds good," Devero says with a nod. He reaches out, making sure to choreograph the motion as he bops Soldat's metal shoulder lightly with the fist. "Glad you were here in camp this morning. All of you. Saw you fighting; the Asset was a real asset out there." Devero did you really just

[its_dad_sanzo]

"I know," Koumyou beams tiredly over at him, and leans over to plant a little smooch on his cheek. "That's why I don't mind. Kouryuu's the same way with his bossiness!"

Boss away, big guy.

"Once I go down, I'm probably not getting up for a while." That's a warning, right there. He needs sleep. The physical energy he's expended, the chi, and the sheer mental tax of controlling the sutra for so many fights...

He's running on fumes right now and he knows it.

[subcircuits]

Devero smiles gently back at him. "I hope I get to meet him somehow. Just think of it: two people who care about you to boss you around at the same time."

He bumps Koumyou with his shoulder. "I'll stay here while you sleep," he says. "As long as you need. Camp's pretty well organized at this point-- it can run for a night without me there."

Base camp has needed him for the last several days, but right now Koumyou needs him more.

[its_dad_sanzo]

Koumyou chuckles at that, too tired for his usual bubbly laugh, "I'd be doomed!"

He really doesn't mind, though.

And it's not like the bossiness is only one-way: "You're going to get some sleep too, Dev-chan. You're just as human as I am!"

[subcircuits]

"Am not," Devero retorts with a sniff. "I'm a cyborg, remember?"

[its_dad_sanzo]

"Your little... myoreactors and transponders," that's right, he remembers the names, "don't do anything for your mortal flesh's very human stamina, even I know that!"

Koumyou's not buying that excuse, mister!

"If anything, I bet all those little sensors agree with me!"

[thawed_pride]

I'm only intending to be here long enough for my magic to recover somewhat. I have spells that are highly effective against these demons and capable of treating severe wounds, so I really should be getting back out there as soon as possible.

[chocobosnap]

"Uh, yeah, I've never tried to get one in anything. They're too big for that. Some of them are as big as houses!" Prompto said with a bit of a laugh, but had to focus a little bit, firing bullets into the legs of two demons, making them fall down. Easier to take them out that way, after all.

"This is kinda what every night is like in Lucis."

[bakegarasu]

"I'm not going to take on all of the demons at once or something, you can calm down. But I'm a lot more durable with this on than most people." If a suit of armor coudl look amused, he would.

"I'll go with you, I -" ... Hm. "... Apparently the red team SCAs are flashing with something. I don't know what it is... I'll have to get back to my body to check." He waits a moment for that to sink in, and over the course of a few seconds the armor dissolves into black feathers that float up before disappearing.

When Soldat gets back to the central area where the food is kept, Otoha will be sitting there, frowning at his SCA.

[miseris_socios]

"... I guess. I don't know that I have any other choice. At least here people can see that I can fight and that I don't have to be sidelined because I'm young." He takes another bite and takes a few deep breaths. "Just sucks that the things on this mission use the exact element I'm weak against. They're weak against me, but..." Still doesn't help much if he doesn't hav ethe energy to cast it.

[subcircuits]

He remembers the names! Devero looks sharply over at him, startled, and then laughs. It's not as big and loud as his usual delighted laugh-- he is tired himself, after all-- but the spirit of it is there nonetheless.

"I had to turn off the biometric monitoring app built into my Interface on day one," Devero admits. "It kept yelling in my ear that I was over-exerting myself and needed to reduce my vigorous physical activity immediately."

[its_dad_sanzo]

"There, see? I win. Besides, don't you want to sleep with me, Dev-chan?"

Exhausted lump as he is, he's still got jokes. Or word-play, at least.

[light_of_willpower]

Trunks will accept it, but also commend Devero for making the most of his weapons and what they can do. Certainly the man is skilled, and Trunks can appreciate that. Right then, he's appreciating very much that he and Devero had worked enough with each other that they're guarding each other pretty well.

Except for those big demons. One, Trunks can handle on his own--maybe 2--easily considering he's trying to be aware of friendly fire. But 4 or 5--he didn't count exactly, is going to make him focus as he's trying to dodge those whips or cut them with his sword. A few ki-blasts are also keeping them from getting a good hold on him, but it means he has no chance to help Devero...

[subcircuits]

"Well, when you put it like that, how can I refuse?" He lets a bit of a growl come into his voice and nudges Koumyou again with his elbow-- but it's just play-acting, and he drops it immediately.

He takes Koumyou's empty bowl and replaces it with his own, only half-empty. "Here, you can have this too," he tells him as he stands. "I'll get the bedrolls set up."

[its_dad_sanzo]

With the amount of energy Koumyou's been expending to fight for days on end, he doesn't even argue at the bowl swap. By the time Devero's got them a little sleeping area set up, the priest has polished that off, too. And when he comes over to Devero, he's left the empty bowl behind and has brought the blanket they'd been sitting on, instead.

Extra blankets, extra warmth, he's got priorities! He adds it to the pile of bedding, and goes to drag his rucksack and katana over to be closer to where they're going to crash, just in case.

[subcircuits]

Which is exactly the point. The fighting is so close and so intense for a few minutes that Devero doesn't notice the demons have closed him off from Trunks until it's too late and he's surrounded. Cruelly clawed hands snatch at him from all sides, too many to beat them all back and so one finally fixes around his wrist from behind, halting his swing and pulling him off balance. His other arm is caught an instant later and his weapons are wrenched from his hands.

"No-- shit, no, let me go--!"

The crowd around him parts, clearing a path for one of those waifish, knife-sharp little demons. Devero's voice catches in his throat and he recoils, struggling to pull himself free. He knows these little ones are the smart ones, the really dangerous ones. Claws sink into his flesh and a pair of jaws gnashes beside his ear, a warning as he's held there until the little demon is only a meter or two away. The demons grappling him shove him forward then, so roughly that he crashes to his knees.

The little demon in front of him grins, showing rows and rows of teeth-- and then lashes out with writhing, shadowy chains.

Devero manages to yell out his friend's name once before the chains loop around him. Then he just screams.

[light_of_willpower]

Shit.

Trunks was done. So very done, with all these demons. He pushed himself for more speed, more power. Too quick to be seen, aside from silvery slashes in the air, or a golden-wreathed point of impact. He had the big demons down. Decapitated, missing limbs, sliced into pieces.

Tossing his sword up in the air, Trunks appeared at the Devero's back. Pulling demons off of him forcibly and tossing them away as if they were so much trash. Short bursts of ki are flashing out in front of Devero, before he's being pulled up to his feet.

Trunks loops one arm under Devero's own, and then holds still for 1 second. His sword fell perfectly into the sheath over his shoulder. As soon as it was in place, Trunks was kicking off into the air, putting himself and Devero out of the demon's clutches.

[subcircuits]

Devero's been busy while Koumyou eats. Apparently, when he says 'get the bedrolls set up' what he really means is 'stake down a canvas groundcloth first, set up a simple lean-to type tent with a kit from the train, and then lay out their bedrolls on top, arranged with the open sides together in a middle and a blanket laid out to pad the 'seam' of zipper down the middle of their makeshift bed'.

He's possibly been planning this in his head the past couple of nights.

He takes the rucksack from Koumyou and tucks it up under the overhanging tarp, then makes a detour back to the bench to collect that bowl back into the ARMS band to deal with later. Only when that's done does he rejoin Koumyou, groaning wearily as he gets down on one knee to crawl under the lean-to.

[its_dad_sanzo]

"Maaah, you work fast, don't you?" Koumyou laughs tiredly, and moves to crawl in, too. It takes every bit of his remaining will power to not just face plant on top of 'his' side and pass out, kicking off his boots and wiggling into the thing properly.

And once they're both in the bedrolls, he wastes no time in getting all up close and personal against Devero, wrapping his thin arms around the big guy. You're trapped now!

[light_of_willpower]

"I'll check in." Trunks said, before he was....gone. Not too far but just up in the sky like that, golden aura around him making him easy to spot. Hands out, glowing with ki, he tried to keep an eye out for their own fighters. Soon the air was filled with Ki bursts, tearing up the ground in front of the demons. Followed by one determined super-saiyan, focusing on hand-to-hand to harry and break up their groups even more. Before anyone could get a good grip on him though he was back in the air to repeat the actions.

[subcircuits]

The first moment after the chains wrap around him is debilitating. His experience with magic in general is limited; with magic like this? Non-existent. The chains seem to sear against his skin even though they aren't actually touching his skin, and his vision greys out as the world tilts dizzyingly around him.

If the demon was expecting him to succumb without a fight to its life-draining magic, though, it's badly misguided. This is the man who walked half the length of a train car on a badly broken leg; the man who pushed his composite self to the limits of biofeedback failsafes and beyond to save lives in his exo; the man who bent to the yoke of a profoundly abusive woman but never-- quite-- broke.

It will take more than a little life-eating magic to take the life out of this man.

Even as Trunks appears behind him with all the ballistic ferocity of a meteor fallen to Earth, Devero lifts his head and stares down the demon at the end of his chains. He gropes at his hip and finds one last weapon remaining, the baton he'd holstered to take out the gun earlier. With that hand, he pulls it free and flicks it into full extension; the other he wraps around the chains between himself and the demon. He turns on his blessed weapon, and then he yanks.

The demon stumbles forward, surprised, and takes about 20,000 volts of holy electricity right in the throat.

He clings to the baton as he feels hands on him, only turning it off when he realizes that these are the familiar hands of a friend. It takes all the strength he has left to keep his hold on the weapon as Trunks launches them; otherwise, he's dead weight in the younger man's arms.

[subcircuits]

If setting it up this fast hadn't taken the last of his energy, Devero might have had a quip to return; as it is, all he manages to do is smile and hold up the blanket Koumyou had tossed on the pile until the priest is settled in.

Really settled in-- he's trapped indeed. Whatever, oh whatever shall he do?

Other than kiss Koumyou's forehead, just above the chakra, and pull him close, anyway. A very palpable tension releases out of him as he does. "Been missing this," he admits, voice loud enough only for the space between them.

[light_of_willpower]

One arm still looped under Devero's own, Trunks used his other one to fire off bursts of ki. Trying to keep the demons on their toes or scattering like so many ants. "Give me your status, Dev." He said, loud enough to be heard while keeping them out of range of any return-fire via whip.