middleofsomewhere | The Will to Fight: Finale: All teams

The Will to Fight: Finale: All teams

The Far Gate

Given that people have scouted ahead, it will be no surprise when those who arrive at the Red objective find an army of demons there. Unlike the other packs they have encountered, these ones are not roaming, and don't appear to be heading towards the city. Instead, they are guarding something.

A gate. It is larger than the others they have seen so far by an order of magnitude, and if there are this many demons outside, the keystone must be guarded just as well.

For those who are actually on the red team their SCA will flash up a message: This gate has multiple keystones. It is the focal point for other gates closer to the city. Close it.

Around the City

In the Caverns

Once the rockfall was cleared, those that wished to could make their way back towards the city. They might come across demons on the way, small packs scouting the land and hunting survivors, but for the most part their way will be clear until they get to the city and to the Voidtrecker camp.

For everyone else, there are plenty of non-combatants that need protecting. The cavern itself remains warded against demons, but patrols still pass and keeping everyone safe and hidden is important.

Almost all the citizens have thrown off the mind control now. Some of the younger children have started having nightmares, and keeping everyone positive and calm is harder than it was before with a goal in sight.

In the City

The sigils hum and glow. For those feeding them power it's a very long couple of days; though once the monks are free they join in, brusquely waving off any questions or concern about their wellbeing to focus on the task at hand: protecting the city. They will of course accept any extra energy. The wards are not meant to go out completely, it will take a lot of energy to restart them.

By the eleventh day it is clear something else is wrong. Some of the focus stones on the city walls are out of place, either knocked awry in the battles before the false peace, or sabotaged by demons. Either way, for the wards to fully activate they will need those not giving energy to go out onto the walls, to find the stones and align them. It's not too technical but might be dangerous, because outside the walls, a fight is about to begin…

The Battle for the City

The attacks have gotten more frequent but on the evening of day ten they stop. Silence. No gates open, no demons attack. The whole night is spent in a tense, almost eerie silence.

It is broken at dawn the next day, two massive gates open, one to the north of the city and one to the south. Demons march out, heading towards the city.

Not just demons, they each have two large structures, siege machines. It seems they wish to knock this city down completely, securing their victory over the humans.

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He keeps his narrowed eyes on his targets, periphery aware of the wispy blades that come shooting toward him. He's kept enough resentful energy by him to use as for qinggong, though he holds his position and sings the formerly largest collection of spirits into pieces, each one fragmenting off to swirl around and strike at the same targets as they have been, only a few petering out from energy depletion.

Meaning he cuts it very close to dodge, resentful energy fueling his spin and leap to the ground before he's likewise fast-stepping through rubble and avoiding any demons who've managed to make it to his general area.

He can't keep perfect focus, and the spirits he's been guiding and commanding reflect that with an uptick in sheer rage, once more attempting to form two almost draconic versions that strike at the casters again. Residual resentful energies sweep out from him as a lingering afterimage and shield where the wispy grey blades are impacting; even more problematic for him would be anything moving in to be an immediate threat.

Dodging incorporeal swords? Yes, okay, that he manages for now, but keeping his focus as he does leaves him less quick to react to immediate physical threats, should any appear. A problem when he's used to fighting with a sword-arm second being the bulk of his defense: right now, he has practically none that isn't based on his manipulating resentful energies with his ongoing song.

Shit! She didn't mean for the ice to melt a bit, and definitely didn't want to attract the demons' attention, but it's better they're on her than the trio below.

Which she knows won't last as she barrel rolls midair with a shriek of fury and fire loosed from her mouth to incinerate whatever demon is in her path with flames hotter than before, pumped with even more holy magic to burn a ring around the igloo ten feet out from the center of it as she dives down to crash into it with a translatable shriek as she hits it:

"GET ON, NOW, THERE IS NO TIME TO WASTE!"

Her SCA is around her neck and she is in no mood to care if it's gripped to hold onto, same with any of her feathers which burn but don't harm any allies.

"It's still an igloo, even if it's not technically snow, I - explanations later, we've got -"

He hears something streaking towards the igloo, different from a demon, and shifts to the side. The igloo itself is a mess of 'snow' and ice shards. He drops the transformation and returns to his normal appearance and clothes, gesturing for one of the guys to grab onto her. He'll grab the other one and lift off as soon as they do.

Edited 2021-03-24 04:33 (UTC)

Eventually, the laser rifle runs out of charge and Rose exchanges it for a pair of metal batons with a sigh; next time she'll have to invest in something more easily lethal. Still, she makes do: blocking teeth and claws, breaking joints and snapping necks. It's not as fast or flashy as some, but she manages to hold her own.

It's hard to tell among the commotion of battle, but it definitely sounds like at least one of her teammates is losing their shit, if the shouting is anything to go by. Hopefully that's not true, but there's too much distance and too many demons between them for her to check.

As it is, she's already got her hands full trying to make her way close enough to another teammate to offer some semblance of back-up.

Jiu's fighting has been slowed only slightly by the need to retrieve the occasional thrown knife, but his reflexes are as quick as ever - seeing allies already doing something about the igloo, his attention turns instead to Wei Wuxian's precarious position. The young fox lifts a handful of knives, fills them with spiritual energy, and tosses them all at once in the direction of the necromancer's attackers.

"Picking on the weak ones...what garbage." It's more of a mutter than an active insult, and kind of an instance of the pot calling the kettle black, but that doesn't stop him from sneering either way as he runs after his own weapons, attempting to create and float a few spikes of earth as replacements on his way.

There's a flurry of movement out from among the demons and suddenly a dark figure throws itself in front of Wei Wuxian. Wen Ning is carrying no weapons, but a pulse of energy emanates from his body, scattering both 'friendly' and harmful projectiles. He places himself between the cultivator and further harm, eyes scanning the battlefield for anything else that might be headed their way.

"Master Wei," he says only when he feels like he has a moment to speak. "You're being reckless." It's not much of a chastisement. He blames himself more for not having joined the man at his side sooner. He's here now, however, and nothing is going to get past him if he can help it.

Following behind Devero, cleaning up, has been excitement enough for a-Qing. Slowed and decimated, the demons are just enough for her to handle, although she dodges more than she attacks. Her Vulpix picks up the slack, harrying demons with blasts of snow and pure, freezing energy. She's managing. In the momentary lull, she straightens, hands tight around her borrowed sword, panting with exertion. Is this enough?

Then Devero turns on his heel, with an expression so devastated that her jaw tightens in horror, and screams out a name she doesn't recognise. What? Where-- he's gone, charging back towards the golden light. She swings wildly at the last demon clawing towards her, and scrambles to sprint back after him. What did he see?!

At the two screams of grief on either side of the field - Nozomi tangling with Trunks at the siege engine, and Devero charging towards Kouymou with murder in his eyes - the demons fall back. Not entirely, but enough that they seem to gain some manner of enjoyment from their foes turning on each other. They turn on other Voidtreckers, or pace the limits of the sutra, waiting for it to fall.

Across the field, Willow is able to rise with her three charges, even as demons, still burning from her flames, try to knock her down.

Meanwhile, Cassie's ascent is interrupted. First, by the whip that wraps around one boot, and then by that same whip tugging down. Not by a demonic wielder, but by Rose's batons; she twists, yanks, and wrenches the weapon out of that demon's grip. Cassie can rise unimpeded. Backup has arrived.

Speaking of which, the daggers homing towards Wei Wuxian scatter, dispersed by Wen Ning's greater energy. The magicians make a sound - disbelief? - before they're torn apart by the enraged spirits flaring out in coils, a shadow parody of draconic might catching them in their moment of spoiled triumph. The demons, only paused in their run towards the cultivator, are cut down by Jiu's unseen knives; the remaining demons scramble to take their place, turning against the warriors in a last stand.

Some have been saved, but others seem to be in grave danger. One siege engine is crumbling, a blazing tower of green and white. What will they do?

Edited 2021-03-25 01:06 (UTC)

Wherever there is chaos, he is there, and while there is still time to save the others to buy them time. He cleared the caverns, hunted and kill the demons in an effort to protect the people there, but he is needed on the battlefield where the gates are being flooded. He sprinted in his youkai form to rush into battle, fighting head-on, stabbing and slicing any demons who is in his face, leaving behind a fiery trial. Of course, he's not recognizable, as Lan Wangji, considering in his youkai, he's a large feline monster holding a sword at this point.

Sensing the pain and devastation of his fellow voidtrekers, there is no time. Wherever demons are on the battlefield, hunting on the last remain warriors, he hunts them too.

He throws his talismans to set the enemies on fire, and with a charge, he stabs them with fiery and ferocity with a fire sword to save the others who needed his help as back-up.

Edited 2021-03-25 01:37 (UTC)

Xie Lian has shown up fashionably late it seems. Knowing this he had used the dice that Hua Cheng had given him to move from his place near camp to the middle of the battle field. Except the dice worked too well, or he had too much of his own bad luck involved because when he arrived, it was right on top of one of the siege engines.

It takes him a moment to realize that he has just jumped straight into the thick of things. He looks over and sees one of the engines is already well taken care of. He stares down at the one he landed on, grateful he was just lucky enough to land on one that isn't aflame. He shoots out the little white silk bandage and orders Ruoye to try and trip up and of the demons in the area to slow them down so that some of the other fighters might be able to get to them easier. It flies out away from the engine to do his job while Xie Lian focuses on the thing he is standing on.

He spots the talismans but isn't afraid, knowing he can handle whatever those do and hoping they might help to stop this thing as well. But not taking any chances he clenches his fist and summons every ounce of that super human god strength, bringing that fist down hard on the engine he is perched on with a focus of what spiritual energy he has stored up thanks to Hua Cheng. He doesn't really know ho to dismantle it but if he can break rocks on his chest, certainly he can pound this thing into the ground.

This scene was just chaotic. Having been scooped up for the third mission in a row, Senku was a little bit miffed about that, only he didn’t have time to be.

One of the siege engines was up in flames, which meant the other one was still working.

He glanced at Gen who definitely wasn’t going to be up to doing anything else, at least he thought so. He had a crossbow and some tools. He was intending on asking Willow to take him over to the second one so he could disable it, but before he could, someone else was on top of it.

They’d gotten waylaid a bit by their demon adventure, which meant that he hadn’t made it on time to deal with that, but fortunately their teammates took care of it.

“We should probably get out of the way.” Senku declared, loud enough for Willow to hear him. He would tend to Gen if necessary, but even if it wasn’t they weren’t going to be able to do much else here.

Cassie nods in acknowledgment at Rose. Then turns her attention to the demons below as she rises out of range. Its expression is hard to read, but Cassie feels like it knows it's fucked up.

She grins wickedly as a green fireball grows ever larger in her hand.

"Heh heh heh...you've got no idea what a bitch move you just made."

The ground beneath Cassie is about to get a lot brighter and a lot greener.

Edited 2021-03-25 02:29 (UTC)

The chaos of the battle rages and there are two gates, north and south being flooded and under attack. With his teleportation dice, Hua Cheng can fight on both sides with ease, but he senses the South Gate is low on fighters, so with a flick of his teleportation dice, he is there as a back-up fighter to cover those who has fallen and confused under the illusion. With his saber, E-ming the sword flies around to kill the demons to make way for the healers to take the injured out safely or whoever is on the field close to him have a close save.

"I'll cover you!" He said. However, he took notice that one seige engine is still working, and that too needs to be dismantled, but for now, he focuses on the surrounding demons to turn the tides of battle.

It's probably a good thing Devero hadn't been aware of a-Qing dispatching demons in his wake, and that he remains unaware of the young woman scrambling after him as he thunders back into the thick of things. Such a small, sharp-featured little demon might have been worth pausing to dispatch quickly; he knows how dangerous those little ones are.

As it is, though, his attention is absolutely fixated on the hateful form crouched over the mutilated body of his Sanzo. It screels something at him as he barrels down on it, something that almost sounds like-- his name?

A coincidence, surely. Nothing else.

The demon is actually trying to back away from him; incensed, he screams, "Stand and face me, you fucking coward." His voice is raw, absolutely wretched. Raising both tac batons over his head and reversing them so the sparking tips are pointing down, Devero lunges over Koumyou's corpse and tries to drive his weapons into the demon's throat.

Nozomi's fists continued flying, her rage not yet subsiding. Trunks is certainly taking the hits and its a good thing he's a Saiyan - a Pretty Cure is incredibly strong as well.

"Why won't you fall?! What kind of monster are you?!" Nozomi shouted

Casper makes sure the two boys are on top of Willow and rises himself, angry at the creatures that have been hurting them, have been hurting his teammates and fellow Passengers.

Casper turns towards the largest demon left and swoops towards it, holding a hand out and making a crushing motion as ice blisters start to form.

He then goes to land on the demon, placing a hand down on the thing's head and holding his bat in another. He forces some of the power from his bat down through his body into the creature, trying to grab hold of the temperature around the creature, inside the creature, and lower the temperature enough to start freezing any liquids inside of the thing.

Edited 2021-03-25 03:00 (UTC)

It was honestly taking all his concentration and skill to keep the demons from overwhelming them AND defend against Nozomi. Part of him spared a moment to be glad HE was her target, given the power behind her hits. "I'm not a monster at all!" Trunks shouted back. "Wake up!"

She doesn't need to be told twice, and as soon as both boys are safely aboard her, she lifts off trusting Casper to run defense even if she's still worried about him after the other day with the exhaustion. She has to just trust he'll have her back as she goes back towards the spot she'd left. It's in the middle of it all, but with Koumyou's wards and everyone fighting in all directions, it's the safest place she can think of since drawing the demons back towards camp could be disastrous with the capable fighters mostly in the chaos.

She speeds back, blasting flames on any demons below heading in that direction, as well as letting a warm light wash over Gen and Senku with a healing aura. It's not a full heal, but it should stabilise any other injuries Casper hadn't gotten to yet.

The holy golden dome of woven sutra tendrils is indeed still up, shining like a beacon -- a single safe oasis in the chaos of this battlefield. Even with Koumyou's focus being split in multiple directions, the sutra shows no sign of wavering. It glows brighter for a second here and there, almost blinding to look at directly, but that's the only variation in its status.

Koumyou Sanzo, after all, used to be entrusted with the control and protection of two of these things.

That isn't to say things are fantastic under the dome at the moment, with Devero... trying to kill him? What the fuck? Koumyou leaps away as Devero lunges with his batons sparking, landing a good ten feet away from him. The priest raises his hands, grabbing at the air between them with both in a snatching motion.

One charge of sparking, arcing, holy electricity from the batons siphons off as though it had struck its target, not enough to drain the batteries but enough for Koumyou to pull the crackling power to him in a huge ball between his hands, and then--

He flings it past Devero, right at those spectating demons. As the ball of energy flies, it elongates and shifts, becoming a long eastern dragon just like the one he likes to make out of water. It gives a staticky roar as it plows into the demonic audience.

It won't dissipate with one hit, either, rampaging through the ranks. Though the initial holy electricity had come from Devero's blessed batons, Koumyou's chi fuels it even further.

"Devero, snap out of it!"

One last shot to try using his words, first. Though Koumyou doubts that's going to be enough, he has to at least try before escalating. He's not quite as impulsive as he'd been at age ten.

Wen Ning falls from the heavens, taking care of the demons daggers and helping bring a halt to demon progress. Knives thrown by another trekkie brings down two demons to where is a simple matter to say that they stay down.

He's tiring, he can feel it, but he's not bleeding from any deep cuts or his own cultivation. Trusting implicitly in Wen Ning, he strengthens his stance and his playing. Targeting the many points of chaos on field would be too much strain, too much of everything: instead, he instructs his spirits to run interference for Cassie and also those landing on the siege engines, with only one alternative instruction for the remaining draconic maligned spirits: to locate the daggers of the torn apart magicians, and, if found, deliver them both to Wen Ning.

He has to hold on, and calm these spirits in the aftermath. Or else... something. He's sure of that much.

Having fought at Wei Wuxian's side as much as he has, Wen Ning can tell when the man is exhausting himself. He won't be leaving his side. For now, he is essentially a shield. There are others who can wade into the demons on the offensive. Too much has targeted the demonic cultivator already and he wants to make sure what playing he has left in him remains unhindered.

At some point he really needs to get a spiritual weapon of his own. He'd never been a particularly strong cultivator before, but he has better control of the resentful energy within his meridians now. It would be more useful than having to rely on his fists. Wei Wuxian doesn't even have his sword, so he can't borrow that either.

"Stay behind me." Even his instructions are polite, deferential. One could almost hear the unspoken 'please'. As demons approach, he prepares to do what he can - even if that means shoving his foot down their throats.

Rose salutes Cassie in return before kicking the demon away and promptly vacating the premises. Is the demon happy that she stole his weapon? Probably not. Is she going to stick around to see? Hell no. Besides, it looks like Cassie is going to make things very uncomfortable for this particular batch of demons very soon, and she for one does not want to be collateral damage.

She focuses on running and dodging until she can duck behind some cover. The whip has tangled her batons into uselessness and she needs to take a moment to fix it. She hisses in pain when her bare skin makes contact. Right, toxic whips; she knew that. Definitely getting gloves for next time.

Fuck it. Rose drops the tangled mass for her sonic blaster. She likes guns better anyway.

Once Hua Cheng mows down the demons that gets in his way, he made it to the siege machine that Xie Lian is on.

"Dianxia." A man of his word, where there Xie Lian, he will always fight by his side.

On one side of the siege machine that Xie Lian is on, Hua Cheng searches for a weakness and with his fists, summoning his spiritual ghost king power, he pounds away at the siege machine with his fists in an effort to break it down and destroy it.

The sprint back to the dome doesn't clear anything up. She can hear other cries, is vaguely aware that more have joined by spots of colour, the pressure of larger attacks rippling through the air, new voices, fire-- but none of that is important when Devero is lunging for his...

His... she doesn't know what they are, actually, but she's certain that 'attacking with intent to kill' isn't part of their usual activities. Caught up, and definitely still young enough to be impulsive, she uses her momentum to dive at his legs, hoping that her slight weight can at least knock him off-balance. The priest can handle himself, she hopes, but she wants to give him time.

"Sorry," is what she yelps. "Xixue, help--" Her fox, rather than tackling him, sends out a burst of eerie light, the colours flashing and dancing in front of Devero's eyes.

With the sudden arrival of new Voidtreckers, chaos rules over the battlefield.

Shadows are everywhere, smashing their insubstantial forms against the demonic forces; silvery blades and blazing fires seem to be in every battle at once. The violence of the newcomers sets the demons back for just a second, waiting for instruction, for orders that cannot come, before the packs descend as one into a desperate berserk.

The second siege engine is almost completely obscured by the energy being thrown around by the Voidtreckers fighting beside it; Trunks will find his frantic defence grows easier and easier as the shockwaves from the blows he blocks from Nozomi annihilate the demons caught nearby, tearing great gouges in the earth. The shadows sent to harry the engine either flee or are destroyed, unable to withstand the power of a furious Cure. Even the engine creaks under the backlash-- and again, when Xie Lian arrives atop it and sends a blow straight down into the structure. Perhaps his luck is great after all - he's a being able to withstand the battle going on below. By the time Hua Cheng joins them, the entire engine is crumbling under his god's strike, his own blows the nail in the coffin. The demons inside spill out to engage, but their numbers are no longer enough to overwhelm.

The ground shakes with the force of their battle-- and then it quakes again, this time from the direction of the gate.

Those in the air - Cassie and Casper and their own small flock of shadows, dispatching the last of the greater demons; Willow, Senku and Gen, winging back to the supposed safety of the sutra - won't find themselves inconvenienced. Anyone on the ground, such as Rose, Devero or a-Qing, will find it far more difficult to stay upright. The sutra flares, as if reacting to some great force, a presence it cannot tolerate--

Another quake.

One of Wei Wuxian's shadowy dragons manages to catch two daggers in its maw - along with half the body of a magician, and a good chunk of earth. It shoots towards where Wen Ning and Jiu are locked in combat against their own respective circles of demons, following its master's tune, and lands in a pile of wispy, freezing coils, a tamed beast. The other giant shadow is less fortunate - it swerves to snap and slash at one last magician lunging for Lan Wangji, and is launched into the air by the crackling form of Koumyou's own qi monster. The two forms coil around each other for barely a second, the unfortunate demon caught between them visible one moment and torn asunder the next. And then, they part, in a triumphant crack of thunder, ripping through the remaining demons to return to their respective masters.

The balance has swung back to their side. But, for how long?

Edited 2021-03-25 22:43 (UTC)

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ROUND

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rolled the appropriate dice for the second thing and that's a lot of successes

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do it coward

ROUND