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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Mami is deeply concerned about all of this. She's finally clear-headed enough to take a look at the battle as she picks off smaller demons, but...nothing seems clear at all. The trajectory of the swings don't make sense, pain and despair swirl around...and it's distressing.

She sees a Kyoko under siege and lashes a steel ribbon at that chain to pull it back, her other hand sending out a yellow healing aura---but the others are far from her, there's only so much she can do.

Stay on her feet long enough to heal, deal with the mess later.

[Kyoko dodges the chain with Mami's help, jumping back to get some room.]

Now that I've got a clear Soul Gem, I can really go all out!

[Her Soul Gem shines bright red as five giant spears with shafts bigger than tree trunks rise from the ground. They coil in unison, and all launch at the siege engine.]

"Get back!"

Roland allows the demon to come close to him, muttering the call sign to himself over and over again, hoping someone can hear him; hoping his mind can latch on. But it doesn't quite work, the demon's claws reaching for his shoulder - though the reality of it is lost on him, Reno's hand simply trying to shake him free of the illusion.

He takes a step back and draws his gun from the hammerspace, aiming it at the demon - the voidtrecker he can't see past. And he would have shot Reno then and there, but Rannygazoo the high higgledy braves its own fears and leaps towards the barrel of the pistol, swinging it to the side with all its might. Instead of shooting a friendly, Roland instead shoots to the side, barely grazing an arm...

...and he tries to chase that feeling instead; the glow of a creature like a lighthouse in the night, unable to dispel illusions but all the same, a guiding force back to life. It's then that Kumoko's magic rain showers upon him, forcing Roland to blink repeatedly.

"Y-You...You're - " Red hair. Red hair and that face, unmistakable, a memory jogging, flashes of images transposed over the battlefield. Reno?

He sees his higgledy now, the magic doing its job. But his vision is still compromised, seeing the rest of the landscape akin to static on a television, one minute demonic invaders, the next the truth of the voidtrecker's last stand. It confuses him enough, but he's gaining cognizance by the second.

However, Roland is still a man down, unable to contribute to the greater fight. He's not taking up his weapon and swinging it around just yet.

Allen made sure to stick near Tidus, mostly because he had not a single clue as to what the other was attempting, plus if he needed to move him for whatever reason he knew he had the reflexes that were quick enough to deal with it.

As he watched the water, he had moved to block an incoming attack, making sure all the while to keep an eye on the other. When he saw him take a knee he kicked the demon away.

"Do you need help moving around?"

She can't understand what is happening around her, as the charge seems to falter. She sees Roland's distress, and her instinct is to fall back to his position, drawing as many as she can into a defensive formation. But those of them working as salients are...holding, for now.

She assesses things as best she can, with unfamiliar and above all numerous foes. They still have momentum on their side - but the driving force behind it seems to be faltering. She could be wrong, but if she's right...

She has to make a decision. If she falls all the way back to Roland, that might be too far - she might not make it in time. Yondu is closer, and his arrow is lethal and above all ranged. It can, perhaps even by itself, keep the demons from forming up too much.

She hopes Roland will be fine - but her decision is made. She turns, falling back, to aid Yondu the best way she can under the circumstances: by hand.

If he needs help spotting targets - she can give very precise directions. Thankfully the clock system of aiming translates well, really.

The general aura of the battlefield shifts as the Higgledies and Kumoko's rain bring purification and beautiful energy to the field. The demons start to fall back slightly, towards the siege engine though they are perhaps too late to save it.

Tidus' water has flipped it almost to its side and Kyoko's spears do the rest sending it crashing down as Yuume takes out the big demon before it can even think about trying to lift it. Shadowy chains strike out at all three of them. Two of the regular demons pounce as well one towards Allen and one towards Mami in an attempt to interrupt her healing.

The dragon is still causing chaos and has occupied most of the big demons, though a couple break off to close in on Kumoko instead, lashing out with toxic whips.

Wei Wuxian is still surrounded, a small demon approaching to throw shadowy chains at him. Thea is in similar trouble, her arrow took down a smaller demon but it has enraged a whole pack on the regular ones that are trying to surround her and herd her away from the group.

Demyx, Vexen, Guri and Yondu are making better progress against the demons even with Yondu fighting the illusions. The numbers are beginning to thin, there might be an end to this demon hoard after all.

Which is good news for Roland and Reno who for the moment have a little bit of space.

Edited 2021-03-24 21:09 (UTC)

A person shape (Guri) comes up beside him and he tries to pick out sounds that aren't pain and suffering. The grunts of pain from demons failing rather than the anguish of friends and young people. He tries to focus on sound, contact

"I hope whoever you are, you're here to talk to me and not-

And then he's doused. This is the wettest damn fight that Yondu has been in that's nowhere near water. Is he the only member of this party that cannot produce water out of thin air!? But luckily after a rush of chilly water his him and he opens his eyes, the tunnel hearing of nightmare sounds ebbs and he's seeing a wavering view of the real fade into clarity. The visions of death and pain and sounds of ravenous demons victorious are gone.

He recalls his arrow again. "Thank ya!" he offers real quick to Kumoko and the assassin, having been unaware of what Thea did because of the illusion, before shouting out, "It's trickin' us like what happened in the city! It's the same kinda illusion! An' there ain't no humans on that siege engine-" He'd looked for any humans to avoid long enough to figure that out "-so if it's man-made I don't know where it come from!"

And then, out at the demons, because he's pissed after all that. "I know where all y'all skinny little bastards are at now!" They just made it worse on themselves.

Now that he has his eyes again, he decides to focus on clearing enemies around them for a little bit. The arrow flies in tight, nasty loops and picks off enemies around them, giving the healers some recovery room because they really need it. But once he's thinned that herd he's going to go back to picking off demon leadership.

Ha, take that! Like a wannabe programmer squinting at their screen, she doesn't know how she fixed it, but it looks like it worked out. Feels good! Feels great! Feels... woozy?

Uh. Right, those chains from before. Her calculations were off, huh?

If she were under the control of the system, she has a horrible feeling that she'd be seeing an MP bar rapidly approaching zero. Even without the HUD, it's a familiar sensation; her vision is swimming, all ten eyes focusing at different points, wavering--

She greys out for a moment to the sound of whistling, human torso slumping over in a faint.

[Kyoko once again attempts to counter chains with chains, trying to get them tangled in each other. She's long had battlefield awareness beaten into her, so she notices quickly when Kumoko goes down.]

Crap, the spider lady just collapsed!

[Kyoko summons more Rosso Fantasma clones, three to protect Kumoko and three to get in melee with the remaining demons. The real Kyoko is staying at a distance and using her spears like javelins, throwing them at any demon in range.]

Oh, good. Yondu is back on station - she makes a mental note to ask Kumoko about that water, when this is all over. Kumoko is nice and interesting. Then, she breaks into a full-speed run, holstering her guns to conserve dwindling ammunition.

Yondu is back in the fight. Check. Kumoko is covered by the Multiple Lady. Check. Which leaves Thea the most vulnerable, in her book. And so, at full speed, she simply barrels straight into the demons.

She's a deadly shot. But that isn't where her true strength lies. That rests in hand-to-hand combat, where the blond moves like a grim angel. Precise blows, each delivered with her maximum strength; powered by synthetic muscles and durasteel bones. She was long ago programmed for this sort of fight, and she can shrug off blows that would down a human. She grabs the one that's getting nearest Thea by the back of the neck and swings it around like a club, right into its fellows.

If they haven't turned their full attention to her, they'll very shortly regret doing it, though probably only briefly - and hopefully this will give Thea the breathing space she needs.

Edited 2021-03-24 22:52 (UTC)

And that's all Thea needs to regroup, grab dropped arrows and goes back to firing volleys into demons. She returns the favor via volley into a pack coming from the side,"Needed that!" plus a quick thumbs up of thanks mid-firing into demons.

To hell with it, the fox form isn't doing him any good at all as he's trapped, but the sudden drenching feels nice enough and heals some of the more minor injuries. But it's time to turn back into the human form with just one black tail with red tip showing with his fluffy ears looking the same. Chenqing was still in the hoodie pocket, thank the heavens, and is immediately pulled out with shrill notes played from it. If there's any corpses around, he'd be grateful for their use to fight the surrounding demons. A different tune, one he focuses on towards the demons as he summons illusions of his own against them to try and trick them into thinking each other is a voidtrecker.

He's cursing his lack of Suibian here, it had become useful again for him back in Hakagemachi and he'd grown dependent on it again.

Mami is really getting tired of this. She lashes a ribbon out to try to dodge the demons again, firing cures this way and that---she manages to reach a few, but it's hard with them constantly on her tail.

They're losing people---they have to end this fast. So with a yell she leaps straight up, summons an entire skirt of rifles...and creates a platform of ribbons beneath her. From here, she starts to snipe ruthlessly---she can feel herself getting close to her limit, but they're so close.

The good news is, Yuume is fully prepared to handle the chains the same way she did before.

The bad news is, that's taking some time this time. They might not be able to wrap around the blade- which frankly is probably surprising the demons even- but trying to handle enough of the chain without getting hit (difficult, especially when she's turning it into scattered shrapnel), without anything else hitting her? Is, well...hard.

An idea though- Yuume sinks directly downward into the shadows, after pulling as much attention from the chains as possible.

Eat dirt- literally, she thinks, even as she tastes 'metal' in her mouth.

Chugging his bottle of Hi-Ether, Vexen immediately feels somewhat better. It doesn't help the physical fatigue, but he can feel magical energy at the ready again. As the rain falls on him, however, something strange happens. Dark purple and black smoke rises up from him wherever the purifying water lands, reeking of something truly foul.

It's distracting, and at a moment where he can't afford to lose focus, with Frozen Pride so far away. When a demon sets upon him, his reflex is to block. Row upon row of teeth rip into his arm and claws tear at his chest, causing even more dark smoke to billow from him, now mixed with the pale grey of frigid air. He can't cast like this, and there's no retreating while the creature is clamped onto his arm. The best he can do is flail at it with his free arm as he grits his teeth against the pain, clearly unskilled in hand to hand combat.

Xingchen is on the battlefield, gathering what courage he has and fight to save everyone to the best that he can, as he hasn't fight in a long time, but he finally remembers his swordmanship and combat skills. While he worries for his nephew and his family and his friends, his help is needed, and with his sword, he stabs whatever demons are in his way.

When he sees his roommate in trouble, he can't let him suffer in pain. With the demon attacks him, he stabs the demon right in the back to help free him.

"Vexen, hang in there. I'm here!"

Demyx had barely gotten any potion in his mouth when he realized Vexen was taking damage from something, leaking darkness and for some reason fighting a demon in a hand to hand throw down.

That seemed like a bad idea, even to him and Vexen did just throw a Hi-Ether at him. With his dance partner gone, it was just as well to find himself someone else to fight with.

He had just enough, through MP Haste and a touch of potion to do his watery dash to close the distance but really, really he was mostly tapped out. He arrived just behind Xingchen and took the position at Vexen’s other side.

“What are you doing?” Demyx asked, looking a little harried and with that moment, now he could get the potion in him and he stood next to Vexen, shooting him an unimpressed look.

Was that another demon? Thwack! At least he was armed!

Yondu's arrow flies around the battlefield at speed, taking out demons. It is added to by arrows from Thea as she fires rapidly. The demons are being cut down, no siege engine to retreat to now as Mami fires across the battlefield. There are multiple Kyokos protecting Kumoko as Guri, Xiao Xingchen, Demyx and Vexen cut down and grapple with demons. The tide has turned and the Voidtreckers have the upper hand.

And then the dead rise, which might be deeply concerning for those who are not aware of Wei Wuxian's power, to see demons the previously killed stand once more. More surprising still to see them go after their own, fighting the other demons.

The ground rumbles, ominously. Enough to knock someone off stride, perhaps enough to knock them down completely. It seems to bolster the remaining demons as they stop attempting to retreat and double down in their attacks.

"Got it!" Tidus had answered Allen, pulling from his arms band an elixir, chugging the small phial, to deal with his drain on both sides. Either good timing or poor as the chain had come to wrap around him, and--oh, word, those just got twisted up? Thank whoever did that.

So Tidus manages to get up on his feet, a glance at the siege machine to see its condition (not upright? good), realising a sense of apprehension and dread that isn't his own, but--he looks, can't see across the battlefield with the demons, and he starts to make some way through them, distracted by foe, stopping, the ground rumbling.

Not good. Please don't tell him it's a second machine. His destination had been to where the few of his blue higgledies were, gathered by Roland, fussing and trying to soothe him with spells. But he tries to reach out through to the man by the connection of Gibbers and Rannygazoo, concern intermingled with a greater sense of hope.

He hopes himself for some time of answer, but there are demons around, he knows he still has to fight--!

Not the first time someone had pulled a gun on him, not even the first time that it was a former ally, and really not even the first time it was Roland holding the gun aimed at him. Altogether it was a rather unfortunately familiar position. Reno held up his hands in the universal surrender sign, palms facing Roland to show his hands were empty--indeed, he even let his baton slip out of his hand to dangle on his wrist from its strap so that he was well and truly defenseless.

It didn't seem to make a difference. Roland didn't look pissed off at him this time, instead he looked a bit confused and pained, like he was fighting something on the inside that hurt more than physical wounds. Like he was anguished and simply reacting--like he didn't really see what was in front of him. Luckily for Reno, something made a difference in the split-second before the gun fired because he damn well noticed the sudden motion of the arm being pushed aside as the trigger was pulled. Reno flinched as the bullet grazed past his arm, ripping his clothing and leaving a nice mark across his skin which quickly began to seep red.

He wasn't quite certain breathing a sigh of relief was appropriate yet so he held it instead as he watched Roland carefully, expression neutral. The dark haired man definitely looked more than a bit confused now and Reno frowned slightly as he let his arms drop back to his sides.

"Yeah, asshole, it's me. I know you hate me but could you wait until we're finished with the mission to try and get the drop on me? Tch." A beat. "Can we consider this makes us even?"

NOT THE TIME, RENO.

But leave it to the morally questionable Turk to ask such a thing right in the middle of a battlefield with a mental crisis going on. Yes, he was the worst. No, he felt no remorse for it.

"You better now? Or do I need to get you out of here?"

That was probably as close to concern as the redhead was going to get as he stared cautiously (and perhaps worriedly?) at the former president. It was, at least, a genuine question and offer. Definitely a good thing they had a minute to spare for the time being, thanks everyone. Hopefully they wouldn't need it for much longer.

Meanwhile, it had been a hot minute on the battlefield since the King of Dragons was summoned and his time was rapidly coming to an end. A glowing red aura somewhat like sparks flying outwards from the great beast began to emanate from the dragon. Any hostile entity standing within the aura would feel it effecting them negatively, causing damage in repeated waves as it pulsed out from the dragon. (Friendlies would see it, but not suffer from it.)

Bahamut took another clawed swipe at his latest opponent. He hovered for a pregnant moment in the air with nothing but the aura surrounding him. Then, with a great beat of his wings, the large black dragon rose higher into the air and looked down on the battlefield. He took a deep breath and as he did so a great force of energy formed within his gaping maul--and when he breathed out an awesome blast of energy flew rapidly down to the battlefield and struck the area where the largest foes stood, hitting a multitude of demons with his fearsome Megaflare.

Then the dragon flew straight up into the air at a seemingly impossible rate for a winged creature and disappeared. It's time was up, it had done what it was Summoned to do, and that was that. It was gone.

Edited 2021-03-25 05:32 (UTC)

"Thank you!"

With the help of first Xingchen, then Demyx, Vexen is able to pry his arm free of the demon's jaws. Ice crystals condense on his uninjured arm and, in a flash of blue light, form into Frozen Pride, seeming no worse for its trip through the demonic whips. Then the dead rise, and he looks alarmed for a moment before...they're attacking other demons? Well, interesting, but not his immediate priority.

"That rain had an...unanticipated interaction with that heart irritant of mine. It was on me before I had time to recall Frozen Pride."

As the ground shakes, his feet lift up into the air without so much as a moment's stumble, as though he's already used to dealing with sudden earthquakes. Too bad it doesn't seem to throw the demons off...if anything, it seems to encourage them. He scowls, and decides now seems like a good time to take a moment to prepare, while the enemy is on their way back from a retreat. Magic swirls around the spiked end of his shield, and ice starts forming into a long, thick blade.

"I suspect something else is about to happen."

Edited 2021-03-25 05:39 (UTC)

This wasn’t really the best fight of Demyx’s life. He was full of emotions, for some reason, that needed to be stuffed down and dealt with later and he’d already taken a serious blow and had to be brought back from the brink of death.

He’d found his footing, done some damage and now he was all full up thanks to that Hi-Ether and that brief chance to breathe that they had.

The tide was turning, and he was here for it.

Until it wasn’t. The ground rumbled dangerously all of a sudden and Demyx who’d been about to take off on a watery dash suddenly found himself faceplanted in the dirt.

“Ugh, what the heck?!” He asked, sitting up, a bit confused where that earthquake came from, but one thing was for sure - it was ominous.

Edited (I know what I meant. Just like Demyx.) 2021-03-25 05:48 (UTC)

Alright, so. There are demons rising that suddenly are going after their own? Yondu's been a roommate of a Wei for a while and this is pretty new. And the dragon thing is still happening, now to a greater degree. You know what, he's trying to keep up? But the fact of the matter is they just lost a healer that had been covering their ass as best she could the whole time, and Vexen just got mauled (luckily a couple of people jumped right onto saving him pretty damn quick).

The ground rumbles and while those clones are still protecting Kumoko, he catches his arrow and actually goes to stand by her. He's not strong enough to move her cause that's a whole lotta spider parts he doesn't really know what to do with, but he can protect her until she is moved.

Yondu catches his arrow, waiting for the worst. "I think you're right!" he hollers at Vexen. "We gotta get her outa here if we can't get her up! She can't do nothin' like this!"

He looses the arrow to take care of some of the demons around them for the time being. Just providing cover 'cause now that their big machine's down, they're really bearing down on 'em. And that rumble? He's not liking if that relates to any of the visions they saw.

[Kyoko redoubles her efforts to take out the remaining demons, rather literally as she creates four more clones to fight them. If there's something she's learned during her time fighting Witches, it's that when the mooks start getting aggressive like this, that means the boss is on it's way.]

"Just need to get higher.' as Thea grabbed arrows and keeps firing into mooks. She aims volleys to help Yondu and Vexen plus cover fire as needed.

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