The Will to Fight: Conclusion

[voidtreckermods]

The battles rage loud and ferocious at the gates of the city and off in the ruined wastelands of Erda, and on the walls a struggle of a different kind occurs. The team who stayed behind at the towers are small but determined as they move stoically across the walls to right the stones that have become misaligned, even as their friends battle not too far away.

The city begins to hum. It's a quiet hum, not loud enough to be heard out where the others are fighting but it vibrates even through stone. The recovering monks assure them that it is done, the wards are back up and no demon will be able to enter the city.

Eventually the battle is won, all three battles. The demons fought back and killed, a major blow to their gate system that will keep them back for hopefully a long time. Those waiting in the caverns return to the city and by the time they get there the illusions are gone. Everyone can see the world for what it really is.

But despite the ruins of their world the people are relieved, the adrenaline of the fight coursing through their veins and the mood is one of hope. They will build again, their people will survive.

All Voidtreckers please return to the Voidtrecker Express. Departure will be in a few hours

It has landed not too far from the city, cloaked to make it unnoticeable to the citizens, for all the good that does. No one has been particularly subtle this last week. People can begin regrouping, packing up the camp and getting any wounded not already healed to the train.

However roughly half an hour later another message appears on their SCA.

Passenger Persephone has requested we remain on system System #86525656412355 for an additional day to further assist the people of Erda. The Voidtrecker Express will depart on the morning of Day Fifteen of the month of Kazoo.

The train remains where it is, so the voidtreckers can use its facilities. There is definitely a lot that can be done to assist those of this world and the citizens will welcome any helping hands.

After an extra day they finally depart, returning to the void once more.

(OOC Note: Once the wards are up any characters who are demonic in nature will not be able to enter the city either!)

Comments

[melodiouspacifist]

"I don't actually sing very much. I'm more of an instrument guy." Demyx said with a grin.

He could sing, he actually had a lovely, melodic voice but he was shy about it.

[helborn]

"I can make an instrument appear, but I'm shitty at playing... anything. It feels like I have dumb fingers." Dexterous he might be, but he couldn't magically make himself good at playing.

Though in the case of 'serenading' Jack, that was a benefit.

[melodiouspacifist]

Demyx chuckled a little bit. "Oh no, anyone can learn to play, it just takes hours and hours of practice to make your fingers do that."

He was a bit too lazy to push off the wall properly for his full summon, so he just held out his hand and gathered some water until Arpeggio was gracing them with her presence.

"This is my sitar."

[helborn]

... Neat trick. His didn't look that fancy, it was just there when he wanted. "Nice. I never had lessons, but I'm guessing you practice with it a lot."

He was familiar with the shape at least, so he wasn't gonna mistake it for a guitar.

[melodiouspacifist]

"I do." Demyx said with a grin. "I mean, my sitar is the best thing, so I'm glad to sit around and play all day."

However, he didn't typically sing along.

[helborn]

"If that's what makes you happy, go for it." Who was he to judge? He was the guy who sat around in the library a lot of the day.

[melodiouspacifist]

"I mean, yeah I guess? As happy as I can be I think!" Demyx said with a grin. "What about you? Does singing make you happy?"

[helborn]

"I... don't know." He leaned back a little. "On the one hand it's nice. On the other hand the perfect pitch is a side effect of learning Siren song magic. Like the 'pull sailors in and wreck boats and eat them' sirens. I got shoved in a merman's brain and was basically unconscious the whole mission. So I don't know how I feel about it."

[melodiouspacifist]

"Believe it or not, that's one I know." Demyx said with a little grin.

"Huh...sounds kinda weird. I mean, I get why it'd be strange. But you remember yourself now right?" He asked, tilting his head a little bit.

[helborn]

"Yeah, I do. Some missions I guess they needed people in place to be woken up by the others, just in case? I didn't get woken up on that one which is good since... cannibal merpeople."

No thank you.

[melodiouspacifist]

"That's good, I...what?" Demyx stared a moment.

"Don't they like...eat fish and stuff? Not...not other merpeople?"

[helborn]

"Normally, yes. When they're afflicted by a virus that causes them to go nuts the instant they smell blood, no. He got treated near the end of the mission but it. Uh. Didn't end perfectly."

There wasn't anything he could do. He still felt guilty.

[melodiouspacifist]

"Oh, that doesn't sound...great." Demyx said, with a bit of a grimace. "This mission wasn't like that at least. No one tried to eat each other. Just a lot of demons. A lot of fighting." He was kind of tired.

[helborn]

"Yeah. I... uh. Mm. That last bit was pretty rough. Although it was kind of nice, in a way? As much as I like stealth or diplomacy or non-violent options... it's kind of satisfying to let loose sometimes."

[melodiouspacifist]

"Do you?" Demyx asked. "I kinda hate fighting." He said, with a bit of a chuckle.

"Although.." He trailed off a moment. "This was way more fun than the fighting I was doing at home."

[helborn]

"Yeah, big team fights can be fun. I don't mind fighting when I have to, but diplomacy wasn't going to be an option here." That much was clear from the get go.

"But like... even if we're not raised that way once our powers activate kids from the pantheon that I'm from have a... harder time retreating from battle. Like it takes a real act of will to back down. The whole pantheon's notorious for being one of the most battle-hungry groups as a whole, not just counting war gods. ... Though my branch of the family's more sneaky than that, I guess."

[melodiouspacifist]

"Most of the time when I had to fight cause of a mission, I was on my own." Demyx said. "And when I was with other people..." He sighed. "We weren't good at teammwork."

By the time Roxas came around, who cared about that kind of thing? Their rank and file was kind of a toxic place.

"I don't know if I'd be good at the diplomacy stuff either, maybe better than some of the other people I worked with..." Larxene, yikes.

[helborn]

"... Well, you've got a team now, right? So you don't have to be on your own here."

Things were better here than at home. It wasn't the best thing to cling to, but it was what worked.

[melodiouspacifist]

"Uh, I dunno. No idea. I guess I have a team? I've never worked with them. That kind of stuff's not my style." Demyx explained. He still wasn't sure why he was on the orange team.

[helborn]

"It makes a lot of stuff easier, you know... especially the whole 'having someone to cover your ass' bit." As strong as he is, he'd have gotten nowhere if he just worked on his own. He tried. It didn't go well.

[melodiouspacifist]

"Maybe, but I've never really worked with one. Not really how we operated." Demyx explained with a little sheepish chuckle.

"Besides, who'd want me on their team anyway?"

[helborn]

"I mean, I wouldn't mind you being on your team."

[melodiouspacifist]

He appeared genuinely surprised. "I...Why?" Demyx couldn't help but ask without thinking that through.

[helborn]

"Well, first of all you seem pretty nice. And if you were a dick I'd eject you out of my team so fast you'd end up flying halfway down the train." He's had toxic groups before. Never again.

"I mean, that's the main reason. The other, less important reason is that I've got a decent number of ice-related tricks, including one that lets me flash freeze a huge amount of water. Makes it easy to stop an enemy in their tracks. I can only make about a gallon of water at a time."

[melodiouspacifist]

"I'm not a nice guy." Demyx said, shaking his head. He definitely believed that, he couldn't qualify anything he'd done as nice. He was going more for harmless, over nice.

"Ah, I can summon a lot more than that." Demyx considered. "Well, that makes sense at least." He was much more comfortable with someone wanting to use him, over an accusation that he was somehow a good person.