TRP is a post-Great War AU RWBY RP set in Mistral City and Haven Academy with no canons, no rank claims, no maidens, and no god interference. We offer a progression system and site-wide events that change the setting based on player actions.
The large ironclad that had fired the earlier barrage had started moving, and started shifting towards the location of the docks. Unlike the other river monitor type ships, this was an actual warship. An older, nonstandard variant of a warship, but a warship nevertheless. It was nothing to scoff at, especially because one of the nonstandard parts of the ship itself was a bigger and more powerful main cannon.
Ahead of the landing, two rowboats filled with four men each would be sent out to secure the immediate area around the vessel for landing. While the majority of the forces had gone to the fort to clean that out, expecting heavy fighting, there was still a not insignificant number of troops left in the other areas of the city with one cluster of those troops left behind being at the docks. Within a half mile of the landing at the docks, there was a dozen men in military style uniforms converging towards the location not even counting the numbers on the ship – which would likely be substantial given its size.
On the deck of the vessel, a strange figure was visible flanked by a half a dozen men in much heavier armor than had previously been seen. This figure was obviously different than the others, if for nothing else than appearance. He wore a ceremonial military uniform not fit for combat, and upon his chest were dozens of medals and other bling clearly meant to show off. He and all the men around him were wearing black gas masks, the only thing that marred the professional appearance of the strange man. One last identifying characteristic is that his right arm seemed to be a prosthetic, shining unnaturally in the remaining light and looking metallic. Shoulder length black hair came out from the gas mask as he and his men stood motionless waiting for landing.
The enemy radio, once again never staying dormant for too long, crackled to life. “Attention all units, this is Victory 1. Contingency plan Alpha will be activated in five minutes time throughout the zone. I repeat, Contingency plan Alpha activates in five minutes. The presence of a Grade Five was deemed to be too dangerous, and extreme measures must be taken. Prophet Six, radio to home and inform them. Their arrival must not be delayed.”
Swarming with soldiers, this was no longer Mistralian territory in anything but name. The Council had no power here, and the village was in ruins. Law and order didn’t exist, and for the moment only strength ruled. That strength, for better or for worse, seemed to be concentrated in the hands of the man on that battleship.
Post by Sinopia DeStellanova on Sept 1, 2020 15:01:07 GMT -5
She never intended to come this far.
This was supposed to be a simple trip. Knight was badly injured -- more badly than she initially thought given how well she was moving. Not that Knight was moving well at all, but she was able to walk for awhile then lift her arms and tend to her wounds. Impressive given Knight was actually struggling to stay conscious. That was the kind of person Knight was, and had always been, and Red should have noticed. There had to be something more she could have done for Knight. Even though she did get Knight out of the fort the enemy soldiers were swarming into using the most direct means possible there had to be something better. Something better than having to effectively bury her partner and friend alive and leave her alone so she could go find something to help both of them get out of here. But Red was stupid and thought slow. She was always two steps behind people.
At first, it was hard for her to accept and she was still focused on the town and its people. Knight always seemed invincible. Red knew it wasn't true, but she was confident, brave, and normal weapons bounced off of her like they were nothing, so it was easy to 'forget' in a sense. But once she felt Knight slump against her shoulder while moving to a more remote corn field her blood went cold and her focus narrowed. Nothing else mattered anymore. She wasn't going to let anything happen to Knight.
All she intended to do was take a look around and see if she could find some kind of vehicle that would provide some protection and would hopefully be faster than just running. She opted to head north instead of looking for the car they took to get here because she assumed it would have been destroyed by now. She was not subtle in her drive to the fort and was pretty sure she was spotted by at least a dozen people. If it was still in drivable condition then the people here were just stupid. North was where the army landed, so if they had some unguarded transports, she figured they'd be up there. Though she was hoping that she'd find something in the outskirts of town, whether it be one of the farmers' trucks or some vehicle sent out to secure the area. A tractor wouldn't do it, but nearly anything else would.
Unfortunately, she didn't find anything. There was nothing out here but corn and looted buildings. All the vehicles she could find had either been broken open for parts or otherwise destroyed. After a quick trip back to Knight's location to make sure she was still okay and to put her back underground, Red sighed and started moving back towards the city walls. If she wanted to find something she was going to have to check the areas around the walls. This was the last place she intended to check before making a run for Argus. Spending too much time looking for a faster way out of here would defeat the purpose.
This time she found something. Or rather, heard it now that she had taken her earplugs out. There was a small vehicle of some kind heading back into the city through the northern entrance. What kind exactly, she wasn't sure because she never saw it, but she could recognize the sound of an engine and make a few reasonable guesses about what kind of vehicle it was. It sounded like it would work, so she went back through the walls of Kerch and started hunting it down.
The vehicle was headed towards the center of town and it was had to move in a place like this. The edge near the wall was fairly barren, but the further into the city she got the more soldiers she saw. The place was swarming with them, some moving towards the docks, others towards the fort she left earlier. Continuing like this would be risky. It probably wasn't worth it anymore. Even if she managed to steal the vehicle would she be able to drive it out of here? While possible, it was extremely difficult for her to move entire vehicles through walls without getting them stuck in the ground. She wouldn't be able to use a lot of her usual tactics to lose people. This was stupid, she knew it was stupid, but she pressed on. It was the only thing she had seen so far that might help them and she didn't want to give up this easily.
It didn't take long for her to realize that she had gone too deep. With the amount of movement in the area it was hard to find a good place to hide to wait it out and climbing would be out of the question. If they were executing any faunus they found on sight, then they were probably all human. She could at least stick to dark areas, but that didn't help when she needed to move between areas. They were looking for someone, or some group, judging from all the yelling, but given they were moving towards her rather than away, that wasn't helping her either. If anything, it was pushing her closer to the docks. That was when she got a good look at the ship coming in closer. The ship that was probably responsible for the bombardment earlier. Her jaw hung open a little and she took a sharp breath through her nose. There was no way she could do anything about that. She needed to get out of here and back to Knight.
Her current hiding spot didn't have much cover, but it was in a very dark spot under an overhang against a wall. She doubted the humans running past her would see her, though she still held her breath every time one came by. Her clothing helped her hide. Save for her shoes, gloves, and goggles, it was completely black and featureless. The black hoodie she was wearing was several sizes too big for her, big enough that it nearly went down to her knees and she could move her tail reasonably freely without it looking strange. Big enough that the numerous lumps in her hood looked like cloth folding rather than her ears perking up. It was held down with some ballistic googles with red lenses that obscured her eyes. Her gloves and boots were the same ones she wore around town in the capital a lot because they looked like completely normal work gloves and boots. For the most part they were, the boots more so than the gloves; they just had some extra metal in them to help her focus her aura and the gloves had some grappling hooks hidden in them. Red wasn't showing any skin at the moment -- the upper part of her face was covered by her goggles and hood, and the lower part of her face was covered by a fashion allergy mask with a cute face and rosy cheeks sewn into it. It wasn't a common fashion, but she had seen people around the capital wearing something like it. She hoped it would be enough to hide her distinct face without looking too suspicious, but given she was skulking around a warzone, that might have been hoping for too much.
Post by Raul Adalwulf on Sept 1, 2020 18:34:07 GMT -5
The night was teeming with dangers. It was like a kicked anthill as Raul and the others plotted their way carefully through the city streets. Something had come through on the radio, and while it had made no sense to the big faunus, Argent seemed to read something into the broken military jargon that the invaders employed. The great wolf didn't know, nor did he ask. The snake pointed the way, and they followed along, like a pack following the alpha. That was all that Raul needed to know, that was all he cared to know. He didn't need to know the plan any further than the next step. Detail's were for more complicated minds than his, minds like the cold-blooded Argent, grim and analytical. Knowing more than he needed to know, was likely to only confuse, or cause discomfort for Raul, and even in his borderline feral state, he understood that much. He just told himself it was like hunting hares in the woods. He didn't seem to believe it, no matter how many times he said it.
The streets were full of activity as they traced their way north. Convoys of huge thunderously loud trucks and tractors seemed to populate every major thoroughfare, travelling either towards or away from the northern docks. If he'd been a smarter creature, Raul might have read some significance into that fact, or have been able to extrapolate some larger context of the enemy formation and composition and activity. However, perhaps fortunately, the wolf was mostly ignorant of what the soldiers were up to, and assumed their motives were just as they had been elsewhere in the city, plain occupation. The great volume of troops and material in transit did pose a problem that not even the dull cognition of a beast could ignore, that being, it made it very difficult to pass unnoticed, and it grew more so as they neared the docks.
Raul had discovered that along with making him far more fearsome in appearance and overall strength, the recent transformation of his body had also granted a further enhancement of his agility. While he'd always understood the intrinsic concepts of stealth, whilst stalking small animals through the wilderness for the purpose of food or simple curiosity, he now found himself gifted with a much deeper understanding of the craft. His senses no longer seemed clearly separate, and perception itself had become a funnel into which all the information of his surroundings poured. It had been overwhelming at first, but now he found that when he concentrated, or rather when he focused solely on what he was doing in the moment, he could parse that flood of information into a keen, almost preternatural awareness of his surroundings. The faint odor of bitumen and silica told him that the ground was gravel before he laid eyes or paw upon it, whilst his ears, tracking the reflecting sound off of the walls ahead told him how wide the street was, and how many men and vehicles were upon it. Wisps of dust in the air told him which way the breeze was blowing, and carried with it the scents of sulfur and blood that told of engagements, some of which were days old. The way the air struck the thin layer of fur all over his half unclothed body told him whether the source of that breeze had been the wind, a passing truck, or the far off detonation of some sort of ordinance.
Since their fight with the tank and the fire team, he had distanced himself from his party, both emotionally, and in the more immediately relevant case, physically. He was too large a target, and drew too much attention out in the open, and though he hadn't realized that before, with the blood of his ancestors soaring at the peak of it's influence in his veins, he now understood that fact as well as he knew where his tail was without needing to look. He'd broken away from the pack, plotting a parallel path through the wreckage of the city, scaling short walls and moving over the rooftops, or crawling like an insect with his belly on the earth through low trenches and gutters, all the while sticking close to the shadows. The only thing that served to tell his pack that he hadn't abandoned them completely was the eerie glow of his gaping pupils, shimmering a wyrd green from some point ahead, whenever he would stop and wait for them.
He'd given his radio to the reptile. He had no use for it, the keenness of his hearing turned the syllables that came out of the mechanical box into an indistinguishable confusion of digital noise, and Bianca, with her sharp mind, would be able to make far better use of it. With it, the wolf had also given up any means of communicating with his team, but even as he prowled through the moonlit ruins, he kept them in view often enough to read the cues of their body language and every now and then catch a whiff of their scent.
He was in his element now, as much as he hated to admit it, prowling through the night with nothing but the moon to light his way. The swollen population of hostile combatants felt less like a direct threat to him, and more like the natural hazards of the environment, no different than needing to avoid poison oak and ivy while hunting through the woods. In his mind, the soldiers were one and the same with the city, rendered indistinct and anonymous by the magnitude of the presence. Taking individual note of each one felt just as pointless as trying to count every tree, and it freed up his mind to concentrate solely on plotting a quiet stealthy course through their formations.
It had worked well too. Sticking to the lower roofs had served him excellently, as the humans, restrained in this poorly lit abattoir to the limited sense of their ears, and near non-existent senses of smell, and their curious habit to ignore anything more than forty degrees above their eye-line, made them almost painfully easy to circumnavigate. Between his speed and instinctive understanding of stealth, he could have been at the objective already were he not stopping every hundred or so yards to let the others catch up.
He had stopped on a shallow eave, cast in the blanket of shadow from a nearby towering building, when he first noticed it. It was subtle, but familiar, and the familiarity of it caused that detail to stand out starkly in this unfamiliar and blasted hellscape. It was just a scent, so faint that he nearly missed it. It was the briny odor of fresh panicked sweat, of exercise, and of leather and metal, and of chain oil, and finally beneath all that, the pleasant feminine scent of a fellow faunus, utterly at odds with the crude human odors of the many soldiers. Every person he'd ever met had a singular smell about them, and to Raul those smells were more important and intrinsic to identity than even their faces, and he recognized this scent immediately.
"Sienna...?" He uttered in a voice so distorted by his transfigured physique, a half growl, half whine, like the sounds of beasts crudely disfigured to resemble the syllables of men, produced from vocal organs that scarcely had any remaining right to the kingdom of man, that even he himself scarcely recognized it.
There was no question. Smells were so unique that he'd never once mistaken one person for another based on their individual scent, and the question of whether he might be wrong never even occurred. Immediately abandoning his careful course across the city, like he'd been tied by the nose to a crimson ribbon that gently tugged him along, he followed that scent unerringly for nearly a hundred yards before coming upon the source.
It would have been almost invisible to anyone without the benefit of Faunus night vision, but he saw her instantly, flat on her belly and peering over a mound of rubble, just below him in the smashed wreckage of what once might have been a shop of some sort. Suddenly fearing the worst, confronted by the prostate posture and the omnipresence of surrounding destruction, as well as the faint odor of blood now clearly present, he dropped down from the adjacent roof and into the rubble behind her. Giving only the barest pretense of avoiding the notice of the soldiers beyond, he hurried towards the shape on all fours and shoved his recently developed snout into the cleft between trunk and arm in an effort to roll over the figure and determine the source of the blood he could so clearly smell on her. What he planned to do after was something he never thought to ask.
From Sienna's point of view it must have been quite a surprise, to have the hulking shape, standing taller by couple dozen centimetres than he had when she preciously encountered him, drop out of the night and immediately scurry forth to jab her in the side with a blunt muzzle that likewise had not been present on prior interactions. In fact, between the fine pelt of gray fur covering him from head to tail, the exaggerated claws on each paw-like hand, the glistening ivory white fangs, the long blunt snout, and pronounced growth of dense muscles all across a once lean and lupine frame, this wolf barely resembled the one she had met. The only details that even resembled the Raul Adalwulf she'd known were the shock of scruffy grey hair that fell well past his lower back like a proud, if unkempt mane, the two triangular ears currently pointing forwards with concern, and the pale blue eyes whose pupils had receded slightly as the higher mind and intellect of the beast asserted itself.
He emitted a low whine somewhere in the back of his throat, as he gave her another nudge with his snout.
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Last Edit: Sept 1, 2020 18:44:51 GMT -5 by Raul Adalwulf
Post by Bianca Sabbato on Sept 1, 2020 20:54:35 GMT -5
Silently, I gave a small nod of approval when Adalwulf decided to separate from the group and make his way towards the shore on his own accord. He was simply too big and bulky to move stealthily at our slow pace. So it was way better for him to put his hunter instincts to good use and find his own path across the decimated city.
Every once in awhile I would check on his location to reassure myself that he was fine, he always stayed within visual range of the rest of us, so this was an easier task than what it may seem.
We made our way in silence towards the docks. Hugging the wall at our left for fear of being detected and shelled into oblivion by the battleship’s main weapons. The radio signal had been loud and clear, and even as a team of four first-year students, we immediately knew what we had to do once we hear this Harbinger was making landfall.
The boat had been completely out of our reach just a few minutes later, with no plausible way for us to cover the distance separating it from the shore. We could try swimming, but we could be spotted out there in the open and gunned down without any chance of retaliation...
I’m sure everyone had their own theories about how to take down the ship if we really needed to do it, but there was a reason none of us had ventured to offer them to the rest of the group, they were dangerous at best and suicidal at worst, and we knew this.
But now, the big fish was coming straight at us. Likely getting within spitting distance of the docks. So we knew this was our one in a lifetime chance of taking it down for good. We could not let it go to waste without even trying.
All the ruin, all the devastation around us. It had been mostly because of that damned ship, shooting down on the little town of Kerch from a safe position where he knew the city wouldn’t be able to fight back. Basically looking down on us without even having the balls of entering the same ring... It was disgusting, cruel, nonsensical, cowardly, and unfair; It was war, basically.
Even if I secretly resented Argus for not sending at least the barest semblance of an army to assist us on this, I couldn’t exactly blame them if this was what was coming to their doorsteps soon.
That was if we didn’t manage to shut down this whole shitshow before that happened. So to avenge Kerch, but also to safeguard Argus and every other coastal town on Mistral, this motherfucker needed to go now. We would show him exactly why It had been a good idea on his part to avoid getting close to the shore...
-Sir- I called out to Argent as we came to a stop at the border of the wall. From here we could clearly see the colossal shape of the warship making its way towards us. Soon we would even be able to distinguish the 7 figures standing their ground dramatically at the deck of the ship.
-The big boat seems to be headed here. I honestly don’t see any fucking way we could assault it while it’s still on the water... So I suggest waiting for it to land to make our move-
Then I simply let the others speak their minds. See what I could take from their assessment of the situation as I checked on my remaining dust charge and my weapon again. Making sure I was ready for a big fight to break out at any minute. Grabbing another handful of dirt to carry on my pockets just in case we actually ended aboard the ship.
As I was readying myself, my eyes never left the dreaded visage of the warship slowly, and almost lazily drifting along the lake... And it was then when I finally managed to catch a glimpse of a ceremoniously dressed figured clearly distinguished over the rest of the faceless mocks.
-Wait... On the ship! That one standing in the middle of that small group like an asshole! That looks like a fucking leader if I’ve ever seen one!- I excitedly motioned for the rest of them to take a look at who I assumed to be our objective, the one Haven was supposed to eliminate so we could mark this as a successful mission. The fucking bastard responsible for this mess...
I actually had to contain myself a little. This mission had seemingly affected me on a subconscious level. Probably because this was my first time in an actual war-zone. And besides all the usual emotions such an event tends to inflict in someone, the dominant one in my case was simply rage. Rage and indignation as for why someone would do something like this when the world was full of so much pain and suffering already.
Closing my eyes for a second, I took a deep breath and decided to use that rage, but I wouldn’t let it guide me. That motherfucker was going to die, but I would kill him most effectively and professionally as possible. I wouldn’t let myself fuck things up now when the rest of my team depended on me.
After a couple seconds, I decided to address what was probably our biggest problem at approaching the ship fast, one that sadly was entirely my fault this time -So, what’s the plan? I know I’m not very fast so that could be a problem if we are trying to blitz them... But that could be fixed... I might be onto something here, gotta go find Raul for a sec...-
As my eyes drifted towards the most feral of my companions, I noticed something strange on his attitude, his ears were perked up, the hair on his back almost standing on attention as he swiftly launched himself on a run towards some unknown objective... This was strange, I knew he wasn’t one to take the initiative in something like this, so him attacking the boat was out of the question.
-I’ll... Be back in a few, hopefully with Raul in tow- Separating from the group, I kept my head low as I made my way over the remains of Kerch, carefully avoiding enemy soldiers and illuminated spots, this was an all-human army, so I had the advantage as long as I stayed in the shadows. It didn’t take long for me to finally find my teammate, his ample back slightly hunched over an inconspicuous pile of rubble, like as if he was expecting something.
I was sure he would have smelled me already, so I made no efforts to hide my presence from him more than squatting low on the ground to not attract any unwanted attention.
-Hey, Raul. I think we found the leader of the enemies, so time to end this bullshit. Do you think you could carry me on your back while transformed? Just deposit me in the middle of the fray and pick me up later?- It was an interesting plan, and one I had practiced more than once with Ryan.
Although I figured riding on Raul’s back would be even easier as he wasn’t as fast as my bespectacled companion, and I was sure he was not able to accelerate as suddenly as Ryan did with his fucking semblance that more than once swung me painfully towards the ground when I couldn’t keep up with the sudden changes in velocity and momentum.
Plus, he was fuzzy and fluffy when he transformed, so if needed I could grab on to that like you would with a horse’s mane.
But as I was approaching the wolf-man. I soon noticed that whatever he was looking at was more than a simple pile of rubbish. I instinctively leveled my spear as I stopped on my tracks... That was a person, a very well camouflaged person just a couple meters away from me.
I feel my heart jump for a second at this realization, my body getting even lower on the off-chance the figured lunged for me and I had to get out of the way... But as the seconds passed without further altercation, my mind quickly started veering towards more reasonable lines of thought.
-Is she a friendly, Raul?- I asked, ever so slowly lowering my spear tip towards the ground. As I meticulously gave an eye inspection to our new arrival, I soon realized how slim were the chances of her being a part of the invading army.
Well, my first clue was the fact that Raul seemed to trust her, and I seriously doubted he would be the kind of guy to have a calm conversation with a member of the rebel army... I hoped. But that this person wasn’t attacking him in the first place was telling.
Second, even under all of those drags, I could tell by the way she moved that she was clearly a woman or a very thin man who liked cute face-masks, and as far as I could see the invading force was entirely comprised of well-built men in military or pseudo-military garbs... While she wore more of an urban infiltration attire without any visible emblems of recognizable patterns, this led me to believe she was either part of the town’s militia or some kind of mercenary attracted by the juicy reward hanging over the commander’s head.
This already painted a pretty clear picture of which side she supported on this war, but even putting aside all of this, there was something else that immediately caught my attention and made me relax visibly once I internalized its meaning... Probably the straw that broke the camel’s back, the fact that she seemed suspiciously comfortable to stay in the dark without having of any discernible night vision equipment on herself... She had goggles, but those didn’t look nearly high tech enough to incorporate that kind of visual aid in such a small frame.
And I think everyone knows what that means. You learn how to tell them apart when you're one yourself.
-Fair enough- I called out, trusting Raul’s judgment of the situation, if he hadn’t jumped her as soon as she noticed his presence, then chances were she wasn’t a danger for us, so I would treat her with respect for the time being, as I was still unsure if she was a rugged mercenary or simply one of Kerch residents that had unfortunately been caught in the crossfire.
-Greetings, ma’am. Sorry for the ruckus... If you need help abandoning the city, I beg for a little patience. We will be able to come and help you as soon as we take down the rebellion’s leader- As I spoke, a strange realization washed over me, that if that was the case, this woman had been the first survivor we had found in our little tour over Kerch.
Of course, I knew we weren’t exactly looking for survivors since ours was a reconnaissance mission first and foremost... But it still brought the question of where the people of Kerch actually were, not the ones fighting the invaders in the castle, but the weak and defenseless, too old or young to fight...
And as soon as these questions came to me, a far more sinister answer sprout from my mind, one involving what a trained and prepared army might do to a civilian population when they faced such a small amount of resistance... Scowling with disgust, I suddenly found myself having even more reasons to want to take down the one responsible for this madness.
-It won’t be easy though. So I suggest you stay in the shadows and wait for us unless you have any capabilities to help us with taking down the fucker, or know someone around here who can...- I knew it was in part wishful thinking, but as I gazed towards the incoming battleship and the combat-ready men standing ominously on the deck, I couldn’t help but wish we had any more reinforcements for this little job of ours.
-In which case, we would be really fucking grateful, not gonna lie- As I said this, I smiled lightly towards this new person, getting low on my belly as a lone soldier passed by a couple dozen meters down the street.
-We need to regroup right now, Raul. So either she’s staying here or she's coming with us...Your name?- I asked her as I started to get on my feet.
Post by Sinopia DeStellanova on Sept 2, 2020 18:24:40 GMT -5
Now that she was this deep in there were plenty of vehicles to choose from, but it's not like she could grab any of them without being noticed. They were all moving, meaning someone was driving them, and even if she could kick out the driver and steal it she'd get swarmed by all the soldiers here. Coming here was stupid. So stupid. She had less than 10 minutes before Knight would be above ground again. Getting back in time was likely impossible now. Did she cut her losses and escape or stick around until someone parked? Where even was she? She had been pushed around from space to space enough that her sense of direction was turned around and backwards. Red was still feeling overwhelmed from earlier and the current stakes weren't helping that. She had no idea what to do anymore.
While her brain was processing options and decisions at a speed that made a sloth look fast, it was able to process sensory information and responses to immediate danger quickly. She was very aware of the amount of people moving around her and what all of them were saying. She could tell roughly where they were, where they were going, and most importantly, whether they were moving towards her or slowing down near her. There was one such sound nearby, though she didn't hear it until the sound was just across the street from her. When it turned into a sound of something landing not too far from her, it was almost deafening despite how quiet it was. There was little doubt in her mind that she had been seen somehow, but she didn't even move. Red didn't even jump even though it startled her, even stilling her breath so she could be as motionless as a corpse. It was a reflex that served her well for parts of her life, but was more annoying than useful now. It was the kind of reflex that let her stay hidden, but slowed her ability to react.
Red let herself be rolled over without reacting or moving at all. What rolled her didn't feel like a hand, and that whine was not human. There was no one yelling about how they found someone, she couldn't hear the sound of any weapons being raised, and whatever it was kept nudging her like it was making sure she was dead or something. She allowed herself to move her eyes to try to get a look at what was nudging her, but she had no idea what it was. Somewhere between human or faunus and animal, far too large to actually be a wolf, and larger than most people were even. She didn't recognize the beast, but with the way it was looking at her, it seemed unlikely that it intended to hurt her.
Slowly and silently, she sat up and put her finger to her lips to try to quiet him down. She could hear some more people coming this direction, and she had no idea if they were friendly or not. Whether they knew...whatever this was, or if they were coming to investigate the sounds (something she knew she was always far more paranoid about than she should be because of her own hearing). Gently, she tried to push him into the darkness of her hiding spot with a bit too much force to be called guiding him, just in case.
She wasn't sure how to feel about who showed up. Her reaction was similar to what happened when the beast first showed up: she froze. That trainee seemed to have an affinity for showing up fully armed in dark alleys, though this time Red supposed she couldn't blame her. Even after Bianca lowered her spear, Red didn't move any more than letting her eyes dart back and forth. At least until the name she said registered. Raul? She turned her head towards the bloodstained beast. He didn't look the same as when she last saw him, even ignoring the blood, but there were enough similarities that she could believe it. He was a strange faunus to begin with, and she recalled him looking a little different when they started fighting. Possibly a semblance. Her feelings were still dulled by the stress of the situation, her brain still several steps behind what was happening, and she was still trying to process far more than she could at the moment. She didn't know how to feel or what to think, and she still didn't know what to do.
All she knew was that she had to find a vehicle and get out of here.
"None of that matters right now!" Her voice was quiet, but there was still force behind it. "There's an injured person I need to get out of here now. I need a vehicle."
That summed up everything that had been running through her head since leaving Knight behind, but it sounded really stupid now that she said it out loud. Maybe it made sense when she first entered the walls, but now that she was this deep in, now that there were this many people around, she couldn't claim that was true anymore. Red paused and shakily grabbed her hood with both her hands and pulled it down as hard as she could to try to block out the noise and to keep her hands occupied. She was gripping it hard enough that her hands and arms were shaking.
"That's not happening," the forceful tone she was using before was gone and there wasn't much emotion left in her voice. "I'm not a fighter, but I can help. How many are with you?"
The answer, and the rest of the group coming into view, made her mouth flatten into a line. Well, it was more than she was expecting given Haven made a statement saying they weren't sending anyone. She wasn't sure if that changed or if these people came of their own accord despite being told not to, but it didn't matter. Knight would almost certainly be in danger. It was unlikely that she would be able to reach Knight in time to prevent that, vehicle or no. At this point, her options were leave or fight. Would Knight even be happy if she abandoned a chance to save this town because she was worried about her? Red wasn't sure. Regardless, with the big ship docking and a target showing itself, it almost seemed faster to try something rather than leave without being noticed with this many people around.
Or maybe she was still being stupid. Her head hurt and she didn't know what to do.
Powehi. You can call me Powehi."
Powehi was a name given to a black hole meaning 'embellished dark source of unending creation.' She tended to name herself after things found directly in the earth or celestial bodies because of a comment from her father about her own name. If she needed a first and last name, she used both. The only exception so far had been Red, an identity she didn't want to be associated with and wasn't sure if she liked.
She stood up, making sure not to make any noise and didn't make any further comments. She wasn't sure how to go after this ship or what to do in general. Her brain was still catching up with her and thinking was hard. At this point she'd be better at listening and reacting. Despite her tone, she was anything but relaxed and her anxiety was obvious even through her loose clothing. Her emotions hadn't caught up with her yet, but she subconsciously knew she was about to fight with people that were really close to Huntsmen and what being near one always meant for her in the past.
Post by Bianca Sabbato on Sept 3, 2020 1:58:21 GMT -5
Now that I finally heard her voice, I could confirm without a shadow of a doubt that she was a woman, and although it’s kind of a shitty move on my part, I was glad to hear she had an injured person who needed rescue since that meant now there was absolutely no way she was with the Atlessian soldiers.
I turned my gaze towards Raul, noticing that he still seemed pretty chill about her presence, so I decided to pay heed to her words and undermine the task of carefully deciphering the whole plethora of hidden meaning and emotion behind them. Quickly noticing how her shifty body language suggested a hint of understandable desperation in her plea.
For a second I was taken back to professor Shadecloack’s lesson on rescue operations, and how sometimes survivors in disaster zones would try by all their means to save people already too far gone to be helped, often endangering themselves and simply putting another body in the line of fire.
I couldn’t know if this was the case with this girl, but I could clearly note the distress both in her voice and her shaky features. And I hoped she took it well when I told her under no uncertain terms that we were not going to do that.
-I’m sorry, miss. All vehicles we came across were busted already. The best we could do is to capture an enemy tank, but I don’t know how could we manage to take it outside town without alerting the whole enemy army- Plus, no one in our group knew how to drive a tank anyway, and it would be a helluva coincidence of this woman actually knew how to do so.
And of course, all of these speculations fell flat considering that putting all of our plans apart to go and save her friend was not something I was actually considering in the slightest. No matter how saddening as it was to hear, even if we had the means to procure a civilian vehicle, taking down the leader took priority over any rescue, so I would have to say no even if we were perfectly able to help her.
I could only be in one place at a time, and even if I could be in two I would prefer to send the two Biancas to take down their leader rather than to destine one to rescue at this point.
It was not as if saving her friend was completely out of the table, but it would have to wait until the commander was gone, I knew very well that the old adagio “all lives have the same value” was plain and simply full of shit. It was obvious how some lives were clearly more valuable than others (for example, a huntsman was more valuable any day of the week than a simple farmer as the huntsman would get to save hundreds of farmers during their career) But in this case, I felt like the possibility of this guy escaping and invading another city was too grave a danger to risk it all to save some unknown element.
But I was not about to dump all of this on her, especially considering how distressed she looked under her hoodie, even if she tried in vain to obscure her nerves under layers of clothing. I judged it would be better to keep her focused on something, least her feelings get the best of her, so as I guided her back towards the rest of the crew, I decided to put her up to speed, but first I needed to know exactly what could she add to the equation...
-Understood. How can you provide help? Do you have an aura or a certain skill you think could be useful?- I asked in a leveled tone, glad to hear she was helping in any way she could. Once Argent and Alice came into view I saw her expression shift ever so slightly. But this was to be expected, we wouldn’t be asking for assistance if we actually had a sensible amount of personnel on our side...
I made sure to walk in a relaxed stride alongside the woman, sheathing my weapon and making sure the others would notice I wasn’t treating her as a threat nor a captive. In the meantime, I took the liberty of explaining our new companion the bare-bones of the situation.
-Things are as follows: The enemy commander is making landfall from the big battleship that until a few minutes ago was positioned outside of our reach on the lake’s waters. As soon as he comes out of hiding we’re gonna go in, kill or capture the fucker, and get the hell out of here as chaos runs rampart...-
At least that was the gist of it. How exactly were we going to escape?... Well, I would leave that question to people smarter than me, like Argent. But I was pretty sure things were going to go to shit for the enemy if they lose the head of the snake in such a critical moment, I had severe doubts that their first order would be “avenge our leader!” when logic dictates that getting the hell out of dodge should be their first priority...
And speaking of getting out, I hadn’t forgotten the woman’s previous plea of help yet, so I considered a good idea to add some words of encouragement for the girl.
-...And on our way out we are going to pick up your friend and provide as much help as we can. Argent -that’s the other boy in the group- has medical experience so he might be able to stabilize her enough for us to be able to leave this place with her in tow-
After all, it would be rude on our part to accept her help without offering anything in exchange. I was thinking about offering her my part of the reward for the leader if she looked interested in the money, but as it was clear that saving her friend was the only thing on her mind, I thought about responding in kind to her feelings.
-Oh, and it’s nice to meet you Powehi, you can call me Bianca. And don’t worry, we will pull out of this together, all of us, or I’ll die trying. I promise- I said putting my hand over the woman’s shoulder for a second. I wasn’t sure what I was trying to accomplish with that, probably calm her down a little. But as my social skills were on a similar level to those of a rock, I feared it wouldn’t have much of an effect at all.
Whatever the case might be, Argent and Alice were already just a couple meters away from us, so now that I had come back with Raul (and a little someone else) at my side, we were ready to end this once and for all.
-This is Powehi here, Raul found her a little while ago and seems to trust her, as I do. She has offered to assist us in our endeavor, and as a return of kindness, we are going to help her save an injured person she left behind in the city. Is everyone okay with this idea? Because we have little time and we better start talking in clear terms about how are we going to do this- I called out to the other faunus, pointing with my thumb towards the massive ship looming in the distance.
After this, I would let the others a couple moments for presentations and the like as I waited to see what they had to say about the incoming fight.
Post by Argent Steele on Sept 3, 2020 15:33:32 GMT -5
I know you got hate in you. Most do. Trick is to use it, 'stead of it usin' you.
But you know this. Vengeance is a motivator, not the motive. Don't hunt 'em 'cause you been wronged. Hunt 'em 'cause what they did was wrong. There's a world of difference there, kid. One makes you selfish. The other makes you a hero.
And I see a hero in you.
❝
Kersche had been significantly more alive in the past few minutes than it had been in the near entirety of their time prior. After their battle with the vehicle that he would tentatively label as a tank for lack of a better term to describe it, and the ensuing battle with the squad that they'd run into afterwards, the radio had exploded with reports from multiple squads converging on their position. On one hand, it was exceedingly helpful to have access to an extremely active communications line like this, and it had given them information good enough to act on. They had a real chance to do some damage to this invading force, sow confusion among their ranks and destroy precious material needed to solidify their beachhead here in Kersche.
Argent didn't consider himself an expert in military matters. Certainly not in the context of large operations like these. But he could extrapolate from known facts, and the fact was that this had very little chance of being an Atlesian attack, as so many of the Mistrallean peoples floated around the internet as truth - and if it was, then it was surely by proxy and disposable pawns who wouldn't and couldn't be traced back to their masters. One warship with all the troops on board did not a good invasion force make, even more so when said troops were equipped with outdated equipment. The smart thing to do after taking Kersche would have to immediately set out for Argus and take control of the train to the capital itself, fast and quick before the defenders could muster a response. And they were instead here, waiting - freeing prisoners, consolidating their forces, for what? Reinforcements? Why strike first and not wait for those to join up for a larger invasion force, then?
No. More likely than not, this was probably the entirety of their unknown foe's force. And while he could speculate as to the reason why they hadn't moved from the city itself - they had spread themselves too thin to make a concerted push, they had run out of supplies to maintain their assault, they had bungled the initial invasion so badly that they had enough wounded that they needed to wait a few days for them to recover - the fact of the matter was that their chain of command seemed to end with the unknown commander on the ship, who at the very least seemed to have enough combat prowess to consider himself or herself good enough to beat a trained Huntsman or Huntress - at least, that was what he gathered from the radio response. If the Haven student force only merited a grade two or three on whatever threat scale they kept, then realistically, a Huntsman level threat would be the next step up. There weren't many other things it could be. A Grimm response to the sacking of Kersche, perhaps. Whatever the case might be, removing the commander of any detachment like this would be a huge blow on multiple levels. The chaos in the command structure as his second in command took over and the reins of power changed hands would tie up command structures, the removal of the commander would drop morale sharply among the common soldier, and, luck permitting, the logistical aspects of coordinating the needs of a force this size would be thrown into disarray as well. It was why he had made the decision to risk their lives in going for such an unknown - the centrality of it all hinging on one individual, and the potential benefits to be reaped from bringing that individual down.
On the other hand, however, it was demoralizing indeed to know just how little of a dent they had made in the opposing forces. More tanks and squads reported in, combing the city for them, and each time they caught sight of a patrol to avoid, his throat tightened a little at the thought of their exfiltration and how much more difficult it might be. Argent was neither stupid nor a glory hound, however, and holding on to the vestiges of stealth even when the entire city was looking for them meant keeping the enemy in the dark about their movements, as well as presenting them with a potential escape vector should their unknown target turn out to be beyond their abilities to take down - or survive, if one wanted to be morbid. This was not helped by the fact that Raul had pushed onwards by himself, keeping away from the rest of the team. As much as the snake Faunus wanted to insist that they stick together, the not so distant shelling of the fort at the far end of the city made him reconsider the value of large spacing in their formation, which he then instituted. This, however, meant that his nerves were wound even tighter whenever he lost track of his larger lupine companion, and that every hiss of static from the radio carried with it the fear that Raul had been found - or killed.
It was a mistake to bring him along. The other male clearly had never fought like this before, a mission in the dirt and the muck where there was little allowance for life and mercy. In some other situations, perhaps, this might have been a good thing. But killing someone, a person, an enemy who wasn't a mindless creature of darkness, was closer and more personal than anything else before that point. And to have that happen in the here and now, to have that weighing on Raul throughout the entirety of this mission - it made him a liability. No time to adjust. No time to adapt. No time for him to come to terms with the decision he'd made.
Not everyone handled trauma in the same way. His medical lessons with Doctor Haragitanai had certainly taught him that. But the common factors, as far as he could tell, was that one needed to accept it before one could heal from it. But that needed time, a luxury that they simply couldn't afford in the current situation. And Argent thought to himself, that if he could have turned back the clock and put himself back at the briefing, where the others had come forward for the mission, that he would reject Raul Adawulf from ever joining the student task force. That he could cite inexperience in spades for the lupine Faunus' unsuitability for the mission, and put him on a fast track with Professor Shadecloak's internship program in the field with bandits before he ever needed to be called on for such a mission.
But wishful thinking had never been his forte. He could not order the world to turn back time, to choose a reality better fitting his own wishes. So he simply had to make do with what he had - use his own pitiful attempt at being sociable, at being the support that Raul needed but he couldn't provide, despite his failure at both in every aspect he thought mattered. Thankfully, both Alice and Bianca were seemingly no stranger to the kind of combat they found themselves in, even if the latter was a bit more adept at it than he was really comfortable with. And he was a little more than concerned about the fact that she had so easily fallen into accepting his leadership role, even to the point of addressing him as one might a superior officer. It made him a little uncomfortable, honestly - but as he'd learnt about himself at Rochdale, Argent Steele was perfectly fine with suppressing discomfort or even morality if it meant succeeding in the mission or bringing as many people home alive as he could.
He wondered what that said about him.
"We'll wait for it to dock before we engage," he said in response to Bianca's observations about the incoming warship as they took cover by a corner of the defensive wall that had once kept Kersche safe from Grimm invasion. It was a relief to let go of the thoughts plaguing his mind and focusing on the objective ahead of them, and so he did, mulling over the problem aloud before he opened his mouth to speak.
"I can provide covering fire, but not much else. If you can turn your earth projectiles into a dust cloud on impact, maybe I can launch them with my Semblance and give us some visual smokescreen so we don't get shot too much while crossing-"
There was a pause when Bianca interrupted, and looking over at Raul it was clear as day to see why. The lupine Faunus was clearly not listening to their discussion and had moved away altogether, heading in the direction of god knows where. The lizard Faunus made her way over, and Argent couldn't help but let his shoulders sag slightly as he exhaled a quiet, exhausted sigh. It was an emotional luxury to do so, but he allowed his guard to drop for a few moments as he did, letting a little of the tension drain from his body before he straightened up and motioned to Alice to follow, all trace of it locked behind his business-like attitude once again.
Stepping closer, and listening to Bianca's quick summary of the situation, the snake Faunus watched her speak, glancing to Powehi occasionally. No signs of duress from Bianca. Not much stress beyond the expected. And from the look of it, Raul seemed very much okay with the unknown woman. So, he could probably safely rule out the possibility of an enemy trick or ambush.
To Argent's credit, he only hesitated for a moment when Bianca mentioned the scope of the assistance that she'd promised Powehi, and a glance at the incoming ship did indeed impress upon them the urgency of the situation. That was swiftly followed up by a look towards the lizard Faunus and a slight nod, acknowledging that he would trust her judgment in this matter, though the slight pressing together of his lips would also show that he wasn't quite satisfied with it. Nevertheless, the snake Faunus would turn to Powehi, noting the tension wound tight in her slim form and the slight crimp of her lips while she looked them over, while drawing the tourist brochure map of Kersche out of his pocket and unfolding it to spread it out on the ground, motioning for everyone to gather around.
"Understood. We won't have time to discuss after, however, so Powehi, let's hash it out here and now, please. We can try to steal one of the tanks on our way out, but that'll only carry two people at max. Is his condition critical; can he move? And..."
He hesitated for a moment, then finally gave in to the question he'd been hoping he wouldn't need to ask. Even the better answer would only complicate their mission in the short term, but after coming across one survivor of the slaughter here, he couldn't very well leave good enough alone. No, he had to know, now - if their mission needed to be expanded - and if they could somehow help more than they already had.
"...are there any others left?"
WHISPER OF THE WYRM (SEMBLANCE): [RANK C]
SERPENT'S BENEDICTION: SPEED OF THE SCYLLA (SPEED) [RANK E] SERPENT'S BENEDICTION: DANCE OF THE DRAGON (AGILITY) [RANK C] SERPENT'S BENEDICTION: GLARE OF THE GORGON (MARKSMANSHIP) [RANK E] SERPENT’S BENEDICTION: WINGS OF THE WYVERN (ACROBATICS) [RANK F] SERPENT’S BENEDICTION: TALONS OF THE TARASQUE (MARTIAL ARTS)[RANK F]
Post by Sinopia DeStellanova on Sept 3, 2020 17:45:22 GMT -5
Red didn't react to any of Bianca's words or her touch, letting herself be slightly jostled to the side like she was a ragdoll. It didn't feel good. Who Bianca was aside, nothing felt particularly good right now. She was in the target of an artillery bombardment not too long ago. While Knight was able to protect her and the civilians from the concussive blasts, there wasn't anything she could do about the sound or the sheer brightness of her attacks. Red's senses were overwhelmed instantly from that attack. When she got into a state like that, her senses were heightened rather than dulled, like her body was trying to compensate for the brief period where they just didn't work. It made sense, most of the time this happened for most of her life it was because she was in danger and keeping her senses as sharp as her body could manage meant she was able to get out of it. It just became inconvenient when it happened because of crowds or very loud music or the other stupid things that could trigger that state.
For now, it was useful so she wasn't going to complain. However, it meant everything affected her senses so much more strongly. She could clearly hear their voices as though they were talking normally even though they were whispering. Her clothes felt like sandpaper against her skin, and having them even lightly pressed into her shoulder was uncomfortable. But this wasn't Bianca's problem, so she didn't say anything about it.
She didn't even want to comment on the help they were offering as though she had somehow agreed to it before. She didn't need it, nor particularly want it, and she had no reason to believe that they'd actually go through with it. No one ever helped her when she needed it, and there was a lot here that would require their attention. However, she didn't want to get bogged down in unimportant conversation, so she let it go. So when their apparent leader asked about it she let a long breath out of her nose. It was annoying that they were acting like this was some kind of deal when she said she'd help. There were no strings attached to her offer. At this point, it'd be faster to go along with it, so she went through what she knew as quickly as possible. Starting with the civilians because she didn't consider her problems or Knight related to them at all.
"The civilians in the fort are evacuating through the storm drains. They lead to the ocean. Several are injured. The invading army is taking human prisoners, but killing all the faunus. There may be more civilians in the city, whether prisoners or hiding. I don't know where they're taking the prisoners. My friend is unconscious, but not dying. Not in immediate danger. Just has burns and open wounds that would make crossing a cold river dangerous. A tank is fine. I don't need anything more. The civilians underground need help more than I do."
Red paused and looked down. While she was ignoring most of what Bianca was saying, she supposed telling them about what she could actually do was important. She hesitated for a moment. How much should she say? It was impossible for her to trust people like this and she was positive that anything they found out about her would be used against her later, even if they weren't actively malicious like her brain liked to act they were. Turning her head to get a good look at the docks and the ship, the answer was obvious. She couldn't afford to hold anything back. The fact that she was thinking about her own safety over protecting this city was disgusting. So, she took a deep breath and started talking again.
"What I can do..." she paused and furrowed her brows. "It's easier to show you."
Once those words left her mouth, Bianca would find herself falling through the ground and her hand would start passing through Red's shoulder. Bianca's body changed to a dark reddish-orange and looked slightly translucent, though she wouldn't be any more or less easy to see than she was before. Red only kept her semblance active on Bianca for about a second. Long enough for Bianca's hand to pass through her shoulder and for the soles of her shoes to sink into the ground. At this depth, Bianca would be able to free herself from the ground without much effort, even if she wasn't very strong. It would do for a demonstration, and had the added benefit of getting that hand off her shoulder without looking like an asshole.
"I have aura. Semblance makes anything intangible. The docks and ships are too large for me to do that, but person sized targets are fine. I should be able to disarm or trap the soldiers so you don't have to fight them. Might make it easier to capture their leader if I can get my hands on him. I know a lot about vehicles. Should be able to stop the ship from ever moving again."
In simple terms, she considered herself a disruptor and saboteur. She could fight somewhat, but she never considered herself very good at it because she was always comparing herself to Knight: a prodigy when it came to combat. Her memories of Huntsmen were from the Faunus War, when she was barely a pre-teen. They were practically weapons of mass destruction to her young eyes. Because of that, she assumed that the trainees would be closer to Knight's level than hers, so she doubted she'd be useful in that regard. But she could help them get there much like she had in the past for Knight, so hopefully that would be enough.
Post by Bianca Sabbato on Sept 3, 2020 22:49:13 GMT -5
I was just wondering what the woman meant by “showing us” when I almost lost my balance as my hand passed right through her shoulder like it wasn’t even there anymore, both of my eyes shot wide open as an expression of surprise washed over my face.
It felt... Kinda funky, like being weightless all of a sudden. Looking back at it, I wonder if the sensation might be similar to that of Berwyn every time she uses her semblance, only the other way around...
Or at least I could have been thinking of something like that if it weren’t for the sudden rush of terror that invaded my body as I thought for a fraction of a second that this woman was trying to ambush us, I instinctively reached for my spear but found my hand phasing through it. I tried to compact the earth under my feet but found it as soft as air.
The eerie sensation only lasted a second, but now I was one or two centimeters buried into the ground, with one hand behind my back like an archer reaching for her quiver. Once I realized I was not under attack, I slowly let my hand fall down before parting the ground around my feet to free myself and giving a little step away from her, just for caution.
Did this woman...? Nah... She didn’t... But she did... I see,
Now I know how Raul could trust her so easily, they both have in common the ugly habit of presenting themselves by using their semblances on you without announcement... So while I tried to calm down my rapidly my beating heart, I could only laugh at the morbid ridiculousness of the situation, although not exactly for the reasons one might expect...
-Hahaha, that’s certainly something!- I laughed as loud as I dared without risking alerting the Atlessian soldiers, my hands planted on my hips as I made a small gesture for Mowehi to pay attention to me for a second.
-Hahaha... You realize you basically aimed a weapon to my face right?- I said in a low tone, scowling something fierce at the woman. If there was a prize for the quickest change from an amused to an incredible pissed off expression, I was sure to be one of the final contenders. My hearty, exaggerated laughter turning into an icy tone that betrayed non of my feelings at that exact time.
-And I didn’t know if you were going to shot or not, plus, I don’t know you... I know you are probably a civilian, but that doesn’t exempt you from knowing basic safety measures as to how others could view your semblance...- I had to suppress a shiver at the thought of what my boss would have done to me in a similar situation. If I ever had done something like that I would have been beaten up badly... and I mean BADLY, not the average beating you give an unruly child, but bloody, black and blue.
-...I think I don’t need to tell you not to do that again unless you really mean it, so get your shit together if you are going to help us, Mowehi- “Unless you want me to beat the shit out of you”, was left unsaid. Although gun courtesy indicated that it would be the appropriate response, I didn’t want to start something when we were so close to a real fight for our lives.
I didn’t think it was done with any malice on her part, or as some kind of bizarre demonstration of power, but I had to admit that it felt especially stupid on her part to start sinking someone in the ground when almost no one will have experience with that sort of things and will probably freak out, I almost did and I knew what was like to be buried several meters bellow ground solely because I have the 1 in a 100 semblance that would allow me to know about that.
Even worse was the fact that I was surrounded by allies who could have reacted the wrong way just as easily, I had to make a double-take and stop myself short of punching her only to cross out the possibility of my teammates deciding to retaliate if they thought this was a trap. Which was incredibly plausible considering we were in a war-zone.
But I was not about to start lecturing her further in the middle of said war-zone, I was not her mom or something, so I trusted she would figure out her own fuck up.
Even as I normally would have liked to be a little more forceful with my words. To be honest, I couldn’t give a fuck right now. All of my focus was destined to the only important thing withing sight, the damned warship and the man commanding it.
That wasn’t to say she didn’t bring interesting things to the table, not only because of her powers but for the impressive fact that she seemed to be versed in machinery and the like... And we had a very big, very nasty machine that until now we had no idea how to take down.
-Back to topic, all of that sounds really useful, especially disabling the ship, since if the bombardment stops then the people underground would be in much less danger... Hell, if you manage to figure out how to drive it, we could shell the remaining war-boats and there we have our way to take out the injured and get out of here... But if not, destroying it sounds great as well-
And that also reminded me of something I should probably do right now. So I left the others to their own devices for a second, turning towards Argent as I took out my scroll. -To answer your previous question Argent, I can turn them into fine dust, but no idea if that would work as a smokescreen in the least. But I don’t think it hurts trying... I’ll take a minute to inform of the survivors status and where they are expected to get out, dunno if someone will pick up the message, but it’s worth a try-
If we were lucky, maybe someone would pick it up and have a way to inform Argus, Mistral, or any person with a big enough boat to coordinate a rescue operation. My fingers raced through the screen as I quickly reported the basic info without much flair, once I was done I turned to the rest of them to see if they had figured out a plan or if we were just going in swinging like a pack of mad gorillas... Which -and never let no one tell you the opposite- Was a strategy in and out of itself.
-I have some water dust on me. I was thinking of using it with you in combination with electric dust to fry as many enemies as we could, but I remember Raul having some fire dust... So maybe we could combine them into a steam barrier?- I ventured as I took out my watery grenade, I actually had brought it in case we needed to put off a fire or something, but it could turn out to be quite a useful trick in a lot of situations.
Whatever we ended up trying, things were starting to look a little brighter now that we had Powehi on our side, I was still meaning to fulfill my promise as long as Argent was as on board with the plan of helping her as he seemed to be... And if he was not... Well, I could still ask for permission to try and accomplish this on my own. If the phase-shifting girl was helping us, I couldn’t believe she would be happy with us forfeiting our part of the deal.
Post by Argent Steele on Sept 6, 2020 14:50:53 GMT -5
I know you got hate in you. Most do. Trick is to use it, 'stead of it usin' you.
But you know this. Vengeance is a motivator, not the motive. Don't hunt 'em 'cause you been wronged. Hunt 'em 'cause what they did was wrong. There's a world of difference there, kid. One makes you selfish. The other makes you a hero.
And I see a hero in you.
❝
Civilians.
Argent exhaled softly, stared ahead for the briefest of moments, looking at nothing as he ran through the situation mentally. Even in the best possible scenario, the addition of civilian survivors to the situation only ever made things more difficult. Destroying something was easy - even the weakest of Haven's students had at least one way to accomplish that. Protecting something was far more difficult, especially when outnumbered, outgunned, and in unfamiliar territory. Even a full scale Mistrallean military response would have had a multitude of issues trying to accomplish their objectives while there were still civilians in an active war zone.
They were not an army.
They weren't even Huntsmen.
For a moment, the weight of the entire matter pressed down on him, almost physical in the way it weighed down on his shoulders and pulled at his hands and feet. A fatigue greater than anything physical he'd ever felt before. A distant memory from long ago came to mind - sitting on the front porch staring longingly at the town in the distance, close enough to touch but forever beyond his reach after the scales had started to grow in, while chill wind pulled at his clothes and the snow flurried around him, lit only by the lantern hanging from the roof. The cold had sapped the strength from him, made him sluggish and slow - and it was really the only thing he could compare to the gaping void that yawned inside him now, except this was far worse.
He wasn't Shin, who could light up the night with fire and flame enough to scorch hordes of Grimm to ash. He wasn't Jade, who could rip a Beringel limb from limb and throw herself back into the fray for more. He wasn't capable of keeping everyone else alive with the amount of power he had, and yet, he had been faced with a sadistic choice that seemed tailor tuned to taking that lack of power and rubbing it in his face. Taking out a target like the warship or even their leader always had an element to it that he accounted for - the ability to fall back, to retreat, when the odds were too great, when there was no possibility of victory. There was none of that when it came to people, to unarmed civilians who couldn't hope to move as fast or avoid as much as even the most rudimentary of Haven's students. There was no chance to break and run and hide - no chance at trying again. But what else could he do - leave them to die, just so that he could save his own skin?
The thought still horrified him, even though at this point it really shouldn't. He'd done worse before, after all. Those memories had dulled with time, but he still remembered - those who couldn't be saved from Rochdale. Those who'd looked at those lucky enough to reach the evacuation ship before them, and decided in their despair to tear down whatever they could reach. Screaming faces and desperate eyes turning to frenzy, pulling people overboard. And moments later, those same faces cut apart in a shower of blood and a flash of twin blades. The screaming. The crying. The roar of Grimm.
The smell of death.
If the situation is bad enough for a Huntsman to be called in, you can do everything right and people will still die. If the situation is bad enough for a team of huntsmen to be called in, you can do everything right - and everyone can still die.
Unbidden, Shadecloak's words cut through the turmoil in his mind, and he could almost hear the professor's dry, unemotional tone with them. He remembered the office where she'd taken him aside to speak, when he was still failing to cope with the after effects of Rochdale, and how she'd told him in no uncertain terms that it wouldn't be the last time that he would encounter failure. Perhaps even drastic failure. They weren't comforting words, and yet, they'd been words he needed to hear. Saving one person was better than saving none at all - and failing to save anyone was better than refusing to try.
Straightening himself from the slight slump he'd let his body sag into, Argent focused once more upon the present just in time to watch Powehi demonstrate her Semblance and describe her skillset. It caused his eyebrows to lift slightly, but he kept his composure - more than his lizard Faunus companion, at least, who reacted worse than he thought she would. It was true that that kind of reckless Semblance usage didn't reflect well on anyone, but given the current situation and how Powehi very obviously wasn't armed for anything other than the typhoid outbreak that had recently been making the rounds in Mistral, she was obviously not part of any local security forces and a regular civilian. Well, perhaps not regular, if she had already unlocked her Aura and a Semblance to boot, but a civilian nonetheless. They were all running on frayed nerves, and there was no need to let that magnify honest mistakes into problems within the team, especially if they were going to be needing Powehi's help to disable the ship.
"Bianca."
The word was spoken with just a bit of a disapproving tone in his voice, followed by a small, slightly reprimanding shake of the head if and when the other Faunus would turn to face him. Honestly, he didn't know if it would do anything, but the other had seemed to take to following his lead fairly well, so he hoped that it would. Thankfully, it seemed like that was the case, and she didn't press the matter further, so Argent's thoughts swiftly moved towards planning the operation, and the matter of what to do with those civilians.
"Send it," he nodded back to the lizard Faunus.
"But if there's no response, we'll circle around after we take out the warship and try to organize what we can."
Glancing up to the two rowboats starting to land on the docks, the snake Faunus paused a little at Bianca's suggestion before nodding a second time, thinking it over.
"Electric and water sounds like a good combination. I don't want to use up any of our Dust if possible unless we can shift the odds sharply in our favor with it. I can launch them with my Semblance up to about twenty five or thirty meters. Luck willing, that should take out the mooks on the docks, or at the very least keep them from focusing fire on us while we cover the distance."
"If possible, I want Raul, Alice, and me in tight arrowhead formation, with Raul on point. He can use the Hard Light Dust to give us some cover if necessary while we cross the docks. Bianca, you'll need to bring up the rear. Powehi, behind Raul and in between me and Alice. When we reach the ship, bring us through the outer hull and inside. We'll hit anything of importance - preferably the ammunition depot, cause enough of an explosion to take those guns offline, if not sink it for good. We go for their leader after, assuming we have the time, and capture if possible. Confirm the kill if not. Escape the ship and bug out, then regroup here if possible."
From memory, Argent etched a small mark into the map with his thumbnail, some degree to their south.
"If I remember correctly, there's a refueling station at this location. We'll hit it, capture a tank for you, and help you get it over to your friend so you can evacuate him. If you need medical supplies, I have some surplus you can take with you."
Pausing for a moment, the snake Faunus glanced about his team and their new addition.
"Does anybody want to suggest any changes? Anything I've missed?"
WHISPER OF THE WYRM (SEMBLANCE): [RANK C]
SERPENT'S BENEDICTION: SPEED OF THE SCYLLA (SPEED) [RANK E] SERPENT'S BENEDICTION: DANCE OF THE DRAGON (AGILITY) [RANK C] SERPENT'S BENEDICTION: GLARE OF THE GORGON (MARKSMANSHIP) [RANK E] SERPENT’S BENEDICTION: WINGS OF THE WYVERN (ACROBATICS) [RANK F] SERPENT’S BENEDICTION: TALONS OF THE TARASQUE (MARTIAL ARTS)[RANK F]
The thing about a ship was that it couldn’t exactly stop on a dime. Momentum would carry it forward if it was in the process of moving forward long after those occupying it might want to take it to a halt. There were things that you could do to slow it down, sure, like dump heavy objects on ropes or chains off to the side and lower surface area for the wind to propel the machine forward… but these were things that needed to be done in advance.
Preparation got you places, and lack of preparation got you places you didn’t want to be. The lightning dust tore through the unprotected wood of the rowboats and sunk the men inside down in a flash of sparks that forced them underwater as their muscles contracted and they struggled to survive by getting their heads above the water. Those visible on the ship, still plunging forward to the docks with a momentum that couldn’t be stopped, reacted immediately except for the figure draped in medals. A siren started going off to alert everyone in the area.
More men in military uniforms streamed up to the top decks, over a dozen. The strange figure in the middle, however, stood completely still and didn’t move a muscle until one of those subordinates handed him what looked to be a loudspeaker. He took it with his prosthetic hand and turned it on, creating a momentary screech before his distorted but still recognizable voice rang out across the docks.
”As expected, you have left the villagers to die. If the vanguard didn’t get to them, the Grimm sure will. They’ll come swarming over here any minute now, and you know you can’t fight us and hope to do anything to help them. You knew, and you don’t care.”
The ship was still too far for semblance or dust to hit, so he unfortunately had all the space in the world to continue speaking, voice filled with contempt. ”You’re going to let all of them die – for what, exactly? Glory? Money? The satisfaction of a job well done, trampling on the corpses of innocents to accomplish your goal? Their deaths are on your hands, because if you had not come there would not have been even one human being in that village who would have been killed today. For anyone out there not involved in this scheme of Haven’s, I’d like to extend an offer. Come to the docks, lay down your arms, and I give you my word that no harm will come to you.”
”We are the Celestial Legion, come to free Mistral from the tyranny of the Council. We come with both a plan and powerful allies, but the reality is this: this entire region will soon be swarmed with enough Grimm to kill every last one of you. We can protect you from that threat, but only if you cooperate. We extend our hand to save you, but you must choose to take that hand.”
The radio was chirping at this point, with some static. ”…Nobody here. I repeat, there is nobody in the fort. [Static] [Static] Roger. Deploying the canisters. [Static] [Static] -rve gas should be sufficient. [Static] [Static]”
While reinforcements were certainly coming, they did not yet arrive en masse. They no doubt had to come, largely on foot, from various parts of the city. The immediate reinforcements consisted of a dozen men in military uniforms, but they were not differently equipped than the others who had no auras to speak of… and furthermore they had no idea where their enemy was. They spread out to try and find that enemy but had failed thus far to find even a hint despite the tossing of the lightning dust earlier. They simply weren’t close enough at that time to see where it came from. Furthermore, the ship had almost advanced to the point of being able to make landfall, with those on the ship already moving to make their exit except the strange figure in the middle with the medals strewn across his figure, loudspeaker held casually in his prosthetic hand dangling down at his side.
Post by Sinopia DeStellanova on Sept 10, 2020 22:54:23 GMT -5
Red realized her mistake about half a second after she made it, which was only as long as she was planning to keep her semblance active in the first place so it was no help at all. Her eyes went wide and she sucked in a sharp breath before turning to try to help Bianca steady herself if she was even allowed to do so. Even that didn't last long because Bianca's expression was enough to make her heart skip a beat in a situation like this. She jumped a short distance backwards, her footsteps near silent as she landed, and hunched down. It wasn't an aggressive stance. Quite the opposite, she was trying to make herself as small as possible without crouching and her hands were down towards her belly.
What the hell was wrong with her? She really needed to get her head on straight.
This mission was going to involve a lot of her weaknesses and she knew that coming in. She was at her best when she could avoid being seen to begin with and when she could be slow and methodical in her approach. While the former was true here, the latter wasn't and one of her greatest weaknesses was that she didn't think very fast and was indecisive as a person. Not being able to sit and think meant she was largely reacting to whatever thing bothered her the most at the moment, which rarely led to good decisions. Worse than that, her senses, particularly her hearing, was very sensitive and very easy to overwhelm. Even without the artillery, enough people started firing their guns at once could achieve that. Something that could very well happen given they were up against an army. When that happened, her senses shut down completely for awhile, typically until the noise stopped or she was otherwise able to snap herself back to reality, and when they came back they were more sensitive than before. Which meant she was picking up more information than before, and thus had to take more time to process information, which lead to slower decision making, which led to worse decisions when she had to react instead of think.
She hadn't even realized how badly her ability to think had been compromised until that moment. All she was thinking was that she had to get back to Knight as fast as possible, and to do that she had to deal with the situation here. As though that line of thought made any sense at all. She had to go fast and the fastest way for them to understand what she could do was to show them. She didn't think beyond that. In a way, she was glad that she did because she found finding the right words difficult even in the best of situations. In situations like this she misspoke regularly, and she had here too. Saying that she made things intangible was not very accurate. She could make people go through certain materials, and metal was not one of those materials. At first, she thought there was no way she could get them onto the ship.
However, she had noticed something interesting while watching Bianca. Bianca's hand went through her weapon, and it seemed unlikely that a weapon like that would be made of anything but some kind of metal. Red furrowed her eyebrows. She felt like she should tell them immediately that she wouldn't be able to get them onto the ship, but she hesitated. Was that true? She had to test it. She had been trying for months to figure out how to get people to phase through metal and maybe the stress of the situation knocked the solution into her head. Or something. She had no idea how aura worked.
Fortunately, Bianca was running her mouth again with the kinds of words she could only apologetically sulk to. She'd apologize properly later, but for now she had to figure out what she could do. Unfortunately, she couldn't hide her semblance use. Hopefully it wouldn't be seen as aggressive after all that. She pulled her hand through her sleeve and waited for Bianca to stop berating her, then activated her semblance on herself. Her body and clothes turned a translucent burnt orange -- except for the glove on the hand she slid into her sleeve. It went right through her hand in the fraction of a second she had her semblance active. Red blinked, slipped her glove back on, and tucked her sleeve back into the open end. The chains in her gloves were made of steel. The ship was almost certainly also made of steel. The fact that it went right through her hand meant she could probably take everyone through the ship as long as they were touching her. She opted not to say anything.
Instead, she put her hands on her stomach and focused on her breathing. It was obvious she wasn't thinking straight, and she needed to pull herself back to reality. Focusing on something this mundane was one way to do that. She paid enough attention to get some idea of the plan, but didn't do anything more than nod. She clearly wasn't in a position to be making decisions, so she was willing to go with whatever someone else came up with. Even if that person was a complete stranger, she could believe that he'd come up with something better than her right now. It seemed like most of his plan relied on her skills anyway, which made her a bit more relaxed. It was easier for her to rely on her own skills rather than someone else's.
The sound of a loud speaker startled her enough for her to move closer to the wall and crouch. It wasn't loud enough to hurt at this distance, but she was jumpy enough that nearly any unexpected sound made her want to hide. The Celestial Legion. That explained a lot. He wasn't wrong about a lot of what he was saying -- if her and Knight hadn't come the civilians would have been left to fend for themselves, and something like this almost certainly would summon Grimm. But Grimm would have come regardless of whether anyone came. That's just what happened when people did shit like this.
She shook her head, her brain didn't need any more thoughts right now. All she had to do was feel the rising and falling of her stomach.
Or so she would have liked. The loud speech was distracting and she had to keep pulling her mind back from it, but the quiet sound on the radio made her stop breathing for a moment. Rve gas? That had to be nerve gas right? Did they find Knight? No, using nerve gas on an unconscious woman in the middle of a corn field would be ridiculous. But what about the civilians? If something happened to them then everything she did here would be pointless and--
Stop. Her thoughts were compromised. She needed to go through this step by step.
What did she know about nerve gas? Not much. She categorized these sorts of things by whether or not they could be mitigated by a standard respirator and how likely they were to kill her. Nerve gas could not be dealt with by a respirator if she remembered correctly, which meant it was probably absorbed through the skin. It could just be mucus membranes and other soft tissue, like eyes, though. And she remembered it being pretty bad. So the civilians were in danger then and--
But it was a gas. Gases were hard to control. Which meant that confined spaces would be ideal and--
They were in storm drains. A confined space yes, but they were meant to carry water from above ground. Large amounts of water most likely given they were large enough for people to move through, even if they did have to crouch a little bit. Which meant there would be large holes leading up into the town so that the water could flow into the drains. Holes for the gas to go up. Into the town the soldiers were in. Wouldn't it be dumb to gas something like that? Had they actually found where the civilians were or were they making assumptions? Maybe it was wishful thinking, but Red wasn't convinced that attack would actually do anything to the civilians. It really depended on how far they got. Regardless, there wasn't anything she could do for them. Even if she ran towards where they were, she wouldn't get there fast enough to toss the canisters back out of the drains. She was willing to let herself believe that they were okay for now. Their leader was competent enough to hold of a bombardment for several days. They could make it.
"Just two questions. What are your names? And what can you do?"
There wasn't much time, so she wasn't expecting to get any more info on them than what she already knew from watching the Vytal Festival recordings. It just seemed like an important question to ask given they were going to be working together. They didn't have time for an in depth explanation, but that was fine.
"The cannons are probably powered by some kind of hydrau--" she stopped, stopped tapping her fingers against her belly, and shook her head. "It should be easy to disable the cannons. I can do it."
They probably had some kind of hydraulic system to let them move. Something able to shoot artillery like that would be far too heavy to move by hand anyway. She wasn't sure if the system was powered by electricity or by hand, some of their equipment looked dated, so it was difficult to tell how old the technology in their main warship would be, but it shouldn't matter. Even a small hole would make the fluid leak so it couldn't be moved anymore. It wasn't really necessary for any of them to know this though, at least not right now. She could explain once they were on the ship if she needed any help.
The ship itself was probably powered by Dust, but it if it was old enough it might be running on gasoline. Regardless, it had to have some kind of combustion system to turn that into energy that would move the ship using a volatile source. She didn't know as much about ships as she did cars, but she didn't need to. She spent a fair amount of time working on her uncle's ships in Menagerie -- he actually had more ships than cars, it was just safer for her to work on the cars or so he claimed -- so she knew the basics. It's not like they were asking her to build a ship. It was far easier to destroy a vehicle than build one and most of them worked off of the same few principles. Finding what made it move and making it not work anymore was pretty straight-forward. The fact that it was probably full of artillery munitions meant that she would have a pretty good amount of fodder for a big explosion if she needed it. As long as she could worm her way into those places, she was pretty sure she could cause some serious damage.
"The ship's close enough for us to try to board I think. We should hurry," she paused. "I'm pretty fast. I can carry someone slow if that's necessary. And make sure you grab onto my shoulders once we jump for the ship. I can only get you through it if you're touching me," she paused again then looked up at Bianca. "Prioritize covering us, but if you don't need to use your hands can you cover my ears for me? And...Sorry for before."
Once everyone was ready, she got into position and tried to help Bianca get comfortable on her back. Even if the lizard faunus was a little heavy and would bog her down, she was pretty sure she could keep up with everyone. She was considerably faster than Knight after all, and that was her point of reference when it came to very strong people. Once everyone was in position, she bolted across the docks, making sure not to break formation if someone was slower than she was. With any luck, Bianca would be able to cover her human-like ears and that would muffle some of the inevitable fire they'd draw. Her ears already hurt from everything else that happened.
If everyone managed to get close enough to the ship during this charge, she'd start counting down so they could all jump together. From there, Argent and Alice would have to grab onto her. As long as she was carrying Bianca, the two of them could phase through the side of the ship without much trouble, but it meant her hands were tied up and she wouldn't be able to grab onto Argent or Alice if they failed to grab onto her. If they managed to grab her, she'd activate her semblance as they ran into the side of the ship and would keep it on long enough to get into the nearest room.
---
2203/5708
ACTION: Carrying Bianca, charging for the Harbinger, not doing any attacks, phasing party through the side of the ship if they get there
Post by Bianca Sabbato on Sept 12, 2020 21:27:21 GMT -5
I could feel the hairs on my nape standing on end as soon as Argent called my name. Irises widening slightly, I instinctively flinched and stood on attention with my hands on the sides of my body, waiting for him to continue his reprimand... When he didn’t, I let loose a breath I didn’t notice I had been holding, and, closing my eyes, I nodded somberly in his direction.
Well, that was ironic. As much as I was all for battlefield discipline, I knew damn well that it didn’t feel any good when you were the one on the other end of the gun. So I decided to shut my mouth as much as possible unless necessary for the betterment of the mission. The plan was sensible, I felt like it could work and I didn’t have anything substantial to add, so I limited myself to expressing my agreement until the moment when Powehi asked us for names and capabilities.
-Bianca, spear, semblance is earth manipulation, range of 12 meters, close-quarters combat, cannot aim for shit, so no long-ranged weaponry on my part- I stated matter of factly, I could leave pride for another day, she needed to know exactly how much of a shitty idea would be putting me on any sort of gunner position
After that transpired, I had to be surprised when Raul of all people offered to go help the survivors as we attacked the boat. And even as we may have tried to convince him otherwise, he seemed deadset on doing so, so I guessed it couldn’t be helped, the rest of us would have to be enough for this. The wolf faunus had been pretty shaken the last few minutes, so I figured it would be for the better if he didn’t come... Alice also seemed inclined to help him, so I would leave the choice to her of whatever she wanted to do.
After watching the wolfman depart, we prepared for our assault on the boat. And I was more than happy to hear Powehi could carry one of us with her. I knew I wasn’t the fastest girl in the world, so I had been a little worried about slowing everyone down, but it seemed destiny had put an easy way out for me this time, so no worries about if me being as fast as a rock could affect the team.
-I’m slow so I could use a ride, much appreciated- I answered Powehi’s question with a leveled nod as I made my way behind her to climb on her back, some people would be ashamed of accepting such great help after berating someone the way I had done with Powehi... But those persons weren’t Bianca fucking Sabbato!, who believed actions were what mattered while words were gone with the wind! (More often than not when it best suited her) So I let my willingness to use her as convenient transportation speak for my willingness to trust her in this plan beyond my recent outburst.
Climbing onto her, I made sure to hold on tightly with my legs as I would need to use my hands to cover her ears as much as possible, for safety’s sake, I coiled my tail around her torso and made sure to have my spear ready to be unsheathed from my back as soon as someone decided to get too close for comfort.
-Will do... And sorry as well, I guess, I may have overreacted- I lied like a bastard since I still believed I had done right in telling her off considering someone with a semblance like me that allowed her to move with her mind the material the ground was made of 90% of the time was... Pretty liable to spear you from side to side with it if startled in the middle of a battlefield.
But yeah, I may have overreacted a little there. Maybe a more tactful approach would have been just as effective at delivering the message... But on the other hand, I had to think that if they were in the middle of a warzone they should have a skin thick enough to endure being called out, even if harshly so... Ughh... Yep, I was making excuses for myself... Well, fuck that line of thought, I didn’t have the time to dwell on those thoughts right then anyway.
The bottom line was that apologizing could probably help ease the already high tensions between us and towards the whole situation. So I would go with that until our lives weren’t on the fucking line.
And speaking of lives in the line, I watched with grim satisfaction as the lightning dust managed to take down the soldiers in the boats in and out of itself. Those were at least a couple of guns that wouldn’t be facing our direction as we approached the big ship itself. Cold anticipation took hold of my body as I waited for the order to start the attack... But then, the unexpected happened... This dude (since I could tell he was a man by his voice) apparently wanted to give a little speech of some sort.
This birthed 3 questions in my mind...
First. Who the fuck were the celestial legion? And why did they have such an edgy name? This didn’t actually matter, since they were about to be no more. But I was dazzled by the fact that they just announced their name and expected every inhabitant of this little coastal town to know who these goons were... It couldn’t be that I was so ignorant as to not know something that was supposed to be common knowledge... Right?
Second. Did he really believe he was fooling anyone? And after everything he had done? He may fool the stupid racist in the capital, but not these people who had suffered his invasion in the flesh, hell, I was sure even the racists here would hate his guts for destroying their town!
And third... Was he, like. Trying to make us feel bad for doing this? Make us look like the bad guys because we were trying to stop him from killing people? Was he really saying it was our fault that he had decided to wake up one day and kill everyone in town? Bitch! We were 4 motherfuckers on bikes! The city was fucked up way before we arrived! How delusional you have to be to actually believe that? Either delusional or stupid enough to think he would do something more than pissing us off more by saying that.
If anything, he gave us even more reasons to forget about the civilians and go deal with him first... It was clear he was dangerous not only to Kerch, but the whole of Mistral’s coastline at this rate, not precisely because of his strength, but for the sheer dementia of his actions... The council was right, I was right. This fucker needed to go now, that was the first priority.
Orders were simple, go in, kill, go out. I would try to capture him only if the stars aligned and we got into the perfect situation... But if push comes to shove, I wouldn’t be losing sleep for ridding the world of this force of destruction. As for his soldiers... Well, letting the invaders without means to escape was a damn good way to ensure they would have to stay in Kerch and repel the grimm invasion or die trying... Both were good options in my book.
I didn’t miss the radio message either... Nerve gas... They weren’t sparing anyone they couldn’t use to bulk their ranks, that was clear... But at least that last message gave me an idea.
-Argent... I cannot do it because I have a female voice, so could you use the radio to report an encounter with the class five threat in the plaza in the middle of Kerch? And be sure to cut the message short... That may sell the illusion of whoever the fuck that person is killing the radio owner, with any luck that will buy us at least a couple of soldiers not heading here immediately... I think every advantage has value now...-
Independently of what Argent decided to do. I was ready to go in. A cold, almost reptilian calm washing over my features... This was my job, I would do it to the best of my capabilities. No more games.
I pouched a handful of dirt in my reliable belt pouch and called another chunk of dirt to rest over my shoulders and back. Adding that to the earth already on my pockets would make for enough material to work with even on the metal boat. As I saw we were quickly approaching the boat, I took out both of my dust vials plus one of the fire dust charges that Raul had lent me and prepared my offensive.
Using a little dirt, I tied the water and fire dust into a single grenade of what could have been called steam dust. And in my free hand, I took hold of the hard light one. I would use them as soon as the shooting started.
Once I heard the first shot go out, I threw the hard light dust right in front of me, taking advantage of the defensive properties of it to block as many incoming projectiles both from the people in the boat and the mysterious leader of the rebellion. Then, as I was approaching the shield, I threw the steam dust over my head and let it explode into a sudden shower of mist that covered me and soon will do the same for Argent as soon as he passed over it.
Besides that, I paid attention to whoever decided to get inside the range of my semblance. As soon as one of them did, I would blast them in the neck with a dart of hardened soil. In case the leader decided to intercept us, I would save the dirt to send an especially pointy projectile towards his body, favoring him as a target if possible.
Something similar I would do with my spear, if anyone tried to engage in melee or was unlucky enough to be close enough for me to do so, I would unsheathe Nereida and give a quick stab in their direction before sheathing the weapon and going back to covering Powehi’s ears.
1783/6479 Words
Actions: Charge the ship, trow the hard light dust in front of us to block incoming attacks, trow water+fire (steam) dust over us to protect ourselves from ranged attacks coming from other directions, since steam dust is stationary, argent should benefit from the cover as well once he passes through it.
If she can, I use her E semblance to attack any soldier that comes close enough, same with her E/E spear. I prioritize the leader of the legion if he along many come within range.
Post by Argent Steele on Sept 18, 2020 17:40:20 GMT -5
I know you got hate in you. Most do. Trick is to use it, 'stead of it usin' you.
But you know this. Vengeance is a motivator, not the motive. Don't hunt 'em 'cause you been wronged. Hunt 'em 'cause what they did was wrong. There's a world of difference there, kid. One makes you selfish. The other makes you a hero.
And I see a hero in you.
❝
The lightning dust did its job taking care of the vanguard deployed to secure the docks, and for a moment Argent wondered if they had gone too far in announcing their presence - if they had managed to botch their only chance of getting on board the ship. But even with most of his men out of commission, the apparent leader of their little group didn't even move, standing atop his ship as if he was nothing less than untouchable. It was clear that the loss of his men didn't faze him in the slightest, and that could mean that he was an experienced fighter who knew the losses they would take coming in and had already made peace with it - or that he was a sociopathic freak with no concern for others.
And then he started to speak.
For a moment, the snake Faunus' heart sank. No. No. It couldn't be. Not him again. After all that had happened, after all the indignity he'd already forced upon nearly every single person in Haven, it couldn't be. But as the masked man continued to drone on in that obnoxiously self obsessed way that he'd only seen one person display before, dismay and disbelief slowly compressed into a thin sliver of rage, as cold as a shard of ice driven into his chest.
He could be wrong. He wanted to be wrong. But everything lined up so perfectly that he could hardly deny the evidence, even if it was nothing but circumstantial. And by the time the man had finished his little speech, the muscles in his jaw had clenched tightly enough that he had to make a conscious effort to relax then and release the tension from his body, along with the clenched fists that had stretched the skin over his knuckles white.
He wouldn't pretend to know Kersche as it had been before today. But he knew, at least, that it had been a place where people lived together, built their lives, and tried their best to survive in a cruel world. To invade that sanctuary, shred it with cannon fire, slaughter the residents, and then delude himself into thinking that the resulting death was the fault of the very people who'd died at his hand for days - it was the kind of thing that was so vile and cruel that it wouldn't have seemed out of place in one of Kishka's comic books. But it wasn't - reality was right in front of them, happening before their eyes, without the safety of a page to guard them. It was clear that the man needed to go, and the ship with him - not just as justice for all the people who'd died at their hands today, but for the safety of all others in the country. If his delusional quarrel was with the Council, and he was willing to go to such an extent for it, then nowhere in Mistral was safe. They had to end the threat here.
As if having to digest the blatant speciesm and potential danger on display wasn't enough, they were down a member. Without warning, without asking, without even pausing to consider that every single word from the leader's mouth had been nothing but lies designed to sap their will to fight and muddy their consciences, Raul decided that the civilians were a higher priority and left to find and help them, his hulking form a shadow in the night.
Argent could have stopped him if he wanted to. But really, was there any point in doing so? Raul's heart very obviously wasn't in the right place. Instead of focusing on the mission, on stopping the invaders of Kersche from repeating this gruesome scene everywhere else in Mistral, on the people who'd already suffered and the people who would suffer if the threat here was unleashed, he was selfish enough to wallow in his own emotions, letting them take precedence over the people they'd pledged to protect. Making him stay would have done nothing productive, and wasted valuable time and effort better focused on accomplishing their objectives. The snake Faunus let him go without a word, instead focusing on the people that he had left. The mission was still accomplishable, even if the difficulty level had jumped suddenly with the loss of a warm body and the hole it left in their formation. They couldn't rely completely on Powehi, untrained as she was, but at the very least, what would be a nigh impossible mission without her was a great deal more doable.
She asked for their names. Bianca gave hers first, and Argent followed immediately after, his words clipped and short.
"Argent. Telekinesis Semblance, touch activated. Moving objects only. Twenty five meter range. Have a bow and spear, but can use any weapon when necessary. Weak Aura level, so can't take much damage. Avoid where possible."
He paused a moment, then continued, pushing the aggravating words and their former companion out of his mind. It would be for the best if what he suspected turned out to not be the case - for all he knew, all of the Celestial Legion, or the group purporting themselves to be said Legion, were genocidal maniacs who didn't bat an eye at being the most grandiose, over the top, and useless people with superiority complexes the size of the boats they were riding into Kersche - but it would be irresponsible of him to not share any information that might be useful in combat.
"Their leader. If he is who I think he is, he can create explosions from all his limbs and his face. The prosthetics are combat grade, and can also create explosions. The effective range is twelve to fifteen meters, last checked. Might be wrong, but - be aware. All of you."
Argent made sure to emphasize that last part, looking around to check that everyone was paying attention, then nodded - once to himself, and another at Powehi when she said how she could handle her part of it. Bianca proceeded to suggest that they could try to distract the rest of the Kersche invasion force by posing him as one of them being attacked by the aforementioned threat in the city, and the snake Faunus mulled it over for a moment before dipping his head slightly. It didn't require much effort, and at the very least wouldn't cause them trouble. Reaching out for one of the radios on hand, he pulled it close as he settled into a crouch that was ready to launch himself forward and outwards towards the ship. Argent waited until everyone was ready, drawing two knives from his thigh holsters and holding them in his other hand, before giving a nod and a sharp bark of command.
"Go!"
As they started to run towards their target, the snake Faunus would fire off his Semblances enhanced knives at any enemy that had noticed their presence and was opening fire on them - but only after the gunfire had already began. While doing so, he keyed the radio to broadcast, and, in his best attempt at an Atlesian accent, shouted into it, making sure to rub his thumb over the receiver so as to generate static and cut it off at an opportune moment.
"Ay euni! Thes is Justees Ache, we've met t' Grae Feeh in the town plaza an' ae bein' pinned dae! Ah repeat, we met t'-"
Shoving the handheld radio back into his pocket, Argent focused on not being shot and continued to fire off knives on enemies where necessary, especially those that were approaching into melee range. When they made it into range, he would also throw some covering fire in the direction of those already on the ship preparing to disembark, and stick as close as possible to Powehi so that she could do her thing. One way or another, it would be a short skirmish.
Tldr: Argent charges with the rest, uses the sounds of battle to mask a false information broadcast on the handheld radio claiming to be a squad encountering the "Grade Five threat" in the town plaza to draw the attention of the enemy forces away from their position, and uses his Semblance to shoot knives at the ground targets directly in their way. Once in range, he will attempt to suppress the people about to disembark while Red brings the Haven team through the hull proper.
WHISPER OF THE WYRM (SEMBLANCE): [RANK C]
SERPENT'S BENEDICTION: SPEED OF THE SCYLLA (SPEED) [RANK E] SERPENT'S BENEDICTION: DANCE OF THE DRAGON (AGILITY) [RANK C] SERPENT'S BENEDICTION: GLARE OF THE GORGON (MARKSMANSHIP) [RANK E] SERPENT’S BENEDICTION: WINGS OF THE WYVERN (ACROBATICS) [RANK F] SERPENT’S BENEDICTION: TALONS OF THE TARASQUE (MARTIAL ARTS)[RANK F]
OUROBOROS (WEAPON): [RANK E]
@ ● 1401 words ● 4578 total words
MADE BY MIZO
Last Edit: Sept 18, 2020 17:41:52 GMT -5 by Argent Steele
Post by Alina Rybalka on Sept 20, 2020 18:03:08 GMT -5
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[attr="class","nikki101"]WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT VIOLENCE BREEDS VIOLENCE
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[attr="class","nikki102"]BUT IN THE END, IT HAS TO BE THIS WAY
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[attr="class","nikki109"]Funny how things worked out. [break][break]
The very fact that she was in the area meant that a number of things had gone wrong. Specifically, the fact that Grimm were going to be on the outskirts of town in very short order in very big numbers. Whether it was intended or not, what remained of the town would be leveled soon. Thankfully, they were coming from overland and not from the water which meant the civilians escaping would in theory be as safe as they could be given the circumstances. There was nothing she could do for them now, realistically, without solving the root issue of two dangerous enemies right nearby converging on one location. That was beyond her ability, and her current goal was to inch into the occupied city and find Red so they could get the fuck out of there – preferably by sea even if the salt water burned into her wounds. [break][break]
It was surprisingly easy to get close, because it was kind of obvious that the shmucks in prison jumpsuits were just left to their own devices. Even in her current condition, it was trivial to kill one and take one of their jumpsuits to blend in. The top of the suit was quickly soaked through with the blood from her shoulders and neck having their blisters popped and the skin removed from earlier second degree burns sustained from overuse of her semblance. By this point the blood had mostly dried, but the excruciating pain of having that dried blood cracked again with every major movement of the arms still remained and caused fresh blood to start pouring out of those regions with a frequency that wasn’t really ideal. [break][break]
Swapping her government hat with a stolen beanie seemed to do the trick, or maybe it was just the fact that the soldiers ignored the prisoners with a sense of complete and utter apathy and disdain. While it sucked for the actual people, it was great for Knight because she was able to shamble over with her near empty aura level basically completely uncontested anywhere she went. Tossing the gas into the city was a weird move that broke the rest of her aura before she got within visual range of the ship, but the gas just went up once thrown out and didn’t remain in the air for very long. If their goal was to kill the fleeing villagers, they didn’t do a good job of it due to not knowing where to look. [break][break]
The sawed off shotgun was discarded long ago as being something that would stand out too much, replaced with a makeshift metal bat that wouldn’t look out of place in the hands of an escaped prisoner. She had considered taking a sword from one of the fallen mercenaries, but that might have raised a bit of attention at the ‘theft’. Extra attention was definitely not what she wanted at the moment, given her current condition. She was sure she could still fight off a few of them even without aura or full use of her limbs, but it would take time and in that time those that she fought would call for backup and it would just get really messy. [break][break]
It was clear that Red had failed to get a vehicle, and while the best course of action may have been to stay put… getting swarmed by the encroaching Grimm and hoping no big ones showed up seemed to be a worse play even without easy communication. Even if it was a completely worst case scenario where they couldn’t find each other before the Grimm came, they’d just meet up back in the nearest major city so it wasn’t that bad. In this case it would either be Mistral or somewhere in the Mistral tower’s range so they could easily get into contact and leave messages. [break][break]
Once she realized how little attention the soldiers paid her, though, she decided to at least get a look to see what was going on near the docks. Gray eyes narrowed as she reached visual range just as the fight was starting, because unlike some others her first instinct was not to jump in the fray to fight against the invaders blindly. She needed to figure out who they were and if they actually had a shot at winning before blowing her cover of a useless and wounded bystander. When observing the action start to play out, a few things immediately caught her attention and she had to make a decision whether or not to intervene or keep watching to get more information each time. [break][break]
The first thing that caught her eye was the fact that one of the very obviously not soldiers lanced off on their own right as the action started. The guy had long hair and was fucking huge, moving at a speed Knight couldn’t hope to match. If she had any aura left, given the fact that he was headed vaguely in the direction of the civilians she would have fired off her semblance just to be safe… but as it was she had no ability to interfere with that particular retreat. The fact that the civilians were undefended gave her reason to worry, but chances are the guy had no idea where they were and had no ability to find it. It would be fine, probably. [break][break]
Through the loudspeaker, she was able to hear the tail end of the speech given by the guy on the boat. She was familiar with the Celestial Legion in passing, knowing that it was a human supremacist group that undertook operations like terrorism and mercenary work on the side to establish themselves. Their leader, however, was supposed to be at Haven right? There was this big fuss in the Vytal Festival about it and everything, so it was weird he’d go from that a few weeks ago to invading Mistral so soon afterwards. Oh well, it wasn’t her problem. [break][break]
The remaining group charged forward at the flagship, past what looked to be some drowning soldiers right near the pier. One of them used a hard light dust to cover their way, but it was immediately broken by what looked like an explosion semblance from the enemy leader. The steam dust used at the same time covered most of her vision, but it did so all the others looking in that direction and trying to fire off their weapons as well. By the time a second explosion cleared the steam, it seemed like a number of soldiers had knives embedded in their vitals and the group rushing forward were unharmed. It was only when she noticed the burnt orange color on the slightly transparent wall when the attacking group phased through it that Knight actually started moving. Due to how distracted the soldiers were, it wasn’t a hard thing to get physically on the boat that was by then right next to the pier and get in range to impact the situation. The prisoners really were just kind of let loose and ignored, which worked to her benefit more than anything since the soldiers didn’t even seem to consider them to be human. [break][break]
Meanwhile for the others who had gone inside, the interior of the boat itself had perhaps not too surprising number of individuals still inside, about a dozen. Ten of them had enough of a reaction time to start firing their weapons at the group immediately, and nine of those ten even had the smarts to focus fire on one target. This good training, of course, was rendered completely useless due to the fact that they chose to focus fire on Argent who was able to easily not only dodge the incoming fire but disengage from his allies so that none of them got caught by stray bullets at all. The sole soldier to land a hit was the one who attacked Bianca, and even then she was able to dodge the majority of the burst of fire and her aura’s durability took care of most of the rest and left her with only four percent of her aura shaved off. The shouting and hooting and hollering made sure that another group of soldiers would get there, soon, however, and the initial area where they phased through seemed to be more of a general living room than anything mechanical or important. [break][break]
On the outside of the ship, Knight was trying to buy time. With the distraction caused by the phasing, their leader turned towards the wall and was distracted for a few seconds – which was all the time she needed to heave the makeshift bat in her hands in a direct hit to back of his skull. The bat was crushed due to the aura protecting him, but it had the desired effect of finally getting people to pay attention to her. She was able to run up next to undetected due to the initial shock, but the ranged throw was perhaps not the best idea. The goons on the outside fired bullets at her, but even in her weakened state she was more than capable of getting out of the way of those with a combination of prediction and having reflexes that were well beyond human at this point in time. The thing that gave it away was the muscles twitching, which telegraphed where the limb would move and where it would be aimed. She wasn’t fast enough to outrun a bullet, but she was fast enough to be out of the way by the time they moved the barrel. [break][break]
The downside to having to dodge so many, though, was that not only were her movements erratic and her path forward blocked but it was easy for a third party to come in, raise their left hand, and blast her directly with their explosive semblance. It was a powerful semblance, in theory, and in concept Knight would probably prefer to have it instead of her own. Explosions could have been used for all sorts of utility like flying or fast movement that she lacked the ability to do nearly as easily, as well as being able to block or deflect incoming objects much easier than fire itself was. She always had to partially melt objects to change their trajectory, but explosions would make it so she could just generate enough force to move the objects themselves. Alas, she got a little worse semblance in theory and wasn’t even able to use that semblance to end this fight before it began due to being completely and utterly out of aura. [break][break]
It was a direct hit that scorched the back of her prisoner’s jumpsuit visibly and staggered her for a split second but didn’t do much more visible damage other than causing a bit more fresh blood to start dripping down her arm and onto her hands from her torn up neck and shoulders. It did, however, knock off the ill-fitting beanie she stole and reveal her faunus ears. ”Typical animal, ha--” he started, but Knight lunged forward and didn’t wait for him to keep talking. He had a sword at his hip, and if she got her hands on it every last one of them was dead. Just because it was a powerful semblance in theory didn’t mean that it was powerful in practice, and the fact that a direct hit did that little damage to her body without aura made her confident that the guns wouldn’t be able to do much either. [break][break]
She needed a weapon to be able to actually do some real damage at this point, because engaging with kicks alone without aura was a bridge she wasn’t willing to cross just yet due to the inherent danger. If she couldn’t get the sword she’d be forced to do it, but if she got the sword she’d get a lot more range and ability to maneuver, as well as the ability to feint attacks with either the sword or her boots which would increase her options moving forward. Blood was starting to flow more freely through the existing wounds in her neck and shoulders and trickle down her arm and into her hands with the increased movement, but it wasn’t enough to hinder her all too much at the moment. An infection later on wouldn’t be as sure a death as fucking up in the here and now since she committed to such a risky and aggressive venture. If Red wasn’t there, she wouldn’t have committed at all to assist a group that small, but because she was things changed completely. [break][break]