Cometh the Big Crying Wheel

[initiates]

Date & Time: Sept 15th
Location: A refurbished castle on the outskirts of Exsilium.
Characters: Anyone at the party!
Summary: Vanadi hosts a party that goes very poorly.
Warnings: Violence, probably! Let a mod know if we should update this.


It’s a lovely night for a party!

The venue at the outskirts of town is, unfortunately, a bit drafty — and actually rather sparsely furnished, as well. In fact, party goers are encouraged to mingle, drink, and enjoy themselves in the courtyard, as the castle itself wasn’t able to be renovated in time, and has proven to be a little bit architecturally unsound. Any explorative guests might find a small hail of dust and pebbles on their heads if they venture too far in — and who knows what else, if they continue on.

But the drinks and snacks both are plentiful and delicious, and the large canvas set up from castle wall to castle wall keeps off the sprinkling rain. The weather could even be described as warmish and pleasant, if one were feeling generous. A group of Exiles plays classic instruments in one corner of the courtyard, having been paid enough to even smile at any Transports that wander near.

All in all, it’s shaping up to be a good night. Until about 10 PM, that is. Come 10 PM, the Misery rolls into town, tearing down the canvas, nullifying powers, and crying corrosive blood everywhere. That’s the cue for all hell to break loose, as the final wave of mind-controlled characters snag their victims and make for the hills — or at least for the UE. The mind-controlled characters will also have the backup of a squadron of 20 of the Masked, the UE's special ops force. The Masked's main goal is to grab those on their list and get away, but they're certainly not above shooting to kill at anyone that gets in their way. They're also highly trained in hand-to-hand combat and physically enhanced by their suits, so they're a good bunch to try to avoid.

But do have a wonderful time until then, won’t you?

Comments

[anklets]

[Blunt nails make all the more painful a weapon, but they do little good stabbing into Cross' collar.

Her protest, too (of course there would be a protest), is a pointless thing which dies viciously on her lips the instant he pulls the trigger. The life is punched from it (hah) by the sound-sight of a human hand pulling the trigger, and she doesn't hear the shots, somehow, but she sure as hell sees them, and she doesn't notice that her grip on him has gone slack, or that her ears are ringing.]

[aequivoci]

[ (When isn't there a protest? This is Lenalee Lee he has in his arms; she and her brother sure do protest a lot.)

Cross is 95% apologetic that he fires off the gun at such a close range to her head, but he would rather knock her hearing off-kilter for a moment than let some UE scumbag get in a cheap shot at them.

The gun goes into the waist of his pants for the moment as he uses his now-free hand to turn Lenalee's head and make sure none of his bullets grazed her. Good, she's clear in that respect. Satisfied with his observation, he continues walking, pointedly making sure the toe of his boot kicks the dead soldier's head to the side as he does so.

Sympathy for the devil? Ha. Right now he's real pissed his hands are tied (metaphorically), and it seems like getting out of the range of the damn misery-wrought...thing is nigh impossible. ]

[anklets]

[It's a family trait. Much like the capacity to balance knowing when to scream and flail and drag the unwilling and when to shut up and be moved, which is why she's fallen malleable (she is never malleable, for anyone, save for when being rigid would break her): the world is a hiss of corrosion (a solid thunk she refuses to address) and all the air in her coming out between her teeth.]

General, please- [ she's dizzy, and nobody's faces are clear to her— Lenalee's heel cracks in the most alarming way as she experimentally rotates it, she presses on ] now isn't the time to worry about me. Where's Allen?

[ Lavi Miranda Oz Caesar Collette ]

[aequivoci]

[ Her words fall on deaf ears. Begs and pleads are not heard as he keeps an eye out for the very person's name she breathes next.

Indeed, where is his idiot apprentice?

He sucks in a breath and curses in another language as a glob of acidic blood grazes his free arm upon descent, eating through the sleeves of his jacket and shirt underneath. Even if Lenalee wasn't in his arms, he couldn't do much to address the resulting burn. He'd certainly get it looked at back at the Hold. ]

It looks like most of the party members are either fighting with the UE, or they've run back to town. I think we both know which one my idiot apprentice decided to do.

[anklets]

[Like this, she can understand where Allen's frustrations with him lay— and also from where Allen's own stubbornness might stem. The burn which eats its way down his arm cuts into her, too, without needing to touch, and she knows he won't deign to let her look at it, so she settles for second-best and turns pricking eyes skyward, to the morass above.]

Just let me find somewhere to stay, then— [ these are words she hates to say, they close up her throat, but she trusts Allen and company not to get themselves killed right off the bat ] —and you can go to them. You've proven yourself better at coming across us than the other way around.

[aequivoci]

[ He trusts them all in the same vein, but then he also knows that the majority of them run with their emotions at the reigns, and that trust takes a nosedive.

Especially his idiot apprentice.

A chuckle almost escapes his mouth at her suggestion. "Somewhere to stay." It is either backtrack and go back to the crumbling castle — surely decimated more by the creature's acidic blood — or find a thick enough tree that could provide ample coverage.

Of course, there's also the risk that he puts her down and her stubbornness wins out over her patience, thus sending her limping off for the others.

Sigh.

He mutters under his breath, firing off several more shots at another soldier, and he frowns as the bullets seem to have a bit of a spark to them. ]

It looks like we're at the edge of the nullifying effect that thing is causing.

[anklets]

[What confidence you hold in her!

(true, it's all true)

And truer still is how distressed she is becoming; distance over time equals Lenalee Lee making a right fuss, to hell with propriety.]

General, I know you hate having anything to do with things like the Order and the Initiative, but you're never anywhere without reason, and you were at that party, so— you can't just walk away like this, not because of me—

[aequivoci]

[ The truth always hurts.

Usually emotionally, and sometimes physically.

There is a method to his madness, and that's why he keeps firing his gun. The more of a response he gets from the bullets, the higher the chances are that they're almost out of range of that thing. ]

You're damn right on both counts.

[ And the next two bullets he fires at a soldier sets the guy on fire, and he goes to the ground in a crumpled heap.

Excellent.

He puts Lenalee down after he's walked a few more paces, before turning back towards the chaos. ]

Use your Boots and tell me what you see from above.

1/2

[anklets]

[Her jaw is instantly tight, and it would be pious to say it's for the smell of burning skin, hair, man (body). It's not. Innocence blares up as though it had been itching to (it had), angry red in the dark, almost as angry as the noise she makes as the metal binds around her ankle, but even so she's up, up, and away—

well. Up, at least.]

There's—

[The air is no thinner up here, and yet she can barely breathe. Squinting, behind her eyes is a morass of pain and in front of them is an abomination. You'd think she'd be used to that, by now.]

I don't... [ flit, flit, hover, can't get any closer, dammit ] There's figures, they're moving towards the Outlands, I think-

[anklets]

They're taking people to the United Earth.

[aequivoci]

[ There she goes~
There she goes agaaaain~
Being a stubborn braaat~
And he'll get to say "I told you so,"
When she falls from the sky a-booove~

(But seriously, stop trying to get closer when getting closer means plummeting from the sky again.)

A globe of clean air will surround her, giving her a reprieve from the smoky atmosphere as he listens to her findings, and he can't help but squint.

More disappearances, except this time they outright kidnapped people in the open. The one question going through his mind is "Why?" What did the transports have to offer besides powers and, depending on the transport, inside Initiative secrets?

Cross joins her in the air, standing on top of a familiar, abnormally large coffin as he looks in the direction her attention is focused. ]

We'll have to wait for the Initiative's call on this.

[anklets]

[ full stop ] Wait for-?

[aequivoci]

We're operating under a different set of rules, Lenalee. You don't need me to spell this out for you.

[anklets]

[She doesn't need any of this, quite honestly. Her teeth are set, her hands balled. It's never been such work to stay afloat, and her eyes want to return to the ground (she wants to return to the ground).]

We can't just let them go-! [ if she protests loudly enough-

her helplessness just feels more acute, actually ]

[aequivoci]

[ bluntly: ] Keep your emotions in check.

[ It is how akuma are created, no? One's emotions play into the wish to bring the deceased back, after all. ]

1/2

[anklets]

[anklets]

This isn't even close to the same kind of war!

[ it is. it is, it is, it is, it is ]

it's hard being mean to lenalee and no one understands ;;

[aequivoci]

You know that the objectives are the same, no matter the "kind of war" it is we're facing.

[ Certain human lives are put at risk, and some of them perish. Thus, a few suffer for the greater good.

A few have to make themselves the visible targets to protect the public at large.

War always makes its presence known; it's how it makes its presence known that will be the variable, the dynamic element in the storyline. ]

he's the only one who won't put up with her BS

[anklets]

[ flit, flit, she's hummingbirding in her anxiety, close but never too close ]

I don't care, the "objectives" don't matter to me— [ but her anger is choking out, smothered beneath conditioned helplessness ten years of being dragged away from dying comrades has put in her ] I. I...

he's not klaud okok (sorry klaud)

[aequivoci]

[ He watches her move back and forth, as if the nullifying effect from the mystery monster will disappear at any second, and then she can zip her way towards the fading shapes on the horizon.

(It's quite a smoky horizon— well, atmosphere in general.) ]

You can't do anything as of this moment. Even with your Boots activated, your ankle still requires medical attention. You would be incapacitated once more trying to follow them and hitting another nullifying field.

stupid generals...

[anklets]

[He knows her too well, maybe. There's nothing she can deny in what he's saying, but how badly she wants to burns her throat as the acid had burned him.]

Even so...!

/kanyeshrug

[aequivoci]

[ (Let it be known that his arm is tingling with pain. That acidic blood is no joke.)

He looks at the horizon for a moment before he speaks up once more. ]

Let's go.

[anklets]

[She hates those words, she hates them.] General...!

[aequivoci]

Staying here and watching them go is pointless. Circling the field when we're not sure where the null field is extending out will only put you at risk of making your injury worse, plus potential injury to the other ankle.

[anklets]

Tch...! [ her hands go up to clamp over her ears ] Fine, fine!