here we go again...

[bulletbiter]

Who: Everyone
Where: Aimintas
When: Day 56
Open/Closed: OTA

[ Feel free to use this entry as a mingle for whatever your characters will be up to during the bigger Uvi attack! You can find details about it in this weekly update post.

(This post is forward dated by a few hours as I temporarily forgot how timezones work... please forgive me.) ]

Comments

[deem]

If we don't have any means of trapping them like Alphonse, that's the only method we've got.

[And while 9S could think of some ways to conveniently take out the lot of them, once that water's pooled everywhere the chances of collateral damage are too high]

[bulletbiter]

Very well.

[ The Aragami lifts its single hand and orients its blades forward. The Uvi have noticed them by now and start charging towards the pair - Julius needs a few moments to charge up the Singularity's laser, so 9S could probably knock some of them back into shooting range.

The beam itself is bright much like a flare, and it would certainly burn. ]

[deem]

[By now 9S has made good practice of using his weapon to herd enemies. Having it orbit groups and using weak attacks is enough to concentrate them in smaller groups as they attempt to avoid damage...

And that means that Julius' attacks can be all the more effective. Support is, after all, what 9S was assigned to]

You really do pack a punch, huh?

[bulletbiter]

[ There's silence for a few moments, telepathy conveying only the sound of something similar to static before words come through. ]

It does. [ It, not himself. ] This is the furthest I can go without risking too much.

[ Given how versatile Aragami are, he could kill the Uvi in quite a couple of ways - but this was the simplest. ]

[deem]

[That sound is decidedly unnatural, when the one he's communicating with isn't an android. Isn't a machine.

But what is Julius, exactly?]

...You sure you're okay?

[bulletbiter]

[ Would an android truly be able to understand something of alien, biological origin? ]

I've made my choice. I must see through to it, so I'll do as much as I can before it ends.

[ As long as there's something to fight, he should be able to stay lucid. ]

[deem]

Just...be careful.

[It's hypocritical to say, he knows...but it's still concerning watching someone assume enough risk to demand a safeguard like his presence here]

You're not the only one who can fight.

[bulletbiter]

[ He isn't, but there also are a shitton of Uvi and his conclusion was that they should employ the most devastating strategy possible to their enemy. ]

I know. I mustn't let you come to risk.

[ Because, as he's said to Lenka, this world is better off without him. ]

[deem]

...Don't insult me.

[Julius isn't quite human, so 9S can muster up some sass more easily here. It's a struggle where humans are concerned, feeling it's not truly his place, but Julius is something else...

Still human insofar as it counts though, in his eyes]

Why call on somebody if you're not going to rely on them?

[bulletbiter]

[ There are plenty of things he could have said here, but he lacks the words. It's thus in his favour that telepathy transmits in his stead - conviction (for the duty that he must do), regret (at calling upon another's help), and a lingering visceral fear that 9S would perish. ]

I need your help. But I won't let you die.

[deem]

I don't plan on dying again anytime soon.

[There's a word in there he has to bum-rush out of his own thoughts because he's still not particularly great at this whole telepathic conversation shtick]

But I'm expecting you to keep living too, you know.

[bulletbiter]

[ Strange, how 'dying again' applies to the both of them - but it's not a topic to be asked about, not when he's requiring 9S to do something unpleasant. ]

I'll try my best to fulfil that.

[ If anything, he can feel slightly more confident that he would find acceptance here. ]

[deem]

I'll be here to make sure.

[That statement applies to more than one thing of course. He intends to help Julius should he need it. And likewise, he plans on making sure the man remains alive.

Surely he doesn't have the option of another body]

[bulletbiter]

[ If only they knew. ]

Thank you.

[ As with most battlefields, the enemy falls upon them shortly; they are able to fend them off via telepathic coordination. Robot soldier, (formerly) human soldier; the language of battle is a common tongue that they are fluent in - one that would hopefully see them out.

As the last Uvi fall silent, the static that accompanies Julius' words start to get just the slightest bit louder. ]

[deem]

Can you...change back? Out of that thing?

[He still can't see that whole mass as being Julius, when only a very small part resembles the man he recognizes. But that sound isn't natural. That sound usually means something systemic is wrong.

At least, that's always been the case for androids.

As such, he looks up at Julius with concern]

[bulletbiter]

[ There's silence, a few moments of static: ]

I think. I think I can.

[ This is the second time he's changed, and consciously at that - a force that rippled through his body and commanded it to change. He should be able to do it.

Should the Singularity stay put.

And he not have to fight battles on both fronts at once. ]

I just need time...

[ The Aragami comes to a halt, hovering silently as the light from its core starts to intensify. ]

[deem]

I'll cover you then.

[Though it seems quiet with that last wave dispatched, 9S remains on guard. Whatever this is, that growing static is disquieting. If any sort of interruption would cause a problem or prevent Julius from changing, then he has to ensure that doesn't happen.

With the number of Uvi around, he can only hope they've put a significant dent in their forces by now.

He steps nearer to the thing that Julius is a part of, or rather, what he's become now, monitoring their surroundings]

[bulletbiter]

Are there anymore?

[ This part seems to be clear, but there's no telling if other places need clearing. If they're done, Julius can try to turn back now.

The keyword being 'try'.

Battle had united the two minds in his body on one purpose, but now he has to suppress the Singularity's instinct to consume. Wood, stone, metal, it mattered not what type of matter; only that it could be touched. If 9S listens intently, he would be able to perceive the ebb and flow of what is heard as static - the mind of the Singularity sending out its voice as Julius tries to seal it. ]

[deem]

[It doesn't take long for 9S to survey their surroundings. There isn't anything to interfere with his efforts, and the relative quite around them lets him focus. Well, save for that static buzz that seems to be gradually increasing in volume...

That's quite concerning]

None in this area...

[And thus none anywhere too close]

[bulletbiter]

[ If Julius had any reply, it's drowned out by a sudden burst of static. The telepathic connection cuts off as the Aragami twitches as if a puppet with errant strings - a moment later, it rights itself.

And aims one of its sword wings downwards, the blade whistling by 9S with a breeze - ]

[deem]

[It's lucky, 9S thinks, that Julius chose a YoRHa unit. It's all that passes through his mind as his senses alert him to the shift in Julius' demeanor, the static growing loud as he leaps back to avoid the attack, afterimages spreading around him.

His attention snaps up to the remaining part of this creature that still resembles the man he knows, teeth gritted behind closed lips. That's it then, isn't it?

Like the logic virus, this thing is threatening to consume him.

...Then like that same virus, can he counterman it?]

[bulletbiter]

[ Fortunately for 9S, the Singularity is hackable. Unfortunately, it is also something difficult to hack; not in the sense that it provided many defenses but that its will was blindingly, overpoweringly strong. Like a beam of pure light that raced heavensward; flashes of discordant images feeding into the android's perception as he braced himself against the organic mind. A beautiful blue planet, skies framed by trees, the sound of birdcall - memories of a planet before mankind.

ʟɪᴠᴇ. ᴄᴏɴsᴜᴍᴇ. ᴇᴠᴏʟᴠᴇ. Thus was its will, one that eclipsed the lone soul trying to hold it back. 9S can probably find something that resembled Julius' sense of self in that wash of blinding brilliance. All is not lost, yet it's taking all his effort to remain existent. ]

[deem]

[It's something akin to hacking a system administrator like Eve. Something powerful, and in contrast, far more developed. 9S assesses this much, having to pause in hacking to reposition himself so he can avoid attacks. He doesn't have the advantage of surprise, nor does he have someone to cover for him, and so his efforts are cautious.

These defenses are stronger than he might've expected, besides. But maybe he should have, when it's a being not dissimilar to Emil in power.

He concentrates in the hope that he can weaken the creature's defenses and perhaps cripple its use of a limb or two, rather like he did with the Engles unit he and 2B once faced. The problem, of course, is that he can't mount an offense. In the process of hacking, though, he comes across a name and the knowledge that that person is here...

9S may not relish seeing memories he shouldn't be privy to, but at a time like this, he'll take what he can get. And he reaches across their bizarre mental network, focusing on that face, and that name. He can only hope it works]

Julius needs help—

[bulletbiter]

[ The torrent of light bears down on 9S through the link, though it dims in parts and flashes as if something was reaching through the curtain from beyond. The android is successful in getting the Aragami to stop moving; it twitches a little as if pinned down by an invisible spear.

However, its mental realm is a different story altogether. The will of the Singularity starts trying to worm its way into the android's consciousness, though it can never get too far before its influence is forcibly, unnaturally withdrawn.

Julius is there... inside. Somewhere. Now if only Lenka can get here in time... ]

[probablynoteren]

--Julius!!

[There's no finesse to the mental yell that answers a few moments later, likely radiating across half the combatants on the field and indiscriminately aimed in general direction of both 9S and the thing that had at some point called itself Julius Visconti. It's a call to whatever is left to hear it in the Singularity, but also an answer -- details like location and battle situation are swept aside in favor of a rapid burst of pressure and feeling: they've got incoming.

And then he's there -- landing in a flurry of impact and debris behind the strange spread wings of the Aragami, sliding directly into a roll under it to get between the creature and 9S. Honestly, Lenka doesn't have a clue what he's jumping into, but that's the good thing about telepathy -- he hasn't had the time nor the guidance to figure out how the hell it works, but he can get a general sense of urgency and the gravity of the situation. Of course, he already knew how bad it was the moment Julius stopped responding to check-ins; he's been bracing himself ever since they parted ways, staying as close as was practicable to the path razed by the Aragami's blades and beams.

He has the borrowed greatsword up and ready by the time he's in position, staring up at the Aragami for the second time today with an up close and personal vantage point he really could have done without.

However, there doesn't seem to be much movement just yet. Is it charging up an attack?]

... Whoever you are, move back.

[He's going to need room to maneuver with that sword, and 9S doesn't seem to be moving to engage the Aragami either. He's not sure what kind of stalemate he's just arrived in.]