spellbinders | here we go again...

[ Feel free to wildcard it up with me! Julius will be calling up people he knows via telepathy as soon as he receives news of the attack via Kosuzu's dreams and her telling it to the barrier crew. Being a field leader back home, he'll try to organize small teams to be posted around Aimintas and have their weapons ready for an emergency. I can be reached via PMs for plotting, if you'd like to discuss anything!

Basically I'm playing this by ear so let me know if I can help. ]

Edited 2017-09-01 06:01 (UTC)

preparations;

[ It helps being in a team. Even if they were all from different worlds - everyone's efforts helped to increase the odds of this impending bloodbath becoming less of a bloodbath. And as long as Julius can still move, he'll help to further said odds. They'd have to pry his sword from his cold dead body... if he could even be killed in this state. It's not a thought he'd want to think too much about. ]

Are you ready?

[ It's a vague sort of question, designed to fish out whatever details that he could possibly help with. His sword was never far from reach nowadays, so he considers himself primed for battle.

Old habits are hard to kick. ]

in the storm;

[ The Uvi have landed. It's much more chaotic than the last attack, which was logical given how they had planned for this ambush. It also means the coven members must band together for this threat - and as much as Julius advocates for others to go out in groups, the advice is ill applied to himself.

As soon as he can be sure the others will hold, he'll strike out on his own. Maybe you're the one running after him, or have encountered him in the streets after a while. Those who have seen him in the previous battle wouldn't find it too strange, the sight of him wielding his two-metre long greatsword as a counter-balance in a blade dance of death - but if one looks closer, they would see that black spider marks have appeared all over what's visible of his skin.

There's even one on his face. Yet he continues fighting in spite of it... almost like a possessed man. If you're still standing there gawping, he'll have a message for you: ]

Take this side, we need to clear this road!

Edited 2017-09-01 06:18 (UTC)

part one;

[ There's simply too many of them. A swarm, and as much as they try to push them back, it's evident that the Uvi outside wouldn't be mopped up so easily. They need a better solution. A solution that had been staring at him in the face since he came here. He had came out of it alive once, with others' help. The blond man looks down at his hands, now covered in the scrawls of the Black Plague. His body remembers, even as he tries to forget. If the people here would not abandon him to fight alone, then perhaps... ]

Do me a favour, would you? Take these civilians to the barrier. I need to try something alone.

[ Should his partner agree, and return later, they will find Julius literally rooted to the ground. White branches have sprouted from his back and pierced through his clothes, planting themselves into the ground below. A few of them grow into something resembling long, slender wings, wrapping themselves around him in a half-formed cocoon. Only his upper body is visible at this point. ]

You're here? [ there's the slightest feeling of oh shit even if the man would never be caught using these words ] Stay where you are! Don't come closer. Please.

part two;

[ Or maybe you've taken a bit more time to escort the Palai away from danger, and had skipped the tree formation process entirely. Instead of finding Julius where you've left him, you will see his blade left lying on the ground, at the (hovering) feet of someone else.

Who's that? ]

Edited 2017-09-02 02:57 (UTC)

i. before the battle

[Everyone who was a part of the ground team last time the Uvi attacked will be getting the following message:]

Anyone who is willing to fight should head to one of the following locations. We don't have a lot of time.

[There's a mental image of a few different places in succession: mostly residential and business neighborhoods that have had barrier shields set up around dwellings and entryways. Jay can be found in front of one particularly large home, pacing rapidly back and forth with his dagger out. He'll wave a hand to greet anyone familiar, but it's clear his mind is on something else.]

ii. in the fray

[He's on his feet facing down three Uvi, dagger whirling, slashing-dodging-kicking in mad succession as he tries to fend them off without falling prey to one of their blades. He drops to the ground as one of them swings its spear, only to . . . grab for its tail?

Why soon becomes clear, as the Uvi shudders as though it's been shocked and lets its weapon clatter to the ground. It looks as though a blanket of calm has been settled over it, its eyes half-lidded, its hands at its sides, seemingly without any continued interest in attacking.

The same, however, cannot be said for the other two . . . . ]

A; I'm eleven years old and what is this
[Of course Moon had rushed out to help. She hadn't had as much of an opportunity last time, being concerned with following the Uvi back, and there are so many more now, but she wants to do what she can. But this isn't a Pokemon battle, and she's greeted with the reality as, quicker than her eyes can follow, an Uvi tears one of the Palai in half not six feet away from her.

Moon shrieks and falls over, scrambling away in an uncoordinated panic. That's more than enough to draw the Uvi's attention to her, and while Ariri coils her tail around Moon protectively and stands in the way, they could probably use a hand while Moon collects herself.]

B; use the power that's in my hand
[This isn't a Pokemon battle--and Moon has to remember that means she doesn't have to play fair. She's got all six of her Pokemon out, creating a tornado of activity with her in the middle of the vortex, but she seems to have a much better handle on things right now. Nebby cuts through the air in a new sort of form, blasting through Uvi with a beam of some sort of white energy. Moon calls out to Lyro, pulling out a Pokeball.]

Thunder Fang as soon as you're out again!

[And with that she recalls Lyro into his Pokeball and pitches him at top speed into the air, giving him the distance needed to get at the Uvi and water above them and set it crackling and sparking with electricity.

There's a lot going on here--help is always appreciated. Or maybe you need help? Moon is here to provide!]

Edited 2017-09-02 00:24 (UTC)

[ that's... not a pleasant sight. but what's more alarming is moon's reaction. quickly, he hurries towards her side, giving ariri a hesitant, but firm, nod. he means you no harm, friend. he isn't sure if she's been hit or not, so he's going to check regardless. ]

-- You okay?

[ he's summoned byakko to stave off attacks on them for now, and he's going to cautiously flick his gaze between his persona and moon and her companion. this second attack is far, far too inconvenient for all those involved. ]

[Ariri gives Akira a nod and loosens her grip on Moon to help more directly in keeping attackers away; luckily, Ariri is capable of fighting without Moon's instruction when needed.

Moon, meanwhile, turns her head sharply toward Akira--being so distracted, it's as if he'd just appeared. Luckily, she's not injured.]

I'm okay, I just--that poor Palai--I've never--seen anything like that. [It's a lot to adjust to all of the sudden.]

[ it's a lot to handle, even for people that have seen far worse. seeing someone torn in half isn't exactly easy to swallow. he gives her another small nod and then offers his hand. just in case she needs help standing! ]

Yeah that was... [ bad. really bad. he isn't sure how to describe it, since moon pretty much took the words out of his mouth. ]

[Moon takes his hand as she gets shakily back to her feet. She still feels wobbly, but as soon as she's up she clenches her fists and tries her best to look brave.]

It's okay. I have to help! I can help!

[She still looks shaken, to be honest.]

a. triage

[ everything is total chaos. jude has never seen anything quite like it. no matter what offensive magic he uses, it's just not enough, and that means he has to go on the total defense. he's healing any and every palai he can, but he can't keep his magic strength up forever. that doesn't mean he isn't going to try.

[ is your character injured? doctor mathis and (nurse) madoka are here to help — once they've settled on a somewhat secure location, they'll both be working frantically, together, and doing their best to treat whoever comes in as quickly as possible. ]

[ for her part, madoka will be alternating between following jude's directions, venturing back out into the fray to find people to rescue, and offering jude and his patients much needed moral support. need a save from an incoming Uvi? need someone to hold your hand? madoka is your gal. just. ignore the fact that her whole body is a very interesting shade of ashen, and that she seems to be pausing, as if in pain, every once in a while — it's fine, and it doesn't seem to be stopping her from doing her work. ]

b. wild card

[ want to help out? have questions? hit one (or both) of them up! ]

[ooc: you may get a response from either Madoka or Jude, or both, depending!]

Speci[A]l Delivery
[After warnings regarding Uvi activity are issued, 9S gets right to work. He helps craft as many shield modules as he can, building these units alongside the Palai and his fellow coven members. There isn't nearly enough time to cover every building, but they have to do as much as they can.

Once they've got the numbers, 9S sets about the real task: distribution. He can be spotted roving rooftops at unnatural speeds expected from a YoRHa android, a black and white blur rushing along only to drop in front of doorsteps and deposit modules near doorways, knocking on those doors to inform residents of the device's utility and how to activate and power it, advising an Eltos be present for this.

The only thing is...it's pretty inefficient. When he takes as many modules as he can carry, it's cumbersome, and sometimes they fall and roll away from him. When he's carrying less, well...then it's him running back and forth...

Give a guy a hand, put postal services to shame]

[B]locking Traffic
[When combat has broken out in earnest, 9S flits between buildings to run interference. Though tests have proven that impact won't damage barriers, that doesn't mean that a protracted battle is favorable. Wherever he sees a group of Uvi blindly attacking barriers (so reminiscent of machines...) or gathering around other people, he strikes.

But 9S isn't a typical melee fighter. Instead his weapon shoots through the air to crash into his foes, blade cutting a wide arc through the air to repel them. A short distance away, 9S waves his arm and the blade whips around again to cleave an Uvi's weapon in half before it flickers from sight and back to its place suspended behind him]

You okay?

[He wasn't made for melee, and it sure does show]

Old [C]omrades (for 2B)
[Anytime that 9S isn't occupied with attacking the enemy, he's off to find his partner unit. Reluctant as he is to leave 2B's side, he does understand that there are only the two of them and so many humans they're responsible for, and they necessarily part ways when enemies gather in different locations.

Even so, it's inevitable that 9S bounds back to her side whenever the opportunity presents itself. On one such occasion, several Uvi are rushing to join a pack 2B is already engaging, and 9S switches his primary weapon to a lance, hurling it toward these would-be attackers to stagger their progress.

It strikesthe first Uvi in this procession in the head with a sharp crack, its body buckling under the impact and forcing the others to stumble]

2B, behind you!

[Once, he'd failed to protect her. He refuses to let it happen ever again]

Edited 2017-09-02 01:32 (UTC)

[9S couldn't really mistake that head of pink hair anywhere, after meeting Madoka at that weird event the Palai muscled them into. He takes note of her a few times, observing the way she shepherds people away from danger, and continues on his circuit of knocking around any Uvi that crowd anyone along the way.

But on one of these occasions, he sees that some of the Uvi have taken note of Madoka as she escorts an injured Eltos. He observes from a distance as one catches the attention of several others and they start loping after the girl and her charge, and following that trajectory...

That's where she's been taking the injured to, isn't it?

9S finishes the battle he's currently engaged in without ceremony, throwing an arm toward his foe and watching his sword cleave through the air in a vicious arc, lopping its head clear off. He doesn't have time to play around, turning to pursue the train of Uvi that have begun to follow Madoka]

Edited 2017-09-02 02:11 (UTC)

[ It's been a long day.

Somehow, controlling his Aragami form hadn't been as difficult as he had thought it would be. His sword was no longer needed; thus it was given to Lenka with the explicit specification that it would be used against him in case he turned berserk. So far, staying himself had not been cripplingly hard. The additional firepower was welcome against their opponents and their tactics, being able to simply blast through barriers with sheer force. The question now is, how long will he be able to keep it up?

It's impossible to speak without actual vocal cords, so he's been keeping communication with his allies by means of telepathy. Screening the discordant noise from his words is easy given his willpower, so it wouldn't be too incapacitating for them. He'd made sure of that.

But he's been quiet for some time now. ]

Edited 2017-09-02 02:27 (UTC)

[Madoka very nearly doesn't realize what was happening until 9S is nearly upon the trail of Uvi behind her — too occupied with making sure the Eltos she'd been helping is safe. she whirls around, bow immediately called into her hands, as she sets herself square between the injured Eltos and the incoming Uvi.]

Ah — look out, Nines! [for the incoming arrow of pink energy, she means — it's headed straight for the Uvi closest to her.]

Got it—

[So Madoka can generate a weapon, even without a NFCS — 9S notes it, curiosity close on the heels of this observation as he leaps out of the line of fire. He moves with the strange fluid grace of any YoRHA unit, swiftly bringing a large sword to bear and hurling it toward them with a flick of his wrist.

And not manually, at that. The weapon doesn't touch his hands so much as launch itself toward the Uvi nearest him, forcing them to divide their attention in order to avoid the blade slicing through the air]

They've got tough hides.

[He supplies, as a Scanner is wont to do. His sword and other melee accouterments, are actually made for damaging machine life-forms, and thus impact slices the hand of one Uvi clean off as it scrambles to avoid the blade]

[it seems that 9S is more than capable of handling this pack of Uvi, at least, but that won't stop her from continuing to fire off energy arrow after energy arrow at whichever one makes the mistake of drawing close to her, as she backs closer and closer to where Jude is camped with the others.]

[and, once they're both back safe — as safe as a medical camp next to a battlefield can be, anyway — Madoka just. plops right down on the ground, for a quick break — she lifts a hand to wave at 9S in thanks.]

That was too close...

Madoka —

[ jude tosses her a concerned look, wary of her current physical state before he notices 9s' presence. ]

9S? You're here too?

[ jude is tending to the eltos that madoka had been keeping an eye on before the barrage of attacks above all else, so he only spares him a quick glance before going right back to what he was doing, fingers glowing. ]

Thank goodness. We could really use the backup. I don't have the magic to spare on attacking, and Madoka here is putting herself through the wringer. Do you mind sticking around?

[9S' answer isn't an immediate one. His attacks are aggressive, gestures and waves of his arms guiding his sword to rip through the air around the Uvi and halt their progress. They're very much like the machines he'd so often fought in the field, rounding on him when his weapon bars their progress.

And that's just the way he wants it.

His sword flickers back into place behind him as the first Uvi closes distance, plunging its lance forward to close the distance between them. 9S leaps away, afterimages flowering out around him, and the Uvi lash out at these for the pale moment during which they linger in the air]

Would've thought somebody'd be stationed here— [His thought is interrupted by another attack and he slips aside, and with a flick of his wrist his sword cleaves the weapon in half before flicking back to slice at the Uvi] Guess I'd better get on the crowd-control, huh?

[And No matter what Haru did it wasn't enough. She's used most of her SP and she's down to the last couple of times she can manage a barrier. She's sustained cuts that looked a little more than nasty, and what seemed to be places where a jellyfish stung her?

That was probably the least of her worries.

She's going to take another particularly blunt hit from the Uvi riiiight over where Madoka and Jude are set up.]

— Ugh! They just... don't know when to back off!

[it's both awe-inspiring and painful to watch 9S fight — the fact that there's no shortage of capable warriors (and androids) here, and the fact that they had at least a breath of a warning before the attack started, are comforts, but ... there's been so many already that they couldn't save, it feels ... unbearable.]

[maybe that's what's really driving Madoka back into the fray, why she can't just stand by and wait, despite whatever state she's in. she pulls herself back to her feet, offering a smile to both Jude and 9S.]

With Nines here, I should be able to scout out a little farther than before ... to find anyone who needs help. Does that sound good?

[A long day indeed. 9S has spent the bulk of the day running himself ragged, hunting down and attacking Uvi and the stray bit of vicious marine life whenever he's spotted them. Mostly he's interfered wherever their numbers have threatened to overwhelm anyone, but they've shown up in much greater numbers than last time.

He could really use a bath, right about now.

But when he hears from Julius, he knows there remains something he has to do. A certain discomfort settles in his middle at the prospect of needing to stop the man, knowing him to have been kind and accepting in a way that was both comforting and strange at once. When he hones in on Julius' location and spots him, he wonders if perhaps he might better understand why]

Julius— [He starts, only to forcefully clamp his mouth shut. Right. He'd said he couldn't speak, before...] Julius, that's you, right?

[It's a little difficult to believe, just looking at him]

[ Julius' human form appears to have been repurposed as the Aragami's head, his body pierced through by the crown-like structure behind him. But it helps to fight, as perhaps evident by the six organic blades behind his back. It's not a sight that most people would be comfortable to see, which makes him grateful that 9S had indeed come. ]

Yes, it's me. I'm sorry.

[ And it's a good thing that 9S is an android, since his Bias Field might have sent any other human reeling. ]

I think I can still go on, for a while. If we do have to fight, I would hope we do it away from the others.

[It's a phenomenon 9S has to see to believe, and even then he questions how such an ability exists. He isn't sure if this is the work of magic or something else entirely, but it's worrisome to look upon even at a distance like this.

Is Julius in pain, using this form? He can only wonder]

You think I'll need to fight you?

[He bites his lip, finding the thought troubling. Perhaps he will have to, for the sake of others, but harming the man still isn't something he looks forward to the prospect of]

[ jude is turning toward her the second he hears her voice, and when he sees the gashes coloring her exposed skin his eyes widen. don't panic. so much is happening but he can't afford to panic.

not when people need him. ]

Haru!

[ jude is able to reach out and grab her wrist, a little too tightly, and pull her close enough to avoid another hit.

madoka and 9s will take care of the uvi. right now his job is to take care of haru. ]

Come with me!

[ the most important thing is getting them both to safety before anything else. ]

[ It's only by virtue of his self-control that Julius is able to restrain the Singularity's mind from transferring across telepathy. Pain and discord can still be held at bay as long as he has a greater goal to focus on. ]

Perhaps. I have to fight the instinct to destroy all that is in my path... I am still myself now, but in case I slip - knocking it out will give me a chance to recover.

[ He's not sure what to call... the thing. It. Singularity. Lots of technical terms. ]

here we go again...

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➛ ota

➛ closed to established CR (warning for mild-ish body horror)

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b.

➛ the pruning (closed)

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a!

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