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Night 56: Recreational Field
> ==>The snow had gotten heavier. Rose walked out into it. It was better than being on fire, but slow going. She let one needlewand slide back into her hand, and pointed it at the ground. Nothing. At the air. Nothing. She wasn't going anywhere her own feet didn't deign to carry her. Her powers were well and truly blasted back to square one
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Gripping onto his sword, the blond did his best to keep a sharp eye out. Thankfully, he had Anise and Guy with him as well, which would hopefully reduce their chances of getting caught by surprise. Of course, he knew how quickly things could go downhill under certain circumstances -- he still remember that night he'd been poisoned, for instance.
That was why they couldn't afford to be careless. When Guy suggested staying close to the wall, he gave a silent nod in agreement and fell into step with his friends. He wondered if he ought to position himself behind Anise in order to keep their smallest group member safer. Then again, what would happen if Anise accidentally bumped against Guy? That could draw a lot of unwanted attention, so did he need to act as a buffer instead?
For now he walked behind Guy, occasionally glancing over and straining his ears to pick up on any unexpected sounds of approach. The sooner they got to the wall, the better.
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She followed as the group moved closer to the wall, and she kept an eye on it as they walked, looking for a spot that looked easy to climb. Fortunately, it wasn't too long until she found one. "Hey, I think we can climb here!" she announced in a harsh whisper, trying to get everyone's attention while keeping her voice low enough so as not to alert any enemies to their presence.
Since Anise was going to have the hardest time climbing, she supposed she might as well try it first. If she could get up, then it would probably be a cinch for the others, who were a lot taller than her.
She had to jump to reach one of the vines near the top, and once she grasped it, she was left with her feet dangling and scraping against the lower section of the wall, searching for a foothold of some kind. Fortunately, there was a rough patch that she was able to steady one foot with, and with that she pushed herself a little higher, grabbing another vine with her other hand - holding it awkwardly along with her mallet, which she neglected to drop this time. If it proved too hard to climb with, she could pitch it over and try again, but for now she was making steady progress up the wall, even if she wasn't exactly moving gracefully upward.
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The men were right to think that there was something out here. Japan emerged from the darkness, breathing a bit heavier than he had been when the first fight had taken place. He was determined, however. His empire depended upon his success here tonight. He had to stop these people from getting out and contacting the Allies. They were a threat to the Axis - even if they were mostly women and children. At least this time there were two men in the group. Japan always felt a bit odd when it came to fighting against females.
"This is your warning. Return now and you will leave unharmed." He had learned from the earlier fight. These people were soldiers just like any other despite appearances. They were going to fight because this was a war. No one heeded warnings when they should, but especially not in war. As he drew closer, Japan pulled the katana from its sheath and frowned. Two blonds and a brunette - American then? Like the girls from earlier. America - the young country that was continuously a thorn in the Axis' side. "Back inside. Now."
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Though before the girl could even make it all the way up the wall, they were interrupted by a dark-haired man in a uniform -- or more importantly, an armed man in a uniform. His bearing was severe and his tone even more so. It didn't take long to realize that this was a brainwashed patient. He'd heard those words his fair number of times while exploring this place at night.
Guy shot a glance up to Anise, hoping that she could at least get away before this came to blows. They were close to the wall, but so was their enemy; it meant it would be easy for him to go so far as to grab them and restrain them from climbing up.
The minute that the man pulled his sword out, Guy tightened his grip around the hilt of his own. Swordfighting he could do. He looked to Claude next, trying to read the other's expression and decide how they wanted to deal with this.
"Please," he said. "We're not trying to leave the institute. We're just going to move into the courtyard." Guy already knew that this was a pointless effort, but that didn't stop him from trying.
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Of course, they also had Anise, who was currently scaling the wall, to consider. Claude also didn't have much interest in battling a fellow captive if it could be avoided. Still, even as Guy tried to reason with him, Claude knew it wouldn't go anywhere. The fact this man was brainwashed meant he'd only see the three of them as enemies. But he couldn't exactly blame the other blond for trying, either.
He exchanged glances with Guy, but tried his best not to look too unsure of himself. After all, they still technically outnumbered this man, and they were armed.
"That's right," he added as he looked at the stranger. "We'll be heading back inside once we get into the courtyard."
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Maybe it would buy her a little time, though. Since she was already partway up the wall, Anise continued climbing, pulling herself up to the top. There, she made no move to jump over, but instead turned herself to face back at the field as she crouched there.
If it came to a fight (which was looking pretty likely), Anise knew that the best place for herself was somewhere hard to reach, where she could cast artes without worrying about getting attacked. The downside was that if the stranger turned out to have any ranged attacks, she was a sitting duck with nowhere to move to... but it looked like he was using a sword, so maybe she didn't have to worry about herself. In the meantime, she remained perched there, waiting to see how things would pan out, and making sure she was ready for a fight.
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His eyes slid down back to the other men as they explained their plan for the evening. What they said didn't matter, however. They were going to the courtyard and then to the building? Likely story. The sort of thing anyone would say to get away from an antagonist. Lies. Everyone lied. It was why he had to bring them under his rule and then they would never be able to lie to him again.
"Your lack of cooperation has been noted." Japan tightened the grip on his sword. They would be forced into submission and returned to the building unconscious then. Bringing the sword up, Japan raced forward, aiming at the blond in the lead.
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Guy thought they were going to have better luck with their swords, especially since it was two-on-one, but having Anise's back-up would certainly be appreciated. He wanted to look up at the girl and give her a reassuring look, but it was at that point that the brainwashed man made a comment and then ran toward him with his sword.
That was a sight that Guy had seen his fair share of times already, though he had to admit it brought back a strange sort of nostalgia to be fighting like this here. This was the first real chance he'd gotten to use his new sword, and he couldn't deny that it was exciting in its own way.
His sword came up immediately once the man came close enough in order to parry. Guy still held it one-handed, even though he didn't have a sheath to hold in the other; it was habit. He already was looking for openings and ways to dodge whatever attack might come next, and it was clear that he was now in his element.
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He wasn't sure about the full extent of this man's abilities, but hopefully there wouldn't be any unpleasant surprises. Regardless, there wasn't much time to worry about that. The brainwashed patient charged for Guy, which meant Claude needed to do what he could to back him up.
Gripping onto his sword, the younger blond's feet crunched through the snow as he darted toward the other side of their opponent. Then, he leaped forward and attempted to deliver a strike at the man's exposed back.
He might have been aiming at Guy, but he had him and Anise to worry about as well.
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That wasn't any reason to relax completely, though. They didn't know what this stranger was capable of, which meant he could get the best of them if they weren't careful. Claude seemed to understand that, and was moving in for a pincer attack. Anise needed to do her part, too.
Raising her meat tenderizer like a wand, she began to gather fonons. A dark fonic glyph appeared at her feet, spreading out in the air around the top of the wall, as if carefully balanced there. Since her friends were so close to their attacker, she wasn't sure if she'd get a clear shot with a fonic arte, but if she saw an opening, she was going to be ready to take advantage of it.
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How fitting then, that his opponents were both blond and that the gir--
The girl. A magic user. England.
Japan pushed back against the blond's sword, using hundreds of years of experience and the strength of a Nation at its peak to help him. From behind he could hear someone coming and he needed to get out of the way before he had his back cut as he'd done not so long ago. Switching his grip, Japan turned and took a deep lunge toward the second opponent, thrusting the hilt of his sword up into the man's stomach. It was times like these that Japan was glad he had such a history with the various martial arts. He had to take out England's soldier - and luckily she was on top of a very snowy wall.
As he turned, keeping an eye on the growing circle beneath her feet, Japan brought his sword up to block any incoming attacks from the first opponent and waited for an opening.
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By then, the man had turned his attention toward Claude, doing his best to stab for his gut. They were in such close quarters that there was a good chance that someone was going to be badly injured by the end of this, and yet Guy could only hope that it wasn't one of his friends.
Hopefully Anise could unleash one of her Artes and distract the man for long enough that he or Claude could get a good hit in. Guy would have called this fight unfair if it wasn't for the man's strength and skill. No, at this point they were all going to have to be careful if they wanted to get out of this unharmed.
Moving himself away from the wall so that he couldn't be boxed in, Guy circled around to the fighter's side, waiting for an opportunity to jab the tip of his blade into his flesh. He was hoping to inflict a non-fatal but debilitating wound.
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Of course, he didn't have much time to think things through. Just as he thought his sword might deliver a hit, their opponent turned his hilt onto Claude and jammed it into his stomach. The contrast between the man's slim stature and the sheer strength and speed behind his movements hit the blond like a ton of bricks, driving the breath out of him.
Wide-eyed with shock, Claude struggled for air as he stumbled back, putting a little distance between himself and the dark-haired swordsman. He was aware of Anise gathering the necessary energy for a spell of her own, but he knew he needed to get his act together, and fast. This swordsman had already proved physically stronger than Guy and himself, and there was no doubt he had his sights set on Anise. Claude couldn't go charging in again at that moment, yet letting up for even a moment could prove devastating for the three of them.
Gritting his teeth, he suddenly reached into the inside of his jacket and withdrew his phase gun. The settings were so weak that he doubted it would injure the man outside of a mildly irritating surface burn, but the bright flash and sudden impact might be enough to distract their foe long for a crucial moment -- and create an opening for either Guy or Anise.
He aimed for the general area of the man's head or neck, and pulled the trigger.
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Fortunately, there was now a little space between the attacker and her friends, which meant an opening for her to use her arte. The bad news was that he was watching her. Was he planning to take her down!?
Before Anise could give that much thought, however, a searing white light was released in the man's direction... and from Claude!? Come to think of it, she saw a similar light a few nights ago, in the forest. What kind of technique was that?
Well, whatever it was, it was Anise's chance to strike. "Here it comes! Negative Gate!"
A purple-black glyph, identical to the one beneath Anise's feet, now appeared below her target. From it, dark flames of energy flew upwards, swirled together in a circular motion, then vanished along with the two glyphs. Like physical fire, they caused pain wherever they touched flesh, but unlike fire, they did not catch or spread, nor did they give off heat.
When the spell was done, Anise lowered her arms, tightly gripping the top of the wall with her free hand. She felt a little light-headed, but she wasn't in danger of falling just yet.
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A distraction.
His guard had been broken by that smallest of charges and Japan's eyes widened as he realized that. He turned again to check the blond with the sword and heard something far worse than metal coming for him.
"Here it comes!"
...not good.
Before he had a chance to react, a dark glyph appeared beneath his feet and sent shocks of dark energy up around him. The force of it was like a storm and Japan felt the flame sear his skin as he grit his teeth, trying to withstand it. The pain, however, was great even for a Nation and he dropped to one knee, drawing in on himself as the flames circled around him. England. You'll pay for this. The fire died away and Japan opened his eyes, grimacing. It was painful, but he could survive. He would survive. "..The Empire cannot fall..." he muttered under his breath.
And that girl had to be dealt with. Another blow like that and he'd lose focus. Flipping the short sword around in his right hand, he threw it at the girl on the wall. Even if it didn't stab her, it would at least knock her off balance if it connected. The loss of the wakizashi was regrettable, but right now he had the two other men to watch. Japan pushed himself to his feet and pulled the katana's sheath from his belt, glaring at the two before him - the swordsman and the gunman. "I will not allow the Empire to fall at your hands."
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Claude was one step ahead of him, though. He pulled out that gun; Guy had seen him carrying it around before, but this was the first time that he'd ever seen it fired. He shielded his eyes when the bright flash burst forth and took a few steps back, but when he opened his eyes the brainwashed patient was still standing. It seemed that even a gun wasn't going to be enough to put this guy down.
Anise had finally gotten the chance to deploy an Arte of hers, though, and Guy made sure to give the man an even wider birth as the dark flames assaulted him. That seemed to do the trick, but the man was only out of commission for a short time. Guy really didn't know what he was babbling on about, but it hardly mattered when the next thing he did was toss another short sword straight for Anise.
"Anise, look out!!" Guy yelled as he tensed to attention. Enough was enough. He didn't have the time to see if the girl had gotten out of the way, instead focusing on stopping this guy once and for all. His sword clenched tightly in his hand, Guy swept forward with impressive speed, his arm flinging out to aim a slash at the man's chest.
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