you're in the jungle, baby / you gonna die

[lucetimods]

Who: All draftees
What: Fighting the Third Party... and perhaps the wildlife.
When: June 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th. (Characters will be pulled out at 11:59 of the 6th.)
Where: An as-yet unmapped by the Malnosso tropical rainforest.
Summary: Here are your details. Try to stay alive, won't you?
Rating: Anywhere from PG to R

Comments

[subethical]

[The phrase 'just as planned' wouldn't be inappropriate here.

Jade met a similar soldier leaping out at him from the ground cover when Luke stepped forward to approach Ion. Unsurprised, Jade leaped forward to meet him, but quickly side-stepped in the last instance, running his spear through the soldier's middle. You could blame it on his experience, but it seemed almost as if he was expecting this sort of result. Odd.]

Quite unlucky today, aren't we Fon Master? [Jade doesn't sound surprised, or even irritated, more amused than anything. In fact, it's rather odd that you've been falling into so many traps, isn't it Ion? You think that walking beside Jade would perhaps be safer.

Awh well. There are other things to worry about for the moment, as Jade dashes forward to tangle with soldier number two. Unfortunately, Ion's upsidedownness isn't currently one of these things. In fact, it's actually rather useful for Ion to be up and out of the range of fire. For the moment at least, the other party members don't have to be concerned with giving him cover.]

[seleniahymn]

[Tear almost lets out an exasperated sigh when she catches sight of the Fon Master being pulled up into yet another trap, . But like the other two her attention is drawn to the soldiers that came at the trap's signal. Quickly she moves into a position so that she could both defend Ion and their party if needed and attack one of the approaching winged soldiers. Like Jade she sees the convenience of having Ion in his current position, no matter how awkward it was.]

Nevermind, we have to keep focus! [As she strikes down one of soldiers with a calculated blow on his shoulder her attention focuses on the one battling Luke. Throwing one of her knives at him, with the intent to distract him long enough for the redhead to obtain more of an advantage.]

[soreplaceable]

[Meanwhile, Ion can only watch from above as the third party soldiers begin to swarm over the group. There was no way they only just now found them... how long were they being followed? He feels so helpless, just hanging up here. Had he been the one to reveal their position?]

[He scans the area, hoping to see if any other soldiers were going to reveal themselves so he could at least warn them... it didn't seem as though there were very many others around right now.]

[But he does notice the video around his ankle suddenly jerk downwards a few inches. His eyes flutter upwards... those vines didn't look very thick...]

[cakeblocked]

[There was no way you could get into a battle with a soldier and not kill them. Luke knew that, and he's at least to the point where he won't hesitate before going through with the killing strike.

The same applies when Tear's throwing knife hits the soldier in the shoulder blade, making him cry out. Luke merely grits his teeth before he drives his sword forward and through his opponent's chest, cringing just a little over the sound it made and the flip flop of his stomach as a result. It was a quick kill, which Luke had been going for ever since he started, and he pulled his sword out of the soldier's body and looked away as the body fell forward, searching for more soldiers who might be after his comrades.]

Jade! [Luke dashed forward towards Jade's opponent, hoping that Jade would take the hint and let Luke fight while he prepared a spell. The tree was shaking - there were more soldiers up there, just waiting to strike.]

[subethical]

[Luckily, this particular group has had the advantage of fighting together before and for a very long time, so when Luke shouts for Jade's attention, he immediately falls back, leaving the more physical aspects of their battle to him.

Jade raises his hand, and a glowing glyph appears below him as he concentrates. If all goes well, in a few moments they should hear a familiar chant. It wasn't the most powerful spell, but it also seemed to have very little chance of accidentally damaging Ion the vines Ion was hanging from.] "O violent torrent... Splash!"

[seleniahymn]

[Following Luke and Jade's lead Tear raises her own hand, summoning forth a small but powerful Pow Hammer above the head of the soldier who had engaged Jade, followed by a quick turn toward the shaking tree. Her eyes flicked upward, taking note of the vines holding Ion loosening. There was also the shaking of what was undoubtedly surrounding soldiers.

With silent determination she raised her staff, summoning forth enough fonons for her Barrier. It could buy them some time to at least secure Ion's safety and delay the next wave.]

O tune of unyielding protection! Kuroa Ryuo Zue Tue Ryuo Rei Neu Ryuo Zue...

[soreplaceable]

[The traps set by the third party were both simplistic and intricate. Simplistic in that their only effect was being pulled high up into a tree. Intricate in that the single rope of vines wrapped around Ion's ankle was connected to a number of other vines intertwining with the branches above.]

[Branches that had been snapped and broken when the previous third party members jumped out. Only one was left.]

[Ion doesn't even have time to cry out as a loud snap echoes from above, the branch holding Ion up finally snapping and sending Ion plummeting to the ground. The back of his head slams into the ground with a loud crack before he falls limply to the side. The branch, having been mostly broken by the aforementioned third party, narrowly misses landing on top of him.]

[He isn't moving.]

[cakeblocked]

[The Splash spell connects, sending troops flying awkwardly to the ground below, some of their impacts fatal, the rest left winded. Luke finishes off the soldier in front of him with a well-aimed Raging Blast and sword combination, and the warrior's last dying moment makes Luke not hear the snap of the branch that was holding Ion up in the air.

He does, however, hear the crack, and when he turns to see the cause of it - ]

Ion!

[There isn't a tone of irritation this time. Luke rushes to get to him, only for his path to be cut off by a soaking wet soldier. He grits his teeth and fights, clashing swords against his opponent and takes a few steps back, readjusting his priorities again. Keep whatever soldiers that are still alive away from Ion - let Tear handle getting him to safety.]

Tear, help Ion!

[subethical]

Luke! Focus! [This was unfortunate. He'd expected a bit too much of their enemy, it seemed, if their trap was so poorly built. Perhaps it had been thrown together in a hurry. Sloppy work indeed, and needlessly irritating.

But far more importantly, one of their number was now seriously injured, if not dead. Ignoring the possible loss of life, it was first and foremost a severe distraction on the battle field, to all of them, but to Luke most especially. If anything was to be done for Ion, their enemies had to be taken out quickly, before they were able to take advantage of the situation. On top of this, Ion had sustained an injury to his head, if not his neck, and moving him was neither wise nor an easy task when they were under fire. Any moment now Tear's barrier would fade, and they'd be left at a complete disadvantage.

Jade dashed over to stand above Ion, once again briefly closing his eyes to concentrate. This was a flashy move, and it would surely draw nearly every enemy in the area to their location, but it would buy them some time. A giant glyph flickered to life beneath Jade's feet, surrounding both him and Ion, and as he chanted several more appeared in the air, sending up a beacon of light into the sky.]

I, who stand in the full light of the heavens command thee, who opens the gates of hell. Come forth, Divine Lightning! This ends now!
INDIGNATION!

[seleniahymn]

Ion! [Panic nearly paralyzes her as her blue eyes follow the beginning of the Fon Master's descent, legs carrying her so that she was now crouching over him protectively. Those feelings she had had during the experiment when they believed they were brother and sister, the were so strong now as she tries to clear her head of the fear that he wasn't moving. They had to get him to safety, out of here. She had to protect everyone and not fail them.

Her little brother...]

Va Neu Zue Toue Neu Toue Rei Toue Ryuo Toue Kuroa... [Heal and replenish everyone with her Holy Song, raise their defense and attack capabilities at once. She needed to focus on the group as a whole right now, it was the best way for them to get out of this situation alive.]

[cakeblocked]

[Indignation hits like a thousand lightning bolts from the sky, which was surely a beacon for everyone, enemy and ally alike. Even though Tear's Holy Song makes him feel stronger and the aches to go away, Luke can't help looking at the sky in dread before staring at their surroundings. The tree Ion was in is partially destroyed now, and the soldiers didn't even stand a chance against the power of that spell.

Luke had never seen that arte before. It was amazing... but at the moment, Luke can't dwell on that. Even he knew what such a flashy move meant.

He gripped his sword in his hand and stepped in front of the group, eyes on their surroundings and watching for signs of movement, and he waved his hand back in a gesture for them to go.]

Go, get Ion out of here! I'll back you guys up!

[subethical]

Not so fast Luke. It could be dangerous to move him. Tear, have you healed all of his injuries? [Jade knelt down by Ion, and gently placed a hand on his neck to search for a pulse. Tear's seventh fonons would be useless to them if Ion had died in that fall. They didn't have the resources nor the time to cart around a deceased party member. On top of that, Jade doubted the other two would leave him in either case.

Luckily, Ion's pulse was steady, and his breathing was regular. Still, there was no way to judge if Ion had sustained any severe internal injuries. Jade took a moment to deliberate. All of Ion's visible injuries had been healed by Tear's last spell. Ion was alive. There was no time to construct a brace of any sort, and if they left him here he would probably die. They would simply have to deal with the consequences of moving him if they arose later. Jade lifted Ion to carry himself.] Nevermind. There's no time.

Luke, if you're going to cover us, don't fall too far behind, and don't get separated. I doubt we would be able to find you again.

[seleniahymn]

I'll work on it now. [Without hesitation she begins to cast Healing Circle on the boy, hoping to lessen the extent of the injuries so his transportation to the base camp would not be as painful. Yet the dire situation was not enough to distract her from what Luke had just suggested, that he stay while they took Ion to safety.

Just as he would back home once they defeated Van.]

Luke... [There was no point in arguing it, not when it was the only way they could get the Fon Master to safety. That didn't mean she had to like it.] ... Come back to us.

[cakeblocked]

[For a moment Luke just faces beyond them, sword tense and ready, and nodded to Jade's words. He'd follow them once they'd leave, though he'd keep his distance. He didn't want to alert the soldiers to where the group was heading.

Once Tear speaks up, though... Luke turns to look straight at her and offer a nod, plus a reassuring smile.]

I will. I promise.

[They'd better get a move on, though, because Luke can already hear some rustling from far away, closing in.]

[subethical]

[What an oddly similar situation... but there was no time to ponder the meaning of that.

Jade gives Luke a farewell nod, and shifts Ion into an easier position for him to be carried. He too, heard the rustling--they couldn't afford to waste any more time on well-wishing.] Tear. Let's go.

[seleniahymn]

Right. [She'll just have to hope that they come back in time to help Luke as she quickly took the lead, trying not to look back at him.]