Nostaliga (Delilah/Open)

[Kazuya Hikari]

High above the battlefield, the wind blowing his spiky hair back, Kazuya's expression had grown cooler and calmer with each passing second. Nodding silently at The Storm Dragon's command, with a swift motion of his arm, he would command the twenty-five to begin their descent. As David and Kiyr executed their own assault on the leader of Barker's group, the Lion's men would find twenty-five bodies dropping from the sky, forming a protective circle around Delilah and Olesya, whom Kazuya knew from Public High School #42, but did not recognize.

Dropping down from the sky himself, Kazuya would land moments after, at the head of the circle, turning his head slightly to look behind him at the two girls, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he pulled his own blade free from its sheath on his back.

"... Nice to see you again Delilah. I trust you liked the Christmas present I gave you?"

(OOC: Kazuya's stats:

Strength: 123 (138 when kicking)
Dexterity: 97
Constitution: 127
Intelligence: 101
Wisdom: 105
Charisma: 114)

[Your Mom~]

It took her a split second to realize the battle wasn't turned in her favor. Rather than release her, the Lion-man's fingers tightened around her throat. Olesya couched, fighting for air. She clasped both hands around his wrist, using her forearms to pull herself up slightly to lessen gravity's influence on her choking. With a choked snarl, she dug her fingernails into his skin as deep as they could go, kicking at any available place she could as she swung her around like a rag doll.

Stupid, stupid! How did you get into this mess?! No...!

He swung her in the way of Delilah's sword, using her as a meat shield. Unfortunately, Less could do little more than brace for impact and pray that Delilah had a wicked fast reflex. Suddenly, and without warning, the whole world dropped by a few feet as the man was sucked into his own shadow...!?

Olesya became aware of the new presences around her, relieved that they were in aid. Taking this turn of events to catch her attacker off guard, she tightened her grip on his arm, swinging her feet back slightly before using her momentum and arm strength to swing herself toward her attacker, tucking her legs in and shooting them out in a two foot donkey kick to the face.

She needed to break free from his grasp. The moment his grip faltered she would kick away from him, tumbling backwards to the ground and away, climbing back to her feet and taking a few more steps back.

[Lucien DeChain]

Matjek was just in the process of grinning all evil-bad guy like, having just used Olesya as a shield against Delilah's energy attack. Suddenly, he noticed something like a blur of a jacket swoop down behind him, but, as he turned to look at what it could have been that was able to sneak up on him, there was nothing. WAIT, WHAT THE-

All at once, Kyrie's grounding technique would keep him in place, as David swooped down and snapped the neck of Matjek the Lion. It make a sickening crack, and as David and Kazuya landed, the man would crumple to the ground. If not for Olesya's kicking motions, he would have fell right on top of her, but as it was, Olesya was able to escape his grasp as The Lion dropped in deadweight.

Two of the remaining eight Barker soldiers ran back towards their Armored Personnel Carriers, the other six using their shields to mask their retreat to the nearby APCs. One of them was still unopened, and the two made to open up a very intricate series of locks that kept the doors in place.

The six soldiers formed a solid line of shield, though they seemed to be trembling slightly, and jumping at the continuing sounds of the locks being unlatched. Their steadfastness never faltered, though, not even with the sight of their fallen commander.

Turns until the Dragon forces arrive: 8
Turns until Barker reinforcements arrive: 5
Turns until O.G.R.E.S are loose: 1

Please everyone follow your current stat totals for calculations. :3

[Kyrie Blaze]

As soon as she heard his neck break, Kyrie bounced from the shadows, shaking the disorienting lurch off easily. Her blue eyes, sharp and keen, flew passed the white-blonde woman that was most likely on the ground from the spill, paying her no heed. Her next targets were acquired, and the barrier between them were those with the shields..? They were just an obstacle to overcome.

Whatever they were trying to protect was her target. Obviously, whoever was behind them was important, and thus...thus would be taken out.

Bursting forwards in an immediate sprint, the blonde pushed another sphere of her qi into her hands, and shot it into the shadows at the six's feet--exactly the same way she had entered the Lion's shadow: by extending it to a thin, somewhat flexible pole and directing it into the shadows. Pulling herself through, she spent a split moment within shadow before releasing herself to let the momentum carry her through in a roll along the ground. It helped to ease the disorienting jolt as she rolled to her feet. Her gaze swept around and she pivotted on her feet. With a quick burst of effort and focus, the tiny blonde braced herself as she closed the distance.

One step - which became a slight hop - and her foot connected to the back of one of the two men's legs, and she pushed up, a dagger of jet black, and very sharp, appearing in her hand as she reached around to execute a clean slice through the man's throat. Hopefully, if she was successful, she could turn on the other before the trembling men with their shields could see--

If such was the case, she would thrust her hands out, looking to impale the second with long spikes of shadow, her expression focused. Serene.

. o O ( cause for edit: clarification on how she enters the shadow of the men shielding the two unlocking. )

[Delilah A. Black]

Everything happened so damn fast that it was a wonder that that many events could fit into that short span of seconds that went by. First she thought she was inadvertently going to hit Olesya...then the cavalry arrived and THE BAD GUY DIED.

Not only that, but the Dragon's had come to the rescue. Delilah didn't know if that was just because of Olesya or what...but she was very very grateful to see them.

Still. It was...a lot to take in.

She walked forward a couple of paces towards Olesya, offering her a hand up and a small smile.

"Every time we meet, we always wind up killing a few fools, huh?"

She turned her head to Kazuya with a bright smile as he admitted it was HE who had left Aneko for her to discover in her room in the Crow's Nest. "I did, thank you! Oliver loves Aneko."

Continuing to look around at who had all come flying in to save them, she noticed Kiyr off to the side and, of course, David. She snapped him a quick salute and held her blade at the ready by her side.

Something told her this wasn't over yet.

[Kazuya Hikari]

"... You are most welcome. I am glad to hear your son loves her, she's wanted a good home and loving owners for a long time."

With the leader taken down by the tag team of David and Kiyr, the sickening crack of his neck audible even to Kazuya, his attention would turn to the soldiers as six of them formed a line of defense with their shields, appearing to hide something from view. Without any hesitation, Kazuya would summon a pillar of fire to rise up from beneath them, trying to burn to a crisp as many of the soldiers as he possibly could while making sure not to hit Kiyr and get her caught in the flames.

[David B.]

David would look away from the body as soon as the Lion was forced to see backwards, eyes going to Les and Delilah as she helped the white haired girl to her feet. He didn't check up on them- they might be insulted by his inquiry, and he didn't want that, though he would smile and nod at Delilah as she offered him the salute, giving one of his own in respect.

He would shout for his men to hear.

"MOVE BACK TO BASE- WATCH YOUR ASS AND KEEP FORMATION TIGHT AND IF A MAN DROPS, PICK HIM UP AND MOVE TO THE MIDDLE OF THE GROUP! LETS GO!"

He would stick to the rear of the group, closest to the soldiers leftover. He would then turn to Kaz and Kiyr.

"You two stick back here with me, protect the core. We can only move as fast as our slowest man! Kaz, when i give the signal, light these cars on fire!"

He would start at a jog, keeping to the back as they moved. After a moment, he would point at Kaz to signal him to start. Once Kaz started igniting the vehicles in flames along the sides of the roads, David would hold his hands out to his sides, grunt and strain a moment before a thunderclap, like the sound barrier had been broken, signalled air crushing the flaming cars all at once into the path of anyone who was following, some probably blowing up in the process as both a damage technique and a distraction.

He was not there to get into a war- now was not the time. He was there to save and protect the First Crow and Olesya, and get them safely home.

[Your Mom~]

When she tumbled away from the Cowardly Lion, the earth and sky inverted a couple of times until it righted itself back up. Her head still spun slightly, so when a friendly hand appeared in her vision, the white haired girl gladly took it.

"Thanks Del', kinda hairy back there...whaa?"

Talk about a total lash back. One moment Matjek the Magical was terrorizing our heroes, and the next he was dead and his compatriots scattered. So much was happening at once that Olesya could hardly follow what was going on.

"MOVE BACK TO BASE- WATCH YOUR ASS AND KEEP FORMATION TIGHT AND IF A MAN DROPS, PICK HIM UP AND MOVE TO THE MIDDLE OF THE GROUP! LETS GO!"

Basically 'Get your ass in gear and get out of here, leave no man behind.' A couple of Matjek's men we still around, reforming their shaken ranks, taking to the defensive. There was no better time to move. Forgetting her scavenge pack, Olesya moved quickly, running in the same direction as the rest of the soldiers. Her kaleidoscope eyes caught sight of a fallen soldier nursing a twisted ankle.

Olesya swooped in, crouching in front of the injured man. After a quick once-over, she picked him up in a fireman's carry and took off again, hampered slightly by the man's weight.

----

ooc: Stats are taking the following hits as long as she is carrying the injured soldier:

-10 Str
-10 Dex
-10 Con

[Lucien DeChain]

As Kyrie killed the two men with brutal efficiency, only a slight gurgling sound was heard, as blood dripped from their newfound orifices. Though, the stench of blood was everywhere.

A rumbling could be heard coming from the locked APC.

Kazuya, meanwhile, lit a fire under the feet of the six soldiers in the line. Soon after, the screaming started. All six of them screamed, but they held the line as they burned alive. Didn't even try to escape.

The locked APC was now visibly shaking, rocking back and forth. The locked door shook and clacked.

And, as David's orders were followed, and everyone got into formation to run, the six soldiers dropped to the ground, dead.

The locked door of the APC bent outwards. Then a little more. Then, the heavy locks snapped and the door burst open, revealing two O.G.R.E.S running at full sprint towards them. Screaming, grunting, teeth gnashing.

O.G.R.E.S. (x2)
Super Experiments

Str: 90
Dex: 70
Con: 100
Int: 20
Wis: 20
Cha: 10

Turns until the Dragon forces arrive: 7
Turns until Barker reinforcements arrive: 4

[Kyrie Blaze]

The blonde's expression didn't shift, though her nose did wrinkle slightly as the metallic tang of rushing, gushing blood sprayed the ground and container. With a deep breath, she accepted the blood and the deaths as the price of defence of the lives of those that were kin. The lives of those she didn't know. The lives of those she cared for. Even loved. Her eyes glinted as she wheeled away from the crumpling bodies, vaulting herself over the burning bodies with a pole of shadow as she heeded David's command, landing, rolling, and bursting back to her feet in a dead sprint to close the distance. The sounds behind her disturbed her, but she didn't look back until she crossed to David's flank. It was then, helping to being up the rear, that she observed the booming, explosive technique of two qis used in tandem. Her hair flared back in its braid, and she winced at the sound, her sensitive ears protesting the crack.

Still, whatever had been in the containers was large and powerful enough to shake them. The blonde kept a sharp eye out, but moved fluidly with the group, even as she gestured to the containers.

"David, the containers--"

With a sickening crack and rending of metal, the containers practically exploded. And what rushed towards them caused her to pale, but her eyes to narrow, twin blades of shadow rushing to be grasped in her hands. She was not afraid for herself, though she could tell that by strength and speed alone they far outclassed her.

"Push harder!" She cried over her shoulder without removing her gaze from the O.G.R.E.S. that rushed headlong towards the group. "Incoming massive Hostiles!"

Bracing herself, Kyrie's jaw tightened as she awaited David's orders, though she could potentially think of a few ways of getting close enough to kill them.

[Your Mom~]

Olesya heard the clashing of metal and the snarls behind her. At the blonde's shout, the white haired woman looked back, face paling as she noticed the two new hostiles added to the mix. What the fuck had Barker been up to!?

Readjusting the injured soldier on her shoulders, Olesya took off to as close as a dead sprint as she could with the added weight of the casualty. The O.G.R.E.S. were just a bit faster, and she could feel them closing in. If she didn't have the dead weight, Les could probably have outrun them, but not like this.

Damn damn damn! She cursed with every footfall, trying to put as much distance between herself and the O.G.R.E.S. as possible. She couldn't stop to hand off the injured soldier, nor would she leave him behind. She'd fight if she absolutely had to, but right now her priority was to make sure she and her men got out with as few causalities as possible.

[Kazuya Hikari]

Ignoring the screams of agony from the soldiers, the fire pillar would burn them to a crisp, leaving them charred and without any discernible facial features. He didn't like the intense rocking and shaking from the container, and would continue to concentrate on burning the soldiers. Hearing David shout, Kazuya made sure all the men heard the order, and keeping to the rear of the group as he turned to David, he would give a simple nod of his head just as the six soldiers fell to the ground, dead.

And then the doors of the APC bent outwards, the locks snapped and the doors slammed open, two of the creatures they had encountered in Underground Facility 1 & 2 charging towards them, screaming, grunting, gnashing. As soon as David pointed as him, Kazuya set the cars on fire, lighting them up instantly, and let David handle the rest. The cars might not be enough to stop the O.G.R.E.S though, and as a secondary set of defense, as well as to help Olesya out as she carried an injured soldier, Kazuya would summon a wall of fire behind them as they kept moving, making the fire as hot as he possibly could. If it came down to it, he'd take the two creatures on.

[David B.]

His eyes widened at the beasts that exploded outward, immediately following Kiyrs warning.

'what in the name of all thats unholy...?'

Having hurled cars into the mix, David would use the wind to carry his words to the group.

"OLESYA, YOU HAVE COMMAND! KIYR, STAY WITH THE GROUP AND COVER THE REAR WITH DELILAH! KAZUYA-WITH ME, TIME TO SEE IF BARKERS BEASTS CAN BLEED!"

David stopped and turned, facing the running monsters head on. It was very obvious why he was doing this- these beasts were powerful, and far too fast for any of his men to keep up. These beasts would overrun them in no time, and tear his soldiers to pieces. It was up to the Elder and the General to step in and sacrifice what was needed to protect their people. To show courage in the face of fear.

To fight nightmares.

David would grin wickedly, and stick out a fist for Kazuya to bump.

"Lets kick some ass."

David would launch forward, a dark shadow of air blasting off his body and propelling him forward, directly toward the monster on his right, looking like he was headed for the clawed right arm. Once close enough, David would dash toward the right and leap inward, aiming a mighty right uppercut for the midsection of the first grotesque monstrosity.

[Delilah A. Black]

She chuckled at Olesya's comment--before a loud crashing noise drew her attention in tandem with Kiyr's warning.

"Shit."

Delilah hated being right.

"OLESYA, YOU HAVE COMMAND! KIYR, STAY WITH THE GROUP AND COVER THE REAR WITH DELILAH! KAZUYA-WITH ME, TIME TO SEE IF BARKERS BEASTS CAN BLEED!"

Hold up the flank and guard the retreating soldiers? Sounded like a plan.

It might mean she wouldn't be able to get her hands dirty, but a fight won was still a fight won. Didn't matter who did the slaughtering.

She backpedaled quickly to the left side and a ways behind of where Kazuya and David would be fighting the...giant experiments, while making sure Olesya's back was covered as they followed the army out.

[Lucien DeChain]

The O.G.R.E.S blast through the fiery sonicboom with relative ease. The technique would have blown any other regular soldier away, but the barbaric experiments rampaged through, heading straight for the closest targets - Namely, David and Kazuya.

As David moved in to the first opponent, his uppercut slammed into the stomach of the massive mound of flesh and metal. The O.G.R.E's body curled over from the force of the punch, and the wind was knocked out of the giant creature from the sudden stop. The only other reaction from the creature was a raise of his head to meet David's, and a giant roar as it made to grab David's face in his massive metal palm, as the fleshy arm wound back to prepare for a powerful fist-slam aimed for David's head.

The second O.G.R.E. would make a beeline right for Kazuya, roaring menacingly.

Turns until the Dragon forces arrive: 6
Turns until Barker reinforcements arrive: 3