lucetilogs | Being unconquerable lies with yourself; being conquerable lies with your enemy.

[Stepping on that gear and moving! He grips as hard as he can, body jerking at the sudden thrust of the waver forward, trying not to fall off. Damn, this sucks.]

[Could be worse. She'll just keep telling herself that, doing her best to maintain balance and shifting their weight to help keep them upright. At least there's enough thundercloud to work with now, but getting a little distance so they're not at ground zero first is a good call--]

[And they're out of patience, now.

She never sees the strike aimed at them from behind, but she certainly feels it-- a blade slicing down across her back, catching the edge of one wing and shearing through flesh and feathers alike.

Nami doesn't scream. The shock of the attack on her wing hits before she can even draw a breath-- and her grip on Ted goes boneless as she falls against him heavily. Sorry, Ted. You weren't trying to keep balance or anything, were you?]

Nami, wha---?! [He had been, sadly, but the way she slumped against him alarmed him immediately, and he looks back at her, forgetting for a moment to steer properly.] Nami!!

[Losing his grip for a moment to try catching her, keep her from flying away instead, he underestimates just how weak his control over the waver is. He yelps as it skids against the ground, throwing both of them forward haphazardly as they practically fly forward, down the side of the building. The waver goes first, and Ted barely pays attention to it as he attempts to grab the side of the building, intending to stop them from the descent. However, with one arm trying to keep Nami close, and the other just barely gripping what little part he could to prevent the fall, it was hardly an easy task.

... It doesn't even take him five seconds to fall.]

Edited 2010-12-20 07:01 (UTC)

[The crunch of the waver hitting the ground sixty feet below isn't very reassuring, splintering on impact; with a metallic ringing sound, Nami's two sections of climatact precede Ted to the ground by a matter of seconds, hitting with a clang and bouncing, skittering across the street in opposite directions.

Nami is ~~useless~~ limp in Ted's grip and doesn't react to either, but that does mean she's spared the panic of falling. This is going to hurt.]

[There was a moment of silence that gripped his consciousness as his fingers lost hold, and for a moment everything seemed to go in slow motion. In a way, he hasn't exactly been afraid of death, and wondered if this was going to be how he first dies in this place. Falling off a building while being chased by some crazy bastards who seriously need to pick on guys their own size.

Then he remembered he wasn't the only one here, and reality came crashing back to him. His hold has loosened on Nami, and she was in danger of falling before him. Instinctively, perhaps due to sanity having left him, he pulled her close, arm wrapped so tightly around her that it would normally be considered suffocating, while the other hand tried to reach for anything to grab on, bouncing off the wall like a ball at any attempt. There was a short moment where he was able to grab onto a ledge, but gravity is a bastard and it didn't last him more than a second before it pull him down, nearly dislocating his arm in the process to stopping the fall.

It was enough though. Going down directly was fatal, he knew, but this momentary delay was enough that perhaps when they land, he could at least assure that they were still breathing.

He didn't anticipate the telltale CRACK!! nor the agonizing pain that came along with it, however, and he let out a choked cry as he let go of Nami. Feathers. He forgot about the wings. Did it break?

He swallows down a sob, lying limp on the ground. Dying wouldn't really be bad right now, would it? Damn it.]

[Nami flops like a ragdoll, cushioned for the briefest of moments by Ted before she hits the ground herself, coming to a stop in a jumble of limbs a few feet away, the back of her shirt stained crimson and one wing half-stripped of feathers. The wing itself is intact, but she's not moving, though her fingers twitch briefly.

Some of those missing feathers are floating down to the street around them now. They're followed by the slow, deliberate landing of the Elites as they come down through the mist in a half circle on Ted's right, quiet as you please under the unnatural clouds. Well, it's not as if you're going anywhere now, is it?]

[For the love of...

Ted pushes himself of the ground, panting harshly from the effort. He hadn't realized just how valuable the wings were, never really injuring them to this extent before. The dizziness that overcame him made him want to throw up, but he forced himself to ignore it. Not the time. He glared at the Third Party, very aware that Nami was still unconscious.

The Soul Eater rune wasn't here anymore. He knew this. Though he dreaded it's powers more than anything, it was always there when he was in a fix like this. Not now though. Not anymore. He wasn't going to lose comrades to that rune here, that was what he decided before. To hell if he was going to abandon Nami because of fear. He may not lose her to the Soul Eater, but losing her to these guys wasn't an option he'd prefer either.

But his bow and quiver were missing. They must have landed a bit away too. He grit his teeth, pushing himself to his knees first, trying to keep focused. Did he have scrolls with him? He lightly touched his side with his free hand, ignoring the ache caused from the movement. The pouch was still there. He has them then.]

You guys really need to give up sometime. [He snarks, grinning at them despite the pain. Geez.] I'm your opponent here, got it?

[Now if only he could back up those words. Going to have to rely on spells until he gets a hold on a weapon then.]

[It's simple arithmetic where they're concerned. Ted is moving. Nami isn't. Ergo, the challenge here is not the navigator on the floor.

Not that they consider you much of a challenge, mind. But now, after such an irritating chase and when death for the quarry seems inevitable, they may as well take their annoyance out on the last man standing.

Five of them. Four armed with swords, one armed with a chakram still bloodied on one edge. That one stays back-- but the other four don't apparently believe in attacking one at a time, either.

Good luck?]

Edited 2010-12-20 12:50 (UTC)

[He doesn't even bother thinking twice when all four of them charge. That is just low, you bastards. Instead, he grabs the first scroll he could get and immediately summons a Fire Wall to get three of them. The fourth one was a little hard to block, especially given his was struggling with wing damage, an aching arm, and his legs still being wobbly from dizziness. But he only needed one of them to come close at least.

Once he gets close enough? Ted's going to put all his concentration on his legs to tackle him.] I'll be taking that, thank you. [He says as he grabs for the sword. He needed a weapon right now, after all, and he wasn't letting himself completely rely on a limited amount of scrolls until then.]

[Ted had a crippled wing and shouldn't have been an issue-- it's the one thing that tips the scales in his favour, their underestimation of his strength-- which means for this one attack, he is wildly successful. The Fire Wall ensnares his targets, and the flames and startled cries is enough to distract the fourth one just long enough for Ted's tackle to work-- mostly. He can close his hands on the sword, yanking it out of the Elite's grip just as the Elite's free hand comes round in a fist to slam into his jaw.

The one with the chakram is circling outward, ever so slowly, coming close to Ted's peripheral line of vision. The three caught in the Fire Wall seem more annoyed than truly injured by it. And Ted is quickly reassessed in their eyes. They won't make such a slip again.]

[Ted held onto the sword and pulls away, ignoring the additional ache to his jaw courtesy of his weapon donor. But now that he has that, he can't waste too much time. He pulls out a second scrolls, Fire Arrows this time. Terribly weak compared to the previous one, but it's range was larger and it could probably hit the three of them again, including the one with the chakram. He needed to get rid of the closest one right after that.

He doesn't even wait to see if it was successful, aiming immediately for the head of his enemy. No time to think of the consequences. Just fight and hope he wins.]

[It hits two of them-- the swordsmen are separating and circling more aggressively in the wake of that Fire Wall scroll, presenting less of a bunched target. It hurts them, but not enough-- still on their feet, one of them now moving with difficulty, but still coming. The one with the chakram is hit, and flaps his wings with a sound distinctly like a growl of annoyance-- and takes to the air, vanishing upward as Ted charges the weaponless Elite. They're fast dispersing enough that he won't be able to keep all of them in his field of vision. Less inclined to underestimate him. Still playing.

The Elite twists aside more than enough for the blade to bite into his shoulder instead, face full of hate--but he merely lifts his other hand, summoning fire to throw right back at Ted, akin to the fireballs that slammed into the wall earlier. Just one. At close range, perhaps it's more than enough.]

Edited 2010-12-20 14:11 (UTC)

For th--- [He jumps back, forcefully pulling the blade out to escape the hit. He barely manages to dodge it, and he cries out in surprise when it hits his side. It wasn't fatal, he can still move, but it hurt and added more to the unnecessary injuries. He backs up this time. No good, they can use magic too. He'd need to damage them more.

And he didn't have any healing spells left, and he's sure whatever healing supplies he had was now long gone thanks to the chase earlier. Crap. He pulls out another scroll. Thunder Runner. Not as effective against multiple opponents, but good enough. He aims it at the weaponless one, trying to keep him down while figuring out how to fight the rest of them.

Not good. Not good. Was he always this weak?]

[The weaponless one is bleeding heavily, lip curled back as he starts to summon more fire. The Thunder Runner spell hits him far more effectively than the sword, blasting into him and sending him twitching to the ground. One down.

The remaining three...hang back. Just for a moment. One of them Shifts the air around his hand, condensing the mist around him into long, sharp spikes of ice. It's a distracting and ominous sight, but that's not where the attack comes from.

There's a chakram, deadly blade spinning, flung from the air above on a direct course for Ted's already injured wing.]

[He hears the sound too late, and the pain registers so fast that it makes him stumble forward, tripping down to the ground with a yell. His already aching arm finally gave out, and he released his hold on the sword, putting more energy in trying to stay conscious.

No no no no no. Not yet. He hasn't kept her safe. It was fine if she was safe, right? They might...

He struggles, trying to push himself up, but it was tiring and he ends up collapsing again, one fist slamming to the ground in frustration. If only these wings didn't affect their life so much, this would be easier.]

[No mercy to those in the Luceti village. Isn't that how it goes?

Remember those ice spikes, Ted? They're coming your way.]

[He reacts out of instinct, nothing else, throwing a fire scroll in order to stop the ice spikes. He doesn't catch all of them though, and some pass through easily and hits his burnt side, as well as his arm and a leg. He can feel the dampness seeping on his clothes. Blood. Not good. Not good.

Please wake up and get out of here soon, Nami.]

[And now that you're down, weaponless and bleeding, the swordsmen close in, intent on finishing the job. They still move with care-- they already underestimated you once, after all. But don't think they'll be fast about it.]

[He's pretty much accepted he's doomed by now, especially when one of them finds his pouch and yanks it away, and the other steps on his hand just as he tries to reach for the sword, and he lets out a strangled cry at that. He was practically trying to crush it down, and if the bone wasn't broken yet, it was going to be soon, or that's how Ted felt. The others were even less merciful, probably angry because he had been cheeky then, and one stabbed him, quite literally, in the back. No vitals were hit though, he guessed, or what he could guess, but for Ted it barely made a difference. His head was swimming in pain, and he can't even focus on anything anymore. Someone kicked his already mangled wing, and the crack that followed was so loud it was deafening, to Ted at least. A sword to the arm, the legs, boots digging into his wrist, a blow to the neck that--- had it been stronger-- would have killed him. At some point he felt someone kick his head, forcing him to roll across the ground like a rag doll, leaving his front open and crushing his wing even further under his weight.

And someone practically stomped on his stomach, making him cough out blood, stopping the screams he had been letting out since the start. His throat was already raw, and he couldn't see anything anymore, and all he wanted to do was black out already. By now, they were just mocking him, practically rolling him about with strong kicks to the side and to his head.

Man, he was a mess. He laughed weakly, looking up, not really seeing anything. Any more pain and he'd feel complete numbness, and he's sure it'll be over then.]

[Not even. He might catch the yellow flare of light above even in his blurred vision, striking upwards into the clouds. She's barely moved from her prone position on the ground. She doesn't need to.

She's sorry it took her so long to wake up, Ted.]

Thunderbolt Tempo.

[And then the sky opens up, lightning arcing down to strike everything it can under those dark clouds - buildings, posts, superheating and destroying anything remotely fragile as it goes. Elites. It hits the chakram-wielder first, then the others, driving through them into the ground, close enough for heat to wash over Ted.

She can't make this any gentler, without the power cap. But she doesn't want to, either.]

Edited 2010-12-20 15:46 (UTC)

[Ted barely registers the flash of light, or the wave of heat. Considering his state though, he wondered if that was a sign that he was about to pass. It felt different before, but then before he didn't exactly wind up in a bloody mess like this.

Damn, he was pretty sure the next time he revives, he was going to get an earful from everyone.

He doesn't pass out yet though, but he was dangerously close. He can even feel his fingers anymore.]

[It's very quiet for a few moments. It may feel longer to Ted-- Nami's getting enough of her equilibrium back to crawl in his direction. She's painfully aware one of her wings is damaged; everything hurts to move, and she's having trouble seeing straight herself. And her back is on fire.

But that's it. Nothing compared to the mess in front of her. She wants to draw him up to try and rest his head in her lap and make him more comfortable, at least. She's too afraid to touch him in case she makes it worse.

She does eventually, a gentle hand resting on his shoulder and applying the faintest pressure, trying to get his attention. The other hand is fishing in the pockets of her capris, looking for the potion Sanji gave her.]

Ted.

[His name?

Ted blinks owlishly, vision still blurry, though his hearing seemed fine. Somehow. It took him a while to figure out what was going on, who was calling him, but when he did...]

Nami, you're okay. [He cracked a weak smile to the equally weak statement, voice hoarse and too quiet from shouting and blood and...] I'm g--- [He coughs, body lurching forward for a second and letting him remember the searing pain that came with all the damage. Damn it.]

Of course I'm okay! [Comparatively. Don't mind the snapping; she's freaking out just a little. Her questing fingers have found broken glass, and it's only now she's become aware that her pants leg is damp. The potion bottle is broken. Not surprising, if they fell. Even so, she's determinedly trying to extricate the bottle to see if any can be salvaged, because she has a horrible feeling it's desperately going to be needed.]

Just hold on, all right? I'll get you back to the medical tent.

Being unconquerable lies with yourself; being conquerable lies with your enemy.

[PRETENDS FOREVER]

[SEE NOW I HAVE THE BENNY HILL THEME GOING IN MY HEAD.] 1/2

[We'll fix that 8|a]

[Oh dear!]

[In apology for leeching the comedy let us now be scenic]

[All good comedies come to a tragic end?]

[Indeed. Smashing success though! /badum-tish]

[Can the Third Party be considered birds now? Coz birds hate Ted.]

[They're either that or Clamp extras]

[DAMMIT CLAAAAAAAMMMPPP]

[/starts dramatic orchestra backing for climactic showdown]

[/popcorn.gif at this fight]

[/throws dramatic sakura petals and feathers everywhere]

[/plays dramatic violin music]

[/blows up Tokyo tower--uh. That ...tall structure over there.]

[/... Eiffel?!]

[...I dunno :|a What's the tallest building in Luceti?]

[... Probably the coliseum or the community buildings. :|d]

[.../BLOWS THEM ALL UP]

[.../BLOWS THEM ALL UP]

[...'kay, now I'll really blow them all up 8Db]

[GO GO GO NAMI FRY THEM TO A CRISSSSP]

[Nami used improbable weather powers! It's super effective!]

[Third Party is blasting off again!]

[...see now I'm just picturing the general as James.]

[I bet he has a fancy rose too. :|]

[And a tendency to dress in drag on the weekends?]

[No one will be the wiser.]

[No wonder everyone who fought him had to die today. NO WITNESSES.]

[LE GASP. THE FIEND!]

[WE'RE ON TO HIS SECRETSSS]

[OSHI--- WE MIGHT BE TARGETED NEXT D8]

[D8! .../DISTRACTS HIM WITH PURPLE SATIN DRESSES]

[/THROWS HIGH HEELS AT HIM AND RUNS]

[QUICK! LET'S FINISH THE THREAD WHILE HE'S FONDLING THE STILETTOS!]

[HURRY HURRY DAMMIT THOSE WERE MY BEST PAIR D8]

[O-OKAY! HNNNNNGH /types]

[/tyyyppppeeeesss]

[Done. YOU'LL NEVER CATCH US NOW B|]