Event || Esdham Under Fire

[melodiesmods]

Characters: Anyone.
Where: Republic of Esdham
When: From the 15th to the 18th of January
Summary: Event log for the Esdham Under Fire event. Feel free to start your thread and put in the header where your character is, when and what they are doing. refer to the OOC Post for details and plotting.
Warning: Battles, possible death and war horror.

Aqures Ixen
The Army Attacked
Transport from Aqures Ixen
The Coliseum on Fire
Rescuing the Civilians
Protecting the Airport and Mognet Office
The Bevelle
Attack on the Presidential Palace (Boss Battle)
Misc.

Comments

Rescuing the Civilians

[melodiesmods]

[ Reply here for any threads occurring in the context of the "Rescuing the Civilians" part of the event. ]

Rescuing the Civilians - Zelda

[goddessofthesky]

It had been a rush leaving the city and she felt the whole situation slip away from her in a blur. She had wanted to stay behind but she couldn't stop the worrying bubbling up from her core. She quickly rushed through the city with her sword and staff in hand. She hadn't had time to learn to use her bow yet so she relied on the skills she had when she first awoke to this world.

"This way! Hurry!" Her voice rang clear over the frantic crowd as they ran away from their homes. They had worked to clear a path and now they just needed to keep it that way. She watched the chaos over take the city trying her best to help those left behind.

Zelda's golden hair was tided back with a few loose strains falling to the side of her face as she moved. She watched as monsters roamed through the streets with their sights on the fleeing civilians. She stands between the people and the creatures as they get closer preparing to do what she can to save those trying to escape.

Re: Rescuing the Civilians - Zelda

[line_piece]

[At some point during all of this, Zelda will likely catch sight of Chiaki out among the townsfolk, trying to do the same thing. You usually get pretty good sidequest rewards for not letting civilians die, but more than that, she just plain doesn't want anyone to die in an attack like this.]

Here, let me help.

[She stops to kneel down next to an injured person, focusing on her staff for a moment as she casts a Cure spell and quickly ushering them along to follow the others down safe escape paths. Chiaki works her way through the crowd like this, her moogle Mogomi providing cover fire in the form of periodic Thundara spells.]

Rescuing the Civilians - Zelda

[goddessofthesky]

Zelda tried to keep up with those who need healing and fighting off the monsters that approached the group with her blade. Her eyes landed on Chiaki who was doing the same as her and seemed to be having an easier time of it with her moogle there to help.

"Chiaki focus on getting people away. Let me cover you." She swung her sword in an arc slicing through the monsters that were slowly getting close to the line of people escaping. The fire was becoming more manageable but the monsters were sending never ending waves at them.

Rescuing the Civilians - Zelda

[loyalflower]

The civilians were having problems getting away. He saw that plainly and, though he didn't fully understand what had happened yet, he had to help them escape. The steel of his blade glinted in the sun as stormed onto the scene, cutting down monsters that drew too near to the crowd. He was tired-- he had been there from the outset, and it showed in the mud that stuck to his boots and the dirt that marre his face-- but this was something he couldn't just stand beside and watch.

While he was still far from considering himself a hero, he was merely doing what he thought was right.

"You looked like you could use a hand," He said in a jesting tone as he locked eyes with Zelda

Rescuing the Civilians - Zelda

[goddessofthesky]

She smiled at his arrival but the grin was quickly pulled from her lips. She swung her sword across and then down slicing through the monster as it got close. She had only arrived a few hours before and she quickly noticed his fatigue.

"Would you like me to heal you? You look tired." Zelda quickly stepped next to Guy holding her sword out to protect her exposed side.

[kobatonotdobato]

Kobato wanted to prove to herself that she was able to do as well as other people in fighting, but when you could only summon to fight, it wasn't as easy as she first thought. Instead she focused on doing her best in healing and helping those that were in need.

So with staff in hand she set about doing exactly that. As she was helping out a few children who had been separated from their mother she couldn't help but notice Zelda and the situation she seemed to be in.

She felt like she must help. As she was about to take a step she paused. Would she really be of use? Or would she be about as useless as she had been at that place. Shaking the thoughts out of her head she gripped her staff and looking at the kids. "Go and hide now! I'll tell you when you can come out." She said as they nodded before heading off and she went running towards the trouble.

"Zelda-san!" She yelled before reaching her. "I hope it's alright if I help. I could summon something that could beat them all at once."

[goddessofthesky]

Zelda lowered her sword with a quick nod. "There are more coming. If you could clear these we can move the fighting further from the citizens escape route." She had complete confidence in Kobato when it came to combat as well as her abilities.

It was easy for Zelda since she had trained with Link at the knight school under her father and the other teachers but she knows not everyone came from a world were such training was normal. Considering that Kobato has only been in a handful of fights she was doing a very good job using her powers.

Zelda side stepped out of her friends way ready to protect the summoner while she casted towards the creatures that slowly worked their way towards the pair.

Re: Rescuing the Civilians - Zelda

[unitesearthandsky]

He'd only just made it to the huddle of people running frantically to save their own hides, doing his best to usher people away from the flames and incoming attacks. Link had been searching for his partner, the one woman who he knew would be doing everything that she could to protect the innocent, hoping to meet her and give aide to her cause.

What height he had over Zelda wasn't helping in this instance, being slightly shorter than most of the average men in the military kept him from seeing a proper view of the crowd. It isn't until he grows closer to where Zelda had been stationed before Link finally finds her.

With his sword held over head, Link calls out to his companion to try and get her attention, if only for a moment, to find out where his hands might be of use.

"ZELDA! Zelda, where do you need me?! I'm here to help if I can!"

[wings_of_steel]

Returning favours of other is what Selen did best at, so not so long after the other blond started her mission, Selen came into the scene to give a hand. After all, rescuing civilians wasn't as hard as fighting the nuisances that were in their way. She wanted to go do that but she was searching for someone, thus finding Zelda was pure luck. She decided to give a hand anyway as she ushered a few of the younger adults in Zelda's direction.

Selen had her sword out, prepared to hack at anything that tried to harm defenseless humans. She turned her head back to greet the other girl with a bright smile, "We meet again, Zelda was it?" she chimed.

Rescuing the Civilians, Tear

[mysterical]

[When the call of the first attack came, Tear had just been about to go patrol the city. So, it takes her no time to run out and start moving women, children a few of the more spry elderly towards the fortifications that were quickly being made ready for such a case.

While most of her skills have been widely untested, she doesn't stop to think about trying to heal an older man who has a bleeding head wound from a piece of falling rubble. Or a woman who hasn't quite burning fully. (In fact, she had to tackle that woman to put her out first. It's not exactly her best skill, but whatever.)

She's headed towards a part of town on fire that has most of the civilian housing, knowing that she can be the most help there.]

Head towards the barracks! Hurry!

[zodiac_brave]

[The attack had already been going on for hours by the time Ramza and the other heroes arrived by airship. The blond entered right into the fray, not taking the time to orient himself. He headed toward the area with the most voices, which led him to the burning houses that the citizens of Esdham were fleeing.

Still determined to get by on his own power until he understood more about the crystals here, Ramza was still operating with only a Freelancer 'job'. He could not heal the injured civilians, but he could guide and protect them.

He quickly gathered up a small, soot-covered group, but knew not where to send them for safely. A woman, another hero, stood in the distance, obviously directing the evacuation.]

Hail! Which way it is to safety?

Rescuing the Civilians, Tear

[loyalflower]

[He heard her before he saw her-- that clear, strong voice ringing out above the fray, one that he had heard light up the battlefield with lyrics of a language that no one spoke anymore. Without a second thought he cut down an enemy and leapt away from another, steel flashing and eyes unrelenting as he visually searched the fray for one of the people he had been searching for.]

Tear?!

[He let himself feel some relief: she was safe!]

[iscursednomore]

[Fai had been focused on making sure that the monsters wouldn't get close to people while at the same time making sure they were actually going the right way. He knew that sometimes people might freak out so badly that they lose common sense, so he was kind enough to tell them otherwise whenever he came across them.

With a bow in his hand and a lot of arrows on his back he was currently leading a old lady towards the right direction before he heard that voice. That was enough to cause him to look up slightly for the moment.]

Hello Tear~ [He was quick to notice an incoming enemy and was quick to grab and arrow and fire just over her shoulder and dead center in the chest.]

Seems numbers are quite high still.. Do you need help leading the civilians to safety. [he looked at the old woman now, giving a soft reassuring smile.]

It's okay, miss. We'll get you to the barracks.

Rescuing the Civilians - street fighting with Sho

[urnotafraid]

It would be hard to protect the civilians if the army was just allowed to do whatever it wanted on its march. Sho knew this; he had been caught up in street riots as a child, continued throughout his life as a gang brat and even up to that point when he had enough and decided to take on the big boss single-handedly. Street fighting wasn't army fighting and one of the big things he saw with armies was that if they actually faced gangs in their territory, the armies would pack as if they were going to face tanks. That these guys were packed light meant they were not expecting resistance, and that meant they weren't going to expect civilians actually fighting them.

So when the blasts first hit and the reports came in, he was out and looking at matters, talking and cohering civilians to set up road blocks - sure, they were nothing to a well-aimed Fire spell, but what the blocks did was give them time for other things. Like having a couple sneak thieves go around the back and damage supply lines or slit a few throats. Civilians might not have weapons skills, but anyone can chuck a rock or three or loosen shingles off of roofs and have them go tumbling down on top of people. Make the environment work against the invaders, harass them, drive them crazy and then, a pair of quick figures can sneak up from behind and even out the Mages and the Gunners.

Then there were the fires. Trick was to make it harder for things to burn while making what's left burning to go back on the attackers. That took a lot more than talk, but soon a couple damaged stores were brought down on top of some advanced troops, acting as both barriers and helping with keeping the fires contained. A few of the quick barriers were also built in a weird con-curved manner so that when the Mages tried to light them, the fires blew right back at the Warriors instead of curving in.

Then there were bottles of flaming alcohol tossed into the center of the troops, or balls of flaming pitch that stuck once they hit and kept on burning no matter what was used. Civilians armed with meat hooks and sledgehammers, tools of trade and commerce that often people over-looked as weapons, would then follow up with well placed blows before falling back through back alleys and side streets that weren't really on maps.

Every once and a while, Sho would drop down from a roof into the center of a group of invaders, slicing Mage throats until he spun around, put a couple bullets into the back of a Gunner's head and then run for it. He had been fast back home having vampire-trained reflexes; the Thief Job only was making him faster and he knew how to make the streets work for him. So he was easily doing damage though after nearly a whole night of this fighting, he was growing exhausted. So noon found him leaning against a wall of a building, catching his breath while another group of civilians filter pass a barrier and get hurried on by a butcher wearing a pot on his head and carrying one of those slaughterhouse hooks that usually was used to pull slabs of meat around inside a warehouse. Another waves of attackers would hit soon, but for now he was going to catch a little sleep and then they were going to move again. It wouldn't do to stick to one spot that could become focused on by the army.

[needsteaplz]

While getting to Esdham was a wild ride, it seems so small compared to what is happening now. Saori may not be a mage or have abilities to smother the fire, but it doesn't stop her from helping. Up on the rooftops, she kept a sharp eye looking for any straggling civilians and clearing out escape routes. Her Dragoon speed makes traveling quick and her Monk skills ensured she could hit enemies hard whether by fist or spear.

Eventually she needs to slip away to catch her breath. She jumps down into an alleyway and removes her helmet. The sound of a crowd movie gets her attention and she quietly follows it. She watches the butcher past by and her eyes fell onto Sho. Without hesitation, she sits down next to him. "How are you holding up?"

Rescuing the Civilians | Luke

[headfons]

A redhead in the male version of red mage's clothing, was working away from most other people at the moment. His focus was on the elderly, children, and injured people. Anyone hurt was getting healed, in the event that any other healers around were unable to do so. At one point he was vanishing to reappear in a different location, for the sake of stopping a monster from attacking any of the people. At another point, he was attempting to distract the creatures with about ten fake Lukes - it was the best he could do, at the moment, to help as many as possible.

Essentially, he was attempting to guide everyone in the direction of the cleared path that had been created. So, at another point, he was using the illusions to direct the crowd, as well.

Fighting the monsters and focusing on saving people, however, was an exhausting task. He wasn't going to be stopping on his own, any time soon. He would push himself to the brinks of exhaustion if that was what it took to save the people. If anyone asked, he'd claim he was more than fine - and, at the moment, he was fine to keep going.

Rescuing the Civilians | Luke

[loyalflower]

He had only parted from Zelda's side once he knew the petite blonde had someone else to cover for her-- the safety of the civilians and non-combatants was important, but Guy preferred to stay moving. There were five people amongst his small social that he had confirmed were in the city, and he wanted to make sure that everyone was alright before he was satisfied. Clad in the armor of his Paladin job for once, he was focused on tearing down any monsters that dared interfere with the citizens who were trying to flee to refuge.

The flash of briliant, flaming red hair on the field was far from anything that he had expected. Without second thought, he rushed to his young friend's side.

"Luke!" He exclaimed, grinning despite the circumstances. "You couldn't keep yourself away if you tried, could you?"

HI THAR.

[wings_of_steel]

Hey there, Luke. Don't mind the the blond that just flew into the scene to give you a hand. Rescuing civilians was indeed a very good choice, since there were already a lot of people fighting in the front lines. She wasn't a strong as most people at the moment, but she was better at holding her ground where there is less battle. The golden haired woman was hacking down the monsters to keep the people from getting eating, while shielding a group of children behind her flowing cape.

There was sharp look in her eyes as she landed not too far from him and smile, the icy disposition vanished completely, "I hope you don't mind me giving you a hand young man."

She chimed, as she brightly smiled towards him, "Seems like this place got busy with a lot of unwanted guests huh?"

Of course, she was carefree as ever. Seriousness was just not her style to be honest. Selen wasn't the type to remain serious for long. She was enjoying the thrill, though maintaining a good ground to protect citizens and such. Selen was also in the area looking for her favourite son and one of the few things he would do was rescue people. Go figure right?

Re: Rescuing the Civilians | Luke

[not_most_days]

Kidd was also keeping to herself, but not for the same reason Luke was. While she was working to protect the citizens, she was doing it the way she knew how back home: deft strikes from the shadows or above, or a gunshot from a roof or around a corner. She may have the title of hero now, but she'd always be an Assassin.

She was running along the rooftops when she saw Luke making his way along. Noting his fatigue he kept pace with him from above, keeping a watchful eye on him. It paid off when she saw an Imperial trying to take advantage of his condition as well. The man only managed to raise his sword though before the pirate crashed down on top of him, sinking her hidden blade into his neck and drove him to the ground.

Rescuing the Civilians - Bloom

[dragonflame]

Booms first priority had been to make sure that civilians were okay and that they could easily be lead out should they need to. So with sword in hand so quietly started to lead a group of people towards what she hoped was the much safer way. But couldn't help but get involved when a monster showed up to try and attack on of the civilians.

With a slash of her sword she made sure to knock it away. "So long as I'm around, I won't let you hurt a single person." She yelled at the monster before turning her head with a soft smile. "Keep running, okay. I'll try and hold them off."

When she saw them run away she turned her head back at the monster who was gearing up for an attack. But Bloom was ready as she gripped her sword tighter. She just hoped that others were doing their best as well.

Re: Rescuing the Civilians - Bloom

[not_most_days]

Bloom hadn't been the only one watching that monster. While most of the heroes were down in the streets helping to guide civilians and fight the invaders, Kidd had followed her instinct and took to the rooftops. There wasn't as much fighting going on up there, but it gave her a good vantage point for those who were in need of aid.

In this case, as the monster lunged to attack the girl, it was suddenly interrupted as the pirate clad ninja leaped from the rooftop and stabbed her hidden blade into its eye. Kidd withdrew the blade and leaped off of it to land by Bloom's side, only stumbling a little bit. Her time spent training was bringing her body back up to speed with the skills she knew from back home.

"Need a hand?" She watched the monster warily, not sure if the strike was enough to kill it.

Re: Rescuing the Civilians

[woman_of_strife]

[She'd lost count of the number of soldiers she'd pitted against, toppling them while running through the dense forest of moving bodies to try and find anyone she recognized. In the heat and falling debris she'd assumed that Cloud would be an easy spot, considering his hair, but alas she'd had no luck in seeing if he might be among the many who'd pledged to do their part.

Just when she thought herself lost and out of luck, Tifa spots a flash of blonde in her peripheral, turning as she downs another soldier with a solid right punch, making her face brighten up as she calls out to the young man with a pitched voice.]

Cloud! You're here!

YUNA: healing + rescuing civilians!

[grandsummon]

There was so much confusion and chaos, Yuna had lost sight of everyone she knew after the airship's touchdown. Her heart was still heavy with seeing the blond blitzer in crystal stasis, but there was no time to feel those regrets now. Perhaps she hadn't expected it, or maybe at least, not so soon -- that the empire would invade with a force like this. Wasn't it just weeks ago that everyone had been able to relax and spend time with one another...?

Eyes closed, she held her hands out over the leg of a elderly woman, the air between them glowing as her cura spell mended her wounds as best the quick work could. "Now go, quickly!" she pleaded, helping the woman up to her feet as an Imperial soldier stomped its way over towards them from behind...

[victorix]

This time, Rikku did not need to wait for Mochina to tell her where Yuna would be. The guardian ran straight for the screams, stomach churning at the sight of the ones who were already lost.

It was so much like when she'd lost Home.

No time for sentiment. Save who you can.

Spotting her cousin and the looming threat, the ninja sprang into action. She soundlessly closed the distance between herself and the enemy with the enhanced speed and stealth her job offered, unsheathing her twin daggers. He wasn't playing nice, neither would she.

Just as he sought to close in on the unaware healer and helpless woman, Rikku came in from behind, rolling as she arced her daggers in calculated strike, attempting to slice through both his Achilles tendons.