melodiesoflife | Event || The Empire Strikes Back

Event || The Empire Strikes Back

Characters: Everyone participating in the event
Where: Aqures Ixen
When: July 27th to August 02nd
Summary: The battle for Aqures Ixen is about to begin! The Heroes of Light are going to do their best to defend Aqures Ixen, but will this be enough? Feel free to participate and reply to appropriate threads. New top-level threads will be posted regularly as the battle progresses.
Warning: N/A, will be updated.

July 27th || Mingle
July 28th || Bomb Defusing / Imperial Assault
July 29th || Mingle / Attack on the 13th District / Aerial Battles / Imperial Camp
July 30th || 14th District on Fire / The Hospital / Mognet Office Attacked
July 31st || The Fire Spreads / Betrayals
August 01st || The Second Wave / Ultima Weapon
August 02nd || Final

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

“It’s done.”

Terra sounded relieved to hear his voice and her expression shifted from one of focus to a calm mask. She needed to stay calm. She finished wrapping his leg, it’s tight but it will hopefully stop the bleeding. She’d replace the fabric later if need be but for now she was only focused on Ven.

She began to remove his armor, helping him out of the heavy suit and its many pieces. He was done fighting for now and she wouldn’t be able to carry him and the armor. She passed each piece to Rae who managed to make the armor vanish. Terra never did understand how a moogles bag worked but there always seemed to be room. She noted the sweat that gathered on his temple and the heat that his body radiated as she ducked under his shoulder.

“You have a fever. We need to get you to a medical tent.”

Terra was repeating what she knew for his benefit, realizing that he might not be able to understand what was happening.

As she pulled him over her shoulder she heard shouts from just outside the store. Her bright blue eyes flicked towards the store entrance and she began to move. Her steps were quiet and measured as she slowly pulled Ven forward. She hoped that Rea could be silent so that they could slip away from their assailants. They were, however, in the middle of a battle field where Aquares has lost its ground.

Terra glanced outside seeing a few soldiers pass by the front of the store looking for the injured pair. She turns towards the stairs, slowly making her way up towards the roof. It was most likely the safest place to get away and she might be able to sneak up on anyone who was stationed at the top of the building.

Despite the sweat on Ven's skin and the fire still raging in his wound, chills had started to work their way over and through him. He didn't question Terra when she helped him up, vaguely aware on some more lucid level of his mind that he needed to rely on her now more than ever -- literally, as every movement that disturbed his leg made him cringe and hiss quietly. He tried to maintain at least half his weight on his good leg, but that whole process just now had sapped much of what energy he had left. Simple balance was easier said than done.

Rae followed along quietly, shooting nervous looks back towards the entrance and boarded windows, but then quickly moved ahead to open any doors for Terra as needed. As often as she'd chided Ven for not planning ahead better, she had no advice to give this time; this was a Hero matter, no mistake, and they were both depending heavily on Terra now.

"Terra..." It was Ven who spoke, keeping his voice low -- although even if he'd wanted to, he probably didn't have the strength to be much louder than that. "If there's too many -- don't worry about it. Just... If it's just me, maybe they won't..."

That was wishful thinking. If Terra left him to save herself, there was a chance -- a small chance -- that they would spare him, perhaps, taking him prisoner instead of killing him outright. As lightheaded as Ven was, however, he still knew those odds were low; he'd just cut down a dozen of them in the last half hour alone. They knew what he could do.

Terra paused at the top of the steps when she heard Ven's voice softly rise through the thick air. She waited for him to speak before she continued to pull him forward. "I won't leave you behind." That wasn't really an option and she wasn't about to entertain it for longer than it took for Ven to suggest it. How could she possibly leave her friend behind? They'd kill him.

She gently slipped him off her shoulders and against a wall. She motioned for Rae to stay with him as she peeked out the door that lead to the roof. As she thought there was a man standing which, though how he got up there was a mystery to the young hero. She slipped through the door trying to remain quiet and sneak up on the soldier. She wasn't a ninja or skilled in anyway that might suggest that she could sneak but she managed to get close enough to cast ice and encase the soldier without a sound.

Terra let out a slow breath running back to Ven and pulling him outside, into the pitter-patter of the rain. She casted blizzara again, creating an arch between the building they were on and the next one over. Carefully she made her way across trying not to slip as rain and ice met.

They might be able to get away this way and make it to the next camp but she could relax until they were further away.

After that reply, Ven didn't argue. He didn't have the strength for it.

His attention perked up when they came to the ice bridge. Rae flew close alongside them, hands out as if she could actually catch them if they slipped. It was tricky to say the least, especially with one leg virtually out of commission, but Ven put every ounce of concentration and focus into sliding carefully over the ice. If one of the Gunners spotted them, they were as good as dead; fortunately, none did, and while there were a couple heart-stopping moments in which he lost his balance, Ven was able to breathe out comfortably when they finally made it across. It couldn't have taken more than half a minute, but it felt like an hour.

That done, Rae quickly flew ahead to scout the area, peering over the roof's edge to the street below. A moment later she flew back, shaking her head and speaking quietly. "They're setting some of the buildings on fire, kupo. But they're not on this side of the street yet -- if you can get down into the alley, kupo, you might be able to get away before they see you." The look she gave Ven was anxious, though; it all depended on how well he could move. One slip could give them away if they weren't careful.

Terra nodded to Rae looking for the way off the roof. She found a door, which was locked, so she carefully cast blizzard on the handle until it shattered. She looked back at her bridge and then released the spell, erasing all trace of their path. Slowly, they made their way down the stairs. Terra would glance nervously at Rae, trusting that the little moogles surveillance was enough. She knew this shop like the others on the street and if they slipped into the alleyway they’d be able to jump one more street over and hopefully to safety.

As they moved down the steps she paused and attempted to quiet her trembling heart. She was shaking but she didn’t let that affect her tight grip on Ven. She carefully lifted him feeling her arms and legs ache from the extra weight. She wished she had warrior equipped.

After the moment past she stepped forward again and moved out towards the alleyway, her footsteps quickened slightly almost dragging Ven along as she quickly sought their freedom. She gestured for Rae to fly ahead hoping to find the nearest camp to lay Ven down to rest and get him proper care.

The rain was a relief to the heat in Ven's skin, at least, but he barely noticed over the agony that continued to build in his thigh. If the pain didn't peak soon, he ran the risk of breaking his silence -- but he managed, for now, and bit down every time a particularly jagged spike of pain worked through him.

Rae made up for his slack, at least, constantly flitting to and fro to check on the area ahead and report back to the duo. Once they were in the alley, she clung to the shadows as she crept to the building's corner -- only to rapidly gesture Terra backwards as a couple soldiers hurried past. The darkness worked in Ven's and Terra's favor, fortunately, because the men only spared the alley a passing glance as they went and noticed nothing.

Breathing a silent sigh of relief, Rae waved them forward. There were still soldiers along the street, but they were all focused in the opposite direction; as long as the group moved quietly and drew no attention, they would (hopefully) be fine.

"Through here, kupo! The camp's frontlines are just a couple blocks down -- the soldiers shouldn't go past here." Not without risking a landslide of an ambush, at least.

It was at that point that Ven did his best to straighten up some, taking back a little of his weight. He looked at Terra with the most clarity in his gaze that he'd had since getting shot, and nodded once. This was what it came down to.

Terra looked at him noticing the strain to his features. She knew how hard this was for him and the pain she was feeling was nothing in comparison. She stopped and moved in front of him so that she could hoist him on her back. She pulled his arms over her shoulders.

"I'll carry you." She wasn't giving him a choice.

Once he was in position, she ran. She used the pitter-patter of the rain to hide her footsteps as she splashed towards their safe haven. Her breath fell heavily from her lips and she didn't look behind her to see if the soldiers would stop and turn. Her heart was lodged in her throat as she forced herself to move forward.

She would stop until they were safe.

It wasn't as though Ven could resist, not really, so despite a startled Hey! he didn't try to stop her. Instead, he attempted to put himself to use by watching to the left and right while Rae watched their backs, but the attempt didn't last long. Even under the cold rain and the throbbing in his injury -- made worse with every jolt of movement -- keeping his eyes open and his attention focused was one of the hardest things he'd ever done.

Try as he might, he couldn't stop his head from dropping down onto Terra's shoulder. After that everything went dark, silent, and -- thankfully, briefly -- numb.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Event || The Empire Strikes Back

Sneaking!

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