Scene #4664: Dregs of Humanity

Owner	Pose
Faruja	Saint Elise street, Dorter. It's a rainy and dark knight in this run down area of the Trade City. As ever, the numerous amounts of goods and coin that flows through the city rarely touches the city's poor. And with so many out of work, or unpaid for their efforts in the 50 Years War, many have turned to thievery or revolution. Tonight, several members of the Corpse Brigade meet in a small alleyway. Not an hour ago, the group took out the bridge leading from the docks to the more affluent section of the city. On a night such as this, anyone wanting to travel to the city proper now has to make their way through the slums. One traveller is Lady Anita Belle, the daughter of Dorter's mayor, himself a moderately highly placed member of the nobility. Down the bumpy, pothole-marked streets comes a carriage. The street here is situated between rows of houses that either seem to be rotting away, or otherwise are ramshackle built from whatever the inhabitants could gather. A dive bar occupies the alleyway that the Corpse Brigade members are huddling in. One of the group of six hops up to the nearest rooftop, pulling out a slightly rusty pistol. A single shot is fired, and the carriage driver falls off his perch. The carriage itself crashes into one of the buildings. Not moments later, torches are lit, guttering in the heavy rain. Swords, daggers, and a lance are drawn as a scream pierces the night, and one of the cloaked, green-clad Brigade members is already dragging out the young woman with her fine dress, a knife to her throat. The man holding her gives a sneering grin. "Now you play nice, m'gel! We need you alive, but don't think we won't rough ya to keep ya quiet. Stinkin' nobles, yer dress would fetch us a year's meals!" The group laughs with the struggling maiden in their arms. Not far away, a cloaked figure watches the goings on. Two bunny ears flit in the rain as she taps a linkshell.
Kazuko Kawakami	It had taken some explaining, but figuring out how to be discreet in this matter has finally been beaten into Kazuko's head! Sort of. It's a work in progress, at least. Either way, the high schooler arrives at the trade city of Dorter, taking a bit of a roundabout path on her way to Saint Elise Street. She's decked out in a bright yellow rain coat as requested (because visibility is important on the street with or without cars) and a pair of good ol' rubber boots to maintain traction on the slippery roads! She's also got her trusty blunted naginata with her, and as if that wasn't enough to make her stick out as someone that doesn't belong here... She's also on a roof of one of the slums. Is she really just going to bound from roof to-yes. Yes, she is. Finding Saint Elise street is hard, but figuring out where she should by looking for other Elites and people with hostages is easy! It's just easier to do it from a higher vantage point. So what if that might make her the most obvious target for any waiting members of Corpse Brigade to fire on? Someone's gotta draw them out somehow.
Isabelle Mercer	The pitter patter of shoes upon stone street, silver twin-braids flowing behind her as she runs, she does get some direction from a knight on where to go, but ultimately, the blue dressed woman arrives near the targeted location, peeking her head into the alleyway to see the situation play out. She never thought she'd be helping rescue a lady in distress from bandits... and only so soon after her first encounter with monsters of the non-human variety... She pulls her head away from the alleyway, resting her back upon the building's wall, clutching a small handheld radio. "Hmm. There doesn't seem to be /that/ many there, but..." she thinks a moment, peeking back in and back out, sighing, "This is strange... why is this like this? For all everyone has to offer, to resort to this?" she gives a brief nod, looking around, wait... there's a bunny eared person up there... think... what do? Well, one with water maybe? She taps her foot and waits for a meet up with someone else...
Yuna Kagurazaka	Yuna hasn't been to Dorter before, but with Elner's assistance and a little bit of questioning of a random passer-by help her find the way to Saint Elise street. She's curious enough about the name to make a mental note - find out who Saint Elise was, maybe study up on the legend(s) about her. But the cross-world religious research is for another time. Yuna has actually scrounged up the Temple Knight (trainee) uniform she got for the investigation at the Magical Akademy; it'll help her look like she belongs here - and like she should be investigating something like this. She's also managed to acquire a locally-made rainproofed cloak with a hood, since there's no way a simple umbrella is going to do the trick. Well ... kind of, anyway. Probably she would be focused on ecclesiastical security rather than responding to a reported hostage situation. Either way, Yuna makes her way quickly down the street; Elner is flitting from the eaves of one building to the eaves of the next, staying out of the rain as much as possible. (The robo-faerie is rainproof, it's just that the rain would be a distraction - and a random flying object that sheds rain the way Elner's structure does would draw more attention, which neither Elner nor Yuna really need.) "Hoi there!!" Yuna calls out as she spots the Corpse Brigade around the carriage. "Cast down your weapons, release the girl, and offer no resistance! If you shed her blood, your own lives stand forfeit - but if you cooperate, there may be hope to claim what you rightly earned!" The part about 'your lives stand forfeit' is a bluff, of course; even if Yuna has to fight them, she's NOT going to resort to lethal force, but sometimes a threat like that works. And it's part of playing the role that she's dressed as, although the contrast between her attempt to sound locally-authoritative and the possibly-atypical offer of mercy and assistance ... well, if all goes well, the confusion will give the heroes a better chance to resolve things positively. If not ... Eh, Yuna would rather be the target of attacks anyway. Even if she's NOT in her Light Suit yet.
Finna	Stinking nobles, greedy ruling classes and ruinous empires. Ivalice's little better than the Threshold of Creation sometimes, from what Finna's seen. Only thing that's better off is.... well, okay, nothing really. Maybe a seeming lack of slavery? It's raining, but that has little bearing on the female duck that, for whatever reason, is braving the rain and the cold and flying at night. Why a duck? Well, ducks are water birds. Although kind of big and clumsy fliers, Finna makes up for it by stealthily swooping her way to the city from the warp gate and hurrying to the provided coordinates... This duck will end up perching on a nearby building to observe the proceedings...
Rebecca Chambers	Hostage situations are one of the biggest priorities that S.T.A.R.S. members are trained for. Hence the words 'Search' and 'Rescue' in their title. Rebecca has done some hostage mission rescues in her time, and she knows the golden rule of any hostage situation is to be ready for anything and expect nothing. You never know what can happen when dealing with someone who's volatile enough to take a hostage. Rebecca's raincoat is colored a dark green color, making it less easy to spot her. That along with the fact she's taken cover in a nearby alleyway, different from the one Isabelle is in, is making it even harder to spot her. She draws her Beretta and loads a clip into it, before pressing her back against the wall of the alleyway and peering outward. "Now we wait," Rebecca whispers to herself. The key component to any hostage situation is being patient and letting things play out as they come. Rushing in only works on television and in the movies.
Tomoe	So it was quite the pickle a bunch of commoner soldiers didn't get paid and had been stiffed pretty hard. Risk life and limb for a nobles war and not even get their due for it? That was some shady as hell shit, she wasn't sympathic to the noblity but these soldiers had to be stopped and the girl rescued. Still Faruja was right they were not entirely in the wrong so she was going to attempt to avoid leathal attacks as best as she could. She knew she'd not be the first one to scout but she'd also have to keep her distance for the moment as Yuna is now tyring to talk them down but broke? With nothing to lose people? Will do crazy things after all. She does follow up with eveyrone else and she realizes she's ready to spring into action and has a few stun and hindernace spells ready to go should they not stand down. She also make sure Isabelle is all right. The Young woman is pretty darn good but she's also new and it's better to have someone watching your back at that stage. Just like a lot of people did for her and Kirito? She wants to pass that forward.
Faruja	That big yellow jacket and the leaping woman with a polearm gets the Brigade members' attention! The one with the spear turns to the one with a knife to the now crying and barely struggling noblewoman. "Oi! I thought ya said the streets were gonna be clear!" "Ain't my fault that there's some bleedin' idiot! Yer the dragoon, go stick the wench!" Then, that spear wielding warrior leaps high into the air in a backflip, trying to crash right into Kazuko's chest with her own polearm! No answers are there for Isabelle as she arrives on the scene. None of the Brigade seem to see her just yet, focused as they are on Kazuko and the hostage. Already, they're starting to drag her towards a trio of chocobos that are walked out from an alleyway by a seventh brigade member. The hostage is being tied up! The bunny too doesn't seem to notice Bella, focused as she is on the brigands. She mutters into a linkshell, and there's the slightest glint of a gun under that cloak. And Yuna sure as heck gets the group's attention. A majority of them turn, with one sword wielding Brigader appraoching the knightess! "Aw, by Ajora, it's a bleedin' Templar! And a /Cadet/ too! We ain't droppin' the girl! Only way we'll see what's owed us! This ain't involvin' you and we don't want no trouble with the Church! Go on, yer outnumbered. We're no fresh cadet girl!" Seems the men are reluctant to cut down a templar, even if just a squire!
Faruja	Nor does anyone notice the Duck! Finna has a nice vantage point, both over the men, the girl, and the chocobos they're no doubt using as escape birds! Similarly, Rebecca has a nice spot somewhat near the big yellow birds and their handler! His back is to the woman, similarly focused on Yuna and Kazuko. Tomoe might be able to see the bunny woman not too far away from her and Bella. She's gone from standing to prone, and that's /definitely/ a sniper rifle taking aim. But at who?
Kazuko Kawakami	Jump! Jump! Skid! Jump! Kazuko's moving at a steady clip as she bounds along the rooftops, squinting through the rain and skidding to a stop as she withdraws another piece of useful anti-rain gear: Goggles! Keeps the rain and grime out, all with only a slight penalty to peripheral vision and comfort! "That's better... Ah, there's everyone!" She calls out to... Well, nobody in particular as she spots both the hostage and the Corpse Brigade members escorting her just in time for that dragoon to come flying right into her. The martial artist lets out a pained cry as she takes that kick straight to the polearm and chest by extension, dropping on her back and sliding painfully across several slabs of roofing before flipping herself upright. "Gh..! Hey, are you with the kidnappers? That's not the sort of thing you do to get paid!" Coughing painfully as she straightens back up, Kazuko does a quick twirl with her naginata before charging towards the spear-wielder, raising her weapon high and then... .. Jerking it sideways, then swinging it diagonally upwards before following it up with a flurry of rapid sweeping strikes. She's actually taking this one seriously from the start for once!
Isabelle Mercer	Isabelle can't just stay here forever... her dress will get ruined in this rain and well, who knows what will happen to that lady. Then there's that Bunny Sniper... and someone LAUNCHING himself in the air at someone... and oh dear, what is she to do... what /can/ she do... she almost panics here for a moment... and makes a nod. "I'm going after the sniper. Lightning, take my flesh, become one with my soul... lightning dash." there's a crash of lightning down upon Isabelle's person and, one minor transformation sequence later, a woman blue, and sparking with lightning seems to be in her place. "Lightning Dash." comes the sparky voice as she looks towards the Sniper... A quick crouch and she springs up, forming into a bolt of lightning to quickly move to the Bunny Sniper's location, holding a shocking hand close. "Please, I'd rather not use this magic on you." she says, "But the moment your finger attempts to, I shall shock you into a stun." lightning bounces off her, hopping the rain quickly, looks like the Lightning-Belle is serious.
Yuna Kagurazaka	Getting chewed out by Finna doesn't really do Yuna's mood any good, but Rebecca DOES make a good point about patience being the most important part of a hostage situation. With that in mind, Yuna decides not to transform - at least not yet - and just stands her ground. If the sniper is aiming at her, though, Yuna's going to HAVE to either transform or dodge, and even dodging might not be enough depending on the situation. Similarly, if the Brigadier winds up to swing, Yuna won't have a choice about swapping to her Light Suit and defending herself. But for now, Yuna is content to hold the brigands' attention, and she does her best to look non-threatening - holding her hands out briefly, showing she isn't hiding a weapon in them. "And I don't want you in trouble with the Church either. I heard something, I came to investigate; so far, that's all it comes to. And you're not the first people I've met who are desperate for what was rightfully promised to them. Will you tell me who your quarrel is with? Surely it's not that girl's family ... ?" Yuna really doesn't look like she's getting ready to do battle. Maybe she can keep enough of the brigands' attention for her allies to do what they need to do without getting noticed - never mind that the fighting has already started for some of them. At this rate, if her math is right, it'll be the Corpse Brigade members who wind up outnumbered. For now, though? It's basically another round of acting practice.
Rebecca Chambers	As some of the elites in the area attempt to draw the attention of the Corpse Brigade members, Rebecca decides now is a good time to try to move to a better vantage point. She steps out of the alleyway and looks around for something closer to the Corpse Brigade that she can take cover behind, and attempts to move to another nearby alleyway, not wanting to risk making herself known just yet. She crouches down a little as she moves towards the next nearest alleyway, attempting to keep her eyes peeled for any potential threats. Spotting a nearby barrel past the alleyway, Rebecca attempts to take cover behind that instead, in hopes that she can use that for a bit of better cover while getting closer to the action. For now, she hopes her allies are doing a good enough job of keeping the Corpse Brigade members distracted.
Finna	The Duck decides to take flight again, after seeing all of THIS stuff unfold. The moment the girl's being hauled towards a bunch of Chocobos, Finna decides to swoop down into an alley and transforms. A new Chocobo goes waddle-dashing out to stealthily tail the others. Helpfully, it wears a matching harness and saddle! At the soonest smart moment, Finna tries to sidle up and blend in with the other birds. Knowing how these men's psyches probably are at the moment, she hiiiighly doubts they'll question the presence of another Corpse Brigade Chocobo. This may mean that she ends up running riderless with them if they take off though...
Tomoe	Things are getting a little bit dicey here with the snipers she calls out a wanring about the bunny sniper to her allies and ther's not much more she can do. As she's got orders to avoid being too flashy and sadly she's made of a lot of that.She does keep tabs on it and maks ready to intercepot and take the hit if the sniper oes go for her allies or who knows who else. She does keep an eye on the sniper waiting watching not yet redy to strike well until someone else has an idea whelp it seems to be handled with Isabelle along with others n she turns her attention to the men which she starts to approach and she's pretty damn tall well over six feet with her boots on and yet while in armour she has no weapon out. She knows a chase may end up starting and they got Finna ready to track them heck she's aboard!
Faruja	The spear-wielding brigader scowls at Kazuko! As the martial artist swings in that flurry of blows, it's met with adept parries! This guy's /good/! But Kazuko finds a slip in his guard, and the strike sends him similarly flying back into a duck-and-roll! "I ain't yer bleedin' nan, girl! Get gone ya idiot! Only way we'll get the nobles to listen is with one of their own!" Some arcane words, and there's a fireball zooming towards Kazuko's face! Even for a viera, the transformation and leaping of the lightning-enhanced Bella is a shock! There's a barely muffled cry of shock, and then the viera goes still. A moment of tense silence, and she drops the gun. Hands go to the air, and she slowly stands up. A sucking breath. "...I surrender." She states simply enough. Her head is very vaguely turned, eye straining to see the lightning-form of Bella! Her eye goes wide, and her stoic demeanor drops. "....Are you an esper!?" The leader of the group presumably, with the knife to the girl's throat, squints as the 'Templar' raises her hands in peace. The group looks at each other, confusion, suspicion, and a lot of weary eyes pass between each other. "Ain't it obvious? Our quarrel's with the damned mayor! This wench is his get! We ransom her, we get our pay, then we run off to some backwater and forget this whole bleedin' country! The revolution's dyin', we're gonna get what's ours!" Two of the men start to approach Yuna. "Yer goin' along with us. We don't want trouble, but yer in the way. Better 'n stickin' ya and bleedin' out a good pious knight. Nothin' personal. We'll let ya go unhurt if ya cooperate." Yup, that's rope, they approach ready to tie up Yuna. The gun-wielding man has it pointed at her. Rebecca is practically just behind one of the men walking over to tie up Yuna! If she wants to spring and safe the 'Templar', now would be the time! By the time Finna transforms, the man minding the birds hardly seems to notice. He's fingering his dagger, watching the goings on, but mere birds are utterly ignored as long as they stay put!
Kazuko Kawakami	Swinging her naginata around once more as the dragoon's sent back, Kazuko doesn't follow up immediately. She needs to give him a chance to air out what his goal is, after all, and... Well, he's doing it! Sort of. In-between launching a freaking fireball at her, anyway. "Why don't you-gyah!" She springs sideways to avoid becoming a crispy-fried critter, growling a bit and holding back a wince as the heat still manages to leave a light burn on her cheek (thankfully somewhat soothed by the rain. Even before she gets to finish her thought, however, the other things she's hearing... They're giving her ideas! Maybe not /good/ ideas, but... Ideas none-the-less! "Why don't you get one of your... Stronger friends to talk to them, then?" And then Kazuko's back on the offensive, charging in with a quick thrust followed by even more swipes at the spear-wielder's legs, a faint yellow trail coming off the weapon as she imbues those strikes with ki to bolster their power and reach. "Or smarter ones, if you're like me? They're better at figure out that kind of stuff than I am, so... I mean... Yeah, they could do it without hurting anyone!" Yes, she's somehow still /that/ naive. Not so naive that she's going to stop striking, of course, but at least it's a heartfelt statement punctuating her starting to spin her weapon in place.
Yuna Kagurazaka	Yuna looks briefly at the rope, then lets out a breath. "I won't give you any trouble, then." She turns her back to the brigands, crossing her arms behind her back so they can go ahead and tie her up. "The girl's safety is most important to me, so if this ensures she won't be harmed, I'll cooperate with you as well as I can." There's a LOT of trust in this ... and one or another of her allies may see fit to upbraid her for this later. But Yuna's not worried - these guys can't possibly have a way to cut her off from Elner, can they? And even if they somehow do have an astral barrier or the like, Elner can physically follow them and slip into their hideout, ready to trigger Yuna's transformation if and when she needs the Light Suit. For that matter, if either of the brigands try to shoot or stab Yuna in the back while she's offering her surrender, Elner IS still watching and could bring on the Light Suit right now. But they said they didn't want to kill a Templar, and Yuna trusts their word on that - the prospect of the Church getting involved really did seem to worry them.
Isabelle Mercer	"Wise choice, miss." she smiled, "And yes, I am. A servant of your lightning god, Ramuh. I shall have you sit and toss your firearm away... while I shall take care of those despicable men." she gives a soft nod, hoping for compliance in the matter, while her eyes dart across the landscape, looking at each of the six men in turn. "I cannot abide by a lady being accosted in this manner and will take care of this." she gives a slight bow towards the bunny sniper. "Oh lightning heed my call, be one with me and my spirit, strike down each of the foes that dare take another as a hostage. Be my judgement, my end call..." she starts to chant, small points of light appearing over the Corpse Brigade member's heads. "Strike them down and paralyze them with fear of your mighty power, lightning strike down! Judgement Bolt!" she shouts, loud enough for hopefully the bandits to hear as thunder crashes up above and those six points of light make a targeted lightning bolt strike down towards them. She's hoping that, even with how unpredictable lightning can be, that they'd just end up stunned and paralyzed... and hopefully damaged enough to think running away would not be an option. Soon, she turns back to the Bunny Sniper, "May I ask your buisness here and why you have the gun?"
Rebecca Chambers	Meanwhile, Rebecca has got a chance. She can try to take out this man and save the Templar, but is there something else lying in wait? Could there be a trap waiting to be sprung? Does the man even not know she's there? In a situation like this, you don't think. You go with your gut instinct while preparing for potential consequences later. With her stun baton in her left hand, Rebecca pops out and grabs the man from behind, attempting to drive her electrified baton into him, which will deliver a low-powered shock that should incapacitate him for the time being. That's at least what Rebecca's hoping for, since she dislikes using lethal force during hostage situations since the risk of collateral damage can be high.
Tomoe	Tomoe gets what Yuna's doing it's a ballsy's thing she doesn't go for her weapon as she knows if anyone here might be in time able to get through to these fighters? It's Yuna, she's going to have to trust in her on this. She doesn't move to lower her weapon as she watches the thing play out but her sword arm doesn't seem to be needed. There was also Finna, they should be pretty good and then comes the lighting and Tomoe's just gets this oh shit look on her face. No one's truly to blame for this but she now is kicking herself She should have pressed harder to keep things coordinated and she did not. Any chance to talk down others of the group may have just gone out the window. She makes ready with a few stun spells now but she does not want to get caught in the fall out of the lightning spell so she doesn't move in but she is ready to pounce.
Faruja	The spinning flaming dervish that is Kazuko makes quick work of the lancer! A few wild parries, then that sweep to the legs followed up by that ki-blast through the spear sends the man flying. His spear clatters to the ground as he slumps over in the alleyway. "...Hah. Stronger? We're the bottom of the heap. Ain't no one to rely on but ourselves. You ignorant fool. We gave up 'peace' a long time ago for coin we never...got.." Thunk. He's out like a light! Thankfully for Yuna, they're men of their word. She's quickly tied up, and shoved along with the hostage towards the chocobos. No true mages amongst their party, Elner goes utterly undetected. "That's a good squire. Smarter than most, ya might just make it some day. Just don't end up in the gutter like us." The cloaked bunny kicks away her gun. "I won't argue with a Holy Esper, your Righteousness. I'm just here to do my duty. You will learn nothing else from me." Comes the young woman stubbornly. That blast of bolts is quite shocking. Two of the men go down outright, and a third leaps back, only to trip and crack his head on the wheel of the turned-over carriage. One of the men outright bolts towards a side alleyway. This leaves rebecca with an excellent opportunity to use that baton, knkocking the man out from behind. Now, it's just one man near the chocobos, and one man with the hostage still! Lightning continues to crackle from Isabelle's release of thunderous fury. Of course, Yuna will have to make quick work to avoid being caught up in the blast herself. Meanwhile, the man with the hostage presses his back against the wall. "BACK! Damned mages! Come out with you! If you don't, I'll off the girl, I swear it!" The chocobos, for their part, panick at the blast of lightning! Two of them stampede off, and the final one stamps towards it's fellow 'bo-Finna in fear! It might just stampede too if nothing is done for it!
Yuna Kagurazaka	The downside of having her arms tied behind her back is that Yuna can't use them for anything - not even to help keep her own balance, let alone fighting ... but then, that's kind of the point of tying somebody up, right? Still, Yuna does leap clear from the closest brigand when she hears the lightning bolts going off, managing to land on her feet and keep her balance, and she looks around quickly. "What was that you were saying about having me outnumbered ... ?" There's a slightly sheepish aspect to Yuna's smile - but even just between Kazuko and Isabelle, that's two more allies of Yuna's, and Yuna knows that Finna, Tomoe, and Rebecca are around as well - she's just not going to give away their presence. Or the fact that one of them is the inexplicable fourth chocobo. "You have a lot more to lose if you kill her than if you just give up now," Yuna continues, her smile fading somewhat, and what remains of the smile turning more sympathetic. "I'm still willing to try and help you and your friends make your case, but nobody's going to offer help if you've stained your hands with her blood. The mayor certainly won't have any reason to be compassionate to his daughter's murderer, will he?" Really, talking is all Yuna can do right now. She's less worried about keeping the brigand(s) distracted and more focused on trying to talk him down - keep him from doing something everyone's going to regret. And she could still transform, but that wouldn't necessarily free her arms all by itself.
Isabelle Mercer	"I see, I do not believe that the /correct/ move, but if that is what you wish to do..." she gives a soft chuckle at this and she peers over the edge, "I missed the important one..." she shakes her head and sighs, moving towards that gun and taking it in hand. "I shall be staying right here, it looks like my allies will be finishing up the rest with them." a pause, "Shall we have a general chat then, Miss..." she fishes for a name as she moves towards the BunnySniper. "Perhaps we can start with this, no? After all, no proper discourse started without knowing who I am talking to." she grins this wide grin, "Besides, Ramuh wouldn't want to strike someone helpful down, now would he?"
Kazuko Kawakami	"Still, that's..." Kazuko frowns sympathetically at the spear-wielder, the latter actually seeming to have a good point. Taking note of the commotion going on elsewhere, however, she doesn't emerge from that alley right away. Instead, the martial artist hoists him up, sets him by a wall, and... ... Puts some discarded sheets over him along with setting that spear beside him. It's not much, but at least it'll keep him from drowning in the rain or getting caught by nobles if he's found prematurely somehow! That just leaves the actual hostage situation. Heading towards where things appear to be reaching their peak, the martial artist rests her naginata against her shoulder while trying to look as unthreatening as possible despite... The naginata. At least it's not being pointed at anyone this time. She's not even taking a combative stance! "Hey! Don't do anything dumb. We just wanna get..." She squints a bit. Just what /is/ that girl's name, anyway? Probably not important. "... Whoever she is back safe, then we can help you get paid!" She tries not to look too closely at Yuna just in case, and she's not even sure which one of those chocobos Finna is right now. Still, someone has to have something figured out better than Kazuko, right?
Rebecca Chambers	Rebecca takes out the man then switches her baton for her Beretta. What most people won't realize (because Rebecca never specifically mentioned it) is that her Beretta isn't loaded with standard bullets. Instead, the clip she loaded contains nonlethal tranquilizer rounds. That way if a shot misses, the damage wouldn't be lethal at all. She levels it at the hostage-holder and says, "You might as well give up now. We have you surrounded." By this time, it should be noted that the hood on Rebecca's raincoat has fallen down, revealing her short brown hair and giving it a shower. Not that she minds personally, she just wants to get the hostage rescued. "Don't even THINK about trying anything funny!"
Finna	Finna does indeed change plans, since the original one just got shot up to all hell! There's a SCARED BIRD charging at her for now, and she does what any sane Chocobo would do with another of its kind charging blindly at it! She flips the hell out and karates its ass into a wall. Well. Not that exactly, but she does spring up with a freakishly impossible backflip and allow it to simply run off as it pleases. THEN she does something she'll probably regret later, but for now is perfect. The guy's just a little ways away. Finna-bo opens her beak and-- "Wark-uh-!" The slightly strangled noise is due to a LONG, PREHENSILE TONGUE lashing out at lightning speeds and wrapping itself around the knife. This is certainly going to result in some nasty cuts, but... a tongue-tied knife isn't going to be cutting any throats! If she can even snap it back frog style she'll move on to CRUNCHING the knife into chunks with her beak and spitting them out on the ground. What the HELL, bird.
Tomoe	It's time to move there's little time not to now, things have got flashy so Tomoe is going to attempt to cast a binding spell or at least that's her intent as she chants quietl the runes fly about Tomoe flowing for a momentbefore they vanish. The spell hopefully will root the man for lack of a better term and let Finna an the rest beable to subdue him without killing him.
Faruja	The man looks between Yuna and Kazuko as they appeal to calm. He can't help but sweat even in the rain. Oh yes. He's outnumbered. Outgunned. But some small spark of defiance sits in his eyes. "...Yer right. You...can ya really do something about..." Rebecca comes out of the woodwork too, and that finally gets him to give it up. Then, he falls silent as a chocobo flips, kicks another 'bo, and then tongue-snatches his dagger and eats the damn thing. A long, slow stare. "Take the highborn wench. To the Abyss with you insane lot!" He curses, both hands in the air. That's a surrender. As for the bunny girl? She pushes back her cloak. "Strawberry. /Acolyte/ Strawberry your Righteousness. I'm the Lord's eyes and ears tonight." She flashes a red-and-black Ajoran Cross to the 'Esper'.
Faruja	It helps that Tomoe's spell properly binds up the last man. He writhes and wobbles furiously, but now he's well and truly stuck. No getting away. Already, the hostage is running, right into the arms of Yuna, sobbing incoherently.
Yuna Kagurazaka	Not that Yuna's arms are free to catch the hostage, but she takes the 'impact' as well as she can, and being tied up doesn't mean Yuna's shoulder can't be cried on. "It's okay," Yuna says soothingly, "you're safe now. We'll get you back home in no time." For that matter, if Yuna's arms were free, she'd wave to Strawberry. She remembers Faruja's acolyte pretty well from when Strawberry was framed for murder. Once they get the mayor's daughter back to her house there shouldn't be anything left that the good guys really need to worry about.
Rebecca Chambers	"Mission accomplished! Now let's get out of here!" Rebecca decides to settle upon escorting the hostage back to safety before getting back to headquarters. She knows that they can't stick around for too much longer after what happened, but at least they've gotten what they needed to done.
Isabelle Mercer	Isabelle blinks slightly and emits a bit of a chuckle, "I see, so you're Sir Faruja's friend. I suppose I should offer my apologies then. I take it you were after those people as well? No matter, we did get the girl safe and sound." With that, she stretches and zaps off....