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Angela The Library has been slowly but steadily expanding throughout District 12. And the more it grows, the more the various factions pressing up against one another in the District come to blows. The skirmishes and conflicts have been getting more violent, prolonged, and deadly. So far, the battles have largely been between the Index and the Thumb and their various affiliate Syndicates but they have brushed up against the Yurodiviye Alliance, Trídéag Association, and the Liu Association which has taken a hardline approach towards both Fingers in their attempt to restore order to the District.

Honestly, it was inevitable that war in the streets would break out and it was no doubt thanks to the efforts of Elites that kept it from breaking out any sooner. Nevertheless, Berislav selling the Thumb out to W Corp was always going to be answered with violence. The Thumb, as an organization, never took such 'betrayals' lightly. It was always going to strike back...

They chose not to strike the Faded Print directly, instead going for the largest Yurodiviye backed supply distribution center in District 12 that used to be known as Peters' Hardware but is now known locally as The Saint's Warehouse. The Yurodiviye has been bringing in supplies from other Districts to help the recently fallen Nest and as the Watch's only City-wide ally, they are their only ally capable of making such large efforts throughout the District. Their willingness to work with Trídéag has even made them an invaluable ally to the Thirteenth Association as well.
Angela Eight Hours Before The Attack, Morning
Thumb War Council

In an abandoned corporate boardroom that has been taken over by the Thumb, Sottocapo Kalo held his council. His underlings hung the Thumb's banners--red with a shield insignia and a bayonet within it--over copiers and office drawers. Boris, his Capo who had occasionally been given permission to act on his behalf, stood alongside his fellow Capos Denis and Katriel who was still missing her tongue.

"If we can seize the Warehouse, we'll be able to hold onto at least half the Nest." Boris says. "And if we can't, we can cripple the Watch and even get a good hit on the Trídéag Association in the process. Then we can focus on the Liu before it gets too heated with the Index."

"Speaking of, Sottocapo..." Denis dipped his head low. They all had been given leave to speak but they still had to remain respectful. "We caught an Index Messenger attempting to approach our position."

Any member of the Index could do something ridiculous thanks to the Prescripts at any moment, but it would still be a bit strange for one of their agents, let alone a Messenger, to just show up like this. Messengers were 'only' on the level of a Capo per the Thumb's rules of hierarchy, but their Prescripts tended to revolve around delivering Prescripts, not volunteering themselves into being killed by the Thumb.

"Maybe I spent too much time wandering," Lei Heng said, blowing smoke out from his lips. "But it's weird that Kat there is the only one who can't talk right?"

The other Capos glowered at him, including Kat. The Sottocapo was accustomed to Lei Heng being a bit of a troublemaker, but he wasn't his Capo to discipline and his strength afforded some ... flexibility.

"Katriel is quick to properly discipline herself." Sottocapo Kalo said. "I'll be passing word to your Sottocapo, after your time with us is over, that you could stand to learn from her example."

Lei Heng gave a hapless little shrug and mercifully fell silent.

A pair of Soldato brought the Messenger in.

"...May I address the Sottocapo?" Messenger Yan of the Index asked.

"I appreciate your good manners. Go ahead."

"Do not pick a fight with the Watch at this time. If you do, you will be leaving yourself open to the Index and you'll lose your gains in the District. If you reach out to Director Xiao, you ought to be able to secure--"

Lei Heng burst out laughing. +orange,"No way that's a Prescript, don't tell me you came here just to spout your opinions.")

Kalo held up a hand and Lei Heng clamped up immediately. But despite Kalo's calm expression, his hands tightened against his desk with fury.

"I was willing to listen to you because I thought you were speaking on behalf of the Prescripts. I have no interest in listening to some Messenger's..." He sneered. "Personal opinions. Tell the Index this insult will not be forgotten and we'll make sure they pay for their insolence. ... Not that you'll be the one to tell them."

But the sounds of combat erupted from behind the door. Yan sighed and said, "My apologies for wasting your time." before he pried himself free from his guards and fled through the door under a hail of bayonet fire.

"...Why didn't you stop him?" Kalo asked Lei Heng.

"Respectfully," Lei Heng said. "My orders are to save my strength for high priority targets."

Kalo waved his hand letting the matter drop. Proper chastisement would have to wait until after the battle.
Angela Seven Hours Before The Attack

Yan breathed out a sigh of relief once he confirmed he wasn't being chased by the Thumb. It was a close one! While he certainly anticipated the Thumb reacting poorly, he was sort of hoping they'd just take his advice. He wasn't exactly doing it out of consideration for the Watch or the Yurodiviye even if he had nothing against them but if the Index took over even a portion of District 12, it would only beget more ridiculous tragedies. He couldn't stand it. He couldn't stand a life under the Prescripts.

His next step should be to deliver a Prescript to the Proxies so that they would be sure to head into a direct conflict with The Thumb... and to put his own on the scale, he should make sure the Watch had plenty of warning...

Six Hours Before The Attack, Afternoon

That warning comes in the form of Chance rushing into the Faded Print, shouting about overhearing a Messenger of the Index delivering a Prescript to a bunch of Proxies telling them to take a bunch of Index Proselytes and attack The Saint's Warehouse. Likewise, Pete has also been hearing about an attack on the Saint's Warehouse through his many sources in the Backstreets and has made sure the Trídéag leadership knew. Certainly, the neighborhood under Lilian's purview has been well established enough that it could take a hit like this but it wouldn't be GREAT, to say nothing of how it would effect the rest of District 12. Their jobs would get a whole lot harder if those supplies fell into the hands of the Fingers.

But that's not all. It has been pretty obvious over the day that R Corp has moved into the District. Rabbit Team hasn't been spotted itself, but it's fundamentally impossible for the Rhinos--men and women in large hulking power suits carrying massive hammers. It's not exactly overt what they're in the area FOR but it's not a great sign. It's long been known in The City that the Rhinos aren't sent on operations where R Corp cares about being delicate or about being subtle. And considering the warnings that are coming out, it's pretty likely that their presence is related to what's about to happen. From your time working with R Corp at Lobotomy Corporation, their demands for Enkephalin to help LobCorp out were obscene...

Four Hours Before The Attack

Director Xiao informs Lilian that she is a long march away from The Saint's Warehouse via Mei who has been her coordinator with Trídéag for some time now but she intends to support Trídéag when she arrives. The Lady of Iron tries not to occupy much of Lilian's time, but she does inquire if Lilian has any strategy from her people she wishes to discuss in advance since it's likely that she'll be late to the fight and, as such, will be having her people follow her lead and direction for the battle ahead.

Despite all the training, the air around the local FIxers is roughly a mix of anxiety and worry. A conflict on this scale is beyond even their conflict against the Stray Dogs that spilled into a conflict against The Thumb. They're willing and loyal as ever, but they're uneasy. Has their training really been enough to stand against Wing mercenaries and some of the strongest Syndicates in their world?
Angela Two Hours Before The Attack

Yuri feels brave for the first time in her life as she finds herself unwilling to just run away from The Saint's Warehouse. Maybe her time with Sonya and the Watch has made her able to believe in things beyond her immediate safety and the wellbeing of her friends. Or maybe it's just that she knows how strong Elites are these days. She has her EGO with her, and Blade Lineage has sent the bulk of their forces to protect the supplies. Aeng-du is not present because she has been asked to keep the Faded Print safe, but Bamboo Hatted Kim is there and seems utterly unconcerned about the incoming problem. Though, of course, he always seems to be in the midst of some sort of meditative focus. Still, the fact he's still so chill keeps the rest of his people hopeful. Except for Kuwaba, who has been pacing around while gripping the sword he never draws tightly by his side.

"...I've never seen you nervous before." Yuri says.

"Ah nah I'm fine." Kuwaba lies with a grin. "I know we're here to protect the supplies but whatever you do, don't engage Lei Heng, okay? He's more skilled than he acts."

"...How do you know that?" Yuri asks. "I have to protect this. I promised someone I wouldn't just...think of my immediate survival. Sorry."

Kuwaba knows better than to force the issue but he never answers her question.

One Hour Before The Attack, Early Evening

Lilian gets a call from Nemo's Office but it isn't Nemo on the line. Martina hurriedly whispers that Lilian didn't hear it from them but W Corp has hired mercenaries to try and seize the Saint's Warehouse themselves to steal the Enkephalin in the chaos. Maybe it's a sign that Petra's efforts with T Corp have paid off, but she doesn't linger on the line much longer. Maybe even a guy with a TV for a head can be charmed by a high enough moxie. That said, she doesn't know much in the way of details. Either it's a rush job, or Nemo's lost some trust with the Wing.

The Saint's Warehouse is at the top end of a T Intersection. Normally the road is busy and full of people either waiting in line or trying to help out or even just doing business elsewhere in the area. But right now it's dead. The locals know what's up. They don't even need to be warned. They're not lingering in the area.

The Warehouse itself isn't particularly fortified--it used to be a hardware store, after all. There's a back entrance and a front entrance and, yes, a side entrance that doubles as a garage that they used to take out deliveries from. The garage door has been pulled shut and heavy boxes have been pushed up against it to make it difficult to use that entrance. Yuri is guarding the back entrance, Kuwaba is at the front, and the rest of Blade Lineage has formed a perimeter around the Warehouse.

The Yurodiviye, as a bloc, avoid fighting. The only members even in the area right now besides Yuri are the ones who are on site to work that day. They're not really fighters and Kim has asked them to leave early for the day and they took him up on that offer.
Angela NOW

The air is cool and the moons and stars shine down upon you but it's easy to pick out the white, gold, and black themed uniforms of the Index and the blindfolds of their proselytes from a distance. The Thumb's dress code is slightly more varied, but they all wear their red coats and bayonets except for Boris, who wears sunglasses and prefers to fight with his fists. Unfortunately, Lei Heng is with the latter, Tanglecleaver slung over his shoulder--scanning for a strong opponent.

"Hooboy we're in for a time today." He says, exhaling some smoke from his cigar. "Haven't seen a rumble brewing like this for a long time."

The Index are clearly led by a man you don't know (his name is Hubert. He isn't related to T Corp at all but sometimes people have the same name). He has shaggy dark grey hair and the combat augmented red eyes. The hilt of a sword rests in his hands which are protected by gold gauntlets.

"The Prescripts said we were to enjoy the fruits of labors coveted by the Thumb." Hubert says. "A simple Prescript, difficult in execution."

The two factions clash with each other before worrying against you in a conflict of gunfire and blades. The Thumb seem more comfortable with also taking potshots at everyone else too, but sometimes those blindfolded proselytes will just turn from what they are doing and strike at Trídeag's forces as one. ... And just as easily break off from them.

A few moments later, a group of those Rhino Team officers show up like they were waiting for this brand of chaos and charge straight for the Warehouse, intending to just bust through walls and doors to get there! They aren't attacking anyone directly, relying on the chaos of the moment to go after the supplies.

The trouble keeps coming, though, because mixing into the conflict in a haze of smoke is a group of men in smiling Hahoetal masks--small in number, but focusing their efforts in stabbing into the Blade Lineage's forces with long metal spears. They're a Syndicate of cannibals nobody expected to be here so it's sort of weird they are here. They aren't usually the sort of group to care about Enkephalin.

But their smoke is concealing a Shi infiltration team led by Yujin as they try to sneak on in through a window, electing to avoid conflict to fulfil whatever contract they are here on. They're clearly after the supplies, but why is uncertain. What IS certain is that a whole lot of people knew that there was a big bounty here and knew today was the day to go for it.
Angela Director Xiao's Rules Of Engagement!

In an all out conflict like this, sometimes there are groups working against one another and sometimes you just have to endure the waves of people trying to bust onto your turf until they decide it's not worth the effort and run away. But we know their target and so long as we prevent them from stealing the hope of District 12 out from under our feet, we win, but that doesn't mean we don't have an opportunity to influence future conflicts through our decisionmaking here.

First off, the 'boss' here represents the collective amount of will to keep this fight going but each faction will have its own factional hp. When you fight against them (please do not try to fight multiple factions in a single attack, that way leaves your target up to fate in a chaotic situation like this), in addition to boss hp being lost, the faction hp will also lose hp. There will also be special actions that can be taken to help out in this regard. Additionally, some factions will have their own 'Elites' on the field. If you can occupy them with your allies, that will weaken their ability to do harm to YOU. When the dust settles, the factional hp totals will influence the outcome of the battle and the future course of the war for District 12. Don't worry about totally emptying out their hp bars or anything, though, wars are about logistics and if one or more ends up on the backfoot, our own enemies might spare us the trouble of booting them out of the District. Some factions might have special rules to engage them.

Secondly, the Saint's Warehouse can survive 'Four' Thefts. Each time a faction successfully steals their supplies, our situation here becomes more precarious. One Theft is easily recoverable, but if they lose it all WE'LL end up on the back foot and be in real trouble going forward. A Faction is able to conduct a 'Theft' when they aren't blocked by an Elite or special action.

What are the Special Actions? Well your efforts in The City have paid off. You've got allies here and there's more enemies than there are Elites. Generally speaking, you can use each of your Special Actions once per turn (unless stated otherwise). The Yurodviye Alliance and Trídéag have different special actions.
Angela Here are the Special Actions!

Trideag Special Actions

Direct Joanna the Silver Flash - Point Joanna the Silver Flash at someone and she will occupy one of their elite units for the rest of the battle, weakening attacks from that faction. She won't be able to switch!

Direct Xiao - Xiao and her Association, once they arrive, can be directed once per turn to focus their might upon one enemy faction doing 500 damage (doesn't count as a block, second round onward I'm running late sorry about that)

Sarracenia's Liu Buddies - Once per turn once they arrive, they will back someone up and will do 50 x attack level to whichever faction they're targeting (does not lessen boss hp only faction hp). If their buddy miss, they do nothing, if they crit they do double damage. (second round onward)

Trideag Goobs - Once per turn, Trideag can engage in one of the following actions.

* Doing 200 damage to a faction
* Blocking a faction from reaching the objective
* Chase a Faction Off if they are below half their starting faction HP
* Occupy an Enemy Elite, lessening that faction's damage output (may result in deaths)

Yurodiviye Lineage Alliance Special Actions

Direct Yuri - does X damage to a faction and also blocks them. Usable once per turn.

Chance and Gamble's Intel - Your little buddies did some research on how a faction (or their Elites) fight. One use of getting me to >hardsell one attack. You only get one!

Direct Bamboo Hatted Kim - Occupy an Elite weakening their damage for the round. Usable once a round.

Kuwaba (passive) - Will do something special under some circumstances.

That should be it! If you've any questions, please direct them to DMs rather than pages or ooc. Thank you!

CURRENT FACTION HP TOTALS

4000 HP - The Thumb (Elites: Boris, Lei Heng)
4000 HP - The Index (Elite: Hubert)
500 HP - The Shi Association South Section 2 (stealthed, use of an appropriate advantage can spot them)
500 HP - The Smiling Faces
1000 HP - Rhino Team (Elite: Maxim)
Kale Hearthward INTERCEPTION!

Usually, Kale is the first one into the fray. Today, though, he's one of the last. Is it because he's finally learned patience and wisdom?

Oh actually he was getting takeout before the battle and the line ran long. That's why he's arriving late.

Either way, he's in a position where he can swoop down on Rhino team, dropping from the warehouse rooftop and taking a defensive position right in front of them, quickly casting a wind wall to stall them while lashing out with Breath Weapon Gobo - causing sharp afterimages of his sword to litter the battlefield, making progress yet more precarious.

"I think you're trying to take something that isn't yours," he calls. "Thinking you can just sneak in, huh?"

TRIDEAG ACTION: Blocking Rhino Team!
Riku Asakura Riku wasn't in town when the fighting broke out.  He had to cross several warp gates and throw on his Trideag uniform on the way through Trideag HQ to get ready.  By the time he gets there, everything is a mess.  Fighting is breaking out on the streets.  People are trying to steal things, and others are trying to take advantage of the situation for their own ends.  

On the street itself, Riku isn't sure what to do exactly, but he knows one thing.  "Standing around doing nothing won't solve anything."

"You go!" he shouts, pulling out an ultra capsule.  He activates it before sliding it into a holder for later.  Beside him, an Ultraman clad in Red and Silver stands.  "I go!" He repeats the process; this time, a second Ultraman, clad in Red and Silver, stands on his opposing side.  The capsule is placed in the second slot in the holder.  |"Here we go!" he says, dragging the Fusion Riser across both capsules, scanning them.  "Time for my courage to burn bright!" he shouts, bringing the Fusion Riser up, and then back down over his chest.  

"GEEEEEEEEEED!" he shouts, pulling the trigger on the Fusion Riser.  

ULTRAMAN SEVEN!
ULTRAMAN LEO!
ULTRAMAN GEED SOLID BURNING!

From the spot on the ground that Riku was at, Ultraman Geed bursts through the landscape, growing to be a giant for this fight, but not the stories tall he can normally be.  He was red and silver, with the silver bits looking like armor across his body.  As he moves, steam pours out of his body, signaling that he is ready to defend the district from people trying to take advantage of it.  
Aika Rosewater     This was probably the worst day to pick to finally take five minutes to visit the Trideag HQ formally. It certainly matched Aika's luck with the City so far though.

    Whether she was swept along the deployment without fanfare, or had to shuffle along herself to the hard to miss chaos, was now a matter settled long moments ago.

    Well, she wanted to see what Trideag was about, getting to see its director in action is basically the best case scenario even if she'd have preferred it over like... a coffee, or a bagel, or really anything else. Just not this!

    This place sucks.

    From her perch, she takes a good account of everything going on-- it's the Smiling Faces that catch the cat's attention, the smell of blood coming off them so heavily that she can already infer a bit too much more than she'd like. Everything here reeks of violence, but those guys...

    Opportunists. Feeders.
    Back home, those kinds of things - not people, usually, but things - they're never far when there's a scuffle.

    Envelopping herself in blue flames, she streaks through and crashes through the line of Blade Lineage swordsman, not with ill intent at them, but to let the Smiling Faces' spears crash into her instead, ripping streaks through her suit but clanking against her skin (mostly) underneath.

    "I don't know what you all think you're doing here, but you should go look elsewhere. This really isn't the place or time to be bringing that scent here."

    The blue flames gather up in her hands, forming two long blades that she sweeps in wide arcs at the masked cannibals without further warning-- careful not to catch the Blade Lineage in the swings, unless they decide to become an issue too.
Father Berislav Six Hours Ago

    Berislav's work on the generator is almost meditative. From time to time, people bring in broken things too expensive to repair or replace in the traditional sense. This is one of them. He can't offer the same standard of service that some highly-touted Workshop might, and he certainly can't get it back to new again. But there are ways to make do--there always are. A piston only needs to be a certain shape, able to move in a certain way. A valve need only open and close with the right clearance and an adequate seal. Finding close-enoughs, from the refuse of a Wingless District or from other, noncritical parts of the machine itself offer a kind of comfort to him. What seems like the final nail in the coffin can be dialed back to only a setback. What seems like something old and worn past any hope of return can be given new life, with enough care and attention.

    He hopes that when the family he's repairing this for receives it, they take away something like that too--but the relief he's seen in many a face after a job like this is never a disappointment. Hands stained with lubricant, deep in the bowels of the generator, he whips them out, ready to fight and on high alert at the sound of Chance yelling. "Chance? What's wrong?"

    Berislav steps away from the corner booth upon which the generator is sat, taking a knee and putting a hand on Chance's shoulder. "I'm here," he says. "Tell me what's going on."

>The Index is planning on attacking the Saint's Warehouse.

    The priest sighs and nods. "Thank you for letting me know," he says. "I want you to go and find Gamble. Then I'd like you both to take some food and some comic books, find someplace safe, and stay there until one of us calls for you. Here at the Print is fine, but promise me you won't come looking for us, and stay away from any windows. If you want to help, take a radio with you. You can give me an exclusive interview after." Berislav ruffles Chance's hair. "I love you both, tell Gamble I said so, and I'll be back soon."

    He rises, wipes his hands with a rag lying on the table, and tosses it back, landing in a half-heap on top of the opened-up generator. His left hand rises, streaking burning orange through the air as a burner cell phone is pulled from a pocket dimension. "Kim. It's Father Berislav. I'm afraid this isn't a social call, but there is good news. Our plan is working--now comes the hard part of seeing it all the way through. The Index is moving on the Saint's warehouse. I need strong people there. I'll leave it to you to decide who, and I'll bring some of my own choices as well."

    "There's one more thing, before you go," he adds, loading one of his big-frame revolvers one-handed, rolling bullets pulled from that orange space down his palm with mechanically inhuman dexterity, to slide neatly into the swung-open cylinder. "R Corp has taken the bait. We have an opportunity to pull a lot of weeds, today. Make sure your people know to be careful--they're desperate enough to send the Rhinos."
Father Berislav Two Hours Ago

    Berislav rounds the corner of the street bearing the warehouse and lifts his hand in greeting to Kuwaba and Yuri, then to Kim and the rest of the Blade Lineage as he draws closer. He takes a survey of the street, noting where the alleys empty, if any, and how tall the other buildings on the block are. Over his stitch-mended black cassock is a gunbelt, where both of his heavy revolvers rest, asymettrically aligned and grips facing inwards for a twist draw.

    "Yuri, I'm glad you could make it," he says, after his cursory examination. "You too, Kuwaba. I want you to know that I appreciate you being here, regardless of what happens. I know that you're one of our newer members. If you feel overwhelmed, Kuwaba, rally to me, Yuri or Kim. You're not alone, and you're fighting for something much more important than any of the gardeners of sin who come here thinking only of what they can steal."

    Kim gets a pat on the shoulder and an affirming squeeze. "I'm so proud of what we've built together. Ready to shatter some of the beast's teeth today?"

One Hour Ago

    Berislav circles the premises and seems satisfied with the perimeter the Alliance has made. Rather than take up a spot at one of the doors, he calmly leaps with inhuman strength and grace, tucking into a backflip and landing atop the roof of the warehouse.

Now

    Berislav scans the surroundings. It's more or less what he expects, except... "The Smiling Faces?" he asks in perplexment, eyes narrowed. "What are they doing here?" This is going to be a long fight. I can't afford to be wasteful--several with one trajectory is the best approach this early on. His thumbs push the cylinders of both revolvers. Click. Click-click.

    "Yuri," he says over the local radio, "Help me get rid of the Faces. I don't know why they're here, but I don't like that they are." He doesn't see the Shi infiltration team, but he maintains a healthy suspicion of coincidences regardless.

    The twist draw happens with such relaxation as to make the speed of it a terrifying sight. From his vantage point, Berislav whips one revolver to the right as if throwing a hook with the barrel. It barks, and a twist of his wrist at the last moment clips the end of the bullet, setting it on a curved trajectory. The projectile's parabolic arc gently avoids the Blade Lineage perimeter--not that the heart-stopping 'zip' of its passing or the spray of blood from its intended targets is terribly reassuring absent the context of who sent it that way. The cartridge is nearly the size of a human finger, unfired; fired, it's large and fast enough to pass through several Faces before its momentum dies out.
Veronica     Thanks to plenty of forewarning, Veronica is already at the Warehouse and stanced up in Baker and Seventh before the fighting begins. Being the physically largest presence from the jump makes her a target, she knows, but no-one among the Watch's team is better suited for shrugging off 'chip damage'. Stray projectiles, thrown weapons etc occasionally escape from the fray and bounce off her EGO's concrete body.

    She's also, she reckons, better suited for fighting Rhino Squad than most of the others here; she may not be suited for dodging their hammers, but she also may not *need* to with Baker and Seventh's continually regenerating form. Before she moves in on them, however, she tunes Baker and Seventh's speakers, emitting a series of rapid sonic pulses to echolocate around the block - and is glad she did so. She can't recognize who exactly, but *somebody's* trying to take advantage of the chaos.

    "Shit, there's - somebody's sneaking around back!" she radios. "Hibiki, if you're still inside can you go check that out?"

    Then she moves to engage Rhino Squad as 'some bird guy' descends to lay down some hazards in the R Corp agents' path. Eight meters tall and effectively made of stone, Baker and Seventh doesn't have to worry about human-sized swords littering the ground as much as someone of normal size would. Veronica takes advantage of this to position herself between Kale's wind-wall and the Warehouse.

    When the first Rhinos march through, she lashes out with her EGO's power-line whip. The steel cables won't tear through such heavy armor, but it doesn't need to. With a current flow upwards of three hundred thousand volts, the electricity surging through the lash should be enough to completely overload and shut down the 'power' part of 'power armor', leaving the Rhino vanguard imprisoned and motionless in their own shorted-out suits.

    Veronica is attacking RHINO SQUAD
Odette Raskins Despite the simmering tension between the Hand and the Yurodiviye Alliance pointing towards an eventual escalation, Odette wasn't really expecting things to develop into an all out battle the way it's looking like things will end up today. With her anxiety rocketing through the roof at how many injuries or fatalities there's going to be by the time this is all done, the medic's already opening up a can of something shakily while approaching the site of the big clash.

It certainly doesn't help that she's been called right at the end of her shift at regular work, either, so she's already running on fumes while scurrying along in her Company blues rather and whites. She's in the middle of folding a stretcher up into an almost-compact shape to cram into her bag, too, when she stops to see that the fighting's already well underway.

"Bags are good, stretcher is oiled up, extra stretchers back in the... Grk."  Odette freezes up for a moment as the sheer breadth of the fighting overwhelms her for a moment, and then her gaze happens to fall upon the masked spearmen tangling with the Blade Lineage. Knowing full well how much damage a well-aimed spear can do from personal experience, she hurries past the gunfire erupting around her to go and join the Blade Lineage.

"If you're wounded and standing, get back over here! And if someone's down, call them out!" She tries to direct the Blade Lineage's attention some to make her work a little easier, ready to wrap up wounds and give the fighters a healthy dose of painkillers to keep them in the fight longer. "Come on, come on... We need cover over here! Don't worry, you'll be fine, I gotcha. Ah... Hold them back!"

If she sees or hears anyone calling for aid, meanwhile, the EMT goes right into... Well, EMT mode, sprinting through oncoming spears with deft weaving moves and shrieking slides just a hair's breadth away from getting stabbed. An opportunistic heel kick to a spearman's shin later, and she's scrambling right back up to ferry a wounded warrior atop the folding stretcher she's bought while taking cover behind Aika.

During the occasioanlly lull in rescue duties, she's even retaliating against the Smiling Faces herself. Not by trying to stab or dropkick anyone, of course. Instead, Odette's got plenty of glass bottles filled with acid on her, and she's not above pitching them right at those masks. she'll be watching closely to see how the react, too, to know if she should keep testing the resilience of their masks against shattering glass and skin-searing acid.

"Y-you better get out of here while you still can! There's nothing here for you, and this fight isn't worth you all getting hurt, either!"  She shouts at the Smiling Faces, half-desperate to get at least one crew out of this fight, and half-legitimately concerned for whoever they are. The sound of Berislav's weaving bullets zipping right by her bring her both relief and more anxiety, too, as that concern for the Smiling Faces' well-being in these circumstances spikes as well.

"S-seriously! Get out while you still can! And... Oh!" Noticing some familiar faces and uniforms from Trideag nearby, she raises one arm in a broad wave before chucking another bottle at another one of the Smiling Faces. "Help us get these guys out of here!"

PERSONAL TARGET: Smiling Faces
TRIDEAG GOOBS ACTION: ATTACK
SPECIAL ACTION TARGET: Smiling Faces
Hibiki Tachibana EARLIER

    "...If you keep pacin' around like that, you're never gonna settle." Hibiki, also, doesn't push the issue of Kuwaba knowing odd things - instead, she settles for pointedly pushing a soda into his free hand. She came within the hour that Chance's warning came, and since then, she's been helping with getting anyone who doesn't need to be here out, and the heavy labor portions of setting up what blockades they can. It's not much, but better than nothing.

    "This place might not be the Faded Print - but it still represents all the work that's been put in to help who we can. Nobody's gonna let it get run over, no matter who's coming by." She putting on the gung-ho air about this, not even really seeming to be bothered outwards by the tension in the air... but her posture is stiff, and her eyes keep going off to the side, like in thought. "...And you too, Yuri. /We're/ gonna protect it. You're not doing this on your own."

    ...This is going to be a mess. But all the strides the Watch and their allies here have made are something she'll defend no matter what she has to do. On top of everything else, she still considers it her responsibility to put in as much effort as she can for District 12's sake - as someone who was there for Lobotomy Corporation.

NOW

    While the massive brawl between the Thumb and the Index and the strays that everyone else is taking is bad, even Hibiki knows there are more important things than diving straight into that. If they can't protect the Saint's Warehouse, it doesn't mean a thing. As suited as she is to being in the thick of it alongside everyone else, Veronica's warning gives her something else to be alert about. If anyone is at the least risk when it comes to checking something out on their own, it's probably her. And so, by the time the Shi assassins have made their smoke-concealed entrance...

    ...they'll find Hibiki just then stepping in to meet them, eyes narrowing as she tosses her Symphogear's muffler overshoulder. "You guys shouldn't be with anybody else here," even she knows from just one look at the Shi's uniforms and blades. Syndicates like the Smiling Faces butting in is one thing, but between R Corp and now an Association on top of that, this is becoming an even bigger brawl that it should be. "...And since I can't imagine Fixers are tryin' to get some personal gain outta this, I guess someone hired you. You can still slip back out. ...This is gonna be enough of a mess already, without this."

    Even though she says that, she's already squaring up into a boxer-esque ready stance with fists raised, knuckles tensed, and knees buckled to move at a moment's notice - especially at their clear boss in Yujin. They aren't going to get past her, even if she's gotta floor every single one of them.

HIBIKI IS: CONFRONTING THE SHI ASSOCIATION INSIDE. (thanks for the heads-up veronica)
Lilian Rook     Four Hours Ago

    Lilian picks up her phone on the first ring. A major divination every three days is the first hours of her working schedule at Trídéag, and the last one had been more than enough to put her into a state of constant vigilance for the two days since. Taking this call is so clear in every desirable thread of possibility that it feels predestined; like hearing what Xiao has to say on the other end is a formality of fate.

    She already knows what to tell her as well. The highest odds of success, of what she wants to happen, always converge around the same few motifs. The brisk, almost scripted way she replies, pacing around the entire perimeter of her private office block on the thirteenth floor, somehow goes beyond feeling merely professional. More than cool and collected and dazzlingly prepared. It's eerie.

    A small, elite group. Travel light. Focus on eliminating the smallest remaining battle groups with Liu's textbook coordination and numbers, rather than spreading out to hold the line. Take the extra minute to circle the block and attempt to kettle the enemy against Trídéag. Don't expect a substantial support group, because Trídéag isn't prepared to fight a defensive interception like this nearly as well as a battle on home turf. Detach one quarter of Liu's forces to whichever allied group has suffered the most damage; it doesn't matter if it's the Blade Lineage, even. Only attempt to take prisoners from either the Thumb or Index, and only once Trídéag has secured one from the other Syndicate. Guarantee Berislav's life.

    Three Hours and Thirty-Five Minutes Ago

    Lilian drops her phone back onto her desk, and throws her Director's coat over her shoulders. She leaves her Type-13 mounted on the wall, entering the elevator with Night Mist occupying the scabbard at her waist instead.

    Three Hours Ago

    Lilian chooses her twenty most promising prospects; Elites included, dialed at their emergency number. She passes down the order to her admin staff to put the remainder on yellow alert in thirty minutes, and to recall regular patrols from main branch Fixers in ten. Gathered into one place, she delivers an extremely short briefing on the target, enemy, and priorities, then gives five minutes to get armed and ready. Multiversals are given special dispensation to act at-will, locals are organized into their battle groups rather than their training groups.

    One Hour Ago

    Lilian tells Martina that she'll buy her something nice, without much enthusiasm. She takes the call on the move, and focuses most of her attention on not letting the small deviation from her preparations succeed in ruffling her. She announces that there'll be no change of plan; if W Corp sent mercenaries, then unaffiliated catspaws are fair game.

    Now

    The only one against a line of black-green-silver wearing gold, Lilian makes it her job to take in the sight of the approaching storm with as much calm dignity and gravitas as possible. A straight back and a level gaze are the way she best knows how to answer the silent question that everyone asks with their eyes when they look at her from behind: 'Can we win this?'

    "So they've actually gathered some reasonably heavy hitters in one place." Lilian says, finally sliding her elbow from the crook of her sword to rest her fingers on the pommel. Unfortunately, she already knows one of them. The others, she can roughly identify by experience. "This many enemies working at cross purposes spreads us thin just trying to keep the doors shut. We'll have to decrease the number of fronts we're fighting on as quickly as possible." It's dry tactical theory, not meant to achieve anything but making it all sound very simple. Inwardly, Lilian wishes she could just take command of the Watch already. They're the most unpredictable element; not the Index.
Lilian Rook     When it begins, Lilian remains exactly where she is for just a little while. Throwing the hand signal to have her Fixers spread out, she waits and watches until she has a grasp on first contact, all-too briefly getting to imagine herself as the eye of the storm.

    §Asakura charging into the Thumb is foolhardy but necessary. Using his size and durability to tie up the largest force is in line with our established strategy. He should be fine as long as we consolidate force fast enough to back him up. I have doubts about Hearthward's matchup with Rhino squad specifically, but with concrete woman there as a roadblock, I think I can trust him to hold the line. If his heart's in it today, I could see him driving them back. Did those masked people start a vendetta with the Watch? The 'mad father' and his forces are going out of their way to obliterate them as soon as possible. That suits me fine, though. Tachibana on Shi . . . I'll just have to trust in that obstinate durability. We don't have the forces to split.§

    Once glance between the Thumb and Index lines tells her all she needs to know for the call that has to be made.

    §I know Lei Heng. I'm vaguely familiar with Boris. I don't know anything about the Index. I suppose I'll have to give my most promising acquisition a test run if I'm going to conserve our fighting strength and gamble as little as possible.§

    When she looks to Joanna, her thinking is already plain.

    "Get a feel for the enemy officer. If you can take him, stick to him. Capture him if at all possible, but not until the Index is under rout. I'll be fighting with you until someone frees up to take my spot; then Lei Heng is my responsibility." Her fingers brush Winter Crow, then drift away. She'll want to save the ammo for the faction that loves their firearms.

    Once Joanna is off, Lilian rushes towards the Index's lines at the same time, splitting off at an angle partway through to spread out their impact. In her typical style-- overwhelming force generated by speed and directed through momentum-- she crashes into the battlegroup in a literal sense, ploughing through the first unlucky fuck at breakaway velocity and carrying through three lines deep before she even draws her sword, after having already flattened her immediate vicinity. Being her first time fighting the Index, she follows up somewhat conservatively, staying stuck in with the mass and forcing them to take her on in twos and threes in quick, repeated succession; it lets her watch their movements and gauge their equipment as she dispatches them, leaning overwhelmingly on CQC techniques despite the length of her sword.

    LILIAN: Targeting the Index
    SPECIAL ACTION: Joanna -> Hubert
Angela Maxim doesn't look too different from the other Rhinos aside from the big hammer he's carrying. His helmet makes it difficult to really pick out ready features. The Rhinos expected wall but they didn't expect Wind Wall, but it might not matter as the Rhinos slam into it--but as it turns out, the Wind Wall is tougher to deal with than brick and mortar. Their inertia halted, the Rhinos stomp back a few feet---the dashing Kale sword slices seem a little less effective--he's still cutting in but that's real tough armor. The wall blocking their movement forward seems to have been very effective, though, as the Rhinos are disoriented and dizzy. While they're stymied, Veronica--whose EGO is actually as big and tough as their own armor if not more so--takes advantage of their disorientation to bypass their armor altogether and wraps a pair of them in coils, delivering a nasty shock.This doesn't quite disable them entirely, but rather they go a bit haywire as they start smashing everything in sight--occassionally even each other--rather than rushing for the objective. Unfortunately, this includes smashing Veronica while Maxim, sick of the birdemic he's suffering, swings his hammer in a wide arc to try and catch Kale with it and smash him against his own Wind Wall.

Meanwhile, Hibiki interposes herself between Yujin and her team and the others. They stop pretty quickly, wait, and as she gets in position it becomes clear that their optic camo isn't working. The team of assassins appear before her in a shimmer of light.

"Hahh..." Yujin says. "You think it's so easy as to not do a job that we're hired for? That'd doom the the entire branch I manage and my people. This is a job handed down to me by the general manager of the South Association." She raises a hand, and her two companions hold before she places her hand on her hilt. "We're the gentler option. But you don't seem the sort to get spooked so I'll just have to beat you down."

Yujin steps forward, and then an incredible powerful cut rips for Hibiki's chest as she draws her sword and cuts in a singular motion. It doesn't look like intimidation worked out.

Riku also attempts intimidation! Against the Thumb! At the very least he's a big target and while the Thumb apes discipline, they're ultimately not quite the same thing as one might expect from the Liu or Trídéag. They swarm Riku, stabbing at him with their bayonets. Lei Heng watches Riku for a moment as if trying to decide if the ability to get big is something he's supposed to deal with today. It's Boris who runs in amongst the others, throwing fierce augmented punches towards his chest but plenty of others have to break off to fight against the Index who seem all too happy to fight their enemies in conquering the District. Well, maybe happy isn't the right word. Devoted, maybe?
Angela Berislav, Odette, and Aika all decide: Fuck the Smiling Faces. This might be some of that Watch unpredictability Lilian's worried about but, well, no matter how scary the Smiling Faces might be to encounter on a dark knight in the street, they're ultimately a small group. Wiping them out quickly doesn't seem like a bad idea because, really, they seem like real bad news!

Yuri gives Berislav an uneasy nod when she's given the command but summons Frost Splinter to her hand. "A...alright. Stay safe, Kuwaba."

Kuwaba gives Berislav a worried look but holds his position, staring at Lei Heng from across the battlefield.

It is just how it works sometimes that bullets get to go first. Berislav takes down the a pair of Smiling Faces in a single spread of gunfire as he catches them ... well it's hard to say if it was 'off guard' or not with those masks, but they turn to face him only for--

--Solace and Knifty coming from behind thanks to Odette's call for aid carving into them from behind, Solace's axe swing even cleaves a head free. Odette throws acid at their masks. They don't take them off. Maybe they can't. But they laugh, even as their 'faces' melt and their flesh sizzle. Maniacs.

Aika and Yuri come in last, quickly mopping up the squad, taking a couple down each as their bodies slump to the floor. Yuri seems surprised.

"It was...that easy?" She asks. "This wasn't their whole gang but ... I don't see others. Why were they even here?"

SMILING FACES DEFEATED
Angela Joanna is healthier than she used to be, due to having to actively train again. She still has her old instincts and so, like Lilian, she seems to be taking time to figure out what exactly is going on in the fight and where she would best be utilized. But she was never all that about tactics or strategy, she was a Whale Hunter first and foremost.

So she's grateful for the direction. "He's a Proxy. Index bosses are chosen by devotion and Prescript rather than strength but he looks like he's seen his share of real fights." Joanna gives Lilian a nod. "Good hunting."

She breathes in, breathes out, and then becomes pirate. She charges right for Hubert, bowling through numerous Index Prescripts just to reach him. Hubert's eyes widen--this lady, even fallen, is no doubt above his paygrade. But he's the Index. He doesn't care about that.

"As the Prescript wills." He says as his surprise fades. He gets knocked halfway across the block by Joanna's first punch and then as she launches him across the battlefield, peppers him with his silver plasma fire from his cybernetic arm. Index Proselytes leap upon her ineffectually as she cackles and throws Hubert around.

....Until he murmurs, "Take three strikes from silver. Weapon unlocked." He raises that hilt off his and a blade of energy rips out of it as he throws himself back at Joanna, resulting in a back and forth flurry of a fight.

Lilian herself will quickly notice that the Index doesn't fight like an army or even like a gang. Some of them just wait and even step out of Lilian's way while other blindfolded Proselytes step forward to try and swing into her with weapons sealed with giant locks. The swords are well fitted into their scabbards so there's not any cutting force but they still work well as bludgeons.

"As The Prescripts will." They say simultaneously like they are a hivemind, but they are no hivemind. This does prevent them from advancing forward, like fighting Lilian is their real purpose for fighting here, but they have a wide range of skill from total amateurs to decent enough. No real challenge for Lilian, of course, and she can disable any she gets in her hands easy. But despite the strangeness of their movements, there is a sort of flow to them as if they're being guided along by an invisible string.

As the battle rages on, the red and gold colors of the Southern Branch of the Liu Association, heralded by the Lady of Iron Director Xiao herself, approach from the intersection. Xiao is the sort of person who leads from the front and she shouts, "Halt!" and her party stops in formation behind her. "Dame Commander, we have arrived. We are here to assist you. I am gifting you command for the duration of this battle and will relay your decisions to my officers." She's as procedural as ever but there's anger in her eyes. This ''horde'' that only seems to care for their own immediate enrichment doesn't just annoy her, she has a primal distaste for them that her discipline keeps in check. It's a bit of good news.

But that's when another force, seeing the Reindeer are stymied in their progression forward, march in. Reindeer antlered men and women, each carrying a staff and as they swing said staffs, psychokinetic energy slams into Lineage and Trídéag alike.

"Of course Maxim couldn't handle this. Typical." Their leader ... Rudolph (yes really) ... grumbles.

Bamboo Hatted Kim has been given leave to move as he wishes and so his first act is to actually rush Lei Heng. He throws himself into melee with him with a flurry of quick slashes that put Lei Heng on a backfoot as he gets accustomed to the speed.

"Shit...Shit!" Kuwaba says, rushing out onto the field.

"Whew... didn't expect to see a hasbeen. But I suppose you count..." Lei Heng says before detonating an explosion at Kim at close range, throwing him back. Kuwaba catches him before he falls and sets him back down.
Angela CURRENT FACTION HP

SMILING FACES - DEFEATED
Reindeer Team (Rudolph) - 1000 HP
Rhino Team (Maxim) - 592
Shi Association - 500
The Thumb - 3841
Index - 3848
Kale Hearthward Kale gets smashed. He bounces back up pretty quickly, though.

> Veronica says, "Hey, bird-man, get these haywire suits off my back and I'll handle the big guy for ya!"

"Alright - tag out!" Kale swaps with her, going after the ones that'd been fighting her.

He drops down, taking a deep breath as he does so, and on landing lets it all out at once in a conal wind blast from his beak - it's like facing down a hurricane.

Hopefully this will break apart the squad a bit, letting Veronica focus on Maxim.

TRIDEAG ACTION: Still blocking Rhinos!
Riku Asakura Intimidation doesn't work against a well-regulated army, or at least, a well-organized group or a professional fixer association.  Then again, Riku was counting on his size being a factor in this.  Of course, Lilian's thoughts on Riku were right as well; he's a large force that's tough and can hold on long enough for the other forces to get mopped up and taken care of.  

All Riku has to do is hold the line.  This is easier said than done.  The charge of their forces with bayonets causes small damage to Ultraman Geed's legs.  What is really big comes from Boris, who leaps at his chest.  Geed holds a hand out, creating a barrier to brace against the force of the blow, causing the force to be directed into the energy barrier, instead of his chest.  

Geed's hands come up on either side of his chest, as the barrier crumbles and he takes the power of the blow directly onto his armor.  There is a glowing, white-hot beam that charges and fires directly out into Boris, aiming to drive him back into his grunts and beam him down with the power of an Ultra Sun!    

Ultraman Geed: Distracting Boris.
Veronica     "Just around the back, yeah. ...The Shi Association. I think I'm gonna be a little busy here."

    "Yuri, can you go help Hibiki out? She's in a spot."

    Veronica's speakers chirp to life again. "Hey, bird-man, get these haywire suits off my back and I'll handle the big guy for ya!" When Kale agrees to her offer, she does her best to interpose between the other Elite and his opponent. Doing so regrettably involves turning away from the malfunctioning Rhino Squad suits, one of which spins its hammer to collide with the side of Baker and Seventh's leg. Bricks split under the impact, and girders twist - the EGO's next step forward is shaky. But the steps after are increasingly steady again, as the metal un-crumples into usual shape and crushed brickwork grinds back together into a coherent whole.

    Baker and Seventh's power-line whip crackles as it snakes back into the EGO's arm - Veronica doesn't want the Rhinos to all become unpredicatable wrecking balls, that's *her* job! With its free hand, Baker and Seventh reaches out as if grasping for Maxim's hammer. And it *is* grasping for the hammer, from halfway across the street, lifting the weapon from his hands with enormous telekinetic force. The power behind Baker and Seventh's movements is enough to even risk lifting Maxim off the ground, if the hammer isn't torn free of his grasp before that point!

    Once she has the weapon securely in hand, Veronica looks down at it, sized like a child's toy relative to Baker and Seventh's enormous fist. "You won't need this where you're going," she quips as she takes the hammer's head in one hand and its handle in the other. With a bit more exertion than she expected to need - what is this hammer made of, anyway - she bends the weapon's haft into a horseshoe shape and tosses it aside.

    "Now, let's dance!" she shouts over her EGO's speakers, rushing to close the last few meters between her and Maxim and drive him into the ground with open-palmed strikes from Baker and Seventh's enormous stony fists.

    Veronica occupying Maxim!
    Special action: Yuri against the Shi Association squad!
Hibiki Tachibana     She figured it wouldn't be possible for them to back off even if they wanted to, but it would've felt bad to not try. They've got a job they won't relent on - a contract, even - so like it or not, it'll just have to come to a fight. Yujin is right in her assessment; even being the only one here blocking their path at current, she has no intention of backing off against the whole lot of them.

    "--!"

    In her time, Hibiki has dealt with quite a lot of expert sword-wielders. The sole other Symphogear user on her world is one, can't forget the time she lost her arm, and a dozen other occasions. She's at least picked up a few things over the years, though that doesn't mean she's any less immune to such blindingly fast and lethal swordsmanship going for the kill right away. The glint of Yujin's blade flashes, and blood flies through the air in an arc before splattering on the floor.

    It didn't come from a sliced-open chest, however. She barely intercepted the swing with her palms, clapping them together to halt it by force and cut its momentum - an absolutely ridiculous maneuver that leaves her with both oozing red, despite the fact that her vastly increased durability while transformed has helped reduce the gashes to far shallower than they otherwise would've been. That's not pleasant for her at all, but compared to getting put in the ground just like that, much more preferable. And...

    "--I can't let anyone take the things meant for helping people, either!" That grasp on Yujin's blade is used to suddenly wrench it aside, attempting to unsettle her stance and open up her guard - so she can transition the motion into sending a /heavy/ kick towards her stomach to launch her backwards. As ever, Hibiki is obnoxiously non-lethal in the way she fights other people, but City combatants are a lot tougher on the average. She can't afford to hold back /that/ much against a high-up in a Fixer Association.

    Despite her injured palms, she's right back to squaring up right after the fact, and all too ready to throw herself into it. If Yuri is coming as backup, then she can throw herself into trying to disable as many of them as she can so nobody else has to worry about this front...!

    HIBIKI IS: DOING SOME ANIME BLADE CATCHING SHENANIGANS and continuing to block THE SHI.
Aika Rosewater "It was...that easy?" She asks. "This wasn't their whole gang but ... I don't see others. Why were they even here?"

    "No idea. I don't even know who they are, I just don't like what I smell on them." She flicks her hand under her nose, wiggling it a bit. Smell's stuck now. How'd this happen twice? Ugh!

    She glances back at Odette, who seems fine now despite initially taking cover. Getting herself deep into Watch-affairs wasn't really her objective but at least it got rid of the Faces before they could make a mess.

    A blast of telekinetic force interrupts her thoughts though.

    Aika shields herself with her arms, pushed back a few feet despite bracing. Another force? No, they're dressed like those other ones-- well, same colors. Same uniform style, just different bulk and animal motifs. So these deer ones are ranged specialists then? Ignoring them is just bad news.

    She absorbs her swords back into her hands; the silver-blue fire flickers, coating those instead, and trailing behind her footsteps too.

    She steps forward and blurs, passing through the lines of Reindeers with punches and kicks echoing behind her, just a rapid flurry delivered in the time it took her to get into Rudolph's face.

    She kicks the ground, hard; it cracks, shatters, hopefully destabilizing the captain long enough for her to go in with a sudden knee to the stomach, and then an elbow to the back of the head, all flashing with that nasty silver fire.

    AIKA goes for RUDOLPH.
Odette Raskins The routing of the Smiling Faces goes a lot faster and better than Odette expected, but that's of little relief to her when she sees just how it happens. It's certainly much bloodier than she would have preferred, but she's not surprised so much as she's just trying to suppress the visual of heads coming off and bullets going through several people at once before they can get seared into her brain.

"Y.. Yeah! I can't really complain.. Ah. Must've been a distraction, but if we can keep this going, we'll be... The fighting'll be over in no time." She tries to keep her tone upbeat as she replies to Yuri, shrugging lightly after the fact. "N-now just for.. Everyone else. The faster, the better, the fewer people get hurt that don't need to!" She adds, knowing full well she'll have time to freak out over what she saw later tonight.

For now, however, she keeps her mind firmly focused on what still needs to be done. Even with the Smiling Faces dispersed and far more aid coming than she had initially expected from both Trideag and the Liu, there's also the arrival of a new force that Odette isn't immediately certain how to categorize.

"Santa's army...?" She murmurs, briefly awestruck right up until she sees the staff-wielders raising their weapons. "What are..? D-down!" She calls out in another shouted warning before hunkering down behind one of the fallen Smiling Faces, face blanching from getting so close and (thankfully) getting blasted back far enough by the attacks that she doesn't have to look at it for long even if the landing is a painful one

"Geh... Crud, m-more people are here, and I don't think they're with us!" Another called out warning, a sharp inhale from trying to ignore the growing pain in her neck, and then Odette's doubling back and away from the Reindeer. They're a fresh force, after all, and there's plenty more forces here that should be removed quickly as per Berislav's recommendations.

That leaves Odette to pick from either the Rhinos or the Shi. Trusting Hibiki to keep the Shi at bay and breathing a  sigh of relief as Aika goes for the Reindeer, Odette realizes she's going to be tangling with the Rhinos. Her nerves are still frayed as always, of course, as she tries to figure out what a medic with almost no stopping power and a pile of weird chemicals is supposed to do about that.

"Heavy armor, can't hit them head on... Oh! Maybe this'll work, if their armor's that strong!" With an idea forming, Odette alternates between treating the wounded Blade Lineage and Trideag members as well as sifting through the vials in her bag and loading two of them into a small casing.

"Everyone, away from the Rhinos, now! Back in in five seconds!" She calls out, desperately hoping her allies will heed her warning and utilize their relative speed advantage over their more armored opposition. The warning is followed shortly by an eruption of a thick gas the modular grenade, spreading an improvised tear in what Odette can only hope is reaching the Rhinos more than the Yurodiviye and Trideag.

As promised, she also rushes back in five seconds later, hurrying to physically drag a wounded alliance member out of the gas grenade. It'd be pretty easy to nail her with something at that moment, so she's really hoping her call for the Yurodiviye to get back in after five seconds is heeded in time.

PERSONAL ACTION: Engage the Rhinos
Father Berislav      Berislav's thumb clicks the cylinder of his right revolver two chambers over in the same fluid motion that he raises it. The ferocious buck of recoil from a high-explosive round is strangled by his superhuman strength, visible only as a mild kick in his hand. It impacts the ground in front of Lei Heng, preventing him from pursuing Kim with a violent spray of torn up pavement.

     Berislav himself impacts the ground not long after, twirling one revolver to holster it and fling a rengenerative nanopatch out from pocket space towards Kim. It adheres to his body and administers a rush of triage-oriented nanobots into his bloodstream to knit him up.

     "Don't back down, Kuwaba," says Berislav as he rises. "These people want you to throw away what they have."

     "Chance, Gamble," he says, reaching them on the burner from before. "Lei Heng is here. I need something we can exploit to get rid of him. What do you know?"

     Chance's voice on the other end comes back worried and frustrated.

     "It's alright," he says. "That's more useful than you think it is. I'll explain it to you when I'm back. Gamble?"

     Gamble's voice is almost introspective.

     "Mhm. I see... Yes, I can work with that. Thank you, and I'll see you both soon." He hangs up--then crushes the phone to powder.

'Those who die by his sword are never forgotten...' I wonder if that means what I think it does.
Father Berislav <J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "I've crossed blades with Lei Heng before. Or rather, he was ostensibly sent somewhere just to cross blades with me."
<J-IC-Scene> Father Berislav says, "My people just told me something about him I might be able to use. What was your impression of him?"
<J-IC-Scene> Kuwaba says, "He's..."
<J-IC-Scene> Yuri says, "If the Reindeer are here, the Rabbits gotta be lingering nearby..."
<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "He's no Gebura, but he's not to be taken lightly."
<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "Undisciplined, inconsistently motivated, but naturally talented. She's strong, decisive, quick-thinking, and able to improvise. You could say he's someone well-liked by the sword, but he's too focused on the pleasure of fighting itself."
<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "He loves complicated mechanical weapons; loud, explosive, dangerous to everyone including himself."
Berislav's eyes narrow.
<J-IC-Scene> Father Berislav says, "Yes... that's beginning to paint a certain picture."

    Hungry for there to be some greater narrative to what he does, but too unfocused, too in love with violence to be anything other than a caricature of a gun for hire in service of sin. The talent is a problem. But Gamble has shown me a weakness of flesh. Lilian and Chance have shown me a weakness of *spirit.*

<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "He was tough to fight with my Fixer gear. I'm confident I can take him with Night Mist, but that confidence goes down the more things I have to worry about other than him."
<J-IC-Scene> Father Berislav says, "Then let's work together. I'll create an opening and you exploit it."
<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "Well, now that my friends are here, I may have to take you up on it."

     Berislav draws the other revolver. I need an unpredictable angle to overwhelm his talent, but not so much force that he takes me seriously enough to be afraid. I need him to think that I had a chance to kill him and didn't, in order for him to lower his guard. A broken bone should do it, now that I've gotten his attention with that HE round. And the right one should hamstring his ability to use that sword--

     Berislav tears off with an audible crack, the asphalt where he stood just a moment ago pulverized into a backwards spray of fine dust. He leaves ghostly afterimages in his wake as he beelines for Lei Heng, vaulting over rank-and-file, juking around them, and at the last minute, droping into a slide, both guns leveled at Lei Heng. The first three shots are easily within his ability to mitigate--enough to get him feeling himself.

     "Killing your neighbors, instead of your jailors." Berislav's elbow splinters the pavement beneath him, launching him back onto his feet. Before he's even fully standing again, his heavy revolvers are twirled, butts forward to use as clubs. "What a waste of God's gifts." His foot strikes out to check Lei Heng's stance, which he knows will invite a posture switch and a counterattack, given the swordsman's superior reach. That's what he's counting on.

     Hollow point should be just right for this.

     With the same inhuman speed at which he'd approached, Berislav makes an impossible vertical leap, twisting into a tight hurricane of a pirouette, his brow furrowed in concentration. The whole world rushes past him in blistering frames of reference, Lei Heng present in each dizzying moment only for a split second. It's all he needs. A hollow-point bullet won't penetrate the ground. It'll deform and ricochet, instead--flying upwards into the softest part of Lei Heng's wrist. Beriskav's slowing momentum sees each whipping snapshot of the City lasts longer than the one before, and Lilian grows closer in each one.
Father Berislav SPECIAL ACTION: CHANCE AND GAMBLE - LILIAN'S ATTACK vs. LEI HENG
PERSONAL ACTION: ATTACK LEI HENG
Lilian Rook     Lilian considered herself someone who despised fighting until just a few years ago. Now after having let her heart marry the sword, her instincts have become so sharp that they can communicate that something is wrong with fighting the Index by an avenue as indirect as 'disgust'. Although every one of her blows lands with full force, and she turns aside every attack aimed her way, the feeling she feels intensifying by the minute is like the accumulative revulsion of forcing down stale food.

    Even when she hits them, it's like she didn't really hit them. Even though the blows were surely aimed right at her, it feels like stageplay each time she deflects them. She she starts to acquire a new target, someone appears in the center of her vision, as if out of thin air. When she thinks of moving away, the crowd sloshes towards the warehouse, and when she cuts them off, they splash against her instead, as combat were but the rocking of the vessel the acolytes were poured into. Any veteran Fixer would instinctively find it creepy, but Lilian trusts it even less than normal.

    It's just like the unpleasant feeling she gets every time she tries out 'the latest' in combat simulation. It's the same sense of plastic-chewing, zero-calorie bloodshed that always puts her off sparring with anything but live steel.

    §And why does it feel like performing in front of a crowd for charity? I'm not getting any sense of a higher plan at all; they're like hired actors. I can almost hear people cheering for what they want to see next.§

<J-IC-Scene> Father Berislav says, "Then let's work together. I'll create an opening and you exploit it."
<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "Now that's a surprise."
<J-IC-Scene> Kuwaba says, "Father, I can help."
<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "Well, now that *my* friends are here, I may have to take you up on it."

    Frankly, she'll take the excuse to get away from the Index, now. Even if it means fighting that man.

    "Teams Ailm, Beith, Coll, take my position! Team Dair, team Eadhadh, come forward to fill the perimeter!" Lilian shouts the designations decided only hours in advance, naming the handful of three-Fixer cells that she deemed fit to bring with her without letting the enemy anticipate anything. With Joanna dueling their best fighter, and the rank and file not even unsheathing their blades without some signal or another first, she hesitates only slightly to leave them to their own initiative against the Index.

    'Dame Commander, we have arrived. We are here to assist you.'

    And there's her cue. Within tolerances tight enough to call 'right when she expected'. Pulling back from the Index's front line, Lilian crosses past the front face of the warehouse, darting behind where Elites stonewall Rhino team and closing in on the same point as the Watch and Blade Lineage from inside. "No need to be polite, Director!" Lilian shouts in the scant seconds they're both in range. "Verify all remaining R Corp presence, then excute just like we planned!"

    'Shit...Shit!'
    'Whew... didn't expect to see a hasbeen. But I suppose you count...'

    "What was it that Rutger said on that day?" Lilian speaks to herself, too loud to be a whisper and too soft to be meant for anyone else. She understands the gist of Berislav's plan as soon as she sees him commit to that amateurishly optimistic low kick; it's just the timing that clicks when he jumps. "It was . . ." Her left hand racks down the hilt and strikes the pommel. Her right flattens the blade along with the entirety of her stance, dropping her guard completely to lunge from Lei Heng's weakened side in the instant before he realizes he's been shot.
Lilian Rook     Barely a fraction of a second after Berislav fires the telling round, not even having time to tell for herself if it actually worked, Lilian accelerates tenfold and strikes on pure blind faith. A thunderclap chases a streak of black and a smeared zig-zag line of gold; concrete spray and violent wind lags behind in third place. A single feint from the side is registered only as an afterimage; the telling arc weaves under one arm and across the other instead. The pavement beneath and the warehouse wall behind are incidental casualties, split wide open and smouldering red hot.

    She finishes the thought the second she can breathe again. When the wind catches up to Lilian and tosses her hair along with her coat, the nonsequitur that springs to her lips as she turns to face Lei Heng is,
    "Today I have a very good sword."

    LILIAN: Targeting Lei Heng (Thumb)
    SPECIAL ACTION: Trídéag -> Index
Angela EARLIER

"...And you too, Yuri. /We're/ gonna protect it. You're not doing this on your own."

NOW

Yuri gives a small nod to Veronica. "Got it." She says. Though in truth, she's uncertain. Can she really go against the Shi? Even with Hibiki's help? She takes a steadying breath. Courage, she thinks. They keep telling you to be brave. Aren't you more afraid of disappointing them yet?

She rushes over to Hibiki.

"...Impressive." Yujin admits. "I've always been wary of a conflict against Elites." She leans into her sword, pushing her weapon into Hibiki's hands but even when she's trying not to underestimate her, she still doesn't expect the sudden explosion of strength. She's wrenched aside and kicked straight in the belly. Her grip doesn't shake from her blade so it slides back through Hibiki's hands as she's forced back, hacking and coughing from the fierce blow.

Of course, she didn't come alone. Her backup start moving in to cover their boss but--

Yuri wastes no time. She swings her Frost Splinter in a wide arc, a frosty haze erupting from her EGO and covering their swords--

--and with a second swing she shatters them into shards.

Yuri blinks in surprise. "Huh??" She's slowly learning that her experiences at Lobotomy Corp may have made her... actually pretty good at a chaotic mess of a fight.

Yujin, now desperate, takes another thick strike for Hibiki's midsection--no doubt expecting that Hibiki certainly can't CLAP her blade again!
Angela Kale and Veronica stick to the Rhinos and Odette comes by to lend a hand. They're weakening, but they're unfortunately really tough and stubborn. That's probably why R Corp sent them in first--they were never meant to be the ones to come away with the prize, they were supposed to tire everybody out so the Reindeer (and presumably the Rabbit) can slip by and take it all.

'Winds' continue to be helpful, continuously fucking with the momentum of the Rhinos who aren't very mobile even if they can be real fast. They just don't have the sort of agility to adjust where they are going on a fly. They can be thrown about. The tear gas is partially filtered through their helmets but not entirely. They're coughing and crying and it'd be a little sad if they weren't corporate goons!

That's when Lian and Ying, Sarracenia's old buddies--seemingly sent off by Xiao due to their experience in working with Outsiders, come rushing in to help!

"Is she a mecha??" Lian gasps.
"She's a guardian statue! Let's help!" Ying shouts.

As Maxim is about to bring his hammer down upon Veronica, they stab forward with blades that burn with fire, catching him in the back of his legs, causing him to stumble--

Veronica pounds her fist into Maxim's face, knocking him on his back, then slams her fist into his face a few more times until his body goes completely still, his hammer dropping from his hands and clattering to the floor.

RHINOS DEFEATED

Aika goes for Rudolph. He is a grey haired young man with an antler and a half of an antler embedded in his skull. He, and the rest of the Reindeer, wear standard issue form fitting R Corp power armor. She can throw her fists into Reindeer on the way--they aren't as tough as the Rhinos, but they're still armored. Rudolph stumbles as the ground cracks underneath his feet, then he straightens up, blows air out of his nose--looking battered but only just. He swings his staff for Aika's chin, aiming to knock her up in the air and then blast her with a plasmic telekinetic surge right for her stomach.

"Weird." He says of catgirls.
Angela Boris might be one of the Thumb's Elites, but he's not Lei Heng. He's tough, heavily augmented, and his fists hit like sledgehammers but he isn't some sort of one of a kind warrior. He's a brawler with good instincts.

In short, it's real easy to keep him occupied. The only question is how long RIku can handle it while also holding back The Thumb. He's able to bring his fists up to cover his face from the glare of the sun (his sunglasses aren't really enough). It washes over him, but many of his compatriots aren't so lucky.

This doesn't stop from the retaliation. Bayonets, gunfire, and Boris attempting to heft the giant, but not BUILDING SIZED, Ultraman and swing him around until flinging him into the Warehouse, hoping to catch him through a brick wall but will happily accept a window. He's a free-wheeling guy like that.

''Don't back down, Kuwaba.''

"Father." Kuwaba says. "I promise you I am not afraid. But Lei Heng is more than he appears. Let me help."

He jogs after him, confident that the others can help protect the supplies. After all, they haven't even taken one item from the Saint's Warehouse yet.

Berislav approaches with Kuwaba close behind--so close as to obscure his own body from being easily seen by Lei Heng.

Lei Heng considers Berislav an appropriate target even if he's more concerned about Lilian herself. After all, he's got the reputation and he's got the weapons and he surely must have some skill in firearms to not be dead yet. Ultimately, Lei Heng is a sword guy, but he's not exactly a conventional one. In a way, he's one of the less likely Stars to underestimate the Mad Father--at least as a matter of stubborn tradition and pride.

"Ah, buddy. It's a bit presumptive to say I'm in prison right? Just because a fellah loves a cage match doesn't mean he's trapped inside." He grins. "Think I haven't dealt with guns before?"

Berislav throws a kick. Lei Heng senses Berislav is up to something and retaliates his kick with a kick of his own, more of a block really. He snaps it back quickly. He's a big guy, but he doesn't seem off his posture. He's being CAUTIOUS. But he whistles, impressed, all the same as Berislav leaps above him. That almost lures him into a strike.

But no. He waits. He waits until he sees him fire his gun--not at him. He doesn't expect a ricochet. Instead he swings his blade up in a wide arc with sudden explosive speed, an eruption of fire and shrapnel aiming to catch Berislav in midair--

--but by focusing on Berislav, he has forgotten who was behind him. His swing is interrupted at its apex--though Berislav is still going to have to deal with a vast concussive force--but it's not just that ricocheting bullet that got him. It hits him in the wrist, sure, of course it does. And it bleeds real badly, though it's slowing him down less than what Berislav would like in the moment.

But then that hand is no longer attached at the wrist. Kuwaba's sword has been drawn from his scabbard for the first time as Lei Heng's hand spins past him. A glimmering blade that shimmers like a pool of water reflecting the night sky.

"You...! Why are you helping him?!" Lei Heng scowls, his good mood souring rapidly.

"He is the man I've chosen as apprentice. He is the man who will become the next Chiei Star." Kuwaba says. "He exemplifies courage more than any other man I know for true courage is that which inspires it in others."
Angela Lilian has a moment to leave the Index to Trídéag. Frankly, it DOES feel disturbing fighting the Index. At least Hubert seems to have some fighting talent, but these guys? It just doesn't feel right. It's like they've given themselves entirely to faith well beyond sense but maybe there is something behind that faith, even if it cares nothing for them.

Trídéag moves in, blocking off the Index's path like a mountain parting a river. The G Corp refugees have already known how to fight as a unit and Dart's team learned how through Trídéag. They may be duelists, but they laugh as they fight the Index, as if they elected to join the stageplay but as the heroes.

"Yes ma'am." Director Xiao says, whistling as she sends a contingent looking for the Rabbit Team. They're surely there. One part of the Pack could mean a solo job, two means they sent the whole team.

But in the meantime, the rest of Xiao's people move to mow down the Index, tearing into them with blades and fists of flame.

Kim moves on, giving a nod to Lilian as she passes. He's not the type to try and swarm down Lei Heng. Instead he moves to help Riku with the Thumb, but even a master swordsman is only one swordsman against this many.

But surely Lilian isn't going to let the opportunity that Berislav and Kuwaba left her go to waste. While the Tiger is off balance...

Lilian is given the perfect moment. She strikes. The blade punches through Lei Heng, completely undefended and he is thrown back YARDS from the blow. Blood sprays from his chest and out his back as he is forced to stab Tanglecleaver into the ground to avoid falling.

"Hahhh....You come up with all that on the fly...? But I won't let you take my hand for free, Kuwaba..."

He grins. "That man there... He didn't tell you did he? He's with... The Pinky." He spits blood to the side. "A Finger just like me."

He sends a detonation flying Lilian's way without swinging his blade, entirely to give him some space. Soldato rush forward to protect him while he's seriously wounded.
Angela "Got them. R Corp is moving in...!" Xiao shouts suddenly.

Myo, who may be familiar to some, is rushing for the entrance to the Saint's Warehouse. "It's time to graze the grass..." She murmurs, glancing over to Lilian, but ultimately pushing on for her objective as a slew of rabbit-eared power armored ladies rush forward with her, each carrying automatic weaponry.

And by Hibiki...W Corp finally makes its moves. Portals open inspace right before her eyes as Fixers, equipped with crackling plasmic-electric knives, step on through. "What the fuck--the Shi was supposed to have cleared the path by now..." Their leader hisses. "Hurry just grab it--we can portal out and skip all this bullshit...!"

RHINO TEAM - DEFEATED
Reindeer Team - 736
Rabbit Team - 1000
W Corp Team - 500 (unblockable, defeat this turn to stop them)
Shi Association - 118
Index - 3348
Thumb - 2960
Riku Asakura The barrier is worn down by bayonets again, as Ultraman Geed attempts to weather the storm of grunts and Boris.  This time, Boris attempts to throw Geed into the warehouse, but Geed is made of sterner stuff than that.  Instead of being lifted, Geed pushes back, attempting to flatten the man, and attempts to break free of that hold.  Eventually, Geed just kicks the man off, freeing himself from the hold... but not the retaliatory strikes from his men.  

Sparks rain from the blows, but Geed holds firm against the storm of fixers.  He manages to keep the damage light enough that he can still power through them, holding on for just a little bit more.  He just has to hold on for Lilian and Trideag to bring the cavalry. However, he's momentarily distracted by getting help from a swordsman.  While a singular force, Kim's aid is recognized by the giant of light, who gets a nod.

Riku's right hand becomes a blazing inferno as he boosts towards Boris, this time attempting to bring the fight to the augmented man as best as he can.  As he gets close, he punches the man, while a beam of red-hot fire bursts out of his arm.  He repeatedly hits Boris, each shot becoming hotter than the last until it becomes a white-hot flame.  

With an all-out punch, he sends the beam of white-hot flame towards Boris and his men, attempting to deal more damage to them and keep them away from the warehouse.    

Ultraman Geed: Distracting Boris.
Aika Rosewater "Weird."

    ???
    Aika is momentarily stunned by the scrawny boy with deer antlers calling *her* weird. Not so much that she lets her guard down, but she seems genuinely... insulted? Or confused? Something between the two? It's between the two for sure, and she's not sure how to take it.

    "What is your PROBLEM?"

    The staff comes up-- Aika catches it, frowning, and while the point-blank blast shreds her glove right off, it seems he might have miscalculated just a bit how resilient she is. Her skin lights up, illuminated as the silver-blue tattoos get brighter, her eyes finally shifting to that same color from their previous catty green.

    "I'm going to break that staff on you now. I recommend cooperating, but don't be weird about it."

    Everything goes into her strength. It's not a fancy maneuver either. She puts her other hand on Rudolph's staff, tries to yank it out of his hands, and then violently clubs him with it. Until it breaks, preferably, or he does, and she's fine either way.

    She's not going to *kill* him, especially if he does end up realizing surrendering is in his best interests. But she's not pulling the blows either.
Kale Hearthward <J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "Hearthward! I'm leaving two teams with you! You're a senior Fixer, so take temporary command!"
<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "Clear out the Shi Fixers inside! Your discretion!"

Kale's preferred method of combat (rushing in spells and sword blazing as the vanguard) is so often his modus operandi that he himself forgets that he's got tactical training and experience.

... Well, that, and Lilian is usually also there to handle things.

"Right - first team, take the front and move in. Move cautiously, sweep the area and gain ground, put pressure on everyone inside."

"Second team, converge on my position."

It's a modified pincer attack. The first team's the main front, but while they're engaging he's moving the second team, one Fixer at a time, to key positions - literally moving them himself, airlifting them up to windows or skylights or whatever other nonstandard points of ingress they can use - where they can provide ranged support or drop in on the Shi fixers as appropriate.

Kale can't fight much himself since he's busy moving the other Fixers around, but he does cast spells to support the battle inside when he has the opportunity.

Blocking Shi Association!
Veronica     Veronica is downright surprised at the ease with which Maxim goes down, before she spies the Liu agents behind him with their flaming swords. "Thanks," she broadcasts over her speakers. "I guess I am kind of a guardian statue, yeah." With one enormous hand, she points at the Reindeer Team operatives. "Think you can help my friends deal with that lot?"

    Then she's stomping around to the front of the building, where the rest of R Corp's forces are attempting to storm the place. Rabbit Team has a fearsome reputation for their firearms expertise, but Veronica has an advantage - Baker and Seventh's body is homogenous all the way to (albeit not including) its core, and extremely durable to boot. Bullets chip away at the brick-and-concrete colossus as Veronica advances, but her EGO neither bleeds nor flinches.

    As she nears the Rabbit Team's position, Veronica turns up her EGO's speakers to maximum power. To most of the present parties their sonic blasts are audible as a sort of repeating arhythmic BLOOP-BLOOP-BLOOP sound, but within the area occupied by Rabbit Team (and blessedly nobody else at the moment) the effects are explosive and deafening. Glass shatters, ears bleed, the ground shakes so erratically that it becomes impossible to aim well. Without the ability to effectively focus their fire, or to hear their officer's commands, they're a fair shake easier to rush than before.

    When Veronica gets in close with the R Corp agents, she finally turns off the sonic blasts and readies the lamp-post-and-concrete bludgeon that's been hanging at her Ego's side. With mighty, sweeping swings she casts Rabbit Team gunners this way and that, wading through their position to cause maximum chaos.

    Attacking Rabbit Team!
    Special Action: Liu buddies help Odette with Reindeer Team!
Odette Raskins Another volley of attacks, and the Rhinos are forced back as well! Odette almost feels bad about the effects of her homemade tear gas experiment on them, but she can't feel too bad considering how much armor they have on.

She's just glad they didn't get a chance to crack her skull open with said armor, or their weapons. She still sucks in a sharp breath when Veronica goes to town on his face enough to make him go limp, though, but she's not quite ready to check on him just yet when there's still so many more people swarming out from the wordwork trying to get at the Saint's Warehouse.

"One more group down.. Ah. R-reallocating!" She calls out to Lilian reflexively, looking over at said warehouse to see what the situation is still like. The Reindeer are still around, and she considers joining the battle against them with Aika, but seeing that battle between Berislav and Kuwaba against Lei Heng makes it hard to look away. "A good pick... He's done a lot for the City, s-so of course he'd be chosen!"

As the medic shouts her support for Berislav in this moment, however, she catches a glimpse of something off from the corner of her eye. "R... Rabbits?" She murmurs as she sees said squad led by Myo making her move, and following them with her eyes leads her to noticing those portals. "Teleporters...? Oh heck. We've got more coming incoming! T-teleporting in!"

With those warnings shouted out, however, Odette once again refocuses herself on trying to help rout the groups that had been here the longest, and on providing medical aid. With Aika handling Rudolph, the medic tries to figure out how she can possibly help fight off the rest of the reindeer-themed squad and keep them off her back.

Luckily, she's not facing them down on her own. With Veronica recommending the Liu come to her aid, that leaves the medic in a good spot to offer combat support. Seeing her fellow Trideag-uniformed allies in the battle as well, she once again waves her arms wildly to try and grab their attention. "Solace! Knifty! Between us and the Liu, we can force them off! J-just don't get killed, or it'll be a while!"

What does that mean? She hopes she won't have to elaborate or demonstrate later. In her haste to get around, of course, Odette's still trying to weave through the Reindeer's continued attacks with modest success, only yelping every now and then when a blast from those staffs bowls her over and nearly has her landing on a dropped weapon or pile of broken scrap. The scrapes nd bruises don't seem to be slowing her down much at all, though, driven by both a pre-fight energy drink and adrenaline to try and keep her allies fighting fit!

Also, fear. Lots and lots of fear, and a general unwillingness to slow down while she knows any one of these attackers could very well take her head off in a second.

Odette still sneaks in attacks of her own when she gets the chance to between tending to the wounded, of course. Unlike the Rhinos, the Reindeer appear to be less densely armored, and that means there's (probably) less material to burn through! She goes back to the tried and true strategy of hurling bottles filled with acid and other irritants right at them, whipping the fragile containers around fast enough that they'll shatter on impact with a spray of glass, assorted chemical burns, and itching substances to try and buy her allies more time to capitalize and drive the Reindeer away.

PERSONAL ACTION: Engaging the REINDEER with LIU power
SPECIAL ACTION: Calling TRIDEAG to battle REINDEER
Lilian Rook     'Hahhh....You come up with all that on the fly...? But I won't let you take my hand for free, Kuwaba...'

    "What's the matter, Lei Heng?" Lilian says, using the man's name to his face for the first time. "You were a different man back at that warehouse. Is it just because you had time to sit and build up anticipation?" She flicks his blood from her blade, in a thick sheet across the ground. "You just couldn't get excited with a sub-par partner, is that it? I had high expectations of you, but if you just can't perform unless your heart is in it, that's a rather glaring weakness."

    She steps to the side, absolute minimum motion, so that the blast shears past her face and whips up the ends of her coat. For a moment, he has a clear view of the armour she has on underneath; not the Association issue she'd worn at the meeting, but the seemingly unassemblable black plate, straight from that old viral video. The light catching in the moving seams looks almost like tiny, ephemeral gold stars. "It's going to be bad for you going back to your boss like this, isn't it? Well, if they let you live long enough that you one day reach my level, I suppose I'll be waiting."

    And yet, no sooner has she vanished again . . .

<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "Inside! Status report!"
<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "I'm confirming neutralization of Rhino! Reallocate assets!"
<J-IC-Scene> Odette Raskins says, "R-reallocating! Ah heck, ah heck.. We've got more incoming! T-teleporting in!"
<J-IC-Scene> Hibiki Tachibana says, "Ngh... Shi are getting driven back, but I think that's-- Fixers from /portals/? Me and Yuri'll stop them--!"
<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "If that's their real strike team, don't go wasting manpower. I've already prepared for this eventuality."
<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "Hearthward! I'm leaving two teams with you! You're a senior Fixer, so take temporary command!"
<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "Clear out the Shi Fixers inside! Your discretion!"
<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "I'm reallocating Liu to Warp Corp's buffoons! Trídéag do *not* engage!"

    Having given Berislav exactly what he wanted, Lilian feels confident in leaving it to him and his strangely loyal men. As much as she'd love to pile on Lei Heng until he's permanently erased from her long list of worries, the best she can do is leave him rattled and injured before moving on to everything else on the list.

<J-IC-Scene> Director Xiao says, "Naturally I would not be able to move against a Wing."
<J-IC-Scene> Director Xiao says, "But these do not look to be W Corp agents. They must have stolen this technology."
<J-IC-Scene> Director Xiao says, "So we will deal with them."
<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "Naturally."

    Of course that's bullshit. But it's bullshit W Corp will know better than to push an Association as large as Liu on, especially over a team this small and an operation this covert and dirty. The same couldn't be said of Trídéag. So Lilian blows the side door off its hinges and through one of the portals at some point in the melee, just as she directs Xiao's attention to the inside.

    §Vultures everywhere. Hyenas fighting over the rotting carcass of Lobotomy Corporation. Just drop dead already so we can deal with the Syndicates.§
Lilian Rook     With the Thumb having taken such a heavy blow, and with multiple Elites now supporting Riku, Lilian reeappears right back on the front lines against the Index as if she'd never left, faintly smoking over her first few steps. The combat teams she'd directed to support Joanna are relieved by a suddenly, inexplicable strike from the air, with the tail end of "--na Haille!" drowned out in the thunder. The diffuse impact goes off like a bomb in their formation, allowing Lilian to follow up with rapid switch-ups and seamless strings of motions on completely different targets while they're regrouping.

    LILIAN: Targeting the Index
    SPECIAL ACTION: Xiao & Liu -> W Corp
Hibiki Tachibana     "Hah... it's not like you're exactly making this easy on me, either..." Hibiki inhales sharply while tensing and de-tensing her injured hands, extra lacerations drawing blood from the withdrawing slice, readying herself and stifling down any grunts of pain. Yujin is probably more /skilled/ than she is, but she's definitely stronger and more durable. That's her assumption, at least. It's fine if she's outskilled by the Shi assassins, though. She just has to make sure they're nobody else's problem, at least until--

    "...Yuri--!"

    Even knowing she's coming, the entrance still gets her wide-eyed - kind of hard not to be when she disarms the whole lot of them in one go, and in super dramatic fashion too. She blinks in some surprise herself... and then manages a smile under her scarf. "...Thanks. Looks like you've gotten a lot tougher than you thought. Guess it takes havin' something you gotta protect with all you've got to help bring it out." Not that she can bask in being happy for Yuri for too long, given not only Yujin is still squaring them down, but...

Shi are getting driven back, but I think that's-- Fixers from /portals/?
If that's their real strike team, don't go wasting manpower. I've already prepared for this eventuality.
Rabbit Team wants some? Lemme at 'em!

    "Sounds like Lilian's got plans to handle things here. And we've also got even more company coming in..." She tenses up as the Warp-equipped Fixers begin flooding in. Naturally, her first urge is to go and punt them right back through the rips in space they entered from. But if Lilian and Xiao have a plan for it, she knows it can be left to them. "Have my back a while longer? ...Sounds like we gotta greet them at the front door."

    Tagging out to let Kale's command and the Liu Association's Fixers mop up here, she gives one last mixed glance to Yujin before doubling back on a sprint through the warehouse...

    ...

    "Not so FAAAAAST--!"

    And when she /does/ make it to the front, it's at full speed, storming right towards the onrushing Rabbits to meet them halfway like a barreling freight train. The fact she might be running straight into a storm of bullets doesn't bother her at all; better they aim at her than Yuri behind her. At least until she buckles her knees, springboards up meters into the air as the piston jacks on the back of one armored boot eject forward--

    --and slam back into place at the same instant she comes back down on a heel drop into the road concrete, cracking it underneath the impact... and more importantly, releasing a thundering, visible shockwave of kinetic force out to halt as many of them in their tracks as possible. Her favorite trick!! Combined with Veronica's sonic assault and Yuri's support, they should do a pretty good job of stopping their charge!

    Her hands /really/ hurt, actually, so it's a good thing her kicks are no slouch either.

    

    HIBIKI IS: INTERCEPTING RABBITS.
    SPECIAL ACTION: YURI -> RABBITS.
Father Berislav     Berislav has no special means of avoiding an explosion, in midair, as he descends to meet it. Other than the network of subdermal plates that toughen his body against harm, and the cybernetic bones and musculature beneath them, he has no readily available means to mitigate it, either. What he has will stop it completely, or it won't. That's the frightening thing about passive defenses like armor; they work until they don't.

    It doesn't work--Berislav faces the explosion which was priced into the attack in the first place, a placid expression illuminated by the fire. The force of the blast prolongs his airtime, hurls him backwards and sets his cassock ablaze, flipping him end over end. That much, at least, he can mitigate. Righting himself in midair as flames whip from his habit, he lands with fingers dug into the asphalt and cracking furrows into it to halt his backwards slide. In one motion, he whips the flaming cassock off and snaps it, snuffing the flames by wadding it up, then hurling it into a burning orange space.

    "Kim," Berislav says over the radio, "Lei Heng is out of the fight. Please help our giant friend with Boris."

    His back is to Lei Heng--it's a mosaic of scars. Some were had in battle; chaotic, fleeting, jagged in their paths. The found purchase of swords and knives, the brutal splits of bludgeons, the starbursts of passing bullets which long ago ripped through him. But the oldest, older than the beatings, are the faded, orderly lines of a scalpel.

    He turns to face the Reindeers, both pistols drawn, and feathers the triggers, arms and wrists adjusting for each shot in the barrage to send an arc of deadly fire harmlessly around Aika and very harmfully through several of the Reindeers, bouncing them off of asphalt, brick, and for the last two, *each other* to create erratic and difficult to track trajectories.

That man there... He didn't tell you did he? He's with... The Pinky.

    Berislav looks over his bare shoulder at Lei Heng. "Take a closer look at this perimeter. There are former Kurokumo fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Blade Lineage. Why? Because they want to stab me in the back?" He turns to face Lei Heng, silver eyes piercing as surely as bullets. "Or because I reminded them that they can choose to not to live like animals?"

    "I'm asking you now. Can you point that sword upwards, where it belongs? Towards the Fingers, the Wings and the Head, in defense of your neighbors instead of your abusers?" If Lei Heng has heard of the 'Mad Father,' then he knows why this question is being asked. "Or will I send you to Christ now, to be judged at the end of days?"

PERSONAL ACTION: ATTACK REINDEER
SPECIAL ACTION: KIM -> BORIS
Angela As it turns out, Kale is pretty well liked amongst the Trídéag Fixers. Is he an asshole? And a showboater? Sure. But he's also never really faltered and being kind of a dick doesn't lower your charisma checks too much in The City. Sometimes it even enhances them.

Finn and Pete join Kale in pushing the Shi Association out. What they lack in tactical acumen, they make up for in a willingness to follow directions and 'pincer attack' is pretty well established.

"Yujin... This isn't tenable." One of her men says to her.

"...Looks like you win." Yujin says, dipping her head. Her gaze slants over to the incoming Kale. "Picking a battle with another Association like this is something I wished to avoid."

They turn to run, but Kale certainly harries them to make sure they don't get any bright ideas. The wind is constantly at their back in a bad way and occasionally Finn and Pete get a good cut in on one of them, but they're not really the type to kill a fleeing opponent. Well, Finn isn't. And Pete's mood is too good for him to stab someone in the back.

''AIKA BONK''

Rudolph blinks in surprise. He's clobbered in the head. He grimaces immediately, blood dripping down his forehead.. "Aghh...fuckckkk FUCCCCCK! FUCK FUCK FUCK!" Rudolph shouts then YANKS his staff back with rage-maddened strength. "My head's... KILLING ME..." He says as a telekinetic explosion erupts out of him and threatens to send Aika flying. "Wings it was fine for once then you had to hit me there...!"

''Think you can help my friends deal with that lot?''

Going against a Wing means different things from time to time. R Corp are mercenaries, they're expected to fight and they're expected to be fought against. But also there's just the fact that Lian and Ying don't have the same responsibilities as Xiao to answer for the actions of the Association. After a moment of thought, they determine 'it'll probably be fine if they're too dead to report back'. "Sure thing!" They say in unison like Twin Sleep before rushing off to help Odette.
Angela There's no way that Xiao is unaware that these mercenaries armed with W Corp technology aren't fully authorized by W Corp to use it, but plausible deniability is a wonderful thing for an Association Director. It isn't a convenient little wrinkle that she'd use carelessly, but her job here--the job she was SENT here to do--was to restore order to District 12. And the Lady of Iron doesn't have her reputation because she backs down every time corporate interests show their hand.

Of course, her forces are vast enough that she can't just send all of them to deal with some sneaky little force teleporting in and out of the Saint's Warehouse so she decides it'll be best if she just deals with it herself. Taking a small group of Liu Fixers with her, she marches through the battlefield, cutting down Index and Thumb alike when they're in her way but otherwise leaving them be. She climbs in through a broken window and looks towards the band of Fixers that are all kitted up. They aren't low level Fixers, though they're hardly Grade 1s either. That tells her plenty just with a look.

What isn't really well known is that Xiao isn't just a Grade 1 herself. She's a Color candidate herself. She hasn't been tested or given the position but many see her as someone who is just on the cusp.

Myo slips past Veronica, but two of her teammates end up intercepted and blasted away from her with sonic blasts. Bludgeoning them while they're disoriented can keep them down.

Myo and another pair of Rabbits slink into the Saint's Warehouse.

"Don't bother lingering for a fight, Maxim fucked up." Myo tells the others before coming up short before Yuri and Hibiki.

"Yeah..." Yuri says quietly, thoughtful. "I've got your back." She brings her sword before her, more confidently. More honestly confident. Hibiki's shockwave sends Myo's support flying back. They are the fast quick units, not the tanks.

"You people... Don't you know what you've even done? And here you are setting up your own little kingdom." She raises her assault rifle up and sprays Hibiki down with her full firepower. "Sometimes I gotta wonder what the upper brass is thinking."

But it's becoming pretty apparent to her that the other teams failed to make room for her to slip through. She's still shooting Hibiki though. Because she's unhappy about that. Because her bosses are sure to take it out on the Fourth Pack.
Angela Kim gives Berislav a nod and rushes over to Boris, slicing into his right arm and pushing him away from Riku, giving the Ultraman a much needed reprieve.

Boris says, "Motherfucker!" Riku's follow up giant flaming fist send him flying, sending him out of the fight--at least with Kim chasing him down to hound him until he's far from his team.

The Thumb stumbles, uneasy. Lei Heng is injured and their other boss is too preoccupied to give orders. But there's no order to flee, and so they continue to stab at Riku, albeit now with complaints of wondering why he's just not going DOWN.

Lei Heng is badly wounded, but the fight in his eyes isn't gone. He isn't an idiot, he knows he can't win this fight and he's thinking about how to survive to try another time. He still thinks he could take her, it'd be tough but he thinks he's got a shot. But not if he's getting hounded by another Star and the fucking mad father.

"Like I said, do I seem caged to you? I'd cut a noble down as soon as you if they break etiquette." Lei Heng says. "Tell you what, I'm not gonna say this didn't count. But third time'll be the charm, I've got a good feeling." He chuckles at the idea of pointing his weapon at The Fingers. "I'm free, buddy. Free as the wind. Just like all my brothers and sisters."

There's a sense, for a moment, that he isn't talking about The Thumb.

Lilian hits him where it hurts though. "Can't deny it... But I'm not heading back to ''my'' boss so quick. Maybe I can make it up to him before I gotta go back home. Heh... well... next time... I'll make sure we can have a nice grand old time just the two of us."

He falls back, letting the Thumb cover for him.

Lilian meanwhile returns to fighting the Index. The Index haven't taken as many losses as you might have hoped, but with the Thumb in disarray, their interest in continuing the fight is waning anyway. Maybe? It's hard to tell. They're still moving with the flow--until Lilian cracks down upon them from the sky. For a moment, the flow...

Fractures....

And the Index are scattered, falling around all over. A few of them scream. They cry out 'No, I wasn't supposed to fall then!' or 'No no no, the Prescripts said I had to stab her NOW'. A Proxy might be able to bring them back under control, but Joanna clobbers Hubert in the mouth whenever he tries to say something to them.

Kuwaba is less stunned by Berislav's kindness these days. And he's sure he's going to be getting questions. Honestly, in the heart of the moment he said 'apprentice' but he feels he still has much to learn from him instead. But 'apprentice' is just a word. Just like 'sword' is just a word. Berislav might not be a swordsmaster, but Lei Heng himself is proof that sometimes 'a master of the blade' can have a creative interpretation.

He watches Berislav's back full of scars and it reminds him of his own.
Angela Berislav guns down a pair of Reindeer, opening up a path for the Liu to give Odette some support! Odette's 'itching powder' and 'chemical warfare' isn't going to take down a Reindeer by itself but it utterly disrupts Rudolph's ability to concentrate, allowing the Lian to finish him off with a single sharp strike through the back. IT's REALLY important to Xiao that R Corp doesn't get information back that the Liu helped Trídéag here, let alone the Yurodiviye.

Myo sees Rudolph go down and she says, "Mother fucker, already??" and she just turns and books it, running for the hills. She's doing it all on her own!

But there's still so many. While many of the 'vultures' have been sent packing. There's just a large number of Thumb and Index forces trying to claim their prize.

But that's when they notice something strange.

The blood of their fallen. And the blood of the Index's fallen. It's flowing strangely. It's moving slowly, then quickly, spinning rapidly as it's pulled powerfully away from their corpses, but still thinly connected to each and every body a puppet's strings.

When one's gaze follows the path of those threads, they see a female Blood Fiend holding those threads, snapping the bodies towards her with a single motion. And she's not alone.

There's Greta, the shark-woman and former Chef. There's Tanya, the wolf-headed former agent of the Middle. And there's a strange Distortion with three heads--one of a donkey, one of a rooster, and one of a dog. All wearing the same uniform with a blue swirl across their arm.

"RUFF RUFF CLUCK BKAWWW!" The strange Distortion says, strange musical notes erupting out of the Distortion's mouth before a hand pulls them back and--

The Blue Reverberation steps forward, smiling serenely as he pulls his scythe away from his back.

"My my... Isn't this sad?" Argalia asks, rhetorically. "Don't you vermin realize...?" The good news is he seems to be talking to THe Thumb and the Index here. "You're not supposed to steal the food from the people's lips. You're supposed to be food yourself. Food for thought."

He clucks his tongue. "I have nothing against any of you, I know you're just trapped in the gears of The City, mindlessly listening to prophecies and footsteps."

The Thumb open fire at him in a panic.

With a single swing of his scythe, they all tumble to the ground, uselessly.

"Well, I suppose there's no hurry. How about you fuck off or I feed you to my vampire friend here. She would very much like to rebuild her empire of blood if you choose that, but we have some higher aspirations so I'm going to be nice and let you run. Come on now," He reshoulders his scythe. "Playtime's over, time to pick up your things. I'll be finding the best morsels to feed to the Library in due time." He then chuckles. "Just kidding, I'm sure you'll get everything you dreamed of."
Angela Xiao, who has just finished cutting down the W Corp mercenaries and collected their gear to 'return' to W Corp, is startled to see the Blue Reverberation. She storms out of the facility and she shouts at him, "So it's true?! You're working with the Library?!"

"I didn't say that." Argalia says. "I'm just hoping to make my precious dreams come true, like anybody else. Why do you look so hostile at me?"

"You are a Licensed Color, teaming up with monsters." Xiao says.

"Well, I don't think that's such a bad thing. You can learn a lot from monsters, if you talk with them."

It doesn't seem like Xiao is willing to fight him, nor is she turning her attention off of him, but the Thumb and Index see this as an opportunity to run. No amount of fear of their bosses is going to pit them against this situation.

Argalia turns to Lilian and smiles pleasantly.

"It's so good to see you, Lilian, at last." Argalia says. "I'm sorry for our tardiness but we had to pick up our new friend here along the way." He gestures to the strange multi-headed Distortion who seems incapable of human speech.
Angela Reindeer Team - DEFEATED
Rabbit Team - DEFEATED
W Corp Team - DEFEATED
Shi Association - Defeated
Thumb - 2625
Index - 3100

All Thefts Remaining
Father Berislav I'm free, buddy. Free as the wind. Just like all my brothers and sisters.

    "We all are. From the most destitute in the Outskirts to the Head, we have the choice of living like animals or embracing our human dignity. If you're still enforcing the rule of animals when we meet again, by God, I will kill you like one--and no one will remember you."

    The Reverberation Ensemble are here--Berislav knows them, by association, at least, if not by name. He nods politely to Argalia, but his attention is on something else. The roof of the warehouse, the vantage point where all this began.

    A single leap places him atop it. An orange streak at his right hand follows. The revolver is buried in it, and out from it emerges a cherished posession--his Bible. He opens it to a chapter so frequently visited that all it takes is a gentle coaxing tilt of his wrist, for the pages to fall as they have so often. Though his eyes find the words on the page, they do it so easily that he assuredly knows them by heart. There are no loudspeakers.

    He doesn't need them. He's saved his voice for this moment, anyway.

    "WOE TO THOSE WHO MAKE UNJUST LAWS, TO THOSE WHO ISSUE OPPRESSIVE DECREES, TO DEPRIVE THE POOR OF THEIR RIGHTS AND WITHHOLD JUSTICE FROM THE OPPRESSED OF MY PEOPLE, MAKING WIDOWS THEIR PREY AND ROBBING THE FATHERLESS," Berislav bellows. Has anyone even heard him shout as yet? Even with the Kurokumo, who wore his patience and credulity so thin, he scarcely raised his voice. But now that voice is like a clarion, ringing through this corner of the Backstreets, his whole body shaking with each proclamation.

    "WHAT WILL YOU DO ON THE DAY OF RECKONING, WHEN DISASTER COMES FROM AFAR? TO WHOM WILL YOU RUN FOR HELP? WHERE WILL YOU LEAVE YOUR RICHES?!" His bellowed challenge demands answer from the fleeing would-be thieves. "NOTHING WILL REMAIN, BUT TO CRINGE AMONG THE CAPTIVES OR *FALL* AMONG THE *SLAIN!*"

    A page is turned, he fumes, his chest heaving, and he hurls another volley into the air. "WHEN THE LORD HAS FINISHED ALL HIS WORK AGAINST MOUNT ZION AND JERUSALEM, HE WILL SAY, 'I WILL PUNISH THE KING OF ASSYRIA FOR THE WILLFUL PRIDE OF HIS HEART AND THE HAUGHTY LOOK IN HIS EYES.' DOES THE AX RAISE ITSELF ABOVE THE PERSON WHO SWINGS IT, OR THE SAW BOAST AGAINST THE ONE WHO USES IT? AS IF A *ROD* WERE TO WIELD THE PERSON WHO *LIFTS IT UP*, OR A *CLUB* BRANDISH THE ONE WHO IS NOT *WOOD!*" He knows too well who the thieves believe the tools to be--but the point of this passage is to imply exactly the opposite, both to the thieves themselves and to the victors. The Syndicates, the Wings and even the Head--'the king of Assyria'--are the tools of the common people, not the other way around. If they no longer serve a use, they will be discarded.