The Battle for Tokyo (Open RP)
The Magus wordlessly entered the hatch, mist rising from the contact of his body with anything as always.
He turned to the one in black armor, and raised his hand, showing his palm. The palm was a swirling mass of mists, and could not be seen, but clear as day, in a deep, twisting black, was the symbol of a Magus of the Circle of Thorns.
Toshio stumbled with a practiced lilt through the backstreets of Akihabara. They were open and dirty, bright flashing lights adorning the several-storied buildings. Electric Town's main street was just a few blocks away, and the streets Toshio walked near his favored bar were littered with small electronics stores of varying degrees of legitimacy.
Akihabara's temple was a little walk from the train station, but he would usually make it every once in a while. As it was, the man had a tiny apartment not far from the tracks of the Yamanote-sen - the rent was cheapest there, because of the constant running of the trains.
It was murder on hangovers, but it was as Toshio said - "Itsumo yopparai ni nareba, zutsuu mou dekinai'n da zo." If you're always drunk, you can't very well get too hung over.
The Shriekers on the other hand, cut through his haze annoyingly. They were attracted to the bright lights of Akihabara towering into the sky, but luckily the temple wards kept them somewhat at bay.
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
(OOC: Aren't apartments in close proximity to the train tracks MORE expensive? Not that it matters at this point, just curious)
Suddenly the tank felt another series of 'clangs' as the Shriekers in pursuit began to fly into the tank at absurd speeds.
Sae's team, meanwhile, had closed about half the distance to the tank.
Before the gunners could do anthing, the Mage had poured and entire potion down the exhaust vents. As one crewman looked on with a strange expression, the mage turned the viewport to show them the small demons screeching wildly and having their skin fused to themselves wherever two limbs touched.
(OOC: Shriekers don't really have limbs, think the Scourge from starcraft, but i see the point)
((Hm? Not many skyways anymore? Two years ago there were still quite a few, especially around Nihonbashi. Ah well, been a while then, I really have to go on a sushi rampage there again sometime.))
"Circle, eh?" the trooper the magus had shown his sign to commented, nobody inside the vehicle even feeling any acceleration from the freefall.
"Hang on!" the driver warned as the vehicle hit the ground, bouncing off the concrete once and veering to the side, crashing through a ruined wall before coming to a stop.
The door at the side slid open again, and a mechanical monstrosity stepped out, engaging the rapidly appraching flappers with dual plasma cannons.
Demons wilted and spattered all over under the effects of the potion and the assault bot's fire, giving cover to the division of four ground troopers on board as they spread out and started taking the fight to the enemy with concussion missiles, trying to cover Sea's seemingly very outnumbered team...
((Just so you know, the vehicle has a crew of 8: the CO, driver, front and rear gunner, and the four troopers. It can, however, hold quite a few more.))
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
The Magus stood atop the tank, covering the Assault Bot with potions of acid and fire.
(OOC: Yeah there really aren't that many skyways, mostly rail bridges around Tokyo proper. Other cities and suburbs do have them, but the more condensed a city is, the less practical a gigantic bridge is. And in CoH/V Tokyo, post Rikti war, I'd wager a lot more emphasis on underground travel has been placed.)
"\Chihaya, we need Fuega\," Sae ordered.
"Roger!" Chihaya began a chant and a blue mist began to coalesce around her, forming into a black wolf with red eyes.
"\Fuega! Howl!\" Chihaya commanded.
The wolf let loose a loud howl, a howl with a divine pitch to it.
Instantly the surviving shriekers began to tremor, and either dropped dead or flew off.
"\Good doggy\!" Chihaya grinned, and Fuega licked her hand before returning to mist and dissipating.
"Hey you guys in there, it's safe for now! C'mon out!" Sae called.
Note: Shriekers are sensitive to sound, it distorts their own powers.
The mage turned to face the group, but did nothing more.
"All clear, General." an armorsuit trooper spoke into the vehicle as another, seemingly indifferentiable one stepped out. Unlike the others, however, his black suit did not carry an arm cannon as his rightlimg, but a 'normal' hand.
"Ain't this ironic." he said to Sae, mustering her through the visor of the full helmet, and very glad indeed that she couldn't see him underneath it, "There we come to bail you guys out and you end up rushing to us. By the way, how's Containment holding up?"
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
"Containment of what? It's all our forces can do to keep these things from US. If you're worried about the spread, they don't seem to like high altitudes, so mainly just blockaded all the train tunnels to keep them from spreading," Sae replied.
"SAE-CHAN!" Chihaya yelled, a panicked expression on her face.
"Nani o Chihaya?" Sae asked.
Chihaya whispered something in Sae's ear and then backed up, fearfully, behind Eichiro.
Sae looked deadly serious as she turned to face them.
"What are you? Chihaya says you don't have human auras."
"These are not the demons we fight." The mage uttered, the first thing he said since meeting the tank crew. "I sense them as another force entirely."
"Side effect of our jobs." the General said to calm her down, then motioned to the mage with a thumb, "C'ept him, we just met recently. And I meant the containment procedures for the primary blockade around Tokyo and the secondary around the Japanese Home Islands. I'm assuming the UN fleet has moved in all necessary reosources?"
Sea nodded, but still didn't really believe him. What Chihaya had told her had been hard to digest, "The blockades are holding - for now. But seriously, who are you?"
"Allen Fang." the General came up with quite the convincing story, "UKUSA, Division Six. We deal with this type of stuff when it gets...out of hand. As you may well know, this isn't the first interdimensional invasion of Earth."
The explanation was true - most of it, anyway. UKUSA really did exist, albeit covertly, as any good echelon should. Their records were off-limits to practically everyone, highly classified files behing walls and walls of secrecy.
Allen looked at his watch, "I'm expecting backup soon. Is there anywhere we can pitch camp around here and set up a temporary ops base? And who do we have the pleasure of meething here anyway?"
((Easter egg: Division Six, where's that from? ))
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
The mage remained silent.
"Usoutsuki..." Sae said, frowning. (OOC: Easter egg: what does that mean? Division Six is from Men in Black, they'd use it as a cover whenever they needed to pose as government officials)
"Whatever, you're obviously not demons, but the U.N. blockade is the only one I know of, not that it's been necessary, I can count the number of demon attacks on areas outside Tokyo with one hand, and most of those were on Shinkansen trains bound for Nagoya. We've figured out that whatever is controlling these things wants each area picked clean before moving on. And the only ones that DO move outside Tokyo are...well, they WERE human..."
Sae looked down, silent. Her team had once numbered nearly a dozen, but were now down to four.
"Anyway," she said, regaining her composure, "I'm Ukyo Sae -uh, if you're not familiar, Sae is my first name, and please call me Ukyo-san or Ukyo-taichou in front of the SDF soldiers- this big guy is Oda Eichiro, he's our resident strongman, the little one in the miko outfit is our, well, miko, Mizumi Chihaya. Finally, the runt with the white hair is Hyoumura Ryuji. Our team is known as the Momotaro Group."
(More Easter Eggs: Eichiro's name and the connection between the team and the Momotaro legend)
Rylie jumped out of the unmarked black helicopter even before it touched down, her raven hair whipping around in the air disturbed by the churning blades as they ground to a long slow stop. She didn't look towards the city, instead surveying the staging area and taking mental stock of the assembled equipment, but she could feel the chaos like hot breath on her neck. No, wait...That was hot breath on her neck.
Her companion had waited until the chopper landed and powered down, joining her now on the pad.
"Talon, there is no need for you to stand so God damned close to me."
He ignored her, taking in the full view of the city. "Holy mother of God," he murmered. Even at this distance, the complete and utter disarray of it defied description. "It looks even worse than the last time Godzilla went on a rampage."
Rylie glared at him. "Not funny, Talon."
"Right, sorry." Talon adjusted his mirrored glasses and ran a hand absently through his sandy blonde hair. "What are we doing here again?" he asked, looking down at the petite woman. "Demons are not exactly my specialty, and you know how I feel about magic."
She stared back at him without speaking, her shockingly blue eyes fixed on his. In truth, she didn't really know. Demons weren't her area of expertise. Hell, the half-Fey from Ireland had had more insight into the situation than Rylie, who had been born in Kyoto and lived there until her twelvth year, her mother's culture and heritage saturated with spirits and demons. "So much for the American education system," she muttered. Would I know more about this crap if I'd never gone to Rhode Island? Maybe...Yeah, Hayle...And maybe you'd be a [censored] like your mother too...
"Commander Hayle?"
Rylie turned, startled from her thoughts. "Yes?"
"Your gear has been loaded into the truck as you instructed, m'am. M'am, with all due respect, are you sure that driving in is the best way? I've talked to the rest of the squadron and we're willing to do an airdrop, to ensure you arrive at the checkpoint."
Talon shook his sandy head. "There's no reason to take that kind of risk." He gestured towards the black Chevy four-by. "This way it's only our necks on the line."
"But Commander..."
Rylie held up her hand. "This isn't a sanctioned PPC operation, Airman. The Council of Elders has graciously allowed me the use of PPC equipment and funds. I'm not about to dishonour their offering by taking the chance of losing good men for the sake of my fool's errand."
Talon laughed at the incredulous expression on the young soldier's face. "I learned a long time not to argue with a woman in general, and never with Rylie Hayle in particular. I can't see there being any problems getting in there. I doubt there's many people who want to be within a hundred miles of that thing." He shivered involuntarily, despite the heavy flack jacket he wore. "[censored] demons. Why does it always have to be magic?" he muttered, then cupped his hands around his mouth to shout orders. "PPC Flight Crew! You will fall back to the staging area at Yokohama and await furthur instruction. Move out!"
Rylie was already at the truck, doing a last minute inspection of the gear. A loose cargo strap had caught her eye and she was pulling it taut when Talon joined her.
"Rylie," he said softly.
"Don't you think you've asked me enough times? Yes, I'm sure I really want to do this. No, I don't know why. I feel compelled, okay? We've been over this."
"I was just going to ask if you had any idea how to get to Shinjuku."
Rylie shivered and tried to hide it. "Shinjuku? Why?"
"According to what garbled inteligence reports I could get my hands on, it seems that the stronger pockets of resistance are basing themselves there. There was also an Aki something or other, but I have no idea how to pronounce or spell it."
"Akihabara, most like," Rylie said softly, the name coming easily to her. "What difference does spelling make?"
"I want my mother to at least be able to find out where I died, Rylie." There was a decided lack of any humour in his voice, and Rylie glanced at him sharply.
"We're not going to die, Talon. I've got work to do." She patted one of the mag-sealed cargo cases in the back of the truck. "de'Montague and Scott are going to want to know how well these babies perform against demons, afterall."
A non-comittal sound of disdain escaped Talon's mouth before he could stop it. "Ryles, you know how I feel about magic. It goes doubly for mixing magic with technology. For all we know, that thing is going to explode in your hands."
"We'll see. Let's get going." Rylie checked the strap one last time before going 'round the truck and opening the passenger door.
"Why do I always have to drive?" Talon asked as he settled himself behind the wheel.
Rylie regarded him with a long-suffering look. "You know my feet won't reach the pedals. Now put your damn seatbelt on. Wouldn't you feel stupid dying in a freaking car accident before we even see a demon?"
Talon chuckled. "You know those things cost more lives than they save, right?" Still laughing softly he turned the key and the four-by rumbled to life. "Go in laughing, come out with a grin, my dad always said. We might get through this yet." Putting the pedal to the mat, he peeled out of the staging area, headed towards the devastated city.
"We haven't even gotten into it yet. Just shut up and drive."
Rylie and Talon had barely driven more than a kilometer into the city before meeting their first demons.
A group of about seven Oni, each about ten feet tall, built like super gorillas, and wielding clubs made from anything from car parts to human bones wandered into their path, howling and hooting at the car.
((I hope it's ok if I use my in-game character. While not of Japanese decent, he trained in Japan for many years and has many Japanese friends who would call upon him for help))
Riding in the back of the Longbow transport chopper, Richard Smith, known as the hero Lord Apollon, readied himself at the open doorway.
"You're nuts guy" the Longbow agent next to him uttered as he looked down. "Not only are you jumping into a demon filled horde, you're doing it without a parachute."
Apollon laughed. "Yup, and doing it in spandex to boot." Peering out, he spotted a vehicle being surrounded by Oni demons. "Ok, swing around over there. I know these demons very well."
The chopper swung around, and with little more than a nod, Apollon jumped out of the back of the large cargo bay. Falling downward, he focused him inner energy to superheat the air around him, allowing him to helt his decent as well as focusing his chi. Reaching into his quivver, he withdrew a handful of his "special" arrows. On each one was wrapped a simple piece of paper. "I hope these charms work against Oni as well as they do against Nerva demons."
With a single move, he lined up the arrows into his bow, reached back, and let them fly. All around the vehicle below, arrows began falling from the sky, missing the vehicle itself, but landing amongst the demons.
Allen frowned. He usually thought of himself as a pretty good actor, generally being able to pass himself and his troop off as human unless someone got nosey.
"Momotaro?" Allen mumbled, "Aren't you supposed to be twelve? Ouch, things are worse than I thought here."
"General, we got incoming." a trooper reported calmy, "And they're quite a bit more than the Crawler can handle. I recommend we get out of here before they get the drop on us."
"I see...how long until our backup gets here?"
"Shouldn't be much longer, Sir."
"Sounds good." he turned back to Sae, "Very well then, Ukya-san, can we give you guys a lift?"
---------------------
"End linear manuever!"
The humming of the converters ceased almost immediately. Outside the bridge windows, the stars returned to normal from the lines in a gray fog that they had been earlier.
"Linear converter shutdown confirmed." the navigator reported, "Relative distance to Terra-Luna now one point six million clicks and closing."
"Slow to a stop on the far side of Luna. I want to make absolutely sure we're not detected. The General would explode..."
"Wilco. Slowing to a stop in lunar orbit."
"All hands to the launch bay." a female voice sounded throughout the ship, including over the stream of troopers in black armor in the lower perts of the vessel, "Final loading now in progress."
---------------------
No sooner had the AGS IV's pitch-black form come to a halt in the shadow of Earths moon than the dropship was dispatched. Shaped vaguely like a B-3 with a tri-hull, the craft was lamost completely undetectable - and it would be a LONG time before humans developed mass detectors.
"Confirmed entry into Terra-Luna system. We will be entering the atmosphere in twelve minutes..."
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
"It's UkyO...and if you can make it about 100 meters that way," she pointed to the way she and her team had come from, "We can have Chihaya use the jump beacon and get to the Shinjuku base in a few seconds. And the Momotaro thing is a namesake. We earned it after we took out half the oni in this area."
((Shoot! Take a weekend off and the thread explodes on me. Oh well, let's try to get back inta the swing o' things.))
Lou rubbed his arm as he walked along. He had bandaged Bu's ankle and now carried her on his back, his large coat fashioned into a makeshift sling that held her.
"D*mn things almost broke the skin," he muttered irritably as he scratched the faint red bruises on his arm.
"That's magic for ya Lou," the voice from his hair said, a hint of humor coloring it. "Normal rules don't apply. And remember what that soldier told ya. Get bit and ya turn inta one of these uglies. No guaruntee if even you could shrug that off."
"Eh, always hated this mumbo-jumbo crap. Gimme a straight forward fight any day over some...." Lou's complaining was cut off by a sound to his right. Strangely enough, a pile of rocks seemed to be looking at him. Slowly reaching around, he prodded the bundle on his back.
/"Louis?"/ Bu said sleepily. /"What's the matter? Are we there already?"/
/"Not yet babe,"/ the mercenary replied, easing her down to the ground. /"I think we got us some more trouble. Take this and head that way as quick and quiet as you can."/ He pointed toward the road they'd been following, handing her the large gun that had been strapped to his leg.
/"I can't leave you here, Louis,"/ Bu protested, finally noticing the moving stone demon. /"Surely we could outrun it."/
/"Maybe, but the noise would bring more o' the nasties after us. Don't worry about it; I'll take care of him and catch ya up in a little bit."/ He gave her a grin, gently pushing her off in the direction he'd pointed. Hesitantly she obeyed, his coat wrapped about her small frame like a cloak with the oversized, alien handgun clutched in her arms.
"Confident, aren't we," the voice teazed.
"Well she wouldn't have left if I sounded as worried as I am," Lou shot back, squaring his shoulders as the thing advanced on him. " 'sides, ya never know. Maybe it ain't as tough as it looks." The demon suddenly shot forward, one massive arm swinging down to slam him into the earth.
"You were saying?"
"Ah, shut up," he growled, pushing himself up before the monster could continue its attack. Lou was faster by far, and the rock chipped and crumbled under his blows. Still the thing fought on, the damage seeming only superficial. The mercenary managed to grab one arm at one point, bringing his hand down on the stone wrist hard enough to crush it, sending the demon's hand tumbling to the ground. A backhand from the other arm sent Lou careening into another pile of rubble.
Meanwhile, Bu hobbled along, barely restraining herself from turning back as the sounds of the fighting went on behind her.
The crushed wrist reassembled itself, forming a more loosely assembled but still functional wrist.
(OOC: Hehe...rock devils are tough...)
((Apartments near the station are expensive - out on the stretches of tracks not near the station, they're cheap. XP It's where most of the nastier red light districts are.
And Usotsuki literally translates to "one with lies". Linguistically, it's calling someone a liar. :P ))
"Mendokuse- na-..." Toshio grumbled.
A slew of deceased Shriekers filled the street, the last bit of electricity dissapating from his fists. It seemed like every night, as he stumbled back to his small, dirty apartment, there were a load of those things waiting for him.
A few of his drinking buddies had pressed him to leave, but he'd shook his head stubbornly. He wouldn't leave - not now. Not when he was almost finished.
Climbing up the painfully narrow staircase to his nearly cubicle-sized apartment, Toshio sighed upon opening the door. Insects fled at the light, and his eyes fell on his latest project.
A statue of a woman.
Tiny statues were scattered about, abandoned projects. But this is one he could not abandon.
Toshio was a sculptor.
Eyeing the large statue carefully, inspecting every inch of it, he sighed in relief upon finding it unharmed. Shriekers had broken into his apartment not long ago and broken off an arm. The streets ran with their strange, bloodlike fluids that night.
Finishing examining the statue, Toshio sighed. He couldn't leave. He had to finish Natsuki's statue. If he didn't, she may never --
The beating of wings interrupted him. Glass shattered as demons flooded the room.
"Kisama...!" Toshio growled fiercely at one as it swooped in at him, shrieking madly. For some reason, they kept coming back to his apartment, breaking in every so often.
This time, though, he was unprepared. His moves were crazily sure, drunken strength already augmenting his muscles as he pounded away.
The statue fell out the window, shoved by a group of demons. Toshio froze, eyes widening as he heard the crash of it breaking into thousands of pieces of rock on the cement far below.
A brilliant glow lit up the night - a tiny golden marble glowing amidst the rubble. The demons scooped it up, and as one, fled.
"No..." Toshio couldn't believe what had just happened. All his work....
Swallowing hard, he pulled a flask out of his pocket and took a hard swig.
He had to go to the temple. Now.
Natsuki's soul depended on it.
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
Akihabara station.
This stretch of sidewalk located just outside the east side of the station, where lines of cabs used to line up, now replaced with makeshift battlecars, like something out of a Mad Max movie or something, had once been a popular street performance area. (OOC: I'm not making this up, it really is) but since the attacks, no one had played a single note there.
A new band, 'Bastion', would change that this day.
"\Ready guys\?!" Takamura Shiina, vocals, called.
"\As I'll ever be\," came Takamura Kouhei, guitar and Shiina's brother.
"\This should be interestin'\," Ukyo Shuji, bass and Ukyo Sae's younger brother.
"LET'S ROOOOOOCK!" Pan, drums.
And so they played. A smooth sound, remniscant of the great bands of yesteryear. Nostalgic, but at the same time fresh and new. They had no special powers (Well, Pan could belch the Japanese and Roman alphabets...) and no combat training. They were only musicians.
Yet, to the people of Akihabara, the hordes of people that gathered to listen on that dismal street amid the roaming giant robots and battlecars, it gave them hope. Old and young stood before the band, basking in the unique sound of the band.
For the hour they played, before the SDF broke up the concert, people had forgotten about the invading demons, had forgotten their sorrows and fears, and had remembered the music of days past.
Bastion had several original songs, some of which they did play during the concert, but their intent was to entertain people who had been fighting for their lives for the past three weeks. They played songs from Atreyu to ZZ Top, Rock and Pop and J-Pop songs from the past thirty years.
And they attracted attention, not just from the audience, but from the SDF higher ups, who had been looking for a way to raise morale...
(OOC: Yeah, the bar thing is minor...a lot of people (including me when I first got there) think each city district is smaller than it actually is.
The Japanese love them booze)