011 ✝ eleventh step [action]

[manmade_angel]

[She was sick for a long time, but a month's worth of rest has helped her fight the infection as well as regrow her feathers and lose all of her stitches. And seeing as she's been ill and hasn't had any strength, she and Haine are still living in the same nearly-empty house. Which has been... interesting for the past few days.]

[In fact, until today, she's managed to keep out of trouble and away from the various enemies prowling the town. Today, though, she feels up to going to the grocery store again. And when she opens the door, these are staring right at her. And does she ever recognize them...]

[Abandon grocery wagon: Nill starts running for her life, soldier hands reaching out to grab her. They aren't opening fire just yet, thankfully. What could she do against that? For now, she can keep running and try to outmaneuver them, but something tells her that once she starts to slow down, things won't look so good for her.]

Comments

[bamfing]

[He's one of the X-Men. That means he's the dumb hero thing and patrolling the roofs, looking for more people in trouble. His favorite angel-girl running from a group of nasty soldiers definitely counts as trouble.

He immediately throws himself into the fray, teleporting on the shoulders of one, then quickly pulling him back. Before the soldier can fall on top of Kurt, he teleports underneath another one, tripping him up with his tail, before going for a third one with a sudden kick to the back. Feeling he's disabled them enough, he goes on all fours to try and catch up with Nill. He figures she's frightened enough without him teleporting around her.]

[manmade-angel.livejournal.com]

[Thank goodness for dumb heroes--if Kurt hadn't shown up, Nill would have run out of breath and been caught, no doubt about it. And then, there were all sorts of horrible things they could have done to her, guns aside. Badou had lost his eye to one of those soldiers, and another had exploded right in front of Nill during the underground attack. Whatever they were capable of now, she didn't want to know.]

[There's a definite metallic sound when one of them falls, which causes her to pause and look around. She sees something disappear behind one of them, and then reappear underneath another. Kurt was helping her, and taking them all down with practiced efficiency. It isn't surprising that Kurt knows how to do this, but she still worries. So many people died after these soldiers invaded the underground...]

[She only realizes that she's standing and staring when Kurt starts running at her. Running away, right! Running away is a thing that should happen. She turns to keep going, and gets a few steps before the one Kurt pulled backwards starts foaming and subsequently explodes. Fortunately the blast isn't very big, but it does throw her forward.]

[bamfing]

[Being on all four gives him a little more grounding, not even getting into his ability to cling to any surface. But with that explosion he takes advantage of the distraction to run ahead of Nill and around a corner of a house. When she catches up, he'll try to guide her over beside him by reaching out for her hand.]

[manmade-angel.livejournal.com]

[Nill is thrown nearly off her feet, but she somehow manages to stay upright. Though there's no telling when another one of them is going to explode or start shooting. So she starts really booking it around the corner. She takes Kurt's hand, but they're going to be followed if they don't keep moving. And so Nill tugs on Kurt's hand, in the direction of the forest. Maybe they wouldn't be able to follow them with so many trees in the way.]

[bamfing]

[Or perhaps Kurt can teleport them to the relative safety of a roof top, which is exactly what he does. The corner ploy was just to throw the soldiers off. Once he does, he puts his finger to his lips to shush her. Not that she's the type to make noise anyway, but scrambling about could still get their attention.]

[manmade-angel.livejournal.com]

[Oogh, she remembers this feeling. Slightly disorienting, and it left her a little dizzy or motion-sick. Still, she resists the urge to cough or sit down when Kurt indicates she should be quiet. She nods and doesn't move, hands shaking from the adrenaline.]

[bamfing]

[Kurt is going to silently creep along to ensure they're moving on along. Okay.... yeah, they're probably good. He turns back to her.]

Are you okay, Nill?

[mirrorblade.livejournal.com]

[It's completely by chance that Claude happens to see Nill running by, but before he has a chance to say anything to her, he realizes the reason why. The unfamiliar enemies are quickly catching up to her, and Claude doesn't have to think twice about drawing his sword and putting a stop to them.]

Watch out!

[manmade-angel.livejournal.com]

[Nill is just barely avoiding being grabbed by the soldiers, and her legs are starting to protest. One of them does grab her sleeve just as someone with a sword comes and knocks the attacking one back.]

[She's never seen this person before (though maybe she has and she's just too scared to remember right now), but thank goodness he's here now. If anything she can rest her legs. Over behind this person with a sword...]

[mirrorblade.livejournal.com]

[That sounds like a good idea. Claude won't rest until each one has disappeared in a flash of light, just like all the other enemies that have been seen around the village so far.

Once they're gone, he breathes a sigh of relief, and turns to the girl hiding behind him.]

Hey, are you okay?

[manmade-angel.livejournal.com]

[Nill hasn't seen many of these enemies defeated, so she's rather surprised when they just... disappear. So they were illusions or projections? But when one of them grabbed her sleeve, it felt so real...]

[She looks back over at the man who saved her, away from where the last soldier disappeared, and nods--the motion barely there, she's so confused as to why they just vanished.]

[mirrorblade.livejournal.com]

[She seems so afraid, but her nod, her confirmation, is enough to make him smile a bit.]

That's great. That was a close one!

[manmade-angel.livejournal.com]

[Nill supposes it was a close one. They almost got her before this man stepped in to help her, after all. But they're gone now, and it doesn't look like anything else is waiting to jump out at them...]

[So she pulls some notecards out of her pocket and flips through them until she finds one. Nill smiles and holds it out to him. It reads: 'My name is Nill. I can't speak, but I'll do my best to communicate. If you make me cry, you'll be wishing for a quick death.']

[She really needed to find a better marker to cross out Haine's additions.]

[rain-of-bullets.livejournal.com]

[In everyone's absence and Nill's illness, Haine's picked up more or less where he left off. Sleeping on whatever furniture is nearest when he gets tired, running out for groceries when he feels hungry- though he has to remember it's more often when there's more than just him living there- and remembering to sort the laundry before he does any wash. Nill's been up and about for a bit, so when she wanted to go fetch the groceries this week, he didn't think there'd be much harm in it.

He's in his room when he hears the wagon topple and Nill's quick footsteps a moment later, followed by the heavy tromping of larger boots. He's up in an instant, guns never far from his side and he slings them to his hips and sprints for the door.

They're several yards ahead of him by then, though luckily Nill is a little quicker. The last thing he expected to see was those damn exploding soldiers from the underground. They might be newer models, but that doesn't make them anything less than mass-manufactured shit. He fires several shots, well clear of Nill, more to get their attention than anything else.]

Hey!

You fuckers gonna pick on a little girl, or do you want a fight?

[manmade-angel.livejournal.com]

[Mostly they want a fight--and it does seem like Nill isn't much of a challenge for the program. After the gunshots went off, everyone paused for a moment, and then one of the soldiers just grabbed her. Right off her feet. And of course Nill starts struggling, but there isn't much she can do. They're so strong, like they aren't even alive. Like they're just robots or can't let go without having something move their arms for them.]

[They raise their guns, two-handed except for the one holding Nill, and open fire. Haine is a little more dangerous than one demi-human.]

[rain-of-bullets.livejournal.com]

[Luckily the diversion seems to work, and Haine is already tearing up the distance between them, boots tromping over the grass and dirt as he rushes forward. A bullet grazes here or there, but he pays it no mind, approaching the first soldier with a look that only borders on sane. He fires several shots directly into its abdomen before holding the barrel under the thing's chin and firing once more.

He's taken a few shots, he realizes, but at least there's one less. The goal is to get Nill out of danger as quick as he can. These bastards he can handle, but she can't get involved.]

[manmade-angel.livejournal.com]

[Nill would have tried to cover her eyes when she figured out what Haine was going to do, but by the time she realized her arms were pinned under the solder's grip it was too late. She expected a lot of blood, but when the soldier just disappears in a flash of white light, she's stunned. So they're... not real, but they're hurting Haine? How was that fair?]

[She tries kicking at the soldier's knee, trying to hurt it so she can somehow break free and not be a hindrance. They're strong, though, and coming at Haine in a mob now.]

[rain-of-bullets.livejournal.com]

'The fu-

[Haine is just as confused by the reaction. Enemies don't go flash flash, they go bleed, ooze, die, or explode. But this...

It's just a pity it keeps him distracted for the second or two it takes for the other soldiers to gain ground. He takes several shots to the chest, enough to knock him off his feet and stumbling back, a bloody mess on the ground. Haine can hear the dog's laughter getting louder, mocking his weakness, but he grits his teeth, spitting blood and pieces of lead as he pushes himself to his feet.]

[manmade-angel.livejournal.com]

[Nill's body seizes in reaction to watching Haine being shot repeatedly. She's fixed a lot of holes in Haine's shirts that suggest he was shot there, but it's different seeing it happen. It was like the first night they met all over again--though at least this time she knew Haine wasn't dead. But even Haine being hurt made her fight all the more ferociously to escape.]

[But really, Nill isn't doing much aside from serving as a tool to make Haine angry. She kicks and pushes and fights against the arm holding her. Once she's winded the soldier turns away from the fight and starts walking, leaving the others to deal with Haine.]

[thedicearecast.livejournal.com]

[Amelia doesn't need anything beyond what she sees to step in. The teenager doesn't look like much, and the fact that she is running only made it more obvious to Amelia that she probably wouldn't stand much of a chance if she tried to fight. But Amelia's dealt with more than her fair share of mobs, so even without knowing the girl's name, she runs into the gap between the girl and her pursuers, punching at the first masked man she gets to.

If nothing else, it'll buy the girl time to widen the distance.]

[manmade-angel.livejournal.com]

[Nill hears something collide with one of the soldiers, something that sounds like one of them falling over. Did they trip or--]

[...did that lady just punch one of them in the face?]

[Absolutely floored by what just happened, Nill stops in her tracks and watches, dumbfounded. Also, in much awe.]

[thedicearecast.livejournal.com]

[Amelia may not have strength in comparison to the larger men, but she knows how to use her agility and her speed to her advantage. She manages to dodge the hands stretching out towards her now, but in the process of kicking another of the soldiers, Amelia notices something bad just behind her.]

Hey! Don't stop! [The girl's just standing there staring, which is exactly the opposite of what Amelia wants her to do. The momentary distraction allows one of the men to grab her shoulder, but Amelia quickly clutches the arm and tosses him over her body, into another of the men.]

[manmade-angel.livejournal.com]

[But--! But what about--?]

[Nill steps back and her wings ruffle in shock as one of the soldiers grabs the lady, and is flipped over her shoulder for all his efforts. She hasn't seen a lady do something that impressive since Miss Naoto...]

[The woman is telling Nill to leave, but she can't just turn her back on the person who saved her. Maybe she can just... run and hide behind that corner over there. Nill being, well, a fifteen-year-old girl can't do much of anything, but if something goes wrong, maybe there's something she can do.]

[forthepowerless.livejournal.com]

[ It's several days since the whole mess started, and Takuto has already gotten used to walking past zombies, demons, people wielding ridiculous swords and occasionally stray gunfire. Things like these happen here, he remembers being told by people back when he arrived two months ago. While he would rather have his colorful and relatively peaceful high school life back, he can handle this.

It still takes him by surprise when he rounds a corner and Nill passes right by him. For the first moment, he is almost stunned; it's really like having an angel run past you, even if the wings aren't as big as he would have expected.

But then his eyes catch the men pursuing her and the usual instinct kicks in.

Seconds later, the noise of combat boots behind Nill is replaced by groans and thuds. Takuto moves at an almost frightening speed, the two swords he borrowed from the weapon store rushing through the air at the speed where they look like a blur. Even with the minimal time he had to prepare, every single blow is perfectly aimed to disarm and knock down.

This is the least he can do, as far as he's concerned. ]

[manmade-angel.livejournal.com]

[Nill is startled when she almost runs into another person, too. He's hard to miss, though: red hair is rather visible, even when running for one's life. As soon as she passes him, she realizes that the next person the soldiers are going to run into is this person she just ran by. Would they attack him?]

[Nill turns around to warn him, just as the fight breaks out. Her wings ruffle in surprise, not at all expecting what's happening right in front of her. After a moment of watching, dumbfounded, Nill realizes she could easily get in the way. She takes a few quick steps back, just peeking out from behind the corner of a house.]