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[ Thankfully, JJ's already had his requisite what-the-fuck moment with Goemon, and the other two don't stay surprised long enough to waste the opportunity. Red finishes off the one-two punch of powers, and he's suddenly very grateful that he isn't alone; his magic could wear out like a too-short wick, and there's only so much anyone can dodge when there's this many people to rout.

That said, that also means three (2.5?) backs he's got to watch out for, not to mention the other people in the caravan, which he draws his attention to sharply as soon as Boxer's urgent word hits the air. He abandons cover at the very first opening—but before he can get to lending JJ a helping hand, he almost gets his head bashed in with a buckler. He manages to roll to the ground instead, forced briefly to a knee as Goemon responds with a gust of blades; it cuts the assault short (and a few bandits), buying him a moment. Still, not much room to maneuver. He has other bandits to dispatch, and no strategic ground to get to the heart of the caravan before then.

So instead, more magic: by the time Red jaunts by this time, ice spreads across the ground behind her in a stream, too slippery for any pursuers to follow her and Boxer without cracking their heads open. Go get 'em. ]

[ It's the first time she's had to fight with someone — people — by her side. Keeping track of more than just herself, and the sword in her hands. Everything's the same, in theory — she's still fighting for her life, Boxer's life, taking down anyone that gets in her way. Except there's a constant urge to pause, look around, and make sure that Yusuke and JJ ( and Yves and Emeraude and Florens ) are doing alright.

She grits the impulse down, and wills herself to focus. A moment's hesitation is all they need to get their heads chopped off.

So — on Boxer's cue, she uses jaunt() a second time. Skidding her way towards JJ, because Yusuke has proven that he could handle himself fine for the time being ( she hears the sudden, startled yells behind them, not unlike their first meeting ). No fancy tricks up her sleeve this time ( the HUD morphs to let her know that JJ is> confident, athletic ), just a giant sword swinging to bat the knife-holding bandit far enough away.

Bye, loser. ]

[He can feel the Turn() meter ticking down, slowly. Until—]

You're up.

[But she barely needs the warning before moving. Yusuke clears the way and sets the stage, leaving them wide open to dart forward and cross the distance over the ice. With JJ in the line of fire, Red raises the Transistor—and clubs the bandit with it.]

...One way to do it. [That's...new. Seems to work, though. The bandit crumples. With an audible hint of pride—]

And stay down.

[That's the immediate threat taken care of, at least. So, for JJ's benefit—]

You guys okay?

[ It's the bluetooth sword! Not that JJ has much time to dwell on the sudden appearance, Red takes care of the knife-wielding bandit for him, and he takes the opportunity to shove his elbow into the gut of the one holding him captive, shoving him away with a kick to his ass for good measure. The kick sends the bandit sprawling to the ground, and JJ stumbling backwards just slightly.

He turns his gaze to Red. ]

Yeah, I'm fine. Are you—

[ There's a crash as one of the bandits manages to hop onto the caravan, JJ's head jerking in the direction. ]

Ugh, there's just so many!

[ One look at Red and he'd expect a more... elegant sort of fighting style. But he shouldn't judge a book by its cover, or a lady by her appearance—she basically decks the bandit with a giant sword and clobbers him away. Boxer apparently approves of this blatant display of brute force. JJ keeps his wits together and deals with his would-be strangler.

See, everything's just fine. Even if his heart's going like a jackhammer, it's not the same threat (or exhilaration) as breaking into a Palace—they're just beating on a bunch of goons. Still, it's the first proper fight he's had in a while that isn't VR, and there's a surprising amount of gusto when Goemon strikes again, silvery light slicing at the next flock of bandits and buying him enough time to catch up.

It also seems to the rest of them some pause. Crooks like this always went for convoys of under-guarded, would-be mincemeat, and even a little security is more than they bargained for. Cowards at heart. ]

We don't have to defeat them all. They'll flee soon enough.

[ Just bring some noise and scare the piss out of enough of them that they all turn tail. To provide a little encouragement, Yusuke does as Yusuke does best: he dials up the unnecessary drama, amping up on the blue fireworks a bit as his mask sputters away again, arm flared out. ]

Behold—my other self!!

[ Cue more ice, freezing a good half-dozen people in place up to their knees, setting up for another fun function() combo. please free me from writing any more action with him ]

[ She's improvising — somehow, causing an entire area to explode with JJ right there doesn't sit right with her. But it works, at least, and all of them have a tiny bit of moment to just breathe, before more of them stumble out of the bushes ( like the Young Ladies during spawning season, the hordes of Cluckers that blocked her every step; no end in sight, but she knows, unlike the Process, they're not infinite ).

But the beauty of improvising is that there are others around in the first place — and when Yusuke starts getting really into it, it's hard not to buy into the enthusiasm. Eyes flashing, briefly, just from the adrenaline and the blood pumping in her ears, because it's been months since she's been able to fight anything, let alone stand a chance.

Which means she sees the hesitation; the pause in their blind charging, and it's the perfect stage. An easy set up from Yusuke ( within moments, she's by his side once more ), and a healthy dose of video game bullshit (tm) allows her to spin the Transistor, floating in mid-air, length-wise, before a small, electrical packet shoots out. She pushes the sword back down into the ground, which gives the ball of electricity the push to —

Explode. Literally. A bright flash, perfectly contained, except it manages to hit the frozen statues, and surely this is enough to have them shatter. Red's shoulders heave from the rapid firing of ... whatever the hell she did, but she looks satisfied. Doubly so, when the bandits that hadn't been caught in the crossfire start slowly backing away. ]

["Behold," in the middle of a fight. Y'all are a bunch of high drama motherfuckers, you know that.

But in this case...a little drama goes a long way. After that little demonstration, what starts as the bandits backing away from he show slowly soon turns to bandits backing away much more quickly. Then spinning on their heels. Then running for the hills.

He can feel Turn() ticking back up to full as they do. But—]

Turning tail. Think they've had enough.

[Not bad, all things considered. They'd been outnumbered, but they'd caught wind of the attack quick enough to defend themselves. Nobody they particularly like (or are getting paid to keep safe) got hurt. Unfortunately, the bandits are still on the road, and there could be more where that came from. ...and they're not their only problem.

So, on the topic of having enough, since Red and Yusuke, at least, are in earshot—]

...They're not the only ones.

[Maybe it's time to stop screwing around.]

[ Once the initial shock of it wears off, it seems like the group is quick to turn the tide ("the group" referring to Yusuke and Red, JJ's just trying to stay out of the way, and who knows where Boxer is). Any of the lingering bandits quickly lose interest in JJ, either turning tail or trying to gain an advantage of the two heavy hitters.

The situation calms, the chaos and rapid heartbeat fading from JJ's ears, wide eyes actually seeing instead of frantic as he observes the scene: some bandits, pawing at the caravan but easily scared off with a few swings of his pot, the others started by Yusuke's persona and intimidated by rang of Red's weapon. The assault comes like a wave against the shore, imposing and all-encompassing for a second before it recedes.

And then a different kind of cry emerges. JJ's head jerks back to where Florens is easing out of his hiding place, the red that he'd glimpsed at before still on his robes as the man groans. In seconds Emeraude is hurrying to his side, a mix of concerned and annoyed. ]

Did he get hurt? Maybe he needs help.

[ JJ doesn't wait much longer to make his way over either, his own approach noticeably faster than the remaining member of Florens' party. ]

[ Wow, nothing wrong with a little flair, Boxer. Red certainly has no lack of it, following up with a whole lotta flash; Yusuke shields his eyes for a moment, and the bandits have already started to scramble away by the time he's got a good view again. With a little bit more elbow grease on all their parts, the ruffians are defeated, and the day is saved.

But they can't keep this up forever—the longer they drag this out, the more likely their charge (and the rest of them) would get killed by the next errant arrow. If he hasn't been already. Yusuke is ready to hurry over as well, though he has no medical expertise—

Still, it doesn't take a doctor to realize what Florens' grievous mishap is: a spilled glass of wine. Yusuke feels the dregs of his adrenaline sap away in an instant. ]

...He seems fine.

[ He nudges JJ with his elbow, encouraging him to double-check anyway. But he's really and truly finished with all this nonsense, and he regroups with Red and Boxer, not bothering to change back yet. No telling if the conflict was done, even if his patience is. ]

Does that mean you're ready?

[ After all the late-night group chats once their NPC crew's gone to bed, hopefully they've got a lead to act on. ]

[ +1 there's literally nothing wrong with flair, especially considering the results it got them. She straightens out once she's certain that the bandits won't be bothering them for the new little while, taking a moment to fix her clothes ( old habits will die hard ).

Too bad that the bandits leaving doesn't mean that peace has returned. Her head snaps up at the cry, eyebrows furrowed as she looks around for the source of the sound ( if they've done all that and the old man was still hurt — ). Luckily (?) she finds him just in time to watch him mourn over his upturned drink, grumbling about how that was the last glass from his current bottle.

She goes back to trying to wipe the mud away from her pants. One hand still firmly around the hilt of the Transistor, at least until Boxer decides to make himself physically known again.

Red does, however, steal a glance at Yusuke. Pretty much nods the moment the question falls from his lips. Regardless of who the culprit is, the attack should have affected all of them — hopefully in their favor, but even if it's not...

One more glance towards their "noble", as she straightens up, features Emeraude giving him a clean towel and immediately walking away. Red can strongly relate to the frustrations in her steps, the attempt at minimizing as much contact as possible. No time like the present, as they say. ]

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