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Who: JJ & the Pussycats (

underwhelms,

persistor,

tricksune,

desistor)
What: Quest, A Blessed Entourage
When: Early January
Where: On the road
Warning(s): N/A

wishes quietly for death

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[ The job called for some "brawn" and a "discerning eye", neither of which are qualities that JJ possess, so he can imagine that the journey has been going well. They'd been with this group of characters for quite a couple of days now, and the most that he could discern is that Florens is just about what he would expect from a religious man in El Nysa: rambunctious and more suited to a life of party than the church. (He doesn't know that much about the Thesa Temples, his first visit had been gruelling enough.)

He's considerably more interested in Emeraude, who's more like someone that he might expect to see on Earth, and he's quite ready to unload his worries and woes onto her blessed shoulders. He'd been waiting until they'd had some time to warm up to each other, and he isn't required to wheedle Florens and Yves for information with Boxer (oddly familiar).

Not that it isn't fun chatting with the pair. It's fun, in the way that watching people drink, is always fun. And for the most part, JJ can barely remember why they're here. He'd never made the trip like this, always travelling between the cities using faster methods, but there's a lot of money involved and for good reason. Because as quaint and lovely as the trip is, the long hours of sitting on a cart and staring at grass are so boring that he might die.

Which, he supposes, he almost does, when, as he leans back to yawn, an arrow shoots past him to lodge itself into a sack just barely a foot to his right.

There's a moment of stillness, and JJ just stares at the arrow in awe before the sound of something else piercing through the air—no, not just something but a multitude of things whistles through the air, unrest spreading over the entourage like a rising panic as realization quickly sets in— ]

Bandits!

[ Somehow, Yusuke's ended up tagging along as some muscle. Which is pretty much how he rolled back home too, but never on a task like this. The threat of deceit, time spent and wasted trying to read intentions that none of these people want to make clear... Really, he thinks the easiest solution would be to drag Florens by the ear back to Olympia. He gripes to Emeraude like it isn't his job to check if she's their target, and part of him is starting to hope she isn't. (But if not her, who? Why? Surely some incompetence isn't worth killing over...?)

If nothing else, at least fighting is more straightforward. The threat of sudden, whistling arrows doesn't require any thinking as he springs up to his feet, grabbing onto JJ's arm with an urgent squeeze. The spell weaves itself immediately—in an instant, they'll both feel lighter, quicker on their feet against any more stray arrows. ]

Make certain that Florens doesn't get his fool self killed.

[ Whether it's trying to take on the bandits or their other two traveling companions deciding to make an opportunistic move against Florens. Also, try not to die, bud. (RIP, normie.)

His clothes shift into his ridiculous thief-turned-bruiser get-up, sword drawn in a sharp, metallic scratch, but he's kept pinned back when he has to strafe aside, arrow plunking into a nearby supply wagon instead of his head. ]

Red—

[ He's not going to be meet them head-on if he has to worry about being turned into a pincushion the whole time. They need a plan. ]

[ Discerning eye, maybe — not that it's helped much, given the entanglement of relationships that seems to run much deeper than the surface impressions she's gathered. Florens might be stupid, but he's stupid enough that he must have made enough enemies. Whether or not the enemy is his best friend or his servant is another ( extremely dramatic ) story entirely, but it doesn't change the fact that all of them need to protect his useless ass.

At least they're not completely hopeless — sharing one weapon between two people is a terrible idea, which means they're skipping that entirely. Just like the Cloudbank days; except the curse is a blessing, for once. All she can hope is that no one's noticed, aside from the need-to-knows ( one moving to find Florens, the other by her side, with a strange mask ). Because the man carrying the sword is no where to be seen, and the sword itself is in her hands once more.

( Another arrow hits the supply wagon. Gotta think fast — )

Only that doesn't solve all her problems — there's still no way for her to answer Yusuke's call. Not really, unless she decides to ignore the rain of arrows to pull out her phone. But there's a long enough look in Yusuke's direction, holding his gaze for as long as necessary to know that she's heard him.

And once she has that confirmation, her attention turns to her weapon. Even if she has a plan, it won't work if no one knows about it. So, if he's got any bright ideas— ]

[This was supposed to be a straightforward escort job. Devolving into espionage and political intrigue is about the last thing he was looking to sign up for. But here they are, it seems. The good news is that it's been pretty uneventful, save for the interpersonal drama. The bad news—

Well, it sure doesn't stay that way. The Transistor only has enough memory for a certain number of functions. And unfortunately, keeping him on his feet takes a pretty big fraction of that. With the arrows raining in their direction, it looks like they could use a little more flexibility.

(He gets just enough >incoming projectile warning from the Transistor to grab for Red's wrist and pull her out of the open as the first arrows start to land. And as little as he likes it...he can guess what the look she shoots him means. Hesitates—just because he knows she's more than proven she can hold her own with this thing...doesn't make him any more comfortable with leaving her to do it. At least she's not alone, this time. He throws a glance back at their charges and then nods, relinquishing the Transistor to her with a regretful "Yeah. Go ahead.")

Which puts him in a maddening, familiar place, as the attack starts in earnest. Snapped back inside to the empty place he occupies in the Transistor with little to do but watch the arrows fly by while Red resets the loadout of Functions at her disposal and faces down the bandits with Yusuke.

It's been so long, he'd almost forgotten how hard this is. But at least he can make himself useful. After a beat, for Yusuke's benefit, since Red will be able to see the feedback the same as he can, by now—]

Got us outnumbered. [One thing at a time. The feedback he's getting from the Transistor is incomplete, but those arrows are definitely coming from half a dozen different bows, clustered in twos or threes. Maybe more.] Gonna need a way to get out there and break 'em up.

[ One of these days, JJ's going to show up to these events with an actual weapon. He might not know how to use it, but at least he'll have one. For now, he grabs a pot lid, ducking on the opposite side of the wagons for cover. They're lucky that the bandits don't have them surrounded from both sides, the entourage smartly finding cover despite the chaos.

As for JJ, he's got his pot lid to fend off incoming arrows—though they might as well be as fast as bullets as far as he's concerned, given his total lack of experience with lethal projectiles. There are shouts around them, but the only thing ringing in JJ's ears are the instructions that Yusuke had given him: he finds Florens.

Or, more accurately, he hears Florens, a wail that unmistakably belongs to the preacher that has JJ jerking in alarm— had he already been hit?

It's not hard to find him, the entourage isn't particularly large, and when JJ finally does he only sees a flash of red in his robes before a battle cry echoes through the air and the whistle of arrows is replaced by the steady thundering of footsteps. JJ hardly as the time to turn his head before he sees a swarm of men and women descending from the hill, swords and lances raised eye, some still armed with bows atop their horses. He doesn't think before he's grabbing Florens, shoving him onto the closest supply cart and under the cart. ]

Hide—

[ Because gosh knows that JJ won't be able to defend him. ]

[ Florens may not have been a very good guard, but hopefully his experience would help keep him alive. JJ seems to be doing his part too, making sure he's safely out of vision before he can do anything reckless.

Granted, from the looks of it... this isn't an assassination. Too many people turning it cluttered and imprecise, all noise and brutality. They'd cut them down indiscriminately, which at least is less complicated than all this conspiracy nonsense. He pushes the week's struggles out of his mind for now, focusing on the enemies ahead and the message at his side, Boxer suddenly acting as Red's lost voice.

They have a direction, a target, and a mutual understanding that they need to press forward—so, here goes. ]

I'll scatter them.

[ And then they'll just have to take things from there. Yusuke wastes no time zipping out of cover, ducking under an arrow as his mask smokes away. ] —Goemon!

[ His persona manifests in a downright obnoxious display of blue flame, a distraction in and of itself ice shatters up from the ground, half the horses rearing in alarm and bucking off their riders with their whinnying. Yusuke still doesn't have long before he has to take shelter, one of the more stalwart bandits nocks another arrow and points it his way with a curse. ]

[ They'll have to worry about it eventually — the fact that these aren't the only people that are after Florens, tangentially or otherwise. But this is what they were originally hired for, and they can't think about hidden threat until they take care of the ( extremely ) obvious one first.

Except despite having lived in one of the more extra cities in the multiverse, Yusuke's Persona still gives her pause. Catching a glimpse of the brightly colored ... demon(?) as it hovers its way across the clearing, chaos in its wake. Willingly or otherwise, her grip on the hilt tightens ( the text that follows behind Goemon is a very enlightening >help()?, so the Transistor made a solid attempt, too ). The opening that the apparent Luna-equivalent gave them nearly lost, except she gathers her wits at the last second, and—

Red jaunt()s past Yusuke, out into the open. Somehow she's competing against him on the ridiculousness front because she uses the momentum to slide a few feet across the ground, swinging the Transistor in front of her. The moment the blade makes contact with the ground, a bright ball of electricity bounces from the nearest bandit to the next, then the next, then the next— not enough to take out all of them in the area, but it makes a sizable dent.

Hopefully the combination's enough to buy them some kind of time. At least enough for her to turn around, eyes searching for their one and only figure skater, jaw tightening in preparation to rush to him if necessary — ]

[That sure is a thing. Sure, Boxer's pretty good at rolling with the punches. But the soul pokemon thing still earns a raised brow. Metaphorically, if nothing else. Which leaves the both of them momentarily dumbstruck—]

What is— [But he's seem Yusuke's ice magic at work. That's...new, but he can put two and two together, as the ground erupts in ice and the bandits scatter.] Oh. Oh. ...Think it's on our side.

[No kidding. Red jaunts them through into the fray, sends a solid handful of the combatants sprawling all at once. No problem.]

Sorry, fellas. [(He's not actually sorry.) Had it coming, unfortunately for them. As the smoke clears, he's already trying to nail down where they're standing, here.] Nice! Okay, now where'd the rest of 'em—

[Before he can finish that thought, he cuts it off. Found 'em. Loud enough to carry—]

Caravan! They're making a break for 'em.

[Most of them given up on arrows and drawn swords and daggers, now that they're in range. Maybe look alive, JJ. They'll be right there, hopefully.]

[ In essentially every life and death situation before this, JJ's approach had been to duck and hide, and escape. It had worked for the most part, because if nothing else years of athletics meant that he could run for a while. He's quickly learning that doesn't work every time. Dragons and monsters are one thing—terrifying certainly, but not as smart, and usually just one large threat to focus on. It's harder to focus when there's a dozen bandits swarming around them.

Around him, Yves jumps into action, seemingly unencumbered by the alcohol he'd been enjoying. JJ isn't too worried about him in any case, nor is he worried about Yusuke, and he can't spot Emeraude, so he focuses his concern on Red and Boxer—

That sure is Red wielding a giant sword. ]

Boxer?

[ —Eh, Boxer's probably fine, he's a big guy, and JJ's too busy jerking out of the way when one of the women reaches for his throat, batting her away with the pot lid as the bandit snarls, croaking out something about gem stones as the lid gets her particularly hard against the wrist. He's not really thinking about his actions at the moment, and it's barely a success when he stumbles backwards into the waiting arms of another bandit, this one quick to get an arm pressed against his windpipe, snarling out the same question.

Even if he could breathe he wouldn't have had an answer, but apparently that's not a good enough excuse for this pair of miscreants, the woman immediately pulling out a knife to swipe at him, giving JJ barely a second to use his weight to swing both him and his captor around to avoid it.

Glad this is going equally great for all team members. ]

[ 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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