[ CLOSED ] ❝ in a constant state of disarray ❞

[punshots]

Who: Prompto (punshots) & Co.
What: Monthly catch-all! Quests, mostly?! Stay tuned...
When: February!
Where: Wyver, Olympia, and in between.
Warning(s): None currently!


( Starters below! If you're interested in doing something specific with Prompto this month, hit me up on Plurk at retroscape and we can whip something up! )

Comments

➟ akira (safe haven.)

[punshots]

[ Prompto had all but jumped at the opportunity to take up a task that involved protecting the deserters. After vising their camps several time and learning just how devastated they were - and over something so pointless, too - he'd been constantly looking for opportunities to lend a helping hand. But there's only so much extra food he can afford to buy, and it doesn't go far. Protecting people is more in his wheelhouse, anyway. After months spent fighting alongside the prince, it's a role strangely familiar to him, and as he picks up the red crystal that Voss had lent to him, he can't help but reflect on just how similar this is to a quest they might've taken on back home.

So he's as upbeat as ever, even as he paces frenetically in front of the group he and Akira have been assigned to escort. There's eight people in all, including men, women, and children, none of whom appear combat-ready. That means it's up to them to see them safely through to the temple. Aside from his guns, hidden away until he needs to call them into his hand, he has a rapier and focus strapped at his side. He's still not very good with them, but hey...better to have more weapons at his disposal, right?

So long as he doesn't literally fall on his own sword, anyway. ]

Ooookay, so...are we gonna make a plan for this, or should we just wing it?

[ All while glancing between his crystal and the marker some distance away on the ground. Altruistic efforts aside, he so can't wait to try this out. ]

[larsenist]

[ For Akira, this isn't quite like infiltrating a Palace or hunting down a mark in Mementos, but the overall idea is the same; take down tyrants, help the oppressed.

The Temple had managed to send advance notice to their beneficiaries, and so it had only been a matter of arriving to the right location at the right time—no need to run around herding cats, figuratively speak. ...It's keeping the group from scattering, when trouble arises, that might pose a challenge. (Akira's had teammates of course, but he's never had to cover so many civilians in combat, and it seems neither of the two boys really know what to expect. His own inventory consists of a pistol, a knife, a persona... and a crystal.) ]

...If you grab their attention, I'll attack from behind.

[ (Underhanded tactics, but hey, he's a thief.) ]

—Don't miss.

[ (He knows from their previous excursion that Prompto's an ace shot, so that's more a joke than anything else...) Still, the gunslinger probably won't be able to see Akira sneaking about either, if the crystals really work they way they'd been described by the acolytes.

And as for the rest of the caravan... Akira tilts his head toward the group behind them. ]

Arsene can guard them.

[punshots]

[ Prompto nods along with the plan. Even if he and Akira have never worked together in a combat situation like this before, it's not difficult to tell that Akira is the more subtle of the two of them. And getting people's attention is something of Prompto's specialty, for better or for worse. ]

Got it! Don't worry - 'attention-grabbing' is my middle name! Not literally.

[ He doesn't have a middle name. Also, who would name their kid 'attention-grabbing'? That's just silly.

Anyway.

He follows Akira's gesture back towards the group. ]

Uh...Arsene? [ Did someone else sign up for this mission that he wasn't aware of? That's cool, and all, but hopefully they show up soon before they get this show on the road! ]

[larsenist]

[ He blinks at him slowly, before responding quite seriously, ]

I thought 'Punch-It' was your middle name.

[ Have you been lying to him this entire time, Prompto... You wound him...

Deep heartbreak aside, he realizes not everyone's seen his persona, and quickly shrugs, as if the gesture alone might dispel any confusion. ]

You'll know when you see him. Big guy.

[ (Very hard to miss.)

—And it isn't much longer until they have to put their schemes into actual practice. There's the woods fringing Olympia to cross, in order to reach the city gates, and as soon as they step foot past the tree line it becomes apparent their arrival is an awaited one.

He doesn't bring Arsene out just yet, requesting the group to stay back while their two escorts charge forward to greet the opposition. ]

Ready?

[ On signal, he curls his hand tight around his crystal and dissolves into the shadow of the nearest tree. (There's the faintest sign of grass bending under his swift tread, but it's difficult to catch in the obscured lighting. He moves with minimal sound and without hesitation.) ]

[punshots]

[ Damn! He really needs to keep better tabs on his middle names. He shoots Akira an apologetic, "my bad" kind-of look. He'll do better next time...

But his attention is quickly turned back to the identity of the mysterious "Arsene", who sounds like some kind of thug at this point, but whatever, as long as Akira trusts him, Prompto trusts him, too. (He may or may not be picturing him as some kind of hulking, Gladio-esque figure at this point, who could definitely get the job done if he were here.) ]

Got it. The mysterious body guard is toootally normal.

[ And then he falls silent until they step into the woods. He knew this journey wasn't going to be an easy one - that's the whole point of them being the escort - but he'd been hoping they could make it a little closer to Olympia before they ran into trouble. That way, they could make a mad dash for it if something went wrong.

But nothing's going to go wrong. They got this. Right?

Right. ]

Ready.

[ As Akira disappears, Prompto similarly grasps his crystal, strolling right into the guards' line of sight like he's just out for his evening walk. In the woods. By himself. ]

Evening, gentlemen! I don't suppose you've seen my friend, have you? His name is... [ Okay, here goes. Phew - he really should have practiced this more beforehand. But without another moment of hesitation, Prompto lifts the crystal, hurtling himself instantly within a yard or so of the guards. ]

Mister Surprise!!

[ He's really got to work on the names. Anyway, now that he has their attention, Prompto zips himself back again, but further away from where the group is hiding, to lure away the guards so they can slip by. ]

[larsenist]

[ Mister... Surprise...

Very succinct, Akira supposes, though it probably fails to strike terror into the hearts of their foes. (Next time he'll remember to spitball some proper codenames with Prompto; an entourage like theirs operates with only the most melodramatic, most overwrought titles.)

—but enough about that, they've work to do. His partner doesn't fail to deliver, effectively drawing hostile attention with his flashy, improbable movements. (Even Akira stops for a minute to marvel at the teleportation, before he kicks himself into gear—can't waste a perfectly good opening standing around gawking.)

He leans forward and into a full sprint, ramming his elbow hard into the gut of an unsuspecting guard. He immediately twists back into the cover of the shade, disappearing as suddenly as he'd emerged, and takes down several more men in a similar fashion before they even notice their numbers thinning. (With only one visible target, they end up doubling down on the blond gunslinger, some even aiming for the bystanders at the edge of the forest.) ]

Think again.

[ It's Arsene's turn to bat. The persona emerges in a demonic blaze of fire and shadow—and so does Akira (who deduces as much when he's forced to dodge a sudden projectile). He glances down at his crystal, confused, and then at Prompto—

His friend is suddenly gone, though Akira thinks he hears a familiar whoop from somewhere yonder. (Technical difficulties... This'll be good...) ]

[punshots]

[ And just as planned, Akira bolts out of the darkness to stealth-attack the guards, and Prompto has to resist the urge to call out to him with the battlefield banter he's so used to swapping with his friends. He can gives Akira all his best one-liners later. For now, he's got to keep the attention of the remaining guards on himself. ]

Take a picture, it'll last longer!

[ This is ironic, coming from himself, but whatever it takes. Unfortunately, it's not quite enough, but just as Prompto is about to bodily put himself between the guards and the group at the edge of the trees when in comes Arsene - or, at least, what assumes must be Arsene - and Akira. But why isn't Akira in the shadows any longer? Was that advantage already spent?

...It's about at this time when Prompto glances down at himself - or lack of himself. So, okay, he's the invisible one now.

Guess it's his turn to hassle the guards from the cover of darkness, though he's not nearly as subtle as his friend. At least the switcheroo has seemed to stumped their enemies. ]

[larsenist]

[ This isn't quite the 'element of surprise' they'd planned (it's not supposed to be a surprise to them as well????), but victory goes to whoever's quick on the draw.

—And that would be Prompto, of course, who starts landing hits from nowhere on their twice-befuddled foes. In the meantime, Akira has Arsene cleave down a few trees to form makeshift barrier between the attackers and the caravan, leading the group past the haphazard fighting while his persona smacks down anyone foolish enough to get close.

Their roles reverse again within minutes (crystal's functions finally restored), and Akira blinks out of existence once more as Prompto tags back in. He signals the blond to regroup with a piercing whistle before leaping back into the fray himself, ready to help take out the last of the hostiles. ]

[punshots]

[ He got sorta used to his temporary invisibility, and so by the time Prompto reappears he's making a truly gleeful expression, having way more fun than he probably should be given the circumstances. But he wasn't exactly expecting to turn invisible like that. May as well have a good time!

But he hasn't forgotten what they're there for, and so when he blinks back into visibility, Prompto uses his own crystal to teleport near Akira, slamming his elbow into the back of one of the last guards standing as he appears. ]

We've got 'em on the ropes!

[ They might actually get through this thing! ]

[larsenist]

[ Prompto's is as good in a brawl as he is in a meteor field, isn't he? (Akira's rather enjoying this himself, Joker's grin creeping across his face as they take turns pummeling their enemies into submission. —Even a few crystal mishaps don't deter him; he just thinks of it as a handicap, like in any good fighting game.)

Best of all, there are few enough left that stealth doesn't really matter anymore. Akira's free to unload his bad one-liners as he pleases. ]

Finish them!

[ Like something staged out of a cutscene, they both manage to land a perfectly-timed kick on the last crony. The man drops to the ground with an abbreviated grunt, and Akira raises an arm to share a victory fist bump with his partner. ]

Nailed it.

[punshots]

[ Oh, man, that one-liner was expertly deployed, and after the last guard falls, Prompto turns to Akira with a respectful nod. It takes a real warrior to wield battle taunts effectively, and that leaves Prompto about as impressed as anything else. He pounds that fist bump soundly. ]

Dude, we totally slayed! ...I mean, y'know, in a non-lethal way. [ He glances back at the group beyond the trees, where they wait anxiously to move on, though looking encouraged now that they are one step closer to their refuge. ]

C'mon. Let's keep these guys movin'.