Raid on Dandelion

[jigokumods]

Who ⬤ Aerith and Busy Bees
What ⬤ Something's going down at the flower shop...
When ⬤ During the bombing panic
Where ⬤ Dandelion
Content Warnings ⬤ There may be some violence in this.

While there weren't any buildings suitable for hiding the fire bombs in nearby Dandelion, that was never really the point. Emerging from the shadows, dressed in ragged black leathers and what appeared to be gas masks of some variety, wielding all manner of nasty looking, improvised weapons, they made their move.

The job was simple. Get the flower girl, and get out. Kill anyone that got in the way. It wasn't unlike the last job, really, and they were feeling fairly confident they could pull this off. They had their notes on who could be at the store at this hour, came prepared for a potential fight, ready to torch the whole place to the ground if they had to...

This was a Holy Mission. Failure was not an option.

The largest of them gave a silent signal to begin surrounding the building. Cover all entrances and exists. With another signal, a crossbow wielding member of the group raised a big boot and began to attempt to kick the side entrance in.

Comments

[mahoraga]

[ But everyone's collective surprise at Shin's attack provides an interesting opportunity. The assailants are now off guard, staring at their fallen friend in stunned silence. ]

Divine Dog! [ The rabbits disappear in a second, and taking their place now is Totality, a large werewolf-like creature that charges at one of the assailants and attempts to maul them with his teeth.

Megumi pulls his sword out as well, attempting to slice it across the chest of another assailant near to him. ]

[jigokumods]

[ Both attacks land well, though not mortal wounds. Their leathers are armored pretty damn well, after all, but the fight is NOT going their way. These Lost Souls were proving a lot stronger than scouting had suggested. Still, while Megumi and his shadow beast attacked, the others readied their weapons... nasty looking things, and prepared for the next attack. ]

[fullgauntlet]

[When Shinichi was telling him over the app that he may or may not have gained a special ability from showing up in this place he was not expecting it to be such sick burns that they're literally explosive...]

I think it did.

[Izuku sweatdrops. But hey- any help is a good help in this situation. As much as Izuku would have liked to keep the fight outside of the shop (damage management! please! the flowers he's been working on!!) it is what it is. He glances over his shoulder to make sure that Haru and the others are doing okay and honestly he can agree with Haru too.

He's pretty annoyed at this entire thing. If more of the assailants are prepping those nasty weapons even with Megumi's beast attacking Izuku will aim his attack at them. Brightly etched electric marks start to overtake most of Izuku's body as he prepares 10% of his power.]

Full Cowling...!!

[He will kick towards the armed npcs with the force of his quirk. If it lands it will blow them back with a severe rush of power. If it backfires on Izuku if could very well break a bone.]

[bunnii]

[Since coming here, Nazuna has seen a lot of new kinds of crazy things. He knows what he's seeing is incredible, but at the same time it's hard to really let that sink in at the moment when everything is happening so fast, he can't properly process it all. What he does know is that it's good for them. Things are turning in their favor now.

Nazuna plants himself firmly between the assailants and the girls. Even with Aerith taking care of Haru, it's going to be a while before they're in any shape to deal with these guys. He draws the sword out in front of him; prepared to strike the moment anyone tries to get to close to them, but he's not going to make any careless moves and swing unless they try something first. His primary goal isn't fighting, it's protecting the people here. But if they try anything, he won't hesitate.]

...Haru-chin's right. No one's going anywhere without anyone. We came this far because we all feel strongly about it, right? We're not losing anyone.

[He's had more than enough of that. Shin, Megumi, Deku-- they've all done a great job against them. If they keep this up, everything will be fine.]

[jigokumods]

[ With the shock of witnessing their comrade put through a wall worn off, they're well more ready for the next attack. Izuku grazes his target, but ultimately it's sidestepped, with an axe-looking metal weapon of some kind, spiked end, coming down to strike him over the back on the way past. It's a nasty blow, but Izuku's had worse. He'll be fine.

More importantly, the enemy is re-focused, and charging in on the trio hanging back, still knowing their aim is to get Aerith. ]

[mindthebass]

I'm not leaving you either. I'm sorry, I was scared, but I think I'm good now.

(making someone fly through a wall at full speed and force does wonders to one's motivation, but there's no time to really bask in it. do something, do something-)

Izuku! You're cute as hell! Your freckles are adorable!! Axe-kun, you will die alone without ever knowing true love or the warmth of a woman.

(hopefully, that dopamine rush helps izuku deal with the pain, and the insult does something to incapacitate the instigator.)

[jigokumods]

[ The boon allows Izuku to fight through the pain, should he need it, and makes the marauder's follow-up swing miss entirely, nearly losing the grip on his weapon in the process.

The other attackers are still barreling down on them though. ]

[everblooms]

[ When Pray does it’s job, she’s pulling Haru and herself back into the foray. If Aerith knows her at all, she’s got something up her sleeve that might be able to cinch this for them, but the trio of “no”s does the job. She looks between them all for a moment, touched, but there’s no room for much. The lowest point of the Mythril Rod hits the floor once more. ]

—Watch the flowers!

[ Ah… a display goes toppling to the floor, from where the hole now exists… Though a flurry of things happen, this is, in truth, the thing that gets her. Petals scatter to the floor, a ruined red rose spreading like blood. This place was supposed to be safe. ]

Okay. Now I’m mad.

[ They had put that there, grown those flowers themselves, arranged them just so... The idea of someone trying to trample on their hard work is enough to make her blood boil. One more time, for the road— Ray of Judgement is cast with force, enough so that this time, she’s raising off her feet, an arcanic ward burning into the wood below Aerith’s feet. Hopefully everyone is behind her this time; now, there’s definitely no negotiating in her mind. Might as well burn the bridge. ]

[jigokumods]

[ No lucky dodges or errant ricochets this time. Ray of Judgement finds a target; the big guy himself, the clear leader, pushing him back from the other attacker who was no very suddenly by himself when trying to assault a group of Radical Teens while his other cohorts were either already KO'd or otherwise in other scuffles.

It's not great being alone, is it? ]

[empression]

I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but please seek medical attention elsewhere if this hits. [ with a bit of a sigh, but she's dragged back into the fray, still not completely recovered but more than recovered enough to finally swing the grenade launcher up and take aim.

At least there's already a hole in the wall. ]

Everyone else, please cover your ears!!

[ Because yes. Haru is firing the grenade launcher. ]

[jigokumods]

[ And what could any of them, in that small of a space, really do against a grenade? No matter how well armed they were, there was just no winning against that kind of force in so contained an area. Even the allies of the shop would face some damage, though not as much as the attackers in this case. By serendipity, they'd be mostly alright, being blown back by concussive force aside.

Boom.

It takes a moment for the dust to settle, but the largest of the marauders doesn't need to call out to his cohorts to know... they're as good as dead, if not still dying. The ones outside are all useless. This mission wasn't allowed to fail, however.

The words of Iron Bear echoed in his mind, his holy proclamation. That this forsaken city should bear witness to them. To the glory of the Sun. ]

"And I shall walk into the light... Behold as I stride! Behold as I ignite!"

[ The large man rips off his mask, shouting as he pulls from his vest the last resort, what they'd been prepared to do if everything failed...

The sound of shattering clay is heard.

And it's followed by an unholy scream.

Magenta colored flames rip out, spreading like tendrils, like vines, wrapping over everything in sight, first claiming the marauders and using them as fuel to burn everything to the ground. ]

[mahoraga]

[ Just when Megumi thought it was finally over, that he could heave a sigh of relief and focus on incapacitating the recovering marauders, that leader of theirs goes and burns it all to the ground. The flames swept across them in seconds, leaving Megumi no time to react, no time to shield both himself and his friends behind him. The smoke is making him choke, burning his through his windpipe, and that lick of flame has caught onto his shirt, dancing up his skin and sides, searingly painful to the point he wants to scream.

But there's no time for that. People are in danger. The people that he cares about.

It's a shame about the new shop, but ... ]

The radical ones are the most troublesome. We're leaving right now!

[ The shadow he's casting behind him seems to take a liquid-like quality, looking less like a shadow and more like a tar pit. It's a portal that will open up to the outside of the store. The ones with a lesser chance of surviving this -- he has to get them out! ]

The other side of my shadow will lead to the outside. Anyone who can hear me -- jump in!

[ With their eyes ringing, can anyone hear him, though? Before he loses focus from the pain of having his skin charred up, he has to save someone. Divine Dog reaches for Shin, attempting to grab the boy so that it can shove him into the shadow. ]

[everblooms]

[ It happens so fast that the fire alarm goes off almost instantly. It melts just as quickly, as flames crawl up the walls and eat away at the foundation of the shop. The flowers burn, going up in powerful, strong, unnaturally colored flames, and she hears it, feels it… it’s agonizing. The blast from the grenade has her ears ringing, her head pounding and her body still adjusting and the smoke now filling her lungs doesn’t help. She feels the heat like she’s being cooked.

Aerith, then, steps back, coughing as she tries to clear her airways. The men who intruded upon the shop are dead, gone, finito, and she doesn’t feel a lick of sympathy or guilt for them. They had come to collect her, and had aimed to kill the rest of them. Associating with Aerith put a bounty on their heads. It shakes her to her core, and she feels guilt for that, and nothing else. The Mythril Rod starts to burn in her grip, retaining the heat, but she kicks the doors behind them open and cries out, ] Run! Now!

[ Her chest burns. She thinks of Cloud, of Tifa, of Zack… Goodness, a number of names come to mind, their faces all mixing together in the haze of her panic and upset. Kim, Andy, Eula, Emily… Musashi, too— She needs to make it out here alive. Her grip tightens, and she raises the staff over her head. Immediately, raindrops sprinkle to the floor. It’s a small, tiny little rain cloud… it blooms in size, slowly but surely, as Aerith focuses more and more. As the drops fall, they leave rivulets that heal in their wake. Enough, she hopes, to help.

She smiles, looks at the rest of them, and pushes. The cloud grows. ]

C’mon, don’t I look like I know what I’m doing? Just go.

[ Her vision is already straining. She can’t let them know. ]