GROUP 3: SO I OPEN MY DOOR TO MY ENEMIES—

[dipolar]

WHO? group three, see below links.
WHAT? hrhr: retreat missions.
WHEN? february 9th, you're here forever.
ANYTHING ELSE? planning and submissions.

CHARACTERS WILL ENCOUNTER THESE OBSTACLES:

—Locating the base and arriving without interference by the Turks or the Regency.
—Getting at least one person past the soldiers and into the base.
—Scouting the base and locating Atatürk without causing an incident.
—Handling soldiers who might interfere with attempts to reach Atatürk.
—Combating any Regency soldiers assigned undercover to the Turkish side.
—If anyone is captured by Turkish or Regency soldiers, you'll have to stage a rescue.
—Successfully gaining an audience with Atatürk and acquiring amnesty.
—Returning to Lone Pine in one piece.

RAISING THE DEAD AND SCOUTING, 18/30
yoshitsugu otani, dorian pavus, jon snow, jeyne westerling, sebastian michaelis, ashitaka, hei, noctis lucis caelum, chiron

"Raising the dead and scouting goes well, if not smoothly. You have to dodge enemy combatants the whole way, and it's a little hard to get the intel and supplies you need when you're also trying not to get shot. Somehow, you manage it! Probably through the power of positive thinking. And murder."

—chiron and hei do an initial scout to map out the turkish base and find entry points
—hei stresses that everyone stays with at least one other person so as to not get separated/held hostage
—yoshitsugu uses his spell to raise the dead for an hour to gather information about the turkish base/plans
—yoshitsugu experiences convulsions as a result of using the spell and dorian will use his revival spell on him to help him recover
—entire group stops to plan out specific teams and what they’ll been doing, team a and b are born
—sebastian recounts the letters he found in the tunnels verbatim to the group, mostly sharing the atatürk part
—entire group decides that non-lethal action is to be taken, so they can easily discuss terms with atatürk without killing his men
—noctis and jeyne act as contacts between their separate teams to keep information fresh and to relay important updates
—jon provides the bottom halves of turkish uniforms so their disguises can be put together; they steal the top halves from the dead soldiers yoshitsugu has raised because we're here to demean literally everybody

COMBAT WITH THE REGENCY, 13/30
hei, noctis lucis caelum, chiron, sebastian michaelis, ashitaka

"Combat is where things get difficult. While nobody dies, a few characters are seriously injured. You can decide who and how. Likewise, if you have anybody due for a kidnapping, now would be a good time. But, essentially, this is a close call. You lose ground to the enemy, some ANZAC soldiers might get caught in the crossfire, some precious resources may be lost! Your choice, but something goes to shit."

—chiron using magical detection to weed out the regency agents and the entirety of team b engages the three regency soldiers in combat
—hei uses his ability to shock memory out of the people who may have spotted them using their powers, with the exception of regency soldiers
—noctis will be using warp-strike takedowns to reduce their chances of detection, as they're near-silent and an instantaneous skill
—ashitaka gets kidnapped by the first of the undercover regency agents somewhere in the middle of this because he's literally and figuratively cursed, leaving them down a group member
—sebastian leaves team b and joins team a to fill ashitaka’s empty diplomat position, because he can do anything and likes to show off
—yoshitsugu avoids his kidnapping somewhere in the middle of this, with chiron on rescue duty to facedown the second undercover regency agent
—dorian will use blood magic in a desperate attempt to save himself from capture from the third undercover regency agent

ACTUAL DIPLOMACY, 16/30
yoshitsugu otani, dorian pavus, jon snow, jeyne westerling, sebastian michaelis

"Actual diplomacy is terse, if only because it feels difficult to get a foothold. Atatürk gives little away, and is very quiet and cautious in his delegations. He doesn't fill you with confidence. But in the end, he does come around, admitting to seeing your point. He'll do what he can to call a cease fire."

—team b attempts to come to an agreement and work things out with atatürk
—yoshitsugu attempts to talk atatürk down from a strategical point of view, "there's no sense in attacking when your enemy is already retreating"
—jeyne uses the locket to take the stance of women missing their husbands and lovers, as well as their children having no fathers; she's especially good at calming people when tempers run hot, as well as appealing on more personal levels
—jon speaks with atatürk on a personal level: "no more men have to die - i know you've watched your countrymen fall, i know everyone values bravery, we do too, but these deaths mean less and less when no one is fighting anymore”
—dorian has a gift for politics and has sat in on war counsels and engaged in political debates, making him approach this from a political angle
—if things start going badly, yoshitsugu will use his guilt spell to sway atatürk to their side of the discussion

Comments

CLOSED— https://i.imgur.com/XbCz5VG.gif

[dipolar]

(he didn't abandon his team, an odd realization for hei as he lies back in the mud and wishes the BCE would just let him die like he's damn well supposed to. he's familiar with how close of a call this is, he can feel the device sustaining him at a bare minimum. it patches him up with the help of some backed up version of his body, awake, and alive. and god, it's painful.

watery eyes sting as he tries to access the network to contact someone for extraction, but his vision's too blurry to see the letters and whatever he manages to send to the last person he was in contact with is absolute gibberish. tries to speak to himself, call out to someone, only managing a pathetic rasp of something unintelligible and dizzied, a thick swallow of blood at the back of a dry throat.

when did he get out here? a turn of his head, cheek presses into soft ground, almost warm to a cold face. he's never felt so sick in his life, fingers still clawing at the cauterized hole in his uniform along plasma-blasted ribs that make his breaths in rattle wetly. experiencing acute blood loss is a day to day, but nothing beyond a level that would kill him without the BCE's suspension. in return for his eventual survival, however, thoughts are diced up as finely as the regency soldier dropped next to him. time's immaterial and impossible to gauge when he can't tell which direction his eyes are dragging in in an attempt to gather his bearings.

fuck, it's a lot. it's too much. he doesn't know if his friends are alright and no one warned them of the consequences of venturing out by themselves. that's on him, that's his fault, the fault of his superiors for refusing to warn anyone or help anyone somehow — surely they could've.

where's noctis? where's m? are they strong enough to face agents him and dorian barely managed to topple? are they safe right now? he can't even check their vitals, eyes squeezing shut in his frustration as a desperate protest is choked out of him.)

[fessus]

[ They haven't been separated for long but it feels like an eternity.

When they'd started traversing the No Man's Land to keep the way clear for the rest of their team Noctis had kept Hei within his sights. It'd been easy; they work well together and soldiers had fallen both quickly and quietly in response to their joint efforts. Communication had been smooth even if it hadn't necessarily been easy and contacts both on the combat side and with their other factor had stayed solid.

The first Regency soldier contact is what fractures their system. They were separated then with Noctis taking point to defend the diplomacy team's advance inside the base while Hei had been left to face the greater threat alone. And it had weighed on him while he was fighting, unable to afford distracted glances back to where he knows Hei is standing on his own even if the worry that blossoms in his chest is overwhelming.

It feels like far too long before he's able to seek Hei out, picking out his slumped figure in a barren landscape and feeling that dread jump into his throat with a vicious spike. His knees sink into mud as he drops down at his side, hands filthy with dirt and blood grasping for him with the fingers of one curling around the back of his neck, attempting to support him with a half-tug into his lap. ]

Fuck... Hei? Hei, I'm here, look at me--

[dipolar]

(more time passes and with his eyes closed, it feels like he's sinking into the mud. no one's coming for him, if he does. he's going to be forgotten here, location off on his BCE. why did he insist on keeping it private? it was so illogical and he'd kick himself but he can't move his legs more than a few inches, knees bending weakly, quaking hard with effort, before his heels slide and he's horizontal again.

so when noctis' voice reaches him with a lance of pain from being jostled — one that immediately winds him and flecks the backs of his eyelids with a blotted gold —, hei believes he's hallucinating. just for a moment, it's like hearing and feeling something fake, just one of the myriad delusions keeping him well past the threshold of insanity. the confusion from his blood loss helps the idea along, but hei obeys him and tries to open dark eyes with a woozy lag of a stare.

noctis. he's real, he's real, noctis is holding a soaked body steady and bloody lips part with a wavering sigh, relief making his throat tight.)

Noctis, Noctis— (thank god he's alright, thank god, but that means the danger's still there. fuck, dorian almost got stolen away out from under their noses and there's no more strength left in this group to fend off a worse attack,) can't be here, you need to go...

[fessus]

[ His eyes are immediately raking over Hei's form for signs of the damages done to him, seeing the tears in his clothing and resisting the urge to inspect further -- there's blood smeared over cloth and skin alike and the lighting is so, so poor. Fuck, how could he let this happen? Shit... shit... ]

I'm not going anywhere; don't give me that... [ Definitely not now, not after losing someone else. He sure as fuck isn't going to abandon Hei too. ]

That's not even an option, okay? I... I need to know if you can move. I can help you, I can carry you... What do you need?

[dipolar]

(no, no, he needs to get noctis back to camp and that can happen without him. he's fine, the BCE is keeping him alive, but no one's told noctis and he's trying to speak but it's so fucking difficult—)

You need to go back to camp, go, (his voice is hoarse, blinking hard and shaking his head slowly against his better judgement to try to clear the fog,) please.

(he couldn't stand it, not again. it's selfless, wanting noctis to leave. it's selfish, trying to get him to go without him. hei has to grunt his response to the query about moving, finding the very though nauseating, but he has to if he's to get his friend away from here and in a larger group. group one, maybe group two, even the others on their own team would suffice. anyone who can help bolster their numbers and make them difficult targets.

hei's next breath is pitchy, heaved as he tries to bend his knees and sit up with a grasp at noctis' forearm, teeth chattering at the stress it forces onto freshly knit wounds. his side is almost unbearable.)

F-Fuck—

[fessus]

[ The plea strikes a chord with him, clenching in his chest and forcing him to swallow heavily as he immediately shifts closer when Hei attempts to move. His hand slips lower, from his neck to an encircling of broad shoulders with his arm to take on more of his weight. ]

I'm going with you, understand? Then I'm going to come back here and rendezvous with the group. We're not diverting from the plan. You said that yourself... but you can't stay out here like this. [ Not as vulnerable as he is; one more Regency soldier would be enough to turn the tide against them both. The thought has Noctis hurriedly checking his six, trying to remain aware of their surroundings while simultaneously quieting racing thoughts.

His free hand finds Hei's, squeezing tight. ]

Where's the pain the worst? Your right side? I can keep your left against me when I lift you.

[dipolar]

(fuck the plan, he wants to growl at him but can't manage it, lapsing into uneven breaths. noctis is determined to get him to safety and that's more than he can stand. he knew they'd be better off not knowing him, everyone would've been.

there's only one solution now: if noctis won't leave, he's going to have to force himself to move.)

Okay, j-just— (hei pants at his own plan with a firm grip on noctis' hand, knowing that this is going to hurt and hurt badly, but there's no other way to get noctis to head back to camp,) if you help me get up... I can...

(walk? no, that's unlikely. but he has to try.)

I'm sorry, this isn't...

[fessus]

[ Hei can't even so much as finish his thought, whether because he knows it's untrue or because he's flagging as badly as he appears to be right now, and either option leads Noctis to the same conclusion: he's going to have to carry him. Daunting in the condition that Noctis himself is in, too, but accepted as the only option and that alone causes him to lock his jaw and shake his head. ]

I'm gonna' carry you, okay? That's what's happening, so don't argue with me. I just need you to try to brace yourself and tell me where to avoid touching you. Is your shoulder okay? Where I'm grabbing right now. Look at me again.

[dipolar]

(he doesn't notice. he thinks his sentences make coherent sense and that's likely the most worrying part of this, even with the sheer amount of his blood on the outside of his body.

looks when and where he's instructed to, eyes barely focusing on a comforting face. then nods as best he can, trying to convince his limbs to move enough to let him sit up.)

Yeah. Just my side, right... (here, shakily lifting his arm to run his fingers over the bare skin purpling beneath the hole in his uniform, trying to breathe out but only managing sharp huffs.) Shouldn't have left you...

[fessus]

[ The eye contact doesn't put him at ease when Hei seems to be looking past him, through him, pupils losing and then regaining their focus and eyelids heavy. But it's something, it's a sign that he's still being heard and Hei's still with him. That's enough. ]

Don't... Don't start in on that. I shouldn't have left you but right now we just have to focus on the solutions. [ He's reluctant to let go of Hei's hand but his arm needs to wedge itself tightly beneath his knees, pulling him in close against his chest. ]

I'm gonna' move on three, okay? One... two... three. [ His boots dig into the mud as he rises slowly to his feet, focused on trying to jostle his injured friend as little as possible. ]

[dipolar]

Okay... okay— (tries to psyche himself up for it, but nothing he thinks of helps when noctis reaches the end of his countdown.

there's a groan as he's pulled in against noctis, shoulder raising to accommodate him. one that quickly stutters into silence at the spike of pain that blackens his vision — a bad sign. especially when his head drops back and the rest of his body slumps into an unconscious dead weight. he hangs there, limp, until his resetting mind decides to grin and bear it.

luckily the fainting spell doesn't last long, a minute that seems like an eternity. hei's irregular pulse manages to stir up enough blood to rouse him, weakly raising his head in order to wedge a bloody cheek against noctis with a rough gasp.)

[fessus]

[ He feels him go limp and the panic is nigh immediate, leaping into his throat as he clutches him tighter. ]

Hei? [ The gasp that follows, wet and weak, nevertheless brings with it a strong sense of relief as Noctis forces himself to start to move. ]

It's okay... I've got you, alright? We're gonna' get back to camp, you're gonna' rest... [ His arms are burning with exertion as holds Hei closer against his body, anchoring him there to lessen any movement. ]

The next place we go... I bet it's gonna' have a great view of the stars, you know? There'll be all kinds of new ones for you to learn...

[dipolar]

(can barely form words as they come to him and with the sudden movement it feels as though he might throw up. the fever that's set in is making him burn up despite how cold he feels, bangs matting to his forehead, shivering with the genesis of an infection. thankfully nothing but blood is sputtered and drooled against noctis' jacket when he gags on the overwhelming nausea — he has to keep everything down, he can't get dehydrated now of all times or it'll be difficult to pull himself out of this.

hei wants to warn him again. the regency is coming to collect, stay with someone else who's capable, drop this dead weight and get the hell out. but he feels reset after the moment of unconsciousness, wondering where he is and where noctis is taking him and if they'll be able to rest against one another again when they get there. can they relax and stare up at the night sky and guess at the meanings of constellations they've never seen before?)

The BCE's— (bloody teeth set as he faces a muscle contraction that steals the air out of him, every breath rattling like there's been damage done to a lung,) I'd be dead without it... I'd be dead, I could see them again. It'd be so easy to do, I could tear it out...

(his next inhale wavers, thick with emotion, damp eyes shutting tightly as he practically hides his face against noctis' chest. there's a weak fumble of slick fingers at the back of his friend's uniform, clutching fabric, fearful that he'll be pried away from him and forced into such a haunting loneliness again. it aches, his throat. he can't leave him, he doesn't want to go yet.

i don't want to die.)

I want to do that, I want to go there... I'll take you there, Noctis...

[fessus]

[ Mud sucks at his legs with each labored step forward and he tries not to think about what he knows is likely behind him, able to imagine the appearance of a soldier at his heels with each passing second. It doesn't change anything. He wouldn't leave Hei alone then and he won't now, only casting hurried glances back when his paranoia gets the better of him.

His words are a sharp distraction, however, eyes immediately fixed low on a blood-spattered uniform where underneath he knows that futuristic tech lies, piercing into his skin just like Noctis's does. ]

Don't-- [ The first word of warning, heavily exhaled. ] Don't say that shit, don't even think about it... Got it? You're gonna' live...

That's the only way we're gonna' see it together, so listen to yourself...

[dipolar]

I'm gonna live... (repeats him dutifully, swallowing thickly around his tongue.

his throat bobs as he tries to form the words he wishes to convey, but his body — trying to cope through its terrible shock — is too weak to offer the support he needs. muscles are useless, shredding with the difficult job of keeping him tense and saving the blood that's managed to stay on the inside of his body despite dorian's best efforts to siphon his veins dry. if someone were to ask, hei couldn't begin to guess or describe how much of it has been washed afield... but not many questions are liable to be answered correctly right now.

noctis' voice fades into the background of his delirium.)

Dorian... blood. Where's he? (slurring speech indicative of organs being frozen in their lacking states, BCE kicking in and scrabbling to refresh him with a copy of a body backed up before the fight.) Regency. Kidnappings...

(all things important to note, or would be if he could get them out. his mind reels and tries to claw onto the vestiges of words that make sense and all he can do is hope to god they make it back before— the blast of a grenade from tens of metres ahead makes him clench his teeth together with a shaken breath, fingers digging into noctis' back as roughly as they can to get his attention. they were bound to run into danger crossing no man's land, but there's no doubt in his mind that this is what he feared.

because there are no more turk soldiers fighting, on ataturk's command. they succeeded. so the only ones left tearing across this war-torn graveyard are the ones trying to find them and separate them and take them.)

Fuck, leave me, run—

[fessus]

[ Dorian? He'd seen him earlier but Noctis hadn't witnessed the casting of the spell or indeed even its immediate after-effects, still angry at himself for not making it to Hei's side sooner. All he can assume is that Dorian is hurt too, but he doesn't have the time or energy to go back or the ability to carry one more body. ]

Calm down, stop trying to talk... I'll come back out here and look for him, okay? There aren't any-- [ The explosion cuts his words off as straining muscles hoist Hei an inch or two higher, jerking him closer to instinctively try to shield him from the blast. The stench of gunpowder rolls over him in a nauseating wave that adds more color to tanned skin, scrambling to take a few hurried steps sideways. ]

Shit! Shit, just... keep holding on, I'm gonna' try to run. [ He thinks to apologize for how it's going to hurt Hei, but for some reason his mouth won't form the words. It becomes a foggy desire instead, one he's so fixated on that he can hardly feel or notice the tiny dart now stuck into the back of his wrist, fired precisely when Noctis had dodged into a Regency soldier's line of sight. ]

... Hei... Hei, something's wrong... [ The last word is almost impossible to decipher as his voice goes quiet, his next step forward meant to balance a swaying form but his knee buckles under their combined weight. He hits soiled earth hard, slumped partly over his injured companion in a half-conscious effort to make the fall easier on him but he can't muster any ability to fight back. Not when everything around him's going black. ]

[dipolar]

(it's a sweep. hei recognizes the tactic. create a disturbance ahead so the targets flee in the opposite direction or off to designated sides for an ambush. he performed so many of these lures, how did he miss this?

panic spikes in his chest and not because of the danger they're in when the regency soldier appears in smoke and embers. noctis has been hit. he sees the slender thing that looks like a miniscule hypodermic needle, capsule of its drug affixed at the end and feeding itself like an iv drip into his comrade's wrist.)

Noctis, no, no— (cut off by their fall its unbearable pain, only managing a tortured gasp as his back hits the ground and noctis folds over him.

the jackals converge and circle at a distance, careful and methodical like contractors waiting for their opponents to sink in exhaustion and succumb. hei can't even summon the energy required to activate his abilities and stave them off or stopper whatever poison coursing rapidly through noctis' veins, well within the field of their nullifiers. this can't happen again, he can't have anyone else stolen from him. noctis bows above him and hei whispers nonsense, gibberish that sounds like rushed pleas — "don't let go, don't fall asleep, don't close your eyes, don't leave me."

one of the last thing he feels is the pull of noctis' arms out from underneath his back and legs. one of the masked agents grabs him by the ankle and yanks, action remorseless. his fingers try to grab at him, one of his only friends, blood-slick grip weak and too easy to pry loose.)

Take me, take me instead, please, please take me instead—! (another pull, body sliding away from him, his nails biting into fabric until the butt of a gun slams into his temple.)