Of Death (Open)

//OOC: OK so I mispelt that but what do you mean by it

//OOC: Dart this time. Post is half done, but I ran out of free time. School ain't fun sometimes (read: most of). I'm really sorry for it, guys.

//OOC: thanks, guys! I hope this is an ok post? If you want me to change it, just let me know.

"What the hell?" Those were the only words Karl Hjort could say as he saw a 35-metre class titan appear in Hermiha. The appearance of it was truly bizarre. Well, ever since I approached this manor, things have been utterly surreal, the engineer reminded himself.

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Karl had been on official business within Wall Sina, reporting to high command of the latest improvements made to 3DMG, soon to be incorporated into standard gear. He was making his way back towards Survey Corps headquarters, his gear still strapped to his sides, on horseback, where he intended to rest for the night. Tomorrow would no doubt be an eventful day, with the commander no doubt wanting to give him a debriefing them. He was anxious to see whether or not Zackly had taken a liking to the new design of the equipment - granted, it would be more expensive to produce, and could put its soldiers at more risk than the currently used weaponry until they grew used to utilising it, but it brought handsome benefits with regards to speed and mobility - and would want to know how the engineer had fared in his meeting with the man.

It was thus that he found himself, still equipped in the prototype gear, riding through Hermiha district. Like any dutiful soldier, when he heard the commotion occurring within the Vi Rauco mansion - which was not a quiet affair, to say the least - he moved towards it, dismounting as he approached the building. If there was some sort of criminal activity going on, it was his duty - Survey Corps or not - as a soldier to uphold the rule of law. He drew his swords, walking towards the doorway, and noticing shattered windows and spattered blood. There's been a fight here, and it looks like there have been some serious casualties, too. It looks like military intervention may be necessary.

Then the red titan appeared in all its terrifying glory. After spitting out the aforementioned phrase, Karl used his 3DMG to latch onto the roof of the Vi Rauco mansion, and hurled himself up towards the top of the building. This is madness! he reminded himself, why am I approaching a 35-metre class alone?

It just appeared, so that means it shares properties similar to those of the colossal, rogue and armoured titans...it's very possible that there's even a sentient being within it. Karl's thoughts were racing parallel to his fear as he tried to work out why a 35-metre class had appeared on the edge of Wall Sina, where it posed a direct threat to the walled kingdom. His fear was almost matched by his excitement at being able to operate in the unique testing environment for his prototype gear which the red titan provided.

As Karl hopped onto the roof, he tried to work out what he was going to do regarding the red titan. Clearly, I shouldn't even try to kill it, yet...first I need to know its intentions. This height gives me an advantage that I sorely need: if I lose it, I could be easily stamped underfoot.

The engineer retreated until he was standing on the middle of the rooftop, his blades in his hands. There are little to no soldiers around to stop it if it has a destructive intent, which it almost certainly does, and I didn't bother bringing my flares with me, seeing no reason to have them within Wall Sina.

He stared at the red titan, analysing its form for signs of strengths and weaknesses. So, to summarise: I'm up here, probably alone, with no way to call for help, a 35 metre titan below me that probably has abnormal abilities, in what is supposed to be one of the safest places in the human empire.

I'm doomed, he thought despondently.

Both hosts took a slithering step backwards when they saw the aggressor begin harming himself. That was the thing they had feared for the entirety of this battle. If you could even call it as such, given what was to come...

A flash of reddish-yellow light struck upwards at the sky. A huge body of red flesh now stood, emanating thick steam from the raindrops, watching the mansion with hateful eyes. This was the real battle beginning. All until now... you could even go as far as to just call it a warm-up.

***

The black-and-white host swallowed a curse, and dropped the blade on the floor. Soon, it begun taking off the safeties from the armour, letting it fall on the floor as well. Armour took a long time to get into, but not close as much to get off from. And it wasn't a full armour anyway.

The other host didn't care for any of it though. Just instantly shot his 3DMG cable as the Red Titan was recovering from the initial transformation. The four Hydrargyrum nearby acted almost as fast, taking flanking positions in their flight.

After a short while, the black-and-white host finished up as well, and took flight on it's own, at about the same time as the rest of Hydrargyrum below. It was quite obvious it moved a bit odd compared to every other soldier in there. Or, perhaps, they were the ones all moving a bit odd...

***

Peren watched the room closely as Alan approached him. He listened clearly to every word of the soldier, and eventually begun opening his mouth to answer.

Then a reddish-yellow light filled up the room for a flash.

Peren remained with his mouth half-open. 'Shit.' He took one more pause. 'SHIT' He instantly drew his blades, at the same time as most of the other soldiers in the room. Corpses were left to fall,
wounded put down and, some of them, left to die. Harsh, it was, but it was better for one wounded man to die than every single other person in the room. And frankly, that was exactly the most plausible fate to look at now.

'Time for talk is over. Let's see what you've got.' With that, Peren took flight along with the rest of Hydrargyrum. Sangwa had thought this over well. While the man couldn't cooperate with the elite squad due to not knowing the drills and his equipment, he'd be a wildcard. Something to throw off an opponent that already knew part of the tricks, and to cause confusion in his mind. And, to be fair, the most likely person in the whole proximity to land the felling blow, apart from perhaps Auth.

***

'Iron Rain!'

Ex-Elite-MP-Captain Adar vi Rauco had changed to his battlefield voice. A strong, resounding one, to be heard over storm and wind and gunfire. Hydrargyrum acted instantly at his every command.

They were approaching the Red Titan carefully, making sure to not use him as hooking point. It was suicide to try that on a Shifter. At the same time, their greater mass due to the armour offered them more momentum. In turn, that forced them to more linear movement. On the other hand, in urban areas, linear 3DMG movement was about he only way possible. And it had helped a lot alongside time in routing out criminals from all sort of places. It would help here, too.

Auth had two clear roles in this combat: One, to force split focus on the enemy. While indeed, it was obvious by now who was the father and who the son, when they passed through the same place, anyone's eyes would be confused about whom to track for a moment. And that moment was always an advantage. Two, to randomize the battle. It was easy to track clear strategies and tactics. This way, with him having no orders and taking none, there was a clear chaotic element the enemy would have to focus in order to anticipate. Once again, splitting the attention into two parts.


Hopefully, it was enough. But men who lived long didn't rely on hopes.

Alan lifted his eyes as Peren was about to reply. However, a strange, yellow-ish light filled the room, and Alan heard the rumble of stones and wood. Wary as ever, he looked around the room for the source of the unusual event. He spotted new smoke filling the room from one of the windows.
Did lightning hit the house because of the storm? Alan asked himself as he analyzed the smoke and tried to determine the severity of the occurence If the house was caught aflame, it would hinder the rescue process very much, as well as-
Alan's trail of thought did not last very long, because soon after the lightning the thunder came.
And with the thunder came a roar. An inhumane, bone-rattling roar, that sounded alien to Alan. The hall was silent. Both the wounded and the unharmed lost their voice at the screeching blast that was emitted from outside.
"...What was that?" Alan asked Peren, after he saw his hollow expression, still gaping at the air for a breath.

Wordlessly, chaos ensued. The Hydragyrum raised their blades along with their vice-captain, killing off the wounded and leaving the weak alone. Alan would've protested, but he was too bewhildered by the event.
What are they doing? Why would they be killing the people they just tried to rescue? What is going on? Alan's mind was filled with unease and unanswered questions. However, the only answer he got was from Peren, when he turned his gaze to Alan and stated:
"Time for talk is over. Let's see what you've got."
And with that - he was gone, along with the rest of the Hydragyrum. The armored soldiers jumped through the broken windows, 3DMGs locked and loaded. Alan walked over to the window, to try and make sense of the entire situation. However, what he saw was not the magnificent view that was there a few moments ago.
The area that lay in front of Alan was filled with steam and smoke, which seemed to twirl menacingly by the eerie light of the building and the occasional lightning bolt. However, right in front of Alan, two small balls of blood-red light shot through the steam like searchlights...
And lit a horribly large grin right underneath them.

Alan would've surely soiled himself by now, were he to have any excess bladder.
....Holy shit.
Alan jumped back from the shattered window and fell upon the floor, hands trembling
HOLY SHIT
Alan turned to the people left in the room, a unique, panicked expression across his face.
"GET TO GROUND LEVEL! PLAY DEAD! A TITAN IS HERE!"
Chaos once again ensued in the room, but this time the cause was pure terror. Some ran away, leaving their relatives or close ones behind, while others started sobbing like mad.
Alan managed to help himself back up, and started examining the huge titan, which seemed larger than any structure Alan has ever seen in his life, save the wall. The titan was already being surrounded by Hydragyrum soldiers.
Alan shuddered and tried to regain focus, like he always trained himself to.
Alright. This appears to be a... 30, no. 35 meter class. Skin appears reddish, posture... surprisingly tactical. Posture and raised arms exhibit professional martial arts training... Alan slammed his fist on the frame of the window, tears of panic starting to dot his eyes.
Titan is a shifter - a human transformed into a titan. That hair... seems similar to the Roseman's. If that's the case, there's a severely high chance that this titan also happens to be the man who started this entire attack. Which means... Alan's eyed darted from one Hydragyrum soldier to the next, trying to spot Adar and his distinctive cloak. However, due to the bad conditions, Alan couldn't spot him.
If my assumption is correct, and the Rose came here tonight with the intention of killing Adar vi Rauco, that means he transformed in order to do just that. Otherwise, he would've fled given the chance. This titan's goal is to kill Adar, leader of the Hydragyrum. Why doesn't matter. Time to think...
Alan questioned the intention of the Hydragyrum. Were they really going to try and kill a shifter? That was suicide, in Alan's eyes. Alan saw two clear strategies that could be acted upon. The first would be to move Adar to a location that's titan-secure, such as the underground city, or onto the wall. However, that would take require sacrifices - both from soldiers who will die protecting Adar on his way to safety, and victims to the titan's rampage. The titan will probably try to draw Adar out, if he tries to hide, by killing civilians.
The other option was... to let Adar die. The titan shifter would likely live everyone else alone, both Hydragyrum and civilian. If his intent was to kill anyone else, except Auth, all he had to do would've been transform while inside the dining hall, and effectively kill everyone there.
Alan didn't like the thought of having his rolemodel and hero killed, but it seemed like the most logical turn of events - let Adar die, and make the titan threat go away.

However, it seemed the Hydragyrum had other plans - to fight the titan, to try and hold it back, perhaps kill it or capture the shifter. With Adar commanding them, it would seem fairly unlikely for them to betray him and let the titan kill him off. The Hydragyrum seemed like the sort of organization that would not take betrayal well.
Well, if we must fight, then fight we must.
Alan sighed, hands still trembling a little, but not much. Going over things in his head always calmed him down. He turned to Mitsuo, eyes determined, but still dotted with fear.
"The people in this building are unsafe, but if I'll be completely honest, they can't move anywhere in time that will prove safer. Trying to escort them to safety would prove inefficient - a much better solution would be to deal with the... threat." Alan turned his head back to the titan. He looked extremely muscular all over, and thick of hide. Killing him, or getting under his skin would be hard.
He turned back to Mitsuo. "He is after Adar, so as long as he thinks he's fighting Adar, he will not go after people outside the fight, or try to run. He is hard to kill, and very powerful. However, his weaknesses prove are likely his great size, which make it easy to stay out of his reach, and his light weight, which can prove useful for some sort of trap." Alan recalled reading a report once that stated that titans were very much lighter than they seemed. He hoped that report was accurate.

Alan had a plan. It was a bloody dangerous one, but it was still a plan.
"Look for any spare 3DMGs you can find, get a match box, and meet me at the mansion's entrance in 5 minutes." Alan quickly told Mitsuo, before waddling briskly across the room. He found 3DMG used by one of the attackers, and equipped it. While his left was injured, it had little to no implications on his flying, which he was going to need very much. As he waddled across the abandoned mansion, he ripped some curtains from some of the windows, and kept waddling.
Finally, he found what he was looking for - after climbing up the stairs, he found pieces of armor covering the floor, along with a bow and a quiver. The bow was dyed black, and huge. Unmistakably, this was the infamous "Moonray", which was passed on for generations through the vi Rauco bloodline, as all royal historians would know. Alan grabbed the bow and quiver, and strapped them to himself. They were surprisingly light, given the bow's bombastic size.
Alan sat on the floor for a second, tying his ripped curtains together until they somewhat resembled the hosts' distinguished robe. From a close view, it was obvious he was not Adar vi Rauco - but he wasn't planning to get close. Not yet, at least.
He ran down to the front of the mansion, and waited briskly for Mitsuo. When he arrived, he smiled and nodded with his head towards the wall, which loomed high above, and thankfully rather close.
Alan was glad for once of the vi Rauco's almost stupid pride, putting their house just by the wall.
"We're heading up there."

//Geographical note, for those who do not know already, since Alan touched upon it already and it might be a bit confusing for the others: The vi Rauco mansion is just outside the inner wall. That is, in theory not part of the Inner district, since it's outside the Wall's protection (the message being: 'Yeah. We could very well have been in there. But we're not. We' don't need that wall.').

//OOC: I do my homework when I write. It's why it takes me so long to write.
Well, that and the fact that I type, like, seriously way too much. Someone needs to stop em.

//OOC: 1. It was meant for the others. I know you're 'serious business mode'. I like that. 2. NOOO. Don't stop! I enjoy your posts a lot! They're awesome!

//OOC: Is Mitsuo gonna post or should we skip him?

/OOC: Skip me if you want... I might fall out of this post.

//OOC: We'll wait if you want to post. If not, we'll move on.

//OOC: I'm happy to wait for Mitsuo to post, too. I'm actually very busy myself, as it happens, so you have my sympathy, Mitsuo.

//OOC: I think it's time to skip Mitsuo this time around. I'll have the post done later on tonight.

//OOC: Change of plans. Pretty sure demonicmuffin is gonna post.



It's about to go down.

//OOC: Screw it, I'm posting.

Mitsuo listened to Alan after he scared the other guests away. The scout found a 3DMG on an attacker's corpse and so he quickly equipped it after removing his blazer and taking off the props from his trousers. "You know... the chances of survival are slim," the young mechanic spoke just loud enough for his friend to hear, "you don't have to do this." Mitsuo kept a calm tone although it was a facade. On the inside, Shimura was scared. Even if he had faced Titans before, he knew that in every battle against Them, at least one person dies. Mitsuo climbed into a window and crouched, "Ready then you are, Unicorn." He turned to look at the MP and smiled, "let's bring this sucker down!"

//OOC: You're god damn right it is!

Also sorry about my posts... I'm not as expansive as you guys in my writing... Also just my slow posting, i had to get through a sea of text to get this far.



Leif sat on top of the wall, quietly sitting out of the view of the public, it had been almost a year since he got stuck in his titan form, much to his chagrin. He sighed, life was difficult, in fact, he practically hadn't lived at all for a whole year. He was constantly being kept from the public eye, he couldn't speak, heck he didn't even eat most of the time. He stopped, the air changing around him. It was raining, but before now, it didn't feel like a thunderstorm. But something changed. He turned looking towards the town, afraid that this might be... another one. He saw it. An orange lightning strike hit the earth, across the entire district.
Leif jumped off the wall, almost knocking the garrison who were tending to a cannon nearby, as well as keep an eye on him, off the wall. He hit the ground, shattering the pavement around his landing zone. When the dust cleared, his legs were almost entirely regenerated, destroyed from the landing. As soon as they were in commission once more, he took off in a sprint, covering ground at an increasingly fast pace, going from street to street, leaping over houses to get to the lightning flash, and the other shifter.

//OOC: School's been hectic, but I'll post today. Is Leif in his Titan form?

//OOC: I believe so, yes. If I am correct, his main thing is that he's a shifter that's been stuck in his titan form for a long time. He has full control of himself, however.

The Red Titan roared, and, in one fell sweep, completely leveled the remains of the Vi Rauco mansion as he turned his attention towards the men zooming around him. The juggernaut glanced at them before settling on his target: Adar. As the cloak flapped in the wind, the Red Titan homed in on Adar, completely ignoring everyone else. In the dark of the storm, all one could really see were the searchlight eyes, probing the surrounding area. Lightning flashed, illuminating the monstrous face for a second before plunging back into darkness. The Red Titan roared again as he slammed his hand into a building, crushing the complex. One could almost hear laughing behind the roar. But suddenly, the Red Titan froze, looking off into the distance. Slowly exhaling, the Red Titan stood up, still gazing away. In a flash, the juggernaut entered a combat stance. As to why, that became certain as a new figure approached. Another Titan Shifter had appeared, and was quickly approaching.

The battle raged all around the Hydrargyrum Squad. They knew to keep their distance until the first opportunity, but it seemed like the enemy was also highly intelligent: instead of focusing to kill them, he was destroying their ledges. Thus, eliminating their mobility, bit by bit. That was certainly not good.

"Ode..." Adar's voice faded mid-command. The ground just shook, even though the red titan made no movement this time. And dust was rising up great curls in the distance. "Ragnarok!" At Adar's command, the Hydragryrum furthered their distance. Another enemy of the same class as previous, without clear intentions. That meant another shifter.

Problem was, cover was dwindling. And it was much too risky to stay on foot. Thus, they were virtually confined to standing ground (or, rather, air) until they knew the new shifter's intentions. Which, in any case, was approaching fast.

"Zamolxis"

Adar's command was a bit counter-intuitive, but it got obeyed. Simply, half of the squad fired on the shifter's head from a circular position from all around. This way, he had to either protect his eyes, or take all the bullets. Whichever he chose, he would be sightless for a few moments. And, if the other titan was not allied to this one, that meant a perfect opportunity to give the other an edge. Or, if they were allied, it gave the squad a breathing moment from one enemy to manage to avoid the other.

Auth flew a bit of distance from the Red Titan, to more closely identify the other. Distinguishing marks: quills. The Spined Titan. Last time he had checked, he wasn't allied to the Red one. Sure, many things could have happened, but it was unlikely for them to be fighting alongside each other, as opposed to plainly each other.

That was good. It meant a real chance of getting rid of a delusional terrorist.

Alan had a tendency to overlook some things. One such example was a way to carry all the various things he has 'borrowed' from the mansion over to the top of the wall. He made himself a mental note to scold himself for that, later on.
...If there WAS going to be a 'later on' for him.
For now, Alan simply sighed as he carried the bow, the makeshift black-and-white robe, and the 3DMG along the path to the wall. He would have used the 3DMG to fly there, but he was afraid he would drop something. His plan relied on everything to be right. And so, he instead waddled as quickly as he could towards the wall. Mitsuo was right behind him, face as expressionless as ever.
Mitsuo... this must be one of his greatest strengths Alan pondered Why he makes such a good Green Cloak. He can keep his cool - and when facing titans, it's the difference between life and death. I must try to remain calm as well. Alan fixed his eyed back on the wall, but a loud noise behind him had him turn his gaze.
With a great roar of creaking wood and crackling logs, the great mansion collapsed. Alan stood there for a moment, bit his lip, and carried on walking.
How many did the titan just kill? Probably not too many - people ran as fast as they could when they realized what was happening. In any case, we must hurry. This titan is cruel.
However, another loud noise had him turn. A great cracking sound filled the air, almost like thunder. However, it was deeper, slower... And then he felt the earth quake below his feet. He looked over at the wall, and saw, further down the great brick tower, a large figure hunched over in a cloud of dust.
Another titan.
Alan looked up the wall, to where guards were supposed to be stationed. however, no cannons were loaded and no shots were fired.
Alan shook his head and kept walking towards the wall, as the titan stood up and started charging towards the chaos of the fight. Either the Stationary Guard were as incompetent as he thought, or this titan was to be trusted. For now, he had to concern himself with the clear threat of the Red Titan.

After a while, he found himself at the top of the wall. He could clearly see the fight from here - and it did not look good. The surrounding buildings were completely toppled - And the Hydragyrum, looking like ants, circled the menace franticly. If they were winning, they were showing to sign of it. The running titan just made it to the red one, and it seemed they were picking a fight already.
Alan sat onto the ground, trying to catch his breath. He looked over at Mitsuo's expressionless face, that looked very eerie in the light of torches and moon.
"Well, here's the plan-" he started. He figured he had to explain himself to Mitsuo before they were to try and attempt it.
"The Red Titan is too powerful for someone or a group of people to take down. It has speed, intelligence and muscle. Were it to even feel somewhat threatened, it could easily make its way out either over this wall, or away from the city. Its target is Adar vi Rauco, I believe, and so its ultimate purpose is to take him down. Now, Adar won't be able to hide, because there's simply not enough mobility for him to make his way out, and any building he may hide in can easily be destroyed by the titan. Adar's men seem to want to protect their leader, so sacrificing him is not an option."
Alan took a deep breath, and continued.
"Thing is, if the titan's target is Adar, he won't risk letting him get away anywhere. If he THINKS Adar has a chance to get away, he would either take him down or call his mission a failure.
...On the ground, the titan is unbeatable. The only place he's vulnerable is... hanging on this wall." Alan tapped the bricks under him, softly. "Using the recognizable Vi Rauco bow, and wearing the black and white robes, the titan could easily mistake me for Adar from afar. He will have to try and take me down, if it means there's a chance the real Adar is getting away. To be honest, it sounds much like Adar to use deception to get to safety."
Alan got up, and drew an arrow from the quiver. It looked very elegant, much more an art piece than a weapon. And yet, it was so sharp...
"We'll fire this arrow at the titan using the bow, and assist its long travel using some 3DMG scraps. With luck and patience, we'll be able to hit the titan." Alan put the arrow down beside Mitsuo.
"After we hit it, we light the ropes attached to it on fire, so the titan will be able to easily see where the arrow was fired from. After he notices me dressed as Adar, with his bow, and a shot only he could make, he would likely dash here and scale the wall, in order to take me down."
Alan started shivering a bit. The thought of serving as bait did not appeal to him.
"As he's climbing, he'd be vulnerable to most attacks, especially attacks on his nape. A few good slices he'd have trouble protecting against, and he should be neutralized."
Alan looked at Mitsuo, fear pretty clear in his eyes.
"If we fail to fire the arrow far enough, or the titan doesn't come to us, or we fail to take him down as he climbs.... the plan would fail. Hell, there's a pretty high chance we'd die. However, this seems like a relatively logical way to take down what cannot be taken down with weapons alone."
Alan pointed at the various gear that was scattered around their feet.
"Think you could build something like that? Something that could fire this arrow really, REALLY far?"
Alan prayed the answer would be positive.

//OOC: Mitsuo gets to make stuff! Crossbow cannon it is...

Mitsuo looked down at the scraps, "It'll take me some time but I think I could improvise." He looked over to Alan and smiled apologetically, "Are you sure you want to be bait? I could take your place if you want me to." He hesitated for a response before eyeing up the scraps. "Let's get rocking!" Mitsuo crouched and started putting pieces together. Without his toolbox, though, Mitsuo was in hopes he could manage Alan's request.

//OOC: How could they use their guns when it is raining heavily? Wouldn't the powder be wet and therefore unusable?

//OOC: According to my research, flintlock guns are unable to fire when wet, just as Nerdeity said. However, I also saw that there are specific lock designs that are designed as 'waterproof' - or at least, waterproof enough to fire during rain. That being said, since it's such a specific design, it appears to me that the Hydragyrum having it would be odd. However, considering they would also have access to top-of-the-line gear, it's a possibility they have these locks.
Whatever. Up to you guys.

//OOC: Fair enough. I actually didn't think of that in the least. Heh. Thanks for bringing it up to my attention. It makes a lot of sense. For now, I'd skip a takeback, since those are clumsy and so on, but I'll keep in mind the flintlock problem. Now, I'm not sure if the gunpowder would have time to get wet in the short amount of being kept outside, since the Hydrargyrum have to fire from the holster when mid-flight (no time to steady aim anyway), and those are kept isolated enough not to allow enough water to dampen the powder. Hrm. What do you guys say on this idea for now?