War vs. Myrsä, 10/27-28/19

Taco/HeavyWater, 3:16 PM
Snow.
And a lot of it. They just had to go and get involved in a war in the arctic, hadn't they?
Sure it was inevitable, but that didn't make it any less of a pain for those who hated it, nor did it make it any less of a blessing for those who loved it. Two days prior, it had begun to snow. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence, seeing as how it had snowed at some points earlier as well. It even started out the same, just a gentle snowfall as flakes of white drifted down from the cloudy skies above: minding their own business, settling in blankets of white, and providing a snow-covered landscape of which lights shone off of quite spectacularly.
Except this time, it hadn't stopped, and only got worse. The light drifting became a regular snowfall, which then evolved into a storm.

It was tough to see anything more than ten feet in front with an unaided eye, the rest of one's vision being occluded by snowfall so heavy that it wouldn't be a completely false statement to wager that between a kilogram of it and a kilogram of steel, the snow would win. Speaking of tough, it was also tough to move in. Yesterday it was at their ankles, and now it was nearly at their knees. Luckily for the group however, winter gear and equipment had been delivered just days prior to this, which meant that they actually had proper insulation, footwear, and gear for this damned snow and cold. Sure, freezing temperatures were still a problem, but they were now less of one.

After the whole shindig with the forest being on fire, fighting started up again. It's not like the group was there for it though, as they were moved down south again. And they were moved down south for... patrol and watch duty.
Whether they liked it or not, they were now tossed out of the frying pan, and into the snow surrounding the fire rather than the fire itself. On the bright side, it was calm for the most part, and they even had a sweet view of a snow-covered forest below them (not that they would be able to see it today) considering their main guarding point was on a hill. On the dark side, it got boring. There was no enemy action at all, and they were forced to stare out over this forest for hours on end if they saw something, which they never did.
...
and because of the snow, they might've been a bit off-course. Not to a great extent, but they certainly weren't on a regular path that they had taken to the guard point.

Dingu, 3:30 PM
Saul was doing the best he could with the situation at hand. With a rifle propped up against him, he sat on his large bag and attempted to read the map in front of him. He was covered head to toe in winter gear, complete with a hood, cloth over the mouth, and winter goggles. Despite his lack of complaints, he absolutely hated the snow and winter warfare. The cold element alone has halted more offensives and killed more soldiers than any army ever could.

Taco/HeavyWater, 3:31 PM
The map was readable, but due to not knowing where they were, the only landmark around being that of endless trees, and the harsh snow, it might as well have been absolutely useless.

Dingu, 3:44 PM
Saul grumbled and folded the map into one of his many pockets, electing to just watch the forest through the storm... not that he really could, at that point

Death, 3:52 PM
Dawn was rather chilly, but the chilly that meant "you should have worn a light jacket" chilly.
She casted a tiny blue flame and held it close to her like a candle as she continued walking ahead.

Rei, obviously, was unaffected. In fact, something to note was that she was able to walk on top of the snow.

During this time, since she didn't need to worry about the cold, she focused on 'reading' the snow for any sign of where they should head.

Taco/HeavyWater, 4:00 PM
A ways away, there was a path of snow that had blotches there were less and height than the surrounding blanket-- or to put it into other words, evidence of footprints and a traveled path through the snow. It also seemed like it should be in the direction they should be heading, so it's most likely the right path.

Plant, 4:03 PM
Connor was standing his armor cloaked white with his visor set to heat sencing just watching. Armed and watching. "Blizzards, Blind, frostbite. Reminds me of childhood."

Connor just grunts a response setting up her armor's camo. She's been rather non talkative but keeping an eye on Saul concerned

Plant, 4:13 PM
Like she was noticeably keeping an eye on him. Not lust, Love or anything of that just concern.

Death, 4:15 PM
Eventually after taking noticed, Rei turned around towards the group and pointed ahead.
"There's footprints that seem to be in the direction that we're headed. Should I lead the way?"

Dingu, 4:15 PM
When glancing around, saw finally saw the footprints in the snow. "Since you are more keen on the elements at the moment, you should." He nodded to Rei

Death, 4:18 PM
With a quick heel-turn, the ferret continued moving ahead in the cold, though she did slow down a little.
"... These footprints, in this weather... They have to be recent."

Plant, 4:18 PM
"I can Keep an eye out on the rear if needed due to my visor." Connor said cocking his rifle set to a semiautomatic mid to long range configuration.

Dingu, 4:19 PM
Saul got up and put his backpack on his back, following Rei.

Taco/HeavyWater, 4:20 PM
The moment Saul started walking to follow Rei--
thunk
That's something in the snow at his foot.

Dingu, 4:21 PM
in a lapse of his usual carefulness with the terrain, as well as his keen ability to stay in his feet, Saul fell flat on his face into the snow with a thud, then rolled onto his backside and stood up. "What the shit..."

Plant, 4:24 PM
"You alright." Connie asked checking him as she do.

Plant, 4:24 PM
Connor holding back a snicker.

Taco/HeavyWater, 4:25 PM
agreed
There seemed to be a small noticable mound in the snow. Saul, Connie, or Connor could try digging whatever it was out.... though the group should probably tell Rei to hold up.

Plant, 4:26 PM
"Rei slow down if you can?" Connor said still holding back a laugh.

Connie however was just double maybe triple checking Saul

Dingu, 4:27 PM
"I'm fine. I'm fine. Just got careless in the snow." Saul grumbled and began to dig at the mound.

Death, 4:29 PM
Rei, sensing the snow in order to keep track of the footprints...

definitely noticed when a giant portion if the snow suddenly flattened. So she indeed did stop in time to turn around and noticed that Saul faceplanted into the ground.

Taco/HeavyWater, 4:31 PM
There was snow, snow, snow, snow...
thunk
Oh?
Saul's hand hit something metallic and square, though it was hard to gauge its exact specifications-- or what it was --without pulling it out of the snow entirely.

Plant, 4:31 PM
Connie just stops checking and helps to uncover the mystery

Dingu, 4:32 PM
Saul paused before fishing it out. "Everyone might want to back up. could be an explosive device..."

Plant, 4:34 PM
Connor forms a shield around himself. As he do.

Plant, 4:34 PM
And Connie does the same and tries to add an aura around Saul.

Death, 4:36 PM
Rei focused on pulling a Moses and parting the snow around the device back a bit with one hand, prepping a tossable barrier in the other.

Taco/HeavyWater, 4:39 PM
It was not an explosive device.

At least, it didn't look like one.
It was a little bit larger than an index card case that had been turned on its side, though just about as thick as one. To be truthful, the entire thing wasn't metallic, only the back of it was. The rest was made out of some sort of hard rubber. Along with that, there were numbered buttons, some dials, a small screen, some holes near the bottom of it, a retracted metallic antenna--
Was this thing a radio?

...also, when Rei parted the snow, she could see a frozen hand at the bottom that the object most likely fell out of. Yikes.

Dingu, 4:43 PM
"...Poor bastard..." Saul sighed, taking the radio. "Who wants to be the one to gives this thing a try?"

Taco/HeavyWater, 4:49 PM
For all intents and purposes, it looked very much workable and un-damaged.

Plant, 4:52 PM
"I'll do it." Connor begrudgingly says before holding out his hand for the radio.

Dingu, 4:56 PM
Saul hands the radio over to connor. "Be ready for anything. Friendly or enemy."

Taco/HeavyWater, 4:58 PM
There was a button on the side near the top, probably how one communicates.

Plant, 5:00 PM
Connor holds it with his mechanical arm before pushing the button to see if he hears any thing.

Taco/HeavyWater, 5:01 PM
He didn't hear anything.

Dingu, 5:01 PM
"Try speaking into it, boy."

Plant, 5:03 PM
He clears his throat before saying a simple. "Hello anyone there."

Taco/HeavyWater, 5:06 PM
.
..
...
"This is crossroads. Who the he-ck just spoke without giving their designation, and why does your radio sound like you put a sock over it?" a voice from the radio asked.
It seems like they were on the track to saying 'hell' but quickly censored themselves.

Death, 5:13 PM
The two Aether-Walkers gazed to each other and shrugged. This wasn't their field of expertise to help out.

Dingu, 5:30 PM
"Do we control the crossroads?" Saul asked no one in particular. "...and what is our designation?"

Taco/HeavyWater, 5:35 PM
"Crossroads is-"
There was an audible facepalm through the other end of the radio. "... when you get back to HQ, you'll be briefed on what's meant by that. And what do you mean 'what's our designation?', you should have a designation as a larger part of-... okay, who's speaking to me right now?"

Dingu, 5:38 PM
Saul paused and realized his idiocy as he said all that aloud and the painful reminder of his old age. "This is Saul. Here with me is Connor, Connie, Rei, and Dawn. We've been following a fading trail through the storm."

Plant, 5:39 PM
"This is Connor."

Taco/HeavyWater, 5:40 PM
"One moment."
...
There was a pause from the radio, whoever was on the other end apparently went offline, which gave the group a moment of peace to talk.

Dingu, 5:42 PM
"You're in charge of the radio now, Connor. Dont let me say a word in it." Saul sighed, mad at himself.

Plant, 5:43 PM
"Yes let the one who can the native language do the talking." He says rolling his eyes hold the radio and inspecting it.

Taco/HeavyWater, 5:45 PM
It was still on, and battery was only down to half.
How long has this thing been abandoned, anyways?

Plant, 5:49 PM
"Hmmm seems in working Condition alittle beat up but I should be able to keep it going." He says releasing the button before talking

Death, 5:54 PM
With nothing else to do, Rei curiously tried to uncover the corpse to see if she could learn something from the body.

Plant, 5:56 PM
Connie turns away from the body out of respect and minor disgust

Taco/HeavyWater, 5:57 PM
Soon, the radio made a blip noise.
"... you guys are that one group of partisans, right?" the voice on the other end asked.

Uncovering the body, it looked relatively well pres-

-the arm looked relatively well preserved, the main body looks like it had been left to the elements and animals. Though, it was clear that the main cause of death was probably from a collection of gunshot wounds in the torso. A pair of dogtags lay hung around their neck.

Death, 5:59 PM
Rei hesitated for a moment, but she eventually reached for the dog tag to yank it off and read the name.

Death, 6:00 PM
Of course, it was likely that she didn't know the guy, so after reading said name, she would merely 'pocket' the dog tag until later.

Taco/HeavyWater, 6:01 PM
"hugh mungus"
'PFC. Aukusti Toivonen' is what the dogtag read.

Plant, 6:05 PM
"That's correct."

Taco/HeavyWater, 6:07 PM
"That explains a lot more than you'd think," the voice told, pausing for a second.
"How did you get this radio?"

Plant, 6:13 PM
"Found it on the corpse of... Hey Rei what's the dogtag say?"

Dingu, 6:15 PM
Saul was listening keenly to the convsersation but remained silent.

Taco/HeavyWater, 6:17 PM
"... does the radio look like a box and have a metal back?" the voice asked the group.
Now that there's no interruptions, they could probably get a move-on again through the snow and to their position.

Death, 6:17 PM
"Toivonen, Aukusti," Rei answered as she looked ahead for the snow tracks.

Plant, 6:19 PM
"Name is Aukusti Toivonen and Yeah seems about right."

Taco/HeavyWater, 6:22 PM
"Thank you for finding him so we can chalk one less off the list of MIA," the voice thanked the group. "As for my question... what you've found is an INRA-33. Before you ask, it's a newly-replaced model of long range radio, you can use that thing to connect to other squads, to HQ, heck, even to air or tank units. You guys know that whole thing about the Nokia phone?"

Death, 6:22 PM
Since they weren't doing much, Rei mentally notified everyone that she would be on the move again, right before she began walking.

Dingu, 6:24 PM
Saul started following Rei, and gestured for the rest to follow, despite (or in spite of) the mental note. He took the time to look at his compass to see exactly what direction he was headed.

Taco/HeavyWater, 6:25 PM
They were headed... east.
Now that they were on the path, the surrounding area looked familiar as it could be, considering the snowstorm.

Taco/HeavyWater, 6:30 PM
Upon arriving, there was still a snowstorm, and shit still couldn't be seen from their perch. Who'd have thunk it?
On the bright side, they were now in familiar territory, and could hang out in the area along with any small structures or defenses that they had decided to make previously (if any) to pass the time, considering they knew they were coming back.

Plant, 6:31 PM
"Indestructible almost. I've tried to crush one. Took alot out of me." He says waving Connnie to follow then as back up.

Taco/HeavyWater, 6:34 PM
"Yeah, think of the INRA-33 as the Nokia of radios. Put that thing under a tank and it'll still be usable. That's probably why it's still working a-okay even after a while. Command wanted us to switch over to these other fancier ones. Sure they can do more things, but they're nowhere near as hardy," the voice over the radio described.
"Now. Considering you have a new radio, your new designation is November 1-1. What are you doing at the moment?"

Dingu, 6:35 PM
"Headed east back into familiar territory." Saul called out.

Plant, 6:36 PM
"Um apparently headed east back into familiar territory." He relays

Taco/HeavyWater, 6:39 PM
"... Describe the task given to you."

As the snow whistled and whipped, another sound could be heard above it. One that was fast approaching, too.
Every time they had been up here, a squadron of friendly aircraft that was about five planes in total had passed by, flowing low to the ground in order to evade radar detection.
It was about the time again as well, so it was likely that the sound was the approach of these same jets and their engines.

Dingu, 6:43 PM
"Guard duty..." Saul grumbled. he grumbles a lot

Taco/HeavyWater, 6:44 PM
"At what grid?"
Oh, now the map is useful!

Dingu, 6:45 PM
Saul pulled out the map again to look.

Plant, 6:47 PM
"Um let's let the map boy figure it out."

Death, 6:47 PM
The Aether-Walkers were definitely not used to this or anything...
Needless to say, their guard was up every time a plane passed by.

Plant, 6:56 PM
Connie was just standing there over the man. Before leaning down and touching him causing him to quickly flash purple before turning to ash. Cremation

Taco/HeavyWater, 7:02 PM
(sorry, i had to walk dog)
They were at grid wherever they currently were on at the map (let's say 012-056).
As the seconds passed, the sound of engines got louder. Planes were definitely approaching from their side, considering where the sound was coming from.

Death, 7:06 PM
Dawn focused on scanning the skies while Rei seemed to somewhat increase her walking pace.

Dingu, 7:06 PM
"Grid number 012-056." Saul answered. "I assume the planes in the area are friendly?"

Taco/HeavyWater, 7:11 PM
A small pause.
"... Yup! A squadron's going to fly past you to your south. Can't see much in this weather, but you can probably see their lights. They can't see much either, they're mainly just keeping at a safe height to fly," the radio answered.
Just as this was being said, the loud roar of the engines reached their peak before slowly starting to dip in volume. To their south could be seen ten lights in total, five port lights, five starboard lights, and all of them heading east.

Death, 7:17 PM
Dawn and Rei both flinched as the sound passed over them, followed by the both of them slowly looking upwards to watch the planes go by.

The normally talkative Rei could only let out a ".... Wow."

Dingu, 7:19 PM
"Alright. Want us to continue east?"

Taco/HeavyWater, 7:22 PM
They were in pretty good formation too, judging by the lights.

"If you're on guard duty, stay there. You don't have an army behind you ready to move out if necessary," the voice over the radio dismissed. "You might just want to, y'know, guard-"

"Löysin sinut."

...what?

Plant, 7:28 PM
"Okay so sit here and do jack shit essentially as only two maybe 4 of us case see worth a damn in this."

Dingu, 7:29 PM
"Say again, Crossroads." Saul said with a raised eyebrow. He understood that like a first language.

Taco/HeavyWater, 7:38 PM
It should be noted that the voice did not sound like Crossroads's voice at all. It was feminine.
"I didn't-"

A purple flash could be seen in the distance over by the jets, and moments later an orange light that crashed into the ground.
There were eight lights in total now, all scattered.

"-Sparrow, sitrep. What happened? Calm down, I can't understand you."
A new voice could be heard on the radio, one that sounded... panicked, fearful. Crossroads must've patched this voice into the conversation.

"I-I don't know! I heard something over the radio, then a purple flash and- Sparrow Five! Where's Sparrow Five?"

A second voice piped in, equally concerned but a little calmer.
"Sparrow five is down! I can see orange light on the ground through the snow! What the hell happened?!"

The first voice piped in again, not really much better from the first time. "Spread out, if we were attacked, we need to find what he hell-"
A bout of interference could be heard while Sparrow One's voice started to heavily distort, almost as if someone was jamming the signal.

"Löysin sinut."

There was a metallic crack and a snap of electricity as a purple flash could be seen through the snow, another orange light visibly falling to the ground.
Six lights in total.

Plant, 7:39 PM
Connor went silent watching the lights.

Plant, 7:46 PM
After a pause. "Crossroads do you Copy crossroads?"

Dingu, 7:51 PM
"What kind of weapon is that?" Saul observed.

Taco/HeavyWater, 7:53 PM
"Crossroad copies. Sparrow, how copy?" Crossroads replied, anxiety present in their voice as they recalled what just happened over the radio.

"This is Sparrow Two, Sparrow One is gone so I'm assuming command! Sparrow Squadron, find out whoever the hell's attacking us!"

A third voice.
"There's something on radar! It's above us! Sparrow Four, watch-"

"Löysin sinut."

A fourth voice.
"Oh you're kidding! It's on-?"

Sparrow Four's voice distorted with interference, becoming unintelligible as another crack and snap could be heard. A purple flash in the distance, and another orange light.
Four lights in total.

"Sparrow Four is down!"

"Sparrow Squadron, you're taking unacceptable losses, get the hell back to base before all of you go down!" Crossroads urged.

Dingu, 7:55 PM
"This is November. Comms may be compromised. Hear that other voice?"

Plant, 7:56 PM
"Was that the railgun they were warning is about?" He yells.

Connie is just stunned.

Taco/HeavyWater, 8:01 PM
"I heard the voice on both yours and Sparrow's comms. It's multi-frequency," Crossroads spoke, tension in their voice.
"And no, it's not Polaris-"

"Löysin sinut."

"No, no, no, no, no, n-!"
Distortion, crackling, snap, purple flash, orange light.
Two lights remain.
One jet.

Dingu, 8:08 PM
"There's something in the sky, Crossroads, launching projectiles onto Sparrows!" Saul hollared. "I'm getting a vocal queue in another language before every firing!"

Taco/HeavyWater, 8:17 PM
From what the group could see, the last set of red and green lights was flying around erratically.

"Crossroads, support!" the voice called out, very audibly afraid and having lost its cool. "T-This is Sparrow Three, rest of Sparrow Squadron is down! Support!"

"Sparrow Three, this is Crossroads! Beeline back to base immediately, don't spend any more time there!"

"... I-I'm being hunted, Crossroads. T-This is how it's meant to be, right?"

"What the--? Sparrow Three, stop talking and get back to-"

"T-The weak get eaten by the strong... r-right? Or is it the s-slow that get eaten by the q-quick? I-I don't think it matters with me any more. They're toying with me, I-I'm on their plate and they're playing with me like food."
There was pure, unadulterated terror in Sparrow Three's voice, the only visual cue on their location being the still-erratic lights on each of their wingtips.
"I-I can see them on radar. They're sitting above me. C-Circling like a bird of prey and w-waiting. C-Crossroads, support! P-Please! I'm begging you!"

"Sparrow Three! Get back to base immediately!" Crossroads called out, fear present in their voice too. Unfortunately, it could never hope to match Sparrow Three's tone, the voice of someone so close to unavoidable death yet still alive.

"Löysin sinut."

A short, shaking gasp came from Sparrow Three's comms.
"CROSSROADS! ANYONE! SUPPORT!"
As the distortion and interference began that caused Sparrow Three's speech to become unintelligible, one thing could be heard clearly:
A scream, a crying scream of fear before the metallic clang and spark sounded that cut off the transmission from Sparrow Three.

A purple flash, and orange light following could be seen in the distance.
Due to the lack of engines, the sound of the wreckage hitting the snow-covered ground was audible. A small poomf from the craft hitting the snow, and the sound bending and twisting metal makes as its forced through a grate and the ground.
Silence.

"... Olen pahoillani. Joten anteeksi. Anna anteeksi." the mystery transmission spoke.
<"I am sorry. So sorry. Forgive me.">

Dingu, 8:26 PM
"Anteeksianto löytyy kuolemasta."
<"Forgiveness is found in death."> Saul muttered into the mic.

Taco/HeavyWater, 8:27 PM
There was silence from Crossroads's end for a good few seconds.
"... November 1-1, report status on Sparrow Squadron."

Dingu, 8:29 PM
"There are no lights in the sky. Sparrow Squadron down. Recommend investigating any wreckage. Orders?"

Taco/HeavyWater, 8:34 PM
"Negative. Either stay put, or high-tail it back to base. I don't know what t̸h̴e̸ ḧ̸̼̂ë̸̢͇̟̜́̂̍͘͝c̷̮͖͇̞̕ḱ̵̨̬͇̰̜͖̅̽̓͠ ̶̖͔̟͠i̵̺̘̥̙̻̖̾͑͠s̴̨͎̊ ģ̸̛̲̤̗̦̥̀̉͂̆̈̃͊͋̄̓̒́͆̈́̑̎̅ǒ̴̢̨͚̤͇̥̣̘̮̤̠̠̺̭̖̝͕͎̭͈͙̟́̋̾̿̃̔͋͊̐̑̎͑͊̑̊̍́̔̐̅̈̚͜͝͝͠͠ͅi̸̡̧͖̟̟̩͉̗̞͕̱͇͓̟͎̪̜̯͎̓̄̉̌̏̈́̋̔͛̉͆̑̈̉͊̈́͆́̀̾́͊̉̎̈́̆̚̕̚͝͝ͅņ̸̛̠̥͎̣͎̬̻͙͙̤͇͇̙̠̪̅̈́̒̄͒̈̍̏̉̒͆͂̈̋̉̒͑̽̌͗̃̈́͠͠͝g̶̨͔͎̩̗̣̳̦̻̪̺͔͎͕͖̩̖̠͎̘͍̑̿̒͊͊̓̓͊͆͂̔̑̕͘͜ ̸̡̨̱͚̥̯̜̣̣̻͇̭̼͉̤̱̩̫̳̣̦̯͍̪͕̫̯̀͂̓͛͜ͅö̷̡̻̙̯̼͕̝̼͎̱̫̼̯̝́̉͋̈͊͋̉̏̆̿̂̈́̑͊̈̎̋͊̈́̈́́͘̚̚͝͝͝ņ̶̢̛͓͔̖̩͍̭͇̻̞̳̱̬̰͇̭̤̤̼̼̳͎̩͈͈̣̱̏̃̏̂̊̓̇̏͌̀͛̓̓͐͐̑͑̀͊̽̌̃̈́͆̿͋͐̕͘͜,̴̡̨̲͔̗̥͖̩̟͎͙̩̦̳͈̮͙̰̩̝̹̩̘͕̟̞͕̲̤̈͂̎̍̀͒̔͗̓̓ ̷̡͎̳̪͈̤̮̭̯̦̦̹̜̪̯̟̮͖̤̻̪̆́͑͊̇̃̔̄̃̑͐̿̅͜͠ḃ̸̳͔̬̣̾͆̋̋̓̾̇̇̋̍̂͗̃͛̈́̈́̋͐̚͘ǔ̷̧̨͎̯̬̱̭̪̼̥̘͖̤̹͈̭̖͔͓̘̜̪̰͂͝͝t̸͕̳̼̙̩̝̙̱̝̪͚̠͖̖̲͉̖̪͍͓̤̱̜̭̪̎̈́̐͂́̑̍͛̾̒̈́̂̑̈́̂̌͑̕͠͝-̷̧̧͈̪̪͈̜̤̯͎͔̖̙̞͖͖̞̰͚͚͙͑̚-̴̨̛̪̗̺̣̱͇̝̱̥͍͈͎̥̭̫͓͓̎̿̽̏́͗̇̅̊̓͆̋̓͒͘̚͝͠"

A purple, continuous light could be seen quickly approaching from the direction Sparrow Squadron was knocked out.
...maybe a good time to take cover?

"Löysin sinut."

A very good time to take cover.

Dingu, 8:38 PM
"EVERYONE TAKE COVER NOW!!!" Saul shouted to everyone, crouching in a sort of mini trench he dug out when he was first in the area.

Taco/HeavyWater, 8:46 PM
oof.
Not only the radio crapped out, but so did most electronics equipment in their general direction from the purple light.

The light got brighter for a split second, and in a much shorter time than that, something that kicked up a lot of snow and made a lot of noise and wind rushed past, just barely missing the group and lodging itself somewhere further back.
Then the metallic crack and electric spark sounded, and they were both loud.

Though, if Saul were to look up, he would see their assailant:
A sleek-looking jet with all of its lights off, mid-maneuver and flying just over the treeline to the extent where snow was knocked off of some of the trees. Its dorsal side was showing to Saul, and no weapon out of the ordinary could be seen.

"Liian lähellä... En voi edes nähdä puita niin hyvin."
<"Too close... I can't even see the trees that well.">

Oh, cool. Everyone's alive.

Dingu, 8:56 PM
Saul breathed heavily as he looked up, collecting himself and getting a glimpse of the jet.
"Hyökkäätkö pieni partio maahan? Hyvin rohkea sinusta." he spat into the radio
<"Are you attacking a small patrol on the ground? Very brave of you.">

Taco/HeavyWater, 9:02 PM
"Puhut kieltämme, mutta et ole kotoisin tähän paikkaan."
<"You speak our tongue, but you are not from this island."> the voice replied, actually rather calm and orderly in response to Saul's tone.

"November 1-1, this is Crossroads. We are sending infantry equipped with MANPADS to your location. Survive."

... well, with whoever's flying that plane, staying alive might not be so easy. Bringing it down right now might be the only option.

Dingu, 9:08 PM
"This is November 1-1. Aknowledged." Saul replied.
"Olen oppinut sen aikaisemmin elämässä. Kenelle puhun??"
"*" he asked the pilot as he readied his DMR and fitted a proper scope onto it.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 9:29 PM
"Minut tunnetaan muutamalla nimellä, mutta voit soittaa minulle 'Myrsä', taivaan jumalatar."
<"I am known by many names, but you may call me 'Myrsa', Goddess of the Skies."> the voice replied, their location unknown as their jet blast off into the snowstorm with a thundering roar.*

*"Kuka voi olla?"
<"Who might you be?">*

*Dingu, 9:35 PM
"Nimeni on Saul. Jumalan tappaja."
<"My name is Saul. God killer."> He kept his eyes on the skies, looking for the now familiar shape of the plane.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 9:37 PM
It's literally just snow up there, not that Saul could see any further than ten feet without equipment anyways.*

*"Mielenkiintoinen otsikko. Saanko kysyä, miksi olet tullut tänne?"
<"Interesting title. May I ask why you have come here?">*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 10:00 PM
(hmm)
(maybe we can continue this tomorrow, if anything it'd just be another boring day in warland, so you wouldn't be missing anything if we waited until everyone could respond.)*

*Dingu, 10:05 PM
"Tulin tänne suojelemaan nuorta sotilasta. Miksi sota sodan jumalataria vastaan?"
<"I came here to protect a young soldier. Why wage war against the Goddess of War?>
though we can continue the conversation if you want*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 5:25 PM
"Tulin tänne suojelemaan nuorta sotilasta. Miksi sota sodan jumalataria vastaan?"
<"I came here to protect a young soldier. Why wage war against the Goddess of War?>
though we can continue the conversation if you want
<"Because she works against the greater good of this island and its people.">*

*Now, while Saul was the main person talking to Myrsä, that's not to say that others couldn't join in as well.
Perhaps those that hadn't spoken recently just had nothing to say, but went through the motions just like everyone else had. Either way, metaphorical storm clouds were rolling in below the literal storm clouds: it looks like a fight was nearing.... however one-sided it might have seemed.*

*Saren, 5:29 PM
As it turns out, Kinjy was the next to arrive, and though he couldn't speak the language; assuming the sky goddess was actually using a gift of tongues then it was possible for Kinjy to join the conversation.. Maybe. <"How is she working against the betterment of the island..?">*

*Plant, 5:32 PM
Connor ended up getting back up his cybernetics reactivating. "Bloody hell a emp."*

*Connie luckily just had to hold her arm to keep it still.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 5:35 PM
There was a slight pause, before the voice through the radio began to speak in English.*

 *"She cares not for the islands or their inhabitants: only f̶o̶r̶ t̸̞͂̍̊͝h̷̡̞͊̋̓̄͘ͅẽ̸̘͔̰̬̥́͂ḭ̸̐̽̐̀͠ȑ̴̟ a̴̛̺̗̠͕̖͎̒̓͂̆̈̓̀̌̈́̀b̶̛̛̤̪̒̈̂̐̒̔̄͒̊͋̚̕ͅį̶̫̭͕͚̰͖̙̠̪͖͖̅̓̈́͗̔͗̋̊̒̂̀͝͠l̵͖͈̼̽͗͊͆̃͋͐͐͌̐̿̀̕̚į̶̲̙̪̫͍̩͂͐̈́̕t̴̲̣̱͐̀̚͝y̴̧̧̡̨̪̩̗͈̙͓̖̯̳̬̞̑̑̿̍̀̑͛́̇̐̊̆̎͂́ ̶͚̰̙̙̗͎͔͙̭̽͜t̸̨̢̹̘̮̬̖͇̜̖̮̞̑́͑̈́̽͋̇͘ͅó̴̢͖̳̖̬̬͉ ̵̡̓͊͌f̷̧͕̘̬̤̥̲̫̠̠͎̙̠͖͓̓̋̒̍͛̀̕͜͠i̸̭̻̟̲̍͂͐g̶̥̱̩̱̲̤̞̈ͅĥ̴̡̢̠͈̦̤̻̝̈́͑͂̀̀͌̀t̷̨̗̼̰̯̳̯̟̹͋͂̌͌̏̈͜"*

 *A purple light shone through the whipping snowfall in the sky, and all electronics began to malfunction as a high-pitched whining could be heard from the light's direction.*

*Plant, 5:37 PM
Connie and Connor's cybernetics quickly morph black and glow to prep. Minimizing the effects.*

*Plant, 5:38 PM
And they instantly cover their ears in pain.*

*Death, 5:39 PM
Both Rei and Dawn flinched at the sound of the noise, but otherwise seemed to show to not be affected. Dawn seemed to have her hand on Rei's shoulder, a flow of some sort of essence moving from Dawn to Rei for the time being. Apparently they had something planned going on.*

*Saren, 5:41 PM
Kinjy would respond, but the sound was grating at his ears enough to force him to cover them in some sort of agony, regardless, he glared up at the sky in an act of defiance. "No god truly cares about their mortal subjects, quit the sanctimonious crap!"*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 5:45 PM
Less than a moment later, a purple flash momentarily blinded all who were staring at the purple light. Something landed mere feet away from Kinjiro's feet with the force of the impact being enough to kick up quite the amount of snow... and Kinjiro himself. A loud metallic clang ran throughout the air, as well as the fizzle of electricity as the jet flew just above the treetops, now not so close.*

*"I would disagree, but seeing as how I am a deity myself you would assert that I am a bit biased in that regard, would you not?" the voice asked over the radio, the device somehow still functioning despite being nearly hit with a shot from... whatever that weapon was.*

*Plant, 5:49 PM
Connor's helmet was collapsed due to power issues. "If you're a god why don't you come down a fight in a fair fight?"*

*Death, 5:51 PM
The ferret and the quoll looked away from the bright light for a moment, Dawn losing the physical connection on Rei as she stumbled back for a moment and gazed at whatever knocked Kinjiro back, just to make sure he was alright.*

*As for Rei, since it was snowing heavily, she could now use the snowstorm to see similar to the way she could read the snow on the ground. She was looking for areas in the atmosphere that lacked snow. Areas that looked to be the shape of the plane.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 5:53 PM
Yup, there it was flying around. Invisible to the naked eye, but not to radar and Rei's abilities.*

*"This is fair," they corrected Connor. "There is a reason why we are fighting this war without the use of our abilities."*

*Saren, 5:56 PM
Kinjiro was thrown back, his body flailing in the air as he righted himself in Mid Air like a cat.. Still, with all the snow and the storm itself, it was logical that Kinjy would have gone snow blind himself; which was why he closed his eyes and exhaled, relying on sending out his Chi in pulses to map out the surrounding areas so he could see without his eyes.*

*Saren, 5:57 PM
"You're not wrong, but at the same time you could call me biased for being Mortal as well.. So there really isn't much that words will give us."*

*Plant, 5:57 PM
"Yes fair is firing from up in the sky and not person to person."*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 5:58 PM
"Before we truly battle... may I ask your name, mortal? Or if there are many of you, your names," the voice requested, radio crackling as it delivered the message.*

*Kinjiro's surroundings would be familiar. After all, this is a spot they had been at for a few days prior.*

*Death, 5:59 PM
Bingo.*

*Rei lifted a hand up in the it to rapidly cause the snow to rub each other, generating static electricity on a large scale.*

*Using the Aetherboost Dawn gave Rei, the ferret protected herself with a small shield directed just over her.*

*Saren, 6:01 PM
"Sure, I can respect that." Kinjy nodded. "Name's Sasaki Kinjy, the Ferret is Rei, the Quoll is Dawn, the hedgehogs are Connor and Connie respectively, and the bobcat you were talking to; well you already know his name.."*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 6:01 PM
"Why have you all come here on this island, to fight against us?"*

*Saren, 6:04 PM
"... I can't quite say for the others, but mine.. Well it started out as an impulsive decision, then someone close to us all died.. Now, I'm just doing it to make sure Mikey Boy doesn't kick the bucket.. And some more than justified revenge."*

*Plant, 6:07 PM
"What he said for the most part." Connor said. With Connie being silent.*

*Death, 6:08 PM
Dawn told her perspective to Myrsa. "Taistelu claims that the order among you all has been lost, and that by fighting on her side, we are fighting against corrupt power."*

*Death, 6:11 PM
Rei.. Well, once she channeled enough of a charge, she dissipated the shield to put forth all of her effort into channeling several large frostbolts towards the plane.*

*Not only would the plane be struck with an electrical charge, but where they strike would be frozen by supernatural cold. Rei mainly aimed the boltd for the wings of the plane, since well... For what little Aether-Walkers know of technology, they know for a fact that wings help one to fly.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 6:21 PM
With everyone speaking having told their reasons for fighting, the howling wind was the only sound that populated the air with its noise for a good few moments as Myrsa stopped to think.*

*"... While your reasons are not intentionally destructive, it is clear to me that you have no clue what the true conflict belying all this fighting is," she spoke to the group.*

*Now, as for Rei's frostbolts, they hit the plane dead-on. It's hard to maneuver or dodge something when it's heading that fast.
But when they struck, it's as if nothing happened.
The electricity just seemed to dissipate, and-- sure the frozen spots on the wings were a bit of a problem, but it didn't seem to hinder it all too much.*

*"So I give you this choice: please, think about the larger implications of whatever you are doing. You are fighting a war you know not the truth of, meddling in a foreign place's matters with little regard of what it could amount to."
"If you turn back right now, and promise not to set foot on the island again until the conflict is over, I will guarantee you a safe return. However, if you stand your ground and continue intervene in our people's destiny, I will have no choice but to fight you."*

*For as neutral as Myrsa was attempting to sound, her voice actually started to sound slightly pleading towards them, almost as if she didn't want to fight.*

*Death, 6:25 PM
"I think we all know our answer to that," Dawn replied calmly.*

*Saren, 6:26 PM
"... Why not just explain your side..? We're not loyal to Taistetlu, we're reasonable people you know; if she's lying to us then we'll probably have no choice but to fight against her.." Kinjy offered, unfortunately safe passage off this island was not an option for any of them.. Well him at least, but whose to say they can't switch sides and fight against Taistetlu's lying bullshit?*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 6:27 PM
"Because your group taking part in this fight is exactly what we're fighting against."
"also because one of you literally just hit me with something."*

*Death, 6:28 PM
Now of course, it should have been no surprised that Dawn glared back at Kinjiro with a look of shock, disappointment, and very small hint of anger.*

*Death, 6:29 PM
Seeing that Rei didn't do much in the first strike, she placed her hands down and tuned into the conversation, allowing her sense of truth to be tuned in.
"Then tell us your full side of the story," she called to Myrsa.*

*Plant, 6:30 PM
"My answer is obvious and if you need an explanation I have one. Fuck you" not from Connor but Connie.*

*Connor just remained silent before aiming his hand into the air charging energy into his arm.*

*Saren, 6:31 PM
Kinjy just glanced back over to Dawn, practically feeling her disappointment and rage, and offered a simple shrug. "What? I don't like it either but it sounds like a Certain goddess of war been withholding the truth; does it seem like there is disunity amongst the gods? They seem like a pretty unified front to me."*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 6:35 PM
"Would you believe me? If you spoke to Taistelu and she was able to twist her words where you were not able to discern if they were truth or lie, what makes me or the rest of the deities any different?" Myrsa countered Rei, audibly sounding the Goddess of War's name with mocking intent.
"I give you the choice a final time: Leave and go back to your lives unharmed, or stay and fight."*

*Death, 6:40 PM
Dawn didn't find now to be an important time to argue, so she just turned her attention away from Kinjiro.*

*Rei however wasn't easily convinced. "I would find it hard to tell truth from lie when you're choosing to speak about anything but the story," she noted.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 6:41 PM
"Was Taistelu not telling you the story as well?"*

*Saren, 6:43 PM
"...... Myrsa was it..?" Kinjy began, staring up into the sky. ".. I'll take you up on your offer, this war.. There's no point in me continuing on fighting for someone who isn't even telling us the truth anyways, in a conflict that ultimately I have no real stake in."*

*Saren, 6:48 PM
"Revenge is one thing I'm not cut out for no matter how much I say I am. I'm no soldier, and I'm no hero." Kinjy muttered, resting his hands in his pockets with a sigh. He had no real reason to continue on, ensuring that Michael is safe didn't require him, and frankly the longer he spent on this wasteland, the more of himself he could feel slipping between his fingers.. He could bear the disappointment and the scorn of others, he could bear the weight of taking a life, but he couldn't bear losing his perception of himself. Nor could he bear fighting for a cause he ultimately didn't believe in, at the behest of someone who essentially lied to them.. It also didn't help that he didn't have a good opinion on Taistetlu to begin with, so there was that.. A myriad of reasons for Kinjy to bow out before he lost sight of who the hell he was.*

*Plant, 6:53 PM
Connie looked shocked of all people Kinjy backing out.*

*Death, 6:53 PM
"We're already well acquainted with Taistelu to trust her word more than we can trust the word of an opponent," Dawn replied back to the goddess.*

*As for what Kinjiro said, it caused Rei to actually turn around and glance at Kinjiro as well.
However, unlike Dawn's, her expression was rather unreadable, moreso calculating than anything else.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 6:58 PM
There was silence over the radio again.
"... I understand both of your reasoning for your decisions. To Kinjiro, you will not be attacked by any more of our forces so long as you intend to leave the island. To the other voice speaking their trust in Taistelu, I understand that you do not do it out of malice."
"Perhaps after this conflict is over, if we both manage to survive, we may formally meet."
A purple light began to shine in the snowstorm above, another high-pitched whine beginning to sound as it got closer and electronics went on the fritz.*

*"But f̵̩̈́o̷̪͛r̶̰͠ ̶͙̀n̵̓ͅo̴̞̚w̸͉̕?̷̜́"*

*"W̵̡͉͔̜̭͔͑̄͐͘͝ę̶̟̘̰̲̑̀ ̷̬̺̱̎̽f̴̫̯̺͔̀ḯ̷̧̪̼̓̉̽g̷̛̙̾̾̃̍ḩ̵̛͔͕̦̮̟̃̏̎͛͠t̸̢̬̱̲͙̼̔͂.̴̝̬̯̈́̃͑͛͝͠"*

*Saren, 7:00 PM
Rei has probably been around Kinjy the most during these conflicts, so odds are it should not have been so surprising that Kinjy had lost morale; it's just that finding out that he had been lied to was the straw that broke the camel's back.*

*As for Connie, well, he wasn't a soldier; he wasn't fucking Jesus with a sword, he was mortal, someone who only joined because he believed that it was the right thing to do, was offered an out from a situation that wasn't his fight to begin with and only after finding out that he was being lied to, of course he would take it.. He at least had the decency to feel guilty for leaving his friends and girlfriend behind to fight, which would honestly haunt him for a long time after this war.. But he couldn't go on fighting for something he ultimately could not believe in.*

*With that said, he began to depart with a heavy heart; this wasn't something he could deal with.. Add in to the fact that he was nineteen-twenty, I forgot his age, yeah.. His will to go on fighting just broke, for numerous reasons already listed.*

*Death, 7:03 PM
What Kinjiro would then notice was a portal suddenly, yet slowly, opening in front of him.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 7:04 PM
Kinjiro should probably head through quick-- it seems like the battle is about to start, and Myrsa said she didn't want to fight him any more.*

*Saren, 7:04 PM
With a heavy sigh, he just walked through the portal.. Well this was going to tear him up for the longest time.*

*Death, 7:09 PM
The portal seemed to lead back into his house, directly into the room where he normally sleeps at. But by the time he realized that, the portal would have already closed behind him.*

*Saren, 7:09 PM
Welp.. Kinjy just sort of crawled into bed and curled up, a torrent of emotions best not gotten into right now.. Still though, in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but feel a sense of peace with his decision, like a cosmic force decided to balance out Kinjy's good karma points a bit by conveying a sense of acceptance.*

*Death, 7:10 PM
Meanwhile, Rei placed her hand down before forming another shield, using the boost of energy from before to be prepared to expand it over everyone for the next assault.*

*Plant, 7:14 PM
Connie's shocked expression shuts off just changing to her calm mellow one.*

*And Connor still charging his energy in his arm. But mentally he respected Kinjiro's decision even if he didn't agree with it.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 7:18 PM
Another flash of purple light occurred in the air as something nearly-immediately impacted Rei's shield.
Whatever it was, it was about the size of a tank shell, but moving much faster, and entirely made of metal. The amount of kinetic energy the thing had was... absolutely immense to say the least, and even Rei's boosted shield probably couldn't withstand the amount of force it had behind it.
Luckily, it wasn't a direct hit, but from its proximity there still would very much be some damage from overpressure alone. Let's not get Eiskrem'd just yet, Rei.*

*Death, 7:23 PM
The force was definitely heavy, but the shield would definitely be able to withstand the force. The real problem lies on whether Rei's stamina can keep on absorbing massive blows like this... Because it definitely would not. Not by a long shot. Rei dropped the shield and made sure to fully sense the sky in order to tell where attacks would come from as she repeated her frostbolt technique from earlier, this time hitting any spot on the plane for a weakpoint.*

*Death, 7:25 PM
Dawn took note of where Rei was striking the magical bolts of lightning and tossed her special weapon on the ground just ahead of the spot below the plane.*

*The rain of magical spears would be summoned from the stratosphere and charge straight into the plane from above.*

*Plant, 7:25 PM
Connor finally fires sending a set of 15 white energy shots pointed almost like arrows into the sky with they turning going after the target the other two were attacking.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 7:28 PM
...but the plane was already gone from view, the crack and fizzle of electricity coming after the shot audible as its engines got quieter.*

*Rei's snow-radar ability thing would reveal its location, but it had already retreated behind the trees so she couldn't get a clear shot on it for the life of her.
It was moving fast, fast enough to the point where by the time Dawn's trident landed, it had already changed course and was outta there.
Connor's energy shots also probably wouldn't be able to catch up, considering how quickly it was flying.*

*They should probably switch position or get out of there, standing still and waiting for it just ensures that Myrsa is going to get the jump on them.
...and they should take the radio, too.*

*Death, 7:30 PM
"Guys, we need to move, now," Rei warned before beginning to run to the side, Dawn following not too far behind.*

*Plant, 7:30 PM
"Harder for it to hit us if we're moving." Connor says closing his obviously hurt hand severing the link to the blast which just break apart like flak rounds leaving energy spikes covering the sky like stars.*

*Plant, 7:31 PM
Connor and Connie start to high tail it. Connie making sure Saul got out of there. And Connor taking the radio.*

*Death, 7:34 PM
During all of this, Rei made sure to keep a close focus on where the plane was, and tried to look for any 'heat' spots of the plane. Her time in the war showed that lots of machines release heat of some sort from their engines.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 7:36 PM
The radio began to crackle with interference again, and electronics started to go on the fritz
It seems as though every time they were being lined up on, this happened.
...well, at least it's a good indicator.*

*Rei would be able to see that the jet was quickly approaching, and definitely lining up on them. Heat seemed to be flaring from the back of it like crazy.*

*Death, 7:37 PM
"... Connor, get rid of that radio!" Rei realized, mentally notifying everyone to quickly rush and find a different spot to duck and cover.*

*Plant, 7:39 PM
Connor turns the radio to ash and pockets the ash. Essentially his shutting it down.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 7:44 PM
A bright purple flash, and something sheared through the trees just to the left of everyone. Splinters flew just about everywhere, including into the group, and they ran the risk of being crushed by falling wood if they didn't change the direction they were running in fast.*

 *Plant, 7:47 PM
Connie and Connor turn to ash to evade anything that would have hurt them.*

*Death, 7:48 PM
Dawn moved one hand in the direction of the splinters as she increased the gravity tenfold to make them drop to the ground far faster than they normally would, while Rei focused frostbolts into where the heatspots of the plane were.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 7:56 PM
Even if gravity was increased, there was still such an amount flying off that those on a higher trajectory fell with additional speed into the group, now from above as well.
Luckily they weren't made of any harder material, or else...
well, it'd probably go right through them.*

*Zap.
... the engines froze for a split second, before the frost quickly was melted by the intense heat. The bolts still appeared to be doing nothing, and the plane flew off again into the snow.*

 *Death, 8:04 PM
Rei watched the plane move off into the distsnce, then began slowly walking away from their current location.
"Okay.. I've never fought a plane before.. How do we beat them?"*

*Plant, 8:05 PM
Connor reforms next to her. "You have anything that could rip through it?"*

*Death, 8:13 PM
"I'm not sure what it's made of," she answered. "I can only locate where it is... Actually..."*

*Death, 8:14 PM
".. What if we could get it out of the sky?" Dawn finished Rei's train of thought.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 8:14 PM
Rei could see that the plane was starting to turn around for another attack run.*

*Plant, 8:16 PM
"Metals usually."*

*Death, 8:20 PM
"It's coming in for another attack. There has to be a way it sees us," Rei noted as she began splitting up and running.*

*Plant, 8:22 PM
"I have an idea but i need time for it." Connor says.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 8:23 PM
A purple light can be seen in the air, heading towards the group. Since the radio was gone, they could only rely on personal electronics.*

*Plant, 8:24 PM
Connor's eye starts to flicker. "It's coming." He yells stopping with Connie forming a double reinforced energy shield.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 8:32 PM
And as it got closer.
...
fwipfwipfwipfwipfiwpfwip
oh god that's bullets oh shit oh fu-
Cannon rounds began peppering the ground all around, the bullets landing with small explosives that probably gave some big wounds to anyone unprepared who hadn't taken cover and just tried to, y'know, outrun a jet.*

*Death, 8:39 PM
Of course, the whole plan of running wasn't to outrun the plane, but to split up the targets, making it more difficult for a plane to get an accurate shot.*

*So it was after they got some distance that Rei and Dawn summoned shields over their heads. While continuing on the move to spread the targets.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 8:41 PM
Rei could probably sense the jet diving towards her, and then pulling up--
wait, something's moving through the air towards her.*

*Death, 8:46 PM
Dawn, who began working on a big spell of some sort, ordered Connor and Connie away from the area.*

*Rei, who noticed the attack coming, raised a fist to slam into the ground. Her gauntlet glowed to create a tiny crater from impact, which she fell in before covering herself with two layers of shields.*

*After feeling the first massive impact from earlier, she wasn't planning on taking that much force again.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 8:52 PM
(das fine.)
A moment later, something slammed against the shields and made quite the boom. The ground shook, trees were decimated, as was the ground around as a small fireball lifted into the sky while the jet zoomed away. A 500lb bomb was nearly dropped right on Rei.*

*Though, it appears there was a near collision: barely managing to scrape above the treetops, one of the back elevators of the jet promptly got torn by the top of a tree. Ouch, that seems to have done some damage to it. Not enough to disable it, but enough to definitely be noticable.
...
That seems to have done some damage to it?*

*Death, 9:02 PM
With the force of the explosive, plus all the stamina draining techniques Rei has done earlier, this had took a lot of stamina away from the ferret. She was now breathing heavily, and suddenly not showing anywhere near as much energy as she was earlier.*

*She sent a telepathic message to the group, however.
"If you all are alright," she noted, "... The back of the plane seems to be damaged.. We should attack there."*

*And with that, she slowly raised a hand above the ground to make a beam of light appear on the ground, roughly right below where the damaged end of the plane was.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 9:06 PM
oh
Well, all of their attacks so far have done little to nothing except tickle the plane. The tree just seemed to stand there, yet Myrsa nearly slammed into it and bit the dust. It was hard to see much of the surrounding landscape in this storm.
Maybe the key isn't to attack the plane directly, but to lure it into an environmental trap?*

*Death, 9:07 PM
Speaking of traps...
Dawn's trap was ready with the big energy she was charging a while ago.*

*At this point she was waiting on Rei's cue of where the plane would charge in.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 9:08 PM
It had flown away, but was now starting to bank back towards Rei for another attack run on the exhausted ferret.*

*Death, 9:14 PM
Now, earlier, Dawn said out loud what if they got it out of the sky, and after that, she warned the hedgehogs to get out of the way...*

*... Well, when Rei pointed the light to where the plane was before desperately forming a shield to hope that shencould withstand this next attack, Dawn put her power to the test.*

*With all the energy she charged up, she pointed her teo hands towards the sky in the general direction of where the plane was, and it created..*

*... Well quite the big portal, with the exit portal being in the trees where Connor and Connie were earlier.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 9:25 PM
And... well, through the portal the plane went. It looks like it dropped a bomb that was meant for Rei just as it went through, oh boy!
Inevitably, flying that low to the ground in a heavily-forested area at high speeds caused the plane's wings to clip first thing. Then, and only then would the bomb that dropped be set off, causing a whole other mess where the jet was caught in the bomb's explosion, which shred the fuselage, tail, any remnants of the wings, and sent it careening a few more meters with scattered metal, parts, and whatnot about.*

*Death, 9:32 PM
Dawn quickly shielded herself from the incoming rubble, definitely not expecting the extra rubble caused by the unexpected bomb drop. She only hoped no one else got caught in the shrapnel.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 9:40 PM
Both trees and the ground had been ripped up, and now flaming pieces of aircraft lay scattered in the close proximity.
Although the victory is nice and all, someone should probably check to confirm the kill.*

*Death, 9:43 PM
When all was said and done...*

*Rei hated fire and was exhausted, and I'm the only other one here, so Dawn slowly and cautiously walked over to inspect the damage of the plane, sensing for any life energy.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 9:47 PM
There was, in fact, life energy still with the plane.
It was faint, though not in the sense of 'rapidly decreasing or nearly critical', faint as more of an 'extremely wounded' kind of faint.
Up ahead, through the snow-ridden air, Dawn could see the main fuselage of the aircraft that included the cockpit. Shredded, no doubt, but still intact.*

*Death, 10:08 PM
Forming an energy blast ready to strike, Dawn crept up to the area to find this remaining foe.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 10:13 PM
"Well... you've downed me," a voice from the wreckage congratulated Dawn,
Sitting down beside the destroyed aircraft and holding their wounded, crimson-stained side, was Myrsa.
She was a stark-white snowy owl with eyes a similar color, and wearing a light-blue flight suit with a cracked helmet resting by her side.
She was also staring right at the quoll, but her lack of weapons and generally calm demeanor exchanged that she wasn't looking for a fight anymore.*

*Death, 10:20 PM
Dawn held the energy in front of her for a second, but after a moment to make sure that she was in the clear of amy sudden attacks, she would eventually let the energy fade, taking a good long look at the owl.
"Context clues indicate you must be Myrsa," Dawn guessed, looking for a confirmation.*

*Rei herself had slowly crawled out of the crater by now, walking over to the nearest patch of snow to sit down in and catch her breath.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 10:25 PM
She nodded in confirmation.
"And who might you be? I addressed the group you were a part of as 'mortals', but if I am not wrong you have a certain different energy emanating from you." the snow-owl asked Dawn, eyeing her up and down.*

*Death, 10:29 PM
"My full name is Dawn Celestia of the Aetherworld," she answered, bowing in respect of the goddess.
"I'm an Aether-Walker. The same goes for my friend, Rei."*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 10:31 PM
Myrsa stopped her wandering gaze, instead deciding to glance at Dawn's face upon the quoll saying her name. After a short head-bow, which is the most she could do at the moment, she took a breath before asking her a question.
"Would you happen to know a 'Micheal Neumann', Dawn Celestia?"*

*Death, 10:38 PM
For a fraction of a second, Dawn seemed to have been paralyzed by that statement.
Eventually, she managed a silent and simple nod before verbally answering.
"... Yes. I know him well," she answered, waiting for Myrsa to continue.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 10:45 PM
Having seen even the small moment Dawn was paralyzed, Myrsa couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at her reaction.
"To spare you the details of why I asked that," she began, "Mr. Neumann is captured and within our care. We had originally been interested in him because of his connections to Taistelu, and subsequent meetings with our chief of intelligence revealed a lot about himself."
She smiled. "Please, do not worry about his well-being. He is unharmed, well fed, and accepted a job in the medical wing of a POW camp."*

*Death, 11:02 PM
With that said, Dawn notably relaxed, dropping her guard even.*

*But after a moment, the feeling subsided, and Dawn was left in confusion once more.
"... What exactly is your goal in this fight?" she questioned.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 11:05 PM
Myrsa seemed to ponder this question herself, looking up towards the still-falling snow.
"... Dawn Celestia, you are a young and free individual, correct? One that possesses their own fate, able to change it at will?"*

*Death, 11:09 PM
Dawn pondered this question for a while, trying to preemptively think of where this was going...
But rather than try to guess, she simply nodded and let the goddess continue on with her answer.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 11:20 PM
Myrsa nodded, a small smile on her face at Dawn's silent answer.
"... now imagine yourself unable to do any of that," she spoke, smile turning into a slight frown as she glanced towards the quoll.
"Not because you can't, but because your autonomy is restricted to that of an orjapanta-- a slave collar --around your neck, which is led by an individual more than five times your size and power in nearly all aspects who has attached you to a leash. They allow you free movement within wherever the leash will hold you, but not a step further."*

*"Imagine your vibrant personality as you have it now, your culture, and reduce it to a singular action or thing that you can provide. Not that you lose all your other aspects, but it is possibly the sole thing you are known for by others. And it is that sole thing or two that you continually provide-- to the one who has chained you, nonetheless --without much end. You were adept at it at the past, but now your person has been fine-tuned to provide it and mostly it."*

*"And above all else, imagine yourself liking it. You do not want to think of your freedom, your actions, or your future, you simply want to be led around on a leash and by slave collar for the rest of your life while being known for and providing one thing, and finding pleasure in doing so. You assume that it is the best life will ever get, even after you have tasted freedom before."
"Does that sound appealing to you, Dawn Celestia?" Myrsa asked, a frown still very much on her face.*

*Plant, 11:26 PM
Okay to sum up what happened since i died(
Connor and Connie did get to cover and a bit far away but anyway they had finally worked their way back to the area.*

*Connie was cloaked setting up in a small position with her energy arm cannon pointed at Myrsa.*

*And Connor well his armor was still recouping so he just propped himself up on a rock with his rifle. Sights dead on the goddess's head.*

*Death, 11:33 PM
Dawn remained silent as she contemplated this.
But despite being silent, Myrsa could tell by her facial expressisons that Dawn was putting puzzle pieces together.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 11:35 PM
Myrsa was content to wait for an answer from Dawn, her face beginning to lower in intensity as she took a breath in through her nose and exhaled through her mouth.*

*Death, 11:38 PM
"I... Suppose it doesn't," Dawn concludes, subconsciously gripping her hand as she continued thinking about it.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 11:42 PM
"That is the position Deutschisland is in, and has been in for the past... forty years, I believe," Myrsa told Dawn, having to pause for a moment to calculate the time.
"And who do you suppose is the one who-"*

*"M-Mutter Myrsa?" a quiet, higher-pitched voice asked out of the blue to Dawn's side, causing Myrsa to turn her head over to its source.*

*Death, 11:45 PM
Dawn quickly looked by her side, taking half-a-step back due to being caught by surprise.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 11:51 PM
It was a small polar bear girl, who seemed to be looking at Myrsa with a visible expression of concern as she immediately began hopping her way through the snow to the owl.
She was... definitely familiar. Hadn't they seen her earlier in their time here?*

*"Eijaaaa... what are you doing here? You know you should be searching for Kalter Tod," Myrsa softly scolded the bear in another language, who didn't stop moving until they got to Myrsa and hugged her.*

*"B-But I hear boom, see big light. You have boo-boo!" the polar bear, Eija, replied, immediately noticing the owl's wound and staring at it with a spooked expression.*

*"I'll be fine, don't worry, Eija," Myrsa replied to the bear's concerns, gently wrapping her arms around the polar bear to hug her, while looking back up at Dawn.*

*Death, 11:55 PM
Dawn was well... She had nothing much to say to it. She didn't know what to say to it. This was the last thing she was expecting.*

*Plant, 11:56 PM
Connor froze behind his rifle. "That Kid. God damn it had to be a kid."*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 12:00 AM
"... you'll have to excuse Eija," Myrsa apologized on behalf of the polar bear. "I am unsure if you've encountered them before, but she is a part of the Schneekinder-- a group that continuously hunts a horror that lurks in the blizzard. And this one is able to get rather curious on her happenings," she spoke, gently patting Eija's head while still looking at Dawn.
"They think of me as their mother, and in a way I suppose that they are not inherently wrong, considering I am their creator."*

*Death, 12:07 AM
"... So it was you," Dawn realized, just as Rei finally came to the quoll's side to take her own look at Myrza... Then noticing the child.. Then looking back to Myrza in disbelief.
"... What did I miss?" she questioned.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 12:09 AM
"Would you like to explain, Dawn Celestia?" Myrsa asked, glancing over to Rei. "My energy is fading, and I would prefer to use it on two pieces of information you would like to hear."*

*Plant, 12:10 AM
Connie is standing close enough her footprints would be noticeably by the group even if she wasn't visible.*

*Death, 12:12 AM
Via causal plane works Dawn suddenly gave Rei all the memories she recenrly had, which provided Rei with the information needed to catch up.
The process only took half of a second.*

*So as Rei was attempting to take this all in, Dawn turned her full attention to Myrza to hear her out.*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 12:14 AM
"These both relate to your significant other, as it so happens," the owl prompted Dawn. "Would you prefer... how you say it-- the good news, or the bad news first?"*

*Death, 12:17 AM
".... If you can," Dawn said after an inhale and a small shudder of an exhale, ".. Give them both to me at once."*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 12:21 AM
She nodded in compliance.
"You should expect a letter from Micheal soon, but you should also expect to fight him in the near future," she spoke, getting straight to the point for both as she gently rubbed Eija's head.
"With one-hundred percent certainty, I can tell you that the next time you see him it will be as an enemy."*

*Plant, 12:26 AM
Connie gasped audibly. Oh no she's worried again.*

*Plant, 12:27 AM
Meanwhile Connor is keeping still. Reading lips is a skill he hates having learned sometimes. "Damn it."*

*Sue, 12:28 AM
Another box from Mids is popped through the portal. It's addressed to Micheal, full of Halloween candy. Poor catter doesn't know.*

*Sue, 12:30 AM
However, since Kino was conveniently in COB, Midnight has to nearly dodge a charging lion. Kino growls and tries to trap Midnight in a headlock. "We're going to fight in my arena."
Midnight blinks. "... Why?"
Kino shrugs. "I wanna fight you."*

*Death, 12:31 AM
(Turtleboi lets people hop to and fro, but only at bases and not in, y'know, battlefields where 0.25 ton bombs are dropped.)*

*"... I... I see," Dawn noted, turning her head to the side.
"... I understand then."*

*Plant, 12:32 AM
"Sir Kino settle down." Sweepy the dragon says*

*Sue, 12:34 AM
Kino looks over to Leon. "But Leon, it's my sworn rival!" he whines.
Midnight slips on out of the headlock and immediately goes to sit at the bar. "Not sober enough for this."*

*Taco/HeavyWater, 12:35 AM
Myrsa nodded, reclining against the fuselage as she stared into the sky.
"... I believe it is time for me to take a small nap," she told the group. "Please, Dawn and Rei, inform the rest of your party about these developments," the snowy owl asked of the two, shutting her eyes and hugging Eija, who could be heard slightly whimpering for fear of the deity's health.*

*rejected in the regular forces maybe but in the partisans as long as you can hold a gun you're probably good*

 *then again there's literally snow and explosions everywhere, so maybe not the best idea in the first place either*

*Plant, 12:36 AM
"Settle down. She came here to relax not to do battle." Leon says back*

*Death, 12:38 AM
Of course, like the fraction of a second it took to give Rei the info, Dawn gave everyone else the info as well.*

*Sue, 12:39 AM
Kino shrugs. "She doesn't have any say in it!" Kino rushes over and slams Midnight back and into the ground backwards. She reaches to try to grab Kino by the scruff and slams him into the floor with a hiss.*

*Plant, 12:40 AM
Connie and Connor both knew for the most part what happened one heard all one put 2 and 2 together due to lip reading*

*Saren, 12:44 AM
And Mars was around, casually ignoring this like it was another Tuesday.*

*Sue, 12:47 AM
Midnight is held by the scarf. She seems visibly uncomfortable. Midnight is held by the scarf. She seems visibly uncomfortable. Kino is hissing and trying to swipe at Midnight. "Fight me, Helen."*

*Saren, 12:48 AM
".... I should invest in earmuffs, or ear buds.. Yes."*

*Dingu, 12:48 AM
Saul was silent after the fight. He seems to have taken a blow to the head that kept him from fighting, but not from hearing the conversation. Aaaand he was seething with rage. He was right about the war goddess all this time, and he hated being right. Dawn and Rei might barely notice the man in the snow camo uniform seething silently in the snow*

*Sue, 12:52 AM
Kino glares to Mars. "I should invest in your mom if she wasn't so fat!"*

*Death, 12:52 AM
Not that Dawn nor Rei bothered to notice.*

*After Dawn sent the memories, she began walking off. At first Rei followed, but she thrn stopped in her tracks as if deciding against it.*

*Saren, 12:53 AM
"Wow, mom jokes, how original, almost like your all consuming daddy issues." Mars responded with a dry tone, practically rolling his eyes at Kino with a sigh.*

*Sue, 12:54 AM
"... But Vedash is a great dad." Kino scoffs. "Not his fault mom never let me meet 'im."*

*Saren, 12:54 AM
"Because he's not your real dad, and I could easily prove it too; go get a blood test Kino."*

*Plant, 12:55 AM
Connie went over to check on saul decloaking. "You alright bud?"*

*Connor lowered his rifle just remaining silent. "God fuckin damnit."*

*Leon set Midnight down and kept hold of Kino. "Stop being rude."*

*Sue, 12:56 AM
"No, I worked hard making my blood, it's mine." Kino growls. "I even downed demon ale, like a real demon." Midnight gets up and brushes off her armor. "Least I was wearing Jasper this time around." she mumbles, sitting back at the bar. "Thanks."*

*Saren, 12:58 AM
"Yes yes that's nice and all, but that will never make him your real father; you are literally deluding yourself and it's kinda sad, heck, or maybe it's because you're scared that I'm right hmm..?"*

*Sue, 12:59 AM
Kino shrugs. "... Vedash is a good dad. I don't want to be right if he's not my real dad."*

*Dingu, 1:00 AM
"After the pre fight banter, i was knocked out cold and unable to aid in the fight, i am told Taistelu has been deceiving us this entire time, and now Micheal is our enemy." Saul growled. "I. Am not. Alright."*

*Plant, 1:01 AM
"Physically is what I meant. The mental one we are all in the same boat." Connie said*

*Saren, 1:01 AM
With that, Mars just shrugged and returned to his own business. Choosing not to press the topic any further since he didn't feel like dealing with Kino's outbursts.*

*Plant, 1:01 AM
Leon keeps holding Kino. "You two please settle down."*

*Sue, 1:02 AM
Kino shrugs. "Over my warm, dead, body!"*

*Saren, 1:03 AM
"I'm perfectly calm, this entire exchange has done nothing to change how I feel."*

*Dingu, 1:03 AM
"Fine. I'll live."
He has a concussion.
"And now Kinjy is gone. I could have talked him in to staying. I should have talked him in to staying."*

*Sue, 1:03 AM
"... I assume my dead body is warm."*

*Death, 1:05 AM
"No, Saul, you shouldn't," the ferret replied to him before turning to look in his direction.*

*Plant, 1:06 AM
"Stop Sir Kino." Leon says sternly.*

*"I don't think anyone could talk him into staying. And i can tell you're hurt." She starts leting her aura heal him while helping him up. Atleast ease the pain." Connie says with the flattest of faces she could.*

*Death, 1:07 AM
Once Dawn was a decent distance away from the group, it would be then when she attempted to contact Taistelu.*

*Logan during this time has been working on the information he had to try to come up with a solution to counter the creature's odd nature. By now he has a few prototypes.*

*And Summer was beginning to close up COB,e leaving a note for Vedash about dealing with Kino's actions.*

*Sue, 1:07 AM
Kino looks to Leon. "But I wanna fiiiiight." he hisses.*

*Dingu, 1:08 AM
"I could have told him we would kill the war goddess together. Get Micheal back." Saul stood up and swatted Connie away.*

*Dingu, 1:09 AM
"Blind rage has a way of making the body forget it's wounded. I'm fine."*

*Death, 1:10 AM
"Believe me, Saul, I know Kinjiro," Rei started. "if I didn't know him, I wouldn't have been the one to open the portal for him to leave."*

*Plant, 1:10 AM
"And I would like many things but there is no reason to try and forcefully take them." Leon said.*

*"You think Kinjiro would have agreed to that. He's no soldier like you and me."" Connor finally rejoined the group.*

*"Rage or no Rage you shouldn't be walking around hurt." Connie said.*

*Dingu, 1:13 AM
"Fine. let's make a plan then, knowing what we know now. Seeing friends we made die. Learning a loved one switched sides on us. Learning that we were lied to. What do you all plan on doing now?" Saul growled, letting COnnie heal him without outright saying so.*

*Sue, 1:15 AM
"But I want to fight her and the enchilada....:*

*Death, 1:21 AM
"We stop moping," Rei answered.
"We go get Micheal, whether we have to talk it out, or fight it out. We sort out who's the good or bad side.. If such a thing even exists."*

*Rei thought about it. "Or, well... That's what I'm going to do. You all need to remember that what you're doing was not a mandatory draft, but optional help. If you want to leave, no one's forcing you to stay. No one should force you to stay."*

*Plant, 1:23 AM
"She's right on that." Connor says lighting one of his cigarettes. "I'm staying. As I said I'm a soldier and I'm willing to fight and if need be die if it means getting Michael back.""*

*Dingu, 1:25 AM
"It's agreed then, but that still leaves us with our current side in the war. Should we brave the journey alone, or play along with the wrong side of this war until we chance upon Micheal?" Saul asked.*

*Plant, 1:28 AM
Connor pulls the ash from his pocket and reforms it into the radio with a pretty good amount of concentration needed. "Should be in working order still. But I'll follow whatever you all say is best."*

*Connie's mumbling to herself just quiet enough it wouldn't be understandable with the only noticable part be her tone switching every few seconds.*

*Death, 1:31 AM
Rei glanced inthe direction that Dawn went, then back to Saul.
"That's a decision we'll all have to discuss... But for now, you all can tough-guy it all you want, but I can tell when you guys are cold. This isn't the weather to sit around in."*

*Dingu, 1:34 AM
Saul shook his head and stood up. "extreme weather conditions are my element. Though I prefer the desert."*

*Death, 1:36 AM
"Yeah, sure," Rei responded in an ironic tone before turning on her heel and continuing to walk onwards.*

*Plant, 1:44 AM
"I grew up in this. And so did Connie but lets get moving." He says walking*

*Connie starts following still concerned about Saul but she moves over to Rei. "You okay?"*

*Death, 1:49 AM
"Growing up un the cold gives you a resistance, not an immunity," Rei noted, glancing to Connie.*

*"I'm just focused, that"s all."*

*Dingu, 1:51 AM
"Smart. strong focus suppresses emotion. Though I prefer to let emotion drive me in battle." Saul noted*

*Plant, 1:52 AM
"Okay if anything's wrong. I owe you so I'll help." Connie said looking down something's turning in that brain of her's.*

*"Our powers keep us warm but I get what you're saying." Connot calmly says.*

*Leon just had to carry Kino away and set him in the backroom.*

*Death, 1:56 AM
"You don't owe me anything," Rei noted as she continued the trek in silence.*

*Plant, 1:58 AM
"Yes I do." Connie insisted.*

*"Let her do it. A Strider's word is as good as a deal with a devil. That's why I'm not leaving. Same with her." Connor explained before going silent himself.*

*Death, 2:04 AM
"You don't owe me anything," Rei repeated with a bit more tone, just enough to give the idea without seeming hostile about it.*

*Dingu, 2:05 AM
"Now look who's angry." Saul commented, checking his guns as he walked.*

*Plant, 2:07 AM
"I'm not changing my mind. Sorry." Connie says back.*

*Connor just remains silent covering his face with his helmet.*

*Death, 2:10 AM
"I never said there was anything wrong with being angry, though I'm only irritated," Rei told Saul before turning around and suddenly pulling a dead stop in front of Connie.
"... That being said, enough irritation can lead to anger."
After a pause, Rei's demeanor then suddenly changed back to the calm one. "You don't owe me anything."*

*Meanwhile Summer nukes all of COB while everyone was inside.*

*Plant, 2:18 AM
"I'm sorry but I can't help it." Connie said legitimately apologizing.*

*"She's not lieing. If she breaks a promise even to herself out of her own freewill it feels like her soul gets stabbed. Same with me actually." Connor said.*