This is the end, but still your need is driven on

[liebe_krieg]

WHO: The Major, the Doctor, and their game pieces. I.e. EVERYONE.
WHERE: Throughout the City.
WHEN: The nights of Friday the 6th to Sunday the 8th.
WARNINGS: Violence and death galore.
SUMMARY: The Major and Doctor Einsturzen go to war for fun, and drag the entire City along for the ride.
FORMAT: Whatever works!

Nightfall was marked by fire. The subway station at East 42nd Street and Park Avenue rocked as a series of explosives ripped through the tunnels, setting everything ablaze, lighting up the evening and filling it with the terrified screams of civilians. That was the first. It was starting.

Across the City, there was movement from the underground. Vampires in trenchcoats and gas masks emerged onto the streets, bloodthirsty and vicious. Hounds the size of bears or larger, barely recognizable as what they once were, prowled from the alleys, saliva dripping from their jowls. Children in canine masks darted across the rooftops. All the while, more explosions tore across the City subway systems, as if keeping time for the two monstrous armies marching towards each other.

Anything that stood between them would be consumed-- natives, ImPorts, businesses, homes. Nothing was safe. This war would be winner take all, a prize of bloodshed and destruction to the psychopath left standing. The nights to follow would be long and full of terrors.

Comments

[returnsmagic]

[ Aurican sees the man, but his attention lays more on what he is holding, a similar looking metal tube that nearly knocked him out of the sky. He gives the weapon a untrusting, dislike look before looking at his surroundings cautiously. Quickly he assumes another form, his civilian human elder form he picked out when arriving here. ]

I am.

[onblackwings]

[ And Khisanth, in turn, gives Aurican's new shape a distasteful stare. It's just so old and unattractive. Who would ever pick a shape like that? (...And how did he do that with clothes? If he weren't a loathed metallic dragon, she'd ask him to teach her that.) ]

Yes. [ She steps a little closer to James, protectively, just in case this is some metallic trick to get her guard down. ] I hope you're both ready.

[doubleoohbaby]

[He eyes the shifting form with a moment of suspicion (at least he's got Khisanth on his side if the other guy decides to try something) before James decides to spare enough trust for the moment.

He grunts and walks closer to his favourite ever dragon, turning his gaze up towards her.] Ready. Give us a boost up, would you darling?

[returnsmagic]

[ Aurican gives the man a passing glance before looking around at the devastation, which looks a lot worse on the ground than it is in the air, especially when dead bodies litter the streets like inconsequential trash. Smoke tickled his nostrils and the city is unabashingly warm from all the tires and in the summer heat. ]

Where are we going?

[onblackwings]

It's an apartment building. It's not far, but you'll know it for the chaos centered around it.

[ She scoops James up with far more grace and decorum than she had last time (she has a gold to show off for, this time), dropping him carefully at that point between her wings, where a temporary rope harness is already in place from the day's earlier passengers. Then she straightens, spreads her wings, and takes a breath. ]

Let's go.

[ No waiting for any answers, or for Aurican to shift his form again. She leaps into the air and begins a rapid ascent, eager to prove that even if she happens to have a rider, she's still the one in charge around here. ]

[doubleoohbaby]

[James is glad for the carefulness that she uses in getting him up there, being good enough to return the favour with not too much bouncing around once he's there. He eyes up the series of ropes, decides they could be of some use and decides with looping his legs into them to provide a hands free hold once the shoot starts.

As they take off, he hands on with one hand and peers back at the other shifter who, he notes, looks a hell of a lot like that one English actor while in human form.

James opts for shouting over at the other dragon but with the wind and movement as it is, he can barely hear himself speak. He's just gonna assume dragons have better hearing, okay.]

Any magic at your disposal?

[returnsmagic]

[ Any magic at your disposal.

What a question to ask, and it is not something Aurican is comfortable talking about in front of a black dragon, despite the fact that her ancestors undoubtably know metallic dragons lacked the power . . . which resulted in culling of most of the patriarchs until Darlantan and Aurican are the ones left alive. In fact, she's likely to know Aurican's lack of magical power anyway.

Aurican is a dragon, and he is struck with the pride of one. Despite the situation, he can't bring himself to admit anything. But he cannot help but admit that there is shame that's causing him to not reply.

So he silently let Khisanth take the lead and take the human with her. He waits until there's enough distance for him to shrug into his dragon form, golden wings shimmering. He cllimbs higher to gain a higher altitude than her, watching her every movement and the direction she is heading. ]

[onblackwings]

[ Oh, good question. It's not one she could ask, because chromatics and metallics just don't share things like that. So she cocks an eye back to watch Aurican... not answer, or even change right away.

Well that's a little bewildering. Shouldn't he have taken the chance to brag? She would have. Or if not that, at least tell them what he has that could be helpful to this. She snorts derisively, lowering her head again. And just low enough to be sure her (somewhat smug) voice keeps to James: ] Apparently not.

[ But one more glance tells her Aurican is finally following, and from overhead—which she does not like. The discomfort reflects in constant glances up to keep an eye on him and a low, unhappy growl from somewhere deep in her chest. ]

[doubleoohbaby]

[No answer, huh? Strange but he understands a possible need for privacy. James certainly isn't in the habit of telling others about his so called 'powers' in the city, after all, so to an extent he can understand the silence. Doesn't stop him from offering a light scoff of a laugh at Khisanth's comment.

From his spot on her back, it's a lot easier to keep an eye on the dragon overhead and he barely thinks anything of it until his ride starts to show her discomfort. Part of him wonders if this is some weird dragon dominance thing, but either way he brushes it off with a rub of his hand against a rope free patch of her back.] Easy, darling, remember which of us has the black dragon and a grenade launcher.

[returnsmagic]

[ For Aurican, it wasn't so much as dominance as it was simply he wants to see further out into the City. He looks everywhere but at Khisanth, particularly at the rooftops where people are more likely to use those blasted weapons.

But then something appears: some kind of a long, slender metal crate, propelled in the air by something spinning on top of it. It looks similarly like the toys children used in the city of the elves, but even he can tell this thing is meant for aerial travel. On the side it has a red cross upon a white field. Aurican rumbles loudly, and flames start to lick from his jaws, ready to knock the thing out of the sky if it appears threatening.

Slowly the crate takes a swerve away from the golf dragon, avoiding him while continuing to fly past. Aurican gave the thing a suspicious glare until it was out of the City.

Satisfied, Aurican kills the fire inside of him and looks back in front, hearing a massive noise not too far - the sounds of rocket launchers and loud bangs, of the screams of the dying and the bloodthirsty. It comes to originate from a relatively large building. The apartment Khisanth mentioned, Aurican supposes. ]

Is that it?

[onblackwings]

[ James does have a good point there, even if she's not entirely confident that it overrides the disadvantage of flying below a metallic dragon. But she eases a little, with a low aside of: ] Speaking of, as long as he's up there, keep it pointed toward him.

[ But then they're at their destination, and Khisanth pulls up to hover just out of range of the gunfire. ]

I suppose there might still be imPorts in there. [ Dick might still be in there. ] I'm sure someone would be upset if we merely destroyed the entire building.

[doubleoohbaby]

[The helicopter incident doesn't escape James' attention, and he's rather interested to spot what appear to be flames from that dragon. It would appear he's not totally without use after all, not that just being a huge ass dragon isn't without it's uses, but fire breathing makes it so much better. And he's already witnessed first hand what sort of tricks Khisanth has under her sleeves.]

Don't-- [Oh okay he didn't shoot it down, never mind then. All is well once more.

The grenade launcher is held upwards, idly resting on his shoulder which, he realises, is pretty much just how Khisanth wants it.]

I think we'd do best to keep it in tact if we can, impossible to say who's inside it.

[He's all for killing the vampires trying to defend though.]

[returnsmagic]

[ Aurican hovers above them, looking at the apartment, pondering. ]

We need to draw out a considerable amount of enemy forces before we can rescue any hostages inside. A distraction, perhaps.

[ He swerves to the left, away from Khisanth and her rider as he looks at the other streets and alleys that are passageways to this particular building. ]

Creating a choke point so any outside support forces can be slowed down to a crawl will be our advantage as well.

[onblackwings]

[ Nevermind that those are actually pretty sound ideas, Khisanth bristles at the thought of following a gold dragon's suggestion. She watches him distastefully. ]

No, that won't work. [ Why? She has no idea. It just won't, because she said so. She scrambles for an alternative. ] We should destroy all outside forces before they have a chance to get near. Just a choke point isn't enough.

[doubleoohbaby]

[Looking between the two of them (well, the back of Khisanth's head and the other flying dude) curiously. Well, both suggestions could work, but then again brute force and ignorance could probably work right now with two huge dragons on side.]

There's two of us- or three if you set me down. Attacking from either side might be our best bet, I don't see why we can't use both options. [Because he really doesn't feel like arguing with dragons, if that gold one is anywhere near as contrary as the black.]

[returnsmagic]

[ How typically chromatic. Aurican lets out an unamused rumble from his chest. Usually he isn't very contrary, but her idea, in his mind, is grossly foolish. ]

Do you see our kin here? Do you see any silvers or blues among us that can spread out and hunt down these forces? We need to converse our energy or we will only be knocked out of the sky, and be no better off.

[ At least the man offers a third option. ]

Agreed. But we need to . . . clean out for some room, as it were.

[ Aurican looks down at the small yard in front of the apartment, where there are soldiers milling about, moving in and out of the compound, armed with a variety of those fiery weapons. An idea comes to him, something that might get him pass the firing range without being seen. But such a feat will require precise timing and luck.

Without a further word, he tilts his body up and flaps his wings, gaining more altitude. ]

[onblackwings]

[ She's about to snap out another argument, as to why they need to do it exactly her way, but Aurican has already started away. She growls her frustration. It's really amazing how easy it is to forget all her meditative and calming training.

To James:] What is he doing? [ And without waiting for an answer, she starts winging up after him. ] What are you doing? Our fight is down here.