COMMUNICATIONS TOWER

[Deathcap]

{Time Skip: A little while after the main plot; after Kayden, Calor and Otto joined the main group, but before meeting with Zeta. To retrieve the kids from the other side of the river, the demons decided to send a few of the first kids(as the demons would be too easily recognized) into the city to find the others and bring them back.
Somnia and Adrian, with Kaus (to guide them in the city,) and Vakaris(demon kappa) in animal form. (For protection.) Will head into the abandoned tunnels to sneak into the human's area and pose as citizens. However, the tunnels are scattered with undead, and the Human's have a radar system set up in a tower above ground that will need to be jammed to keep them from be detected and attacked.
Kail(a replacement for Zeta and his electricity) with Peter (demon Eta, for protection) and Raven (insisted on coming along) are to go and discretely jam the communication tower's radar and security programs(rather than destroy it completely and draw attention from the humans) on the expectation of meeting no opposition from the oblivious humans.


Kaus walked along with the group in silence, not feeling like talking for once. She felt awfully unsure about all this. She was helping them. Helping the demons she's be brought up to die fighting. Over the last couple days, she had learned quite quickly that her own people didn't have the whole story, and that there had been a lot of lies and half truths, but that didn't change the fact that she was helping take away the last hope from her people. If the demons got their way, she knew that their world would end pretty quickly. Her family and friends would all be sure to die, and that still meant something whether her people were in the right or not. She knew that for now she could do nothing but fallow along, or she would probably be killed without a second thought, but if she had the chance- she would still be there for her people in a heartbeat... right? She knew Somnia could hear her thoughts, so she tired to not think about everything. It must be torn she felt. She wouldn't hurt Somnia, she didn't want to harm her or any of the others when they'd been kind to her, but at the same time, they couldn't be on the same side like this when the demon's goal was to get the other kids back and leave her community to die. While scared the other was going to react badly to her treacherous thoughts, she still stuck close to Somnia, more trusting of her than any of the others in the group. She walked along carefully down the street until they reached the entrance to the tunnels leading underground. They would part from Eta, Kail and Raven here, thank god. Eta scared her. She looked back, glancing at the three and unsure of giving them a goodbye, not certain if it was appropriate, and took a couple steps down into the tunnel, her knife already in hand. She wondered if Kappa could smell the undead- there was probably more than a few down there.


Raven walked a little ahead of the group, keeping a wary eye out without letting himself seem too worried. He knew what as coming, but he had no idea how soon things would get violent. He had two knives on him. One his own army issue knife, strapped at his waist, the second a small kitchen knife in his boot. He was relatively quiet and focused, but stopped with the others when they reached the tunnel and were going to split up. He nodded to Somnia and the others, though Somnia was the only one he really knew much at all. "Good luck." He told her, and wondered briefly if she still had the grenade.
After they'd parted ways, he only worried more the closer they got to the river. When they reached the edge, he noticed the spot where it dipped into the river. They would have to swim, definitely. He stopped and    looked back at the other two, waiting from them to come up.

[FictionalPieces]

Adrian followed along with the group that had set out for the other side of the river. He didn't really believe that this was all a good idea, setting out like this to try and steal the rest of the kids back to bring them to the campus. And while she seemed to be trustworthy for now, he didn't completely trust Kaus. Sure she was the only one who really knew where she was going, but what was going to stop her from turning on them if a fight broke out? While the point of this whole thing was to try and blend in with the other people while they tried to get the other's away, none of them knew if a fight was going to break out. Kaus had grown up with these people, they were her friends and family. And really all that the demons had done were give her a place to stay and allow her to live for the time being. As they stopped in front of the entrance to the tunnels, he nodded his head at the three that were parting to go and do whatever it was that they had even been sent to do. He hadn't paid to much attention to anything else minus what he was suppose to do. He turned his attention to the other three that he was to be traveling with, waiting for them to lead the way.


Kail looked around nervously as he walked with the group. While Raven and Eta were going with him, in the end it really was up to him to disrupt the tower's signal and allow the other's the time that they needed to get the other kids out and return through the tunnels. If he messed anything up he didn't even want to think about what else could go wrong. Trying to shake it off for now, he dipped his head to the other's in good luck before he walked off with Raven and Eta. Getting closer to the river, his heart dropped as he noticed that the bridge didn't go the whole way across but instead was broken and dipped down into the water. Stopping in his tracks, he took a small step backwards. Surely there had to be another way around. There was no reason that they had to actually go in the water, was there? Noticing that Raven had stopped walking to wait for them, he glanced up at the other before back down at the water.

[Deathcap]

Raven glanced back at Kail as the other looked from him to the water nervously. "Can you swim okay?" He asked gently, taking a couple steps up to the edge where the bridge gradually dipped into the water; slowly submerging for about thirty feet before dropping off completely into the murky, stagnant river. They would have to swim there, definitely, but it arched suddenly out of the water a little bit after, above the river for the rest of the way to the other shore. He had lived close to the sea, and could swim quite well; but he didn't know about Kail or Peter. The water dragged at his feet as he walked forward slightly, looking up and down the river. This seemed like the only way. He removed his coat; it was too heavy to swim well with, he didn't need it weighing him down, and it would only get wet, anyway. He rested it down on a slab of concrete just before the water, unraveling the scarf from his neck and resting it on top of his coat. He was and felt significantly smaller without the heavy clothing. He glanced back to look up at his two companions, his feet just in the chilly water.

[FictionalPieces]

Kail blinked as he heard someone speak to him, looking away from the water as the words registered. "Uh... I.. I guess.." he replied, trying to force himself to move forward. Swimming hadn't exactly been a skill he needed that often back home, and while he knew how to swim, he wasn't exactly fond of the water, but of course mainly rivers or larger bodies of water. Growing up it hadn't been to much of a problem, but after losing Yuki and everything else that had happened, he could barely bring himself to move close to it. Closing his eyes for a moment, he focused on trying to calm his breathing a bit before unbuckling his own coat. Laying it down away from the water, he forced himself to take a few steps forward before he came to yet another stop. 'I..It's not that bad... the water's calm...Stop being such a baby... he thought before he shook his head. "I..is there maybe another way around?" he asked, looking up and down the river. "O.. or maybe somewhere shallower...?"

[Deathcap]

Rave turned and walked back up a little as Kail closed his eyes and attempted to breathe calmly. It was obvious the other was afraid to swim across. He tilted his head a little. "Uh, I don't think so Kail; there weren't any other bridges until the sea on the map. It would take us days to go far enough to come to another one farther upriver.." He trailed off, looking at the other with concern. Maybe Kail didn't know how to swim and was just too embarrassed to admit it? He didn't want to say anything  to make Kail feel insecure; maybe he hadn't been around water a lot and was uncertain or afraid; it wasn't the most welcoming or warm looking river.
He tried to assure the other, regardless. "You don't have to worry, It's not far. Most of it is just a little underwater... Eta and I are both here if you have trouble." He told him, trying to assure the other he wasn't in any danger here. "If it's too far to swim or something, I can pull you across with no problem, as long as you can relax." He offered, holding out his hand to help the other down to the water. "Come on, it'll be fine." He said encouragingly, his voice gentle as he left his hand patiently outstretched.

[FictionalPieces]

Kail watched as Raven walked back to him, trying to keep from looking back at the water as well as trying to keep calm. He opened his mouth to say that he didn't mind taking those few extra days to try and find some sort of bridge before circling back to the tower, but he stopped himself when he remembered why they were even here in the first place. They didn't have a few days to try and find another was across just for his sake. The brunet glanced down towards the ground. "I... I know how to swim..." he spoke quietly, barely above a whisper. "In the spring, when the snow was melted, the bridge was often dangerous to go on, so especially when hunting and bringing things back across, we swam..." he explained softly. But that had all been before everything that ha happened. He felt so stupid for worrying about and being afraid of something like water. Kail debated on admitting to the two that he was actually afraid of the water, but shoved it aside for now. Looking at Raven's outstretched hand, he hesitated for a moment before taking a hold of the boy's hand, allowing the other go help him down to the water. Though as he got closer, the quicker his heart raced and the paler he got. Letting go of Raven's hand, he backed up and shook his head "I..I'm sorry... I.. I dont know if I can do this..." 

[Deathcap]

Raven watched the other in confusion, his concern growing as Kail backed up. he didn't try to stop him, knowing it would only make the other more scared about the whole thing. He was obviously struggling with something more than the fear of swimming, but they didn't have a lot of time hesitate. If Somnia and the other made it there first... He took a small step back to make sure Kail knew he wasn't going to force him, so that the other wouldn't panic. His mind raced, trying to work out what was wrong. Did Kail have some memory of what had happened before? He decided rather than pry, he would just try to comfort his friend.
"Kail... it's going to be alright... but we can't afford to turn back now; the others are counting on us, and if we don't get to the tower, they're going to be caught..." And killed. He didn't want to add too much pressure, but the other didn't have the option to back out of this, scared or not. He kept his voice calm, hoping he could reason with the other boy. "The river is calm, and I won't let anything happen to you... here or across the river." Maybe the boy was scared of the danger waiting for them, rather than crossing the river? "You're going to be fine, I'll help you." He added, worried for the other. He looked pale. Raven stayed where he was, his hand still slightly extended as he waited quietly for the brunet. He didn't want to force the boy into this, but they had little choice. He couldn't go back for somnia now; he had no idea which way they'd taken into the tunnel. The only other option he could think of was going across the river alone and blowing the tower to ashes, but that would draw the humans right to him, and even if they didn't figure it out right away, he'd be dead within a few moments.

[FictionalPieces]

Thankful that Raven gave him space as opposed to trying to push him further into the water, Kail stared wide eyed down at the water. As he stood there and stared, he started to grow sick to his stomach. Before he knew it, trees surrounded him on all sides and the river had disappeared, though he could catch flickers of where he actually was as the memory went on. Just like every other time he had this dream, or the memory plagued him, Kail, despite actually standing still, started to run through the forest. Closing his eyes tightly as he looked down, he clenched his hands tightly into fists at his side. The river soon came back into view, though the water was roaring, and the bridge was complete as opposed to half sunk in the water. As the all to familiar gunshot rang out, Kail jumped as he heard Raven speak to him. Taking another small step backwards, he shook his head, feeling a few tears coming to his eyes. He trusted Raven, he really did, but he he still didn't know if he'd be able go make it across the goddamn river. "I know..." he replied, eyes focusing on the water once more. "I..I'm just..." he paused for a moment before continuing. "I'm afraid of the water..." he admitted quietly, not even sure if the other could hear him. He glanced towards Raven's still extended hand, debating on trying to take a hold of it again or not. He knew that he just needed to cross the river and get it over with, and he knew that he was making things worse, but he wanted to just turn and run away. "I.. I can't do this Raven..." he said again, shaking his head. "T..there's no way... I c..can cross the river... I know that I can't back out... But... But I can't so it..."

((shitty post is shitty ))

[Deathcap]

Raven walked towards the other a little and stopped as admitted his fear quietly and shook his head. He swallowed, not sure how to encourage the other. He'd seen this sort of thing in other soldiers, having some sort of phobia or post traumatic stress over something, usually blood or gunshots. Most of the time it went untreated, and the soldiers had often sought comfort from each other or from a repetitive action or something that made them feel safe, it had been common, both in his comrades and himself. He knew that trying to drag the other along wouldn't help, not that he even thought he'd be able to overpower the other anyway, but any forceful actions would just make him panic more. "You can." He said, trying to meet the other's eyes, trying to get through to him kindly. "I know you're scared, but the others need you. You've made it this far, you're strong enough to do this." He assured him. "Kail, just close your eyes and just stay with me... I'll lead you across and pull you when we get to the deeper part, alright? If you have to stop, tell me and I'll take you back, I swear... But I need you to try, okay?... Please trust me." He took the other's hands, just to offer some solace, but he didn't grip them tight enough that the other would feel trapped or forced.

[FictionalPieces]

Kail watched as the other moved closer to him before stopping. Had he known that he would have to cross a river, he wouldn't have agreed to this whole thing. He knew they had to get the other kids back, but surely they could have found another way to get them back. There had to be some other way that they could jam the signal without him actually having to be there. Some other demon could figure something out. But despite all of this, he knew that it was to late to just turn around to beg and plead one of the other's to find a way. Hell, there wasn't even time to run back if they needed more back up. Somnia and the others had already set down into the tunnels, and with Kaus leading them, he doubted they would have much trouble other than the undead that could be down there. The brunet looked up at his friend with panicked eyes, trying to focus on anything else other than having to swim across the river. He didn't really think closing his eyes was goingto help. If anything it would make it worse, causing even more flashbacks or whatever the he'll he was having besides a panic attack. But regardless of what he thought, he did appreciate Raven trying to calm him down. Kail flinched slightly as his hands were taken a hold of, having zoned out for a brief moment, but he soon zoned back in on what was going on. He looked down towards their hands before nodding slightly. "I... I trust you..." he said softly, glancing at him. He would try to swim the best he could once they hit the deeper water, not wanting Raven to just be pulling dead weight through the water. 

[Deathcap]

"Okay... let's try, then, you're going to be alright, don't worry." He said, nodding, and moved beside him carefully, hoping Kail would be able to make it. He stayed close, gently leading the other down to the water where the bridge submerged it, washing over the old pavement.
Noticing the boy not closing his eyes, he hesitated, but decided Kail might know best how to keep himself calm, and didn't object. As they took the first couple steps into the still water, he kept one arm firmly supporting Kail, so that the other would have something to hold on to if he slipped or lost his composure, rather than falling in the water and making things even worse. "You're doing fine. It isn't much farther." He assured the boy, glancing at Kail and squeezing his hand as they came to the end of the bridge overlooking the darker depth, the water was coming up to their waists now. The murk smelled of earth and dust, and felt much thicker than water around his legs. At the drop off, he turned to face Kail, though not letting go of the other, scared he might become hysteric or panic if he felt he was left alone. "I'll pull you across, just encase swimming might become too much for you, it'll be safer for both of us that way, alright? And the water will hold most of your weight, so don't worry." He said gently. "Here, Lean with your back against me, and just try to relax and hold onto my arm." He instructed, moving so he was behind Kail, wrapping an arm carefully over his chest to pull him as they plunged into the deeper water. He hit his teeth and treaded backwards, stroking through the water with his free arm, trying to go as quickly as possible. "You're fine, you're doing okay." He got out, trying to keep his head above the water.
His back slammed into the broken concrete of the other side of the bridge, and he felt a surge of relief as his helped the other out of the water quickly, pulling him back a little before turning to make sure he was okay. Completely soaked and dripping, Raven breathed a little quickly from the exertion, trying be there to comfort the other, still gripping his hand gently. "Are you alright?" He asked, worried the other might be in shock or panicking silently, not sure about the intensity of Kail's fear. He glanced around to see where eta was.

[FictionalPieces]

Kail nodded his head slightly, watching the other closely as Raven moved closer to him. As he was lead closer to the water, he tensed up, trying to keep going without turning back. He had to just get through this for everyone else. They were all counting on him.
Noticing that Raven had hesitated, he glanced over at him before realizing it was probably about him not closing his eyes. He shook his head in response "K..Keeping my eyes closed will only make it worse..." he told the other quietly, glancing back down towards the water as they came to the edge of the bridge before it dipped into the water. As they stepped into the water, it took everything in him not to turn and run back up onto land, and even with Raven next to him he was having a hard time going forward and not completely freaking out. Walking deeper into the water, he squeezed Raven's hand back, though he wasn't quite sure exactly how hard he had squeezed his hand. It really wasn't something he was paying to much attention to while he was surrounded by water. Trying to pull his attention to the fact that he was in the water, he glanced at Raven as he spoke about pulling him across. He opened his mouth to tell the other that he could swim himself, but he knew that the other was right. While he wasn't thrashing about now, if he did start doing so out of his fear, it would only cause the both of them trouble. Kail nodded his head a little bit. He'd try to swim and help the other along the best he could so all of the work wasn't put on him. Even though he had no control over it, he felt horrible for Raven having to basically drag him across of the river just because of some stupid phobia.
Clutching onto Raven's arm as it was wrapped around him, Kail closed his eyes tightly for a brief moment as he waited for the water to grow even deeper than it had been. Holding in a yelp as it did, he grabbed onto Raven's arm tighter, growing tense before remembering that the other was trying to pull the both of them through the water. Without taking his arms from around Raven's, he attempted to kick his feet in some sort of manner that would help the other along.
Once he was out of the water, Kail scooted back as far away as he could from the water, thankful for Raven trying to help move him back as well. Shivering both from being cold thanks to the water and the fear, he brought his knees up to his chest, his chest heaving as he wrapped his arms tightly around his legs. He could feel tears coming to his eyes, so instead of just allowing them to come like he may have if he had been along, he tried to blink them away before wiping them away with the back of one of his hands. Hearing Raven speak to him, or well at least speak in general, the other's words didn't register until a few moments after. He nodded his head slowly, trying to take deep breaths or calm down, though it wasn't exactly helping. Especially when he realized that they'd like have to return the same way when it was time to return to the other side of the river. Trying to push it away for now, he closed his eyes for a moment before forcing himself to stand up, almost stumbling as his legs wanted to give out before he caught him.

[Deathcap]

Raven let go of the other as he stood up, looking a little unsteady, and got up himself, staying close to the other. "You did really well, thank you." He said quietly, grateful that the other had tried and got through despite everything in order to help the others.
Kail had nodded, but he didn't look completely okay. Maybe it would be best to give the other a few seconds to get his bearings? He pulled the old map from his pocket, checking the wet paper for the communications tower. He bit his lip, confused a little by the markers- it wasn't in any language he recognized, but it wasn't to hard to find the bridge and the mark to show where the tower had been set up. It wasn't far, so the people were probably close; he'd have to keep his guard up. He wondered how violent this was actually going to get-he had no idea of the numbers that had ended up attacking Kail and Eta the previous times... it might have been a single sniper, or a whole patrol of soldiers with dogs or worse. Maybe it was individuals operating the tower? He didn't like the idea of hurting someone who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but tried not to think about it too much, besides looking out for anyone in general, but everything seemed pretty quiet. He stayed close besides Kail, hoping that if they were attacked suddenly he would be able to take the worse of it. He glanced at the boy, hoping he'd calmed down enough to focus.

Raven was completely on edge by the time they walked into the square. There was open space around the structure of the tower. It didn't really seem to have a clear in and out, but Alpha had said he'd be able to jam it from the outside by disturbing the radio waves and electronic systems to speed things up. He had a confused last thought as they approached it. Wouldn't the radar be picking them up right now? The demons had sent them to do this with the assumption that no one would be close enough to reach them in time, but what if there was a patrol of some kind was out already? He had an idea, remembering how his radio had picked theirs up on the first day. He stood next to where Kail would likely have to work at it, keeping a look out. He shook the water off of the small radio, and checked for a signal on the channel he had found them on previous. After a weak whine, it gave a short beep to affirm a connection. He stopped breathing for a second, although he'd expected it, this just confirmed the people were close.
He turned to look at Kail and Eta. "There are people from the city nearby." He said, his voice quiet.
Raven considered climbing up some wheres to see if he could find them, but he would only make himself a sitting duck, and if they were close enough he didn't want to risk getting too far away from Kail. Before he could say anything else he heard shout from nearby, and spotted a flash of bluish fabric in a street down a little ways. Whoever was there, they had seen them and alerted others. he tensed, getting ready to fight back if it came to that.

[FictionalPieces]

As the pair stood up, it was a relief that Raven chose to stay close to him as opposed to walking off. While he had been anything but calm trying to cross the river, the other boys prescence was calming to him. At least now it was anyway. Looking at him in confusion as Raven thanked him, he shook his head "I.. I didn't do anything..." he said quietly, his voice shaking. "Thank... Thank you though..."  
Despite the fact he had been able to stand up, he was still extremely shaken up and was glad when Raven pulled the map out and took a few moments to look it over. Surely the tower couldn't be to hard to find, but he supposed that wandering around the town aimlessly wasn't that smart of an idea. They didn't need to run into anyone that could mess this whole thing up. Once he was done looking at the map, Kail had calmed down a little more; enough so that he could hopefully walk without his legs giving out underneath of him or enough that he could focus when they finally did make it to the tower. 

By the time that they made it to the tower, Kail had finally calmed down enough to stop shaking and push it to the back of his mind for now. They'd probably have to cross that way again, but Raven had been right. He needed to do this for everyone else. Looking up at the tower as he stopped by the foot of it, his brow furrowed slightly. It shouldn't be to hard to try and jam the signal. As long as his powers decided to cooperate. He didn't feel to comfortable with Raven or Eta standing close to him in case a spark or electrical charge or anything strayed away from the power, but he doubted that there was going go be any sort of argument. As Raven walked off to do something, Kail circled the tower to find the spot that would hopefully work the best. He didn't know if he could just shoot electricity into the air to jam it, so he hopped putting his hands against the metal and sending it through the entire tower would work. Hearing Raven's radio, he looked at the boy as he stopped next to the tower, his heart speed up. Had he not have been so stupid about crossing the river, maybe they would have been here and not run the risk of running into anyone. He looked at Raven with worry in his eyes "Be careful," he said softly. About to place his hands on the tower to get to work, he heard a shout which in turn caused him to turn. His eyes widened a little bit before he quickly placed his hands against the metal and sent an electric current through it to try and jam the signal. He hoped that it had been a single person and not a group. But regardless of how many people, he figured that they really didn't have a lot of flexibility for time. It was hopefully jammed now and the others could get the other kids out before any trouble broke out. 

[Deathcap]

Raven nodded as Kail told him to be careful, pacing slowly across the square, looking out at each street leading to them, and keeping an eye on the roofs and windows and well. By where they were now, and how long it had taken to get there, they would probably have to give Somnia's group twenty or so minutes to be safe, so this wasn't going to be over quickly.  
What Kail was doing looked like it would work. Unless he stopped. He focused on keeping a look out, his main goal was to make sure Kail didn't have to stop until Somnia and the other had gotten through safely, if he couldn't, or if Kail was hurt, everything would fall apart again. He wasn't sure how closely he could rely on Eta, but he hoped the other would be able to deal with conflict.
He continued to walk around, collected but tense as he waited for things to escalate. He noticed a couple of the people fall into a practiced line in one of the allies, a few weapons aimed, and on reflex, he turned sharply. The set the edge of the street aflame with a jerk of his wrist, blocking their view and entrance into the square, he tried to contain it enough not to kill them or set the buildings on fire, gritting his teeth as he tried to focus. He heard little after that, and was unsettled by the silence. Was that it? Unwilling to turn his back, he circled the tower quickly, keeping an eye on the other streets.
He caught more movement soon after from a lower roof, and didn't hesitate to let fire tear up the side of the building at the sight of an aimed rifle. He heard a brief scream and tried not to listen, but the fire didn't cling long to the bricks or the man. Raven swallowed in discomfort. So it was more than just a couple scouts, these people had come out to meet them. He wondered how long they had been on the radar of the tower while approaching.  
He heard a couple gunshots and whirled to find the source, horrified to see a couple men and women already in the square, firing at them from whatever cover they could find as more took aim. He marched forward, passing Kail and Eta again and letting more fire raise up near the peoples' feet to drive them back. Some were soldiers; equipped with proper gear and deadly looking weapons, but most seemed to be regular people; shouting families and elders and youth who had been called to arms; dressed in threadbare clothes and carrying anything from kitchen utensils to hunting guns and bows; were they really so fearless as to run into something like this? He tried desperately not to kill them as he wove the fire around defensively, hoping he could send them back with as little death as possible, but he started to get anxious as the people continued on relentlessly trying to attack and shoot at them. This seemed too much like a planned attack to be something that had happened by chance; even if they found them on the radar earlier, how had such a vicious group amassed so quickly?
He struggled to keep the defense up, trying to block them off with blasts of fire, but a group burst through suddenly, rushing them in an arc as one soldier covered them with sudden gunfire.
Raven stepped back to get between the shooter and Kail, he tensed up and took a step forward as some sort of charged bullet pinged off the tower and left a burned streak, having just missed him, and set the other's weapon on fire clumsily. He turned slightly to deal with the group rushing them as they dispersed into the square, some taking cover and others aiming and firing.

[FictionalPieces]

Kail glanced around for a moment before he turned his complete focus to the tower in front of him. He just hoped that they had had no problems along the way so far. Besides the shouting that they had heard a moment ago it didn't really seem like anyone was inside of the tower or hiding close by to jump out to attack them. But as he focused on keeping the signal jammed with his electricity he didn't completely let his guard down either. Sure that was what Raven and Eta were there for, to stop anyone from messing this whole thing up, but he was still cautious, glancing around quickly all while trying to keep his focus.
Hearing the crackling of fire after a little while, he glanced to the side a bit only to see Raven quickly circling the tower, his heart dropping. People were here already? Turning his complete focus back to the tower, he closed his eyes and just focused on continuing to let the energy flow through the tower. He had no idea how many people had been coming forward, but he hoped that however many it had been, they had been the only people out and about. While both Eta and Raven had powers of their own, it would only be the two of them against however many people were able to make their way into the square. He didn't trust himself to try and keep one hand on the tower to jam the signal and use his other hand to try and drive some of the people back, even if Alpha had been working with him, and he had been practicing controlling the energy whenever he found the time to do so. But no matter how much practice he had gotten in, he didn't trust himself at all. Especially when the people would be moving around and most likely trying to attack back. About to glance back over his shoulder to see where his companions were, or even what was going on, he froze as soon as he heard the gunshots. Feeling his hands start to shake against the tower, he tried to get his focus back on what he was doing. Noticing Raven walk by him, he felt a sense of relief seeing that the other was okay for the time being. He didn't know if he'd be able to stay where he was if Raven ended up being injured. His job was to keep the radio signal's jammed long enough for Somnia and her group to get into the city, but surely by now they hadn't made it there already. But at the same time, if his friend was injured he couldn't just stand there and not try to do anything about it.
Hearing a bullet hit the tower, Kail jumped and looked up at where it had hit wide eyed. He shook his head and closed his eyes tightly, trying to block out the sounds of the gunshot. Having to cross through the water had been enough, he didn't need to deal with this now. Going through the water had been different. He had had Raven next to him, and the other had helped him. But he couldn't exactly expect the other to stand there next to him while they were being attacked.

[Deathcap]

Raven kept his position between Kail and the groups of assailants, staying out in the open enough to be able to keep them in check without exposing himself too greatly to the barrage ammunition that rained down in erratic bursts whenever they managed to get around the explosions of fire he let fly across the cracked pavement.
Moving in a half circle, he let flames roar up in front of the previous group and managed to drive them back again before whipping around to send another wave of heat at those on the rooftops seconds too late as a group of soldiers and a man armed with a bow aimed and shot at them through the dying fire. One let a bullet fly in Kail's direction, narrowly missing the other. He cursed and tried harder to keep it up. The individuals who had rushed into the square were recovering and shooting at them as well, thrown rocks and bullets and arrows scattered the ground.
The boy whirled falteringly to cut them off, and with a last push, managed block them with an enormous wall of flame. Every burst of fire felt like it was draining his energy, and his head spun for a moment before he was able to catch his breath steady himself, trying to keep the fires burning. He moved away from Kail slightly, so that the attention was drawn off of the other.
The man whose weapon he had set on fire had attempted to take cover, but was trapped by the flame and without a gun, looking panicked, his hands badly burned.
Raven, uncertain and struggling with watching the other in pain and trying to get away, allowed the flames in front of him to die just enough for the shocked man to rush through to his companions before sealing the break again with another burst. He took a couple steps back as more people appeared in the opposite end of the square, showering the other side of tower with shots as they aimed and him and eta, perhaps not seeing Kail yet, who was on the opposing side. Snapping to attention again, Raven produced enough flame to make them panic as he tried to run back to get to Kail before they reached the tower. They regrouped too quickly, a second line of scattered people with household weapons backing them up, and he got within twenty feet of them, raising his hand. Fire materialized and rushed up just as he felt something tear through him.
He staggered back a little with the impact, his hand going to his midsection as he looked in momentary shock down at the feathered end of the arrow sticking out of him, feeling a burst of dizzy panic in his chest, but didn't have time to react. His gaze flicked back up almost immediately and he tensed and hurriedly forced more plumes of fire to drive the people back.
He fought against the impulse to curl up as the pain started to overwhelm him, spreading like icy fire through his abdomen. His mind raced; this wasn't like being shot, and he wasn't sure what to do, one hand hovering gingerly at the wound. He tried get to Kail while keeping his faltering defense up; he still had to protect the other. He got halfway across the square before his legs seemed to give out and he collapsed forward, barely catching himself and letting out a stifled cry as he fell. Dizzy shadows spotted across his vision, he coughed before dragging himself up and forcing himself to stand again. In a last push he made it to Kail and unsteadily turned and stumbled, wincing before recovering and standing protectively in front of the other as he focused on holding them back with fire, keeping a shaking hand pressed against the wound as blood seeped down his shirt.

[FictionalPieces]

Kail had tried to pay attention to the metal in front of him, trying to zone everything else out so he didn't mess anything up. He debated on turning to try and help the two out with the people so they wouldn't all be teaming up on the two. Surely by now Somnia and them were far enough into the city that he didn't need to keep the tower jammed. Besides, they didn't know how many people were even on this side of the town to begin with. There seemed to be enough of them around here shooting at them and...
As the bullet shot by them, just barely missing him, Kail jumped and pressed his hands harder against the tower to try and stop his hands from shaking. He was thankful for the sound of the fire, even though it didn't completely drown out the sound of the guns, it meant that Raven was still okay. And as long as Raven was okay, things were going to be fine... right? Kail closed his eyes and focused on the crackling of the flame before he had heard someone fall. Looking up, he took one hand off of the tower, making sure to keep the energy flowing through at least one of his hands, to look towards Raven. His heart dropped and he instantly felt sick to his stomach as he noticed the arrow sticking out of the other's back. "Raven!" he screamed, about to take his hand off of the tower before he stopped himself. He had to stay here with his hand pressed against the tower in order to keep the other group safe so they could get the other's and get out before the people noticed they were here, but he couldn't just stand here when Raven had been shot by and arrow. Though it was just one arrow, what was going to stop the other's from shooting him even more? Pushing himself away from the tower, he ran to the other's side, raising his hands and shooting electricity at the people's feet to try and keep them back and to hopefully stop them from hurting his friend any further, though he knew it wouldn't help that much.

[Deathcap]

Raven shook his head quickly as the other ran up to him, his eyes wide in alarm. "Kail, no, don't worry about me! you have to keep the tower jammed!" He cried. While he appreciated the boy's concern, if they found Somnia's group, if they hadn't already, everything would be lost anyway. He had gotten himself into this, and didn't regret it; so far Kail was still unhurt, but it had to stay that way or this would have all been for nothing. He let go of the other and stepped forward, waving his arm and letting a ring of flame surround them and the tower. To his distress, all he could manage was a weak, slowly dying circle, and he felt a wave of weakness wash through him, fueling the pain. He looked around quickly at the hopeless situation, not even sure where Eta was. The fires, with nothing to cling to other than brick, were going out quickly. The people had taken up positions all over the place, some firing at them again. Blood was spreading out freely over his clothing. Kail looked panicked.
It was too late; there was no way they could hold out for another twenty minutes. There had been reasons why they couldn't destroy the tower, but now it seemed like there was no other option. He turned back to Kail, his voice hurried. "Never mind... I don't think we can do anymore here... I'm sorry Kail...run, please, I'll meet you at the edge of the bridge, alright? I'm going to try to get rid of the tower, and I don't want to burn you." He told the other firmly, his eyes dark with intention. Wherever Eta was, he knew that if he hurt the other, he could heal pretty easily, but if a piece of metal or a burst of fire hit Kail it could be the end of him. He fully intended to make it out after the other, but he didn't want to take Kail with him if he wasn't able to.

[FictionalPieces]

Kail stared at Raven with wide eyes as he was told that he had to continue to jam the tower. Did he really expect him to go back to the tower when Raven was injured like this? Clenching his jaw, he glanced back at the tower as Raven attempted to incircle them in flame. As the fire died down, Kail moved away from Raven a bit so no stray electricity would hit the other before he pointed one hand at the tower and sent some electricity shoot towards it to keep the tower jammed. It was probably to late, and he'd rather be looking after Raven and keeping him safe, but it was worth a shot. With his free hand, he aimed it at the people as Raven's fire died down rather quickly. He had been about to tell the other go get behind him before he was hurt again, but stopped as Raven apologized and told him to run. He shook his head. As terrified as he was, there was no way that he was going to be just leaving Raven behind, even if the other told him that he'd meet up with him. "I..I'm not leaving you behind..." he told the other, stopping the energy flow to the tower as well as the people, though he kept both hands pointed at them now. He didn't care if the other ended up burning him. "It doesn't look to serious... But even a non-fatal hit with an arrow can turn into a fatal one... I'm not leaving you behind when you're injured like this..." he told the other quietly, his voice shaking and almost catching in his throat. Even with the tower destroyed, if one of them was left behind he doubted that the humans would scatter, which would only make it harder for Raven to get out. 

[Deathcap]

Raven looked back at Kail as the other refused to leave, feeling conflicted and frustrated with the other. "Kail, please- augh-" He caught himself against the tower, tensing up as a jolt of pain struck him, the initial shock was starting to wear off and it was feeling a lot worse. He grit his teeth against it and stood up straight again. He didn't have time to argue with Kail, and they had to get out of there. Turning to the tower and placing both of his hands on it, the boy put himself between Kail and it to shield the other as much as he could. He forced all of his energy into it, and the tower creaked from inside before the windows above were blown from their frames and fire escaped from every opening with loud, creaking noises. He stumbled back, putting his arm up over his face to protect his eyes and throat as the tower started to tear apart like a bursting balloon. He fell backwards into Kail with the blast, holding his breath from the pain of being tossed around with the arrow still in him. The adrenaline kept him going, and he still managed to scramble up relatively quickly, unable to move with much more than in painful, awkward motions.
He checked to make sure Kail was still alright, and tried to lead the other away quickly, before the tower collapsed or the people caught up with them. "C-come on then, we have to go." He urged, finding the strength to run. He put his hand out to cause another weak burst of fire, driving the group blocking their way out back, he ran through, making sure he was beside Kail as he did so. He took off down the street and turned, slowing down as they got closer to the bridge and walking beside his friend hurriedly, scared that if he stopped he wouldn't be able to keeping going. he continued to check over his shoulder for any sign of the people, but perhaps they had stayed to attack Eta?
As they walked out onto the start of the bridge, Raven doubled over, and falling to his knees, he shuddered and coughed, blood coming up in his mouth.
Trying to breath, he wiped his lip with the back of his hand.
The boy glanced back, but saw nothing but Kail and the far-off flames, his vision churning.
Oh god, how were they going to swim across now? Kail had needed help to get through the water originally, and now he could barely even walk properly, and movement just made the injury worse with the thing still there; how was he supposed to swim like that?
But then there was Kail. If something happened to Eta, the humans would be after him next, and he couldn't let that happen, he had to help the other across. He got up, trying to remain steady on his feet. "Kail...? Do you think you can make it back?" He asked hesitantly.

[FictionalPieces]

Kail was ready to continue to refuse the other. He wasn't going to leave his side, not when he was injured like this. He didn't care if Raven thought that he was okay enough to try and destroy the tower by himself. He had been about to rush forward as Raven braced himself against the tower but stopped just in case the other didn't want to be touched. "Be careful Raven..." he said softly before he watched the other place both hands against the tower and watched him, trying to keep his eyes from traveling down to where the arrow was sticking out of his friend. He had to get him back to the campus before something else happened.
As the fire burst through the windows and out any of the openings in the tower, Kail covered his head to protect himself from the glass or anything else that fell from the tower. Looking up just as Raven fell against him, he let out a yelp of surprise as he carefully grabbed the other's arms to stop him from falling and possibly moving the arrow. His brow furrowed as he helped the other up before he glanced over him quickly to make sure that he was okay before he nodded his head. While Raven gave one last burst of fire to attempt to drive the people back, he sent a charge of electricity to go along with the fire, being careful not to hit Raven as he moved alongside of the other male. He made sure to keep pace with Raven as they ran away from the square, not wanting to leave him behind. Making sure to slow down when the other did, he looked around, making sure to check behind them in case anyone had managed to follow them. As he noticed Raven double over before falling to his knees, Kail stopped and turned back to look at him, dropping to his knees next to the other, he frowned and carefully placed a hand on the other's shoulder "T..take it easy...Don't push yourself..."
Glancing over his shoulder as the other asked if he could make it back, Kail chewed on his bottom lip. He wasn't to sure if he could actually make it back across the river without the help of the other. But he had to try. He wasn't going to make Raven to try and help him across once more, not when he had an arrow sticking through him. He looked back at Raven and nodded his head "... I can try..." he said, his brow furrowing a bit. "I'll try and help you if you need it too..." he offered after a moment of silence.

[Deathcap]

Raven nodded as the other offered to try to make it back, thankful, but hesitant. He wasn't certain Kail would be okay trying to keep calm while also looking after him in the water. He kept a hand tightly closed around the arrow shaft, his glove dark with blood as he stood sort of arched over, trying to compensate and bite back the pain. His mind raced as he put a hand out against the bridge's metal railing to hold himself up before pressing his back against it and slumping down again without really meaning too. He winced, pulling his legs up slightly, and choked back a moan before attempting to stay calm again, trying not to scare Kail too much by showing how much pain he was actually in. He swallowed, glancing up at the other. "I...I have to get the arrow out." He told the other, his voice tight. "I don't think I can swim like this." He said, shutting his eyes tightly and thinking about how he was going to do it, not really sure at all how to deal with an arrow wound like this. Would it be best to just pull it out? He considered the risk of it having hit an artery; there was already a lot of blood, and if he had, he knew removing it was just going to cause him to bleed out in seconds... but if he cauterized it...?
"If blood bothers you- You shouldn't watch." He warned the other hesitantly.
Taking a deep breath, he grasped the arrow with a shaking hand, and grit his teeth again.
He tried to pull quickly, but there was more resistance than he'd expected as agony tore through him and he cried out in shock and pain, his hand slipping down the arrow and pressing to his belly as he tried to recover from the failed attempt, breathing quickly and seeing black spots dance across his vision. He coughed again, momentarily loosing his composure and shaking his head . "I can't do it, I can't-" He got out in distress, his voice wavering, although he knew there was no real other option, except to die here.

[FictionalPieces]

Glancing towards the water, Kail waited until the other was ready to move on. He wasn't going to get into the water until Raven was in and okay. It wasn't even for the fact to keep himself calm, he didnt want the other to fall or hurt himself even more while trying to get into the water. He glanced behind them to see if Eta had followed yet. He was wishing that the other was here so he could run back to get help from the other's. He himself could have run back, sure, but he wasn't going to leave Raven alone like this, especially with the threat of the people being able to follow behind them. As the other placed a hand on the bridge, Kail hesitantly reached a hand out for the other to grab a hold of if he needed to. Watching as the boy slid down to the ground, Kail dropped to his knees in front of him, nothing but fear and worry on his face. He frowned as the boy spoke about taking the arrow out. It would make swimming across the river difficult, but at the same time it wasn't wise to pull it out before they got back to the campus. 
But of course it was to late to warn the other as the dark haired boy attempted to yank the arrow out of his stomach. His eyes widened and he fumbled to move Raven's hands away from the shaft of the arrow. "D..Don't pull it out..." he said quietly, his voice wavering as he felt his eyes tear up a bit. "Pulling an arrow out of a wound if the target is still alive, and you want to keep them alive is the worst thing to do..." he told the other, chewing on his lip. But really, what other choice did they have? Sitting back some, he fumbled with his boots before pulling out the dagger that Somnia had given him the first day here. "J...Just st...stay still..." he told Raven before he carefully took a hold of the arrow's shaft before he started to saw away at the wood, leaving just enough sticking out of the other that it could be grabbed later on when they got back. Throwing the other half away, he put the dagger back into his boot before looking at Raven "T..that should hopefully help a little..." he said softly. "If we had an extra coat or something, we could tie it over the end so it may help keep it in place... But we don't..." he said, looking around. He didn't really think that he was up to swimming across the river and back with his coat, so that wasn't really an option. "Y..You're going... You're going to be okay, Raven..."

[Deathcap]

He barely heard Kail as the other explained not to try pulling it out, but nodded numbly, guessing he knew more about arrows than himself, who'd only seen representations of them in books. as Kail told him to hold still while taking the knife out, his glassy eyes flicked over the other in distrust and fear. What was Kail going to do? He tried to get away, pressing himself back against the railing, wondering briefly if the boy was going to put an end to him and get it over with. He held his breath and winced, starting to protest but managing to bite his tongue as the other began sawing away at the arrow. He watching in confusion, and feeling sick with the motion of it, he attempted to brace himself but tried not to struggle, his fingers curling into his palms. Every time something touched it, he felt like he was being stabbed again, and didn't know how much more he could take.
As Kail stopped, he blinked at the other with a pained expression. He just wanted to curl up and lie still, but nodded in thanks. He wasn't sure how cutting the arrow short had helped, but he tried to put some trust the other's judgement.
He let his eyes close for a moment, trying to relax his body, but he couldn't seem to control his breathing anymore.  
As Kail tried to assure him, he nodded weakly, looking back at the other silently and trying to hold onto that. He clambered to his feet with the help of the railing and turned, looking at the water.
"I- I can't pull you... I don't think I have the energy., I'm sorry-but I'll be right there, I promise, we just have to make it to the submerged part, and I can help you again." He told the other, glancing back at him while holding one hand over the wound. Waiting for the other, he pushed into the water and immediately felt like he was being ripped apart. Not willing to let himself slip beneath the surface, he pushed forwards, putting everything he had left into the effort. For a few moments, he was in empty water where a section of the bridge had fallen away, and tried to push on.
 He found the bottom of the concrete with his feet, and clung to the railing desperately as he pulled himself up to stand, sputtering and coughing, slipping once as he tried to stay on his feet. As he stood up, he looked back in a panic over the water behind him. 'Kail?!" He called, turning and wincing slightly.

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