revivalproject | Be A Deer And Stop Clopping Around

Avoid the claws. Donnie can't help but shudder at that. He's had one close call too many with someone who had claws and they weren't even that huge but it was still terrifying. The fact that he doesn't have his battle shell for proper protection makes him have second thoughts about coming out here, but it wouldn't feel right to just sit back and let other people handle the thing.

He tries not to grip his tech-bō too tightly, nodding at Gladio. "Ready as can be I guess," he says. At least even without being able to fly, his weapon still has range. He just wishes he'd installed a shield mode on the thing. Well, can't worry about that now.

"Go team?"

"Remember," Gladio said as he looked to the young... turtle-thing, "if it gets too dangerous, withdraw. If it gets dangerous enough that you need it, call for me. I'm here to keep you and Dustin safe."

Which might be a tall order actually.

"Got it." Donnie tries not to look too anxious as he casts a glance back out where the strange beast is stomping around. He takes in a deep breath, putting his game face on as he spins his staff around.

"All right, moving in." He'll get its attention all right.

Leaping out from cover, the softshell makes a dash around the area's perimeter. Dustin said the thing had been able to track by scent so Donnie has no doubt he'll be spotted soon enough, but that's kind of part of the plan anyway.

Damn but that guy was brave. Maybe foolish too. In a way, it reminded him of Prompto.

For now though Gladio charged out after Donnie. As much as it would be better for them to head in different directions, he knew he had to head the same way relatively as Donnie. They couldn't risk the Deerclops possibly seeing Dustin and Max's mission. The best chance those kids had would be that Max never had to be a proper distraction.

Gladio cut in earlier in his circle, immediately heading for the thing's legs in hopes of slamming his sword into it. Getting that thing down was the first goal.

Oh, definitely foolish. Donnie would be in agreement there. He's also a bit terrified but that's never stopped him from rushing headlong into battle before.

Turtle he may be, but he proves fast on his feet. What kind of ninja would he be otherwise? He catches a glimpse of Gladio out of the corner of his eye, relieved he's not the only one out here, and as the man makes a run for the beast's legs, Donnie twists the middle section of his bō as he triggers one of his favorite modes.

The weapon seems to ripple, its titanium casing shifting and folding as other parts unfold and reshape on either end of it, forming what looks like a huge pair of...rockets?!

The ends flare to life with a glowing violet blast, and Donnie flings the rocket-powered rod at the Deerclop's face, a spinning rocket-punch.

Edited (in which i confused mode activations haha) 2023-04-18 22:04 (UTC)

Fear and going into battle aren't at all at odds, in Gladio's experience they went hand in hand for a lot of people. To charge headlong into danger for others' sakes in spite of that was what made a good warrior.

But yeah, that speed on his feet was rather impressive. As was the weapon.

"Tony make you that?" Gladio asks, because he's never seen the guy before now and it's hard to believe ANYONE could make a weapon like that.

Though that's about as much time as he has to think about it before he has to act himself. The creature is reeling back from that damn rocket punch and there is no way that Gladio's not taking advantage of it being off balance. He holds his blade out from himself and starts spinning in place. Once he built up speed he slammed the blade into the leg of the Deerclops.

And yeah, that was a great bellow of pain.

The dual-rocket equipped staff wheels back towards Donnie, the turtle teen grabbing onto it before it can get out of hand. Thankfully he's glad he's worked out the bugs!

"What- I made it!" he snorts, somewhat offended by the assumption that someone else has made his beautiful tech. He uses the rocket boosts to launch himself a little higher so he can keep swinging at the beast, seeing the opportunity just as Gladio does.

If they can knock this thing down and keep it there then it won't go after Dustin.

Edited 2023-04-19 17:20 (UTC)

"Damn cool," Gladio shouts back at the turtle. His friend Prompto would be so about that. Maybe even Noctis.

But that's for later. For now the Deerclops is swaying from their pummeling and it was not pleased. Gladio himself was just about to tackle a leg forward to counter what Donnie was doing. One hitting one direction high, one bowling in the other direction low, it should be enough.

The Deerclops has other ideas. He slashes out at Donnie with its claws, shards of ice forming in the air at the same time and cutting toward him.

"Shit, dude!" Gladio shouts. He can't protect someone who is that high up.

Momentum both works for and against him. His tactic is usually to keep the enemy unbalanced so it can't retaliate. He's used to at least being able to hold out for as long as his brothers need to do their own thing.

The realization that he's on his own up here is only underlined by the sudden drop in the temperature as he sees those claws raking towards him.

Donnie gasps, giving a desperate jerk of his bō to try getting its thrust to carry him out of the Deerclops' range. It's not quick enough and he knows it the moment he feels that painful chill, right before those claws catch the edge of his shell and send him tumbling.

It hurts so much, but he has some presence of mind enough to know it'll be even worse if he takes a fall from this high without being able to fly. He cuts the rocket propulsion of one end, halving the output of the other as he narrows his focus into the singular task of trying to get safely to the ground. Well, at least he's managed to slow his fall a bit.

The good news was that Gladio was the sort that kept his attention on his teammates in a fight. Seeing Donatello falling he curses, tosses his sword aside, and runs to try an catch the kid.

Didn't help that there were a lot of ice shards raining through the air now, but Gladio is definitely trying to avoid them to catch Donatello.

"I've got you!"

Donnie had been bracing for a rough landing, his eyes startling open at Gladio's voice and the abrupt sensation of no longer falling. Even he knows better than to make a fuss over personal space when he's just been saved.

"-thanks," he sighs, deciding he definitely does not like this fight. He can still feel the ice on his shell and it is not doing anything for his nerves, but if there's anything he hates more, it's being useless.

"Watch it!"

Gladio's leaving himself open for his sake, and all the ice flying around is still a problem. On the upside, yay, they've effectively still got the thing's attention?

Donnie swings his tech-bō up as he taps a switch, whipping out...a flamethrower of all things, releasing the gout of fire over them to catch those ice shards before they can hit.

Okay, Gladio's reaction to 'watch it' was whirling with his shield appearing in his hand. What he wasn't expecting was fire to spew from behind him. Well hell, that was a thing that happened.

"Prompto would just drool over that thing. Really cool. When we kick this thing's ass, tell me about it."

With that taken care of, the shards little more than water by the time it reached them, Gladio ran forward again, massive sword back in hand with a burst of blue light. Then he's jumping up to bring the thing down doubled handed into a leg. At least there's a bellow of pain there. He prays the kids got inside safe.

"No one's drooling on my baby but I will gladly go over specs once this thing is no longer trying to kill us," Donnie agrees. He casts a quick glance towards the power facilities, but while he doesn't see Dustin nor Max, he can assume at least that they haven't gotten caught underfoot.

As Gladio moves in, the turtle sucks in a deep breath and forces himself to do likewise. After what happened earlier, he's not to keen about getting within range of those claws again, but at least he's not out of tricks.

The main concern is the drain on his bō, but if it'll help whittle this thing down sooner than later, there's no reason to hold back.

"Eat it!" he says as he converts his weapon once again, forming, of all things, a fancy looking rifle. Who lets their fourteen-year-olds run around with rifles?

...laser rifles, apparently.

He fires a beam right at that big ol' eyeball.

Damn but the guy's got quite a serious weapon there. One that is doing more work for them than perhaps Gladio was prepared for. The creature screamed in shocked pain, one hand coming up to cover its eye. Its other hand slashed through the air to develop more ice shards and throw it at them.

Gladio rushed into the path again, shield appearing to protect Donatello.

It's what happens when you leave your teenage genius unsupervised. Donnie grins almost ferally as he scores a direct hit, short-lived as the creature's quick to retaliate.

"Really regretting not adding a shield-function..!" He flinches at the sight of incoming ice, breathing a sigh as Gladio comes to the rescue again.

"Not sure how much longer I can offer support," he admits as he looks down at his tech...rifle. "I don't usually switch between modes this often and it's really putting a drain on the charge. Might have enough for one more shot at least."

He chews on his lower lip, glancing past the shield at the towering Deerclops. "...I can still draw its attention though, leave the swording all to you."

If that's what happens when teenaged geniuses are unsupervised, someone get rid of the adults. That was too cool.

"Then I'll make sure the last shot counts. How do you wanna do this? Seems like you're not that bad at tactics. Call the play."

HE can definitely keep Donatello protected long enough for a good final shot from the rifle, and then let the guy be distraction as his own sword finishes it, if that's how he wants to play it.

For now though he has to back up further, just to the guy, shield getting a few more loud bangs and thuds from the ice hitting it.

"Never thought I'd miss fire enchantments."

Someone actually asking his opinion on tactics...! It's almost a compliment, and coming from an adult, it means so much more.

Donnie looks briefly starry-eyed at that before a stray shard of ice goes flying just past them. Right, now's not the time, don't prove the guy wrong!

"Well, we know at least the ice barrage isn't continuous. And it looks like it takes a moment even to reload, so to speak. Taking out its eye won't slow it too much since Dustin said it tracks by other senses too, so keep that in mind.

"The moment this lets up, you make a charge for its feet again. I'll follow- just to make sure it's tracking us as one. Once it looks like it's getting ready to ice us or take a swipe, if you can tank it or keep its attention long enough, I'll make my move then."

"Got it," Gladio said with a nod. Sounded reasonable enough. And he didn't mind charging. Hell, he even had practice at it with the shield up in front of him.

"Alright. If you need to fall back, make sure you go deep into the trees to be less obvious to it, okay?"

Gladio wasn't getting this kid hurt for him.

Donnie nods back. "Got it." Not something he needs to be told twice. He checks his weapon again before looking back towards the deerclops. The ice attack has started to taper off by now.

"Think it's about spent for this round, get ready to move..."

Boy he sure hopes he isn't wrong about this thing's ability to form ice attacks.

"-now!"

Gladio hopes he isn't wrong too. These things aren't as bad for cold as getting hit by a blizzaga flask, but he thought they could do more physical damage. Better not to get speared.

With the order called Gladio lunges forward, sword appearing back in his hand. This time he jumps, bringing the sword higher up into the leg and cutting down it. It's the best choice he has to get the most possible damage done. And it should keep attention on himself.

And yes, it was on him, with the roaring of pain. The Deerclops claws at him again, but no shards of ice come this time.

As Gladio moves in, Donnie holds his breath, keeping right after him up until the swordsman throws himself towards the creature's leg. The turtle hurls himself sideways, pushing himself off the ground as he flips back to try finding an ideal position.

He's not going to hesitate once he's there, hefting his firearm to take aim. There's really no chance he can miss from this position, the only real threat being if the creature suddenly realizes he's going to attack.

The shot goes flying for the deerclops' face as he pulls the trigger.

The shot hits it just below the eye once again, and that staggers the thing back. Gladio takes immediately advantage, cutting at the leg again before bowling into it. And the Deerclops starts to sway. Starts to... To fall. Gladio whoops and dodges aside so it wouldn't fall on him.

"Stay back!" Gladio shouts at Donatello. He's got to wait for this to fall, and then he was going to do his best to finish this off.

Stay back, now that's very good advice. Donnie watches, even as he reverts his laser gun back into its default form. The thing's falling but he's not quite sure that it won't just start to get more desperate to claw things up once it lands.

He looks towards Gladio anxiously as he clutches his tech-bō.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall, or something. With the thing fallen Gladio jumps onto its leg and runs up the body. It's a good distance to make it, but soon he's standing over the chest, raising his sword high, and driving it down to where he hopes the heart is.

There is howling pain and it tries to claw at Gladio, but he doesn't stop at one stab with the blade that was clearly not suited to stabbing. No, he wasn't going to stop until this was dealt with.

Even after all that you still feel totally useless. Donnie hasn't gone too far from where he'd stopped to fire his laser, and now he anxiously watches Gladio wail away at the thrashing creature. That's clearly going to be a mess now that he actually sees how he's using the sword. ...gross grossgross.

But the Deerclops is still trying to attack him. Ugh, this is probably stupid and he knows it but-

Donnie runs forward, leaping up onto the creature. He twirls his tech-bō, thrusting the pointier end towards the incoming swipe towards Gladio. Not what it's meant to be used for but he's hoping it'll at least get one clawed hand to retract from its attacks, if briefly.

He's not so sure his staff will do much against fingers practically his size, but he's intent on trying to cover Gladio as best he can while the guy hacks away.

Damn but the kid has courage. So much of it. Gladio doesn't even notice him first, but he does notice the claws coming for them. He leaves his blade in the thing and moves to summon his shield. This he throws the best he can, trying to knock the claws away from Donnie.

It doesn't do much, but it doesn't need to. The damage so far has been enough, and the creature goes weak. Weak enough that the clawed hand misses them and falls.

At last, it's still.

"Fuck," Gladio pants. "Gotta find the shield now."

Those claws are so much bigger than Shredder's and seeing them coming right at you is terrifying.

It's a bit late to reconsider his actions, but as he braces for another wave of pain, Donnie sees something come flying around, and then he ducks his head as claws and shield connect.

And then it seems like it's all over as things go weirdly quiet. Donnie cautiously lifts his head, looking towards the head of the creature.

...oh gross he's standing on a dead body but his legs decide they're not going to work right now, giving out so he drops down to sit. Okay he'll just have to deal with sitting on a fuzzy corpse for a moment because he's still shaking as he clings to his bō.

Damn, he's not doing okay is he? Gladio sighs and plops down next to the kid, summoning a towel from the arminger to clean his face with.

"You okay?"

Donnie forces out a sigh, attempting to loosen his fingers some from around his weapon "Y-yeah, I'm okay. You?"

The adrenaline rush is wearing off and he's starting to be painfully reminded of the hit he took earlier, all too aware that it could have been a lot worse.

"Tired. I need to get a shower. And to find my shield."

First and foremost he needs the shield. And his sword. Fuck.

"Gotta check on the kids."

"Oh man, a shower would be great. I'd rather soak somewhere though. Ow....yeah, maybe a soak. That'd require finding a tub or something..."

Donnie groans as he tries to get back up. It is not easy finding your footing on a dead beastie, especially with your balance already compromised. This kid looks like he's going to topple off the thing as he finds out that his tech-bō isn't planted in any great angle either.

"Caves, off the beach. They have hot springs," Gladio suggested. "Or if you don't mind salt water, there's the ocean of course."

He sighs and pushes to his feet. Once he's on them he offers his hand out to the guy.

"-there's hot springs?? Oh that sounds amazing."

Why would you want to soak in the sea when there are HOT SPRINGS.

Donnie keeps making faces every time he comes into contact with dead deerclops, so he's grateful for the hand extended to him. "Ugh... thanks."

Gladio laughs. Yeah, there's hotsprings. They're great.

"Yeah. I think the map has instructions for how to get there. Now, let's get you down from here."

Gladio really needs to look in on the other kids.

"I'll look into that."

Getting down? Donnie won't object to that. No longer being on a dead creature supersedes his usual dislike of physical contact at the moment. He nods, pretty sure if he tries to do so himself right then he'll just end up on his face. He'll be able to handle himself a lot better once on the ground, so Gladio won't have to babysit him then.

"Piggie back?" he suggests. He is pretty good at falling from heights without getting hurt. IT could help, a lot.

Still looking a little hesitant at that, Donnie eventually nods, mentally preparing himself once Gladio's ready for him to hang on. He's only 5'3" at least, not the hulking 6 foot beast his older brother is.

Gladio gives the guy a chance to climb up onto his back. He'll have to climb back up here for his gear, but hey, that's for later. With that he then runs for the side of the giant and jumps down. It's not a small fall, but he makes it, landing on his feet with a wince.

That was a bad choice.

"And I think I need to use that backup potion.."

Donnie is definitely not expecting Gladio to just start running, which only prompts the turtle teen to cling in panic so he won't fall off. At least his weapon only slips from his grasp once the man's landed. It clangs off the ground.

"-a little warning next time?!" he sputters exasperatedly before disengaging himself to more or less fall on the ground beside his staff. "-and ow."

"If I warned you, then you would have found a reason to delay," Gladio countered. Poor guy.

"Take the time you need to recover. I've got to find my stuff."

The kid grumbles incoherently but raises a hand to wave Gladio off. He'll just...lie here for a while.

Dustin nods, even as his eyes flicker to the ground in front of where he's crouched - the first time he's dared peel his gaze away from the massive creature stalking around the outskirts of the Gateway since all four of them arrived here. It's weird and a little uncomfortable having so much attention drawn to him like this, especially when he considers the cost.

They could die trying to keep it occupied, he notes with a little breath through his nose. But what other options are there, anyway? It's not like Dustin could have done this himself; he's already tried that approach, and looks pretty scuffed for his troubles. Having a distraction team really is the best approach, and, well, it's better if that team knows what they're getting into, which they do. He just needs to stop thinking about it so much.

Of course, not thinking about something is absolutely out of the question when it comes to Dustin, so he settles for refocusing his anxiety elsewhere. He turns to Max crouched next to him.

"Not our cue," he murmurs. "We give them a few seconds to grab its attention first, try to sneak around behind it, then get the fuck out of dodge before it notices. Stick together until the last second. You follow?"

Max's nerves are rattled, the way they're always rattled back home when the Upside Down bullshit starts up. It also means she's ready to move, to do something. Ready to confront the monsters they're dealing with and be done with it. Hopefully. And there's no doubt: it's a big monster. Not Mind Flayer big, thankfully, but big enough. She glances at the others, nodding at Dustin's words.

"I follow," she responds. She's good at following plans once they've been made. Gives her a purpose. Her heart is beating fast in her chest, muscles tensed and prepared to run. She doesn't run as fast as she can move on her skateboard, or when she's behind the wheel of a car, but she's spent plenty of time the last couple years running in general. Her only wish is that El was there with her.

But she isn't. And she can be plenty brave on her own.

Dustin is not socially savvy enough to notice or even think to check if Max is nervous about what they're trying to do; he just sees her give the affirmative, without argument, and is thankful that she understands. They also have a job to do that could end in loss. Best that they're both focused on the goal.

"Good." He turns away, just as Gladio and Donatello break cover for the charge. The Deerclops's singular huge eye swivels to stare at them. "On my mark..."

It's not just enough to have it notice the attack team; Dustin's observations have shown that the Deerclops seems singularly focused on the power plant, almost like a guard. It has to be engaged So he waits, until Donatello...fucking turns his staff into a motherfucking rocket fist, somehow, and blasts the thing into the monster's face.

That will work. "Mark," Dustin hisses, clamping down on the flood of questions that pop into his head, then he promptly breaks cover himself to scuttle around the edge of the clearing. Not at a full sprint just yet; he wants to make sure they aren't spotted before making it into the thicker forests of the Gateway, where it should be harder for the Deerclops to chase them.

She's glad he doesn't ask if she's nervous. She'd rather pretend she's fine, especially with people she barely knows yet. For the most part she'd rather pretend she's fine with her friends, for that matter.

Max tenses when the monster sets its sights on the others, eyes going wide as Donatello does something with his staff that looks like some sort of magic trick, but she's not going to ask questions right now either.

And the moment Dustin gives the go ahead, she's off and running, moving as fast as she can and not daring to look back to see if the Deerclops has noticed them. Adrenaline is flooding her veins. She hopes Dustin is close, hopes that all of them can make it out of this alive.

Dustin's brain has always been his most powerful asset, but it comes with a cost, he knows that. Thankfully that cost - the tax on his body that's kept him little and frail his whole life - actually helps him in situations like these, where he needs to be quick and stay out of the way.

Max still manages to be faster than him, though. Eyes widening as she scampers past, Dustin breaks into a full sprint in order to keep up with her. This is probably a safe move; based on the yells and alien bellows nearby, the Deerclops is thoroughly preoccupied.

...Actually the attack team is doing a little too good at their job. Dustin's gaze flicks to the side, just in time to notice the Deerclops stumble, its massive ungulate legs starting to buckle. It's going to fall, and the pair of them are directly in its shadow.

The numbers flash through Dustin's head before he even consciously realizes he's running any calculations. Estimated height and center of mass leading to a set of possible trajectories and landing zones, chances of survival based on collision forces and what stray limb they're clipped with, time to impact in--

"--Left!" Dustin barks, pivoting an instant later to follow his own instructions and duck into the trees.

Be A Deer And Stop Clopping Around

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