Scene #5878: Kidnapped! The Plundering Mr. Panda!

Owner	Pose
Note	Yesterday, reports reached various ears that the Police of Western Yahoi needed help rescuing a bus full of kids that had been waylaid on the way to Kokkara Village, where they would be brought up learning the martial arts and cultivating their Ki abilities! They have officially requested help from the Paladins, but the request was quite public. Given the nature of the mission, several organizations have heard of it and pinged the problem for investigation... The only Warp Gate leading to the Western Yahoi region of this Earth opens into a grassy land populated sparsely by trees. It's a lovely late evening, nearly sunset, and the early summer breeze is warm and refreshingly clean. The only building in site is a covered bus stop to the left, presumably servicing the three way intersection of dirt roads here. A somewhat faded and scratched up map printed on the bus stop wall shows that a place called "Kokkara Village" is to the southeast. "Yahoi Ruins" are found to the northeast at the end of a dangerous-looking path that takes travelers up the slopes of a small mountainous region. (The same mountains and hills run along the eastern border, splitting Western Yahoi and Eastern Yahoi. It appears Kokkara is also nestled in the foothills of these mountains...) Immediately south, a hilly and rocky region cuts off easy access to what lies further down: a river and oil field. If one wanted to reach them by bus... it's a long and windy path to the west and through a forest overlooked by the rocky formation called the "Dragon Molar". From the looks of things, apart from the oil field, most of the locals run farms. Quaint little place, definitely not much in the way of resources. Kind of strange that Note isn't around, since this is supposedly the land she hails from... Once people DO arrive though, well... standing at the bus stop, agitatedly twirling his baton, is... a dog man, dressed in a snappy blue police uniform, complete with a blue cap with a star on it! Can't get much more 'policeman' than this... dog man? "Hello there, travelers! Would you be the rescue party? If not, I highly recommend you turn back. The Red Pants Army has been causing more and more trouble for travelers. My men and I are outmatched and outnumbered... I can't guarantee your safety." Of course, once everyone's assembled, and someone does introduce themselves... "Right! A big green bus full of children, around four to five years old, a few seven or eight, was being driven to Kokkara! We lost contact with them yesterday, and found tracks leading to the ruins in the northeast. But that land is solidly occupied by the Red Pants Army. There's only a dozen of us officers here, and over four hundred of THEM... we don't know why they want the kids. However you can do it, please, find them and get them to safety! Any questions? Anything I can do to help?"
Penelope Vasquez	The gate ripples, and a small, utalitarian little motorcycle pushes through it, piloted by one Penelope Vasquez. The black-and-white thing idles near-silently on it's electric engine as she scans the area, rubbing a hand through her hair. Didn't wear a helmet to ride, how sinful. She looks utterly out of place in the rural area, both physically and in how she studies the area, taking it all in. The only building in sight being the bus stop, she putters towards it- and pauses, a bit taken aback, by the dog-man near it. She hangs back a bit, watching the gate for a familiar face. Or at least a familiar voice to attach a face to.
Yang Xiao Long	The deep thrumming of a motorcycle emerges from the Warpgate. A blonde rides the heavy machine, her hair whipping in the displaced air under the back of her helmet. She comes up to the bus stop, braking to listen to the policedogman. "Yang Xiao Long, Huntress in training. Heard there were some kids missing." she says to the police constable, not seeming very fazed by the fact it's a talking dog. "So, this army's camped out over that way?" she thumbs over toward the direction. "Cool, I'll go cave some faces in and get them back. Have someone available to collect them, this won't take long." The girl grins, then kicks the cycle back into gear and wheelies off in the direction of the army base, to hell with the consequences.
Twilight Sparkle	As the policedog waits, a small purple unicorn pony steps through the portal wearing pastel purple saddlebags laden with adventuring supplies. She looks around, then raises a hoof to wave to the officer as he greets them. "Hello! I am Twilight Sparkle, and yes I have come to help recover the missing children as well as to see if I can help with the Red Pants Army." she says, then looks over at Penelope as well and offers a friendly wave. Perhaps ironically, a talking pony isn't all that out of place in this world. And Yang arrives and then takes off without much preparation, Twilight raises a hoof to try and stop her. "Wait! You might endanger the children!" she exclaims, and her horn glows before a portal appears directly in front of Yang's bike. If she doesn't manage to dodge it, she'd find herself right back at the bus stop, but facing the opposite direction just in case she keeps going forward.
Josuke Higashikata	A bus full of kids went missing? Oh, Josuke's all over that. Yeah, he's definitely going to come and help, if there's any way for him to. So he'll be at that bus station too. There's a Mini-Cooper there -- that's how he's gotten there. It's a regular car, but it's well taken-care of. Since it's students they're looking for, Josuke's here in his uniform too -- a purple school uniform with a long jacket and loose pants. And bling. So much bling. He listens carefully to the police dog-man. He's actually getting accustomed enough to the Mulitverse that a dog-man walking around isn't much more than a curiosity now. He is curious about something. "How did they get so many people in there? I mean... shouldn't the police have brought them in before it got that bad?" He's not judgy, though. More curious. But he does agree, "I'll help too. I'm Josuke Higashikata," he offers, with a polite bow. Then he asks, "Would there be any reason why the bus would be heading into the ruins? Science field trip or something?"
Yang Xiao Long	Yang spots the portal opening up in front of her, jinks around it, but comes to a stop with an Akira Slide, the bike going horizontal as she looks back at Twilight. Her eyes are red, behind the visor of her helmet, but they switch back to lilac between blinks... seems Twi got her to stop, at least.
Tomoe	Tomoe had caught wind of the trouble in Yahoi and so here she is. It souned like something that was right in her wheelhouse. So here the Salamander woman is, she's managed to get a moment ot take in the area about the gate she'll look at the maop for a moment, her wings will flare out as she gets ready to leave, well there is a dog man who shows up. "Yes I'm part of it and the Red Pants army? Heard of them on the chatter bands I take the fight better than they name things?" With that she listens to what the man has to say about the bus. "Right thanks for the lead." She'll look at the other arrival and moves to take off in the air in the direction that has been suggested. She also takes notea number of people she considers friend such as Josuke and Yang gave shown up today.
Penelope Vasquez	The talking horse gives Penelope further pause- but, seeing as nobody else is remarking on it, she swings along with it just fine. She raises an arm to yell something at the leaving Yang- but the portal's interference stops her in her tracks, making it unneccesary. She introduces herself simply as 'Pen, here to help' to the dogman, listening along with the others, before looking to them. Sizing them up quite blatantly, as she leans against her machine. Eventually, she opens her mouth again, addressing the group. "Seeing as there might be hostages, kids- we need to do this a bit subtle, at least until we get an idea of what we're up against. Four-hundred against a small team is bad odds for a full-frontal anyway. Agreed?" Her head swings back to the Policedog, smiling, though it's a little artificial. "I'm sure we won't have any trouble. Can you tell us more about these Red-Pants? What're their gear, strategies- what're we up against?"
Note	The officer's more than happy to clarify for Josuke! "It's not a field trip, young man! The kids were to be dropped off at Kokkara Village and taught martial arts. The Red Pants Army intercepted them and drove off! Tied up the driver and left him at this here bus stop." The way Yang just starts dashing off alarms the police officer, who goes for his whistle - but then MAGIC HAPPENS! And he lowers it. The officer's manner grows a bit more nervous. Not so sure of the discipline of this so-called rescue party... but it's all he's got. "The problem is, we weren't prepared for an invasion like this. Other regions are just as infested by these troublemakers. They've been quiet and hiding their movements. Until recently, they hadn't done anything outright CRIMINAL. With all the conflict over the last few decades though, we just don't have the resources to field enough men and gear to stop them! How /they/ even got so many weapons is a mystery." The officer also has more information on the Red Pants Army, answering Tomoe and Penelope! Neither of whose appearance seems to bother him. "The Red Pants Army's comprised almost entirely of non-humans, far as we've been able to find. Can't say much about their discipline, but they've got more weapons than we've ever seen. Guns, heavy explosives. Lots of martial artists among them too. And shock troops that don't seem too clever, just swinging around metal pipes. We've picked up some rumors that their local leader has some vicious attack animals for a personal guard! ... Expect anything. And please be careful! We want heroes and children coming back, not corpses." He does nod to Penelope's call for subtlety! "Probably a good idea."
Penelope Vasquez	"So... ragtag army with ragtag equipment. Null sweat, perro." Penelope replies curtly, the crewcut woman nodding and stepping back towards her bike. She waits for further activity, but speaks again once any further questions are asked. "Figure we head on up, reconnoiter on the edge to find our in. Good to you? Eager to see some of this good-ass looking country on the ride."
Josuke Higashikata	"I sure HOPE they fight better than they name things," Josuke notes. Pause. "Then again, maybe not. If they fight as well as they name things, this might be easy." He's not gonna count on that, though. He's expecting this to be hard. Penelope's statement about the child hostages gets a nod. "Yeah. Ransom, most likely -- even criminal operations need capital, and with four-hundred people, that's a LOT of people to cut in on the take. Then there's supplies, food, medical stuff..." He waves a hand. "You get it." The clarification gets a blink. "So the kids had some potential. That adds a whole new dimension to this, then. If the kids are good enough to be brought to a new place and taught martial arts, they might want to recruit the kids," Josuke reasons. "Though if that's what they're looking for..." He trails off, with a smirk. "Think maybe they'll take a 'new recruit'?" Josuke wonders. "Even if I'm human, I'm pretty tough. I could probably convince them I wanted to join." He looks to the rest of the group. "If nothing else, it'd be a decent distraction while others sneak around back and try to find the kids," he suggests. "What about it, everybody? Some of us go there and claim to want to join -- cause a ruckus and all -- while the rest go sneak through and find the kids?"
Yang Xiao Long	Yang doesn't do subtle. Yang is the Big Loud distraction, so whatever plan people come up with, better have her in that role. She shrugs a bit, waiting for the others to start moving. "Yeah, subtle and me, don't really mix." she asides to the group, once out of earshot of the constable. No need to make him go grey too early. "If we need a big loud distraction, I'll do it. Nothing's bigger and louder than me." She does manage to keep pace with the others, her bike idly and sounding like a very grumpy bear snoring behind a warble board. Then Josuke starts talking her language. "See? He knows how to have a party!" she caws, grinning at the pompadoured teen behind her helmet visor. "Sure, me and Joey can go make some noise while you sneaky folks go find the kids."
Note	Once everyone's on their way... The road to the Northeast is a tight dirt road suitable for only one vehicle at a time, and after a few kilometers... it leads straight to a hastily-constructed and shoddy wooden gate with some flimsy watchtowers jutting out of the hillside plateaus and along the path. Small huts and tents also dot the landscape, accompanied by oversized wooden supply crates, barrels, and other odds and ends... all bearing a crimson flag with the letters 'RP' on them. And the place is a MESS. For the entire drive up the mountain, it's evident that someone has beaten them to the punch. Dozens of anthropomorphic animal soldiers of every species imaginable - from mice to giraffes and wolves - are laying here and there, either unconscious or dead - though the lack of much blood suggests the former. All of them are clad in the same red... well, calling it 'pants' is perhaps a misnomer, but red pants these shortest of shorts are called. Topwear and other gear varies, though! The gates have been FORCED OPEN with what might have been EXPLOSIVES, and huge potholes make journey by car a bit challenging. It's only as people near the trail's end that the sounds of battle reach their ears. A bunch of voices shouting angrily at the top of their lungs and crashing noises come from round the bend and last tunnel of trees... Yep! Here's where the action is. The entrance to Yahoi Ruins looms over everyone. A huge stone archway leading up some steps, upon which some crude ramps were constructed to allow vehicles in and out. TWO HUGE TANKS are parked outside it, turrets swiveling wildly over the tussle happening right in the middle of the road. A tussle that's big enough to kick up an obscuring dust cloud, but the strong mountain winds clear it often enough that what's going on can be made out! A human girl - CHILD, really - with a monkey tail is dancing around the battlefield, delivering kicks and punches into guts and jaws, slowly working her way through a gang-up of six Giraffe-folk (wielding machine guns), four low-flying Bat People (attacking with natural claws), and two short Rat-people swinging around actual monkey wrenches. Did this girl actually already accomplish the approach that Yang was about to go and do? It sure seems that way. The tanks are unable to fire on the girl without catching their own up in the blast, but anyone ELSE approaching who's not clearly Red Pants Army will probably be fired on. On the other hand, if the tanks were disabled or eluded somehow, the ruins - an ENORMOUS complex built into the rockiest region of the mountain range - are right here! With presumably even more forces inside. According to the map, the ruins region stretches for a kilometer or two, with several branching valleys. The brawl happening just outside what's ostensibly the Red Pants Army's main base is definitely a huge distraction.
Josuke Higashikata	Josuke raises a hand to rub the back of his neck. "I'm not too great at 'subtle' either," he admits. As if his hair wasn't enough to tell? "Jotaro seems to think it's a family trait," he explains. The trail of bodies along the path though... that gets a weird reaction from Josuke. He's pretty much the visual ideal of the 80s image of 'Japanese juvenile delinquent', so one might expect him to just pass by these groaning bodies and go on about his business. Actually no. He stops frequently along the way, to heal those he can. They'll still be unconscious for a while, though. Weird? Maybe. But he doesn't stop to question himself about it. Due to this, he's going to be a bit later than the rest of the party getting to... well, to the party. But don't worry, he'll make it there eventually. Conscience has to be salved first, though.
Yang Xiao Long	Yang sees the craters, dismounts her bike and sets it to autotravel back to the gate so it doesn't get damaged. "And you were all gonna stop /me/ from coming up here, someone already beat us to it." she then gives Twilight a /look/, before turning and running off towards the sounds of battle, using her gauntlets to hurl herself quicker, avoiding the terrain where possible by just launching herself over it. And then she spots Note. "OH COME ON!" she bellows. "YOU STARTED WITHOUT ME!" the blonde landing somewhere nearby, then launching herself up in a parabola, before slamming her fist into the ground in the middle of the giraffe-man formation, sending the ground rippling outwards to disrupt their formation and lessen the fire pouring out of them.
Penelope Vasquez	Penelope has no qualms with leaving the dirtiest work to the leaping Yang and- is that a kid down there? A kid. Alright. She just scoots her bike into a bush off the side of the road, dismounting. Remaining allies, with the schoolkid-looking-guy busy bandaging the downed, are another woman and... a magic horse. This is the multiverse. She pulls a pair of goggles from an inner pocket, strapping them over her forehead before looking to said horse. "C'mon- we gotta work quick while they're ruckusing. With me. Keep up, eyes sharp for the in." She doesn't actually pause to get a confirmation, or anything else- just darts off into the wilderness near the ruins, trying to keep to the edge- looking for an entrance left unguarded, with the majority of the Red Bootyshorts swarming the attackers out front.
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight waves for Yang to come back when she dodges the portal, but even if she doesn't Twilight calls out, "Sorry! But they're right. Charging in could put the children in danger, and we are here to save them!" She can appreciate Yang's self-confidence. Rainbow Dash would likely have done the same thing. But, planning is good, especially in a situation like this. "I could also use my magic to make us look like them so we could infiltrate with a greatly reduced chance of discovery." She sighs softly as Yang seems intent on charging in. "...well, if you two really want to try that route, I could just disguise myself, Penelope, and Tomoe, and then..." The sight of all this destruction as they near the camp makes the planning seem a bit pointless, and when Yang gives Twilight that look the Pony laughs nervously and rubs the back of her neck self-consciously. It isn't like they knew! But then, as Yang leaps into battle alongside the young human, Twilight realizes they can still use the situation. Those two certainly seem able to handle things here. And then...one of those turrets swings toward them! Twilight yelps before disappearing in a puff of sparkly white and purple, taking whoever is close to her along for the ride as she teleports on top of one of the tanks. "While you guys are busy here, I can disguise myself and make my way inside!" She hops down off the tank and out of sight, and then out walks...a purple female cat-person in red pants! She peeks around the tank, then runs deeper into the ruins. When Penelope joins her, Twilight offers to use her transformation magic on Penelope as well.
Penelope Vasquez	Penelope darts between ruined outcroppings and trees, sticking to whatever low cover she can scrape up to stay out of sight of the big damn brawl happening out front, or anyone streaming out to join it. After a particularly loud strike, she pokes her head up- and spots the purple pony teleporting past any opposition. It's confirmed: magic is cheating. She genuinely looks grumpy, for about half a moment, before changing her path to meet up with the ally. At the offer, she agrees without thought. "Yeah- disguise's good. We can run in, look panicked- we need reinforcements, that kinda thing."
Tomoe	Tomoe says "Thanks for the warning." Evne with the sort of world it is? Who knows how things are in this era? They could have guns that would take a chunck out of Radtiz for all she knows. So she will keep that in mind quite well as she goes. "I know how you feel on that, on one hand a challenge but on the other I rather not have to really fight as stupid as that sounds. "Heh that's not a bad idea posing as recuits of some sort." She might be seen as human, here she might now be? It's hard to tell here. "We need to really worry if someone stands in place and starts screaming though, that's when you get in real trouble." She's being serious too form the sounds of it. "Sounds like we got a plan then yang." As they arrive though she sees someone is ahjead of them? It looks like the fighting is on alredy but it's also huge. "Okay it seems someone is head of us lets get moving. She pauses at Josuke. "Heal them yes but not enough to the point they wake up." She gets what Josuke is doiung she respects the hell out of it but just doesn't want to get jumped from behind. She also looks over to Twilight and it takes her a moment to realize whom it is. "It's been a while." She nods to Twilight as she sneakls in while Tomeoe is going to make her way in not disgused but is going to try to see if she can snoop about a bit.
Note	Yang's "GERONIMO!" approach coming quite out of nowhere takes the ENTIRE assembled group by surprised. All of them - the Red Pants soldiers and Note - hear her screaming and turn to look on reflex! Big mistake! The Giraffe-folk open fire on her first, but the effort devolves into scrambling to get away... to no avail! BOOOM! The fist hits the ground, and the resulting shockwave hits them all like a truck! Soldiers go flying in every direction. One of them slams into a tank. Another tumbles across the ground. The third hits the tank on the right, hard... yep. They're pushovers. Note's the first to recover, and lets this be known by just BACKFISTING the bat that's jaw-dropping behind her. The Bat-Soldier bowls into his fellow with a screech and they both go flying into treetops off the trail! "Yang?! What're you doing here?" Despite the fact that she's in the middle of a FIGHT FOR HER LIFE, Note's chipper as they come to see reinforcements arrive! "A bus came through here earlier! Heard some of the adults moaning about it. Figured someone has to go rescue the kids!" Okay so that might explain a few things. And provides a few tidbits of information. 1. Note didn't even KNOW about the police effort. 2. The police here are so incompetent and un-informed that they didn't know that someone was wrecking the ENTIRE mountain trail already. 3. Despite this assault going on for some time, the Red Pants Army hasn't sent huge piles of reinforcements to the entrance. Why would they not do it? 4. News seems to travel VERY haphazardly here. Probably because things like smartphones aren't common! This might work to everyone's advantage... Unfortunately, Yang might've made a mistake by KNOCKING EVERYTHING AWAY FROM HER! The right tank (which doesn't seem to realize that Twilight Sparkle is on top of it after losing track of her) takes aim at Yang (no longer protected by the prospect of friendly fire!) and BOOOOOOOM! Yeah, she might want to do something about that. The LEFT tank is also turning to aim at Yang, but this is a mistake on its part. Because Note dashes in low and... "HRRRRRRRRYAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" With a mighty heave, the child HOISTS THE TANK.. and then tosses it down the mountainside! It's a steep, forested incline, and the tank quickly gets wedged into a formation of trees, upside-down. In no time at all, the hatch opens and two Rat-Soldiers scurry down the mountain in a panic! Penelope's exploration does pay off! A minute or two of searching does reveal some cracks in the stone that does lead to a tight-squeeze path inside. The (probably formed by water erosion) tunnel has some steep climb moments, but it does open up to the inside...
Yang Xiao Long	Yang just thumbs up at Note after standing from her strike. She then feels, more than sees the impending DOOOOOOOOM(tm) of that tank turret turning toward her. She shimmies her arms, reloading the gauntlets with a cla-chak, expelling a pair of red-cased shotgun shells, just as the tank fires. The brawler does two things. She stabilizes her stance, spreading legs wide to brace for impact, and holds her hands out, aiming to catch the shell. Now, unless it's got an inertial fuse, that shell won't be exploding when she does this. If it doesn't, she turns and hurls it back using the momentum with an almighty "HUUUUUUUYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!". If it DOES explode, well, the cloud of debris will burst afterwards, as the girl activates her Semblance.
Josuke Higashikata	Those of the animal-people that DO wake when Josuke heals them, by and large, seem grateful to him. Though he does have to knock one or two back out due to their reaction of 'try to punch the human in the face'. Which he does CAREFULLY, so he doesn't damage them again right after he'd got done healing them. If any of them injured Red Pants personnel ask him why he stopped to help them -- he's a human, after all -- his answer's simple, if his gaze is intense when he says it. "You have a family too, right? How do you think they'd feel if you died? I don't want anybody to feel like that if I can stop it from happening..." Yeah, he's got a bit of experience with that kind of feeling... Though, by and large, they're mostly talking about 'that crazy kid with the tail'. Josuke's also going to try to get some information about where the kids might be. He's not sure they'll be THAT grateful to him, or be THAT demoralized by being made into punching bags by a human child. Fortunately he does get some results! As he heads for the base proper, where all the trouble's at, he takes a moment to note over the radio, "Right -- dunno who's listening at the Red Pants base, but I managed to get some info. Their leader's a guy called 'Mr. Panda'. Check along the first right fork, on a hillside plateau. That's where they said the kids are." Josuke's heading that way, but then a TANK GOES FLYING! "WHOA!" He probably needs to get out of the way of that -- his Stand manifests, and Crazy Diamond lightly tosses him out of the way of the tank, if he's in danger of being hit by it. Now he's worried, so he starts running!
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight continues further into the ruins, and alters course as she hears where they are likely to find the Boss and the kidnapped kids. As she goes, she is happy to provide magical transformation disguises to anyone who wants to look like a Red Pants Army mook. Of course, they better hurry up if they want to get disguised! There is no telling when more might show up and her talking to a non-Red Pants instead of fighting them would blow the whole thing! Assuming there is no trouble, Twilight leaves the heavy fighters to fight, using the distraction to her advantage. If she encounters any Red Pants Army members, she tries to direct them toward the combat while saying she is heading to let the Boss know they are under attack. She is visibly nervous, which might actually help in this case, but she stumbles over words and of course is uncertain about protocols and things. She tries to explain this away as she is very new to the army.
Tomoe	Those animal-people are very hostile, she has to wonder what set this whole mess off? That she has no idea about and will have to dig into later. Thankfully Tomoe does get a illusion cast on her by Twilight and she appears to be some sort of fox woman. She will be now trying to snoop about as the others fight, she's got to find the kids. That's her plan while eveyrone else is doing their thing. While other brave souls act as a distaction. So into the ruins she goes hoping to find the kids.
Staren	Staren shows up late to the party in an honest-to-god giant robot. If this red pants army is just a joke, that should be enough to intimidate them into surrendering or running, right? And if they're a real threat, a real army... Well, apparently they have a couple of tanks. Which are mostly being handled by miss not-a-Saiyan-I-swear and the other elites. And seeing Twilight on the field, he is suddenly reluctant to just blow up the remaining tank. Well, if he's NOT going to be the heaviest artillery, he can at least stick by her and help with whatever they encounter in the ruins. He hops out of the cockpit and flies over, the mech leaving the area on autopilot. Soon disguised as a black-furred cat person, he attempts to infiltrate. Rather than playing the nervous newbie, he channels his arrogance, acting confident and important with no patience for fools (and the Red Pants Army are clearly fools. Just some backwater terrorist organization in a world that isn't even together enough to be much involved in the Multiverse. Right?) He follows up Twilight's more nervous asking with "We need to see the boss RIGHT NOW!" and hopes someone points the way without asking for a passcode or checking if he knows the boss's name.
Note	This is Dragonball Earth! And as Yang's logic proves, you can totally catch a tank shell and fling it back at the source! The driver does NOT WAIT to find out what's going to happen when Yang succeeds in STOPPING the shell though! The top pops open and a Rat-Soldier scrambles away - but not quite fast enough. The TANK EXPLODES, sending the soldier sailing down the mountain and into some trees. He'll... probably live. Probably. The crazy maneuver does have Note jaw-dropping a little. Catching a tank shell is apparently more impressive to her than THROWING a tank for some reason! "Awesome! I didn't know anyone else could do that! C'mon, lets sneak in with the others! I like this disguise idea!" So Note joins up with Cat-Twilight, and soon... weirded out by it, but magically glamored into a Bear-Cub-Girl complete with red pants attire! Which she grumbles about quietly, but falls into line! SO, THE RUINS! The generically-named 'Yahoi Ruins' are expansive and open to the sky. Despite the gargantuan stone entranceway and tunnels that lead into them as the only obvious ground entrance, once one pushes through the dusty and dark tunnel... it opens up into a dry and barren trail. Bits of what might've been stone steps peek through the dirt trail, but they're almost entirely buried and nobody's bothered to clean them in forever. The path leads to the bottom of a grand valley-depression inside the rocky mountain range. Grand pillars stretch haphazardly for the sky, but if they once supported any sort of roof... there's no sign of it now. Half the pillars are toppled into the hilly terrain. The mountainsides here are too steep to climb normally, but rickety and dilapidated scaffolding leads up to caves and other passages carved into their sides. Immediately ahead the path splits left and right! To the left, several large Red Pants Army camps have been erected in a wide open but slightly hilly area cloistered around what might be a spring-fed small pond for water, with soldiers milling about inside. The soldiers don't seem to have noticed the party... OR the huge amount of thunderous noise that just happened outside. Or if they did, perhaps they assumed that it ended favorably? The right path is a chokepoint if there ever was one though. The path narrows between two steep ridges, along which fortifications have been built. Steep wooden walls and some watchtowers! Which are manned by some Rat-people, Dog-people, and... is that a Walrus? Yeah, it's a Walrus. Tusks and everything. The ground is disturbed by vehicle tracks. Most of them go down the tight right path. Some do go left though. Probably transporting supplies! Twilight and Staren - accompanied by Note - find that this approach is actually a REALLY GOOD ONE. The Soldiers they come across near the fork in the road, well... "We're under ATTACK?! Here?! No way, there's hundreds of us! Who'd be foolish enough.." The Squirrel-soldier adjusts his many-pocketed jacket and adjusts his cap nervously. "I'll rustle up some reinforcements from camp! You newbies go report to Mr. Panda! And whatever you do, don't pet the dogs." ZOOOOOM! Off he goes towards the left path. Anyone who's properly dressed in RED PANTS ATTIRE and NOT HUMAN will not be questioned or even more than glanced at by the soldiers on the watchtowers... there doesn't seem to be any real discipline or order here. If you're wearing the outfit, you must be one of them! Nobody else would be so bold... right?
Yang Xiao Long	Yang pants a bit, her hands burned from the heat of the shell. She smirks over at Note, then shakes her head. "You go on ahead. I'll make sure the path's clear for the kids when you lot get 'em." she remarks, cracking her knuckles as little auric embers lick from her hair. "I'm just gettin' warmed up, after all." She then keeps moving up the main path, setting herself up to block the way for any reinforcements that dare to come that way. A single, blonde human. What could she possibly do against an army?
Josuke Higashikata	Josuke's kind of missed the boat where disguises are concerned. This is what happens when he concerns himself with healing the enemies. Which uh... he's going to continue to do when he arrives at the base proper. Just heal them enough that they shouldn't wake up immediately, but they'll recover (if they're not already dead, that is; those are too far gone for him). That said, Josuke has three things figured -- one, if there's a 'right fork' then there has to be a 'left fork'; two, that there are probably more of these guys along the left one; three, they'll probably be a problem for those heading that way to find the kids. Thus, if Yang is heading to the left, Josuke will eventually catch up with her. Make that one human girl and one human boy. Still not great odds for them, is it? Josuke's used to that, though. He's willing to take some lumps if it means helping get the kids back.
Tomoe	Tomoe wonders about these ruins as she goes, she's just acint like she knows where she's going while the fitght contiunes outside? She's making good progress now as she sees the camps but doesn't thinkt he hotages would be there? She's following the path so to speak to the choke point and past it she notices the track and that's what she's moving check out the ones on the right hopefully she can find something fo use or at least elimate one of the areas to search and she's glad she found pants in her 'size' well close enough.
Note	The journey deeper into the ruins brings the Disguise-group down the treacherous pathway. A mixture of tents and dilapidated old buildings of stone and perhaps adobe adorn the high ridges on either side, and none of the soldiers milling about on the upper pathways seem to care about the newbies in their midst! Nor have any of them heard about the ruckus. They don't seem to be coordinating via radio... which explains a lot. At the end of the tight path, the road forks again. To the right... it leads to a visible dead end, though refreshingly enough said dead end includes a lake. STRANGE GREENISH LIGHTS hover above the water though, burning like ghostly wisps. Yeah... probably not a good idea to go that way. Very Bad Vibes to any spiritual senses. The ruins might be haunted! By something. To the left there is, indeed, a large natural ramp that swings up a cliffside, taking a roundabout half-circle track to an upraised plateau overlooking the path. Said plateau's also populated with plenty of tents and soldiers, though some of them room in the adobe structures that still stand at all in the dusty environs. There is also, indeed, A BIG GREEN BUS up on the plateau, and next to it, built out of sturdily-tied wood into the side of one of the crumbling buildings, are a number of huge cages. The kids everyone's looking for are here, twenty in all, four to a cage! Humans and animal-people alike. And there's a sixth cage. Just ONE person's in there. A young man, perhaps late teens or early twenties, with rusty-red-brown spiky hair, wearing an orange gi over a black undershirt and black fingerless gloves over his hands. His heavy boots are just like Note's, but bigger! And this young man is chained to the wall, arms and legs bound by THICK metal shackles. He seems woozy and out of it. Most of the soldiers present are gathered around a single figure near the cages! An eight foot tall Panda person, dressed in a sharp forest green uniform with red tights. Eupalette's adorn his shoulders and his forest green cap bears a big red logo with the letters 'R P' in white across his forehead. Completing the attire, he's trodding around in shiny black jack boots, and wields... a... a BROOM? Yes, it looks to be a broom, with purple bristles, which he twirls with poise in the middle of a LOUD SPEECH! "Right, men! Once more we review the plan! Step one. Inform those brutes at Kokkara that we've got the kids and if they want 'em, they'll have to come take them! Step two, once they send their best, we ambush them. Step three. With the village's fighters out of the picture, we seize the farms and oil fields to the south! This will fund our war effort!" Half of the children are gripping their cages, occasionally rattling them. Some are crying. Others are clenching their teeth. One appears to be... meditating?
Note	BACK AT THE ENTRANCE... The call for REINFORCEMENTS didn't go unheeded! Yang and Josuke can see PLENTY of movement in the distant camp, some four hundred meters away. Nobody there has spotted them yet though! After several minutes of shouting and hollering and some actual GONGS AND BELLS being rung, the camp's entrance is swarmed by THIRTY broad-shouldered, dark-furred... oh, it's ACTUAL monkey people. Gorillas, to be more precise. All dressed up in the same outfit as Mr. Panda, minus the epaulettes and other adornments! And they're riding (well, CLINGING TO is a better description) a triple-barreled tank that looks almost comically over-engineered with boxy armor and smoke-spewing exhaust pipes everywhere. Way more rickety and noisy than the two that were outside! And they're barreling straight for the entrance at a good clip! "OUTTA THE WAY, PANSY AND ROCKET-HEAD! WE'VE GOT A BATTLE TO WIN!" The tank ain't slowing down, and they don't seem to perceive a stylishly-dressed student with odd hair or a girl of Yang's physique to be any kind of threat. Certainly not the battle they're here to win!
Staren	After a quick radio discussion, they have a plan! Staren pretends to follow the speech, nodding and turning to some of the gathered soldiers. "You heard him! Move out!" He points dramatically. Once Penelope's distraction starts, he makes his way to the bus. Hopefully it doesn't need keys to start, or someone left them in. If he can get it started, he does, and once the kids are teleported in, he starts driving for the exit, trusting Twilight to protect the bus and Note, Penelope, and Coda to keep Boss Panda and any Red Briefs Soldiers still in the immediate area busy.
Yang Xiao Long	Yang watches the movement, then grins as she sees the tank coming trundling up the path. "Pansy huh? Let me give you a botany lesson. I'm a lily." She slams her fists together, causing a surge of flame and force to flare off of her. "A FIRE LILY." She then steps forward, planting her feet and braces for the tank to come. it's not stopping, and she isn't moving. As the tank rolls up, it slams into Yang. Her hands splay out against the upper glacis, and for a few desperate moments, it looks like it's going to overrun her and keep going. Then the treads begin to slip on the path and its momentum starts to ebb. The strain is causing a reaction in the blonde, her hair is starting to float like it were in water, licks of flame dancing between the golden strands and a flame-like glow begins to lap from her body, forming the barest resemblance of the wings of some great dragon. Yang's eyes are shaded by her bangs, as the tank comes to a stop, handprints pushed deep into the metal. Then, the blonde looks up, a harsh, humourless smirk on her lips, and her eyes, two pools of baleful golden light, with a red circle at the center. "Every hit I take makes me stronger. All your efforts just make your death that much quicker. RUN. If you value your lives." The blonde berserker then rears back, and punches a hole through the front of the upper glacis, reaching in to see if she can't snag the driver, or something important inside.
Penelope Vasquez	As Staren breaks from the group, a shadow slinks it's way from behind a low rock- a tall black-clothed woman, striding directly towards the taller Panda and any goons not taking the bait. With a loud and excessive AHEM, any who haven't noticed her already most likely have their attention called towards her- and she starts the show. "You're going to ambush and capture our STRONGEST fighters, Mister Panda?! Surely you can't be serious! Your men don't have the skills, and YOU," she continues, with a dramatic point, and a flourish of her trenchcoat, "Don't have the guts! You capture children because I bet you can't handle anyone bigger!" She cackles a laugh, deliberate and heavily mocking- she even enhances her accent more than usual, making the h's of the laughter sound more like Js. Another step forwards, her arms open. "You think you can take us on- how about me and you, mano y mano, yeah? No weapons, no support- prove to your boys you got the guts!"
Josuke Higashikata	Josuke is a pretty nice guy. All the way up here, he'd been healing the Red Pants guys. Pretty permissive, too; he hadn't really been too upset at any of them for taking a swing at him. He WAS considered the enemy, right? Suddenly he's faced with the massive triple-barreled tank. And he's about to get out of the way. About to... ...And then one of the gorilla guys has to go and say THAT. 'Rocket-head'? It's like a switch was flicked -- suddenly Josuke is standing still, with all muscles tensed. "...What did you just say...?" That is one of those super-quiet, 'you shouldn't oughta have done that' voiced statements. A violent-looking purple aura springs to life around him. Though he doesn't seem like he's gonna get out of the way in time! But then Yang becomes the immovable object to the tank's unstoppable force. Josuke's Stand appears then, and as the tank slows, Crazy Diamond appears, then tosses Josuke lightly up, towards the top of the tank. Specifically, towards the gorilla who's called out that name. The Stand disappears for a moment, as Josuke gets nearer, but when he's within arm's reach... "DORARARARARARA!" Crazy Diamond appears again, screaming that ascending Cry with a flurry of punches aimed in the direction of the gorilla who'd DARED to diss his 'do.
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight is definitely curious about the green ghost-lights, but that isn't really important right now. As Staren shows up she gives a quick hug before the proceed up the haphazard trail toward the summit. She pretends to listen intently to the panda commander as she slowly makes her way toward the cages. She isn't entirely pretending, though. He could reveal information important to just what the Red Pants are doing. They want to wage a full on war with the humans? Why? Twilight remembers something on the radio about perceived prejudice, but...war? That doesn't make sense to her. That would only widen the gap. There has to be some hidden reason... As she listens, she waits for the signal that they are ready. That signal in her mind will be the bus starting up, and she doesn't go until she hears that noise. But, as Staren speaks up Twilight blinks and without really thinking about it says, "...I don't think he really said to move out yet." in a quiet tone. And then Penelope provides what Twi suspects will be a very good distraction. But, she can't wait to see if it works. Once the bus starts (if it starts) she teleports everyone in the cages the short distance into the bus! "Go go go!"
Tomoe	Tomoe keeps going in deeper, she is lucky she seem to have a lead here on the bus from the looks ofd it she sees the kids here there's nearly two dozen kids. This really makes her blood boil. It reminds her of certain things. She's going to find the one in charge here nad give them a very bad day when the kids are out. She will make cages acing like it's nothing she needs to dize it up before she acts like nothing is up. So they want oil? Well that's a better plan than she thought about it, they are fund raising she sees the kid and one is clealry meditating, for now she'll try to get in and an idea forms in her head, maybe it's time to go loud in a moment.
Note	THE ENTRANCE: As it becomes apparent that the two humans standing in their way aren't going to budge... some of the soldiers wince. As if wondering: 'are we REALLY gonna just run these guys over?!' But none of them raise their voices in protest at it though. ALL of them scream and shout when their ride comes to an ABRUPT HALT, despite the great power driving the tank's treads! Consternation and disbelief mixes in the beady black eyes of the Gorilla-soldier who insulted the two... and it quickly becomes terror! "SCRAMBLE AND ENGAG--" THUNKTHUNKTHUNKTHUNKTHUNK! The soldier's HOISTED straight off his perch on the tank barrel (precarious as it was) by a flurry of punches from seemingly nowhere! He's sent flying off like a rocket himself, and slams into one of the pillars... to slowly slide down it. Though the others BAIL from the tank, even as Yang somehow RIPS the driver clean out of it. They nod grimly to each other... and rummage in their pockets. ALL of them pull out what appear to be tiny capsules with a push-botton... CLICK! After small explosions of smoke, an array of HEAVY WEAPONS are pointed at the pair! And they're promptly swarmed by rockets and mini-gun fire from multiple angles! Apparently heedless of friendly fire too. They're in THAT much of a panic! BACK AT THE CAGES: The soldiers - of all species - all nervously laugh at Staren's antics, perhaps thinking him just a jokester! After all, they don't recognize him, so he must be a newbie. Mr. Panda though, doesn't look so amused. He furrows his brow, but appears to brush off the incident (for now... good thing Staren doesn't actually have a tent here or REPRIMANDS would be in order!) because-- Well, it WAS because he has bigger things to deal with regarding the speech, but then... "WHO DARES?" The sizable leader turns about, glowering at Penelope. Perhaps to his credit, he doesn't ask 'how did you get here' or anything similarly stereotypically. "One of the Kokkara brats? Hrmph. You'll regret coming here alone." As if taking this as a sign, some of the soldiers glance about every which way! Making sure they ARE alone... Mr. Panda gestures for everyone to back away and steps away from the cages, dropping his broom, while growling and slamming his paws together. "Separated from parents, stuck in the middle of nowhere... struggling against nature to survive... what kind of upbringing is that? People think it brings strength?" The Panda takes a step back... and drops into a martial arts posture... then SLAMS a palm towards Penelope! Despite the great distance separating them, she might just take a blow to her face regardless. A blow of compressed AIR! "Don't look down on us Kokkarans, or it's your face that'll be in the mud!" The Bear-girl that Note's disguised as says from the cages the moment that Mr. Panda's back is turned! She's at the sixth cage... and as she winds up and delivers a single punch to the frame... the whole cage just EXPLODES into splinters! This exertion's enough to dispel the guise, and so Note now stands next to the shackled martial artist. The young man coughs weakly, managing to look up. "Don't... don't underestimate this guy... wait... tail...?" Whether that's to Note or Penelope isn't clear. But Note places her hand on his chest... And in a few moments, Coda suddenly glows with power, flowing from Note's hand! A Ki transfer? The youth promptly FLEXES. The shackles crack the first time. Then... SHATTER? "You owe me one!~" Note teases the man that's practically twice her height, turning back to the fight. "Let's go!"
Note	Staren revving up the bus and starting to drive off, plus the cages suddenly being EMPTY, has the soldiers quickly putting two and two together! Shouting frantically at one another, they set off in a chase! And with Staren's poor handling (at first), he manages to strike a sizable boulder and lose precious seconds. Precious seconds in which the soldiers are about to pounce the bus! But then... Note and Coda both move with lightning speed, getting behind the fleeing bus, and moving in strange synchronization deliver a pair of kicks to the nearest soldiers, sending them straight into the others!
Penelope Vasquez	Penelope takes the blast of air straight to the chin- caught utterly off guard. She is not the kung-fu kind of ninja. She is outmatched utterly, assuming she doesn't reach for her weapons. She's spun on the spot by the force of it, a boot digging into the earth for a bit of grip- a spike extends from the toe to cement her footing and push her back steady. She bends down for a split second- before bursting into a leap, streaking over the ground like a low-flying missile, enough force in the kick of her legs to push a small divit in the soft ground where she was stood. She barrels directly into melee with the bear. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she's concerned with making a distraction, drawing the boss in and drawing a crowd so the kids can be ferried away from the battlezone. The rest of her mind is screaming a demand for victory. She dances around the man with reflexes like a cat on speed- that might not be a bad analogy, as one of the 'spikes' on her collar drains itself, clear and empty. She starts laughing, daring the larger creature to hit her, occasionally risking a blow back- kicks aimed at knees, elbow slams into the arms, far stronger than a skinny girl like her looks capable of.
Josuke Higashikata	On the bright side, Josuke's rage over the insult to his hair is usually proportionate to the effort put into insulting him. A lengthy insult about his hair, aimed with the specific intent of pissing him off, is going to get a MAJOR beating. But a single, casually tossed insult that wasn't aimed at the hairstyle so much as 'that's the first thing noticed to insult' -- well, blasting off like a rocket is punishment enough for. Which means he'll be satisfied with the faceplant of the gorilla guy. He made his point. Unfortunately, more 'points' are about to be made. With heavy weapons, it looks like! Josuke's eyes go wide, and immediately several bullets head his way, some hitting his arms and one leg! He emits a cry of surprise and pain, stumbling, and resummons his Stand. And with the same flurry of punches, Crazy Diamond begins to literally punch away the bullets! ...Which is really gonna look creepy as all hell if these guys can't see the Stand. Because then it'll just look like the bullets are bouncing off nothing! It's scary enough when you can SEE the thing that's keeping the human kid from being turned into a Swiss cheese; if you CAN'T see it it's even worse! He stands up again, and with the Stand still punching the bullets back, starts to advance towards the heavy weapons. He's going to take some more damage on the way -- Crazy Diamond can't punch ALL those bullets away, but it should keep his core fairly well-covered, and that's what's important. Because as soon as he gets close enough, he's going to start mangling some of the guns! By 'mangling', we mean of course, breaking them with flurry punches and then 'fixing' them -- but fixing them WRONG, and warping them out of any further use.
Yang Xiao Long	Yang caught herself a tank driver! She tosses him over her shoulder, and is then peppered by bullets and explosions. The blonde is obscured from view for a few moments... and then, the debris explodes outward, forced away by the blonde's Semblance purging one last time. As she comes back into view, she's covered in cuts, bruises and a few holes punched through her arms and legs, which are slowly starting to close as her Aura flickers and crackles like electricity. "I told you... Every hit," she slams her fists together, causing the tank to flip over and land on the turret. "MAKES. ME. STRONGER!" She then starts firing her explosive bolts back at the gorillas, each one going off like a lump of C4, blasting craters in the terrain where they miss their marks. God help those she actually manages to hit with them.
Staren	Panda Man's description of how he thinks the humans will raise their children is worrying, but still, he's got a warzone to drive them out of. "Shit!" He swears when he clips a boulder hard enough to lose momentum. Which may get a chorus of 'Oooh, you said a bad woooooord!' from some of the kids -- if so he just rolls his eyes. He's ready to draw a gun and shoot out the window, but then Note and Coda slow the soldiers down as planned, letting him make his getaway! Man, he hopes he can actually get the bus THROUGH the exit tunnels...
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight is just getting ready to deal with the following Red Pants Soldiers when Note and Coda come dashing up and take care of it for her! Which is good, because as the bus bounces around the little pony is bounced around with it. She lands in one of the seats and braces against back and front to keep herself in place, and takes the opportunity to reinforce the bus with her barrier magic. The green is tinted a dark purple-blue as her magic forms a second-skin on the ouside of the bus, and Twilight's teeth are gritting in worry as Staren proves he is only marginally better at driving cars than Twilight is. "Staren! Please control your language around the children!" she joins in as Staren curses aloud.
Tomoe	Everything was going to hell and it was time to get out and make her spell vanish the fox woman is gone the pants are gone too don't ask how they just are as Tomoe' sther eglad in her heavy armor wings flared otu and towering over the average humanoid as wlel. "Who dares I an Tomoe the Iron Lily." Wit STaren acting to get the kids ride ready as the bus is pulling out and Tomoe is going delaying action she chates strange runes fly about her and that's when the light rays come, she's focusing on hitting the Red Pant's army troops, rather than killing them, keeping them on her. "Come now you ready for a real fight scrubs?!" this is going to hurt but the escape has to be covered...
Note	AT THE CAGES: Penelope's strange footing catches Mr. Panda somewhat off-guard... but it's her insane SPEED and mobility that completely overwhelms him! A flury of blows strikes home against Mr. Panda's oversized body! Well... let's be honest here. He's a healthy Panda-man. He's covered in a VERY formidable layer of fat under that fur, and it serves to dampen Penelope's blows something fierce! Half of them he does manage to block and slap away as he goes on the defensive though. Blow after blow does pierce his guard.. but the moment he sees an opening he grabs an offending arm or leg and does his best to FLING Penelope at the nearest building! "Cleeeeever. You think you can pull one over on the Red Pants Army?! You're wrong! This was the -kind- option... you've sealed your fates! Now we'll have to hire HIM." Well. That's ominous.
Penelope Vasquez	Penelope can't dodge everything- a lunging leg is tripped up, grabbed, and she's spun once- twice- before being sent flying by the brawny bearman. The entire proceeding is filled with mixed cursing and belted insults, though she gives it up as she's released, balling up in the air as best she can to try and take the brunt of the damage across her back. She crashes against the edge of a windowsill, crashes through, and lands in a heavy flump. She sheer shock of it knocks her out of her elated high, and she groans, poking up to view through the newly made hole. Seeing no incoming pandas, she takes the opportunity to dart away, beating feet hard as she sprints towards the bus's path- approaching it's speed by herself. Once close enough, she jumps, landing onto the roof with a metallic thump, and lies there, breathing hard, one hand gripping to try and not be thrown off by the amateur driver.