Sit Down And Shut Up [Eight/Machina]

[Queen (No. 12)]

Another day.

Another battle.

Queen crouched down behind the ruined wall, the corner of the location they were defending. Their charge was to protect this location from any advancing forces. Having managed to cause a retreat from the Byakko forces, they had to now hold the slight upper hand –if you could even call it that- with a fierce grip. They were still outnumbered and outgunned, but every little victory was a piece of the puzzle to winning the war. They could do it, if they remained strong and didn’t let anything stand in the way. They couldn’t let the loses break them down. The only way she could do that, was to not think of them. Now was not the time to get emotional, now was the time to harden your mind and your heart, to fight through the pain. She was the same way. In fact, even now, she was attempting to block out the image of King falling after being sniped. Internally she cringed, yet instantly she grit her teeth. Despite being so attached to the man, Queen was a warrior. Now was not a time that she could think of the men that had laid down their lives for the effort of this war. Not until they had won. No, until that day, she would be put up a brave face and not let any of the others see what she was feeling.

It was easier said than done, but Queen would lift her chin and ignore the looks of pity she would get from those that knew what she had to be feeling. She hated those looks. Despised them even. And here she was thinking about it again. Forcing the thoughts from her head, taking a deep breath and peering forward. Though a moment of peace was a good for her team, and the rest of them, Queen would almost welcome a distraction of another fight. That would at least get her mind off of the events that had happened in the war already. Far off she could see some troops advancing, but for right now, they would just have to keep vigilant to make sure that no forces got past the northern gate they were guarding. The walls for the most part were still in tact, the few places where explosions had blasted holes in had other teams guarding them. Their supply of people who could fight were limited though, and so Queen, to guard the main entrance to the school, got only two other people. Eight she would trust to have her back and she was happy with him, but Machina…

Queen was still unsure of what to make of him, if not slightly apprehensive. She still questioned the decision for him to become a part of Class Zero, especially since he seemed afraid of war. How did one get promoted to the status of Class Zero, when they were afraid of war? Eight she knew disliked weapons, but…he wasn’t afraid. She didn’t get it, and probably never would. Glancing once more at the location of the advancing troops, Queen turned heel and started walking to where the two of them were. Violet eyes glanced first at Eight, more concerned about him because she cared more about him. Laying a hand on his shoulder, she earnestly looked at him, “Holding up Eight?” She was the leader of the group, and so she would keep them alive. That was her goal. A second after looking directly at Eight, her hand dropped and she turned her gaze toward Machina, her eyes getting slightly weary. “And you?” She had gotten a call to update the situation a few minute before, and she had to update them on the situation now. Team B, which included Seven, Rem, and Trey were under attack on the southern gate. As much as Queen would love to help them, in a few hours, or even minutes, there could be the attack of the soldier convoy that was coming up from the north. They had been tracking the progress of the convoy by satellite tracking and sending updates to Queen by her phone. They were advancing…they had to prepare themselves. This was vital to hold them back.

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Words:; 867
Muse:; Great!
Location:; Guarding the northern gate
Outfit:; Student uniform
Tagged:; Eight and Machina
Notes:;
Listening To:; Triple Trouble - Beastie Boys

[Machina Kunagiri]

The first battles had been fought and won, but none of them were out of this mess just yet, the struggle was only just getting started, or so Machina felt as he sat on the cold hard ground with his back pressed firmly against the rubble of the city. He looked visibly nervous as he crossed his arms over his stomach in an attempt to calm himself and prevent him from throwing up or something that would help absolutely no one in this situation, least of all himself. It was no secret that Machina was afraid of war, and he made little effort to hide his feelings most of the time. This was just who he was, he couldn’t help it either, and really… wasn’t it sort of natural for people to be afraid of things that might kill them or their companions? He thought yes, but looking at some of the others in his new class, he wasn’t so certain any more… Queen for example had just lost her boyfriend and another good friend she likely considered a brother of sorts, and she was acting as if it didn’t affect her, as though she was perfectly fine and ready to tackle whatever the Milites threw at them next. Had that been Machina, he wouldn’t have been able to be so stoic about all of it. He wasn’t sure whether to admire Queen for her way of handling this, or be a little worried about her levels of sanity.

The questionably sane girl walked over to where he and Eight were and asked them how they were holding up. He didn’t really reply in words, instead, he just slowly nodded his head, not even making eye contact with the leader of his little group. Like hell he was holding up, he wanted to lie down and feign death and hope for the best, but he knew that wasn’t a possibility. They were counting on him to do his part of the job… Rem was counting on him to handle this. Etro, it would’ve been nice had they at least been placed in the same team, so he could’ve kept an eye on her. Not knowing how Rem was faring against her enemies was a worse feeling than knowing you could get attacked at any given moment. And what about his brother? Was he still alright? All this uncertainty would drive him crazy before this day would come to an end, for sure. Machina didn’t really care what happened to him, so long as his loved ones were safe, that was all that really mattered to the dark haired youth. That was why he was going to do whatever it took to make sure this position wouldn’t get taken by the Milites. He needed to give it his all to make sure everyone else lived, and yes, that included Class Zero on some level. Although he hadn’t been in the class long enough to befriend everyone, he thought of Ace as a friend, and Deuce and Cinque were just sweethearts as well. And because he cared about them, he had to care about what happened to people like Queen and Eight too, just because Ace, Cinque and Deuce loved them as much as he loved Rem and his brother. He needed to make sure they wouldn’t have to lose their loved ones. Nine and King were already gone, and there was nothing Machina could do to reverse that chain of events. But what he could do was make sure nobody else died, through whatever means necessary. Hopefully he’d make it out alright as well, but if not, that was alright. So long as everyone else lived, that was a small sacrifice to make, right?

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Words: 623
Tagged: Eight, Queen
Location: Northern Gate
Outfit: Uniform
Notes: If that ain’t a tragic start, I don’t know what is! If you need anything changed, give me a poke, and it shall be done! =D

[Eight]

The half-sound of relief, half-groan that came from Eight's throat told the whole story of how his day had gone. It was the usual fare of the past few weeks that had occupied the past five or six hours - head out to a strategic location, set up defenses and spend several hours trying to defend it from superior numbers. It was tiring. Eight stood with his hands on his hips and eyes out beyond the wall to where the Milites were getting reorganized, continuing to catch his breath from the fighting a few minutes before, when they'd succeeded yet again to push a regiment back. They being him, Queen and Machina, all assigned to this choke point at the northern gate. They were one of several teams that were way too small to actually be taking on the number of Milites that were being thrown at them, but mostly, Queen, who was in charge (thank Etro), had been receiving consistent good news from most of the other teams, which was a very good thing. It was a lot easier to keep motivated in a tough spot when Eight knew that no one else out there could...end up like...King and Nine. His head fell a little at the thought. If they lost anyone else today...

But good thoughts, those were what Eight needed right now. He had responsibilities to his two squadmates here, so they'd have to be his focus. Queen, Eight was thrilled to be teamed with. Though she had her kind of...ah, snooty way with people, she knew what was what and Eight generally saw her as probably the most natural leader among them all. Plus, she had some pretty good insults for jerks and stupid people. Eight's eyes shifted to her at the thought of King, but if she wasn't bringing it up, he wouldn't either. She seemed to be done with whatever it was she was checking on, so Eight silently watched her walk over, giving her a nod when she ended up by his shoulder. "Never better," he told her, with the slightest of grins since they both knew that wasn't true. But in all honesty, Eight was doing just fine in relation to how beaten up he could be. In fact, he thought he could do this all day if the Milites didn't have any more to give than what they'd already offered. Yep, he was good.

Eight's eyes fell on the third member of their group as Queen addressed him. The monk wasn't sure what to think about Machina. Since everything had started falling apart with the war, Machina and Rem's roles in Class Zero had expanded considerably. During that time, Eight had come to be pretty good friends with Rem. Who couldn't become good friends with Rem? Machina, on the other hand...apparently he and Rem were close, and so far Eight couldn't even see how. Whereas Rem was so nice, Machina had a...way about him that just rubbed Eight the wrong way. He was kind of helpful in combat and all that good stuff, but...just like now. Eight watched his response to Queen. He wouldn't even look at her or say anything to her. Eight craned his head in annoyance, turning to glance at Queen long enough to indicate his displeasure at Machina before he shook it off and stepped towards the wall, resuming his staring out at the Milite soldiers. Machina was going to be trouble for them someday. Eight just had a feeling about him.

He turned and squinted back towards the interior of the walls, trying to see if he could spot anything going on with the other groups. "So...what's the situation we're dealing with right now? Just keep going like we planned?", Eight asked Queen, leaning with his elbows against the broken top of the wall and disregarding Machina's presence for the moment. It made him less annoyed that way.

Words - 711 (har har)
Muse - Excellente!
Notes - So much muuuuse.[/size]

[Queen (No. 12)]

Queen attempted a half-hearted smile when Eight told her that he had never been better. They both knew that wasn’t the truth, but hell, she was glad she could count on him to pull himself up by his bootstraps and at least put up the front of being perfectly alright. Patting his shoulder lightly, she gave him a nod that showed her approval. Eight was as good a battle partner as any really. He didn’t complain, usually had the right ideas about what they should do in any given situation, could hold his own in a fight, and generally had a smile on his face while he did it.They were all going through a lot, no use to spread it out there and make everyone else miserable with their own problems. Her eyes had a slightly haunted look to them, but she mentioned nothing of her own demons that she was feeling. It was no use anyway, so why bother really. She didn’t have time to play a tragic heroine, instead, she trudged on, determined that no one else would die from this. She wasn’t going to allow them to do so.

After she got his answer, her eyes turned to Machina for his. Expectantly she waited for him to answer her, even crossing her arms in her wait. She wasn’t sure what to make of Machina yet, but mostly she hadn’t been impressed. A man afraid of fighting…in the most elite class of fighters in a magic school…for fighting. She wasn’t impressed with their decision to make him a part of Class Zero either, especially with his whole attitude. The rest of them were a family, having grown up together, shared their blood, sweat, and tears, and she trusted them each – yes, even Nine- with her life. She didn’t trust Machina any more then he was tall, and constantly felt like he had no loyalty for them at all. It was a worrisome thought, one that weighed on her mind slightly, but hadn’t yet voiced her opinions, once again because of the fact that with all that had been going on, no one needed false assumptions floating around. Until she was sure of what to think of him, she would keep her opinions to herself. But he certainly wasn’t impressing her, that was certain.

And she also noticed she never got an answer. The nod that she got might have been enough for some, but it caused her to bristle. She was his leader, and he didn’t have the ability to look her in the eye or actually give her an answer? Crossing her arms, Queen finally looked away in disgust, her eyes catching Eight’s and agreeing with the look he was giving her, before glancing back beyond the gate they were fighting by, wondering just when the next wave of soldiers would hit. The data given her had given her a rough estimate, and it would probably be soon. They should all be ready when it finally did come.

Eight’s question was well founded. Tapping her chin, Queen glanced from him, back to Machina, and finally up to the north. “Air data indicated that the next wave would be here in less than half an hour, though it could be less time or more, depending of course,” she added, sure that Eight would understand that, but not so sure Machina would. She wasn’t giving him the benefit of the doubt at all, especially not with how he had been acting ever since the war had struck. Blowing out her breath, she took her glasses off her face, cleaned them with her skirt, and then adjusted them over her nose again. “We’re to stay here and make sure no armed forces breach this wall. At all cost,” she mentioned, her violet gaze flickering to Machina again. “Team B, with Trey, Seven, and Rem are under heavy attack at the moment. Apparently the Milites have taken to the use of air forces and bombshells more lately, so keep aware of that as well when our own convoy comes,” she said matter o' factly. Once again, she did wish that they could go help that team out, since she had heard nothing else about them, if they were alive or dead, but it was vital for them to stay put where they were. They needed everyone at their specified locations in order to battle the army back.

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Words:; 913
Muse:; Great!
Location:; Northern Gate
Outfit:; Student uniform
Tagged:; Eight, Machina
Notes:; Mwuaha-...*ahem*
Listening To:; Courtesy Call - Thousand Foot Krutch

[Machina Kunagiri]

This was an absolute hell Machina was in right now. Not only was he in the middle of a warzone, he was in the middle of a warzone without Rem, which would’ve been a good thing if it meant she was somewhere safe. But she wasn’t. She was out there somewhere too, fighting and trying to stay alive. Izana was probably fighting right now too, and the more Machina thought about the two of them, the worse he felt. Both of them should just be in a completely different nation right now, skipping through flower fields and singing with birds and other fairytale crap you never actually did in real life. He would be able to endure all of this if he knew they were at least safe. He let out a shaky breath, but kept his eyes on the ground as Queen spoke of their situation. They were to stay put here and wait until the Milites came, they then had to fight them to make sure this position wasn’t taken. Yeah… alright, that sounded easy enough and ha, who was he trying to fool? No it didn’t sound easy, it sounded hard as hell, but Machina would do his part. If he could make sure none of their enemies made it past this point, then that meant Rem’s team would have less trouble, wouldn’t it?

Yeah… that had to be it, or so he thought before Queen informed them of the other team’s current situation. Upon hearing the words Rem and heavy fire in the same sentence, Machina’s eyes shot up to where his two companions were standing, and before long, he had climbed to his feet as well. “What?” he gasped once, giving both of them an incredulous look, “So you’re telling me we have to stand here doing nothing for half an hour while they’re struggling to stay alive, are you serious?” he asked mostly Queen, as she was the one in charge of their little team, if it could even be called that, “And you’re both okay with that?” Machina found it hard to believe that they were indeed alright with staying here when their friends were taking fire, but then, everyone in the school knew that Class Zero was different from everybody else. They had all been raised to be ready for war, but none of them had been trained as intensively as Class Zero. Maybe they dealt with these things better than he did, but still! He wasn’t sure what else to say, and instead just looked from person to person to see who would speak up first so he could engage them in a discussion rather than just ranting to them. Neither seemed like they were going to suggest what he wanted them to suggest though, which was to rush back and help the other team. They had to do something though, how could they just stand here and do nothing? Yes, this wall had to be kept, and Machina understood that, but they didn’t all have to stay here, did they? Each of them was powerful enough to hold this position by themselves for a while. That thought made him think of something; if he stayed here and held them off, Eight and Queen could go back and make sure the others were alright. He’d usually trained by himself anyway, so he was sure he could fight by himself too, and if his fighting alone meant Rem had more help on her side, he’d endure it as long as was humanly possible. However long it was necessary, even if he didn’t make it, that didn’t matter. So long as Rem and Izana and to a smaller degree Class Zero were alright, that was all Machina really cared about. He didn’t know where his brother was right now, so helping him was impossible, but he could help Rem. All of them could. “I can hold this position by myself, you two have to go back and make sure they’re alright!” he told them with some urgency lacing his words. The longer they stood here, the more danger Rem would be in.

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Words: 689
Tagged: Eight, Queen
Location: Northern Gate
Outfit: Uniform
Notes: Good ol' irrational Machina.

[Eight]

Eight only provided a slight nod at Queen's explanation of what was coming up for them to fight. It sounded about like what they'd been dealing with all day. Yes, it could be worse or better than the last few regiments to march up to the wall and try to push through, but with the way things were out here today they couldn't really go expecting anything more than what their surveillance could tell them. It did make Eight run a hand through his sweaty hair, though, starting to anxiously rap his knuckles against the top of the wall. Half an hour was equal parts too long for him to want to wait to have to fight again and too short for him to be able to get settled down and cool off fully from the earlier fighting. This was one of those things training could never really get you ready for - the feeling of actually being out on a battlefield and not knowing the next moment danger was coming and yet, feeling anxious to have that danger emerge so you could just deal with it. Eight decided it was probably something no one ever really got used to.

His light noise-making on the top of the wall picked up its pace as Queen continued on, now not talking about the danger they would be in but the problems that some of the others were already facing. Heck, Eight didn't care if he or the people around him were the ones under heavy fire. He could protect himself and know what was going on with people if he could see them, no matter how bad it got. That was an oddly comforting sort of thing. Having Trey, Seven and Rem out there under fire, though?That was a different case, because Eight had no clue what was happening to them or what could happen to them or...anything. His gaze turned down to his hands as he took a breath, wishing he could pop up and just...go where they were to be with them, but knowing that wasn't something he could do. Queen and Machina (sadly) needed him here as badly as the other group did. That was something that training and classroom teaching had taught him, and something he intrinsically knew knew to be true as he turned and gave Queen a slight glance. Damn did he hate the Milites for doing this...

And then Machina had to start.

Eight glanced at him with narrowed eyes when he'd noticed he was on his feet and finally talking to them. The martial artist returned the dragoon's own incredulous look with one of his own, but his eyes quickly shifted to Queen, since she seemed to be the one Machina was throwing questions at. The sad thing was, somewhere deep down Eight knew he had the same feelings about the situation that Machina did, but he also had rationale somewhere in there to tell him that staying here was the right thing. Though Queen didn't need anyone to step in for her and never had, Eight nonetheless stepped towards the dragoon and spoke up. "They'd be in worse shape if we went back," Eight said, not annoyed quite enough by Machina to get his voice up to the same tone, but being firm. "And you heard Queen. We might not even have half an hour. The Milites could show up here in ten minutes while we're gone, and then how many people will be struggling?" The answer was, hundreds including all of the rest of Class Zero and everyone else from the academy who was fighting at various places within the area. If Eight's group didn't do their job, a lot of people would pay for it.

And then Machina had to go and be really stupid. Eight shook his head in disgust, putting his hands on his hips. It was a good thing he wasn't an easily-incited person, or he'd probably be yanking Machina by the collar by now. Maybe Queen could handle that part. "That doesn't even make any sense...", came his only statement of opposition, because it was the only one he needed.

Like Machina could hold this place by himself. Hah.

Words - 764
Muse - Excellent!
Notes - Yep, he loves Machina.[/size]

[Queen (No. 12)]

Queen hated to be the bringer of bad news. When she had heard that information, she herself had wanted to run to the aid of her classmates. They were each, aside from the fact that she didn’t know Rem very well, like family to her. She had grown up with Trey and Seven, had been with them her entire life, and the thought of them being under attack had grated on her nerves to the point where she had been in despair. Yet quickly she had pulled herself together. As much as she would love to run to their aid, it was impossible. Their situation…no, their duty, was to remain at this gate. Satellites had shown images of the looming attack to this very location. Even if they were getting a moment of peace right now, at any moment that squad could arrive. If there were no forces to hold them off, what would happen to Rubrum once they had breached the inside? No, their duty was here, and so here they would remain. While she was telling the other two the situation, Queen first looked at Eight to see his reaction.

No doubt it would be the same as her own.

The slight glance that he gave her was enough for her to catch that he was alright with her decision to stay here. No…her order, unspoken as it was. They couldn’t afford to go chasing down another team under fire when they themselves were going to be under heavy fire at any moment. It was a fools errand anyway. Yes, by the time they got there, the other team would probably have taken care of the mess that they were in right now, so their time reaching them would have been for nothing. At the same time, their own wall would have been breached and the milites would be running amuck in Rubrum. Queen wasn’t going to have that, no matter who was under attack.

She should have expected that Machina would throw a hissy about it. Queen had endured plenty in the past hours, days, and weeks. She had watched King die in her arms, moments before Rem had shown up to be able to save him. She had heard that a man like her brother had been killed as well. She had been fighting nearly around the clock to ensure the safety of those around her, along with the help of the others. Machina really thought this was the moment that he thought he should throw his weight around? Instantly Queen’s expression darkened, until it was practically expressionless, her arms sharply crossed over her chest.

Before she could speak, Eight did, which was good, since it gave her a moment to collect her thoughts and not lash Machina for his choice of words. After Eight got done, it was her turn. Narrowed eyes, snapping with anger that he had just thrown an accusation in their faces, as if they didn’t care about their classmates, turned to Machina, showing her displeasure. “We, Machina Kunagiri, are able to control our emotions.”, she started out coldly, advancing toward one of the two new members of class Zero. “We stand here, ‘doing nothing’, because in less than half an hour, an entire battalion is on their way in an attempt to breach this wall and slaughter all of Rubrum. Three lives, no matter how much they mean to us, cannot equal the lives of thousands.” It was the cold hard truth. Queen’s mind flew to the two they had already lost. She nearly asked him if he thought it easy to stand by and watch King die in her arms, but decided not to.

His next bit made her expression go deadly calm again. She was sick of this young man and all his whining. They had a job to do. “If you want to play the tragic hero, do it on your own time.”, she snapped out, having advanced toward him until she was right in front of the taller man. “I will not have an entire school wiped out because the love of your life is under attack at the moment, possibly even already gone. You may think that you can hold them off by yourself. I’d rather not test that theory and find you drowning in your own pool of blood while the school is overrun by Byakko forces.” That was harsh, but it was the truth, and she had never been one to sugarcoat anything. Pausing slightly, her voice was firm when she continued on. “We stay.”

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Words:; 954
Muse:; Great!
Location:; That gate!
Outfit:; Uniform
Tagged:; Machina, Eight
Notes:; >.> Queen muse might have gotten a little carried away...but she hasn't attacked anything physically yet?
Listening To:; Queen's diabolical laughte-...I mean...