[center][h1]Alain & Ari[/h1][/center]
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Ari's shield was making a real difference, and for that she was grateful. So far her brother hadn't left yet, he continued to stand guard as if waiting for something. Perhaps he simply didn't want to leave her by herself? Or maybe he was a bit more nervous than he let on? Well whichever it was, Ari didn't have to wonder about it for long. Within moments she was flanked by protective armored vehicles and armed soldiers. It hadn't taken them long to realize where the Wall was coming from and apparently they had decided that the source of it needed to be protected.

At the same time, Ari also felt a surge of extra power in her Shield. One that subsequently strengthened the Wall. Another Arms Master had to be behind it, but she had no time to ask questions. She did, however, notice that Alain was now gone. He likely took his leave when the reinforcements arrived, and probably decided that he had waited for long enough. With a small sigh the Shield-Bearer closed her eyes and silently prayed for Alain's safety. [i]Fight well and stay safe, Brother.[/i]

As for the Sword-Bearing Alain, he indeed took his leave when the reinforcements arrived. He was now making his way toward the fighting, having comandeered an abandoned civiilian motorbike to avoid having to walk. His hands tightly gripped the handle bars in anticipation. The practice, the exorcises, the training, even the smaller skirmishes he had previously participated in. They all felt like they had been building up to this.

He'd been riding west at first, but turned northward upon nearing the river in order to follow it. He hadn't yet seen any significant damages or casualties yet in spite of hearing reports of enemy bombardment. That just meant that Ari's shield was still holding up. But Alain knew better than anyone that she wouldn't be able to keep it up forever. She'd tire out eventually, and so Alain needed to be sure of where he wanted to position himself for when the fighting started in earnest.

Over radio he was hearing some chatter about heavy fighting on the western side of the beach. Some kind of landing force from the sound of it. He was tempted to cross the river and head that way, and was even about to do just that when something further down river came into view: boats. They were small, but appeared to be Chinese and were evidently trying to sail in via the rivermouth. Alain wondered if the attack at the beach was merely a distraction. Well, whatever the Chinese had been planning, he knew he had to do something to stop it.

He brought the bike to a stop before he could get close enough for the boats to spot him. Alain then took his radio out.

Meanwhile, Ari had been tirelessly focusing her efforts on the Wall when her radio suddenly chimed in, "Ari, boats are trying to sail in through the rivermouth. The landing forces on the beach may possibly be a distraction for whatever this is."

"Alain?" Ari asked in surprise. This wasn't like him, her brother was usually radio silent most of the time. Which only meant that this was likely important, "I read you, Alain. But what should we do about it?"

Alain stared into the distance at the incoming boats and then replied to his sister, "Just tell them to keep focusing their artillery on the landing force."

"And the boats?" he heard Ari ask.

Alain just smiled a bit, "[i]I'll[/i] deal with them."

Back in the encampent, Ari looked around her for the highest ranking officer she could find, "Focus whatever firepower you can spare on the western beaches! And let the chain of command know that they're sending boats up the rivermouth! My brother says he plans to deal with the boats but you may want to keep some eyes on the rivermouth!"

"Roger that, Ma'am." the man responded before relaying the message to the rest of the Army.