Opposites Attract

Deployment

Jax was the only one still awake when David came back, letting Molly lay her head on his lap. His hands ran through her hair idly, but he was far from distracted. In fact, his senses were on high alert.

He made eye contact with the leader, and gestured for him to come closer, so he could speak quieter.

"Alright," he said, "Just between you and I, what are our chances of winning this?"

David smiled grimly, "You're a smart one. Been through a lot, hm? Too much to rely on our plans. I'll admit, we're walking into what'll probably be a death trap. There's a high chance most of us will lose our lives. But we can win if we take them by surprise, and that's what matters."

Jax frowned. He had known the danger from the start, but this was worse than he'd thought. He looked down at Molly, and felt a twist of nerves in his stomach.

"She'll feel guilty," Jax said, "Don't tell her."

"Giving me orders?"

"Making a request."

"Are you getting cold feet? Going to leave, just like the rest do as soon when they hear the odds?"

"No. I have no reservations when it comes to giving my life. Neither does Molly. We both have a lot at risk in this fight, and we're willing to die for it. I'm more worried about her dying than I am about me."

David looked at him, long and silent, before saying, "You're in love."

Jax shook his head, looking away.

"It's not that. She's... We're close, but not that way. I just want to protect her. I owe it to her, after everything she's done for me. I owe it to her mother too, because I was the reason everything that happened with Jynx happened, and she... Nevermind, that's not the point."

"What do you have to lose, Jax?"

Jax frowned, purposely looking away from Molly, "Too much. Way too much."

"Then you have just as much to protect. Use that passion to your advantage."

Jax wanted to say so many things. David was open and honest, and it seemed like he would be fine with anything he had to say. Instead, he sighed and nodded. 

"I'd better get to sleep."

David gave him a look, but nodded and went to his own bed.

---

Time skip brought to you by David's bisexuality.

---

"The Unifiers are an unknown enemy. Even with the small amounts of intel we have from gossip and those who have fought them, we have no clue what we're getting into. What we do know is that there is no way to join them without having your magic taken. They rely on numbers alone. 

With the training we've given you over these past weeks, we believe that you're prepared for this fight. That said, our odds aren't good. I'm not trying to scare you, but the chance of death is high. If you are not completely willing to die for this cause, you don't have to stay with us. You can go back to your lives, your families, and there will be no punishment."

David went silent, watching the assembled "army" closely. No one moved. Everyone who wanted to leave had left already. His eyes lingered on Molly and Jax, standing close together and staring straight back at him. He'd actively tried to scare them out of it, but they wouldn't have it. 

It was bad enough that, as the leader, he was trying to discourage two of the strongest fighters on their side from fighting with them, all over some crush. 

He looked back down at the podium he stood behind for a moment, before looking back out over his troops.

"Very good. As of now, we have one hundred and twenty able-bodied soldiers. If we take them by surprise, we may have a chance. To our knowledge, those who keep their magic are the four, now three, who lead them. Blake, the pyromancer, Jynx, the necromancer, now deceased, Cain, the Manipulator, and the Ice Witch herself.

When in battle, remember that most of the troops you face did not choose to give up their magic, and did not choose to help the Unifiers. Try to avoid killing if at all possible, but remember that they will try to kill you."

He paused, letting this sink in. 

"We'll have three groups. One, the elite squad, two, the secondary squad, and three, our foot soldiers.

The Elite squad will split into two later on, but not until I give the order. This squad is going to consist of myself, Evan, Leah, Molly, Jax, and Kia. You five, come stand by me. We'll deploy shortly after the other troops."

He waited for them to all come stand beside him and then spoke again.

"The elite squad will be in charge of defeating their strongest.

The secondary squad will deploy with the foot soldiers. They will work alongside them, but they are the only ones, if confronted by Cain or Blake, who have the jurisdiction to engage them. Anyone else will retreat unless ordered otherwise by myself or another member of the elite squad. If confronted by the Witch, anyone other than the Elite have to retreat. Clear?

There was a general chorus of 'yes sir's, and David nodded.

"Very good. I'll now list the members of the secondary squad. Anyone else will be regular foot soldiers."

David looked down as he listed them off. There were around forty of them, leaving them with ninety-four foot soldiers. They were extremely outnumbered and probably outclassed. He was well aware that he was sending many to their deaths. He felt his chest ache, and he thought, There's more than one type of death.