It was with a small degree of satisfaction that Lucas watched the Grimm be lured away by his scheme. Sure, they might be left to become someone else's problem, but hopefully enough time will have passed by then that the initiates will have grouped up and combined their firepower. As things stood, however, Lucas was alone, and caution was definitely the better part of valor in this instance. Dousing and dismissing his semblance, Lucas lingered for a moment longer to make sure none were looking his way, and then he turned to head--
The sounds of snarls, growls, and impacting metal caused Lucas to whirl back around, his eyes locked on the pack of Beowolves he was about to slip by. Rather than twisting their heads in confusion like he had hoped to leave them, the pack's collective gaze was focused on a lone figure in the middle of them. Sure enough, it was another initiate, a young woman armed with nothing more than a bat. Lucas bit the urge to click his tongue in frustration, lest the sound draw the pack's attention onto him, too.
He could probably guess exactly what happened: The woman saw his semblance and came to investigate, thinking someone was signaling her. Instead, she found herself surrounded by a bunch of blood-thirsty monsters. He couldn't have baited a better trap if he tried! Worse yet, if no one did anything, her life may actually be in danger.
The question of the day, however, was
what would Lucas do about it?. He could just leave--
Wasn't your whole ideal to save hunters from their own foolish mistakes? An annoying voice intruded on his thoughts.
Technically, I caused this one, and--That's just even more reason help, isn't it?...Damnit, Lucas thought to himself, knowing the look his little sister would give him if he did what he really wanted to do.
Besides, how are you going to save me if you can't save--Lucas forcefully silenced his intrusive thoughts as he focused all his mental energies on his new objective:
Problem: Target encircled by Grimm
Objective: Remove target from encirclement
Solution 1: Breakout?
Negative, insufficient firepower, too many Grimm
Solution 2: Jump out?
Possible with Semblance boost.Lucas once again re-summoned his semblance, and in the back of his mind cursed his lack of foresight: if he hadn't dismissed it, it would be in the perfect position to assist the girl. At the moment, though, it had to travel to reach her, and while it was fast...
Remain in cover?
Negative, semblance will not arrive in time without assistance, must--He didn't even need to finish the thought as he rushed forward from his position in the shadows, shifting his weapon back into its lantern form. The dust-thrower would certainly be more effective on a group of enemies, but that wasn't the main reason for his advance. The travel rate of Lucas's semblance is based on Lucas's position; if he were on a moving train, for instance, and he had his semblance out, the lantern would still be travelling with him. Therefore, if Lucas advances towards a target, the lantern's speed towards that same target would increase as a result. Given that Lucas is sprinting right now, the lantern is currently moving at almost double its usual speed.
That speed increase would prove to be just enough, as the light of the lantern would just reach the woman as Lucas shouts at the top of his lungs,
"JUMP TOWARDS THE LIGHT!"To his complete and utter relief, the woman was impulsive enough to listen to a strange voice she had never heard before, and the
kinetic dust field from his semblance would give her enough of a boost to jump well over the heads of the Beowolves, though potentially not enough all the way out of their encirclement. That was fine, Lucas had a plan for that.
As the girl passed the center of the field, the white light emanating from the lantern would be joined very briefly by a
green light. The next instant, a shockwave would reverberate against everything in the field, including the woman soaring through the air. It would be sudden and unexpected, but it would definitely pack enough force to launch her clear of the Grimm, breaking the encirclement. As a bonus, the Grimm were also caught off-guard, and many had been knocked prone as a result of the blast.
Unfortunately, that was all Lucas had time to plan for, and though he had accomplished his objective and achieved the element of surprise, He was still dangerously close to a great deal of fangs and claws. The windows of Sophist's Lantern spun as Lucas tried to think of his next move.
Situation Log
Beowolves: 18 Remaining, about 6 are prone, the rest knocked back by the blast or by other Grimm.
Lucas's combat log:
Action: Advancing, using semblance burst effect to rescue Cloe.
Aura: 100%
Semblance: 76% (6% from landing strategy, 3% to initially boost Cloe+15% from kinetic/wind burst effect)
Dust remaining:
Fire: 100%
Ice: 100%
Earth: 100%
Lightning: 100%
Wind: 95% (used in burst effect)
Kinetic: 85% (Landing strategy, burst effect)
Gravity: 100%
I put in a combat log, but if y'all don't wanna use that, we don't have to. Up to y'all