RWBYFanon v5

RPG World of Remnant => The Vale Region => Topic started by: Walter on July 11, 2017, 08:33:27 AM

Title: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Walter on July 11, 2017, 08:33:27 AM
Today was going to be an exciting day both for Silica and the group of kids that were about to arrive any moment now. The assistant, dressed in her formal business attire, something she hadn't done since she had been left at Beacon, was standing in the courtyard, holding a scroll in one hand and looking out towards the city of Vale. She couldn't see the airship yet, but it would have to show up any time now.

The woman looked over the information on her scroll. Four first years, two boys and two girls. She had briefly interviewed each of them during the week and gathered at least some information to send over to her boss, and all four seemed like decent enough kids. All of them seemed to do fine when it came to studying, though she noted that Aulara was a bit rough around the edges with that - all of them could learn a lot from Marvin during this mission. She had also noted certain difficulty with finding out more about Vogel, especially his past, but after contacting Marvin, had decided not to press further. According to everything she had found out, Aurelius, Vogel and Tulimanu could all be trusted to be obedient and learn a thing or two, and at the end of the day, she trusted Marvin to handle someone like Alaura as well.

With only twenty minutes left before the airship would arrive, Silica could see a glimpse of it in the distance. Smiling to herself, the assistant turned to face the school, awaiting the kids. Even if Marvin hadn't entrusted her with too much information on what he has planned for today, she was still certain it was going to be exciting for all of them.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Capta1n_Henry on July 11, 2017, 11:50:28 PM
Mae was very nervous to take up this job. She kept thinking to herself the usual, doubtful 'what if's' that anyone under stress would think of, like; What if I'm not good enough? What will happen if I fail? What if Mr. Royale doesn't like me? What if my team doesn't like me!? She Quickly dispelled these thoughts from her mind by quickly introducing herself to her temporary teammates. "Um, hello. My name's Mae Tulimanu. What are your names?" ,she said in a nervous tone.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Dusty on July 13, 2017, 07:36:32 AM
This job, Aoife hoped, would break the monotony of school life. Sure, it was interesting and exciting and whatever else to learn how to be a huntsman, but after a while, the routine of it all started to wear a gal down. Enough that even a day spent watching some businessman talk about finances or something looked very appealing. Plus some quick cash wouldn't go astray.

Aoife glanced up from her feet, noticing that she'd either arrived or had found the other sharply dressed woman that just happened to hang around Beacon. Throwing a nod over to her, and a small smile at Mae, Aoife slipped off her jacket, having replaced her plaid in an effort to appear a little more formal than she actually was, and left it over her arm.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Riven on July 13, 2017, 10:47:43 AM
Rory still wasn't quite used to airship travel, in all honesty. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd ridden aboard one before coming to live in Vale-proper, and although he'd never had any issues with motion sickness or the like he still couldn't quite square the "unsettled" feeling of moving without solid ground beneath his feet. It made him anxious; he had to actively suppress the urge to fidget nervously while anticipating the end of the flight.

If he hadn't needed the money on offer so much Rory wouldn't have even considered this bodyguard job. The Royale family may indeed have a sterling reputation publicly, but the young historian knew that there were some businesses it was impossible to get rich in without at least dabbling in moral gray areas. Casinos, investments, Dust, they all cast their shadows... but maybe there was no helping it. The world would have such things one way or another, regardless of who did or didn't get involved with them -- such was human nature. The big question would be: what kind of person was Marvin Royale?

"Um, hello. My name's Mae Tulimanu. What are your names?"

Rory found himself looking up as the young woman's voice reached him. She looked avian -- it was in the eyes, and those feathers she decorated her hair with. Those... were decorations, right? It took Rory a second to pull his thoughts together and realize that she was likely a Faunus. "Rory Vogel, shield fighter." He gave an affirmative nod Mae's way. "This job should be interesting, huh?"
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: D4C on July 14, 2017, 02:19:27 PM
As Dorian took note of his surroundings, the people around him, and what he was about to do, he had but one question running through his mind: 'How did I end up here?' He tries to think what would have led him here, since Dorian wasn't the most fond of volunteering for anything really.

He finds himself thinking back to a few days prior, walking around Beacon, doing his monotonous routine, which he liked, but this particular day, something caught his eye. As he passed the announcement board, the poster stuck out like a sore thumb, so Dorian stopped to take a look. He skimmed through the contents, but what he was really drawn to was the payment. He needed a bit of extra cash to get a few items of his own interest.

While being spaced out in his own train of thought, he had heard someone speak, but did not process it for a bit, after Dorian realized what was spoken, he gave a delayed reply of, "Uhh, Dorian."
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Walter on July 16, 2017, 07:52:20 AM
Silica checked off each student on her list as they made their appearances, then pocketed he scroll, looking over the group. "And you all know me by now. Good morning, students. Sir Royale should arrive any minute now." She said, looking towards the arriving airship. She sounded more professional today than she did during the interviews. Much less aloof and careless.

Just two minutes later, the ship did, in fact, dock next to the courtyard. Silica nodded to the students, then headed towards it. As they approached, the door opened up, a ramp leading from the floor onto the ship. Two armed guards stepped out first, looked around for a moment, then gave those on board the all-clear.

And then the man himself appeared at the top of the ramp. He seemed to be in his forties, though he definitely looked good for his age. His hair was cut short and slicked back slightly, his face was clean shaven, and he wore a gray three-piece suit. He didn't appear to be armed himself. He looked over the group for a moment, then smiled.

"Good morning. My name is Marvin Royale. You're the four tagging along for this deal, I presume?" He spoke in a warm tone, Silica walking over and taking place by his side, passing him her scroll as she did. With any luck, maybe she could hitch a ride away from Beacon like this.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Riven on July 16, 2017, 12:41:47 PM
So... this was him, then. Sir Marvin Royale, the Huntsman-turned businessman who'd gone from slaying monsters to killing the competition (metaphorically speaking). Dressed exactly as one would expect, the very model of a high-powered mogul and looking younger than his recent profile in Business Insider would suggest. Oh, Rory had done his research to prepare for today -- if there was one thing he'd always believe in it was the power of knowledge.

He stepped forwards, but only a few steps, and nodded his head in deference. "Pleasure to meet you, sir. Thank you for this opportunity." It was never a bad move to open with a show of courtesy and gratitude... or, so Business Insider would suggest, at least.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Dusty on July 23, 2017, 02:15:45 PM
Aoife was just on the verge of asking Silica exactly how long they'd be left waiting for Royale's dramatic entrance when he turned up in an airship. With armed guards no less. How very aristocrat of him to go to a Huntsman Academy, arguably one of, if not the, safest places to be, with armed security. Wasn't he an ex-Huntsman anyway? Aoife's pride would be wounded if she'd ever had to have gone anywhere with guards.

Scathingly whispering "Obviously" under her breath to everyone but Rory, as he'd stepped up engage in the chit chat and pleasantries that people did when they wanted to be liked be someone new, Aoife gently shook her head and pulled her gun out of it's holster for one last check that everything was in order, a faintly nervous habit perhaps, if Aoife was the kind to nervously habituate.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: EdgeyReyes on July 23, 2017, 08:41:40 PM
Mythos' loss of her memories caused her to take an interest in the job, maybe if she heard something familiar it would of been able to give an idea to something related to her past, but the extra knowledge that this former hunter turned buisnessman could give might prove useful for any future endeavours, at least she hoped it would.

Nevertheless Myrhos raised an eyebrow with the appearances of guards, her mind automatically going through the quickest way to dispatch them should the situation arise. However, made no sign other then a passing glance to each of them before eyeing the man who she would be protecting, Marvin Royale.

"Yes we are." Linh wore mostly her winter clothing, however she still had her holsters and backpack that she would normally wear into huntress activities. Didn't hurt to look the part and didn't hurt to be armed.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Capta1n_Henry on July 24, 2017, 02:12:39 PM
Mae studied the hunter turned business man with her large eyes. She wondered why anyone would want to stop being a hunter at that age. Maybe he settled down and wanted a safer source of income? But, why would he call us if that was the case? However, Mae's train of thought was interrupted when she heard the man greet them. "Uh, good morning Mr. Royale! Yes, we're the four that signed up for this job."

Mae paused for moment, and looked at her team mates, then back to Marvin. "How may we help you?"
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Walter on July 25, 2017, 03:12:35 AM
Marvin looked over the four students in front of him. It was clear that some were more enthusiastic as others, as one would expect.

"Not at all, I'm glad to be able to interact with some huntsmen in training. Hopefully I can teach you something today." He said, gesturing with his hand for the team to follow inside. As Silica, smiling brightly, tried to get inside as well, she was stopped by Marvin putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Silica, you'll be staying here at Beacon. You'll have to welcome these kids back, after all." He said.

Silica's expression dropped, and she turned back around with a sigh. "Yes, sir."

While Silica, now a bit slouched over, walked down the ramp once more, the guards simply waited at the bottom for the students to get on. They stood nearly motionless, their faces covered by ballistic masks, eyes hidden by visors. They might even seem imposing to someone who's never had to deal with such guards.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Riven on July 26, 2017, 01:41:35 PM
Rory couldn't help but try to assess the guards as he headed for the ramp, trying to get a sense of Royale's standard security. It probably wasn't necessary -- this was, doubtless, more of a PR stunt than an actual guard job for the students -- but the shield fighter liked to keep his mind busy so that it didn't... well, wander. The two bodyguards escorting Mr. Royale were certainly dressed to intimidate: those masks and the statuesque posture certainly suggested that they were all business, as did the weapons they carried. Still, that was just appearances. Rory couldn't help but think that a former Huntsman like Royale would go one of two ways when it came to his personal security detail: view them as a showpiece, or expect them to perform at or close to the level of Huntsmen themselves.

Rory couldn't quite tell which way he thought that coin flip would fall, at least not yet. But anyone looking to take a shot at Mr. Royale wouldn't leave it to chance... meaning the guards were either a very convincing bluff, or the real deal. He nodded respectfully to the one on his right as he headed up the ramp and into the airship.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Dusty on July 26, 2017, 02:56:31 PM
What an absolute load of rubbish that was. Royale didn't want to teach them anything, he just wanted some cheap labour. Compared to those two, a couple Beacon students probably didn't cost anything more than a headache. This was starting to look less and less enjoyable by the moment.

Slipping her jacket back on, Aoife marched forward and up the ramp, not bothering to grace either guard with anything more than a glance. Silica, though, she stuck her tongue out at as she went. Little more than childish amusement really, but it made Aoife feel better. She threw herself down into the seat opposite Marvin and gave him another once over, trying to discern anything more about him than that he was rich and a bit of a pompous ass. He didn't seem to be nervous or anxious, though he'd probably cover it up if he was. There was only one way that she was gonna get any more information out of him.

"Why get Hunters-in-Training for your bodyguards then?", Aoife bluntly said, practically snarled really, at Marvin, without a care for whether anyone else had sat down or bothered talking.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: EdgeyReyes on July 28, 2017, 04:56:13 AM
"Hostility so soon? Silica probably should have picked someone else." Mythos followed suite behind Aoife without much complaint and definitely without making a comment about the security that Marvin had with him. They worked for him and she was currently also doing the same, but caution never hurt anyone so she made a note to analyze them in combat to their real capabilities and further devise a proper strategy against them. After all, nothing is invincible as long as the right methods were used.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Capta1n_Henry on July 31, 2017, 11:16:43 AM
Mae kept her head down and stayed silent as she followed the other students onto the airship. She was observing the others personalities and mentally preparing for whatever might happen. Rory seemed to be doing the same thing as her, Aoife was a hot head, and Mythos seemed to be an alright person. As Mae sat down in the airship, she checked her weapon and her ammo canisters, making sure that they were ready for any upcoming battle.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Walter on July 31, 2017, 11:38:35 AM
As Silica passed by the others, she gave Aoife a totally genuine smile, and definitely did not mutter something about shoving the girl's revolver up her own ass.

The guards followed the team inside, bringing the ramp up behind themselves. Soon after everyone was seated, the airship took off. The ship itself was no more lavish than the one that brought in the new students at the start of the year. Matter of fact, it was smaller, and lacked the TV screens.

Marvin smirked at Aoife's question and overall attitude. Yes, the man had encountered many a huntsman like that. Still, he refrained himself from making any assumptions about the girl for now. "Straight to the point, then?" He asked, leaning back in his seat, arms placed upon the armrests. "It has been years now since my wife and I retired as huntsmen, but I guess I still miss it a little. I did think of myself as a good huntsman, but fighting grimm and criminals on the field is not all one can do to help the world. I'm hoping I can teach that to you today." He explained. "Feel free to get comfortable, though the ride won't be long. Our destination is just at the other side of the city."

By now, the guards had taken their seats as well. One of them had placed their weapon by their side, crossing their arms. The other was quietly humming to themselves, tapping the butt of their weapon rhythmically with their fingers. One might find it odd, even, just how aloof they seemed.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Riven on July 31, 2017, 01:47:35 PM
He had definitely expected something more... lavish, or at least showy. As Rory took his seat he was struck by just how un-impressive the airship seemed on the inside. It really didn't look at all like he'd imagined -- which lay somewhere in a haze of red velvet curtains and ostentatious luxury features -- and was, effectively, a streamlined version of the academy's own ships. That was a surprise.

As he took his seat, the shield fighter couldn't help but note how... well, for lack of a better word, relaxed the two guards were now. He could sort of understand it, what with the ship being a secure space, but unless he was missing something they didn't seem to be paying any attention to the students at all. If they were, they weren't obvious about it. He tried to imagine himself doing the same in their shoes and couldn't quite square it to the stoic professionalism they'd portrayed after the walkway came down. The thought stuck in the back of his mind like a prickly burr, but didn't really lead anywhere. He filed it away for later consideration.

He raised an eyebrow at Aoife's critical question, glad he wasn't the only one thinking it. Mr. Royale's response was as one might expect: gracious, personable, and entirely welcoming. He really did just consider this a PR stunt then, or a way to pass along his values to the next generation -- same difference in the end, ultimately. "What can we expect from our, uh, employment with you today, Mr. Royale? Should we be prepared to do anything in particular, or just follow your lead?" It was clear that the man intended to show them something on the business end of his dealings, but it didn't hurt to ask if there would be an assessment or something as well. Given that he was paying for student bodyguards it seemed reasonable he would want more than a chance to play tour guide.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Dusty on August 01, 2017, 07:45:30 AM
Oh, Marvin Royale answered questions in that slimy way everyone who had some reason to be up their own arse did, the words practically dripping with condescension and what Aoife could only describe as distaste. And he'd not actually answered the question, not really. Vaguely skirted around it, giving the impression of having answered it without actually putting any real detail in. Her father used to do the same thing when talking to the other parents at school, giving them enough to be satisfied without telling anything of worth. Frustratingly effective and effectively frustrating.

Still, maybe he'd be more open with Rory than her. He sure struck Aoife as the type of kids adults liked, quiet and inquisitive with none of the attitude that oh so often got Aoife into trouble for what was really an honest question. Instead of pressing her inquiry, she leaned back in her seat and angled herself towards Mythos, a lazy smile gracing her face. "My 'hostility' is part of my charm. I'm not gonna butter myself up for anyone, kay?", she hissed at her.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: EdgeyReyes on August 05, 2017, 12:44:22 AM
"Suite yourself then. But do remember that we are temporarily working under Marvin Royale. So do try your best to avoid any unecesssry gestures and hissing." Taking off her bag and letting it resr beside her with her main gun and her two revolvers that usually rested on her back right of her hip. Glancing her eyes over to the guards and to the other two students who would join them on this excursion of sorts. 'It's gonna be a long day.'
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Capta1n_Henry on August 10, 2017, 11:14:13 AM
Mae listened to the conversations that were taking place in front of her, but she didn't really feel like joining in on them, she just wanted to see how everyone interacted with each other. She then looked over to the guards and gave them a glare, wondering why they seemed so aloof. Maybe they're new? Mae thought to herself, as she checked them out. After a few moments, Mae decided to rest her eye a little until they got to their destination.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Walter on August 11, 2017, 09:57:01 AM
It was clear to Marvin that Aoife wasn't satisfied with his answer, but that wasn't important right now. He did, however, note that she wouldn't be easy to trick into buying any bullshit, something he would keep in mind if he were to work with her again. The man then turned to Rory. Rory was... harder to read. There was little he could gather from the data collected by Silica, and in person he seemed unassuming, calm and inquisitive, for sure - traits Marvin had encountered in huntsmen much less often than he had encountered those who just appeared that way. He would have to observe the kid today to figure out what he was like.

"My guards here will keep an eye on the ship, so you'll be following me inside. Try and not draw too much attention to yourselves, but act as any bodyguard would. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious. As you've already been briefed, I'll be meeting with Sheldon Whitaker,  the head of one of our family's child companies. If the meeting goes smoothly, you'll be able to learn something about how business works in this town, and we'll be done here in little time." Yes, Silica had indeed told you about this man. He was nothing special, just an investor who had approached Royale a year or so ago seeking funding. In all images of him available to the public, the white-haired businessman was always smiling, though often it seemed a bit forced.

The trip really was not long - as a matter of fact, the ship was already beginning to descend. The guards stood up now, taking their weapons in their hands as they positioned themselves by the door. If the kids were to look outside now, they would see the office building in front of the ship - it was no massive skyscraper, that was sure, but it still seemed well kept and prestigious in its own regard, the words 'Whitaker Industries' on a big sign above the front entrance.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Riven on August 16, 2017, 04:50:25 AM
Working with this group was going to be... interesting, Rory though as their airship made its landing approach. Aoife may not be the most tactful person ever born, but she was also basically a walking, talking bullshit detector -- something that would, unquestionably, be useful if this job turned out to be more than "watch and learn". Mythos, meanwhile, was clearly something of a moderating influence, smoothing over the ruffles and finding a way forward for herself and others. With Rory acting as the agreeable and astute student that Mr. Royale seemed to prefer, the group actually formed a well balanced and effective dynamic... at least, that's what the shield fighter thought, anyway.

So, the guards would be staying back and the students would be expected to be Royale's extra eyes and ears. Rory couldn't help but note the emphasis on the word 'suspicious', and the fact that Royale had said 'if the meeting goes smoothly'. Wouldn't Whitaker, as the recipient of Royale's investment, be eager to appease his patron? The shield fighter could feel a few pieces falling into place as he mulled things over... getting the distinct impression that Mr. Royale didn't fully trust Whitaker.

And that such distrust, for whatever reason, was cause enough to bring in outside help...

With the airship already angling to land, it seemed they'd find out soon enough.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Dusty on August 18, 2017, 11:43:03 AM
Rolling her eyes at Mythos' reply, Aoife shifted enough to be comfortable and closed her eyes, enjoying the brief remainder of the journey in some semblance of peace. Flying didn't really appeal to her all that much, the idea that they were hundreds, if not thousands of feet above the ground was a bit of a off putting idea in her mind. Heck of a lot better than walking though, if she had to be honest.

Stretching out as soon as they touched down, safety be damned, Aoife arched her spine back and let out a soft groan. This job promised a lot of standing, if nothing else. She shook her head slightly and glanced out the window. The building wasn't so impressive, if truth be told, not that she'd know anything about impressive architecture. But maybe it was fancier and more...... what was that fancy word she'd heard on television? Ostentatious, that was it. Maybe it'd be that inside.

"So, you did warn them we were coming right, not your normal lads? Cause I don't want some suited monkey or upstart guard deciding to be a bother, you get me?", Aoife, as politely as possible, which really just sounded fake, said to Royale.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: EdgeyReyes on August 26, 2017, 02:55:06 PM
"As huntsman and huntresses in training we still carry a title of the world's noblest fighter. Guards shouldn't bother us and on the case that they do bother us, Royale should be able to sort it without any problems.

In saying that, Mythos' eyes had white rings form on the iris of her eyes, creating an interesting dynamic of blue which was slowly turning white whilst taking a look at her current teammates weapons before her. The colour in her eyes reset to blue as she already had the information she needed, before cycling the cylinders on all four of her revolvers and making sure the safety was on before doing the same with her rifle.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Capta1n_Henry on August 29, 2017, 03:16:22 PM
"I just hope nothing too serious happens. Mr. Royale seems like the type to have a lot of enemies." Mae said out loud as she chambered a crossbow bolt and stood up, ready to move.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Walter on August 31, 2017, 12:11:22 PM
"I told Whitaker I'd be taking a group of students along, yes. The guards won't bother you, and if they do, I'll deal with them." Sir Royale responded as he got up from his seat, nodding at Mythos' words. He then looked at Mae, smirking. "I suppose so. But this should be easy enough for you all."

With that, the man lead the way out from the ship, down the ramp. The group is met at the front entrance by two guards, though these ones aren't wearing any armor. They are, however, carrying guns - revolvers, appearing to be similar to the one you might have seen Silica carrying around. The men step aside and let you in with no questions asked, however.

You're lead through the foyer to an elevator, once again, looked over by a pair of guards. Throughout this, Marvin remains unworried, exchanging pleasantries with the men. After a short, likely slightly awkward elevator ride, you make it to the top floor. You walk down the hall, take the last door right, and finally find yourself in the office of Sheldon Whitaker. The man himself sits behind his desk, yet another pair of guards by his side. But, rather than starting with a greeting, there is a moment of silence. Whitaker's usual fake smile isn't there, while Marvin seems quite pleased.

For a moment, they do nothing.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Riven on August 31, 2017, 05:53:10 PM
Admittedly, Rory wasn't exactly fluent in business etiquette... but the tense, standoffish nature of their current situation set him ill at ease. Six armed guards now, or so he'd counted -- the entrance, the elevator, and now the office. That seemed like a lot of security for a casual business meeting, especially one that had initially seemed like little more than a PR stunt. Even so, the one thing Rory had learned between Beacon and his own life experiences was how to keep a detached, analytic demeanor as tensions rose. All too often, after all, success or even survival relied on exactly that.

'Act as any bodyguard would', Mr. Royale had said. Right now, there hardly seemed to be clearer instructions. As the two businessmen stared each other down Rory quietly took a position just behind Marvin and to the left, trying not to be too obvious about it as he did. His eyes scanned the office, continually moving from point to point. They were here as bodyguards, after all -- they had to be ready to respond, and the shield fighter was determined to do exactly that.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Dusty on September 03, 2017, 07:27:22 AM
Aoife couldn't stop herself rolling her eyes at Mythos. It sounded like she'd read that nonsense about being the 'world's noblest fighters' straight outta an advert for Atlas Academy, it reeked of bullcrap.

As did this situation, now that Aoife was inside and able to have a look around. For such an important man, Royale didn't get much of an entrance committee. A couple of guards and that was it. No assistant or internal management of any kind to ply platitudes and reports onto the man, nor any kind of fanfare. Either the movies got this stuff wrong or Royale wasn't a particularly wanted man in these parts. Aoife couldn't help but feel on edge by it, even if it was, logically, just her being a bit paranoid about the job.

Choosing to wait by the office entrance and look behind them, Aoife slipped in last, and leaned sideways beside the now closed door with her arms folded, the picture of nonchalance.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Capta1n_Henry on September 13, 2017, 08:33:02 PM
Mae was a bit anxious as they walked into the office and saw Mr. Whitaker, who wasn't smiling like Royale was. She kept her crossbow in-hand and ready in case of an emergency. Mae wasn't quite used to city life yet ever since she moved from her cabin in Mistral. She looked around at the guards and at her partners on the job. Noticing that she was a little bit too close to Royale, she backed up and stood by the door near Aoife.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: EdgeyReyes on September 13, 2017, 09:34:32 PM
Mythos' expression remained unchanged. Bringing her right hand to one of the revolvers on her hip, taking the safety off of it and pulling on it slightly to unlock it. Taking a step closer to be just to the back right of Marvin.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Walter on September 17, 2017, 11:16:16 AM
"What is this, Marvin?" Whitaker finally asked after a good minute of silence. The guards' eyes kept darting between the students, but Whitaker himself continued to stare down Royale.

"What, not even a hello?"

"Hello. What the fuck is this, Marvin?" Whitaker asked again, gesturing towards the kids standing next to Royale.

"Why, I did say I was bringing along some kids that wanted to learn a bit more about business, didn't I?"

"Business students rarely open-carry weapons like that." Whitaker was getting irritated by now, tapping his foot nervously.

"Oh, my, did I forget to mention they were Beacon students?" Marvin asked, tapping his chin with a finger. "I suppose I did. Though,  the fact that you were awaiting just some kids and a retired huntsman with this much firepower... you're either overestimating business students, or severely underestimating me. But let's set that aside for now" Marvin said, and as he did, he started moving towards the chair on the opposite side of Whitaker. "And let's instead talk about why I'm here, Sheldon. You see, something about your recent income reports just doesn't add up. You spend more than your budget allows it, but bring in suspiciously high revenues. Not only that, but it's a bit hard to trace where those revenues come from."

Marvin took a seat in the chair, gesturing for his bodyguards to come closer if they hadn't already. "So, I'll let you answer me yourself. What sort of busienss do you really run here, Sheldon?"

There was another awkward pause. While Marvin had talked, Whitaker had continued to stare at him intently. He then leaned back in his seat, the fake smile you had seen in all those photos creeping right back up on his face. "A business you have no part in, Royale. Consider our ties cut."

The man then snapped his fingers, leaving no trace behind himself other than a slight spin to his chair, while the two men who had been standing behind him pulled out their revolvers, raising them towards Royale. Marvin didn't as much as flinch. He trusted his bodyguards on this.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Riven on September 17, 2017, 12:43:06 PM
(http://i.imgur.com/xDD79In.png)
BATTLE MUSIC: Drift (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4MAaGJMBdY)
by Michael Nielsen & Kaveh Cohen



Suddenly, everything was happening very fast -- and all of Rory's worst assumptions were getting confirmed, falling into place one after the other like dominoes. Royale knew Whitaker couldn't be trusted. He also knew this would be a trap, and had brought the students in to that end. And now there were guns drawn... and shields up.

The moment the guards reached for their revolvers Rory was already in motion; one stride brought him fully alongside Mr. Royale, and as he moved he also activated his left vambrace. Micro-hydraulics rushed to activate, a flurry of dragonscale-style metal plates cascading into place in the span of spare seconds. By the time the first shots rang out both Rory and his shield were fully between Royale and his would-be killers, intercepting incoming bullets as they came. Rory's mind, meanwhile, was already two steps ahead -- blocked from the front the guards would first try to flank, then close to melee. With that in mind his right-hand shield was activating, assuming he'd have to cover two angles at once. He would focus on defense, letting his teammates seize their chance to counterattack. Four against two? Unless these guards were more than hired muscle, this wouldn't take long.

And once the students subdued the immediate threat, Rory intended to have a chat with Royale about leading them all on... and about how Whitaker was able to vanish like that.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Dusty on September 17, 2017, 04:09:12 PM
Credit where credit was due, Whitaker knew how to pull off the dramatic exit. Still a monumental tool though, but he had style. Aoife really wished she could do the whole vanish into the air thing, it'd be a killer at parties. Speaking of killing parties.

Aoife pushed off of the wall, spinning on her left heel to properly face the room, the guns more specifically. Instinct and adrenaline took control of her body as Aoife unholstered and flicked the safety off of her gun in one swift movement. Her first shot was aimed at the guard opposite's torso, though rather inaccurate if truth be told, a "warning shot", if one could call it that if it was aimed at a person. Her second, immediately after, was aimed right between his eyes, with the hope of putting him down, either with a concussion or as a corpse.

It took all of Aoife's willpower to keep her gun trained on the targets, the suddenness of the realisation that she fired a kill shot at someone slamming into her harder than she expected. This had gotten very out of hand, very quickly.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Capta1n_Henry on September 21, 2017, 06:37:37 AM
As the room lit up with gunfire from the guards and Aoife, Mae ducked down and crawled to the right side of the room to stand up and fire five of her bolts at the assailants legs, trying not to kill them, and hoping that her teammates would do the same.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: EdgeyReyes on September 29, 2017, 08:45:53 AM
Mythos' mind worked differently, ehereas her semblance showed that they were mostly aimed with a non-lethal shot, Mythos aimed with the fullest intent of putting down a threat for good. She unholstered the gun that was in her right hand, drawing and firing the gun with suprising speed. Two shots rang out from her gun, two shots would of been enough for the guards unless aura was in play. One shot per head, already taking into account the various other factors of her fellow "bodyguards" actions.

'This is gonna be a long day' were the only thoughts that she had. No remorse and zero hesitation for her foes.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Walter on October 04, 2017, 07:23:26 AM
The guards' first two shots struck Rory's shield, doing no harm, though the noise the guns made was ear-splitting. The gurads themselves must have been used to it, as they didn't finch, and neither did Marvin.

Aoife's shot to the guard's chest was met with a grunt and a stumble back, his gun now pointing towards her. Her other shot, however, took him down - one could viisibly see his dark blue aura break around him. He was still standing, but the bolts striking his legs made him scream and drop his gun. The following revolver shot put him down for good, leaving a spattering of blood on the wall behind him as he slumped against it, completely limp. The second guard was struck by the revolver shot first, causing him to collapse, while the following bolts embedded in his legs, the poor man yelping in pain.

"If I'm being honest, I wasn't expecting you kids to be so... well, cold-blooded. My mistake there," the man said, calmly. He sat up, crouching down next to the still-living guard. "Where did Whitaker blink to? No reason for this to turn any more bloody than it already is."

The man gritted his teeth, his eyes darting between the students behind Royale. He swallowed a glov of saliva in the back of his throat. "H-he probably went down to the basement level. That's where the casino is. P-plese, I have a-"

"Thank you. Feel free to call the authorities if you so desire." Marvin told the man as he stood up, facing the students once more. "We'll be heading down now. We'll likely have to fight our way through the building, and we'll need to take the stairs. Please, keep lethal force to a minimum," he spoke, digging through his jacket to produce a massive maroon-tinted handgun chambered with .50 rounds. "If you see Whitaker, feel free to move quicker. His semblance should take several minutes to recharge, and is unreliable unless he has made proper preparations as he had just now. Try and stick close, however." 

As he talked, Marvin took a spot in front of the door, giving the students time to figure out where they themselves wished to stand, suggesting they take cover and signalling to them that he'll open it on the count of 3. 2. 1.

He swung the door open, stepping to the side as a barrage of bullets came flying in, four more guards on the other side. Three of them had revolvers, while one was carrying a generic assault rifle. Said assault rifle guard was the one going hog-wild and spraying through the entrance, though he soon found himself needing to reload.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: EdgeyReyes on October 04, 2017, 08:54:37 AM
"This makes things easier." Mythos moved to the side ahead of Marvin's command. Dropping her backpack and pullinf out two cylinder shaped items. Clipping one to the joining strap of her backpack as she put it on and leaving the other one in her hand.

The sound of gunfire was oddly soothing to her, four white rings formed on her iris. Mythos held the flashbang and pulled the pin early as she knew that the guard was coming close to running out of bullets. A quick peak and she threw the flashbang like a baseball, straight down centre lane.

It would trigger right in front of the guards, followed by Mythos grabbing her rifle and setting it to single round fire. A single bullet for each guard followed as she peaked the door, on her knee to steady her aim for the rapid switching of targets. The bullets were shot at mainly the thighs of each guard (missing the artery) to at least give them hope for emergency services to save them and give her colleagues the opportunity to disable them.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Riven on October 06, 2017, 03:25:41 PM
A moment of shock and disbelief swept over Rory when he saw the first guard slump lifeless to the ground, a gushing red hole prominent in his head. He'd never seen someone die before... and for that first taste of death to come from a fellow student was jarring. A whirlwind of thoughts and emotions ran through him. He wanted to look away and throw up, to yell at his teammates, to scream at Royale for putting them in this situation in the first place. He wanted to get away. He wanted to pull the memory of that man's lifeless body out of his mind and toss it away -- not just forgotten, erased. Yet something deep down, like a cold icy hand reaching up through his spine and into the back of his thoughts, made him keep looking... made him absorb the sight of that corpse and distill it into a single, painfully clear thought.

This will be you, i҉͙f́ ͏̰͙͎͉̹yo͖̟̟̲u̥̟̮ ̥̲f̜̫͕̱a̧̫͇̟i̩l̨̝̱̞̗̩.̥.͕̩͚͙.̱

Jolted from his dark revery as Royale began speaking, the shield fighter took a moment to force his mental focus back and shift it into high gear. This wasn't simply about completing the mission anymore... like it or not, they were all pawns in a bigger game Royale was playing, and as he thought about it Rory could begin to see the outlines of that game form in his mind. He took the lapse in combat to tuck his glasses away in their protective case, donning his crimson goggles instead and bringing them fully online -- he was going to need the high tech eyewear just as much as his shields if he was to protect himself and the others in the midst of all this. A few button presses and a quick sync with his pocketed Scroll and everything was set.

Sticking close to Royale, Rory couldn't help but note the guards' willingness to fire directly into the office of their boss as soon as the door moved. "He's in touch with his troops -- no way they'd fire into here like that if they even suspected their boss was inside." No sooner had he spoken than Mythos had taken advantage of their enemy's need to reload, chucking a flashbang out into the mix -- he held up his shield to protect his eyes and the equipment on them from being overwhelmed by the flash, then quickly stepped out into a defensive crouch alongside Mythos, alert and ready to intercept any incoming threats. He had some serious words for Royale, but now wasn't the time. Survival came first... and Rory didn't intend to fail today.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Dusty on October 08, 2017, 02:48:51 PM
The sight of blood splattering across a window was oddly hypnotic, Aoife couldn't help but think. Well, hypnotic might not be the word. Mesmerising pehaps, closely followed by horrible and disgusting. Still, despite the shock that had sent her heart into overdrive, despite the fear and anger that were screaming and roaring in her head, blocking out Royale's voice, and despite the fact her breakfast was attempting to fight it's way out of her body, she couldn't take her eyes off of the blood. That man was dead, and it was her fault. If she had only fired one shot, then Mythos' bullet would've only broken his aura. "What the fu-!", she began to yell, only for the stream of automatic fire to cut her off.

Right, that's right, still on the job. Still surrounded by enemies. Somehow, the idea of fighting was actually reassuring. Maybe the idea of only having to act, not think, was soothing in some way. Whatever it was, Aoife took her newfound sense of not wanting to scream, and used it to fall in beside Rory, ready to pull him back if need by, while also keeping an eye on the window.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Capta1n_Henry on October 14, 2017, 10:18:34 AM
As her crossbow bolts embedded into the guards legs, the sight of one of them dying made Mae gasp in disgust as she helped murder the poor guard. She looked at the guard yelping in pain as Royale spoke, kneeling down next to him and giving him a couple of painkillers from a pouch on her belt. "This should help with the pain, sorry."

The girl then stayed inside the room, waiting for her teammates to disable the guards, not wanting to risk killing someone again.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Walter on October 16, 2017, 12:52:17 PM
The guard, still sobbing, accepted Mae's help without question. He was shivering, but the bleeding had stopped. Assuming Mae kept her bolts clean, the man was going to be fine - the bolts hadn't struck any bones or  arteries, luckily enough.

"Not only that, Rory. Whitaker was expecting those two guards back there to fail. Every man in this building is completely expendable for him - something he could not afford with just my funding." Royale spoke, then peeked out alongside the students, gun raised. The flashbang had successfully disoriented the four guards, the one carrying the rifle fumbling his reload and nearly dropping his gun. Mythos' shots met each of her targets, two of them - both revolver-wielders - lacked proper aura training, both collapsing as they were shot in the leg. The other two had some aura, however - the one fumbling with the rifle tanked the shot, while the other revolver user had his aura broken.

Royale didn't wait a second. He jumped forward, landing a kick to the rifleman's chin, pressing his gun against the other man's forehead. The hall on either side was clear for now, it seemed. "Kids, get these other gentlemen a seat in the office," he ordered, glancing at the three currently standing at the door, his sight lingering on Aoife for a moment. He looked back down at the guard he was aiming at, the poor guy quivering in his boots. Marvin extended his hand and made a 'give me' motion, and the guard complied without question, handing his revolver to the businessman. Marvin tosses the weapon aside and pulled the guard up. "I'm afraid we're going to need your help. I'll make sure you're well compensated." Royale told the man nonchalantly, removing his gun from the man's forehead.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Riven on November 06, 2017, 05:15:43 PM
With the opposition in the room temporarily subdued, it seemed Royale's focus was on taking prisoners... or, maybe more accurately, turning them into pawns for his side of the conflict. Rory sighed as he rose from his crouch, wondering at what he and the others had really gotten themselves into here. With purposeful strides he made his way over to one of the guards who'd had their legs shot, planting his shield forcefully against the floor between the hireling and his weapon. Rory glared at the man, the meaning in his eyes clear: don't try it. When he spoke a moment later, however, there was a note of compassion in his voice.

"Go into the office. As long as you don't create a problem we'll see to your wound." With his free hand Rory collected the revolver, tucking it away in his pants pocket. While it was true that he'd had zero luck getting his Aura to flow through anything with offensive capabilities he wasn't about to assume shields alone would get him through this -- any advantage that could be seized might come in handy later on.

Any advantage.

Watching the hired gun as he limped, painfully, to a slow and staggering walk, Rory turned his gaze to Royale. "All due respect, sir... but it seems to me that Whitaker isn't the only one who came to this fight with preparations made. Now that we're in the thick of it, I think you could stand to be more honest with us. This was never really going to be the simple educational trip that Beacon Academy was led to believe it to be, was it?"
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Dusty on November 11, 2017, 12:42:37 PM
Nodding quietly, Aoife followed Rory down the hall, stepping past the injured guard and making her way towards the rifleman. She crouched down long enough to pick up his rifle, keeping her weapon trained on him the whole time. "Gimme your ammo pal, you don't need it anymore" she said, doing her best to maintain her control of both her emotions and the situation. It wouldn't do to let her shock at the sudden death inject any weakness into her voice, not now. Aoife needed to be in control.

After he'd passed over any ammo left on his person, Aoife sent him down to the office with a nod of her head, taking the chance to shoulder her personal weapon in favour of looking the rifle over. Throwing a glance Rory's way, she turned to face the hallway, making certain no one was going to try to ambush them. It also gave her a chance to centre herself, taking a few deep breaths and suppressing the maelstrom of emotions inside her for now. Later though, Aoife promised herself that Royale was going to get one hell of an earful from her, once the everything was sorted out.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: EdgeyReyes on November 13, 2017, 06:03:37 PM
Mythos made sure to refill up the used bullets, two for the one revolver at the beginning and four for the magazine of her rifle. Mythos. She carried one of the revolver-weilders on her shoulder as she took them back to the room while assisting the other with her free hand, the revolvers being kicked to the side previously.

She got them to sit down on the side, away from the door. Dropping her pack she pulled out a first-aid kit and gor to work with a quick temp patch job over their wounds. Stopping the bleeding was important after all.

"Try something and I'll make that wound worst."
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Capta1n_Henry on November 21, 2017, 09:34:34 AM
Mae walked out of the door into the hallway, her gun pointed at the guards as she tried to help Mythos patch them up a little. After she had bandaged some of them up, Mae took the revolver ammo off of one of them and walked over to take a revolver on the floor, holstering it in her back pocket.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Walter on November 26, 2017, 03:14:46 AM
The goons didn't resist, having understood that they were outmatched here. The wounded ones were shivering, one of them quietly muttering his thanks to the two huntresses patching him up while the other has started sniffling and crying.

Royale tossed a single glance into the office to check on them. He wondered where Whitaker had found these men, as they seemed to be utterly incompetent and unprepared. But, there would be time to investigate this later.

For now, he hoisted his hostage up, turning to face the students. He first spoke to Rory:

"No, I didn't. I do not intend to lie to you anymore. I had been suspicious of Whitaker for months now, but, up until today, I kept my suspicions to myself. Just three weeks ago, he had reported a massive increase in spending, yet I couldn't tell where he got the money from, and something about where the money went didn't add up. So, when he invited me for a meeting, well. I decided I needed backup if worse came to worst. And here we are now."

He then patted the goon still in the hall on the shoulder. "But, we should be alright now. This gentleman here will help us get downstairs without the need for a fight."

With that, Marvin started leading the way towards the stairs, leaving the students and confused goon behind. Presumably, he expected one of the kids to help move the guy along if he didn't follow.

The group wouldn't encounter any resistance along the way, but, as they reached the door at the bottom of the stairs, Marvin raised his hand, ordering everyone to halt. To get to the basement, they'd have to get through the foyer.

"Ah, how rude of me - what is your name, sir?" he asked, turning to face their hostage.

"Uh. Winston."

"Alright, Winston, it's good to meet you! What I'll need you to do, is go through that door with your hands up. Let the other guards know that they are dealing with five huntsmen. I don't think it matters how much Whitaker is paying you. They should realize they stand no chance. Tell them to drop their weapons, and we will be on our way down. You can all be off the hook, then."

Winston swallowed a glob of saliva which had collected at the back of his throat, and nodded. "O-okay."

The man followed these orders, stepping through the door. A few moments passed in silence.

"H-hey, guys, listen! We need to drop our weapons, there are five huntsmen, and they alre-"

Winston was cut off by a gunshot, his words turning into a garbled mess. Royale's eyes widened as the man stumbled back, clutching at his throat, blood gushing from it.

"Oh, no, no, no! You can't give up now, boys, the fun has just begun!" A slightly high-pitched voice came from out the door. If one were to peek through the doorway, they'd see around a dozen armed thugs, each holding a rifle. In front of them all stood a person dressed in a violet, sleevless shirt, two pistols in their hands. It was hard to tell if the person was male or female, with androgynous features, the right side of their head shaved and the left bearing long, curled hair.

Marvin took a breath, then turned to face the group.

"Rory, I'm afraid we'll need you to take lead here for a moment with your shields. The rest of you, stick behind him. I'll try and take out the bastard in the middle. Try not to kill anyone - Nobody else has to die." His voice was calm and commanding, even after witnessing Winston's death before him. It made him seem cold. "We can get backup from my guards once the foyer is clear."
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Riven on November 26, 2017, 12:55:55 PM
So, confirmation and an admission from Royale. It didn't help their current situation, of course, but at least now the truth was out there. Rory logged the duplicitous nature of this whole fiasco away in the back of his mind as he kept a weather eye on the man he'd later come to know as Winston. This entire situation was just a blood-soaked power play between two ruthless businessmen, the only appreciable differences being that Royale led his "pawns" from the front and tried not to waste them whereas Whitaker seemed content to stay out of harm's reach and let his pawns suffer come-what-may. Their side's "leader" wasn't exactly winning brownie points in Rory's book, but he did feel somewhat more like he and his fellow students were likely to live through this.

Up until Winston died, that is.

With the second dead body of the day laying in front of them and Royale saying Rory was next up, the shield fighter felt a lump form in the back on his throat while his mind spun at a mile a minute. Whitaker's goons had a lash, it seemed -- someone to keep them in line and assure loyalty, probably a mercenary meant to level the field in the event Royale fought back and survived the initial ambush. And now that Winston had tried and failed the enemies in the foyer would be ready... if the students didn't come to them, they would probably try to take the fight into the stairwell. Neither ground really favored them in this fight.

"All due respect, Mr Royale, if they're dug in up ahead I'm not sure how long my shields will hold -- or how many people I can realistically block for at one time." He wasn't about to leave his fellow students exposed to a wall of guns if there was any better options on the table. Switching his goggles to thermal imaging, Rory glanced around to see what he could glean of his surroundings. The walls weren't thin enough to see the heat signatures of anyone on the other side, but he could make out the hot and cold water lines as well as the electrical mains. "There are water pipes and live circuitry just on the other side of this wall... maybe we can use that somehow to gain an advantage." It was then that he realized that he still had a full-bars connection to the CCTS... and a plan began to formulate.

"Everybody hold tight -- I have an idea."

Every Beacon student was issued several things by the academy as a simple matter of course. One of those was a locker. An armored locker with a built-in launch and guidance system which could be triggered remotely. Switching his goggles to the appropriate Scroll function, Rory sent out a call for his locker and, after a quick bit of map-checking and a few calculations, input some very specific coordinates. "Okay, wait for my signal..." Shields out and ready, Rory watched the seconds tick down on his display, until...

The tense stillness was shattered -- violently -- as Rory's rocket-locker came smashing through the windows on the opposite side of the foyer; immediately afterwards Rory gave the signal to move. With the enemy momentarily distracted the group had a decent chance to seize the advantage and take the room, if they acted quickly. With his shields at the ready Rory did his utmost to put himself between his allies and enemy fire as the students and Royale advanced into the foyer.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Dusty on November 26, 2017, 05:21:23 PM
Aoife swore violently once more as she watched Winston collapse and choke on his own blood, feeling firey rage explode in her heart. It'd been boiling since Royale's revelation that he'd expected there to be some sort of fight, but the death of an innocent man sent her over the edge. Well, not innocent really, but he didn't deserve to die, not like that, and it was more than enough to blow any of Aoife's prior shocks and concerns out of the water in favour of wholeheartedly tearing these guys apart. Funny how cold-blooded murder was all it took to become a fair target.

Stepping up beside the doorway as she waited for Rory's plan to come to fruition, Aoife saw an opportunity to cause a bit more ruckus. Leaving her newly acquired rifle in her off hand and drawing her revolver, she pointed into the room at an angle and took a deep breath. A faint red light began to trace its way down along Aoife's arm, over her hand and into her gun, turning the barrel into a weak torch almost, before she pulled the trigger. The light, now much brighter, erupted from the Ace of Roses and tore through the doorway and across the room, ricochetting off of the opposing wall and the ceiling to then bounce off of the head on one of the guards on the androgynous person's right, where it continued to bounce harmlessly around the room until it shot through one of the windows.

Aoife took the ensuing chaos as a chance to pop around the doorway and use her new rifle to lay down some suppressing fire on the guards to her right, aiming to give the others some breathing room to advance to a better position.

Spoiler: ShowHide
Random Number Generator pulled a 3 on the to-hit for the semblance, then a 4 for who the lucky victim was. Only one hit procced sadly
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: EdgeyReyes on December 18, 2017, 12:15:47 AM
Mythos just looked on as she saw the line appear in her vision lined up at Winston's head. She had drawn out her revolver and went through her ammo, pulling out the next few bullets on two of the revolvers and replacing them with Flash rounds to give an initial rush and would allow them to get out of the mess.

She listened to Rory with his plan and looked at his scroll seeing the pop-up for the rocket-propelled locker to be called in. Moving slightly closer to the wall and at the moment that she heard the sound of the locker making its entrance she shot two flash rounds from her revolvers, aimed at the ground of the head honcho. Using the opportunity of suppressing fire provided by Aiofe she went to her right. Mythos used her semblance to stay out of Aiofe's fire while Mythos covered her eyes to shoot off two flash rounds in quick succession and not blind herself.

She followed through with an uppercut to one guard as she grabbed the flashbang that hung on the top strap of her backpack and launched it over to the left while her other hand shot off several bullets to the legs of any of the visible guards and following through with her other revolver to deal with their aura and another bullet delivered to their legs and if need be; their hands to disarm them of their weapon. She hid behind a pillar to protect herself from any incoming fire after her barrage as she switched to her rifle and put it in full-auto fire mode.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Capta1n_Henry on December 30, 2017, 10:57:10 PM
Again, Mae had to see another guard die in front of her, a guard that probably had a family at home waiting for him, and they never talk to him again because his own superior officer shot him in the throat. This realization made Mae more furious than she had ever been in her entire life, enough to make her grit her teeth and growl in anger and frustration.

As she listened to Rory's plan and waited for his signal, the girl decided to get ready to breach the room. Mae grabbed her canister of fire-dust ammo and her new revolver, her face blank and emotionless as she heard Rory's rocket locker crash into the next room, along with gunfire from her other two team-mates.

After Mythos and Aoife had fired their shots, Mae came through the doorway and threw her dust canister towards the coalition of guards that Aoife was suppressing with rifle fire. Without hesitation, and out of spite for men that would sit by and watch a comrade die, she aimed her revolver and shot the dust canister, causing a grenade-like explosion to rock the building and blow away the surrounding guards into nearby walls. Mae returned to her original position after she threw the grenade, keeping her new revolver out as she drew her crossbow and loaded it with her ice bolts.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Walter on January 02, 2018, 10:52:34 AM
Marvin nodded. "Alright, Rory. I'll be counting on you, then," he said, readying his gun. He waited patiently for the boy's plan to take effect, his own back pressed against the wall, gun at his side. From the foyer, they could hear footsteps, slowly drawing closer. It was  the androgynous gunman, slowly approaching them.

"Come on, now, boys, come out and play already!" they called out, just moments before the locker came crashing in through the window.

There was momentary panic among the gunmen as they scrambled to get out of the locker's flight path and avoid getting cut by the glass. One of these men was struck in the back of the head by Aoife's shot and fell forward - not yet unconscious, but definitely stunned. The other guards, still confused, didn't know how to react to the following stream of bullets, two falling to the ground, one of them screaming as a stray bullet struck him in the leg, while another barely got his aura up in time before a bullet hit his chest.

Two more remained standing on the right, but had to cover their eyes as the bright flash from Mythos' shots blinded them. One of them even dropped his rifle, and was soon punched in the jaw by the girl, making him stumble and fall back on his ass. The other guard, though still not fully recovered, managed to dodge one of Mythos' shots, while the flashbang went off on the left.

Four of the men on the left, who had been fruitlessly trying to hit Rory or anyone standing behind him, were concussed by the flash grenade, but there were three left standing. Well, more accurately - two of them, as one was shot in the leg and collapsed. Another one of Mythos' shots struck one of them right in the back of the hand. With no aura to protect him, blood gushed out from his palm. He dropped his rifle to the ground, clutching his wrist and screaming at the wound. One could wonder if that would really help.

The four concussed gunmen, along with two more men who had nearly been crushed by the locker, were coming back to their senses... Just as the dust canister went off. The men who had already been on the ground were forced against it, forcing the air out of their lungs and likely shattering some ribs. Meanwhile the two men standing on the left, including the one who had been shot in the hand, were flung away - the injured one was slammed against the wall, while the other crashed through one of the windows at the front.

As it now stood, there were four men still capable of fighting alongside their androgynous leader - two of them were now getting up near the locker, one was currently opening fire on the pillar which Mythos was using as cover, and one was scrambling for his gun after being punched by her.

As for the androgynous person themselves... Mythos' flash had done its work. The purple-haired person groaned, covering their eyes with one of their guns. Marvin took his chance.

He ran out soon after Mythos did, past Rory. As he ran towards the gunman, he raised his gun with both hands and fired once, the sound of the .50 shot echoing throughout the building almost as loudly as the dust canister exploding moments later. A more keen observer might notice a brief flash of aura around Marvin's hands as he used it to brace against the immense recoil.

The shot was aimed at the gunman's leg, and it connected, launching it back and resulting in them stumbling, but they had already prepared their aura. They removed the gun from their own eyes, grinning. "Alright, then! Let's dance!" they yelled as Marvin charged at them, going for a right punch.

They weaved to the side and tried to bring up the gun in their left hand, but Marvin was just as quick. He brought his own gun up, knocking their's aside as they fired, the bullet harmlessly hitting the far wall. Marvin continued by going for a pistol-whip, but his oppnent ducked under the swing and jabbed him in the chest. In response, he brought his knee up to their stomach, then swung his pistol back, hitting them in the shoulder.

The gunman then tried to gain distance by jumping back, raised their guns and fired twice, once from each gun. Marvin lunged forward, the bullets flying over him and striking Rory's shield. He tackled the gunman with his shoulder, making them stumble and nearly fall, but leaving his own back exposed. The gunman smacked him on the back of his neck with the butt of his gun, almost forcing him to the ground. As they were about to aim down and fire, however, Marvin grabbed their foot and yanked it. The attacker barely held their balance, and jumped back again.

"Oh, how dirty of you, playing tricks like that!" they called out.

Marvin looked up. "You think that's dirty? Look down, then."

The gunman did so, briefly, and saw their foot... Engulfed in flames. They screamed, stomping their foot in an attempt to remove the flame, the flames seemingly falling off onto the ground. Upon closer inspection, one would see a piece of paper under them, though it seemed entirely unharmed.

Marvin wasted no time, and resumed his assault, now consistently pushing the gunman back, closer to the entrance. He could beat them, but the kids would have to deal with the rest of the goons. He was quite sure they could handle them, however.



Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Riven on January 03, 2018, 09:12:32 AM
The combination of distraction and suppression tactics that the students had strung together had successfully thrown the room into chaos. Rory would have been impressed, but that would require taking time to stop and admire the bedlam while he was right in the middle of it -- not a very safe proposition.

Now, things got dicey. With the initial gambits having run their course the group had no choice but to fight through the remaining resistance. Royale was in the thick of melee with the androgynous thug, and clearly holding his own -- jumping in at this point was more likely to create problems than solve them. Mythos had taken to cover behind a pillar, Aoife was suppressing the enemy from the doorway and Mae was covering between shots; it was a question of where he could be most useful, and Rory knew quickly what he had to do.

Sprinting across the embattled room in a half-crouch behind his shield, Rory closed on the goon that Mythos had decked, kicking the weapon away before carrying the momentum of the kick into a full-body spinning roundhouse aimed to dislocate the shoulder of the gunman's dominant arm. A quick backhanded shield bash follow-through would, if nothing else, keep the thug from reaching his weapon easily -- with a little luck, the force of the blow would be enough to KO him as well.

"Mythos! Mobile cover?" He shouted the offer across the battlefield.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Dusty on January 06, 2018, 02:42:36 PM
Well, this was certainly going better than expected. Aoife had honestly expected Whitaker's to put up a bit of a better fight, but then again, smashing a locker into a group of people was quite the distraction. Atlas really ought to try weaponising those things, it seemed right up their alley.

Pulled ought of her thoughts by the sight of Rory charging into the fray, Aoife turned her attention back to business. With Mythos pinned down, the course of action seemed pretty clear. Lining up the sights of her rifle, Aoife fired a quick burst at the pair by the locker; more to scare them a bit than do any real harm, and then turned her attention, and the rest of the gun's ammo, onto the poor unfortunate soul that decided to focus on Mythos and not her. It was a shame that her earlier assault had emptied most of the bullets, else he would have been in real trouble. Not that he had much of a chance regardless.

Discarding the now empty rifle, Aoife took off in the direction of Royale and his opponent, trusting in the other's to handle the locker stunned goons. She wasn't planning on jumping in, but flanking to the side and preventing any sort of getaway.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: EdgeyReyes on January 10, 2018, 12:51:51 AM
While the gunfire went on her temporary cover Mythos was way too calm, stretching her arms up as she waited for her teammates to deal with the gunman that was shooting in her direction. With her patience, she looked up at Marvin as he duked it out with the androgynous fighter.

With the goon taken care of Mythos peeked her head around the pillar to look around"Sounds good, just focus on blocking the bullets and I'll take care of the rest" Turning her rifle on semi-auto she moved behind Rory and started shooting off rounds into any goon in her sight, aiming for non-vital areas to avoid killing as per Marvin's request.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Capta1n_Henry on January 16, 2018, 01:46:48 PM
After putting her revolver away and pulling out her crossbow loaded with frost bolts, Mae ran out and shot some bolts at a few of the stunned guards to immobilize them for her teammates. After that, the Faunus started to drag all of the wounded guards that weren't in the line of Mythos' fire back into the hallway, safe from the combat zone while she tried to apply some minor first aid to their wounds.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Walter on January 17, 2018, 10:55:32 AM
The guard Rory was going after stood little chance. The poor guy grabbed at his rifle just as the boy closed in on him, only to have it be flung away. A moment later, the boy's leg struck his shoulder - while it didn't fully dislocate it, it was enough to make him rell back. The following shield strike successfully knocked him out.

As Mythos was leaving her cover, Aoife's shots had reached the gunman going after her. Three hits, one breaking the guy's aura and two more striking him in the legs. He dropped down to his knees groaning, hardly a threat anymore. The two by the locker, however, were still ready to fight. Well, they were for a little while. While Aoife's burst didn't do much to the already disoriented goons, Mythos' followup certainly did. They barely had time to open fire on her first, but their attacks were easily blocked by Rory's shield. One of them was downed by her shots, while the other was wounded. As he stumbled back, he decided it was best for him to just lay down and surrender.

Just then, the front doors swung open as the two guards from Royale's ship ran inside.

"Perimeter secure, sir!" The slightly taller one shouted out through their mask, their voice distorted but still recognizably male.

Marvin smirked as he pushed the androgynous fighter back again. His next swing knocked one of the guns right out of their hand. The gunman snarled.

"Surrender now! You're surrounded!" Marvin roared out in a commanding tone of voice, glancing at Aoife briefly and giving her a quick nod.

The fighter paused. Then cackled, wiping their palm on their forehead. "Oh, wow. You... really are something, aren't you? Well, I think I've bought enough time anyway. We'll have to continue another time!"

The fighter bowed dramatically. Marvin raised his weapon, expecting a surprise attack or for them to run, but when he fired, he was already too late. The fighter's form appeared to be replaced by some sort of light-purple smoke or steam. Moments later the smoke started rising up, towards the shattered windows.

"Target escaping!" Shouted the other guard and raised their weapon. Their voice was higher than the other guard's and rather feminine.

She fired a burst into the smoke, but it barely parted. For a moment, she simply stood motionless as the cloud continued on its merry way out of the window.

"Oroma, Leila, call backup and don't let that smoke out of your sight!" Marvin shouted out as he started moving towards the second set of stairs, reloading his gun as he did. "Mythos, Aoife, Rory, on me! We need to get to Whitaker before he escapes! Mae, make sure the guards are all stable, then join us!"

With that, he started hurrying down the stairs without even looking back. He really had no time to lose. Knowing Whitaker, he was prepared for this - he must have had an escape route already planned. Marvin could only hope that the fight in the foyer hadn't bought him enough time.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Riven on January 18, 2018, 04:41:35 PM
Did that man... woman?... did they just turn into smoke and fly away??

Rory couldn't quite believe his eyes as he watched the last of the still-fighting opposition make their escape -- he'd heard of some pretty crazy Semblances, and seen a few at work, but that... it seemed to defy reason and logic, bend the rules of what was physically possible. He couldn't fathom what experiencing that as the user would be like, and part of him didn't really want to know. There wasn't time to contemplate it anyway as Royale's instructions filled the empty soundscape where gunfire and skirmishing had been moments before. Again the students were on the move, now with time against them.

Rory rushed to the forefront, or tried to; in reality he was just barely managing to keep pace behind Royale despite being no slacker in footspeed himself. So this was an experienced Huntsman when urgency struck, then. "Is there any way to interfere with his Semblance?" Given Royale's research and preparations thusfar, it was a coin toss whether the business tycoon would have that info. Every Semblance had rules -- beating one was just a matter of exploiting those rules, ultimately. If Whitaker just needed time to "recharge", then there wasn't any to waste; if he needed that and focus, there might be something they could do en route to delay him.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Dusty on January 21, 2018, 02:13:41 PM
"Well, that's a neat bit of bullcrap right there", Aoife snarled as Royale's opponent literally vapourised themselves to escape. If she hadn't been so completely blindsided by the sight of it, she probably would've taken a shot at them, not that it had done Royale any good. Unless they happened to get dispersed by the wind outside, Aoife suspected that they'd run into that person again. Whitaker certainly hadn't hired them for their fashion sense after all.

For now, though, Aoife was left to follow Royale and Rory down the stairs, with Rory attempting to find out more about Whitaker's semblance. Which, now that Aoife had a few moments to think about it, didn't sit right. Why hadn't he just poofed away entirely, instead of remaining inside the building? "How tall is this place anyway? Cause if Whitaker went down here specifically, it might tell us the range of his teleporting". Course, Aoife might be overthinking things; this could just be another ambush.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Capta1n_Henry on January 27, 2018, 11:43:58 PM
As Mae dragged the last injured guard into the hallway, she began giving all of them minor first aid, enough to hold them until the paramedics and police arrived. She somewhat regretted losing her temper and throwing her fire canister at the poor men, as they weren't the ones who killed Winston, and if they had spoken up, the same fate would've befallen them as well. Using her maternal instincts, the hawk Faunus peacefully patched up most of the guards, the troublesome ones she swiftly knocked out with the butt of her crossbow before treating them.

After she had completed her objective, Mae jogged along to catch up with her allies, being sure to take her time in case there were any hiding hostiles that would ambush the group from behind.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: EdgeyReyes on January 30, 2018, 08:08:52 AM
Mythos didn't waste any bullets on the escaping male-guy-girl person. Running along with Royale Mythos couldn't help but think of it as strange. "I find it strange that he'd choose the basement, surely he could have given incorrect information or the woman-man could have left because Whitaker can use his teleportation again. Just saying." Mythos holstered her weapons to pull out her extendable pole into a sword, only bringing the blade up one section as she took a full revolver in her other hand.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Walter on February 02, 2018, 11:05:52 AM
"His semblance is unpredictable most of the time. I doubt even he fully understands how it works. He calls it 'blinking', essentially a random teleportation in roughly a hundred meter radius at most. Still, if he uses it twice in the same spot, he'll teleport to the same location," Marvin explained as the group ran down the stairs. "That office we found him in may have been one of the smallest in the entire building. He's probably tested it over and over again. It wouldn't surprise me if he's found a way to escape from here in the basement. As for interfering with it... If he is moved from where he stands even slightly, the teleportation becomes entirely unpredictable. While we won't know where he goes, neither would he."

Soon enough the group stood in front of a door at the bottom of the stairs. Without hesitation, Marvin kicked it open and ran though.

If you looked over him now, you'd see a somewhat dimly lit, wide-open room filled with pool tables, slot machines, roullete and blackjack tables... And a whole lot of people. You cound about thirty customers, most of them shady-looking though a few of them appear to be somewhat prominent businessmen from the area. Hostesses walk around between them, dressed in somewhat revealing outfits, while an entire section seems to be devoted to ladies, surrounded by shirtless cocktail-bringing men. The entire place seems as classy as it seems scummy.

On the far wall, near what appears to be some sort of emergency exit, a massive monitor hangs on the wall. The place had just been playing some sort of piano piece through speakers set in each corner of the room, but the music now stopped. Half the crowd turned their looks towards the door, confused.

A moment later, the screen turned on, showing Whitaker's grinning face. This smile was different than the one you had seen in all those photos. It wasn't forced. It just seemed off.

"My dearest patrons! Iit is with great sorrow I must announce that our little business venture will have to take a short break, but I do hope you've all enjoyed your time here in 'White Knight's Palace'. I'm afraid your investments will have to remain frozen until further notice, but in the meantime, I'd like you all to meet our main sponsor: Marvin Royale! As today's guest of honor, Marvin here has come to take back his investments and take you all to jail. Give him a warm welcome, won't you?"

The video was accompanied by murmuring from the crowd, but as it ended, the entire casino went completely silent for a moment.

Then, panic.

Most of the businessmen seemed to not want to risk it, leaving their bodyguards behind as they ran. The hostesses and waiters scrambled for the exits, as did most of the patrons. Some of the shadier individuals, including a heavy-set man in a trenchcoat near the entrance, however, seemed eager to fight.

The larger man roared out, and ran at the group with clenched fists. To the left, several men in suits had pulled out their handguns, pointing them towards the students - four in total. Dead ahead, three men were charging at the group with pool cues. Above them, two more armed gunmen had taken positions on opposing balconies - there were likely stairs leading up somewhere, but there may not be enough time for the team to find said stairs. As such, Marvin took charge.

"I'll need you kids to get the guys down here! If my men have acted in time and have the place surrounded, nobody is getting away! I'll deal with the ones on the balcony!" Marvin yelled out, then ran towards the balcony closest to them, gun raised. His first shot struck the man's gun, but this one seemed sturdier than those of the men they had fought in the foyer.

Mae would likely hear the ruckus about halfway down. However, just then she'd also find herself bumping into... Something. Something slightly sticky, but, more importanty, something which made her bounce back a bit. Upon further inspection, she'd find her path blocked by what appeared to be a translucent web of aura. If she would then look up, she'd see several pairs of glowing red eyes staring back down at her. A second later, those eyes would quickly draw closer as the spider-faunus above her jumped down, armed with clawed glowes.

Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Riven on February 02, 2018, 11:57:38 AM
Okay, Rory had to admit... Whitaker had played his hand fairly well.

If the scramble of people wasn't urgent and frantic enough before the private goons started brandishing weapons, it certainly got that way when the big guy began charging down on them like a raging bull. The students were now outnumbered and caught out on unprepared ground -- what's more, whether or not the fleeing gamblers in the room were "innocent" they were still non-combatants, and having so many running about was going to complicate things.

"He's stalling for time!" It hardly needed to be said, but it was the first intelligent thing that came to Rory's mind. Whitaker was sacrificing up his patrons -- while taking their money, no less -- all to improve his odds of getting away. Much as he hated to rush in, getting through this room quickly was the only winning strategy. He glanced at his teammates, noticing with concern that Mae hadn't caught up to them yet. Leaving her to catch up wasn't gonna be safe, but there also wasn't time to wait.

And then, suddenly, there were fists coming at him. No, there was really no time to deal with this properly. He raised his right-hand shield to absorb the incoming blows while deactivating his left, willing his Aura to concentrate into the center of his left hand as he watched for an opening. The moment he saw a gap Rory struck with a palm strike, aiming for the big man's arm as the next punch came down -- the Aura strike would, if nothing else, knock the attacker off his balance and possibly put him on the ground for a while, good enough to neutralize a threat. He'd be winded for a bit afterwards, but he could cope.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Dusty on February 04, 2018, 09:01:08 AM
Aoife snarled as she caught sight on Whitaker's ugly mug on some giant screen. It was so tempting to take a shot at it, but those civilians would only get in the way. It'd be wrong to just start firing indiscriminately in such a crowded room, even if these people were just gambling away their- Wait, gambling?

A shot of genuine fear tore through Aoife's heart as she stepped to the side of Rory and Mythos, craning her neck to try and look over the scrambling crowd. There were just too many people though, she couldn't get a clear line of sight on anyone further back, and in a desperate burst of speed she hopped onto the nearest table to try and make the job easier, murmuring an incoherent babble under her breath the whole time. The increased height didn't help, with most of the crowd now faced away from her entirely in their attempt to escape.

It did, however, allow her to spot the group of patrons that appeared to be charging the group. Recognising that her father wasn't among them, and starting to relax just a bit as she remembered that he'd promised to never return to gambling, Aoife took a step back and then leaped forward, letting fear turn to anger at the thoughts of how many lives this place may have ruined. Her plan was to just drop-kick into the lead man and send him back into the others, while she'd be down and in cover from the gunmen.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Capta1n_Henry on February 11, 2018, 12:29:57 PM
Upon looking up to see the spider Faunus' red eyes, Mae immediately jumped back and loaded her canister of normal bolts into her crossbow, pointing the loaded weapon at her apparent opponent. The first year student kept her crossbow pointed at the spider as she started to slowly back up, knowing that a confined space like the one she was in was not ideal for her fighting style.

Not one for chit-chat, Mae turned a corner and started sprinting towards the foyer, thinking the chances of the authorities being there to help were better than her trying to cut down the spider-web of aura that blocked her path. As she ran, the hawk Faunus took out her revolver and pointed it back at the hallway, prepared to shoot the spider Faunus if he followed her.

Battle Stats:
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: EdgeyReyes on February 13, 2018, 06:57:55 AM
Mythos acted abnormally fast with a quick scan of the area. She pulled out her second revolver from her thigh and fired without hesitation towards the suited men, her bullets aiming for their gun/hands and a follow-up shot towards their thighs. Admittedly headshots were a hell of a lot easier for her but being ordered not to kill made her use up more ammo.

The maroon-headed gunslinger then aimed her revolver towards the bulky individual and fired off several bullets at him all bullets aimed at his left shoulder while she took a few steps back to ensure she wasn't within his immediate melee range.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Walter on February 13, 2018, 12:00:31 PM
(Stealing your idea, Riven. Fight theme: Super Junior - Black Suit (https://youtu.be/MvqB6JsRbsc))



While it had initially seemed that the hostesses and waiters were simply trying to get out as quick as they could themselves, it quickly became apparent that this was not the case. They took poistion near the back exit, ushering the patrons along as they shoved and pushed their way out the door. One young girl with white, fluffy bunny ears jumped atop of a nearby craps table and started shouting for everyone to get out while they could. Whether the girl was a faunus or simply doing a racially insensitive cosplay was unclear.

Meanwhile, an entire defensive line of shirtless men and girls in bunny-suits formed between the fight and the fleeing customers. It seemed that Whitaker had prepared them for something like this, but if the place really was surrounded, the entire act would prove pointless.

As soon as Marvin fired his first shot at the man on the balcony, the fight kicked off. While the man on the opposite balcony opened fire on Marvin, the massive man was upon Rory. The man was clearly no trained combatant and his attacks were as clumsy as they were powerful. Rory would certainly feel the force from his blows, but he'd get an opening rather quickly. The aura strike hit him in the arm, launching it back... And sending an entire deck of cards, along with several small cash bills, flying from the sleeve of his trenchcoat.

The cards and money rained over the men running towards the group with pool cues. It was a temporary distraction at best, but it was enough - the man in the front couldn't react in time and took a kick right to his chest. While he was knocked back into one of his compatriots, sending them both to the ground, the third had managed to sidestep. This guy appeared to be a dark-skinned wolf faunus, grey ears poking out from little holes cut in his trillby hat. Snazzy.

The faunus raised his cue and swung right down at Aoife. While the swing itself didn't seem that powerful, his stance seemed to be quite good. This guy had some training behind himself.

The gunmen, meanwhile, well... They were no better than the thugs upstairs. Three of them had no aura to speak of, falling down screaming after being hit just once. The fourth managed to jump back and hide behind a knocked-over pool table after absorbing the first shot.

The bulky man in the trenchcooat snarled as several bullets struck him in the shoulder. The first shot didn't do much, the bullet apparently hitting something under the coat. The second shot was much the same. The third made quite a bit of blood spurt from the hole.

The large individual stumbled from side to side, hunched over and clutching at his shoulder. He was panting heavily and for a moment it seemed as if he was about to go down. What followed, however, was far from it.

He roared out again, but the roar was this time accompanied by a clear blue aura enveloping his entire body. He let out another snarl and charged at Rory, the pain in his face replaced by pure rage once more. The man clasped both of his hands together and slammed them against Rory's shield with roughly four times as much force as his previous attacks. Force which should shatter his bones - and if you listened closely, it damn well sounded like it did.



As Marvin ran towards the balcony, he found himself having to bob and weave to avoid getting shot. Two more men seemed to have picked up on the idea of fighting the huntsmen with pool cues, and charged directly at him. Marvin fired a shot which struck one of them in the leg, then grabbed the other man's cue from the onder end. While the man was still confused, Marvin pistol-whipped him and took hold of his weapon.

He continued his dash towards the gunman, holstering his gun and grabbing the cue with both hands. He jumped, slammed the tip of the cue on the top of a nearby slot machine and pole-vaulted his way onto the relatively low balcony. Before the gunman could properly react, he was punched in the face, his gun was grabbed from his hands and he himself was flung off the balcony onto the aforementioned slot machine. One down, one to go.



The spider-faunus narrowly missed Mae, his claws clanging against the stairs. He was young, certainly not much older than the students themselves. Freakishly pale but decently muscular, he didn't look like much of a high school sweetheart, though. He stood completely still as Mae backed away, the web behind him slowly fading away. He simply stared her down.

After she rounded the corner, she could probably hear something scurrying after her. There was nothing on the stairs at first, but she should quickly be able to realize that the faunus was now chasing her, rapidly jumping from wall to wall, occasionally clinging to the ceiling. She was nearing the top of the stairs, but it was clear that by the time she would get there, he'd have already caught her. She'd have to act quickly.

Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Riven on February 17, 2018, 10:24:15 AM
(OOC: Steal away, Walter -- nice selection, btw!)



Fighting effectively with a weapon, any sort of weapon, is never as simple as the pros make it look. You don't just slash with a sword -- everything that goes into the move, from posture and angle to how tight or loose you grip the handle, has an influence. Even guns are more than just "aim and pull trigger"; one must adjust for any movement in the target, the direction and intensity of the wind, and be prepared to properly manage recoil and even reloading, sometimes on the go.

Fighting with a shield is no exception. It's naive to think you can just cower behind a small wall of metal while your enemy tires themselves out -- you need to know what you're doing, or you'll be in for a world of problems.

When Rory saw the bruiser in the trenchcoat suddenly manifest an Aura, it was clear that this particular angle of the tussle had just escalated, badly. Not only could this guy take a beating and keep going, he wasn't the simple brute he'd at first seemed to be. Barreling down on him once again, Rory knew that everything he'd deflected from this guy before was about to be heavily amplified, and that had to be dealt with. He watched the blow come at him and knew that dodging wasn't going to work; the opponent's reach meant that if the double-handed blow didn't catch him on the initial swing a back-swing was always possible. What's more, they couldn't afford to get bogged down here as time was still very much against them. All this and more ran through Rory's mind in the sparse seconds he had to work with, though his body was already moving due to practice and pattern recognition. The enemy was striking at an angle, swinging not to impact but to knock away; everyone thinks that if you can knock away a shield fighter's shield you can render them powerless, after all. That was why Rory's were literally bound around his arms... and why he was stepping in towards a fierce blow instead of trying to duck away.

Stepping in and angling his shield towards the man's strike ensured a solid, clean impact; stepping into a short, high, unweighted stance ensured that the majority of the impact would be turned into momentum, knocking Rory off his feet but in a controlled way that would put distance between him and the big man. Still, the moment the fists struck felt a lot like being hit by a truck at top speed -- the shieldmeister had to fight down his own first impulse to tense up, instead letting his body "rag doll" through that first split second before curling and rolling as best he could. Table legs and chairs shattered under the impact, and at least one poorly-placed patron cried out and ended up in a tumble of their own, but the worst of the impact was mitigated by the time Rory slammed into the wall. Fighting down dizziness, he leapt to his feet and willed his legs to run after Marvin Royale. "Keep moving forward!" was his way of telling his teammates he was (mostly) okay. If he was lucky, the heavy-handed brute would have trouble keeping up.



Battle Stats:
▫ Passive Effect: Aura Specialist
(defensive Aura focus reduces incoming damage by 1.5%)
▫ Strong hit received, 13.5% Aura damage
▫ Aura Status: ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▢ (82%)
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Capta1n_Henry on February 24, 2018, 06:30:30 PM
"Not much of a gentleman, is he?" Mae thought as she ran up the stairs to the foyer, doing her best to avoid the spider that was chasing her down. The girl quickly realized that if she didn't do something soon, she would be caught by this weirdo without her teammates even knowing about it. Deciding it was worth the risk, Mae used her semblance and jumped through the door, spinning around to shoot her revolver and crossbow at the doorway to suppress the spider Faunus a little bit.

The hawk Faunus then shot the lights around the room, darkening it a little bit before she jumped up onto the shadowy rafters, her weapons trained on the doorway. She wouldn't be in perfect darkness, as the big room was being illuminated by the natural light outside. "C'mon, I dare you to do it, creep," she thought, eager to make this guy regret chasing her down.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: EdgeyReyes on March 07, 2018, 09:01:22 AM
Mythos ran past the Berserker to get to the last gunman, her gun firing off a few shots meant to suppress while she quickly closed the gap and jumped over the pool table, her semblance made it possible to locate the gun before she exposed herself, a single bullet from her the revolver in her right hand was shot at the gun. She landed in front of the man and kicked him in his stomach hard.

"Stay down and you'll live." Was all she said as she holstered her revolvers and pulled out her rifle, switching it to the tertiary configuration and changing the magazine with one from her backpack. Pressing the butt of the sniper against her shoulder she sent off round after round into the bulky individual. However, these bullets were aimed at his head, shooting his shoulder didn't stop him and just enraged him. So she resorted to lethal measures in the form of headshots until his head would disappears. She did this despite knowing that it wasn't something that Marvin wanted. He had his way and Mythos had instincts that told her to kill him before he focused on herself.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Walter on March 13, 2018, 04:17:19 AM
(If Dusty doesn't pop up, feel free to take over fighting the wolf in the hat.)

The man which Mythos had gone after dropped his gun as it was shot and curled up after the kick. It seemed that he'd stay down even if he really didn't want to.

The large man grinned to himself as Rory ragdolled from his strike but the grin turned to an angry grimace as the boy was up on his feet again, now running from him. He groaned and started chasing after the kid just as he was struck in the back of the head by the first bullet. He stumbled forward, a small amount of visible aura bursting from where he had been shot. The next shot had much the same effect. The man tried turning around to face his attacker, his expression of pure rage above all else.

The next shot broke his aura. In a moment, that expression changed one final time. As the clear blue aura washed over his body again, he screamed in pain. His fingers had been shattered. There was a hole in his shoulder. The back of his head was aching horribly.

At least it didn't last long.

Mythos' final shot struck him square between the eyes. With one final stumble the man fell down on his back with a sound not dissimilar to that of thunder. Blood quickly began to pool under him. Nearby patrons screamed out louder than before and started scrambling for the exits even more frantically. By now some had chosen to run back up to the foyer just to get out of harm's way.

Rory himself would not have much standing between him and Marvin aside from a single unarmed thug and a bit of a high jump. Said thug still raised his fists for a fight, though he clearly seemed frightened beyond belief. As it stood, it seemed that victory was inevitable for the huntsmen.



Marvin took hold of the rifle with both hands, then ducked down behind the waist-high wall surrounding the balcony as the gunman on the other side of the room opened fire. Several bullets struck uncomfortably close, but none of them hit the business mogul. Once the bullets stopped, Marvin hopped back up on his feet and raised his rifle in retaliation.

The man was roughly eighty meters away. From what he had seen, the rifle was a rather cheap fully automatic one. It was inaccurate, intended for spraying-and-praying. Even so, he just needed one shot to hit.

Marvin held his breath, aimed down sights and fired once. Twice. Three times.

The first shot was way off to the right of the gunman. The second was slightly too far left. The third was just right and hit him in the stomach. The man fell backwards, and Marvin took a mental note to get him some medical assistance as soon as possible.

He then jumped over the railing and back onto the slot machine. With Rory being the closest he called out to him: "Once all the thugs are dealt with, keep an eye on them! If my men haven't already surrounded the area, then we have no chance of catching Whitaker anyway!"

He then looked out towards the others to see Mythos putting her last shot into the bulky man. He sighed. He'd need to talk with her, and he felt that neither of them would like the conversation.



Mae's initial shots seemed to force the spider faunus back. This gave her enough time to pull off her rafters idea - it seemed that the foyer had been completely cleared out by now. If she glanced out, she'd spot several airships circling the area, some already parked in front of the building. Royale's men were fast.

There was a moment of silence. It almost seemed like the spider faunus had decided not to come out...

Then, a pair of clawed gloved grabbed hold of the top of the doorframe. The faunus swung himself through the doorway and stuck to the wall above it, apparently intending to leap onto Mae from there. With her nowhere in sight, though, his eyes widened. He looked down, left, right... And looked up last.



Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: EdgeyReyes on March 13, 2018, 05:33:52 AM
At the bulky individual fell Mythos couldn't help but feel nothing, absolutely nothing. Her conscious didn't think towards the fact that she had just taken a life or that the man may have had a family to care for. He had made his choice and he knew the consequences of picking a fight with armed individuals.

Turning towards her recently disabled individual she rested her rifle against her shoulder as it pointed both backwards and up towards the upper floor, her finger off the trigger as she eyed the man down. "Get me a megaphone or you'll end up like your bulky accomplice over there." She said plainly with zero emotion in her voice as she dropped her bag and pulled out the three remaining flashbangs in her backpack, clipping them onto the joining strap as she put it back on and walked to all the patrons that were no doubt scared or even terrified of her. Looking around and seeing that her teammates had taken care of the rest of the enemies.

Taking the bullets out of one of her revolvers she loaded several flash rounds into it and pointed it above the group a bit above the doorway before the rounds off to disable all of the patrons with the blinding flash. She waited for a few seconds for some to recover before yelling at the patrons to get their attention "ANYONE WHO CONTINUES TO TRY AND ESCAPE WILL END UP LIKE THAT MAN OVER THERE! NOW SHUT UP AND TAKE A SEAT IN THE CENTRE OF THE ROOM. ALL THOSE IN THE FOYER, GET DOWN HERE AS WELL." With her rifle still in its sniper form on her shoulder, a fully loaded revolver in her other hand and an expression that could only be possibly be seen as deadly serious she hoped that they would listen to her words, just so that she wouldn't have to kill anyone else to further displease Marvin.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Riven on March 14, 2018, 05:10:20 PM
Rory was still processing Royale's instructions -- and having strong disagreements about letting the man who'd lied to get the students here be alone in a room with someone like Whitaker -- when Mythos' amplified threat reached his ears. He glanced over his shoulder just long enough to see a gory hole punched through the face of his erstwhile assailant. Something in the pit of the shieldmeister's stomach soured at the sight, and not merely from nausea. Killing people, and threatening to kill more if they didn't cooperate? How had it come to this?! It was a question he already had an answer to... and it sat ill with him.

Lies. From Whitaker, from Royale -- this entire chaotic, bloody scene was the end result of secrets and lies, of ambition, greed, and moral compromise regardless of the reasons why. For just a second he clenched his eyes shut, trying to block it all out, to center himself... but the feeling was t̲͕̱̥̠̬o͏͔̩̠o̱̤ ̶͉f̸͈͖a̗͙m̸͕̱̟̩̞͓͚i̬̬͓̻l̞̰͈̬̺̥͞i̴͙͚̣a̯͓͎͈͙̬r̼̥ ̹̘̣̜t̰͚̠̲͓͜o̵̰͎͔̺ ͇̯͙̦̜̕i̡̤̫͙̦̜͔̣g̢̞̪͕̳n̺͚o͈̜̺̙̱͡r̖͇͇͜ͅe͙̘͍͎̠͈...

The moment passed, and Rory's eyes shot open and turned forwards. There was someone in front of him: another thug, fists up... and terrified. He could see it in the man's face, no real will to fight and arguing with himself over whether standing his ground or running away was the safer option. Well, no time to delay -- this would have to be quick. With mere steps between them now the shield fighter tensed, braced himself, gathered his strength...

... and leapt high, right over the uncertain goon's head. It was, as his teachers had so often said, just as important to know when to fight as how to fight, and a battle that gained nothing was wasteful. If he didn't present himself as a threat to the thug then the enemy more than likely would stand down, especially when he had nothing more than fists (and Mythos was loudly waving around a rifle that had already publicly taken a life). There were bigger concerns to deal with anyway.

"And if Whitaker has another surprise waiting for us, for you?" Clearly there was some discontent with the idea of having the students stay behind to "lock down" the room. " 'Act as any bodyguard would' -- those were your words to me earlier. If you're going in, so am I." It sounded like sudden loyalty or foolhardy courage, but Rory had entirely different reasons for not letting Royale out of his sight...
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Capta1n_Henry on March 30, 2018, 06:45:04 PM
"Suprise," was all the Mae said as she started to fire down about ten death cold ice bolts down at the spider Faunus, aiming at his legs and arms and making sure not to aim at any of his vital arteries. Even if she failed to beat this guy, Royale's men would surely keep him off of her long enough for her to regain her strength and continue fighting. After all, birds eat spiders.

Battle Stats:
Aura Status: 100%
Jumps on cool-down: None
Ammo Count:
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Walter on April 05, 2018, 11:20:50 AM
The spider faunus was fast, but not faster than Mae's surprise attack. The first shot struck her adversary in the lower half of his left leg and the second in his right arm, but the following attacks had significatnly less luck. The faunus leapt off of the wall, hoping to land on his feet and then resume his attack, but the layer of ice now coating his shoes had other plans.

The faunus slipped and nearly fell flat on his back. This would give Mae enough time to act, but it seemed like it wasn't necessary. The commotion in the foyer had brought the attention of Royale's men. Lead by a tall man in his early thirties with blone hair bearing a single lime-green streak, the guards took position near the front entrance, guns trained on the poor faunus currently sitting on the ground.

"Freeze! Don't move and you won't be hurt!" the man shouted out. Mae would likely recognize the man's voice, though it had been muffled before - it was one the guards from the airship.

The spider faunus simply huffed and crossed his arms without a word.



Marvin couldn't help but briefly smile. This kid clearly didn't want to deal with any more bullshit, whether it's from Whitaker or from Royale himself. "Don't worry. I don't intend to go after him. Whitaker's semblance has undoubtedly recharged by now. He's long gone." the businessman explained and jumped down from the balcony, crouching down to lessen the impact of the fall, but letting his aura do most of the work.

He then started heading over to where Mae was rounding up the patrons. It was at this point that Royale's own men began pouring in from the foyer, securing the area and slowly beginning to escort everyone outside.

”I won’t lie to you kids anymore. If you have anything to ask me, ask. If you wish to judge me harshly upon hearing my answers, do so.” he said as he watched his men work. He then looked towards Mythos. ”And as for you… I’ll need to talk with you separately.”
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: EdgeyReyes on April 06, 2018, 05:19:45 PM
"Then let's get this over with" putting the safety of her gun on, Mythos had it sit on her waist as she glanced around the room and decided that the hallway would be the best. Making a small motion to the hallway she opening the door for Marvin to walk through before closing it.

"It's about how I killed that guy and the 2 in the office isn't it?" As Mythos leaned against the wall of the hallway, making eye contact with Marvin and in doing this showed the cold, relentless personality wasn't just a tough girl show, no. It was the only thing that she knew about her herself and she could say with complete confidence that none of those shots was "accidental" as would be the case with the other students.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Walter on April 18, 2018, 09:56:36 AM
Marvin gave some of his men their final orders to finish escorting everyone out and to meet with the authorities before the business man would head to see them himself, then followed Mythos into the hall.

He stood in front of her for a moment, not averting his gaze from hers. He seemed to be reading her, from her posture and tone of voice to the tiniest movements of her body. Finally, he spoke up.

"I only have one thing to ask you. Why did you choose to become a huntress, Mythos?" he asked. His tone wasn't harsh, nor was it friendly or conversational. He spoke as if he was simply negotiating some business deal; if the events which had transpired in the past hour had any effect on him, it didn't show. "If you don't want to answer, you don't have to."
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: EdgeyReyes on April 18, 2018, 10:26:04 AM
"I'll answer. In fact, I'll tell you everything I know." came the cold, stotic reply of a killer, eyes, face, even posture revealing nothing about what she was about to say. Even her eyes: cold, dead, as if she couldn't care what happened. To some degree this was true.

"As you're well-aware, huntress and hubtsman are the world's most renowned fighter. Skill, prestiege, strength being a few reasons why people do this. However, I don't know why I'm here. I don't know if my name is truly my name. My first memories was me waking up in a hut in a village long-gone to destruction. Beside me, a note which gave me instructions and a name, cleaned guns and a motorbike outside. That is the reason why I am here." Bringing her hand to her neck to scratch a growing itch, she continued.

"Whoever gave me these skills, they also gave me this mentality. This cold, dead void is all that I think I am. I guess you could simple say I'm following orders, like those men who attacked us, or like your own men." Mythos' whole explanation didn't change tone, not once. As if she was telling a fake story, to this extent whether it was the truth or not was  completely unknown to even the sharpest of wits.
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Walter on April 18, 2018, 11:02:59 AM
Marvin knew already that Silica couldn't find out a single thing about the girl's past. The only thing he knew was that the girl had come here from Vacuo at some point - they had run into a similar problem looking into Rory's past, but not to this extent. It seemed clear that 'Mythos' was not her given name - the name had been linked with the criminal underground for years. Much longer than she could be responsible for.

Taking a few seconds to take in her word, Marvin made a decision to believe her. If she had a reason to lie, then it must have been a good one.

"A void? I would hardly say that. An empty void wouldn't recognize itself as such, nor would a void feel the need to explain itself to some stubborn old fool." He responded. He averted his gaze momentarily and instead took place to the girl's right, leaning against the wall much the same she was doing. It was hardly a calculated move, even if it seemed like such - it was just a more comfortable position to the man as well.

"I won't claim to know or understand what you've been through, or how you think. All I can tell you is what I know of myself. Of huntsmen." Marvin crossed his arms, looking towards the opposite wall. For a moment it seemed that a smile had crept up on his lips, but if it had, it faded away as quickly as it appeared.

"There are undoubtedly huntsmen out there who do it for the glory. For the thrill of it, or for the chance to prove themselves. I was all three, for that matter. Hell, so our entire team, my wife included. And still, you can call it a load of bull, but I've always felt that every huntsman has a bigger reason why they've taken this path. Some understand that reason before they even start training, others never figure it out in their entire lives. But there is... something." He looked towards Mythos again. "Far too many huntsmen wind up turning their weapons on their fellow man. What separates the good ones from the bad is that they don't make a habit of it."

He then looked back towards the wall. "I'll be taking full responsibility for what happened here tonight. For better or for worse, I should be able to keep what happened here as much of a secret as it could possibly be. If the authorities ask you anything, feel free to tell them I called the shots - or made them. Up to you."

There was a short pause, as if the man was looking for a way to finish his thought. FInally, he added: "And... never forget those whose lives you've taken. Lord knows I wish I had not made that mistake."
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Riven on April 21, 2018, 07:05:18 PM
Rory certainly had his share of questions to ask -- why had Whitaker wanted to ambush Royale, what each stood to gain from this mad powerplay, and perhaps most immediately why he seemed to certain Whitaker had already absconded -- but, given what passed between their "host" and Mythos, it seemed such matters would have to wait. At least for the moment it seemed the crazed chase and its life-or-death scenarios had come to an end, or at least a pause. Even as Royale's forces swept and secured the room Rory half expected to see a fresh set of goons burst through one of the doorways and he couldn't help but note how alert, almost twitchy, his senses seemed right then, alert to every possible threat... even though none was likely to come at all.

Disengaging his shields, he suddenly remembered the revolver he'd confiscated earlier. It had been a gamble whether it would've done him any good, but honestly he was grateful not to have needed it. He carefully pulled the handgun out and made his way to the nearest of Royale's security team, extending the handle in offer. "I took this off one of Whitaker's hired hands, up on the office level during the initial ambush. Not really looking to keep it." He paused. "So... how much did your boss know in advance? Or is that something I'd need to take up with him?"
Title: Re: Casino Royale (CLOSED)
Post by: Walter on April 22, 2018, 05:23:19 AM
The man Rory had walked up to was the same one who had led the guards downstairs, and one of the guards which had been on the ship with the team, a man with blonde hair with a lime streak in it. He took the handgun and examined it for a moment. "Huh. These are standard issue for our security personnel. Lord knows where Whitaker got his hands on so many..."

He then looked back up at Rory and shrugged ever so slightly. "I only knew so much. Marvin knew that Whitaker was planning something, and he knew that he was doing something illegal. You could ask him yourself, but I think the gist of it was that bringing a bunch of kids with him could act as a deterrant. Apparently not. 's why he brought you guys, huntsmen in training."