RWBYFanon v5

RPG World of Remnant => The Vale Region => Beacon Academy => Topic started by: The Mythic Scribe on May 03, 2017, 07:46:37 AM

Title: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on May 03, 2017, 07:46:37 AM
Student,

You have been chosen to be a member of the team ATLA, along with three others whose pictures, names, and contacts you’ll find attached to this message. For your initiation, you have been assigned to a possibly advanced Search and Rescue mission.

The area you will travel to is on the mountain range protecting Vale from Grimm threats elsewhere on the continent, specifically a failed attempt at building a nature reserve/luxury retreat, The Garden. It was too close to Grimm territory, particularly the territory of a triad of Totocoatls and such was taken over and destroyed. A number of people still remain on the grounds, but you are only tasked to bring back one, a woman by the name of Apple O’Hara, a prominent figure in business who herself sent an unspecified amount of carriers to the retreat for extraction of remaining civilians. Unfortunately she underestimated the Grimm there, and is now trapped along with the others. Her picture is attached below.

As for information regarding the area, it is a large expanse, but as we have heard, the remaining people have escaped to an underground bunker. Which one, and if they are all in one or not, we are not sure. These 10 bunkers are scattered around the jungle reserve, the hedge maze, and the open plains/orange orchards. .

During this mission, you will certainly meet a lot of Grimm, so do not take lightly the fact that you have clearance for it. Again, there are three Totocoatls present, along with many other Grimm that may have joined it for the takeover. You should expect some more exotic Grimm, such as Griffons, Bantou, and Beringals, along with the usual King or Emperor Taijitu, Ursa, and the like, though you may not encounter all of them and even so, this is not a mission to rid the area of Grimm. It is to retrieve Mrs. Apple O’Haracle. Nevermore and Vimanas are most definitely not present, the Totocoatls have assured their dominance over the skies in that area.

Immediately head to the hangar, a bullhead and your designated pilot/huntsman guide, Titan, is waiting. He will not assist you in the mission, but will give the leader, Aurora, two flares to fire if you succeed, or if you require immediate retrieval. As soon as you check in, maps of the area will be sent to your scrolls.

Good luck, and we hope for your safe return.




Aurora hurried to the hangar as requested in the message, sipping from her avocado smoothie in the meanwhile. She really , really did not like early mornings, but it was a thing she’d had to get used to. Didn’t mean she had to like it though. As Aurora arrived at the entrance, she immediately saw a blond-haired man with bronzed skin holding a sign with ‘Team ATLA’ on it. She then proceeded to very slowly make her way towards him, looking out for anyone who'd already arrived.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on May 03, 2017, 08:28:22 AM
Tina had just received the message that three others had gotten beside from her, and was now taking her time walking to her designated location, rereading the message on her scroll over and over again, her head down and concentrated on the message. Team ATLA, huh... She would have walked head first into four lampposts, seven walls and countless civilians had she not been using her semblance, she was so nervous about being assigned a team and going on an official mission for the first time at Beacon.

As she arrived, she noticed a male holding up a sign next to a bullhead, as well as another girl standing near him. The sign was too far to read, but she could guess what it said. After twiddling her thumbs and shuffling nervously, Tina finally gathered what courage she had and slowly sidled into the hangar, hoping no-one would shout at her for being in the wrong place.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on May 03, 2017, 05:58:03 PM
"ATLA?" Nero said jumping down from her favorite napping tree. She ironically was already close to hangar. After a quick stretch an brush-off, she nabbed Death Bell and Nightshade from by the tree, and prepped to set out. That was, until a certain hissing noise came from above her. "No Taijitu, this is a place you can't follow me to." Nero said with a sigh, reaching up to her common adder. "I would rather keep you away from death. But here, have a field mouse." With her needy melanistic snake fed, she adjusted gatspy hat, donned her hood, and set off.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f5/c1/9f/f5c19f0ed436c188a4ae693e101b8632.jpg

Sticking to the shadows, Nero slipped in silently and approached quickly. Making sure as to not be seen, she clung to the shadows next to the bullhead. She stalked behind the dark skinned female, hoping to get a good laugh at another's expense. On to the good part: weapons. The light skinned one had two revolvers with an incredibly interesting design. The other had two machetes strapped to her back and about 36 daggers she could see. This promised to have some fun in a workshop, but one more was supposed to show up, and they had yet show up.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on May 04, 2017, 01:53:19 AM
Gwylan's morning had started well enough. Good food and a warm shower were never going to do wrong by him, and discovering there was a nice park by Vale's waterfront was only the icing on the cake. Taking the time to have a good run by the docks, as well as joining a few local lads in chucking a Frisbee about, counted as his morning work out, so Gwylan was resting on a bench when he got the message. Atlas huh? This'll be fun.

Having to take the time to head to his room and grab his gear, Gwylan was forced to jog to the hanger so he wouldn't be too late. No one wants to make a bad first impression after all, and especially not when their entire team was apparently made up of ladies. Making his way over to the bullhead, Gwylan threw up a hand in greeting. "Good morning ladies! You three are all looking lovely today, if I may be so bold as to say so" he exclaimed as he got closer, before stopping a few feet away and shooting a bold wink at them. Nothing ventured right?
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on May 04, 2017, 08:16:08 AM
*how does Aurora react to the hidden Nero?*
*Nero completely ignores his trivial advances.*
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on May 04, 2017, 01:07:02 PM
It seemed that the team was all there then, and the male to female ratio was currently 1:3. 3:1 would've been better. This 1 seemed nice and confident though, if his greeting was anything to go by. She seemed to be taller than him... but that didn’t matter. Much. Aurora fluttered her fingers in return, smiling nicely as well. "Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself." Pretty cute actually, even with the crooked nose. Wait was that a trident? Never mind. Twirling a lock of hair with manicured and closely taken care of fingers, she said, "Name's Aurora by the way, but you know that. Team leader. Nice to meet you, Gwylan." Realizing she should probably give some attention to the other members, she turned to her sides and waved at them too. "Nice to meet you t-hey isn’t there su-” Aurora let out a small yelp as she saw Nero behind her. “Hi. You. Nero. Great. Lovely. You’re here. Hi. Again.” What the fuck. Why? Just-why? Also, why shadows? It was a brightly lit place, it wasn’t like you could become invisible in shadows. They helped though, the girl was good at hiding.

The gals did seem alright at first glance, if you ignored the fact that one-Nero if she remembered correctly-was hiding out in the shadows. Emo much? They were both shorties with slim figures and brown hair. Nero had an… interesting… taste in clothes it seemed. That’d have to be remedied. And the other wasn’t bad. The top and the skirt were two separate parts, which was a little weird for a combat skirt, but it was fairly well put together. Nero had a pair of swords, close-combat then, probably. Even if there were multiple forms, the fact that she kept them as swords by default said that she either dealt mainly in them or had more skill with them. Tina on the other hand had pistols, good. Someone had to fill that role. All in all fine. Though she couldn’t help but think that they either had no smart or no social skills because it was pretty surprising that she of all people was the leader.

Meanwhile, the man holding the sign, Titan, looked impatiently at his watch. Noticing that all the members of team ATLA had arrived, he proceeded to throw the the sign into the nearest trash bin. “Say your hellos quickly. No time to waste. You can get to know each other and form a plan in the bullhead.” His voice was gruff and he really didn’t seem to want to be there. His arms were crossed, showing the bulk of his quite noticeable muscles through his flannel shirt. It didn’t look like he was carrying any weapons, but he looked intimidating all the same. “Also, I need you to state your full name species, and your role. Just to make sure.”

Aurora shrugged, saying, “Aurora Hesperid. Human, and I’m the leader.” Looking around, it didn’t seem that any of the team members were Faunus. No obvious signs so far. Good. Aurora didn’t like Faunus, sure they couldn’t all be bad, but they were just… not natural. And who knows, the Faunus could have the same twisted views as the White Fang. They just seemed to cause trouble. Hopefully none of her teammates were Faunus.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on May 05, 2017, 10:31:17 AM
Tina had barely edged into sight before she inadvertently flinched in surprise at the boy's straightforward greeting-Gwylan, apparently. And the girl who was already there knew him too. Wait. Three? Another flinch, more obvious when she finally noticed the girl who seemingly rose from the shadows, being acknowledged with slightly less of a jovial greeting than the former. Great. She was the odd one out, in that she knew none of them and they seemed to know each other. Way to boost her confidence.

That left the leader mentioned in the message, Aurora, who identified herself in response to the man's prompt. Brushing her hands against Sunrise and Nightfall's handles at her side, in a failed attempt to calm the butterflies in her stomach, she got the words  "T-Tina Allan, h-human. Um, what d-do you mean by role? Long-range shooter, I-i guess?" out in a small, shaky voice. Silently, she shouted at herself for botching her first impression with her new team. Why, oh why, did she always have this problem with new people?

Trying to distract herself from her failure, she glanced around at every member's choice of weapons. Dual blades, or machetes, with an impressive array of throwing knives. Another set of dual blades, similar to scimitars, with Dust knows what mechanism within. Lastly, of all the things, a trident. At least it wasn't a dual set, or a sword. There were enough of those, if she counted her own transforming revolvers. Speaking of which, it looked as if she was the only ranged fighter, which suited her immensely. Almost the best thing to happen to her so far.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on May 05, 2017, 11:09:55 AM
'HAHAHAHAHA, that joke never gets old. I may actually have fun here.' Nero thought. "Sorry about the jumpscare, old habits die hard I guess. You three took it well for three complete strangers though!" she emphasized nearly every word she said by moving her upper body with the tone and message. The new guy had charm boardering bravado. Not really my type, ignore until he tries not to charm me when he sees me. Nero didn't even make eye contact. The dark skinned one had the best reaction, and a crooked nose. May have to check the sensitivity on that subject. The last one is WAY too tense, she may need to work on that, not that I can help her. I'm probably way worse, not with the whole Amare 14 incident when she was 8 on her track record.

Alright, let's get this over with, was hoping to do this on my terms but oh bene (Italian for oh well). Nero made her way to have her entire team in view, she wanted to see their reactions. Taking off her hood and gripping her prized hat, she said,  "Nero LaFatch, Wolf Faunus, probably going to be the scout." As she said 'Faunus', she quickly pulled her hat to her chest, displaying her lupine ears for her new team to see. She then rose up, patiently waiting for the tell tale discomfort and disgust of a racist.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on May 05, 2017, 12:56:45 PM
Gwylan chuckled softly as he watched Aurora and Tina jump in fright thanks to Nero. If she wasn't busy ignoring his cheeky one liners, he reckoned she'd be a good person to have around for a laugh. But she was, and with Tina's obvious lack of self confidence shining through, it seemed that it'd be Aurora that would end up receiving the brunt of Gwylan's wisecracks and charms. For the time being anyway. Maybe some exposure to someone as outspoken as Gwylan would help Tina become a bit more self assured. And Nero would hopefully warm up to him.

Still, that wasn't to say that he was disappointed by Aurora's reaction. She was quite the good looking gal, pretty green eyes, lovely brown hair and curves that went- Nope! Mind out of the gutter Gwylan, that wasn't how you started a friendship. The tattoos on her hands were very interesting though. Things like that were rare enough in his village. The occasional symbol or name, of course, but never anything that intricate.

Gwylan reluctantly tore his eyes off of Aurora to observe Nero's dramatic reveal. Wolf Faunas huh, also a rarity back home. But that was for very different reasons. The older generation liked his village for their retirement homes, and they brought their outdated opinions with them, alongside their stories and hideous taste in clothing. He didn't have anything wrong with her though. Can't help how you're born, and no one should hate you for it. Simple really, but people were dumb.

Giving Nero a warm smile before turning to Atlas, Gwylan threw his hands up behind his head, as if he was going for a nap. If this just so happened to flex his muscles, then oh well. No one was gonna call him out on it, especially with Titan over there blatantly showing his off "Gwylan Anwen. Human, unless you as my mother. Then it's half fish, half angel, half pain in the backside. I'm gonna take a guess and say I'll be the front line fighter and tank". There wasn't much else he could do, with a trident that didn't have dust or some cool gun feature. Maybe one of the girls would help him out with that problem later.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on May 07, 2017, 04:35:52 AM
Aurora's smile wavered ever so slightly as Nero revealed herself to be a Faunus. It was only for a second, before Aurora convinced herself not to show any of her opinions regarding the girl's species. Judging by the reactions of the others, they wouldn't like it if she revealed said opinions, and so she settled for a raising of the eyebrow, though more a friendly and curious gesture than anything. Unlike the uneasiness that she really felt. On a related note, Gwylan's muscles didn't look bad. Okay, so maybe not that related.

"You know I just meant leader and team member," Titan said gruffly. "Whatever strategy you have you can discuss later on the aircraft." After doing something on his scroll, Titan continued, "I sent the maps to your scrolls, they're not much, but they're all you're going to need. We'll be entering by the hedge maze, Southwest." He then looked up. "I don't think there's much else to do, enter the aircraft and do it quickly. You have until sundown to complete the mission." The pilot proceeded to make his way to and inside the bullhead, presumably to get ready for piloting the aircraft.

Seeing this, Aurora quickly followed in suit, looking over her shoulder and smiling while saying "That's that then, there's no time to waste!" In the course of that action, she also made a second of awkward eye contact with Nero. Lovely. Quickly, Aurora turned back to bound up the ramp to the bullhead, taking a seat on the row of seats on the left side. To make herself comfortable, she removed the straps from her waist and legs, setting them to her left, along with her machetes.

As her teammates made their way in, she made an attempt to be a 'good leader,' whatever constituted that. "We have a bit of time before we all arrive, and once we do, we'll have to really quickly get onto completing the mission well and in time too. So. Who can do what? You guys have already stated some of the roles you're going to play, even if not required," here she giggled cutely, "but y'know. Say stuff like, weapons, strengths, oh! And semblances." To make herself comfortable, Aurora leaned back and crossed her arms, maybe or maybe not pushing up her breasts a bit. Hey, they were called assets for a reason, you had to use them.

Spoiler: ShowHide
Link to map: http://imgur.com/NNzV3jg

Not much, but you really only need an idea of the general area + the maze layout.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on May 07, 2017, 10:43:22 AM
Oops. Tina thought, taking what Titan said the wrong way. I mean, no harm intended, right? She looked at her scroll, which was flashing with a new message. Why did they have to make a maze in a garden resort, this just made our mission that much harder. Now I have to navigate a maze with Dust knows what Grimm might pop out around the corner.

Completely missing the exchange between Aurora and Nero, she followed Aurora up the ramp and sat opposite to her team leader. Her dual revolvers were holstered comfortably on the sides of her waist, so there was no need to move them around. She was worried there would be more uncomfortable socialising which naturally came with every team meeting, but that worry was relieved when Aurora mentioned "weapons". Finally, something she could actually talk about without stumbling over her words.

"As you can see," withdrawing both revolvers from their holsters, "I'm primarily a ranged fighter. Obviously I'd prefer if I could stay a distance away from anything threatening, but these can protect me up close as well." she said, stroking the grips of the revolvers lovingly. Giving herself some space as not to skewer her teammates, she then proceeded to convert Sunrise to a gladius and Nightfall to a rapier, the blades catching some of the sunlight from outside."Although I have to admit I'm rubbish at close-quarters. Someone may have to cover me while I rain lead on our target."

"For my Semblance, I can basically detect anything moving on the ground in a large radius, be it human or Grimm. Helps when enemies are hiding, so I can see where they're going." Explanation over, she looked over at Nero, losing her confidence from just before and hurriedly holstering her weapons. "S-so, um, Nero, what's yours?
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on May 07, 2017, 12:40:07 PM
Gwylan's reaction was nice enough with his warm smile at her. Aurora, however, may be a subject to look into, that wavering smile didn't escape her notice. At the mention of a map, Nero decided to take a quick peak. A maze hmm? That promises fun. Nero did feel a bit embarrassed at her taking her 'team roll' explanation too seriously.

On the Bullhead, Nero removed her swords' sheaths from around her waist, sitting opposite to Aurora and preferably away from her team as to not annoy them with the music she was about to play from her scroll, not really comfortable at the feeling of takeoff. She stopped at the mention of fighting. She was a bit saddened at the fact that the pistols are not used to their full potential. THAT she could help Tina with, easily. "Ah, combat. Well, Death Bell and Nightshade..." Nero then pulled out her completely identical swords, same in color length and weight, juggled them a bit, then form-shifted them into their gun form. http://www.writeups.org/wp-content/uploads/Mass-Effect-ME2-Scimitar-shotgun-h.jpg *this but black* "double as shotguns. I prefer to keep them in sword form for easy transit." As they form-shift back into sword form and puts them back into their sheaths. "My semblance, I can turn myself into smoke, allowing me to dodge attacks and pass through things like chain fences as if they were air, but I can't move unless I was moving beforehand such as being thrown. I also move like a human, so if I shift while being lifted, I will drop. Lastly if fighting style, which is a hit-and-run style. I can take any human sized foe easily in a one on one, but anything bigger and you all to give me an opening against bigger opponents."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on May 07, 2017, 01:33:50 PM
Gwylan rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue up at Titan's back. He really knew how to boost morale before a fight. And why wasn't he joining the mission anyway? Surely, if they wanted this woman alive, they'd send the huntsmen with the rescue team, and not have him sit in the bullhead twiddling his thumbs. Didn't these things have guns?

Gwylan shook his head as he hopped into the bullhead and took the seat beside Aurora, drawing and twirling Irvine around his right side as he did. Those thoughts never boded well on a mission. Better to forget about them and focus on the job at hand. Saving lives, kicking ass and maybe impressing the girls along the way, Aurora especially. Her adjustment didn't escape his notice, though whether that was his observational skills or just hormones at play was up in the air.

"I wouldn't be too concerned about bigger opponents, Nero. Those are right up my alley. You didn't think I carried around a weapon that's about as tall as Tina here just because it does wonders for my biceps, did ya?" Gwylan grinned playfully at the girls opposite him, before chucking his trident a small bit into the air, making certain to have it spin in position as it went, so that when he caught it with his left hand, it looked all the better.

"Apart from that though, I'm tough enough. Can take a bit of a beating if I need to, though I'd prefer not to. My style is your usual blitz thing: strike hard and fast and don't stop till their dead". Gwylan was a bit too proud to mention that his weapon didn't have any sort of interesting transformation or ranged capabilities. He loved his family to bits, but they weren't the wealthiest group of people, and could only afford to give him a standard education. Without the money or knowledge, his choices had been very limited. "As for my semblance, well, I can propel myself through water. That's it I'm afraid, nothing cool or special going on there".

Throwing a glance Aurora's way, Gwylan pulled Irvine back towards him, propping it against his left leg and shoulder as he wrapped his right leg around it and on top of his other leg, leaving his right hand on the shaft of the trident while adjusting his hair with his left.

Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on May 08, 2017, 08:37:36 AM
Aurora listened closely as everyone introduced themselves combat-wise. Tina would be the ranged fighter, preferably staying back. Nero would be hit-and-run. Both would need cover. Nero wouldn't have to be a scout if Tina had a semblance like that. Good thing too, she didn't trust the girl enough to let her wander on her own. And Gwylan would probably be front-line, using his hard and quick style to be the tank taking out enemies head-on. Pity that he couldn't make use of his semblance, there was no water in the place they were going. And she bet that he looked nice soaked too. That t-shirt could leave less to the imagination.

"Well I guess I'll be the one providing you guys," here she referenced her teammates, "cover at mid-range if we're dealing with Grimm. I can do both long-range and close-quarters otherwise, and can mix the two too. I have my machetes for melee stuff, and I have my lovely throwing knives for other stuff." In turn, she held up each of her weapons, the latter being represented with the thigh strap. "Other people might not be able to throw knives very far, but I got that down." She winked at the others.

Aurora looked around for something to demonstrate her semblance with, eventually just choosing to use one of her knives. Turning her head to keep it in her range of vision, Aurora gently tugged it back and forth enough to extricate it from its strap, with a little help from the aircraft taking flight, then pulled it quickly to her before catching it with her hand and simultaneously stopping her semblance. "I can push things away from me, and pull things to me. You could say that it isn't just my personality that's magnetic." Another wink, this time mostly directed at Gwylan, as she also gave a playful tug on his shirt with her semblance.

"For what I'll need you to do," she said, looking at her other-well, mostly just Tina and the window behind her showing the clouds they were now even with in flight, eye contact with Nero was a little awkward. "I can be left open a lot if disrupted in movement, and anything fast is pretty hard for me. So I'll need someone having my back for that. If I'm focusing entirely on my knives, especially so. Maybe someone with a gun," here she looked at Tina and Nero, though only hesitantly at the latter, "or I can just take a higher position."

Taking in everything, Aurora stated her thoughts on what the best game plan would be. "With one, Gwylan's front line fighter, tank and all, rushing the opponent. Tina stays back, somewhere elevated if needed, and takes shots from there, not too far though, you're not a sniper. Nero, you can work your style, hit and run, wear 'em down. Tina has your back and Gwylan's to make sure you don't get too worn out and Gwylan can help if needed. Tina can also jump in and join the fray with Nero and you two can defend each other. As for me, I'll stay behind Gwylan, but still close enough to work my magic with my knives and my machetes if needed. Grimm though, so my knives will be my main."

She took a deep breath.

"A herd, Gwylan and Tina are the same, I'll have to take a more of a upfront attack, while you Nero, might have to pick off the herd and have our backs." If that was possible. She clapped her hands together. "Any other ideas? Regarding the plan of action when we get there, where to go first and all, I think we should wait until we get there, to kinda get the lay of the land and hopefully see where certain Grimm are."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on May 08, 2017, 11:06:52 AM
Tina blushed a little between Aurora and Gwylan's interactions. She was never good at that sort of thing, no matter how hard she would try. Seems she wouldn't either for the foreseeable future, though now wasn't the time to elaborate on how useless she was at socialising. Still, she was intrigued by Nero's and Gwylan's semblances, but unfortunately the latter wouldn't be used. Unless they could make the maze flood, that is.

Her confidence growing by the minute as she got comfortable talking to the group, she was able to relax and speak more freely, though not completely. "I can cover all of you if I'm left alone, which shouldn't be a problem since all three of you are mainly close-quarters fighters. I don't need to be elevated, because that mainly benefits snipers, while revolvers are better used as dueling weapons from medium range. As Aurora mentioned, if any of you are having trouble, I can reinforce your position, give you a reprieve, but only for a short while."

Toying with the chamber on Sunrise, she glanced at Gwylan-she was still too shy to look him right in the eyes. "To be honest, Gwylan, you're the only wall between me and the enemy, so if you do have to fall back, give me a shout, please? Getting stomped on by Grimm isn't a thing I want happening to me." Turning to address Nero hesitantly, she got an idea. "Um, Nero, your job as a scout would be much easier if you knew where the enemy was beforehand, right? I might just be able to help with that." Finally, she dropped her gaze to her lap where she had laid Sunrise. "I'm sorry if I seemed too nervous to even speak at first. I just can't help it-I've never been good at socialising in my life. Maybe I might improve on this trip? All I want to do is not be a burden here." she finished timidly, her face infused with pink. She didn't dare look up for fear of seeing either faces of scorn or amusement. Why did I even say that...
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on May 08, 2017, 01:07:12 PM
Her lack of self confidence is way out of hand. I think even this I could help with. Nero got up, placed her headphones back in her jacket pocket. And quickly went over to the cowering Tina. Lifting her head to make eye contact, she spoke in a calmer and more melodic tone, but still loud enough to be heard by the rest of her team. "Listen, I don't think anyone in this ship, anyone in training or going through initiation, or even a full hunter slash huntress has gotten to be where they are without one thing. Skill. I don't think that any school in all of Remnant would have accepted you if they didn't think you have what it takes to thrive as a huntress. Now, does your semblance have a range? If I met an enemy I didn't know was there, there would be a high chance I may not be coming back, so knowing my scouting range is essential. Can you tell what kinds of enemies are there? There is a big difference between a Beowulf and a King Taijitu. Third off, why do you hate me Aurora?" Nero said, turning her caring smile to an emotionless stare as she faced the target of her new inquiry.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on May 08, 2017, 02:06:11 PM
Gwylan smirked back at Aurora as she pulled at his shirt with her semblance. "I bet we could think of soooo many fun things to do with that, ehh?" Gwylan playfully shot back at her. She'd been matching him tit for tat on the flirting front up till now, and he was really hoping to get a blush out of her at some point in the near future. He had a sneaking suspicion it'd be a good look on her.

Leaning back into his seat after, Gwylan let his eyes jump between the girls as they spoke, focusing mainly on Tina. Her request for him to call out retreats was more than reasonable, though anything that caused him to willingly fall back would probably be dangerous enough that they'd already be running. Or he'd just pick her up as he went. She was a dainty little thing, really. Carrying her wouldn't be the most troubling thing in the world.

Speaking of carrying people, if the target was injured in anyway, then it'd probably fall to him to carry her. Aurora and Tina wouldn't be as accurate with a woman on their backs, and it'd slow Nero down to much. He'd have to mention that when there was an opening.

Waiting until after Nero was finished, Gwylan leaned forward so he could get a better chance at looking Tina in the eyes. "Tina, I promise you, if anything looks at you wrong, on or off the battlefield, they'll have one hell of a fight with me to get through first. We're a team now, right? I've got your back and you've got mine". A bit over dramatic perhaps, but it was easier than dealing with Nero's inquiry into Aurora. He'd intervene if things got out of hand, sure, but he really hoped it wouldn't come down to that.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on May 09, 2017, 10:05:29 AM
Aurora full on laughed at Gwylan's rebuttal. Just-the sheer boldness of it... Trying to regain some semblance of composure, she fought back her giggles and responded, "Play your cards right and you won't have to wait long." She tried to raise an eyebrow alluringly, but Aurora couldn't help the wide smile that broke out. Ah, this was fun.

She was taking notes of Tina's adjustments when Nero suddenly stood up to out of the blue wing it for a rousing speech. In the meanwhile, Aurora herself just sat dumbfounded at the girl. Well that was weird. Maybe it could help Tina though? If it didn't make her even more nervous of course. She knew social, and shy people didn't like their shyness to be called out very often. Then again, it still could help. She was internally debating this when Nero suddenly called her out. She was almost too caught off guard to notice Gwylan's unusually heroic response. Though... she did wonder how Grimm would look at her wrong. And a small part of her really wondered what could make him say something so protective about her after just meeting, team or no team.

But. It was time to do what she did best. She looked down for a moment, took a deep breath, and lifted her head to meet Nero's gaze. "I don't hate you," she said. Oh, before it goes unmentioned, said 'what she did best'? Lie. "I admit that I might act uncomfortable around you, but that's because I didn't grow up around Faunus." Except for her mother, her siblings, and countless others. "And the White Fang hasn't been good to me." True. Bonus points for tragic backstory and pity. "So I'm not really sure how the lot of you are." True. "But I don't hate you." True, she just didn't trust her. People said that the best lies stemmed from truth. The very best lies though, were ones that were truths, simply misleading in tone and incorrectly portraying want was really at hand. Thankfully, Aurora was a practiced individual in these arts. "Unless," here she raised her eyebrow, "you are White Fang." She cracked a smile. "Kidding."

Spoiler: ShowHide
Alright, try to wrap it up soon, then we can magically timeskip to the arrival.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on May 09, 2017, 01:05:06 PM
Tina buried her face in her hands for a short while, reflecting upon the words of advice given to her by her teammates, although completely shutting out Nero and Aurora's conversation. Even if she was in any condition to listen, she wouldn't have been much help anyway. Gathering her resolve, she stayed this way for a good few moments, before letting her hands fall from her face.

"Okay." she said in a small voice. Looking up at Gwylan and Nero, the tiniest of smiles formed on her face as she said: "Thank you both for the encouragement..." she looked out of the window to hide her blush before looking back at Nero. "Nero, if it's just for scouting, I can see up to 30 meters in any direction. And yes, I can generally guess what it is, since each Grimm has different sized footprints or contact points on the ground. Hopefully that helps."

To attempt to further ease her tension, she took her scroll out and loaded up her last save file on the game she was playing. Only then could she could truly relax. It was a bit rude to completely ignore the rest of her team, but that was as much as she could take for now. Hopefully, they would get the hint and reduce conversation with her to a minimum.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on May 09, 2017, 02:14:26 PM
Fuck that! Nero thought. Before even Nero could think of what to say to Aurora's joke, Nero quickly sprinted over, grabbed Death Bell from her sheath, and placed her blade against Aurora's throat. With a caustic and hurt voice, eyes furious but nearly crying, she said, "Don't you ever even joke about comparing me to the supremacist bastards or murderous beasts that make up two thirds of the White Fang's ideals. I hate racists, and you are getting dangerously close to exemplifying what most Faunus believe all humans are like." After replacing Death Bell in the sheath she had taken her from at her seat, Nero turned back to Aurora, the rage in her voice and eyes lessened, but the pain still evident. "I don't want to hate you, I really don't, but racists like the White Fang and most Atlesian I've met really know how to keep the rift between Human/Faunus equality from being closed." Sitting back down on her seat, she efficiently whipped out her headphones and began listening to her tunes. "Sorry for the breakdown, but I have been dealing with racism for fifteen years, all because I have an extra set of ears on the top of my head..." Nero then turned up the music to volumes that block out the hearable world, and slapping away any attempts to touch her.

*the music she is listening to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATcKBMYYSJs *
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on May 09, 2017, 03:44:26 PM
Gwylan was half out of his seat with his trident in hand when Nero thankfully backed down. And what good luck that was. First day together and there was almost a fight. One that Gwylan wasn't entirely certain where he stood. Or if he could win. Sure he could probably hit harder than either Aurora or Nero, but the bullhead's tighter conditions meant he'd be unable to really use Irvine. But that wasn't going to be a problem now anyway.

What was a problem was the tense atmosphere that had descended the team. Tina was hiding behind a game and Nero was blaring music loud enough that Gwylan was shocked Titan wasn't telling her to keep it down. Aurora was probably reeling inside from Nero's sudden switch in temperament. And Gwylan had no way of knowing how to respond without potentially offending anyone.

Leaning back into his seat, with Irvine rested across his lap, pointed rested away from Aurora of course, no need for an accidental impalement thanks to turbulence, Gwylan gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile to his leader before pulling a small packet of wipes from his pocket. Normally something used to clean hands, Gwylan liked to keep them close to remove any smudges from his gear, which he began to do.

After a short while, he began humming quietly to remove a bit of the awkwardness.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on May 12, 2017, 09:50:26 AM
Okay this girl was a fucking psycho. A fucking joke, that's all it was, and yet the bitch had the gall to try threatening her. "It was a fucking joke," she muttered under her breath. Goddamn, just a joke and Nero was up and holding a blade to her neck, accusing her of being some dirty, low-down. And truthfully she wasn't doing much for the opinion Aurora already had on her kind. She herself had admitted that the White Fang had hurt her, and the bitch just-just...

Aurora exhaled slowly to try calming down. She was just so mad at the girl, at her unwarranted and honestly crazy actions. Her hands gripped the seat so tightly that her knuckles turned white, just as brimming with tension as the atmosphere around them at the moment. Nero was escaping whatever immediate consequences could be in store by way of headphones and ignoring everyone. Again. Bitch. Tina was trying to keep to herself, poor girl. And Gwylan... She had no idea how she seemed to him now with Nero's little victim playing. He was probably the only reason why she hadn't gotten up and slapped the girl already, or at least what he represented: her reputation. Smart bitch played the victim, though in any sane person's eyes she was the opposite. Of both.

To pass the time and get rid of the tightness in her chest, Aurora just leaned back and slept. Or at least tried to, the most she could do really was just rest and close her eyes. And to do some damage control, as well as have a more comfortable pillow and do the best she could with continuing the flirting, she leaned back on Gwylan for her beauty not-quite-sleep, careful to maneuver under the blunt end of his trident. It wasn't the pronged end, but it could still be uncomfortable. In the back of her mind, Aurora noted that Gwylan's muscles were very, very nice. And as he started humming, she, recognizing the tune, joined in.


(Timeskip to arrival)

With a bump and a jostle, the bullhead landed at their destination, what was left of The Garden. And that bump and jostle made it so Aurora had fallen half on top of Gwylan, and her assets were maybe, maybe not pressed against his-admittedly nice-chest, in view of him as well. "Oops." She straightened herself slowly, stretching a bit before strapping on the knives that she'd removed for the flight and her machete.

Soon after, the bullhead's hatch lowered to a ramp leading down to the ground. Titan entered the ain area the team'd been staying from the cockpit, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. "We're here. I had to land a little bit further so the Totocoatls wouldn't immediately attack, but if you just follow the road around a little, you'll be at the entrance of the hedge maze.” His eyes hardened, mouth set in a hard line. “Here,” he handed a red flare to Aurora, who took it readily. “The school says I have to give you this, for tradition and all. Light it if you need immediate extraction. Or just call. My contact information’s in the message I sent with the map. There’ll be other aircrafts here to take care of anyone you rescue.” He turned to leave before hesitating and saying over his shoulder, “Just remember, your mission is not to rescue everyone. Or to rid the area of Grimm. It’s to rescue Apple O’Haracle. And… be careful. Grimm aren’t the only threat you have.” With that, he exited the area.

After such a blunt rundown of the situation, Aurora just shrugged and half-ran down the ramp to be met with a deceptively pretty scene. They were on a plateau-like area that joined with the mountains that made up Vale’s natural barrier against what resided on the other side, presumably on the same side as the kingdom was. Below was an ever-reaching jungle, one that continued to the horizon and beyond, where the sun was shining brightly, but the sky was just cloudy enough to keep it from being too bright. A sharp turn kept The Garden hidden from them, and vice versa, but behind and around you could see a couple of aircrafts seemingly belonging to a company called ‘Oracle.’ White-collar workers could be seen around with some heavily armed dudes, probably the people who’d be whisking the survivors back to wherever.

“Alright. Guess this is where it begins.”
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on May 12, 2017, 10:05:44 AM
Yep. Tina agreed silently with their leader. She'd distracted herself with her game, enough time to pull herself together and get over the shock that was Nero's outburst. She'd seemed very kind too, until that happened. It was sad for Tina to experience, what the simple mention of White Fang could provoke. But now, enough thinking of what was past. Now she had to visualise herself in a game. A really realistic one. One where she could let her guns do the talking.

Time to flip the switch. It was, by all means, "Mission Start".

She exited the bullhead on high alert, revolvers pointed at the sky. She had heard Titan's explanation, but she wasn't taking any chances. Unfortunately, that meant she missed most of the beautiful scenery. It didn't matter, her eyes were narrowed and her whole body was tense. Anything could leap at them while they were in relative "safety", so she took a position where she could cover the exit of the bullhead, waiting for someone to give orders.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on May 12, 2017, 10:46:43 AM
"Alrighty then." Nero said, drawing both swords in preparation for any fight. Her demeanor has changed, to a slightly lax posture, obviously waiting to move out. "Tell me when to move out, and I will. Oh, forgot to mention during flight, if you see any Beowolves with no left eye, don't kill it and let me know. Those are my fights."

Nero then saw the crowd of people and was noticeably shaken. "Non folle, nient'altro che folle" (Italian-to-English: Not crowds, anything but crowds)
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on May 12, 2017, 11:30:21 AM
Again, Titan managed to give an incredibly motivational speech. Really, it was truly inspirational. Well, the parts he'd heard anyway. Aurora had practically shoved all other faults out of his head with her little tumble when they'd landed, not that he'd been having all that many anyway. She was one hell of a good distraction. Gwylan had to get some self control around that girl, else his interest resulted in him being turned into a shish kebab.

Strolling down the ramp after his team, and taking a less than discreet look at Aurora's butt as she went, Gwylan couldn't help but be stunned by the scenery. It was all rather picturesque for a Grimm attack. He'd expected there to be more........ Grimm really. Still, couldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Nothing jumping down their throat immediately was anything but bad. If it gave the team time to diffuse a bit from the flight, then all the better. This'd be hard enough without Aurora and Nero being at each other's necks the whole time.

"So, we going in immediately? Or do ya wanna talk to that lot other there, see if anything's come up since the briefing?".
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on May 12, 2017, 01:34:05 PM
Aurora furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at Nero and Tina. What... what were they doing? Tina was... guarding something that did not need to be guarded. Nero was... having a panic attack. Also her psycho levels were steadily rising considering her comment about one-eyed beasties. Lovely. Off to a great start. At least Gwylan was still acting fairly normal. He actually brought up a pretty good point, too.

"Uh, yeah, good idea." Aurora walked a few paces in the direction of the crew, waving hi with her left hand and keeping the right behind her back. "Hey, we're the team Beacon sent to take care of your thing with Apple O'Haracle. We were just wondering if you had any new news or updates, or..." she let her voice trail off, waiting for one of them to answer.

A woman in a pencil skirt with one of those earpieces did deign to do so, shaking her head and then proceeding to quickly evaluate the team. "Guess Beacon's sending their best, huh? Said you guys were first years. Initiation mission. They really, really seem to care about the boss's health." The woman crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at Aurora, seemingly not too pleased. "If Mrs. O'Haracle's team couldn't do anything, how could you? I mean-"

The woman probably went on after that, it was just that Aurora took the time to back away and return to the other three. "Well that was a waste of time," she commented. "Can't let them get us down though, we can do it. I'm certainly not failing my initiation." Trying to imbue some team spirit in the others, Aurora herself started walking in the direction of the fallen resort, looking down at her scroll, which very luckily showed them the layout of the maze. "People to save, we have until sundown, and I don't care what that Titan dude says, we're not just finding this Apple lady and leaving everyone else behind."

"The maze has bunkers one and two," said Aurora, "and two's closer, so I suppose we should pay a visit to that one first. Then we can go back to one." She took a moment to think, looking around at her teammates. "Gwylan darling, if you don't mind, you can lead the charge. I'll be behind you, then Nero, then Tina watching our backs. Though to be honest," here she inserted one of her charming smiles directed at everyone but Nero, "I'd suppose it'd be kind of hard for the bigger baddies to fit in there. Unless it's one of those really, really tall ones. Then, worse. But anyway, there's little chance of a large number of them converging on us, or of one sneaking up on us."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on May 14, 2017, 02:48:26 PM
Tina took note of Aurora's words, but made no reply just yet. She remained on guard despite her words, glancing at Nero and dismissing her words as gibberish-which, to her, it was.

In her head, she ran though several situations. If they did run into a Grimm inside the maze, on one hand, it had nowhere to duck and dodge to, making it easy fodder for her revolvers. On the other hand, they would suffer the same restrictions, being unable to manoeuvre beyond a certain degree. Hopefully Gwylan could hold whatever they would face off long enough for her to shoot it down.

Nodding in agreement as to which bunker they were hitting first, Tina then waited for them to move out, she being assigned the rear guard.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on May 15, 2017, 11:21:48 AM
Spoiler: ShowHide
 Pyro requested that we skip her this round, so I'm gonna go now. Get this show on the road and whatnot.


Gwyaln hummed an agreement to Aurora and jogged slightly so he could take the lead. He was glad she'd decided to help as many people as possible who'd gotten caught up in this situation. A leader that was willing to leave innocents behind for the mission might end up leaving a teammate behind too, if things went south. Kinda person who did that, well, she'd probably have a mutiny on her hands.

But enough of the ominous what ifs, Gwylan had a job to do. Point man was exactly where he should be,  and as long as the girls didn't shoot him in the back, this would be a walk in the park. Thankfully, they seemed to be the competent sort, so that was very unlikely. Apart from that, the biggest threat to Gwylan would either be a corner ambush, or some horror movie kinda thing where they came over the walls and plucked him up. That'd be...... terrifying really. Better not to think of it.

Twirling Irvine around himself with an arrogant sort of ease, the one only the brave or the stupid had, in an effort to hide his sudden nervous thoughts, Gwylan leaned his head back to the girls. "Hey, what's the plan if we've got injured? I can probably carry someone if we have to. It'd only cost me my more exaggerated and extreme swings, but I could still fight well enough. Can't imagine the same for you three though".
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on May 16, 2017, 05:48:26 AM
Aurora was about to respond to Gwylan when she caught sight of the hedge maze. This was no festival corn maze, that was for sure. The walls were twenty feet high, though only about two feet thick. That was good, then they'd be able to cut through with more ease if the need should arise. Still, it was much larger than she thought, but then again, rich people. Who knew what happened in their heads. Luckily, the maze currently obscured them from the view of the three Totocoatls reported to inhabit the place.

Remembering that she had a question to answer, Aurora looked from the maze down to Gwylan ahead of her already half-inside. "Well, our Aura should take care of some, and prevent ones that are too serious." She looked him up and down and continued, "Strong as you are, carrying someone would not be a good idea, weights heavier than a hundred pounds while you fight rarely are. Otherwise though, suit yourself." She shrugged. "Don't carry them too long though, stamina. In combat situations, they'll have to stay back in a fairly safe location while the rest of us fight and cover them."

That done with, Aurora gestured at the entrance. "Lead the way. Oh, and let's try not to create pathway by raze for now, attention is not something we need, as lovely as it normally is."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on May 16, 2017, 08:20:03 AM
Tina chose to speak up at this point with "If we do have to evacuate any injured and we run into Grimm, I can protect them while simultaneously covering any fight. I can't carry them, though..."

Still waiting for her teammates to enter the maze in front of her, she finally dropped both revolvers to her sides, hoping that if they stayed quiet enough, the Totocoatls wouldn't hear them. Though, their emotions might betray them, but she'd shoot them out of the sky before they could harm her team. Hopefully. She didn't want any injuries on her conscience.

"Er...Perhaps I'll keep an eye on the sky as well. If you hear me fire, assume a Grimm's spotted us? She suggested. "Though, if I'm using my semblance to either guide us or detect anything around us, someone else might need to take over. Is that ok?" She asked her team. Bit late, but better late than never, right?...Right?

Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on May 16, 2017, 10:12:05 AM
"I can take sky duty, but I would rather be taking a more advanced position, you know, scout and all. As for carrying, I really focused on agility more than power. Free-running is something I kind of want to get in to." Nero then flicks Nightshade into a shotgun. She scratches just below her scar and secures her hat. I'm ready for a fight, just try me Grimm, she thought.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on May 16, 2017, 10:35:27 AM
"Through the maze but not through it. Easy as pie" . Man, some pie would be nice right now. Better than walking through the death maze anyway. Least he wasn't alone, that'd really make this the worst day ever.

What was with rich people and distressingly large stuff. Everything had to be big and gaudy with them. They just couldn't appreciate the subtle things in life. This hedge maze was so ridiculously oversized and pointless it wasn't even funny. All it did was make the owner look posh. That and hide a small army of hidden threats that wanted to eat their faces. Fun for the whole family.

Holding Irvine across his body, Gwylan slowly began to step forward into the belly of the beast. It certainly wasn't the fastest advance in history, but he wanted to try focus his senses on the area. If he was lucky, he'd be able to pick out the nasty that'd try jumping them.

He got about halfway down before turning back to Aurora, murmuring softly, "Perhaps we should try leaving a trail of some kind? I don't want to risk being stuck here with no maps if something goes wrong".
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on May 19, 2017, 07:44:51 AM
"Go ahead on sky duty," said Aurora. "But I'd say that even if we're emitting slightly negative emotions, the other people here are much more scared. If in a last resort situation, we could use the Grimm to locate where the most people are." She looked over her shoulder. "Though, it doesn't really matter, because we're saving everyone." Then, Aurora turned back to look ahead of her, where Gwylan was taking the lead. "Could be useful if some bunkers are empty though. Still, big risk."

Aurora quickened her pace to hear Gwylan better. "Hmm? Like a bread crumb trail? Or a ball of rope?" Having none of those, Aurora looked around and just decided on making indentations in the side of the wall at intersections. "Wherever we turn, I'll cut off a portion of the maze. Dudes aren't using it anymore, right?"

Above, the Totocoatls were still far away from the maze, flying more over the orchards and jungle environment. Every once in a while, you could hear the whoosh of giant wings and the occasional gnashing of jaws. A closer threat, though, lurked ahead. At the current intersection, a rustle sounded from the other side of the left wall. Soft growling noises could be heard, and the footsteps light and nimble enough to be Beowolves. A quick peek into the other side confirmed this for Aurora, it was a group of three to be exact. She held on to Gwylan's shoulder to keep him from moving, and held up a hand so that Tina and Nero would as well.

Aurora moved away from the wall, careful to make as little noise as possible. As soon as the creatures rounded the corner, they’d be able to see the team. She motioned to the others to get ready. ’Attack first,’ she mouthed to the others, hoping that she could convey her thoughts to take the Grimm as soon as they rounded the corner clear. Aurora herself took two knives from the belt on her waist to ready herself.

Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on May 20, 2017, 07:22:07 AM
On seeing Aurora's hand signal to stop, Tina instinctively put both trigger fingers on the triggers, keeping her aim where she hoped any Grimm's head would emerge from around the corner. She silently gulped, slightly nervous but trying not to show it, running through her combat plan; on visual of the enemy, she would commence indiscriminate firing at the enemy, unless the sound attracted other enemies, or there was another order from her leader.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on May 20, 2017, 01:21:16 PM
Nero heard the Beowolves before they appeared, as an extra sensitive set of second ears were that useful. She then pressed herself within shadows, as well as being downwind, thanking her lucky stars she hasn't shifted lately. I swear, it takes forever to get the smell of sulfur and ash out of these clothes, Nero thought. Prepping Death Bell to do most of the work, as Nightshade was already a shotgun, Nero prepped for a few silent take-downs.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on May 20, 2017, 02:11:42 PM
Gwylan nodded at Aurora and stepped to the right side, brushing against the opposite wall. He really wasn't in a good position here. Sure, he could fight in the maze, but there was every chance that he'd be knocked into the girls' line of fire and take a shot meant for the Grimm.

He didn't have enough time to think of a way around this problem, though, so he decided to do the next best thing: wait for the Grimm to get close, then pounce. If he could pin one against the wall, even for a second, it'd give the others the opportunity to finish off the others while he handled that particular problem. Plus, he'd present himself as the biggest target, which might keep them off Tina and Aurora. Something about Nero made him feel that she'd be annoyed if he kept the fight from her though. Still,not the best idea, but it'd have to work. Gwylan waved his hand to the girls to get their attention, and then used his trident to indicate slamming something off the wall beside him. Hopefully, they'd get the memo.

Now the fun was really beginning. Most would be nervous at the thought of fighting their first Grimm, but Gwylan was mostly excited. This was what he'd wanted in his life, the thrill of fighting and the glory of victory. No beast was gonna take him down, not with his skills, and his new team. This was going to be glorious!
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on May 21, 2017, 03:08:10 AM
This was it then. Aurora nodded to show her assent for Gwylan's plan, lifting her right arm to prepare to throw.

It seemed like an eternity to Aurora, but in reality it was probably only a few seconds. The first Grimm rounded the corner and showed some sort of surprise at seeing the three. It quickly got over this though, growling to the other two and snarling at the team. The one on the left used its claws to get a grip on the walls of the hedge maze, clearing the thing in one bound to turn back down and prepare itself for attacking from above. The other two slowly crept forwards, beside each other, not good for Gwylan's plan.

Aurora moved before the Grimm did. Quickly, she threw both knives at the Beowolf on the right, then used her semblance to repel the knives, both actions trying and succeeding to push the Grimm out of the way and hopefully giving Gwylan the opportunity to slam the middle one. Resisting the instinctual urge to hold out her hands while using her semblance, Aurora readied two more knives, but did not throw them, focusing instead on the pushing and hoping that Gwylan made his move soon.

Up on the wall, the remaining creature turned its head quickly from left to right before choosing Tina to attack, not noticing Nero in the shadows. It growled, hunched down, then sprung forward, leaping off of the hedge maze's wall and straight at the small girl who it'd apparently singled out as the least imposing target.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on May 21, 2017, 08:46:32 AM
As soon as the first Beowolf turned the corner and got hit by Aurora's knives, Tina opened fire on it, shooting the Grimm with 4 rounds from both revolvers, following her plan to fire indiscriminately. The sounds of the bullets leaving the chamber brought memories of her training at the old firing range to her head, each round making the sound she'd come to memorise, know and love. What was the quote again? "I love the smell of Dust in the morning."

Refraining from firing at the centre one for fear of hitting Gwylan, she almost failed to notice the third Beowolf leaping at her from atop the hedge. Yelping half in surprise and half in fear, she instinctively changed both revolvers to their melee forms and braced them in an X in front of her, hoping it would be enough to hold off the beast until something else got it's attention.

battle data: ShowHide

Rounds: 8/12 for both revolvers
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on May 21, 2017, 01:36:11 PM
Luckily for Tina, Nero was near enough to react. Moving with speed and grace that spoke of years of training, much longer than possible for Signal to have taught her. Interposing Nightshade between Tina and the claws, Nero gave three quick slashes to the Beowolf's chest and one to the left eye.

The Wolf was then redirected to be facing Nero, who was still within protecting distance of Tina. Nero was also growling at the Beowolf, very much like a canine. Her stance screaming 'come at me, you wouldn't bet the first'.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on May 21, 2017, 03:29:26 PM
Gwylan dived the moment he heard Tina's guns stop firing, throwing himself into motion he'd practised almost religiously, to prevent him impaling himself on his own weapon, which would be beyond embarrassing. Imagine the girls' faces if he'd down that. He'd never be able to live it down.

Not that he'd be doing much living if he didn't stop that Beowolf. At least he was in it's way now, and it looked hungry. But then, so do most things that are leaping at you with open mouths. Keeping to a crouch and slamming the base of Irvine against the ground behind him, Gwylan sharply swung the trident in an arc beside him, using the ground as a fulcrum to catch and swing the Grimm over his head, it's own momentum working against it, and slam it into the ground on it's back. A deviation of his original idea, but it worked nonetheless.

"Aurora, switch! I'll handle the other, you finish this", Gwylan called to his lovely leader, before withdrawing Irvine and swinging a kick into it's jaw as he spun, hoping to stun it slightly as he darted a few paces forward and levelled his weapon at the third Beowolf, waiting for it's move.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on May 21, 2017, 03:36:33 PM
Nero is completely relentless in her face off with the destruction of her challenger, not really stopping till it's dead. Her attacks are a dizzying array of slashes, stabs, and even hitting with the back of the blade, transforming Nightshade into a sword to help, all the while being perfectly quiet, with a focused glare. Once that happens, she moves on to the next closest foe.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on May 24, 2017, 07:03:23 AM
The Beowolf that was targeting Tina was not happy at all about being interrupted. It bared its teeth and was about to attack when Nero did first, too confused with the girl's speed to be able to react well. It reacted quickly though, growling and jumping away from her, in the direction the group had come from, then turned to face Nero. It leaped once again, swiping a front leg at her.


In the meanwhile, Aurora nodded at Gwylan, pulling back the two knives embedding in the third Beowolf to then throw at the one that was starting to recover. They both stuck, one in its shoulder and the other in its abdomen. Taking advantage of the moment, Aurora removed her machetes from her back and descended upon the creature, ducking under a clumsy swipe and slashing at its legs to bring it to the ground. She sheathed her machetes and finished it with a throwing knife to the head, using her semblance to push it all the way through before pulling it back once again.

That done with, she noticed the third Grimm leap at Nero, immediately reacting by throwing one of the knives that'd been embedded in the recently killed one at her feet at the creature, striking the other one's front leg, throwing it a little off balance. Nero would have to deal from there.

The last Beowolf was viciously swiping at Gwylan, but cleverly retreating quickly, trying to stay out of the range of Gwylan's trident. As it saw Aurora turn her back though, it quickly turned its attention to her instead.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on May 24, 2017, 07:16:35 AM
Tina had closed her eyes in anticipation for contact before Nero thankfully intervened, fighting off the Beowolf that had set it's sights on her. Thankful for the reprieve, she moved back a few paces and surveyed the battle. One was already down from Aurora's knives, while Gwylan was fighting the other.

Turning back to her own fight, one of Aurora's knives knocked the Grimm off balance. Taking this opportunity, Tina swiftly aimed and fired 6 rounds from Sunrise, hitting the back and head of the Beowolf, further knocking the beast away, though accidentally toward Nero. She then turned and, noticing the remaining Beowolf targeting Aurora, she took a step forward and fired a shot from Nightfall, mostly to deter it from attacking her unsuspecting leader. Another two shots would be fired as soon as it turned toward her.

Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on May 24, 2017, 02:00:08 PM
Thankful to her team for the generous opening, Nero prepared to finish off her current rival. Making sure to be able to block any counters from the Beowolf, she turned the flat of her blade to slam into the side of the Grimm's face. Her lack of much strength training more than lifting herself up a ledge made her need to throw her weight into the swing. This action would normally be impossible on a stable foe, but hey, at least she isn't built like her mother.

After successfully knocking the Grimm off its feet. She pinned it by standing on it, transformed Nightshade into a shotgun, and fired a shell into its face. Shire that it's dead, Nero rushed directly at the remaining Wolf, Nightshade acting as a guard again and Death Bell ready for a swipe.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on May 24, 2017, 03:23:28 PM
Gwylan snarled as he ducked under a vicious swipe aimed at his face. The beast was smarter than he'd given it credit for originally, either dodging back from his trident or getting in close so he couldn't wield it effectively. Using his dodge as an opportunity to snap the butt of his trident into it's abdomen and drive it back a few steps, Gwylan took a moment to assess his options while hopefully blocking his team from any charges it'd make.

Or maybe not, as the Beowolf leaped forward suddenly, growling it's superiority while knocking Gwylan's reactionary thrust aside, sending him stumbling to the side and leaving an opening for it to barrel through to Aurora's opened back. Thanking his lucky stars for Tina's quick thinking, and cursing his own stupidity for letting himself get caught out, Gwylan spun on his heel and took a few running steps after the Grimm and leaping into the air, throwing Irvine like a spear straight into it's back, knocking it off it's feet and sending it into a tumble towards Nero.

Gwylan, meanwhile, landed and stomped forward to retrieve his weapon and maybe beat the wolf to death, if the girls didn't get it first.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on May 24, 2017, 09:09:59 PM
Seeing that the last one of the blasted creatures seemed to be almost done with, Aurora instead focused on pulling back the knives that she hadn't retrieved yet, slowly to conserve strength, breathing heavily from the battle. Not that it was particularly tiring, simply that she was so riled up. First fight of the day, and combat-wise it was great, the teamwork at play was massively impressive. Nero hadn't shot her in the back yet either, so that was a surprise too. So she stood up, cheeks flushed and chest rising and falling heavily, next to the disintegrating corpse of one of the other Beowolves. Lucky the things didn't leave anything, blood would be terrible to have to clean off of weapons.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on May 25, 2017, 01:55:49 AM
Both Beowolves down, Tina stalked forward, intent on finishing it quick the way she preferred it to end: A beautiful Dust round, right in the noggin. Turning to the left, swinging her right arm forward, holding it perfectly straight, she stood
tense and poised for a second, before lightly squeezing the trigger on Sunrise, sending the bullet on a one-way trip toward it's head section. Or, seconds later, what would be left of it.

Unless someone decided to knock the Beowolf off course, this would be their first fight, complete.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on May 25, 2017, 03:20:32 PM
Seeing that Tina wanted to finish the last Beowolf in her way, Nero took the half second to pop a shell back in Nightshade. No Alpha? Lame. The standard Beowolf is nothing Nero thought. Taking a quick look around, Aurora was collecting daggers. Why? Fifty throwing knives meant for over five meters weigh about twenty seven pounds.

Logic aside, they fought well, with Gwylan being able to easily knock a Beowolf off it's feet with a throw of a trident, whereas Nero would have to put her weight into a swing on an off balance opponent. Tina had a significant range advantage over Nero, but Nero seems to have more melee capabilities. That second point can be evened out by both Nero and Aurora, doubting the two-handed trident is a good template for a sword. Aurora's semblance could have some interesting possibilities beyond throwing an opponent or a dagger, namely throwing a big cloud of smoke the weight of Nero, but that requires testing in a safe environment, not now.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on May 26, 2017, 07:11:25 AM
"Well, that was fun. Three Grimm down and no one got mauled. All in all, that was a raging success I think. Go team!" Gwylan cheerfully exclaimed to his team as he grabbed Irvine and rested it on his right shoulder. They'd done pretty well, after all, and some morale boosting wouldn't go astray.

Didn't mean they were done though, not by a long shot. This was just the first fight they'd have to deal with today. But, if they went as well as this one, nothing would go wrong. Team ATLA would come out on top, without a shadow of a doubt. Strolling past Aurora and bumping her shoulder with his, he murmured, "Nice job leader", and proceeded to continue down the path.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on May 27, 2017, 11:13:21 AM
Aurora smiled at Gwylan's cheery words, glad that she wouldn't be alone in cheering up the tragic psycho and the shy girl. "Yeah, good job us. Now we just need to do that like fifty more times!" She made two thumbs ups playfully to accent her words. A glance was thrown at Gwylan for his hopefully playful shoulder bump and words that she had to force herself not to try dissecting. Regretfully, now that he'd taken his place at the front of the crowd she couldn't smile back in return or something, but oh well...

If she'd been tracking their progress correctly, they were a little more than a third of the way there. "Okay Gwylan," she called, "take the left path here alright?" Back to getting through this wretched maze. Why build a maze anyway? And according to the map, it didn't even have an exit that led to the other parts of the area. Seriously, she couldn't comprehend why someone would want to do something like that.

Spoiler: ShowHide
 Just a heads up, for random Grimm that are scattered around (like Grimm that aren't guarding the bunkers, and have a difficulty rating of 7 or lower), how I roll for these kinds of missions is come up with a few myself, but you guys also can come up with and control them. The major ones, the ones important to the plot and progression of the mission though, those are the ones I'm going to focus on. Rando Grimmers are all yours for practice controlling Grimm and contributing to the air of danger.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on May 27, 2017, 03:58:03 PM
Taking her time to reload both revolvers after the skirmish, Tina had little to add on to the conversation, as usual. The only things prominent in her mind was being jumped on by the Beowolf (Which was an actual life-threatening experience), and the idea that she implement some degree of Gun Kata into her next fight, in order to maximise efficiency. Speaking of which, simple Beowolves like the ones they just fought really should have been dealt with via headshot, which she should have easily pulled off. Well, back to the training range...
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on May 27, 2017, 10:02:46 PM
Conflict is the biggest prospect in Nero's mind. On one hand, BUSHES! BIG, TALL BUSHES! This could practically have the word 'NAP' written to be a maze. On the other, there are Grimm practically everywhere and a job that needs to be done... Death takes precedence over nature naps. The conversation was not of importance, and the extra set of ears needed air. Taking off her prized hat, she smiled at a small cross breeze flowing through the maze walls. An up side to being around people who know about the ears is the lack of annoying sweat building up under a hat that doesn't breath, not that she doesn't love her hat.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on May 28, 2017, 07:17:42 AM
Throwing a thumbs up back at Aurora, Gwylan rested his back against the wall right before the turn and poked his head around the corner, checking if there were anymore beasties hanging around that'd try and have a crack at them. There weren't, but the ground looked like it'd been trampled. There were too many leaves and twigs knocked off the hedge maze for Gwylan to get an idea of what did this, though it was clear that it had been more than a few Beowolves anyway.

Gwylan waited for the others to catch up with him before raising his hand to stop them. "Path ahead's been disturbed, but I can't tell if it was done by survivors or Grimm. Either way, I doubt those wolves were the last of them in here". Unless it was done by both, and they were about to walk into the tail end of a massacre. Not that anyone wanted to hear those sorta thoughts.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on May 28, 2017, 09:36:37 AM
At Gwylan's sign to stop, Aurora slowed her pace to stop close behind him, peering over his shoulder and around the corner to confirm that yes, the path ahead had been disturbed. Also to flirt a little more with the proximity, but the former thought was the important one. "Well, I don't think it was just someone having a rather frisky romp in here..." she joked lightheartedly. But really, it was probably one of the two options Gwylan gave, right? If it was anything else or had happened before the attack, some janitor would've probably already been there to clean the mess up.

"We have to move forward either way," said Aurora. "I guess we could proceed more carefully, because even if climbing would give us a better vantage point, it'd draw too much attention. I don't want to engage the Totocoatls quite yet, not while in such a cramped environment. And that's not even counting any other beasties that are hiding in this damned maze." It was then that the leader remembered a very important detail. "Wait a minute..." She angled herself so that she was facing the other two girls, while still hanging onto Gwylan. "Tina, couldn't you use your semblance to try to detect the Grimm ahead? And... Nero." Making eye contact with and raising an eyebrow at said teammate, Aurora continued, "you said you wanted to be the scout. Well, wish granted. Whether or not Tina uses her semblance, you'll go ahead of us and give a status report. Sound fair enough?" She didn't really care if her words were a bit blunt, that was what you got when you threatened someone with a knife.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on May 28, 2017, 11:33:06 AM
"Understood." Tina replied quietly, before closing her eyes and focusing. Pulses of her aura flowed through her foot, into the ground, spreading like ripples in a pond, brushing against anything which stood on the ground and bringing back that information to Tina's mind, creating a mental image in her mind.

The initial gathering of information made Tina stumble, leaning on some bushes for support. She'd only used her semblance sparingly before, having seen no reason to use it apart from reclaiming an lost item. That being said, the maze's bushes all instantly jammed in her mind, giving her a headache. She winced in some degree of pain, before refocusing on figuring out what was a deadly adversary and what was merely shrubbery.

Survey complete, Tina opened her eyes and turned to her leader. "There's a solitary Beowolf round the corner, around 20 feet away. Whether it's an Alpha, I can't tell. A pair of Ursa behind us, not on the path we took. And..." here she shuddered silently, "A big, big Death Stalker near the exit we're going to. It's smashed the surrounding bushes flat on it's way in, so there's a wide circular area around it. We can try and avoid it, but the Beowolf we're gonna have to fight. However..." pulling Nightfall out of it's holster, "I can deal with that problem. Unless it's armored on it's head."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on May 28, 2017, 08:57:17 PM
"The Beowolf, I can deal with, as can the scouting, but first...." Nero turned to Aurora, the single thought being on her mind,  Safe enough. With the look of genuine curiosity adorning her face, Nero asked "How good are you at throwing things like smoke?"

As preparation, Nero moved herself closer to the wall indicated to be between ATLA and a Beowolf. Death Bell is drawn, a hand on Nightshade, stealth is her tool of the trade, the sole focus of her self-training, and a teammate that can help with that is extremely useful, liked or not.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on May 29, 2017, 04:33:13 AM
"I mean, that looks a bit tame for a romp, if you ask me......." Gwylan hummed into Aurora's ear as he rested a hand on her hip so he could slip past her and Nero and give them the space for whatever little scheme Nero had in mind. The wink he shot at Aurora, though, was just for fun. She'd almost gotten frisky herself there, not that he was complaining.

Strolling over to Tina and staking Irvine into the ground to lean back on, Gwylan cocked an eyebrow down at her. "You good? Cause you looked a bit....". Oh, what was the best word to use here that wouldn't hurt Tina's feeling. The amount of times Gywlan had gotten in trouble because he'd said something that was taken wrong was quite ridiculous. Who knew tired could hurt feelings? "....shaken after that. Semblance trouble?".

His positioning had a secondary purpose, too. He'd angled himself to keep an eye out in case those two Ursas decided to take a wander in their direction. Those, Gwylan could handle easy enough. That Deathstalker, though, would be a whole other problem. But it'd be a damn fun fight all the same.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on May 29, 2017, 08:26:47 AM
Aurora giggled at Gwylan, who did not fail to once again respond to her flirting with some of his own. This, at least, was fun. She pouted and fluttered her fingers in farewell as he pulled away, a part of her actually a bit nervous that he'd leave her to be around Nero, even if he and Tina were only a few feet away from them.

To Nero's proposition, Aurora crinkled her nose in confusion. "Probably not, I can move like, solid objects, but I don't think I can move water, liquids, that stuff. No on the gases then too. Never really tried. Well to be honest, forms of matter aren't the best categories when talking about my semblance. Wait is smoke a gas? No, right? It's just really small particles of other forms of matter? I guess I could, then." She shrugged. "To push you while using your semblance, if that is what you were talking about, then you'd have to be directly in-between me and the Beowolf. Can you go through stuff? Like the hedges? 'Cause otherwise the element of surprise that I think would be the plus to this would be lost anyway. Also you'd have to lower your aura. Hey, is that possible while using your semblance? Never tried that either." Truth be told, Aurora wouldn't be so opposed to Nero being a little guinea pig for this experiment, but logic dictated that maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea. Oh well.

"And uh..." she turned a bit to her left to look at Tina and Gwylan, the former being the one she was interested in in that moment in time. "Exit? There is no exit, there's just an entrance, which is where we were coming from. Do you mean that it's close to the entrance of the area the first bunker's in?"
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on May 29, 2017, 12:28:01 PM
"Yeah." Tina replied shakily, looking up at Gwylan. "I wasn't expecting so many things to jam in my head all at once." She explained, speaking softly as not to alarm the nearby Grimm. "But, um, thanks for asking. It's kind of you." She added, turning away shyly despite the situation, and looking toward Aurora and Nero.

"Oh, um..." Tina took a while to try and collect her thoughts; her head was still throbbing from the feedback of her semblance. "By exit, I meant the closest we were going to get to the bunker, while still being in the maze. Just our luck too--ouch..." She visibly winced as another wave of pain hit her head, causing her to drop her gun-toting arm and slide down the bushes to assume a sitting position. That affected me more than I knew it could. That's not good...
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on May 30, 2017, 12:12:16 AM
Nero is exited internally at the prospect of self improvement, evident by her pressing against the maze wall "Whenever you wanna try it, just hit me. As long as you can hit some of it, the rest will follow. My Aura keeps my body together while I am smoke. And as long as the surface isn't a solid wall, I'll slip right through. Also, be ready for a whiff of sulfur.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on May 30, 2017, 04:01:33 AM
"Hey, we're friends right? Gotta look after each other. I can't imagine what taking in so much would feel like", Gwylan grinned at Tina, before looking down the path where she'd said the Ursas were. Now that he thought of it, that came out really badly. Hopefully, she'd take it as a joke, and not a flirty comment. Gwylan couldn't help but curse his mouth just a little.

Nero's plan to go through the wall sure sounded interesting, and raised a lot of fun possibilities for when they got back to Beacon. But right now, in the maze, it seemed a bit risky. "Nero, what are you gonna do if that wolf's too much for you? Cause we can't go through the bushes after you". Throwing Nero into the arms of an angry Alpha seemed like a pretty crazy idea, and even if it wasn't so powerful, she might get caught out. Everyone had heard a story of some master Huntsman that died to a creep because he tripped on a stone or something.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on May 30, 2017, 11:29:29 AM
Aurora tilted her head in part curiosity, part surprise at Nero and Gwylan. "Like, throw you in human form and then you change mid-push? Or you do your thing first and then I push you?" She shrugged offhandedly. ""Specifics and all. Don't want to make any potentially fatal mistakes, hmm?"

""And I mean, it's just a Beowolf. Nero's capable enough to take care of it herself, I mean, there's just one. And y'know, it might or might not be an Alpha. Either way, it's no big deal, not really." She fixed her gaze on Nero. "Right?" Not waiting for an answer to her rhetorical question, Aurora immediately looked back at Gwylan. ""She just has to be careful, it's just a Beowolf, you can afford to be careful with a Beowolf."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on May 30, 2017, 11:35:31 AM
By this time, Tina had recovered enough from the headache to stand up and listen in to the conversation. She was all for experimenting, but Gwylan had a point. Jumping headfirst into a Grimm encounter wasn't wise any way you looked at it.
"If you want to give it a try, that's ok. But if it goes wrong, I'm putting a bullet in that Beowolf's head, first thing." She interjected.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on May 30, 2017, 08:08:15 PM
"Me going smoke after a push is actually safer. I can handle a Beowolf in a one on one if I don't have other priorities such as not compromising a team. It shouldn't be that hard if a pistol, trident, or machete doesn't come through the walls at the wrong time." Nero then begins to stretch, as a flexible Aura passes through things better. After about six seconds, Nero says "Whenever you're ready, Throwing Knives. But be warned, a slight whiff of sulfur is not uncommon."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on May 31, 2017, 03:41:52 AM
"Never said you couldn't, Nero. Someone had to play devil's advocate is all". Combining this with a shrug, Gwylan leaned his head back on Irvine's base and looked up at the sky before saying, "Only way that trident's going through the bush is if something's putting me through it too, so don't worry about that. Just try not to get out-wolfed, yeah?". Gwylan really hoped that wisecrack wouldn't be taken wrong, but you just never know sometimes.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on May 31, 2017, 08:54:36 AM
Aurora rolled her shoulders a few time in a show of limbering up for the push. Even though no muscles would be used in the process. Nero weighed a lot more than she usually had to work with though, so it actually might make her a little tired, but Aurora had training to keep her semblance endurance up. She'd be fine, as long as she didn't over-exert herself afterwards.

Nero wasn't the bulkiest of people, but she no doubt weighed more than a hundred pounds, but would it be over the threshold for forty miles per hour? Aurora decided to play it safe before moving into position, where she estimated that Nero would be as close to in the middle of her and the Beowolf as possible. "Ready? Drop your aura, I can't push you if you have your aura up." As soon as Nero's aura dropping made it possible for Aurora to grasp hold of her with her semblance, first holding her in place, then pushing her back at the speed of thirty miles per hour. She hoped it didn't hurt. Well, not really, the petty part of her would't mind actually.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on May 31, 2017, 05:03:47 PM
Tina simply snuck closer to the edge of the bush, ready to cover Nero's retreat if anything went wrong. She also kept one eye on the sky while simultaneously doing small pulses of her semblance. The two Ursa had moved slightly closer, but nothing alarming. Suddenly coming up with an idea, Tina snapped open Nightfall's revolving cartridge, removed the loaded round, and replaced it with an Ice Dust round, before reloading and preparing for combat.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on May 31, 2017, 09:37:54 PM
Soaring through the air at the hedge was nice and fine, bet smashing into a wall was not on Nero's to-do list. In a quick flip of focus, Nero seemed to begin to dissolve into the air around her. As she began to be harder to distinguish from a humanoid cloud of smoke, the smell of sulfur began to waft through the air. On Nero's part, the familiar feeling of immateriality took over, as the world turned greyscale. Passing through the hedge was nothing, literally. Not feeling a thing was a usual thing for gas permeable walls. After catching sight of the definitely not an alpha Beowolf, Nero reformed with both Death Bell and Nightshade drawn and ready. This would be short work on her part. A smirk adorning her face at the unscarred opponent, she charged her opponent. (skip my turn 4 times, my input being grunts, laughs, and the occasional smell of brimstone)
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on June 01, 2017, 08:34:41 AM
"Well, that's probably the most impressive thing I've seen all day. Reeallly didn't think she'd actually, you know, turn into smoke, if I'm being honest", Gwylan couldn't help but mutter as he wandered behind Aurora. She could really put a air freshener in their though, sulphur was quite possibly the worst smell that she could've ended up with. No one liked the smell of rotten eggs.

Leaning into Aurora's ear, Gwylan gently murmured, "Soooo, what do we do while we wait for Nero boss".
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on June 01, 2017, 10:00:06 AM
Aurora wrinkled her nose at the less-than-pleasant smell emitted. Jeez. Well, that was that, hopefully she didn't get mauled. Or killed. That'd be bad, Aurora supposed. Especially the latter.

In response to Gwylan, Aurora said, "Well, I would suggest that we do something even more impressive, but... " She smirked at him, very much awaiting his response. "But I guess we could do something a bit less fun and go over a game plan for the mission, which bunkers to hit first and all." This last sentence she spoke louder for Tina to hear as well, unlike the low and hopefully alluring tone of her first.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on June 01, 2017, 12:21:20 PM
Still crouching behind the bushes on alert, Tina didn't have much to contribute as usual, still focused on semblance-pulsing and staying on guard. She spared enough of her concentration to reply "Well, I...think we should stay on finding the closest bunker, while avoiding that Death Stalker on our way out." If I knew we were fighting that sort of thing, I would have brought a weapon of heavier caliber. She thought to herself.

Also, since she was facing away from the pair, she could show her true emotions, while guaranteeing that both Aurora and Gwylan couldn't see them. It was pretty clear at this point that something was going on, but she thought that the best thing for her to do was just...stay oblivious. Besides, Gwylan was out of her league. Totally. She was fine with leaving the two to themselves.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on June 02, 2017, 03:55:25 AM
Winking at Aurora, Gwylan threw his arms over his head and stretched himself out as he listened to the Tina's idea. It certainly wasn't a bad plan, especially considering Gwylan didn't really have a solid idea on how he could tussle with a giant scorpion. He was really regretting not having Irvine installed with some manner of cannon or dust doohickey. A high powered gatling gun wouldn't go astray right about now.

"What about those Ursas? If we find any survivors, I don't want to run into them on the way back, especially if they have injured", Gwylan responded to the girls, before cocking his head at Aurora. "Want me to go handle them? I can give ya'll a good show of my spear work". Not the subtlest flirt in history, but it'd do the trick. And it might give him a good fight too. Wins all round when you think about it. Unless you were an Ursa, then maybe not.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on June 03, 2017, 03:34:28 AM
Aurora furrowed her brow at Gwylan's suggestion, her opinion about it overshadowing the wink he’d sent her moments earlier. It was a cute wink though, he had a cute wink. "I don't know, they're two Ursa, and I'm assuming full-grown, not just one lone Beowolf like Nero's fighting. If you want to take care of that, you're going to need at least one person to back you, though I'd prefer for us both to go, someone might need to wait up for Nero," she gestured over in the general direction of the remaining member of ATLA, "and uh, personal preference."
 
"But," she continued, holding up a hand, "though I agree that the they'd be a threat to survivors, we only have until sundown, and this place is... big. We don't have time to eradicate all of the Grimm, as much as I'd like to, we can't spread ourselves too thin. I think that at least getting rid of most Grimm here, in the maze, would be wise. It’s the exit. But for later on, we need to remember to not spend too much time on Grimm, kill the most dangerous, and focus on rescuing people.” She met the eyes of Gwylan and Tina, crossing her arms and tilting her head, a stance that may have seemed young to some, but one that radiated confidence for Aurora.
 
Smiling, she then addressed the last topic. “Right, Deathstalker, that’d be a pain to deal with, hmm? Where was it again?” Aurora made an embarrassed sound, afterwards disguising it as clearing her throat. “I kinda forgot…” She shrugged. “To be honest, you guys are glad that I haven’t forgotten your names yet, my memory likes to pick and choose things to remember, and stuff like that I tend to forget a lot. Pardon the airhead.”
 
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on June 03, 2017, 04:23:57 AM
Tina giggled a bit at the last part, before correcting herself. "Sorry about that," she smiled, notably the first time she'd properly done so. "It's just...you remind me of my mother at times." Having said that, she started feeling nervous again. "So...split up, right? One person for each Ursa seems controllable, and I can monitor your progress as well. I...don't mind waiting for Nero. One of us has to do it, right?" She said so, but her thoughts differed. She was kind of sad she wouldn't be able to help.

"Anyway, after me and Nero kill the Beowolf, do we meet back here, or do we go find you?" She asked. "Assuming the two of you haven't defeated the Ursas by then, which I would also know. No matter what you choose, just...be careful, okay?" Her part over, she returned to guarding the corner, while checking her surroundings again. The Beowolf hadn't moved, but the pair of Ursa had creeped ever closer.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on June 03, 2017, 06:08:14 AM
Shrugging at Aurora, Gwylan hummed, "Between the two of us, I'd say we could off those a pair of overgrown teddy bears before Nero's done with her puppy. Unless you're not up to it, Aurora". Gwylan couldn't wait to see her response to the teasing. Flirting was one thing, but if she couldn't be ribbed a little, then this might not go all that far.

As for the deathstalker, that seemed like a later problem than one that had to be dealt with right now. Worst comes to worst, they could just light the maze up with some fire dust, if they had any, and char grill that sucker. "Do you think there's a way we could, I dunno, lure the deathstalker away somehow? Get it as away from us as possible?"
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on June 03, 2017, 09:07:48 AM
Aurora chuckled quietly at Tina, "Wow, comparing me to your mother, that's..." She clicked her tongue. "Don't know how to feel about that. I'm sure your mother's fantastic, but..." Aurora laughed softly again, shaking her head a bit. "Anyway, uh, yeah I guess, you stay back and assist Nero while we take care of the Ursa. When we're done, return to this very spot, alright?"

"And to answer your question Gwylan, I am very much up for it. I'm up for a lot of things actually." Smirking at him to show that she wasn't bothered by his, actually pretty unoffensive words, Aurora readjusted her straps, making sure they were all where they needed to be. "Oh wait, one last thing. Tina, could you do us a favor and point to the general area where the Ursa are? You said they weren't on the path we took, right? Might have to hack through some hedges if there isn't a way, then." During her musings, Aurora took out her scroll, opened the map image, and held it out one-handedly to Tina.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on June 03, 2017, 01:12:30 PM
Tina pulsed her semblance once more to redetermine the location. She then promptly did a remarkable impression of a ghost, turning ghostly pale. After mumbling something completely intelligible even to herself, she shakily lifted a hand and pointed the way they came, along with an equally shaky voice. "R...Right behind us. ETA, a-around 25 seconds. I d-don't know why, but they're headed right for this spot. They're bashing a path right to us." Her other revolver already drawn and pointed at the mouth of the passageway, she quickily recovered her resolve. "Aurora, Gwylan, ideas? Because my only one is shoot on sight."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on June 03, 2017, 03:03:26 PM
"Yeah, Tina. Stay back, and trust me to do my thing, alright. I got this" Gwylan chuckled before stepping forward. He began slowly twirling Irvine at his side, before picking up speed and beginning a set of full body rotations, spinning his trident above, beside and around him, ending with a pirouette, or at least, what he hoped was a manly pirouette, where he shot a wink at Aurora, and levelling his weapon at the bush that Tina indicated the Grimm would emerge from. That was, quite probably, the most showy thing he'd ever gone in his life. What was it about pretty girls that inspired such bravado, Gwylan would wonder if he was prone to such things. Instead, he had an enemy to deal with.

On second thoughts, a charging Ursa could probably knock Gwylan aside like he was nothing, so prepping a defence would be a bit silly. Instead, an immediate offence would be required, and there was nothing Gwylan Anwen did better than charging something that was charging him. Changing his stance into one more suited for sprinting, Gwylan let an arrogant smile grace his features as he said, "Hey, Aurora, wanna place a bet on who can kill their Ursa fastest?"
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on June 04, 2017, 11:22:38 AM
"Yeah, Tina, we can handle these." Aurora assured her teammate. "On second thought, as they're heading towards us and we don't have to move, just stay here and back us instead, alright? Do your thing, sweetheart, just try not to hit us." Seeing as combat would come a lot sooner than she thought, Aurora took hold of two of her knives from the strap on her midriff. That type she had the most of, they were her general go-to if Dust was needed. She wasn't really sure if she wanted to use Dust so early, knowing that all her knives were one-use only, but she could activate them or simply leave them be, that was the great thing about Dust and its trigger being Aura. "I would really hate to be shot before I show Gwylan who's boss. That's a yes to the bet by the way. Loser is at winner's mercy for one favor." Aurora sent a side-glance to Gwylan, a smirk on her face as well.

"Stay on guard," she warned them, herself waiting for any semblance of sound or movement from the direction Tina'd pointed in. "Ursa are big, but they're slow, as long as we strike first, there shouldn't be any problems."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on June 04, 2017, 12:48:49 PM
"Well, if the two of you are having a bet, am I supposed to support one or the other?" Tina asked bemusedly, entertained by the banter between the two even in a tense situation like this. Remembering that Ursa were much harder to kill than Beowolves even with headshots, she decided to snap open the chambers of both her revolvers and loaded them up with 3 rounds each of Fire, Electric, Ice and Kinetic Dust Rounds, in that order. This should create sufficient entertainment, she thought, smiling inwardly.

At this point, the amount of times she'd used her Semblance was starting to tire her, yet she had to pulse it one more time. A bolt of pain shot into her head, but it came with the information that the Ursa was literally seconds away from jumping on them. "They're right round the corner," she warned Gwylan, not entirely amazed by his obvious showing-off. Mostly aimed at Aurora, sure, but the one thing that would impress her would be a clean kill on the Ursa. "Heads up; I'm unloading on whichever one turns the corner first. I'm loaded with elemental Dust rounds, so stay clear of my line of fire." Of course, she'd make sure friendly fire wasn't a thing, but it would be fun to see them jump as a "stray" bullet "accidentally" whizzed past their ear.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on June 04, 2017, 02:57:25 PM
Alas, the poor Beowolf stood little chance to the absolute flurry of blades Nero becomes when she doesn't worry about friendly fire. That extends even to Aurora, racist she may be. As a close family friend once said "Everyone deserves kindness, mercy, and a second chance." Time to rejoin the group, easily hearing the entire conversation over the course of the fight she just finished. It would take probably a full minute to be at max capacity, time any amount of Ursai would never allow her.

Thinking it would be funny to sneak up on the back of the group (probably Tina, it is hard to hear as a cloud of sentient smoke). This idea was instantly quenched the instance the words 'unload' and 'dust' were used in the fashion just said. Thinking back, neither Aurora nor Gwylan have fired a single bullet, and they didn't even show an alternate form other than creating less awkwardness. That is an atrocity to versatility that needs to be remedied ASAP. With consent, of course. Any proud weapon owner may want partial or even full credit for an improvement.

Remembering that Ursai were a part of the conflict and warning her team as to not shoot the Faunus the instance she stuck a pinkie toe around the corner, Nero Did a near instantaneous smoke shift to empty her shotguns, form shifting both, and loading custom ordered Dust rounds, Shaped LEAP rounds. These were amazing when it came to short ranged armored targets, completely wasted on Beos. They are basically standard fire dust that can be activated along the the path, acting like shaped charges. Hope this helps. The blast is shaped at bear-shaped death, but easily will spread back after damage to hit any close by entities.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on June 04, 2017, 04:45:11 PM
"Long as I don't take a bullet, then this bet'll be the easiest win ever. That said, Nero, on the off chance you hear me, please don't shoot a shotgun at anything. Revolvers are one thing, but a shotgun is an entirely different problem that I don't want to deal with", Gwylan called that last bit back over his shoulder as for the Grimm to come around what was essentially now a death corner. Wow, he was almost feeling bad for the monsters.

It wasn't that he didn't have any faith in Nero's, or even Tina's accuracy, it was just that, in what was essentially a corridor, firing a shotgun in his direction seemed a tad........ dangerous. Or stupid. At least a revolver didn't have spread.

"Hard and fast, Aurora you're just speaking my language. Say, if I kill both, does that get me a double win on the bet?". One last bit of teasing just before the fight started couldn't go astray.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on June 04, 2017, 10:41:17 PM
"Sure," she replied, "but don't count on it." Looking back at Tina, she added, "I'd say you would have to, Tina, specifically, you'd have to root for me."

Tense silence followed that, the kind that Aurora hated.

It didn't last for long. Two Ursa lumbered around the corner, but this time, they didn't seem all that surprised by the team. Aurora assumed that meant they'd been following them or something like that, but she didn't have long to think. If she didn't attack first, the Ursa would have the upper hand. So, Aurora charged low at the second Ursa to round the corner, letting Tina do her thing with the first one. Halfway there, she stopped to throw both of her knives, only hitting just below the shoulder armor and the hedge behind in her haste. Cursing, she sprinted at them again, pulling the knife that missed back to her right hand and drawing her left machete. As soon as she reached it, Aurora stabbed her machete hard into the Ursa's upper arm, using that as a balancing point to lunge up and use her knife to stab the creature in the eye before getting shaken off and pawed away into a hedge and eventually the ground.

Not dead yet, unfortunately. Aurora took a moment to dart her eyes beside her to check on Gwylan's progress, then immediately got back up to finish the creature off.

Spoiler: ShowHide
 Aura: 99%
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on June 05, 2017, 01:49:48 AM
It was obvious that at this point even the two Ursa wouldn't be a problem, what with her firepower and two front-line fighters allowing her freedom to shoot whatever she wanted. Tina then treated this combat scenario as such, almost casually taking aim at the first Ursa to turn the corner, before firing Sunrise at its head. Frustratingly, it didn't manage to penetrate the white mask, and instead, ricocheted onto it's right arm, causing it to growl in pain. Before that arm's fur spontaneously combusted. Sorry Gwylan...looks like this one's got a burning arm now.

Not wanting to fire another Fire Dust round for fear of further ignition, she spun the chamber on Sunrise, randomly loading a new bullet into the firing system, before taking another shot at the burning Ursa, resulting in it's left shoulder being encumbered by ice. Tina then took aim at the Ursa Aurora was dealing with, waited for her to leap clear (which was sped along by the Ursa batting her onto the floor) before directly aiming at the already lost eye. The Kinetic Dust round that followed, unlike the former, directly pierced through the eyehole and through to the other side. At least I can still aim.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on June 05, 2017, 11:49:12 AM
Nero moved quickly to be between Tina and the Ursai. Not particularly going for a spot that isn't a miss or Aurora, she fired one shot at each Bear. The shots were far more accurate than the shot fired earlier, actually being bullets instead of pellets. The shots hit both Ursa, one in the chest area, and the one fighting Aurora in the face plate. As the bullets hit, suddenly a loud explosion rang out, as the slugs exploded forward on impact, killing neither, but breaking some face armor on Aurora's and leaving a sizable mark on the other.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on June 05, 2017, 12:15:33 PM
Gwylan moved the second he heard Tina fire at the Ursa, taking off into a sprint that would allow him to, hopefully, bulldoze the Ursa while it was still recovering from that bullet and spear it through the throat and chest before it could react. At least, that was the plan.

What actually happened was probably the least graceful and stupidest series of event that a Beacon student had ever been involved in. Gwylan's original idea went out the window the second he got within reach of the Grimm, because his target was not stunned in the slightest, and was instead pissed off and swinging a flaming set of claws at the nearest target: him. Gwylan barely managed to get Irvine in front of him before he was disembowelled by the bear and still took a nasty slash along the arm, getting knocked off balance by a combination of sheer strength and his own momentum.

Swinging Irvine around to get himself back on track, Gwylan spun around and prepared to thrust his trident through the bear's gut, landing the blow at the same time as Nero's explosive round went off, once again knocking him back a step, and this time, his weapon was ripped out of his grip from the sheer force and shock of it.

Deciding to ditch the trident temporarily, Gwylan leaped forward and fired out a snap kick at the beast, drawing back at the same time to unleash a full force haymaker into it's chest, right where the explosion occurred, using the pain of this to force the Ursa away for a second, which he used to reacquire his weapon. Gwylan was gonna have to have words with Tina and Nero after they were done.

Spoiler: ShowHide
Aura=95%
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on June 06, 2017, 04:51:55 AM
Aurora mentally thanked the Ursa for batting her away from Nero's... thingies... she wasn't an expert at ammunitions, but what could you expect? She didn't work with any. At least they weakened the Grimm, though it did look mighty angry right now.
 
First off, she activated both knives, setting off the Dust, which was more than enough to kill the creature. Well, that was one down then, and she supposed that she won the bet. She quickly took ahold of her two knives and machete, the former of which she re-placed in their straps, while the latter she kept in her hand along with the other machete.
 
Gwylan wasn't having such a great time, and Aurora could see why. Left arm frozen, which was okay, but meant that you couldn't strike there for fear of losing your advantage with it. Right arm on fire, which was not okay in any sense, except for that it hurt the Grimm.
 
Alright, helping hand on the way. As the beastie’s attention wasn’t particularly focused on her, Aurora ducked back behind the Grimm to climb a bit up onto the hedge wall, using the height to jump on the creature’s back. As expected, the Ursa wasn’t happy. As with earlier, Aurora stabbed a machete in to take hold of during the expected thrashing, one hand firmly grasping it as to not fall. As soon as she maneuvered herself properly, Aurora felt around for the trident, luckily not under Aura shielding, and pulled hard. It quickly impaled the creature, even piercing the skin on the other side of it, definitely killing the Ursa what with all of the other stuff already lobbed to it.
 
Relieved that it was over with, Aurora took her machete and jumped off the Grimm to land on the ground. No posing, but she had to admit that it was a pretty solid landing, both feet and all. “Well. I think I win, Gwylan.” Such liberal use of her semblance and such energy-sapping moves like jumping and staying on an Ursa probably didn’t bode well, but Aurora brushed it off, simply thinking to herself that she’d hold back a little later on.

Spoiler: ShowHide

Permission granted from Dusty.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on June 06, 2017, 06:42:25 AM
Tina was going to fire off a few more shots to speed along the process, but seeing as she'd already caused enough trouble to Gwylan, she refrained from doing so, and moments later, saw Aurora hop off the back of the defeated Ursa. It was in pretty bad shape, with the burning arm and the frozen shoulder and the trident through it's chest and whatnot. Anyway, it would be fun to see what Aurora could come up with for the bet.

Oh, she almost forgot. How could she? "I'm so, so sorry, Gwylan!" she burst out. "I didn't know the face armor was so thick, and, well... She trailed off as she noticed the look on Gwylan's face. I'm so done for, aren't I?
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on June 06, 2017, 10:47:27 AM
After a quick shift to unload the LEAP rounds, Nero rushed over to Gwylan, completely flustered. "I am so sorry Gwylan. I didn't think before I fired. With my extremely isolated fighting style, my instincts were hoping on chance to minimize friendly fire. I am so sorry!" Nero's mind had been thinking up every point where she slipped up, whether real or not. Her face was showing fear at the response of the leader, the requested fire support and the victim of her rash action.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on June 06, 2017, 12:30:43 PM
Gwylan ripped his weapon out of the disintegrating corpse of the Ursa with more force than was strictly necessary, and spun around, prepared to march over and give Tina and Nero a good talking to about their less than appropriate use of explosives. Except he was met with a pair of very apologetic and nervous faces.

Closing his eyes and taking a few seconds to expel the fiery anger that had swelled inside him, Gwylan soon felt his shoulders slump in exasperation. Letting a tired smile grace his features, he glanced between the two girls. "It's..... it's okay. Just, please, give a guy some warning before the pair of you go fire starting, alright? Won't look good on our record if ya blow me up or something".

Gwylan then cocked his head at Aurora, giving her a playful smirk, "So, what did you have in mind for your win then? And don't forget to thank these two for giving you the edge". He gave the Tina and Nero a wink, just to show that he was just messing about.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on June 06, 2017, 12:58:26 PM
"Yes, Nero, Tina, thank you very much for screwing Gwylan up and not me, I will relish the pleasure of having him owe me two favors." It was said playfully, but Aurora still kept a hint of steel in both her facial expression and her tone of voice. "Seriously though," she said, holding up a hand to accentuate her point. "Let's not set the front-line fighters on fire, hmm? Think it through next time, and if the situation calls for some kind of special move, I think Gwylan and I would appreciate a heads-up or something. Great thing about these," she gestured to the now almost gone Ursa, "is that they don't understand us when we speak, a'ight? I'd rather me being smokin' hot stay figurative."

Aurora pointed a finger at Gwylan and said, "Dear Gwylan's going to take the burden for you on this one, you should be glad it's succumbing to my wishes, though I'm sure he'd do that regardless," a wink, "and not an injury." Lecture over, she dropped the slightly stern mannerisms, snapping back into her usual lightheartedness. "Who knows though, favors might be mutually beneficial, depends on how good you're going to be, hmm?" She smirked at him once more, relishing in the giddy surge of power she felt. Hey, everyone liked winning, right?

"Alright, let's start back on the road, yeah? Got a ways to go, and we can discuss the problem of the Deathstalker while we walk." She started off in the direction they were heading, now Grimm-free for the moment. She slowed her pace and looked back not long after though, waiting for Gwylan to re-take his position up front. "Tina, I can see you're feeling a little winded from so much semblance use, so take it easy, yeah? Just tell us what you know from the last time you used it. And uh... Gwylan had an idea about distracting it too. I want opinions, people."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on June 06, 2017, 05:19:31 PM
Tina was almost tempted to raise her hand, Aurora sounded so much like a teacher. "Well, as I said before, I wouldn't mind taking it on if I had a bigger gun, really. But, seeing as these bullets don't even pierce Ursa armor..." here she looked guiltily at Gwylan, and then the floor, still feeling responsible for making Gwylan lose the bet, "I think we really should make every attempt to avoid the thing. It hasn't moved from it's position, as far as I can tell from my last pulse. Maybe we should bushwhack a path to the bunker instead?"

To herself, she thought: I did give them a heads-up...Maybe I need to up the caliber of my revolver. Make it a magnum? But then again, I don't have the blueprints to base the design off of... She put those thoughts aside for the time being, and took her time replacing all her rounds with Kinetic Dust bullets instead.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on June 06, 2017, 08:42:55 PM
That reminded Nero, she was the only one who had proper armor piercing capabilities, though this definitely calls for a sabot round, maybe making it a HEAT round. "I have noticed a concerning fact, that I am the only one with a good way to pierce armor. My slugs usually come with either High Explosives or Low Explosives, low being what I used on the Ursai, and all my slugs are AP rounds. Tina, your rounds are way to low caliber to have meaningful force, maybe have a variable barrel like mine, using small rounds against smaller targets, as using a .500 Magnum round is just overkill, even by my standards. I think that would be what you need against a Deathstalker, being 200% armor, defying logic. I could make the changes, if you are willing to pay for it that is. I have connections for materials and would make it cheaper. That offer goes to all of you, as I have noticed neither of you two have an alternate form."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on June 07, 2017, 08:10:16 AM
Two favours? Oh, she was getting a bit full of herself, now wasn't she. Not that he was too upset about the situation, there were much worse things than having to owe Aurora something. She was starting to sound slightly megalomaniacal at the thought of it though. Gwylan was starting to see exactly why she'd been made leader. Didn't mean he didn't stick his tongue out at her though. Couldn't let her get too far ahead of herself, after all.

Stepping ahead of the girls and leading the way, Gwylan turned his head around enough so he could respond to Nero. "Hey, I'm not against the idea of getting a gun, but I'm in no position to pay for it". All her talk of bullets and firepower was making his head spin, surely guns weren't all that complex, were they?

"For the Deathstalker, maybe, if we used your fire dust to light a bush on fire, it'd go have a look and we can sneak in and out of that bunker before it comes back".
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on June 07, 2017, 12:39:44 PM
Aurora nodded absently as the others pitched in about what they'd have to do with the upcoming problem. "Alright, I like Tina's idea about creating our own kind of path... but it'll be time consuming, running would be faster. I say we get closer first, and then create our own kind of path around the creature, yeah? Either way, we've gotta pick up the pace." As she said this, Aurora quickened her steps, starting to speed walk. "Fire seems a little iffy because I'm not sure if we can keep it under control... But I don't have any other ideas, so..." She shrugged. Again, they weren't going to use this place anymore, right? What was the point of being careful with it, huh?

"And no thank you," she responded crisply to Nero. "I don't want a gun, my throwing knives are enough. It'd be too much work to learn how to incorporate them into my fighting style. My current weapons wouldn't transform well either." She was a bit annoyed by the offer, to be honest, and it probably showed in her tone of voice. She liked her weapons, it was like everyone had a gun in some way or another, and she didn't want one, end of story. Not her style. It just made her even more ticked off at Nero, everyone had different styles, and whether she meant it or not, it was ignorant and personally a bit rude with all the showing off about ammunition as well, though the latter was probably just her. "I'm good with getting close and working around the armor, I don't need another long-range weapon. So, no."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on June 07, 2017, 05:38:47 PM
Tina looked up at Nero sharply. "If I loaded one of those high-ex bullets into my revolver, chances are that it'll blow up before it reaches the end of the barrel." she responded curtly. "Besides, if I shot 2 of those rounds at once, I'd probably fall over from the recoil. So no thanks." She was secretly disgusted at the thought of firing a shotgun round from her prized possession, something that reminded her of her father, thus her slightly rude, uncharacteristic tone.

Anyway..."I say no to the fire idea. Burning the entire maze down opens up so many problems, including not having any cover when we retreat, and catching the eye of every Grimm in the maze, including the original Death Stalker we set the fire for."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on June 08, 2017, 11:45:05 AM
"Relax, relax, it was just an offer you could take at any time, and the specifics are up to you. I do wish Aurora the best of luck taking down a Nevermore with knives. Still, you sure you don't want to try the magnum round upgrades at some time? They aren't as bad as my shotgun slugs, and any recoil can be dampened." Sheesh, it was an offer, it's not like I'm trying to force a new weapon down their throats. Gwylan seemed the most receptive to the idea, but money was the issue there. Thinking of which, she should get a job. One reason Nero left was to give her parents a break from paying for her everything. She doubted Beacon would pay for replacements for personal items. Maybe she could get a job at a weapons smith. Seems fitting.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on June 08, 2017, 12:31:29 PM
Well, if fire was out of the question, that left Gwylan with only one option that he could think of. It would be brave, risky, but daringly heroic for all involved. A grand old plan.

"Hey, do you think we could convince Titan to come over and crash the bullhead into the Deathstalker? We could slum a ride off of that lot back at the entrance in return for saving their boss".

Okay, it was a terrible idea, but Gwylan wasn't any good at strategic thinking. That was why he was the muscle, no one blamed the muscle for not coming up with the awesome play. They might just have to have a pop at the damn thing, worst comes to worst.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on June 08, 2017, 11:49:12 PM
Aurora glared at Nero, responding cattily with, "I have fifty and they all use Dust, Nero, it's not like I'm going at them with sticks, hmm? It's not like I'm going in blind either, have you ever been stabbed in the eye? It hurts. The optic nerve is directly behind your eyeball. It causes you excruciating pain if it's cut. Grimm have weak spots just like we do, even if they're oftentimes not the same. And have you ever been electrocuted? Set on fire? Frozen? Don't trash the weapons, alright? You like guns, that's your deal." God this girl was getting annoying.

"And Gwylan..." She look inquisitively at him. "You do know that Titan isn't allowed to help us, right? Like, at all. Unless we're in immediate harm. And even if we could," Aurora reasoned, "it would be better to ask him to crash into those Totocoatls. Not an option either way."

She sighed softly, wracking her brain for more solutions. "Distractions, distractions... " She pinched the bridge of her nose, running through possible solutions before she found a couple that were... mildly doable. "What about the old-fashioned throwing something over the hedge, screaming, and running? Or maybe just smoke? We could use pieces of the hedge and carve out a little cavity in the ground, make it so there's just dirt and no flammable objects nearby."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on June 09, 2017, 11:14:32 AM
Tina snorted in barely held-back laughter at Gwylan's plan. She could imagine the Bullhead going in like a missile, just beautiful kamikaze-style destruction. Jolly good fun, even though it was almost a hundred percent chance that wasn't going to go ahead. A pity. She would have probably shouted "Tactical nuke incoming" if it did.

"Wet wood gives off smoke and doesn't burn instantly." she suggested. "What we need is water to make them wet... Anyone got a water bottle? If not, Ice Dust should work." By now, she'd recovered enough to rely on her semblance without getting a splitting pain in the head. Annoyingly enough, the Deathstalker hadn't budged an inch. "I still think bushwhacking is a viable option. Should be quite painless with a couple swords and the ideal location."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on June 10, 2017, 04:15:31 PM
"I mean, I can cut through a bush pretty well. Aurora could do it to, but that is if she doesn't want to dull her machetes. Smoke, on the other hand, means fire. Fire tends to be uncontrollable, and an uncontrollable fire in the middle of plants is never good. Also, you don't need it to be wet, but it does have to be relatively alive, so green plant life like the bushes would do. Still would not recommend lighting the entire maze on fire." While the smoke would have no effect on Nero herself, actually letting her feel something while being a cloud of vapors and ash, most people who cannot become smoke tend to suffocate by ash to the lungs.

"Other than that, I really have nothing to provide. If you really want to light a fire, I can do that. Otherwise, I can start hacking away at the bush at anyone's request."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on June 10, 2017, 04:49:48 PM
"I'm just saying, it's an option", and really, it was an absolutely rubbish argument that he couldn't help just because they were getting tested. Who ever came up with that idea ought to be sacked from their job. Since when was a grade worth risking a life?

Gwylan was really starting to regret suggesting the fire right now. This was all becoming a bit too complicated for what they were attempting. There was a giant scorpion in the way, not an enemy huntsman. It wasn't likely to out-think them. Which, come to think of it, was a good point. It'd probably just go for the first target it saw, not hang around and wonder if it was some kind of feint.

"Hey, crazy stupid idea incoming. What if either Nero or myself distracted it? Got it's attention and then bolted in the other direction, losing it in the maze? Or, we repeat the beowolf trick, but further. Nero smokes, Aurora you push, she goes through, turns back, runs along and gets it's attention, smokes again at the next bush and it runs along after while Nero vanishes?".

Gwylan really was about one plan away from sending it a questionnaire entitled: What would distract you, oh great and powerful scorpion.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on June 10, 2017, 09:39:45 PM
"Nero, Tina's plan is to not use plant life and instead use wet wood to prevent a fire in a safe way... And if we carve away the grass then there will be no material to burn and the fire will not spread." Then to Gwylan, she laughed sheepishly at his plan, a bit embarrassed at herself. "Yeah, that sounds complicated, Gwylan. Let's just... keep it simple. I have some ice dust too, so I think the fire will be fine. Either that or one of us distracts it. Vote, people. Democracy and all."

"I still think that it's fine just to walk there, we're already almost there. Hacking a little to enter in a different side when we reach the maze would be ideal though."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on June 11, 2017, 03:13:38 AM
To all the previous comments and plans, Tina simply smiled. "I don't think any of those ideas will be necessary, guys." She pulled out Sunrise, transformed it into a gladius, and made a embarrassing, pathetic attempt at slicing the bush to their left. "All we need to do now is cut through this bush and we're really close to a big object underground, which I assume is the bunker. If only my Semblance had recovered sooner." She attempted to start hacking away at the bushes, but her sword was laughably inadequate for the job, as was her strength. "Could someone...um...give me a hand here?"
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on June 12, 2017, 01:24:36 PM
"Allow me to assist." With both weapons turned into swords, Nero started slashing quite aimlessly after a few swings. She then stopped and said, "I would move a bit to the right, Tina. Your current path leads through a very thick segment, right next to a softer spot." Nero herself took three steps to her left, precisely slashing the biggest hole she can, making serious headway at her segment. "Gwylan, there is a flaw with the smoky me plan. That is that I cannot move myself easily while I am smoke. While it is true that I could jump and still move forward, I don't know how thick the bush will be at the other side. If it is too thick, it may stop me from making it. Me reforming while something is still in me is not a pretty sight, ESPECIALLY in something like a bush." Nero deadpanned.

"I WILL, however, volunteer as tribute to just run in front of it. I am faster on my feet when on the ground." Nero said with a bit of smugness. Her land speed is her pride and joy. The only person to outpace her had a speed semblance. so that didn't really count.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on June 12, 2017, 02:20:09 PM
Carving through a bush was not on Gwylan's extensive list of skills, so he decided to let Tina and Nero have at it while he kept an eye out for anything trying to sneak up on them. Not that he was all that concerned about such a thing, Tina would probably have copped it by then, but anything was better than watching someone chop up a bush. Poor thing couldn't even fight back. Unless there were some kind of plant Grimm out there.

"How about, I go out there and pick a fight, and while it's beating me up, you three can laugh at me and sneak by? Cause it's probably gonna die of old age before we come up with a plan". Gwylan accentuated this by rolling his eyes at Aurora and smirking slightly.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on June 12, 2017, 11:13:10 PM
"Bunker number one, right?" asked Aurora. "Yeah, if the map is correct then we should be right outside of it, the path to the front entrance of the little area in the middle does pass by one of the left walls. Yup, this should be the place."

"Wait, I thought it was going to be in the front entrance of the bunker, guarding it...?" Aurora looked quickly at Tina. "Yeah uh, elaborate please, is it like guarding at the entrance of the hexagonal place up top or actually in it? Because those would require different plans. But yeah, if it's up top guarding, Nero, you go and run, lose it in the maze. If inside, Gwylan, you'll have to distract it with strength and force."

While she waited for an answer, Aurora joined the other two girls in hacking at the bush with her machetes.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on June 13, 2017, 11:13:42 AM
"It's basically blocking the entrance." Tina replied shortly, still fruitlessly hacking away at her section of the bush, making little progress, despite listening to Nero's advice. Who knew gardening was such hard work?

"Something just occurred to me. If we do end up fighting the Death Stalker, I can shoot the stinger and someone can cut it off after a bit of softening up. That would get rid of one of it's weapons."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on June 13, 2017, 09:09:04 PM
"Nearly there, and..." Nero said as she slashed out a hole big enough for all four to fit through. "done. That is your entrance, but I actually want to go through with it chasing me. It may be fast, but I can think of a route that I could lose it on. The thing is, if you hear shotguns, that means something went south and I will need a hand."

"Tina taking out the stinger would be helpful, but not necessary. Leader's choice, so I will go after you say or Tina shoots."

(I am doing this to speed things along, plus two feet of bush is actually not too hard to get through if you know what you are doing.)
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on June 15, 2017, 07:27:33 AM
Gwylan stepped back a bit to inspect the newly made hole in the wall, and fired a thumbs up at the girls. "Nice job ladies, you showed that bush who's boss". If they could handle the deathstalker like they did the bush, this'd be the easiest job ever. Pity it was gonna fight back though, unlike the bush.

"Nero, if you do run off and get in trouble, chances are, we won't be able to get there in time. I vote that we just go out there and mess it up. Worst comes to worst, Tina can freeze it's feet and we bolt into the bunker while it's slowed down". They had numbers, and probably speed on their side, so it wasn't like it was a suicide mission or anything. Just risky.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on June 15, 2017, 01:52:38 PM
Aurora considered the options quickly in her head. They had to move soon, before the Deathstalker heard them. "Alright, have a game plan." She clapped her hands as she said this, almost immediately wincing at the sound. "Not going to do that again... Anyway, Nero, you go and distract the Deathstalker,  keep it away from the bunker but try not to lead it too far into the maze. Then the rest of us check the bunker and pull whoever out of it, send them on their way, we need to trust that they can make it through themselves. I marked the path, remember? Then we can help you finish it off. We can't leave any Grimm that are too dangerous in this maze, its entrance is the only one that leads out, the others are just against walls of stone."

"Got it? Great, let's move." Aurora slipped through the hold in the hedge, sprinting for the quite obvious metal door in the ground that was probably the bunker. She really hoped that Nero was already on her way, because at that moment, the Deathstalker fixed its sights on them.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on June 15, 2017, 02:11:56 PM
Tina quickly followed suit, praying that the Death Stalker actually followed Nero and not them, because it would honestly be such a massive pain. They'd already had enough of it, and in her head she was repeating Please let this go right please let this go right. In the event that the dumb beast didn't follow Nero, she did have Ice Dust rounds loaded, following Gwylan's idea. Hopefully she wouldn't have to use it.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on June 16, 2017, 01:30:19 PM
Nero did the absolute first thing in mind as to grab the giant scorpion's attention. Shoot it with a High explosive round. The round flew true at the stinger, exploding in an intricate ball of fire and smoke. Nero began running soon after assuring that the Grimm had it's murder vision only for her. Hope this can buy you time, guys. I won't feel safe forever, Nero thought as she made a mad dash through the maze, a giant angry scorpion on her tail.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on June 16, 2017, 01:56:36 PM
Gwylan took the rear as they moved through the bush, before taking off at a sprint, halfway between where Aurora and Tina were moving and where Nero was going, in case something went wrong and she needed to be rescued. Not that it seemed to, shooting the ugly sucker seemed to piss it off enough that it chased after Nero. Which meant one problem was, temporarily, sorted.

But that left another one in it's place. "Aurora, do you know how to open this door?! Cause I don't think I'll be able to pry it open", he hissed as he got closer to the two girls. Damn thing was a bunker after all, it was meant to keep out things that were a lot bigger than a few teenagers, even if they were badasses.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on June 17, 2017, 08:45:17 AM
Aurora frowned at the door. "These things usually have simple flip locks at the most or a passcode maybe, to provide ease of access for people and not Grimm. Or... " She kneeled down and rapped her knuckles, wincing at the contact. Hearing a very faint noise underneath, Aurora pounded on the door harder, shouting "Hey! Come on out, it's safe now!"

A click sounded from the hatch. Aurora wondered why they hadn't opened it yet before she realized that the weight of a certain someone was probably in their way. She squeaked and moved off of the metal square and onto the grass with Gwylan and Tina.

The door rose a teensy bit at first before rising more steadily to reveal a small group of five people, three women and two men. The woman who was at the first sighed in relief to see them. "Oh thank god that Grimm's gone." She stepped out and held the door for the rest to follow, though she seemed to be having some trouble with both the weight of the door and helping people out.

"Gwylan, could you lend her a hand?" asked Aurora. "Time's ticking, faster we can get to dealing with that Deathstalker, the better."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on June 17, 2017, 04:09:10 PM
Tina temporarily holstered her revolvers and gave a hand to the survivors, helping them climb out. Remembering their mission, she timidly asked "A-are any of you Apple O'Hara? Or h-have you seen her recently?"
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on June 17, 2017, 04:31:22 PM
Gwylan nodded at Aurora and buried Irvine in the ground behind him, as he jogged the last few feet around the door, where he could get a good angle to reach in to the survivors.

"Hi, hello, nice to rescue you all today. We're team ATLA, I'm Gwylan, the handsome one. That's Tina, the cool nerdy one with the awesome guns, and Aurora, the pretty leader one. We'll introduce you to our fourth if she isn't brutally murdered!", Gwylan rambled on as he gently pushed the first survivor aside so she'd just be holding open the door, and reaching down to help the up. Or just straight up lift them, if they weren't inclined to do it themselves. Guess he'd be getting his daily weight lift in after all.

Spoiler: ShowHide
Skip requested by Pyro
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on June 18, 2017, 03:29:56 AM
'Apple O'Hara' didn't seem to ring a bell with any of the people, unfortunately. Mission not over yet. Well, Aurora had long decided that it wouldn't be over until they got as many people as they could out. So... mission not passed yet. Because this was being graded, right.

Aurora smiled at Gwylan as he called her pretty, then clapped her hands to address everyone now that they were out of the bunker. "Alright, from here you're going to need to go by yourself, out of the maze. We will take care of the Deathstalker, so that's no problem. And as for the rest of the Grimm, if you stick to the path then you won't meet any of them."

She walked over to the hole they'd carved. "Just squeeze through here and start walking left. Wherever you see a bunch of slash marks is where we turned, so go that way, alright?" A smile graced her features, the one that she always used to placate her siblings. "I'm sorry we can't personally escort you out," she said evenly. "But there are a lot of people here that need to be saved and we want to get as many out as we can, alright? Stay on the path."

As the group started to go through the hedges, Aurora focused on her team. "Alright, bunker number one over with. Tina, use your semblance to figure out where Nero is. Gwylan, you go first like always, for now just follow the trail that Nero and the Grimm left, go go go!"
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on June 18, 2017, 04:06:32 AM
"G-good luck!" Tina called after the disappearing group, before sprinting toward the massive hole in the hedge. She could swear she could hear the pounding of the Death Stalker, or maybe it was just her. Pulsing her semblance, she reported: "Death Stalker and Nero right ahead, just follow the path and we'll catch up to them. Now if only we had someone with a speed semblance..."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on June 18, 2017, 05:50:23 AM
"Remember to rate us highly on our performance reviews!!", Gwylan yelled after them as they ran towards safety, then turned back to the others. "They seemed nice, I do hope they don't get eaten....... Say, you guys think that bunker had some bug spray we could use on the deathstalker?"

That last part was said as he started jogging down the path after Nero. Hopefully, she hadn't ran into any problems and been..... nope, not gonna think like that. She was gonna be fine, Nero had proven herself to be a tough cookie.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on June 20, 2017, 04:52:11 AM
"Oh I wish," responded Aurora. "Unfortunately, I left my pest repeller in my luggage, silly me." She kept running on after Gwylan, thinking that they would never be able to catch up to Nero and the Deathstalker if they didn't speed up or she didn't slow down.

"Hey Nero!" she hollered out. "Slow down! Or like, double back!" Maybe not the most graceful, smart, or creative plan... but it'd do for the moment. She just hoped there were no more Grimm wandering around the maze at the moment.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on June 22, 2017, 03:00:29 AM
Tina just kept running, head down and legs pumping. She really needed to get out more instead of just playing video games. But hey, that's what VR sports was for, right?

"If I see that Death Stalker, the first thing I'm doing is freezing it's legs. I'm tired of running." she called.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on June 26, 2017, 07:42:31 AM
"Ugh, this is so annoying!", Gwylan grumbled as he started putting a bit more effort into the chase, pushing himself into a proper sprint. "I came here to kick ass and look cool, not go for a run". Next time, they were gonna have to just kill it off immediately, cause running through a maze was not fun. At least the giant piss off scorpion left a hell of a trail behind it for them to follow. Hide and seek would be horrible with the Deathstalker, even if it was bigger than the bushes.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on June 27, 2017, 11:14:14 PM
Aurora groaned in annoyance. She worked out a lot, running especially for an excuse to get out of the house, so she wasn't too bothered by the running. But she didn't like it either. Nero'd better lure the thing back soon because they had to take care of it one way or another, losing it in the maze wouldn't be good enough considering the maze was the way out.

"Running's good," reasoned Aurora rather pathetically. "Burns fat if you do endurance runs. Builds muscle for high-tolerance runs. Though I do admit that I didn't really expect to be doing so much so soon."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on June 28, 2017, 01:24:25 PM
Tina mimicked Aurora's groan, pushing herself further into a full-blown sprint. "Nero, if you can hear me, turn that thing around RIGHT NOW!" she yelled in pure frustration, completely out of character. Who knew exercise could make someone really mad and ticked off? When they eventually met the Death Stalker, it was getting a full load of Dust bullets up it's gullet.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on June 29, 2017, 12:24:06 PM
Not 12 feet from the front of the group, a very scared and focused Nero jumped over the top of the maze walls, apparently having scaled them to take a shortcut back to the group. She seemed to be breathing heavily, but not exactly out of breath. "You don't have to shout Tina. Sensitive ears can hear you from across the maze." Nero said as she drew her swords, switched one into a shotgun, and readied a shot. Then, a very annoyed looking scorpion charged through the flimsy plant wall. Nero fired one shot, one which had much more recoil than her previous rounds. As the round connected, a brilliant flash of red kinetic energy exploded just beneath the more distant Deathstalker. As the HEAP round exploded in the right claw, said claw seemed noticeably more sluggish.

Current aura:87%
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on June 29, 2017, 04:45:39 PM
"You know what does the same thing and is actually enjoyable? Swimming!". Why were they having trouble finding it anyway, it was a giant scorpion, not a freaking ninja!

Gwylan shooks his head slightly before joining in with the yelling, "Neroooohh look, there she is!". What convenient timing. And she'd brought her friend too, what joy. Guess it was time to get serious then. Keeping up his sprint, Gwylan twirled Irvine around his hand to ensure he had the proper grip for his quickly thought out plan and tore past Nero. Pushing himself as hard as he could, he leaped forward and slammed the base of the trident into the ground and pushed off like a pole vaulter, so he could sail through the air and hopefully land on the Grimm while it was distracted from being shot.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on July 01, 2017, 05:13:03 AM
Aurora stopped in her tracks as Nero and the Deathstalker came into view. Good, the Faunus'd managed to turn the creature back without endangering herself it seemed. Props to her she supposed.

Like Gwylan, Aurora also dashed forward straight at the creature, though she went down instead of up. Deathstalkers were pretty well armored, but its legs and even the part where its pincers connected to the rest of the body were fairly open. They were a little tough, exoskeletons and all, but not as tough.

Once the HEAP round could do no more damage, Aurora dragged her machete along the right side of the Deathstalker, slashing at the part where the legs met the body. Dust in her blade activated, she further increased the damage on that side. It however, might've made Gwylan's job a little harder with the imbalance it'd caused.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on July 01, 2017, 06:07:26 AM
While Gwylan and Aurora lunged for the Death Stalker, Tina kept running, past the claws, and jumped onto the tough outer shell, before grabbing hold of the armored tail and shooting all 12 rounds of Dust bullets into the cracks between each plate of armor.

Flame, ice, electricity and bits of bone erupted from the chinks in the armor, but unfortunately the tail stayed intact. Whether it could still use the stinger, Tina couldn't tell, but she thought it wise to bail before something bad happened, leaping off and starting to reload.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on July 07, 2017, 12:15:17 PM
That was an opening she needed, sadly, she could not take it. Going through an entire maze dodging stingers, pincers and body mass was not easy on Nero's stamina, and the fact that her aura took a few blows while she was at it. She was breathing heavily and slightly unsteady. She was not, however, out of the fight. Loading a few regular slugs, Nero decided that she has had enough of that thing's extended reach. Aiming directly at the base of the stinger, where it meets the tail, she fired six shots. Four shots were harmless, but the remaining two found their marks. The stinger was still attached, but has been reduced to a bludgeoning weapon. A very massive bludgeoning weapon, but not so stabby-stabby.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on July 07, 2017, 03:11:36 PM
Boy, this flying through the air trick seemed sooooo much better in Gwylan's head, a world where people didn't shoot guns indiscriminately at a giant scorpion while he was sailing towards it. He couldn't say that it wasn't more enjoyable this way.

The original plan of landing on it's back went out the window as Aurora and Tina made their plays, so Gwylan had to think on the fly. Twisting his body enough that he could viably land on it's claws instead, Gwylan pushed off again, pumping a little bit of his aura into his legs to ensure he'd get a good enough pounce at the Grimm. He drew back Irvine with both of his hands and, right as Tina moved aside, came sailing in, Irvine stabbing right into the spot Tina softened up, as Gwylan sailed past it's tail entirely, using his momentum to twist the trident as he went, so it carved the side of it's tail apart. That stinger had to be useless now, right?
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on July 08, 2017, 12:01:55 AM
The Deathstalker currently was not very happy at the fact that its stinger was now probably not too useful venom-wise and not useful stab-wise at all. Didn't mean it was going to give up, though. As Gwylan impaled its tail with his trident, the Grimm quickly flicked said tail backwards in the hopes of getting the pesky human off. Well, it worked. Because the stinger and part of the tail ceased to be part of it, snapping off and sharply sailing through the air in front of it.

Aurora, startled, looked to see how Gwylan fared with that when the scorpion-like creature suddenly turned and charged at the three remaining members of team Atlas, apparently preferring not to go over or around but rather through anything in its way. What bad manners. Once again, Aurora did not get to see how the rest of her team fared with the attack, herself being caught by one of the creature's claws and flung into the hedges once again.

This was particularly upsetting, as the nature hippie look was really not her thing.

It did, however, place her in-between the Grimm and its fallen stinger. Or at least what was left of it. Reaching out with her semblance, Aurora pulled it to her at 40 miles per hour, the chunk of... whatever it was made of... crashing into the Grimm's side. The action rendered her pretty much done for the moment though. Up to her teammates to deal the-hopefully-killing blows while it was momentarily stunned by its stinger.

Spoiler: ShowHide
 Whoops, forgot: Aura 95%
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on July 21, 2017, 07:16:36 AM
Tina glanced up from her task (boy, reloading with two revolvers was much harder than it seemed in games) just in time to see a chunk of...something...comedically spinning through the air like a UFO and smacking the Grimm a new one. Not much she could do to capitalise on the chance but keep jamming bullets into the chamber as fast as possible. Make no mistake, when she was done, that Grimm was going down.

Spoiler: ShowHide
 So so so so sorry, I completely blanked out. Do please PM me to rant about my dereliction of posts if I take such a "break" like this again.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on August 13, 2017, 12:36:45 PM
Nero was honestly sick of that things claws. Why am I stuck in this things claw? One would think it would be 110% done with me after I ran it through half the maze yelling various insults at it. With her hands still free, she loaded both Nightshade and Death Bell full of HEAP rounds while the big bad was messing with something in it's right claw, about to throw caution to the wind. That was when a glowing whatever decided to whack right into the Death Stalker's left side. The stinger had managed to crack a hole in the armor, which is thankfully weaker than the white plates, as well as free Nero from her crushing prison. It wasn't big enough Tina to get dust rounds in from range, but maybe allow Nero herself to shove in Nightshade and/or Death Bell.

And that is what she did. Twelve rounds of high explosive slugs were shot into the weak point, detonating a fraction of a second after the last one. Twelve near simultaneous explosions rushed throughout, and the scorpion's armor plating didn't help it one bit. With the force of the blast effectively contained within the beast, but still having enough to rocket Nero into the hedge wall behind her. By her guess, The contained force should have been enough to pulverize that things innards, but, Nero wasn't a medical expert in the slightest.

Spoiler: ShowHide
Aura:65%
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on August 15, 2017, 12:14:58 PM
Gwylan swore violently as the Deathstalker sent him spinning through the air like a discarded children's toy. Being flung end over end really didn't too much in the way of improving a man's planning ability, so Gwylan hoped he wouldn't get yelled at for doing something as dumb as stabbing his trident into the earth in the hopes of slowing himself down. Instead, he happened to find what had to be the most tightly packed sod of dirt in Remnant, as he was whiplashed to a sudden and painful halt, his aura flaring up to prevent his shoulder ripping from it's socket or his fingers from breaking. The mouthful of dirt he got was really only adding insult to injury.

Now Gwylan was angry. Spitting out dirt, he got to his feet and yanked Irvine out of the ground with his off hand, shooting daggers as he stomped over to the creature that was in the midst of what could only be it's death throes at this point. If looks could kill, then his would...... probably not do as much as what Aurora and Nero had with the stinger, but still viably hurt. Spinning on his feet to avoid a wild swipe of it's claws, he drew his arm back underarm, then stabbed straight up under it's chin, or chin equivalent anyway. Gwylan wasn't a bug specialist, he didn't know.

"Prick!"

Spoiler: ShowHide
Aura=80%
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on August 16, 2017, 03:10:12 AM
Aurora didn't really know how to feel about how her team was handling it. On one hand, that Deathstalker was very much dead. On the other, some things were a bit overkill. No need to beat a dead horse. Or scorpion Grimm thingy. She relayed this opinion to the team, as she'd regained some of her strength back. "Y'know, no harm in stopping. We might be here for a while and stuff is limited. Especially for Tina and Nero because you two use ammunition and we can't exactly call Titan over for a restocking. Applies to me too to be honest."

"Well at least it's over with," Aurora said lightly. "Allllllrighty so now that that's taken care of, we can move onto the next one. It's... not too far from here, still in the maze, lower right. This little scorpion chase actually led us closer to the entrance, which is a good thing." She squinted a bit at the map on her scroll, pausing to figure out a path. "Yeah, yeah. The short path we need to take to get there is accessible just"-this word she dragged out a bit-"over this left wall right here."

"So we can either climb or hack our way through again. Your choice."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on August 16, 2017, 09:57:55 AM
"Climbing please? Pretty please?" Tina pleaded, trying her best to imitate a begging puppy, complete with eyes and all. After her first experience at makeshift gardening and trimming, she was definitely not eager to try her hand at that again. And, hell, she was willing to resort to this kind of stuff to avoid another experience. Not for all the Lien in the world--and that much could get her all the games she could ever want.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on August 19, 2017, 01:12:35 PM
"You three can climb, but I would like two things. One, can Tina give us a scan? I would rather not land in the middle of fifty Ursai. And two, Aurora, mind giving me a push? Way faster than climbing a wall." Nero may be down thirty five percent, but her semblance recharges relatively quickly out of combat. A reload was in order, and what better way than while waiting.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on August 21, 2017, 07:25:12 AM
Shaking his arm out as he strolled past the girls, Gwylan spun on his foot to walk back the rest of the way. That was actually quite the fun scrap, even if he was sent flying like a rather handsome ragdoll. Maybe it was time to start considering upping his firepower, put some dust in Irvine perhaps. Something to think on as they walked.

"Ladies, care for a boost?", he grinned at the girls, throwing his head back to indicate the hedge wall behind him.
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: The Mythic Scribe on September 10, 2017, 03:14:35 AM
Spoiler: ShowHide
 Sorry sorry sorry, school, blah blah blah, studying, packed schedule, nothing new really...


"Yeah, no can do buddy." Aurora shook her head and sighed slightly over-dramatically. "Really though, semblance recharges at a fast enough pace, but we literally just finished a battle. Mind giving your gracious leader a break please? Climbing's good for the arms, back, shoulders, that stuff." She directed a pointed look to Nero. "Long-range doesn't mean you're exempt from having to work out every once in a while. Though this isn't really working out in the slightest, but it's a start I suppose."

She quickly found a hold in the hedge wall, taking the lead in the climb. "No thanks, Gwylan, this isn't my first... climb..." Okay, so that sounded better in her head. "Enjoy the view."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: MonsterManic on September 11, 2017, 05:49:30 PM
"Yes please and thank you, Gwylan," Tina spoke up; she'd just pulsed her semblance for a quick scan as per Nero's request. "Nero, there's no Grimm in the area around us currently, so you can relax for a bit." She boosted up off from Gwylan onto the hedge, a considerable distance higher than Aurora already. "We should probably speed things up a notch or two anyway."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Pyro_Ferno on October 05, 2017, 09:34:23 AM
"I should know how good climbing is. For one thing, I love doing it, especially with various tall flora. And also I scaled this wall like my life depended on it. Which it did, Deathstalker and all." Nero said to Aurora with a hint of annoyed nostalgia. Giving herself the biggest running start she could, Nero have herself a distance between Aurora and Tina, and was climbing relatively faster than Aurora. "Watch out as you reach the top. They aren't exactly meant to prevent people from slipping through. Learned that the hard way at a bad time."
Title: Re: The Labor of Atlas [CLOSED] [ATLA-Initiation]
Post by: Dusty on October 08, 2017, 02:31:09 PM
Shaking his head as he stepped away from the hedge, Gwylan let his eyes run over Aurora as he waited for the girls to get to the top, just in case one of them slipped and needed a dashing hero to catch them. "You say that like I wasn't already, Aurora".

Giving himself a shorter run up than Nero, Gwylan leaped up and caught onto the hedge just as the girls reached the top, and started his climb. As it turns out, climbing a bush was vaguely similar to climbing a net, if a bit more stable thanks to the lack of waves. Perhaps a beach vacation was in order, when they had some free time of course.