RWBYFanon v5
RPG World of Remnant => The Vale Region => Topic started by: Glow on April 15, 2019, 07:05:43 PM
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Within a sports building briefly renovated for the event, the Shard Inc exhibition has got well underway. Many screens have been changed to provide their logo along with one new advancement or another, and more physical representations of these shown in the various displays located around the different pitches. One has a variety of neurology developments, including some prototype mechashift linkage, while another contains a variety of miscellaneous technological advancements – some weapons research, some computer learning developments and materials research to name a few.
Yet the main attraction still lies in the one containing what really defined their brand; the area entirely designated to prosthetics. A variety of new replacement limbs and haptic sensors lined several of the displays, some even interactive – the limb copying the person’s own movements with a sensor attached to them. Various weapon integrations also were displayed, hoping to further interest the hunter crowd who were attending the convention. Most notably, however, was the area designated to showing off their ‘latest’ invention – additional limb prosthetics. Several screens were displaying videos with commentary about development of the project, uses of the extra limbs, and showing examples – loader-like detachable limbs for heavy lifting, nerve-controlled weapons systems and even additional arms that could be taken off or on with available port implants for hunters and huntresses.
Indeed, there was even a few members of Shard INC with such implants showing them off; one having the heavy duty arms curling around his back and smiling as he took heavy crates around the room without a care in the world, reminding people he didn’t have aura; another woman with a number of folding limbs holding various medical instruments, smiling and occasionally getting someone to show them a small bump or bruise and patching it up; and then a huntress in blue-black clothing, the signs of an implant obvious by the metal framework on her back extending to her shoulders, but just talking with some of the older hunters and huntresses about her face mask covering her eyes about the viability of the replacement limbs, keeping her cards close to her chest – the exhibition match was due fairly soon, the match why Shard INC had chosen the sports building (along with the space offered) - and the rules behind it were meant to be a surprise, after all. Two employees stood in a booth within the additional limb section, one with a ‘queries’ sign and another with ‘hunters’ – one was answering general questions, and the other was taking in someone’s weapon and semblance and offering ideas about what this technology could do to benefit them in the future, giving some example implantations - as well as offering tickets for a raffle to enter the exhibition match.
The final, main arena was left as it was, albeit with some fanfare added - it would be the sight of the exhibition match once the raffle was over. The other rooms were laid out almost in a circle around the sunken middle room, having glass windows all able to look into it; Shard INC had certainly chosen the right building to highlight their technology in the flashiest way possible. An announcer stand was being set up, along with some audience protection; there were stands surrounding the room, but they'd been moved back from the room itself and the dust forcefield tested in a few methods to ensure public safety in advance.
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Smokey wanders around the exhibit, meandering from showcase to showcase absentmindedly. There's a lot of advanced technology here, though he was mostly interested in the weapons research. Unfortunately, so far he's been less than impressed with what he's seen. Sure, the weapons here are a grade above the typical standard fare, but his dad was a one-man-show who designed and constructed weapons for Specialists. Hell, his own gun The Good News was probably the most powerful weapon here, and it's technically considered a "light weapon". Technically.
That being said, it's probably a bit unfair to write this company off without checking out their main attraction. This Shard company's primary product was prosthetics, both in the form of replacement limbs and, at least now, additional ones. Those exhibits were pretty flashy, too; there was a guy walking around with heavy crates, some lady with a bunch of fancy robotic appendages. Smokey doesn't really see the appeal though. Sure, he can see the use in, say, industry or the medical field, but he's pretty sure there isn't anything those limbs could offer him in the field that he couldn't do himself already. Besides, what happens when something goes awry? Some of the limbs look heavy, and if the dust supporting them (or whatever supports them) malfunctions for whatever reason, whoever's wearing 'em has to either abandon all that tech or drag it around with them.
Still, the company seems pretty proud of them, so much so that they've even organized an exhibition match against a decked-out huntress. Though Smokey remains unconvinced, he's still curious to see how they'd actually hold up in a fight, so he walks over to the booth labelled "Hunters" to see if he can sign himself up.
"So, uh, this where I sign up to fight? Name's Smokey Emberstone," he says quietly.
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The first thing Nathan had done upon entering the event was hold in his instincts and stride directly towards the large 'RAFFLE'-indicating sign, wrote his name on a slip of paper and unceremoniously deposited it in the tumbling contraption. Afterwards, though, he let loose and meticulously inspected every sign, item, exposition and other that fell under his gaze.
While the things that usually interested him - materials research and weapons research, namely - weren't exactly all that advanced, he still took the time to read through all the blurbs an look at all the objects that were on display. That being said, he was through with them relatively quickly owning to their small numbers.
That doesn't mean he didn't enjoy the main attraction, though. Nathan had little, if any, experience either working on or with prosthetics, never mind researching them. Thus he learned of many, many, many things, absorbing the knowledge so graciously provided like a dry sponge soaks up water. He gave a go to the exhibits he could fumble with and happily questioned the demonstrators as to the prosthetics' capabilities, operation, feeling and any possible hindrances, from sleeping on your back to taking a shower. Seldom did his eyes look so bright and alive.
Alas, even that much had its limits - after several hours, he'd exhausted all he could do short of the 'queries/hunters' booth. As he approached it, the line for queries stretching for about a dozen people, he headed to the hunters side and waited a respectable distance from the guy already there - seemingly about the same age as he was, named Smokey Emberstone from what he overheard.
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"Ah, yes!" The representative replies brightly, giving a smile that only seemed partially fake at worst - they seemed to be enjoying their jobs, at the very least. "You can sign up just by writing your name on this form here..." They trail off for a moment, reaching to get another of the printed sheets out from the box next to them and lay it out in front of Smokey; it seemed to almost be a copy of normal tournament waivers with a few snippets about confidentiality and possible risks to person or property, but even reading over the fine print nothing malicious or out of the ordinary appeared to be there considering the circumstances. The exact details of the fight were an individual hunter could take a round, or a team of two students with restrictions placed on their opponent instead. The paper required a few signatures and a 'profession' section, as well as details requested about semblance and weapons 'to avoid any accidents in testing'. Maybe the prosthetics weren't quite as optimised yet as they'd prefer?
"...and I'm also here to answer any hunting-related queries about the displays here; star attraction is discussing a theoretical prosthetic to help out with an individual's semblance or fighting style!" They continued peppily, leaning to the side a little to point at what some of the more detailed conversations had lead to; rapidly sketched ideas and designs for limbs or attachments designed for a variety of different styles and semblances. Though some seemed a little... implausible, there were a few that did seem to hold some merit to them. "But hold on just one second; there's a little bit of a queue, so I'm just going to get my colleague to help out..."
They walked away from the desk, half-jogging over to the back to poke their head out into the room behind the stall. "Forrest!" They called, and another employee with a cup of coffee and undone jacket looked through the doorway. "I could use some assistance here, get another queue going." The man blinked semi-tiredly, before giving a sigh and a little smile of acceptance, ruffling the woman's hair - much to her dismay - before chugging the coffee and patting their cheeks to wake themselves up. The female employee quickly moved back up to the counter with more dishevelled hair and a look of fond annoyance, before returning to her previous smile as she attempted to fix the hairdo. "Right, apologies sir - do you have any further queries?"
The other employee moved up to the desk as they buttoned up their white jacket with the Shard INC logo on it, waving to Nathan. "Ah, sir, if you could join this queue, we can get through people a little faster."
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Smokey absentmindedly fills out the paperwork as the rep tries to interest him with her diatribe. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary, most of it actually looked similar to the waivers he signed for the Vytal Festival. He wrote "student" in the space asking for his occupation, despite part of him wanting to fight the huntress at full strength. He only really paused at one section in particular.
"So, uh, what's this about 'semblance' and 'weapons'?" he asks. "I know it says somethin' about 'avoiding accidents', but, like, it's a fight, right? Kinda just looks like you're trying to giving your guy an edge. Do we at least get to know what we're up against, too?"
"Guess while I'm here, might as well ask. Those extra limbs or whatever, how do you keep 'em from draggin' you down? 'Cause, like, if I'm already carrying a lot o' weight already, there's no way I'm dragging all those limbs with me if somethin' screws up, ya know?" he continues, voicing his doubts about the effectiveness of the prosthetics.
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As Nathan patiently waited, arms crossed (it doesn't mean anything) and face utterly neutral, he spent the time perusing the information he'd just gulped down. Quickly enough, though, he was called by the backup employee and decisively strode 2 steps or so over.
Sporting one of his rare, noticeable smiles and eyes like a kid that's been building LEGO for 15 hours straight without decimating his hands, he softly deposited his crossed arms onto the counter (just besides the edge on his side) and asked in a soft, singing tone "I'm here for the custom Huntsman prosthetic brainstorming." Unsurprisingly, he was at least 3 times more direct an concise as usual, albeit still completely polite.
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"Ah, right!" The representative replied to Smokey. "Well, part of it is that... it is new technology, of course. It's best to avoid going up against, say, a semblance that would rust metal - even if the theory shows it should be protected by the user's aura constant covering it." She sheepishly explains, looking apologetic. "Of course, you get to know what their semblance is before the fight, while they won't actually be told yours - it's just to prevent accidents, really. There's too many experienced eyes here to pull any tricks. More to the point, you should be at the advantage here; they're not going to be using their normal weapon! It's meant to be a showcase for the implant, not just her skill." She pauses for a little bit at the titbit of information she gives, glancing to the eye-masked faunus with a Shard INC logo on who had been standing about the main showcase without meaning to, before flushing a little and looking back to the hunter-in-training. "Ah, uhm- you, didn't see anything." She murmurs with a conspiratorial, slightly embarrassed whisper.
"And, well- it's a point that was brought up a lot during testing! Put simply, there isn't really a direct way of preventing it when you start out, as far as we know - just ways to minimise the effects. Aura helps lessen the burden for hunters, especially with constant saturation of the limbs due to their direct connection, and therefore more lightweight materials can be used since aura will help shield the limbs from the worst of the effects - not that we skimped out on structural stability, though." The representative furrowed their eyebrow as they thought over, before continuing. "From what we've seen so far, barring the larger sets of limbs-" and they pause here purposefully, trying to look innocent as possible. They'd seen the 'student' on the form, and were feeling nice today. "-mobility is usually counteracted by further training and simple acclimation to the additional weight. Of course, the limbs can be removed or even exchanged with properly build components; we use a 'port' system, almost like plugging in a very, very sturdy USB to a computer. With the computer being your nervous system. And with aura shielding the internal components, just as it shields that of weapons, there tends to be a remarkably low failure rate. In fact, with the known stresses of hunting, we've managed to make tentative strides in self-repair; only baby steps for now, and reliant on a constant direct connection to the user, but even in this set the wiring has some ability to repair itself!"
The employee talking to Nathan blinked, before their grin widened. Their first talk and they've already got the fun job, a fact that they lauded over the other employee with a wink and receiving a stuck-out tongue in return, before the pair of them realised they were presenting a new technology in public and both blushed before looking back to their potential customers. "Ah, right!" He embarrassedly replied, before the enthusiasm returned to his tone. "So, the first question we'd need to ask is what your semblance and weapon are - you can write it down if you don't want to talk about it publicly, and it doesn't need to be too detailed unless you want it to be."
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Smokey's eyes were kept locked on to the rep's while she explains the paperwork. To be honest, he's skeptical of the explanation she gives. Wouldn't they have tested for those situations before bringing it to an expo? He feels like they're just trying to mine for information, though it's anybody's guess as to why. Though, companies dig for information all the time, that's nothing new. Besides, his semblance really isn't all that impressive on its own, and they were planning on giving the combatants info on their fighter's semblance. All things considered, that's technically fair. Both sides have equal amounts of information, it's up to them what they do with it.
Smokey's a little concerned that his potential opponent won't have their weapon, but, for all he knows, the opponent could be a hand-to-hand specialist, which would mean the weapon is kind of a non-issue. And with the way this company's touting their prosthetics, it probably wouldn't be unfair to consider *them* a weapon on their own. That being said, they're definitely not for Smokey. Reading between the lines of the rep's spiel, it seems that in order to get a new arm and leg, it'll cost him an arm and a leg. Plugging into his nervous system? That just sounds like an incredibly invasive surgery with an equally incredible price tag. The Emberstone family isn't exactly hurting on cash, but that's definitely more than the gunslinger wants to spend. And that's before all the cutting-edge techno-babble.
Still, he is curious to see how they'll hold up in a fight, so he continues filling out the paperwork, giving the rep a quiet "A'ight" to mask his doubts. He fills in the semblance slot with "Immovable Object" with no further explanation. When he gets to the weapon section, he pauses for a minute to glance behind him. I don't think you'll be relevant this go-round, sorry girl, he thinks to himself before filling in the space with "Revolver/Volley Gun". If he gets to the stage, it's gonna be Matchstick's show.
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Nathan looked on as the employee prepared himself, not missing the slight banter that occurred between him and the employee next to them. As for what was required... "Well, I was a Vital Festival finalist, so I imagine pretty much anyone with a scroll can look up my stats or stuff, so I don't mind. My semblance basically allows me to generate and release kinetic energy into things I touch. It's not exactly what it is, but it's a more simple and accurate description than the real deal."
As he spoke, he gingerly unhooked Ergia from his back - for he had brought it with him - and deposited it on the counter separating him from his interlocutor. Perhaps a bit too excitedly, as he noticed in hindsight, as it made more of a slam than he thought it would. "And this is Ergia. Staff, assault rifle and jump pack all-in-one, extremely efficient use of Dust, uses custom tungsten rounds."
Nathan momentarily wondered if he could be physically seen holding back from gushing about all of this stuff that he was quite frankly endlessly passionate about.
Probably not.
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The employee with Smokey gave the form one last look-over, humming to themselves for a moment before nodding and placing it into the box of forms. "Right, thank you!" She replied gratefully, offering out a hand to shake with the smile. "Is there anything else you'd like to ask about?"
Looking over the weapon, the representative with Nathan got more enthusiastic himself - it looked like they were really passionate about what they did. "Wow, quite advanced stuff here. Very compact for what it does! I think I remember seeing you back then, so it's something to start from, certainly." He replied, scratching his chin. "Certainly, some of the basic implantation features we tried out might be of interest - mechashift by thought, for example, which could be helpful for a weapon with several different forms and possibly save a little bit of space for further compaction. Does your semblance release more energy if the object is swung with more momentum on hit, and does it have kickback?"
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After looking around and thinking for a bit, Smokey responded, "Nah, that's about it." And with that, he gets up from his spot and heads back out to the rest of the expo. Maybe he'll find something else to do while he wanders around waiting for the fight.
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Decidedly, enthusiasm was contagious, as Nathan appeared to respond in kind. "Oh, that can be done? Directly by thought? Huh, interesting. Don't think it'd be really worth it in this case, though, since most controls are Aura-activated.
As for the semblance, no, the energy released is entirely independent of movement. It does add to it, though, so if I used my semblance to hit a ball with a bat, the ball would get hit with the normal, semblance-less amount of energy plus the semblance's energy. It has no kickback, either - in fact, when the energy is being released, almost all change of momentum is impossible for me, I think. Haven't really tested that one, though."
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"Ah, that's fair! It provides a minor benefit in speed of transmission, and another in it still functioning even with a lack of aura, but you hold a good point there. It's a gateway to some future technologies, really, but- well, you know how it is." He stated, tapping his nose knowingly. "NDAs and all that. Either way; in that case, extending the amount of energy given out directly might be useful, some kind of pneumatic or otherwise force-enhancing implant! Separate limbs to channel your aura directly through, particularly ones with a longer reach, might help to give your semblance a longer effective range as well."
The employee muses for a moment, before snapping their fingers. "Taking advantage of the generated kinetic energy in some form may be useful, too - something to charge with the release of energy, perhaps, or a mobility option if you could direct release in some form. Alternatively, an implant to grant some mobility to help you get close enough to give off the energy could be useful - we've had some success with smaller jump jets and muscular-skeletal reinforcements, which would both help give off some extra energy from your attacks at that." He blinks at a buzzing of his earpiece, and then gives a grin over to the hunter-in-training. "Can talk a little longer about this, but it looks like we'll be doing the exhibition match soon, and I doubt you want to miss that."
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Nathan intently listened to the man speak, holding back a mild curse when NDAs came into play. But from what he was hearing, something like... spider limbs? More limbs on the back? Limbs that could extend, possibly violently? It could grant him positively ludicrous mobility and reach as well as pack more of a punch than normal... Oh wait, the match was starting? Damn! Time to wrap up.
Without losing the excitement in his eyes, he said "Alright but here's my idea real quick: extra limbs on the back that can stretch several meters and have a lotta power to them and/or arms that have the same properties so I can throw someone a punch from six plus metres away. Anyway, this was fun! Thanks for your time!" With that, he nabbed Ergia and took off towards the small arena he'd seen earlier in a quick jog. Maybe he'd have the time to converse more afterwards... Hopefully.
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"No worries, see y- ah, he's off. To be that young again." The employee mused, before getting jabbed in the side by the other one under the desk with a murmur of "you're not that gold", and a brief squabble before both regained their professional personalities as a new set of people walked up to the desk.
The chairs around the sunken main arena, at the reinforced windows of each of the surrounding rooms, were starting to get busy - people getting into a surrounding few rows of chairs. Inside the arena proper, more people had started flooding in with a few security guards waving people in this way or that, and letting them get to their seats. Nathan and Smokey would both be guided in, waiting for people to get settled as one of the implanted employees from before took to the stage - the one who had been hanging back a little.
She had two large wolf ears on top of her head, looked a little thin, and was wearing a dark black and blue ensemble. Despite this, the far more notable features was the faint glowing from underneath her fringe, showing a glimpse of the drawn-down faceplate, and the odd black structures currently resting on her shoulders and reaching down to her back. She seemed to be waiting for a signal, another employee in the announcer's booth asking for people to please quiet down.
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Smokey had wandered around the expo for a little while longer after leaving the booth. Unfortunately, there wasn't really anything that caught his eye, so he was left with naught to do until the fight. Thankfully, it looked like that was taking place sooner rather than later.
As soon as the arena started opening up, Smokey did his best to get in as soon as possible. Although his first impressions of this new technology was relatively negative, he knew better than to write it off without actually seeing it in action. On top of that, this is a fight with a huntress. Even if he's not participating himself, he can get a lot of experience just watching how the fight plays out.
As he sat down, he saw the woman up on the stage. Is she their fighter? Smokey idly wondered as he looked her up and down. Appearances can be deceiving, but from Smokey's perspective, she doesn't look like the type to straight-out brawl. If he had to guess, he'd say she was a "run-and-gun" type of fighter that likes to keep her distance. However, if that were the case, would Shard really force her to fight without her weapon? He glanced over the face-plate and the structures on her shoulders, trying to discern their purpose. Were they a form of the prosthetics the reps were touting earlier? If they are, how will she use them? Do they transform?
Smokey's not even in the ring yet and he's already analyzing her. Maybe combat school has been good for him after all?
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Putting Ergia back in its place on his harness on the way, Nathan arrived at the arena entirely looking forward to both observing and participating. Upon arrival, he was guided into the arena and allowed to unceremoniously plop down on a seat. He'd arrived a bit late but this place was still good.
Looking at the stage, a Faunus - clearly - walked in. He remembered seeing her around earlier, but she hadn't exactly been an attraction at the time. Now that he looked closer, though, he saw that she was very undoubtedly endowed with some prosthetics. The glowing eye behind the hair, the metal plate that's seemingly integrated into the soul somehow, it almost screamed cyborg. No idea what the things on her shoulders were, though. He was excited to find out.
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"Ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer called out, hushing the light anticipatory conversations in the room. "It's time for what you've all been waiting for; a showcase of our latest inventions, and what better way to show it than a match in the ring?" There was some vocal appreciation from the hunter and civilian communities in the room at this, though it quickly died down as the announcement kept going.
"This here is our lovely lady Lynn Aubin, ex-huntress and present security employee of Shard INC! A quick bit of backstory-" He started enthusiastically, though the start of talking about her history seemed to leave Lynn a bit more stoic if that was at all possible. "Over a decade ago, she suffered a debilitating injury in the line of duty, suffering the loss of her eyesight defending her town from bandits. But here at Shard INC, we saw this tragedy that had occurred, and sought to help one of our noble huntresses once again pick up her weapons - over the course of several years, we developed an implantation that allowed her eyesight to be restored!" He made an indication towards Lynn, and she fidgeted just a little before lifting up her hair at the front, the faceplate dropping down over her eyes before anyone could get a clear view of them. "But we went further - this not only keeps her previous visual clarity, even as a faunus, but bolsters it to higher levels! Yet both we and her weren't satisfied with this - we could do better, further develop her as a huntress along with her training. And so, we have something special to show you today!"
There was a small pause, and then deep blue flames sprang up around Lynn, fanning out from her and leaving a thin sheet of frost over the ring. "Lynn's semblance is a projection-type; she generates flames that freeze what they touch, rather than burn!" There were several 'oo's from the civilian side of the audience, and Lynn still looked a little uncomfortable to the trained eye under all the attention - she wasn't especially used to the public eye, it seemed. "Her weapon, Winter's Grasp, uses dust to augment these in a variety of different ways and weaves it into separate attacks! But you'll notice there are no gauntlets on her hands today - no, my dear audience! Instead, she'll only be using what we've worked together on to augment her style of fighting further-"
There was a series of mechanical whirring noises, before the inconspicuous ridges on her shoulder and back suddenly unfolded to the sound of gasps, a huge and hollow pair of fierce-looking claws unfolding from her back.
"-what we like to call the 'Doorknocker'! And the lucky people going against the device being... well, would you look at that! Recent Vytal Tournament contenders and both participants at our very own Beacon Academy, Nathan Eau, and Smokey Emberstone!"
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"Lynn Aubin, huh?" Smokey quietly muttered under his breath as he followed the crowd's applause. He observed carefully as the hype-man sang her and the company's praises. If what the announcer said is true, then Smokey would be impressed that Shard managed to fix her sight. He's no eye doctor or anything, but even a layman could guess that it must have been a complicated process, even for a company that specializes in prosthetics.
Of course, if fixing her eyesight was all Shard was interested in, he doubted they'd go through all this pomp and circumstance. And he was right, because the very next thing to happen was a demonstration of Lynn's semblance, which covered the entire arena in a thin layer of frost. Cold Fire. Smokey cupped his hand to his chin and stroked his stubble as he considered it. Back before he discovered his own semblance, he took one of those online personality quizzes that tried to guess what his ability would be. Obviously they were all wildly inaccurate, but he remembered there was one result that revolved around the manipulation of ice. If he remembered correctly, the associated personality type was a...
"...a tsundere?"
Smokey was brought out of his musings by the unveiling of the prosthetics. So this is what Shard has been hyping up for all this time. Those claws certainly look powerful, and they probably pack quite the punch. Yet, despite the fanfare and the crowd's reaction, Smokey remains unimpressed. From his perspective, those menacing claws looked more like a ball and chain weighing her down. If the intent was to give her more power, than those were little more than a stop-gap measure.
Smokey has no delusions on who would win between him and a huntress; there are first-years that he couldn't even land a scratch on, there's no way he could close the gap on someone with potentially decades more experience. However, if it was a contest of power between 'Doorknocker' (admittedly, a really cool name) and Matchstick, that's a different story entirely.
And lo on behold, Smokey gets an opportunity to put his money where his mouth is, as the announcer calls out his name. The gunlugger can't help but smirk as he stands up from his seat and makes his way towards the arena. It's time to see what Shard Inc. is really made of.
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Nathan briefly looked around when the announcer started speaking, but failing to locate him anywhere, he opted to just stare at what would ostensibly become his opponent as he listened.
The first bombshell that was drop was restoring sight. He wasn't a biological or medical expert or anything, but as far as he knew, the next best thing that'd been done was embedding some electrodes into someone's cerebral cortex to give a 25 pixel screen. Complete restoration, understandably, came as a mild shock - not that he was actually able to see what that meant, as he was both too far away for a good look and the woman's - lady Aubin, as it were - faceplate dropped in front of her eyes after barely a split second.
The second thing that impressed him was the blue flames - endothermic fire? Something like that, maybe. Regardless, the mere range of the flames was already quite impressive. He momentarily wondered about exposing her battle tactics like that, but then remembered what he had to write to get into the raffle, so kinda evened out in the end.
But then, two MASSIVE metal limbs, tipped with equally enormous claws, sprung forth from behind the ex-Huntress. That was cool. Questionably practical at first glance, but damn was it cool. Come to think of it, weren't extra limbs always cool?
His musings were abruptly cut short as he heard his name mentioned in the speakers. His eyes widened in the best expression of mild panic he could manage - which most people would interpret as mild surprise instead, sadly. Just as he was hoping for somebody, anybody, to tell him what to do, he saw someone else get up and walk to the arena and followed suit. Hey, come on, it was his only lead.
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"Please welcome our guests to the stage!" The announcer requests, a round of applause and a few jealous glances sent towards the two. Lynn slowly glanced over, watching the pair of them move to the stage - though it was difficult to tell her thoughts with a good half of her face hidden behind the faceplate. She struck a somewhat unnerving figure, slow but fluid movements of her body and the claws connected to it as she waited for them to join her on the ring.
"The rules are simple!" Continuing excitedly, the announcer addressed both the audience and the participants as each was handed a small aura monitor by one of the employees, who quickly scampered back off the stage. "We thought it would be most appropriate to follow the recent Vytal Festival! There's a little twist; we're not having ring-outs in this, but we are otherwise following the fifteen percent aura rule. We don't quite have the funding of the Vytal Festival for this little exhibition match, so we'd prefer keeping it directly within the ring rather than risking anything that could result in a lawsuit!" He joked, and a faint barrier flickered around the arena before fading again, unseen but prepared. The arena was still fairly large - it was a training ring, after all.
"So, if the combatants could all get prepared, we can get the battle underway! We'll give you ten seconds!"
Lynn stared down the two as they'd approach the ring - or, well, her face followed them at least. Hard to tell. She still seemed to look a little uncomfortable under all the attention, though that may have just been a general tightness to her form or combat-readiness. Nonetheless, she took a slight breath, and seemed to focus - the ring starting to feel just a little colder as she calmed herself and brought her semblance to the ready.
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As Smokey makes his way to the arena, he draws the weapon he's so proud of, a massive revolver that borders on comically over-sized. It looks like someone took an over-clocked shotgun barrel and stuck it on a pistol stock so it could be fired with one hand, but only in the hand of a gorilla. Going by looks alone, anybody who tried to fire it would be more likely to have it fly out of their hand than get an accurate shot.
Yet, despite the massive size, Smokey seemed more than comfortable with the weight. He flips open the cylinder with one hand and begins loading each individual chamber as he steps into the ring. As the last bullet slides in, he flicks the cylinder back into place and loads a fire dust cartridge. However, after finishing prepping Matchstick for battle, he doesn't rest it on his shoulder like he usually does. Instead, he holsters the gun and walks up to his prospective opponent.
"So, uh," he begins awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck, "Listen, injury or not, I don't think anyone's gonna be surprised if a huntress takes out two first years. But, uh, those things you got there?" he points to the Doorknocker, ""Just from lookin' at 'em, I'm pretty sure they've got a big weakness. 'Course, I guess the only real way to find out is to test it, so, uh, if it's all the same to you, I want you to take one of those things, and I want you to hit me as hard as you can with it. If you want, you can go ahead and freeze my feet in place beforehand if you think I'm gonna dodge or somethin'."
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Nathan arrived on the stage and took one of the slap-bracelet monitors from the employee - who quickly scampered back out of the line of fire. He was wondering how exactly it'd go - was it a 2v1? - but his questions were promptly answered by the announcer. Turns out, it would be a 2v1. He took note to try and not do things that'd reach outside the barrier, not that there was much danger. The barrier should be able to take Ergia's rifle mode without too much problems.
When he was prompted to start getting ready, he wondered whether he should use Ergia's rifle form for the start and when he turned to what was ostensibly his teammate for the time being, he decided against it. The guy's gun was WAY bigger than his. How did he even wield that? It looked like an artillery piece more than a rifle.
Taking Ergia off his back, he spun it a bit as it turned into a staff before gripping it in his usual stance. The surface of the staff parts briefly crackled with electricity before a bright, orange glow covered them. No sense in not going all-out against a superior opponent from the get-go. The heat would probably be useful against her anti-fire, too.
-
Lynn looked over at the pair, resisting the urge to raise her eyebrow at Smokey's rather oversized weapon. She watches carefully as he loads the weapon with practised ease, and as Nathan's weapon crackled to life. The two certainly seemed to have come somewhat prepared, at the very least. The event was a little bit of a farce - after all, it still was a huntress against two students, even with her on the end of her recovery - but nonetheless, it would be good to work out some of the kinks tha-
The holstering and following query from Smokey really did make her eyebrow raise, not that anyone else could see it behind the visor. That was... interesting? Even in her own head, her thoughts sounded overly polite. Really, it was a little overconfident, even with what she'd seen when watching the Vytal Tournament during her downtime after her latest operation. Honestly, it reminded her a bit of a younger version of herself - still trying to keep up a vague premise of politeness, but sure - maybe a tad much - of herself, and not afraid to speak her mind. The thought brought a wry smile to her face, and the huntress gave a small nod to Smokey.
"If you're sure that is what you want." She replied, keeping her tone as neutral as she could. One of the claws rose up, but didn't strike. He'd asked her to use a fully powered swing, after all, and it would be nothing but offensive if she didn't respond to the open challenge. The air chilled slightly, before the purpose of the hollow design was made clear as the claw filled up with frigid blue flame, the noise of it a faint howl rather than the normal roar of fire as the claw went from a hollow shell to an ethereal limb. She kept it there, waiting a beat to give the student a chance to reconsider - not that she expected him to take it.
-
"Oh, I'm sure, don't worry," Smokey says as he braces himself for the coming attack. Frankly, he was a bit surprised she took him up on the offer; he half-expected her to either laugh it off or to tell him "take the fight seriously" or something like that. The fact that she's actually preparing a full-on punch gives him a small bit of satisfaction, though he's sure she's planning on clearing any doubts about their power real soon.
He raises an eyebrow when the claw alights with flames, though he's far from shocked: it's far from the first weapon he's heard of that can channel semblances. That being said, he's a little less eager to take this hit than he was previously. He knew he was getting turned into an icicle one way or another, given his opponent's clear advantage in training, experience, and probably skill, but he was hoping that he could at least get one shot off before that happened. Oh well, looks like he's going to spend the entire match frozen over. At least Smokey's an Atlas boy, so he can stand the cold...probably.
Besides, while the limb is definitely impressive from a purely technical standpoint, theoretical capability and battlefield practicality are two very separate things. Sure, it may give Lynn more raw strength and boost the power of her semblance, but it still presents the same problem that long hair does: it's just something else to grab. And why would a Deathstalker care if its claw is frozen shut if its victim is well within its clutches?
As the claw hovers ominously in the air, Smokey bends his knees and spreads his arms wide. "Well? You gonna hit me or what?"
-
Upon seeing exactly what his 'partner' had created, Nathan quickly scampered off to one side of the arena, Ergia taking its compact form again before being placed on his back. From what little he'd seen, the only way he was going to get out of the consquences to the guy's crazy antics was lifting off above the anti-fire's range. When the barrier had flickered on earlier, it'd seemed to be cylindrical. You bet he was gonna make full use of his vertical abilities.
Focusing on the Huntress, he stood ready to blast off as fast as his reflexes allowed.
-
The wolf faunus waited a few more moments after the cocky reply, before mentally sighing. Well, worse comes to worse, Shard had good lawyers.
Thrusting forward with the flames trailing behind, the claw is thrown forwards right into Smokey without Lynn herself making a motion. It hits with a heavy weight behind it, before the rush of howling flames quickly follows the physical force, rapidly running over his body with ice forming wherever they touched over his aura, bitter frost biting away at his defences and flash-freezing him with the amount of time she'd had to gather the flames - she'd made them concentrated, mostly designed to quickly freeze than stick to him and slowly wear him down or hitting him full force like she would do to Grimm or serious opponents. She only said she'd punch him as hard as possible, after all, not use all of her strengths on him.
Considering the student out of the fight for at least a good few moments, she turns to Nathan to watch him carefully for a few moments, before turning back towards Smokey. She could finish him right now, or- well, she's meant to make a little bit of a spectacle, at least. It was half the reason she froze him, rather than blasted him full-on with her semblance; letting Nathan have a chance to recover his teammate. The general public would appreciate the display, and the hunters and influencers in the know enough to know the fact she could afford to make a display out of the fight rather than have to quickly end it would be good publicity for where it mattered. She made a few steps towards the frozen student, almost taunting Nathan to try and prevent her halving the team just barely after the fight had already started.
[Semblance-enhanced punch: -40% physical impact, -10% frost damage, flash-freeze effect; -3% aura / -5% semblance expended by Lynn]
[AURA: 97%]
[SEMBLANCE: 95%]
-
Smokey watched the ominous claw, feeling time tick by, each second feeling like an eon. In the back of his head, a more rational part of his mind was screaming at him, telling him he's an idiot for wanting to try this, but Smokey has already set the course. There's no running for him now. And besides, a more cynical part of him commented, the end result was probably going to be the same regardless.
After a few more seconds, there was finally movement. The claw rocketed forward with no movement or signal from Lynn herself, and the lack of motion from the wielder almost tricked Smokey into not reacting in time. It was only his own nerves that allowed him to react at all, but they were just enough to let him do what needed to be done. Just before the machine made impact, a dark gray glow enveloped Smokey and solidified. It would do nothing to stop the blow itself, but that's not why he activated his semblance.
Speaking of the blow, it hurt. It hurt a lot. Smokey's been hit by a lot of things, including an ice wall, the top layer of a frozen over lake, Grimm claws and fists, a flame thrower, the weapons of other students, his own gun, and a literal fire tornado. So, it's not small feat when Smokey says that this attack was the hardest hit he's ever taken in his entire career. It shows, too, as his body flexes from the sheer force of the impact despite being under the effects of his semblance. He even feels himself slide back a bit!
But Smokey Emberstone is nothing if not resilient, and even after taking a blow that might have left some fully-fledged hunters doubled over in pain, he fights through it in order to accomplish what he set out to do. As the flaming fist slams into him, Smokey's own arms latch onto the claw, finding whatever purchase they can on the metal limb. The gunslinger may not be able to bring about the wrath of his armament in this bout, but he's no "one-punch-chump", and his opponent will discover the real reason behind his unreasonable request as well as the nature of his semblance as soon as she tries to retract the claw.
As the frost flames wash over him, Smokey coughs out one sentence to his teammate before he's completely frozen over, "Don't let this go to waste!" The next thing he knows, it's cold, and he feels ice completely cover his body. Any light that reaches his eyes is obscured, and he can only guess as to what's happening in his surroundings. He tries to flex parts of his body, but he's left completely immobilized: he isn't going anywhere. Inwardly though, he smirks. Assuming he was successful in grabbing the claw, Lynn will find herself in much the same predicament. Hopefully Nathan can use this opportunity. In the meantime, the only thing Smokey can do now is grit his teeth and hold on.
[Action log: Activated Immovable Object, Attempted grab on claw]
[AURA: 50% (40% from hit, 10% from frost damage)]
[SEMBLANCE: ACTIVATED! 1ST OF 6 ROUNDS!]
[Conditions: Completely frozen over, unable to move]
Matchstick: Unavailable, Smokey is frozen
-
As the Huntress swings her prosthesis, Nathan manages to take off before the flood of cryogenic fire reaches him. Thankfully, it disspates quickly enough that by the time he touches the ground again, there're only a few flickers left. He had no idea what Smokey was doing, but whatever it was, he was keeping her there from beneath the ice shell.
Working as fast as he can, he takes Ergia out of the harness and switches to gun mode, getting down on one knee to increase his accuracy. While the transformation happens, he takes the time to thank his own happenstance for placing him to the side. Once it's done, he lines up the woman's mass and pulls the trigger, subconsciously hoping for the spray to miss his frozen partner.
[Full-auto assault rifle rounds aimed at the chest-hip area with decent accuracy: 12 rounds per second, 3% per round (feel free to adjust damage to take into account disparity between 1st year and Huntress)(Smokey should get out relatively unscathed bullet-wise)]
[AURA: 100%]
[SEMBLANCE: 100%]
[Ergia: 300 rounds loaded, 1 extra magazine, propulsion reserves 98%]
-
Lynn hums curiously as Smokey holds on to her implant, securing it within the icy cage he was now encased in. Not a bad strategy at all; she was quietly impressed with the kid for coming up with a realistic plan to lower her combat potential with the difference between them. It was still not ideal - certainly, he could have gone other ways around it without resulting in him being frozen and chunked of aura, but nonetheless, it wasn't a terrible idea.
Looking over at Nathan, she simply raises an eyebrow as he drew his weapon. She simply moves the claw in front of herself, the flames intensifying and a thin sheathe of ice forming that the bullets clunked against harmlessly. It was followed up by the flames being released onto the floor, rushing forward despite the lack of any tinder for them to follow, and rushing towards Nathan in several waving patterns, the largest heading right for him and the other two curving around behind.
[Ice block: -1% semblance expended by Lynn, Frostfire attacks: -10% / 5% / 5% frost damage, -5% semblance expended by Lynn]
[AURA: 97%]
[SEMBLANCE: 89%]
-
Smokey's blinded by ice, unable to see anything beyond the blue of his frozen sarcophagus. He's alive, though, and his aura's still ticking, so he's got that going for him at least. He can still feel the rest of his body, though that might be more of a curse than a blessing: the seeping cold is far from what he would call comfortable. The only sense that he can rely on right now is his hearing, and even then what sound reaches his ears is muted by the icy walls surrounding him. In short, he's very stuck.
On the flip side, however, guessing from the feeling in his hands, it seems Lynn is in much the same predicament, as Smokey has detected no movement from her claw. That means he accomplished what he set out to do. He's still reeling from the pain of the blow, but since neither of them are going anywhere, he has plenty of time to recover. Unfortunately, that's pretty much all he can do, at least for the next thirty seconds or so.
He flexes one of his arms to test out the sturdiness of the ice--it's pretty solid. He can probably break out if he put serious effort into it, but that might give Lynn an opportunity to escape. That being said, once Smokey's semblance times out, Lynn will probably break his grip anyway. Maybe if she thinks he's still stuck in ice, he can use that opportunity to reset the cool down on Immovable Object?
Through the ice, he hears the muted sound of gunfire ringing off against ice and metal. Judging from the number of impacts, probably from an automatic weapon. Since Lynn is "unarmed" that would probably be the sound of Nathan's weapon. A thought then popped into Smokey's head. What if my teammate can't take advantage of this situation? Having never fought with or against him, Smokey has no idea what Nathan's capable of nor his preferred battle style. He just kind of assumed his teammate would be able to take advantage of the lockdown. But if Nathan was the type that liked to sit still and spray and pray, Lynn may very well be able to take him on with one hand literally tied behind her back.
The worst part is, Smokey can only really guess at what's happening. "Please don't fuck up," he muttered quietly inside the ice.
Combat Log:
No update, very frozen, much stiff.
-
...Yeah, that wasn't gonna work, was it. AND now he needed to get outta there ASAP.
Mentally thanking his temporary partner for the partial reprieve while starting to run towards the Huntress, he extended Ergia into star form and, somewhat like a pole vault, used it to hoist himself as high as possible - however, unlike one of the poles used for the discipline, Ergia had absolutely no pliability at all. This allowed him to stay a good 2 meters off the ground, without the extra reach a pole's spring would normally afford. He also kicked the heating in the lowest part of the staff as high as it could go to prevent it becoming stuck in ice.
Despite these precautions, the flames still 'singed' - or maybe anti-singed? - his skin as they passed below. Thankfully, Ergia's heat protected it from becoming encased in ice. He dropped back to the ground and kept running towards the enemy. He'd need to go all-out immediately, semblance and all, to have any hope of inflicting damage on her Aura.
[Aura: 95%]
[SEMBLANCE: 100%]
[Ergia: 270 rounds loaded, 1 extra magazine, propulsion reserves 98%]