[The Mythic Scribe]

"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."

[MonsterManic]

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.

[Pyro_Ferno]

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."

[Dusty]

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".

[The Mythic Scribe]

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."

[MonsterManic]

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."

[Pyro_Ferno]

"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.

[Dusty]

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.

[The Mythic Scribe]

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."

[MonsterManic]

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."

[Pyro_Ferno]

"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."

[Dusty]

"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.

[The Mythic Scribe]

"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."

[MonsterManic]

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?"

[Pyro_Ferno]

"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.