Welcome to Beacon: Next, Rondo Finale!

Heartwood's Glade.

"...Maybe, but it s-surely can't be that easy. Even i-if it's not that far, they won't have much trouble f-finding ours. It could be a d-decoy...and we'd have to be q-quick if it isn't. I-I mean, it's whoever gets the o-other one first, right...? I-I don't really t-think the P-Professor specified m-more than that. ...L-Like rules."

James paused for a moment and gave Sunset a small twirl as the blade shifted into it's Grappling Hook mode, something he hadn't had a chance to test yet.

"...S-Still...we've got...two minutes t-to think of a plan. And we've g-got a few p-potential options..."

The green-haired girl nodded towards her leader as she stopped to devise a plan.

"True. We shouldn't go in recklessly or else they'll take ours." she gently nodded while speaking formally and quietly, looking around the area for any signs of danger/attack.

Dia stood and began pondering as she brushed her hair with one hand while keeping Corona tight in the other. This was when Dia could put her knowledge of her allies' Semblances to good use, and one of the reasons why she liked taking notes of others' Semblances.

Miss Rayfer then began discussing the options, keeping quiet.

"We have some options to catch the enemy flag. Gage could do his swap Semblance with somebody near the enemy flag. Cerise could use her detach Semblance at mid-range... but first we'll need to find an opening before we can do any of that. I could provide defences but not for long."

She caught sight of James' switching his blade to another mode, prompting her to react curiously while still keeping a straight face. Again, she looked around a bit for any danger before facing James.

"I see that your weapon has a new function. What may it be?"

Wednesday, Tempestas 19, Heartwood's Glade, Gareth's Bay, Far Eastern Region, Vale - 7:39 AM

"Before we start on the snatch plan, kids," came a voice behind both Dia and James, accompanied by the sound of lightly-humming machinery. Gage rested in the shade just out of sight. With all the glowing panels and even the big insectoid eyes of the helm, his armor was far too conspicuous for stealth. On his shoulder was the red flag his team had grabbed. "Where do we plant this?"

"A-Assuming they'd be guarding i-it. Although considering other...factors, Gage would p-probably be better t-trying to get t-the flag than d-defendi-" James was cut off by that very person speaking up, causing the young man to adjust his glasses again.

"I-I was going t-to get to that. P-Probably further a-away. I m-mean, it won't b-blend in b-because it's red..." James trailed off, leaning on Sunset. "...b-but maybe if the p-plants could block it from view from a f-few angles...? Y-You know, like...hiding it b-behind two trees..."

"I'd say his Semblance would definitely make things a surprise for the enemy team. We're not sure how many defende-" Dia replied to James about Gage before Gage suddenly spoke up, causing the greenette to turn towards him.

Making a few gestures as she talked (while still holding Corona tightly), Dia responds to her partner with a small smile.

"I think James' idea sounds solid. We might want to place our red flag somewhere less visible, since its colour would stand out easily around here."

Meanwhile, Dia began pondering with her free hand on her chin. As MSRE was a senior team that she hadn't interacted with before, they were pretty much unknown and unanalyzed for her. That was a disadvantage, initially.

(How are we going to do things? What would the opponent's strategy be? Heck, what kind of Semblances and weapons would they have?)

She looked calm, but was worrying inside.

Edited by ironcommando on Sep 11th 2018 at 4:22:30 PM

Roggy, Fighting Small Fries

In stark contrast with his previous interactions today, Rogaedyn was feeling it. He was one with the universe, feeling nothing but pure energy even as he walked through the spike rain, letting them bounce off his Aura or simply moving past with subtle movements, advancing with no fear. And he laughed. "Come along! Come along, little lambs! Let me see to your slaughter!" He walked forward, both revolvers roaring in agreement.

In this world of perfect communion, something was amiss however. Orders. Rogaedyn clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Go, you two. I shall tend to this flock here, hold it off." One of the Murdermeleons leapt forward to try and catch him off-guard in the middle of reloading, but he simply met it with a swipe of his boot, nailing its chin from below with a shoe knife. "These still must be taught fear, so we do not find ourselves surrounded." Nonchalantly, he kicked the dissolving Grimm corpse off his boot and finished reloading.

Of course, "holding off" meant holding a position - not his strongest suit, but he carried the blessing of a firearm to ensure they do not come close.

Edited by FergardStratoavis on Sep 11th 2018 at 2:20:36 PM

Emi, Conflicts

Emi ducked into a roll as more Murdermeleons leapt at her, stabbing one behind her and one in front of her with a flick of the wrist holding the katanastaff. Professor Peach was calling for them to fall back to her, and she had been about to before Rogaedyn called out, challenging her.

"But...Professor Peach says we need to group up! We have civilians to protect! That should come first!...Right?"

But...does this count as running away from a challenge?

Emi stood there, halfway between the truck and Rogaedyn, caught in doubt as she deflected projectiles and lunging maws ad claws with both blades in a whirling dance.

Convoy Battle - ELDR

"Orders acknowledged, Prof." Liselle nodded at Peach, propping her bazooka and shooting one last time.

She poked her head over the barricade and yelled at the two out front.

"Get your asses back here! There are people trapped here to escort, the Prof gave a direct order."

She fired another round for good measure.

"Move it, before I literally drag your asses back!"

The gray haired girl could see Emi hesitating. She growled in irritation. No doubt Bruna had said something idiotic to goad her.

She poked her head out again. "Emi, it's not a fucking retreat, it's a shift in position! Don't you charge alone, Bruna's liable to get himself killed and then who'll help the people here?!"

Still irritated, she turned to Rogaedyn and started yelling at him too. So Liselle was pissed off, okay? Sue her, she needed the vent.

"That goes for you too, you chucklefuck! Don't you dare stay there alone!"

Edited by GrimHelm on Sep 11th 2018 at 5:30:53 AM

FLASHBACK: Azure and Wu

Now would not be a good time for a remark about how she'd heard that one already. Then again, it was the only clear thought in her head. Wu very much did not think this through, and tried to string her reasons together as she talked.

"...look, I know I'm hardly the best one to say this. But I feel like you've been wronged back there." Wu took a moment to catch her breath, pushing away the thought that Azure would choke her right there and then. "All you wanted was a duel, yeah? Being a lifelong warrior and all, as you said. That said, my impression of what a noble warrior would be should not include...um, err, insulting allies...? Then again it really could be the tarnished honour thing, and...ehh..."

She uncomfortably dragged her foot on the ground and looked away from the blindfold.

"...tell ya what. If you're still feeling sore about just now, you can take it out on me. Whether you want me to fight back, up to you. Before you say that what happens in your team is none of my business, we are here to become Huntresses, and we can't do that being distracted, can we? "

At this point Wu was just letting words escape her face.

In The Woods With Professor Porterhouse

As team RWAN made its way through the forest, Wu soaked in the all-encompassing greenery she would not get easily back at home. They were there for a reason, though, and she really would soon forget if she didn't ask.

"So prof, what exactly are we gonna be doing today again?"

Auolish looked around and spoke. She had an idea.

"I don't think it would be a good idea to fight our way up that watchtower, if they got their flag up there. If we plant our flag in the middle of the water, Marvin can electrocute it with his semblance and keep peeps out. We can patrol the beach. It's open, so we can see people coming."

"The trap's gotta look innocent at first, though. Like, Marvin, don't zap the water until all of them are in it. It's all up to the people who'll make the first move. It's like a game of chicken."

She ran a hand through her hair-feathers.

"I guess if one of us is in the water, it's fine to zap it if it'll get us a win...and I can be that one."

Dysfunctional team dynamic

As Duncan began to slowly back up towards the crawler, making sure to keep an eye on the forest for anything that might be skulking out there still, the Highlander made another mental note to flex what little authority he had in an attempt to straighten his team out some more, another situation like this and someone would very well likely die.

In response to Peach's orders, Duncan barked out "Acknowledged!" before hearing whatever the hell it was landing on the crawler. Naturally, Duncan would whip around, anticipating the worst.

CTF

Marvin glanced over at the other faunii before sighing and shaking his head. "First off, don't call me snake, that's kind of offensive. I don't call you Cat, now do I?" He asked with a smirk before rolling his shoulder. "As for what I smell, not a whole lot. I can probably get a better sense of them if we can get closer, but my senses are more dependent on heat and vibrations so..."

He sighed and shrugged his shoulders as he glanced over to Auolish. "It could work, definitely, but I don't know if they'd fall for it in the first place." He scratched the scales on his neck before gesturing in the direction of the tracks. "That said, looks like they're going that way, so we'd best get after them, at least for scouting...but uh, we're gonna have to plant the flag at some point..."

Flashback: WU AND AZURE

"I wanted to face my captain, not some puppy who-" Azure began only to stop, drawing Surtr and holding the burning blade to Wu's throat. "Don't fight back, understood?" She pressed her hand to Wu's chest, quietly feeling her heartbeat. Fear, yes. Surtr dropped to Azure's side as she opened her mouth and closed it, bright blue eyes stared at Wu through the blindfold.

"You were..." She covered her mouth before being overcome by mad giggling, "Puppy, you must be stupid! This isn't even your team!" She smiled at the other faunus. "...My father would have loved you." She said, walking back past Wu in the direction of the tents.

THE BEACH

Azure muttered something rude when she was, once again in her life, kept as support. "You don't call me cat only by choice. Besides-" She stopped, raising her hands as she crouched down, sitting on her haunches as her unseen eyes focused on footprint after footprint.

"The tracks are fake." She called to the others. Far too perfect...They know we're here" She drew Surtr. "And if you fucking dare to electrocute the Owl, I will hurt you." She called back.

"Uh, OK. Thanks for the sentiment, I guess," Auolish said to Azure. She looked around, and took off her goggles. She still shielded her eyes slightly with her hands and squinted. Maybe her far-sightedness would help spot something.

"This place isn't as open as I thought. There's rocks sticking up everywhere. If we squished ourselves behind them, it might actually make for serviceable cover."

She tried to survey the watchtower ruins for any signs of movement.

Beach

Scarlet took stock of the new information, her mouth compressing into a thing line. Fake tracks, just enough rocks for cover...

"Azure, you hear any other heartbeats nearby by any chance? Because what you're telling me it sounds like they've probably got the ambush setup nearby or they've already got us surrounded and were waiting for us to stop and discuss their fake tracks." She commented sourly, her hand falling to her belt as the chain around her waist started to unwind.

James blinked in surprise at Dia cutting short her own suggestion to reinforce his which just made the young man eventually shake his head.

"...I-It's not so much a p-plan as j-just a tactic t-that I guess i-is basic knowledge...you d-don't need to say i-it's solid. I w-want to hear all of t-the ideas a-and options from both G-Gage and Cerise, a-as well as you. ...O-Or at least a-an idea, we d-don't exactly have much t-time."

Of course, if time ran out, he'd just have to make the snap decision with what few things that'd been suggested and try to adapt to whatever Team MSRE were going to go tactic-wise.

"Oh...I gotta baaaaad feelin' about this..."

Auolish put her goggles back on and looked around uneasily.

Heartwood's Glade

Cerise pushed her way through the woods in front, claws cutting her way through thick branches.

"Nothing like a little early morning senseless violence to get the blood pumping," Cerise said. "Look at their flag. They're baiting us, or they're just stupid."

Cerise whirled around.

"Or both."

She flashed her typical sardonic smile.

"You're the boss, boss. Hide the flag or wave it around. Attack or defend." Either way, I'll get some action. "But if they're baiting us and we decide to hunker down — we might be waiting for a long time."

Wednesday, Tempestas 19, Far Eastern Region, Vale - 7:45 AM

Behind Duncan came a hiss that became a whispering kind of roar that was echoed by the co-driver as she tried to bring her weapon to bear. What had landed to put a huge dent on the cargo hauler was a juvenile Gigameleon, the scales at its feet shifting to reflect the metal beneath it. It opened its mouth and spat its long dark tongue at the young Highlander.

Peach kept up the deflections, all while the driver under the Mosskvitch took panicked potshots in the Grimm's general directions. She looked up as they heard a distinctive pheasant cry and the sudden heavy crashing through the branches. "Liselle, get some heavy fire to where Daidoiji's flying! I think she's found the Alpha! We'll set up a running skirmish line." She aimed the pommel of her long blade at the boiling treeline and fired a smaller blade upon a slim wire. The projectile slammed into a Murdermeleon body and she was able to drag it off its perch.

"Emi, Rogaedyn, form up now!" The professor dashed forward to finish off the flailing Grimm. To ELDR's noble leader, it looked as if the Murdermeleons were attempting to cut them off. While the odd lizard-Grimm bounded forward through a small pile of dissipating corpses at Rogaedyn's immediate area, they were obviously keeping him occupied.

Wednesday, Tempestas 19, Gareth's Bay, Far Eastern Region, Survival Course, Vale - 7:40 AM

Professor Port only chuckled at RWAN's questions as he led them further away from the camp and its complement of resting students. They could feel evidence of ancient paving at their feet, the old reminders of the mark of the Kingdom in this beautiful bay.

To answer their question, the portly professor had begun by drilling them on their survival knowledge, their proficiency at Huntercant, and their fitness. All the while, he interspersed with stories of the old Old Watchtower and his own adventures. He evens showed them how to build shelter in the woods.

Until mid-lecture, Professor Port suddenly stopped and held his hand up for silence. Then his big hands flashed in the universal symbol for 'stand-by'.

Wednesday, Tempestas 19, Old Watchtower, Gareth's Bay, Far Eastern Region, Vale - 7:39 AM

Azure's investigations were correct. The tracks at her feet were definitely false. It was like whoever left them there wanted to give off the impression of bungling.

And it was also her and Auolish who picked up the quiet humming of a hoverjet as a disc-shaped drone popped from the sand and bumped insistently at Scarlet's feet. Taped to it was a note.

Plant the flag

Wednesday, Tempestas 19, Heartwood's Glade, Gareth's Bay, Far Eastern Region, Vale - 7:39 AM

"Cherry's got a point, Jimmy," Gage drawled from behind his helmet. He called Cerise by a name she had never felt strongly for. "I'm itching to bust heads." With a negligent toss, the flag went flying at James.

"Also, Porterhouse did say we better get prepped by 7:40." He tapped his wrist, making the armor ring. "Clock's ticking. Also, the King's been saying something about 'multiple signatures' since we saw the heartwood."

Edited by KR_Vandal on Sep 27th 2018 at 6:31:05 PM

7:45, everything going to shit

Glancing up at the Gigameleon as it lashed its tongue out towards him, Duncan reflexively caught the tongue mid-flight (a trick he'd picked up fighting armed sparring partners) and grinned, he had something of an advantage now. Wrapping a length of the Gigameleon's tongue around his hand, Duncan would swiftly yank it back as hard as he could, with the intent to tear the reptile's tongue out, all while roaring "Down beastie!".

Auolish looked up quickly once she heard the low humming, but relaxed once she realized it was just a drone.

She looked around for a good place to plant the flag.

"Yo, does this look like a good place to plant the flag?"

She pointed at a small pool of water that had accumulated in the sand from high tide. Some decently-sized rocks surrounded it, granting cover.

After pointing that out, she climb on a particularly tall rock to see if she could see anything better. Again she raised her goggles and looked across the beach with squinted eyes.

Old Watchtower

Scarlet grabbed the drone and picked the note up off it. Then she walked up next to Azure to look at the hiding spot. "Yeah, it ain't bad." The redhead looked down at the small drone and the pool of water, frowning.

"Well, I don't like it because it never works in horror movies, but we might have'ta split up so we can defend our flag and grab their's. I'm probably gonna have to run defense because I can't track worth a damn out here but I can set up a trap here pretty easily. Azure, you'll probably need to be on offense since you're theoretically our best tracker. But I'm open to other suggestions if any of you have them."

"Well, like I said, Marvin can stay behind to electrocute the water as a last ditch kinda thing. I can go on the flag-stealing mission with Azure. Stealth, you know, and all that."

Auolish started loading Talonclaw and looked at Azure's swords.

"We got some ranged and melee, you've got like some real good offense and defensive traps goin' on, alright!"

"Sorry if was a bit presumptuous, like, what with the plan," she mumbled.

Dia quickly and subtly checked her equipment and crystals hidden in her vest one more time before taking out a green, slightly glowing crystal. It was blunt but still hard nonetheeless.

She gave a quiet nod.

"I'm ready."

She got herself ready for action with Corona in hand, placing the blunt crystal spear on its end before looking around to check for any attacks. There was a tone of worry yet a small bit of excitement in her voice, even as she kept a straight face.

"Multiple signatures. Does that mean they might already be unto us?"

Heartwood Glade.

"...U-Unless i-it's d-dumb luck that's g-gotten them to being a s-senior team, I-I'm not g-going to bet on t-them being s-stupid. S-So if it's b-bait, maybe we could s-spring the trap o-on them. I-I know that rocks a-and ten fee- er...t-three meter s-staffs are g-good for s-setting them off..." James paused for a moment and shook his head, he was thinking of Grimm and Grottoes. "...N-Nevermind."

And with Gage tossing him the flag and making it clear that time was flying by before they started, James gave a slight frown. Not to mention that comment about multiple signals was making him uneasy.

"...W-Well, I-I don't know if p-picking up our f-flag and k-keeping it on the move's allowed...if it's s-somewhere they can reach, e-even if that's not p-particularly easy t-to get to...i-it's fair game, right...?"

For a moment, James did a quick double check of the surroundings and looking at the potential hiding spots for the flag at different angles while making sure it was rolled up so their opponents would be less likely to see or hear it flutter in the wind as he seemed to vanish into the trees.

A few moments later, several leaves fell above Team CRCG with what looked like a figure precariously balancing on the branches before James jumping down from one of the branches and landing near his team, a few small scratches and holding Sunset as the gears

"O-Okay, i-it should be s-safe...w-where it is. S-So we could probably g-go mostly o-on the offensive..." The boy meekly commented, subtly glancing up at the trees with what looked like the colored fabric of their flag barely visible between the leafy branches above them and looking secure enough that it wouldn't blow over.

"...A-Anyway, about w-what you said...a-are those sensors g-giving you a specific a-amount? I-If it's more t-than four...w-we m-might have our h-hands full w-with more than t-this game..."

Edited by TheRealWren on Sep 29th 2018 at 2:04:13 AM