Match B:Melissa Stern and Nigrum Pardum Vs. Stalh Ehren and Alton Asteras

OOC:

Landing on the ground with a soft thump, having used her weapon to slow her descent, Melissa straightened her skirt. She had worn clothing that would give her the most mobility possible today - although they were the same clothes she tended to default to.

Looking around casually, she went over all the information she had just gotten one more time.

'So, first step, find Cliff-Jumping Girl. Second step, find enemies. Third step, beat up enemies. Simple enough!' She considered, making sure to stay alert. Sure, the little devices they had been giving would give her ample warning of her opponents, but for all she knew they could be waiting to snipe her or something.

Without much else to go on, Melissa figured simply going in the direction of their set coordinates would be the best way to find her partner (and enemies). She would make sure not to get too close though, until she could find Cliff-Jumping Girl. Power in numbers, after all. She might be a bit insane but she wanted to win this.

Stahl landed on the branch of a tree he just craved a nice gouge into. Having dragged his blade through it after all. Looking around and taking out the device handed out. He contemplated his choices. He could go after the enemy himself, turning himself into the hunter, and run the risk of being two on one, or he could find his alley, but then he ran the risk of being blindsided.

Well, no use worry about it. Stahl decided, Just choose a direction and put your right foot forward. Turning at random, Stahl put his foot forward, and jumped off the branch.

Oh man, that launch was amazing! I'm doing a good fifty meters a second, here. Wish I'd gotten more height, this altitude doesn't give much of a-hold on.

With a flick of the wrist, Alton fired Diadem's left spike into a large branch ahead of him, leveraging his motion to down, through, and back out of the forest canopy. His utility pack whirred as the servos inside reeled in his line, accelerating him just as he'd calculated for "homework" in his physical science classes. Like a dolphin in the western sea, he plowed through the layers of foliage before erupting back into the sunlit silence.

"WHOO!"

(OOC: to maybe try help things move slowly I say we should try set up a time we can all get on at the same time to do a bunch of chain posting. I can pretty much be on all day and all night from Thursday to Saturday, but before that my awkward time zone makes things a little difficult.)

(OOC: Slowly or quickly, in terms of chain posting? In either case, late nights are it for me: 1950 MST (0200 GMT) to 0100 MST (0800 GMT) and weekends are completely open. On Sat/Sun I'll be up early (0400) for a few errands, so that might work well.)

(OOC: I can be on pretty much all the time after 2:30 Pacific time.)

Alton had swung in circles around one particularly large tree for near thirty minutes, alternating between attentive recon and trance-like enjoyment of the sheer velocity he was building up. The tree he circled, an ancient growth nearly thirty feet in diameter, shot up into the sky, as if it challenged whatever god trees may have to smite it down. Alton knew, from what he'd seen elsewhere in the forests, that even mightier trees could be and were struck down, either by the trials of nature or the hands of men.

Round and round the colossus Alton swung, but no sign of life, aside from a particularly impressive explosion in the distance, caught his eye. He resisted the urge to investigate the sudden disappearance of an acre of forest and the inflammation of another three, seeing as he knew that neither he nor his opponents had that kind of firepower. He could only suppose that someone, somewhere, must be getting beaten fairly badly to necessitate letting loose that kind of destruction. Saturation bombing, as far as Alton knew, wasn't exactly a first-strike tactic at Beacon.

Alton released his grappling line and deftly landed on a wide branch some hundred feet off the ground and perhaps six feet in width. He could see fairly well into the clearings around him, and the trees nearby were tall enough that his vision into the forest was relatively unobscured. With a decent position from which to react to any intruders, Alton pulled out what one might mistake for a stick of dynamite from his pack, loaded it into the slot normally reserved for Diadem's grappling spikes, and fired a streak of light straight into the air.

The tiny ball of pulsing flame flew perhaps 1,000 feet into the atmosphere before erupting into a brilliant display of light. Even in broad daylight, it shone bright enough to be easily visible from anywhere in the Forest. He knew that his crest would hang there for at little under an hour, thanks to the slow-release red dust he'd packed into the flare.



"That oughta get their attention." Alton mumbled, settling into a crook of the ancient, weathered tree. "About time this party started."

He pulled out the locator Ozpin had given the Initiates before their launch into the forest; by his reckoning, it was pointing at a clearing he could see about half a mile away. It wouldn't be a bad battleground for most fighters, but Alton far preferred the tactical opportunities provided by three-dimensional combat. His opponents would head for the clearing and see the flare, or just come straight for the tree - either way, the fight would be on his terms.

With the flare lightly hissing overhead, Alton sat back, keeping watch for his challengers' inevitable appearance.

Nigrum's device beeped in his pocket. What now? he thought looking at it.

Match Change! New Opponent and Teammate was displayed on the screen. while under it the directional arrow appeared pointing in the opposite direction.

"Well," Nigrum said, "At least I'll have a teammate." He dashed in the direction the arrow was pointing him with the panther gripped firmly in his hand. Off in the direction his arrow was pointing Nigrum noticed a giant insigina hanging in the air. Perhaps that is from one of the opponents or my ally he thought.

Melissa was a little surprised by the roster change, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. Last minute changes probably happen all the time. Maybe Cliff-jumping girl jumped off another cliff and no one was there to save her. Maybe she went splat after the launch or something. Oh well.

Deciding that she had waited long enough, Melissa ran directly into the area that the little device in her pocket was pointing to, not even bothering to hide. In fact, she tried to make herself as open as possible. She purposely yawned, feigning disinterest.

"This is boring! Come on, something happen!" She called out.

"Well, there's one, at least." Alton thought as he spied a small figure burst into the clearing to his north. Apparently, rather than take the hint from the giant symbol in the sky, his opponents seemed to be trusting their navigators first to find combat. No bother, the flare was still burning bright overhead and eventually they'd get the idea.

However... the clearing was downwind, and Alton didn't feel much like waiting around for whoever it was below to wander over of their own accord - he'd tried being subtle, now was the time for a more overt message.

At half a mile, the clearing was at the sheer edge of Diadem's launch radius, but with the wind at his back Alton figured that his shot would at least get another flare close enough to his opponent to light a fire under them, so to speak. By the looks of the smoke billowing from several places in the forest, Alton sincerely hoped that he didn't actually start a fire, for that matter.

"Come and get it!" Alton yelled, raising his right arm. Maybe they could hear him, maybe not; Alton mentally added another entry to his "Times I wished I had a megaphone" list.

A click, a spark, and a thump - the flare was away, floating on the breeze as it sailed towards the clearing. The flare had an explosive radius of maybe three feet, but its report and visual bloom could trick one into thinking otherwise.

Stahl leaped from tree branch to tree branch. Having seen the giant, hard to miss announcement earlier. He figured that sticking with stealth was the best way to go about this. Sure, he wasn't exactly great at it, but hanging around in a tree branch just like that white hood guys did in T.V shouldn't be that hard right?

"Okay, I should be close..." He muttered, taking out the device just to be sure.

((OOC: We should probably follow the new posting order rule, so Me, Nav, Sword, Xthor. Should help keep things organized))

Seeing the relatively slow moving flare floating towards her, Melissa casually boosted herself with her weapon, jumping up to a low-hanging tree branch on the edge of the clearing.

'Okay... Standing around in an open clearing against someone with a gun is really not a good idea!' she thought.

Nigrum's path lead him towards a clearing. As it came into view he saw a girl jump up to a low hanging tree branch. Nigrum glanced at his device to see the name of his new teammate listed on it. "Melissa," he muttered to himself.

He looked up as Alton's flare hit the ground and exploded. Nigrum jumped behind a nearby tree even though he was a good distance from the explosion. Okay, so enemy has a ranged weapon. He thought. He looked out from behind the tree to search for the person who has caused the explosion before dashing closer to the clearing keeping an eye out for the gun man.

(OOC: Okay, I'm up right?)

Stahl watched Melissa as she jumped up to a branch from his own.

The girl from the fountain? He thought, Well, this sucks. Hoping it would be someone I haven't met yet. Which, admittedly, is quite a lot of people.

By the flurry of activity below, Alton could tell he was making a positive impression. The flare worked, at least, in getting them moving. Now to get them moving in the right direction. "Round 2, ladies and gentlemen!" Alton loaded a flare into Diadem's left gauntlet "More mystery!" and another into the right. "More intrigue!" Arms raised. "More explosions!"


Launch.


The flares arced lazily down towards the area he'd seen his opponents run, with a little bit of extra distance to "encourage" movement towards his battleground. Alton sighed.

"That line would've been so cool if I'd said it out loud."

Seeing another flare flying towards the area, Melissa waited in her spot high in the trees, doubting that it would be able to hit her. As the slow flying projectile smashed against the ground, exploding in a burst of lingering light, she started to get annoyed at whoever was firing them.

"COWARD! JUST COME ON OUT AND FIGHT!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, leaping to another branch right after so no one could find her and snipe her by following her voice.

((OOC: Talking is a free action!))

Oh, a voice. Sound carried out here better than Alton thought it would. "Hiding? How many pictures does a guy have to draw in the stratosphere to get attention around here?" Alton bellowed back. He drew in another breath, and belted out "And I'm not the one hiding in a tree!"

It took a moment for Alton to remember that, in fact, he was hiding in a tree. "Hmph. Details."

"Hey! I'm not HIDING I'm TAKING COVER! There's a difference!" Melissa shouted back at the voice, a little irritated. How dare he presume she was hiding in a tree? Well... Technically she WAS, but the important part was that... well... NEVERMIND.

"If I was hiding, do you really thing I would be shouting out to you, giving away my position?" She shouted out again, once again moving trees afterwards.

As Nigrum ran towards the field he noticed a flare come out from a tree towards his direction. Gotcha He thought turning away from the flare's point of impact and running towards the shooter.

"COWARD! JUST COME ON OUT AND FIGHT!" his teammate shouted from somewhere in the tree branches.

Let's see how you like dodgingNigrum thought clicking the ear on Panther as he ran causing the eyes to glow red. He made an awkward leap from his run and jabbed Panther towards where he had seen the flare come from. A ball of fire shot from the end of Panther towards the location. Nigrum tumbled a little bit as he landed and continued running. If his opponent had ranged attacks like that he'd have to get up close and personal.

"Hiding? How many pictures does a guy have to draw in the stratosphere to get attention around here?" "And I'm not the one hiding in a tree!"

Nigrum chuckled, does he realize that's hiding in a tree?

"Hey! I'm not HIDING I'm TAKING COVER! There's a difference!" "If I was hiding, do you really thing I would be shouting out to you, giving away my position? Melissa shouted back.

Must be distracting him while she closes in he thought maintaining his course.

What is this? A shouting match? Stahl wondered, shaking his head at the proceedings. Looking around, Stahl noted the girl's last know location, judging from the sound of her voiceand the other's trek across the ground. Narrowing his eyes, he started to come with a plan.

On one hand, I could fight that girl, I've gotten a feel for her weapon and I think I can take her. He thought, On the other, I don't know just who, or what, my partner is, and this guy is heading right for him. So I could follow him and try to take them both on with him, or I could just take out this guy before he gets to my would be ally. Stahl sighed, "Now I know why I hate having to make choices like this, I'm never sure which is the right one." He muttered to himself.

Well, either way, they seemed to all be headed towards one location, time to choose. Looking around, Stahl turned to where the girl should be, and then to the runner.  

Finally, Stahl leaped from the branch and landed on another, if his guess was correct, then heading towards his ally was the best choice.

"Fair enough, though it's cheating if you run off afterwards." Alton returned, leaning back in his roost. Maybe he should just jump down, sort it out in the thicker brush... nah. He'd wait for support before hitting the offensive. In the meantime, he'd break out the weaponized puns. Come to think, the legislation outlawing their use after the Dusty Incident back at Signal hadn't passed yet, so he was still in the clear. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that your barking taunts at me is leaving me a tad annoyed. In fact, I-"

It was happening again.

There was no time to lose. The instant that Alton boy started talking, a chill ran down Beacon Media Manager Thompson's back - he knew what was coming. There was no telling how many innocent people were watching the feed from the Initiation. Two of Thompson's best men had been sent, gibbering mad, to the psych ward after the Dusty Incident. They'd only heard the first word of the Demon Pun.

Sprinting to the control board on the wall, Thompson slammed his hand against the audio controls, cutting sound from the feed. There was nothing to do for anyone who could lip-read, but hopefully they'd be stunned by the audio cutoff. The feed was muted, just for a moment. Thompson sighed in relief and slumped to the floor, an unsung savior of the sane world.



"-ith a baboon," Alton finished with a laugh, which turned to a frown as he noticed that there was a flare, no, a ball of energy coming at him. "'Twas only a matter of time before they returned fire, I guess. And I was having such a nice chat." Alton leapt off of the branch and let himself fall for a second, watching the bolt smash into the end of the branch he'd been standing on. "Bummer, that wouldn't have hit. I could've just stood there and let the smoke clear like a ba-" Alton's train of thought cut off as he realized he was still falling; he fired a line back up to the branch and braced for the jolt as his speed was redirected into a wide arc. Even after his inadvertent freefall he still had a height advantage of thirty feet or so at the bottom of the swing.

With the flick of a switch, he reeled in his lines and flipped upwards, grabbing the branch from below and securing himself behind it. Whoever just popped a shot at him had decent enough aim, so taking cover didn't seem like all that bad of an idea.

((OOC: No, the Demon Pun does not count as an attack, unless you want it to.))

The voice had started some sort of stream of puns and insults, but by now Melissa had gotten bored of the taunting. When was something going to happen? Perhaps she should just charge out and chase down her opponents herself. No sense in complaining if she wasn't going to try to do anything to fix it.

She was about to begin chasing after the calling voice when the voice abruptly cut off. He had either choked - or her ally had reached him. Unless her ally was a complete idiot, that meant the voice was alone, and so HIS ally was likely still on the way.

Moving between branches, Melissa jumped towards the location of the voice, watching out for the other enemy.

Nigrum saw the ball of fire hit slightly off it's mark from where he had aimed. That's what you get for shooting and running, then he caught sight of a person falling before going back into the tree like a spider. Fantastic, a spider with guns is my opponent he thought.

Nigrum looked around for a moment as he ran where is this guy's teammate? Where is my teammate for that matter!? Nigrum spun and pushed himself against a tree to recover his breath and think for a minute. Okay, so my teammate is somewhere in the trees. And so is the on- Nigrum looked out from behind the tree towards where the enemy had been. What an idiot mistake he had made, the enemy could have moved and he'd have no idea. He glanced up the tree he was standing next to. Nope, I am not a monkey he thought before jumping out and running towards where the enemy was or had been.