Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Yava
Yava pursed her lips at the coy response. She didn't care about the damn ceremony; weren't only men able to become Esteemed Ones? At least... that's what she'd assumed given well... yeah. And if this place was actually her forge, that meant that George and his coworker over yonder were most likely... sacrifices. Before she had time to contemplate all the dizzying implications though, things deteriorated even further. The sudden change in Sola's disposition only further uneased her, even if she knew full well she was unarmed at that moment.

But Yava decided to roll with it anyway. It was obvious they weren't going to bullshit their way out of this.

"She... is not joking. Or bluffing." She said to Ambrosia, glancing back and forth between her and Sola, "I wasn't lying when I said she could tear apart whole swath of enemies in blink of eye. Or when I called her greased lightning, too fast to be hit. And I have seen that look in her eye before. Very scary look indeed. Last woman who invoked it was left crawling away in pieces. And that is only because she had mercy enough to let her crawl away. Forgive presumptiveness on my part, but you are obviously better established in this region than I. Does any of what I describe so far sound familiar?"

[Takosher]

Yava

Ambrosia's eyes widened ever so slightly before narrowing back in a look of suspicion. "Ah, so that's who you really are." She said. This was followed by a dramatic bow. "It is an honor to meet you, princess. I apologize for my inhospitable welcome, I would have been far more direct had I known your identity from the start." Once again she flexed her fingers, although Sola didn't so much as flinch. Her intimidations no longer effective, Ambrosia switched gears. "I'm sure you realize I can't let you go, knowing who you are. You're free to fight, but without your weapon I'm afraid you don't much scare me."

"Well, that's your mistake then."

Sola vaulted into the table, freeing herself from the seat that might have otherwise trapped her in one motion. Ambrosia leapt backwards in response, creating distance just in case. But Sola didn't waste time capitalizing. With a surprising amount of finesse ror a woman in a skirt, she kicked the condiment holder up into her waiting hand.

"Youre going to fight me with ketchup?" Ambrosia laughed.

Sola didn't answer instead chucking the salt shaker toward her foe. Ambrosia easily cut it to pieces with her nails, spraying the contents everywhere. George managed to take cover and was using a radio to call for backup.

"Do it now, Yava!" Sola shouted, although they had never discussed any "it."

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Yava
"der'mo, der'mo, der'mo!"

Yava felt a cold sweat break out on her brow as the negations failed in spectacular fashion. With Ambrosia briefly distracted and knowing they were about to wade through a shitstorm, she had taken the opportunity to withdraw one of her hands from the table, slowly, carefully. By the time Sola jumped up and took the fight to them, Yava already had a hold of her key again.

"Do it now, Yava!" Sola shouted, although they had never discussed any "it."

She shot the Dame a confused glance before it clicked that there was likely only thing she could be referring to. The thing she was already prepared to do and had tried to prepare earlier. With a deft motion she rose from her own chair, her arm whirling the key out of it's holster and pressing the flat of the shaft across the back of Sola's calf. Immediately her power went to work, rigging the chances of Sola hitting her target higher and higher by the passing moment.
    "Go for her eyes," Yava advised, practically building the plan as she spoke it "use hotsauce, or ketchup and mustard if none- first we blind bitch. Then we use opening to rush door before more goons come. If doorman plays hero, he gets keyed too, but not in nice way."

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Astarte

In one of only a few moments in recent years, Astarte found herself content with her current situation. Yes, there was a war going on with her in the middle, but she was in her element: Rummaging through reports, logistics, and maps in the main command tent, figuring out a plan to defeat the Katrians, and finally out of Nyna's sphere of influence. She had already met the two Ladies that would accompany her, which gave her relief that she could finally work with potentially sound minded people, along with insight on how to properly include them into her strategy.

The wetlands were the oddity, however, at least for what she needed to do. The natural ponds and taller grass could be used to hide troops and tanks, but that same advantage could be used against them in order to sneak troops into their lines, or close enough so that, say, a Holy Weapon user could engage. The battle would ultimately be decided through a Holy Weapon duel, that was without a doubt, but she was required to figure out a way to maximize Katrian casualties whilst minimizing their own losses. Easier said than done when one side had a major numbers advantage.

... In any case, Astarte would likely have to use her tanks as artillery, designating notable points in their part of the wetlands that could be used to gain a significant firing angle without outright making the tanks vulnerable. All they had to do was keep the Katrian army from advancing too quickly... The threat of artilleries bombarding their every move would serve that purpose well. The ground troops would simply have to deal with the smaller, more mobile threats, as well as keep an eye out for the Katrian Meisters.

[Takosher]

Yava

Sola was a step ahead,having only called to Yava as a matter of misdirection. She chucked the pepper at Ambrosia, who was caught off guard and didn't have time to realize what Sola was doing. She swiped at the shaker and destroyed it exactly as before, save for one slight difference. Rather than spraying across the floor, the pepper exploded into a black cloud around Ambrosia's head. The effect was exactly as Sola expected, and the clawed woman was suddenly blinded and gagging as the spicy flecks infested her eyes and throat.

Sola dismounted the table and charged. She grabbed Ambrosia's shoulders and forced the taller woman to some form of upright. Ambrosia didn't fight back, as she was too busy fighting the instinct to rub rhe pepper from her eyes, which would likely have the opposite of the intended effect.

"Apologies if I'm right, but I need to be certain of this." Sola said.

Ambrosia attempted to growl a response, but was too busy coughing to give a decent answer.

Sola wasn't waiting for one anyways. She kneed Ambrosia in the groin. Ambrosia's eyes lit up in pain as she double over with a groan and further pepper-induced coughing.

"Yava, time to leave. She's got nothing." Sola beckoned as she briskly walked towards the exit.

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Yava
The thief wasted little time following behind Sola, still keeping her weapon ready in case the other two tried anything funny. She spared only a brief glance behind them as they fled, muttering to herself.
    "Well, that is one theory laid to rest...but still many others."

[Takosher]

Ambrosia

The Dame and her companion were proving themselves much larger thorns than anticipated. It had been obvious from the start that at least one of them was a part of Tyran's esteemed order of warriors. Unfortunately, an Esteemed eye didn't give the ability to see through disguises. Calling elements had been good for intimidation, but when the two proved slipperier than expected, the intimidation had worn off before there was time to pin down their identities. That was a very painful mistake. No crime lord worth their salt was foolish enough to tangle with a Dame. One who grew up in Inferno especially knew better than to tangle with Solamon.

Underneath the mask, Conrad seethed with rage. She had reduced him to a screaming heap in a matter of seconds. The insect really hadn't been bluffing. So you got even, whatever. he thought, I still have the upper hand. I can still make you regret it.

Forcing down the pain from Sola's dirty attack, Ambrosia clawed her way to her hands and knees. Her breathing came heavy and she still couldn't see clearly, but dealing with her own health could wait. Right now all that mattered was her revenge. She raised one hand up in a clawed shape with the palm facing her. There was no function to it, the gesture was simply the embodiment of the hatred that was boiling within her. The metallic nails embedded in her fingertips lit up in a fiery orange...

Yava

Just before reaching the door, Sola suddenly stopped and screamed. Flames had erupted from the earlier wound to her neck. Behind Yava, Ambrosia was holding her hand up in a clawed grip of death, as if attempting to choke the life out of Sola directly. Overwhelmed by an even greater pain than before, Sola found herself joining Ambrosia on the floor. She squirmed in agony, desperately trying to douse the flames fueled by her own flesh. Though the first strike had seemed harmless intimidation, it now proved that it had actually been an early death blow.

Silvia

Silvia dutifully followed Mirala, sticking just a few steps behind and slightly to the side of her mentor. Although the Lanican revolution had been successful, that didn't mean the end of Katria's involvement. Katria had no intent of meddling in Lanican affairs further, but the Church still had every intent to keep an eye on the new government during and well past its transitional period. That was where Mirala and Silvia came into play. Ostensibly holding diplomatic positions, Mirala and her charge both held weapons that made them excellent at espionage. They did perform legitimate diplomatic duties, Mirala and her previous apprentice had actually been the ones to negotiate the cease fire with Tyran, but their role in Lanica was clearly of a less scrupulous nature. Specifically, they had been assigned to evaluate the combat strength of the victorious rebellion and ensure that they had no intention to strike at Katria's exposed back during the upcoming attack on Neridus. In particular, the quantity and skill of Lanican meisters was a complete unknown.

For the moment, those specific duties were set aside, as Mirala and Silvia had only just arrived at the rebel capital. Their first duty was to meet with Ishma, a former rebel general and newly appointed chair of the Lanican senate. It was a big task, given this was Silvia's first time meeting the leader of a country. She had been working with Mirala for almost the entirety of her military career. The colonel had seen the potential of her weapon and handpicked her right out of her initial meister training. But usually such major diplomatic missions were left to the real politicians. Mirala and Silvia fulfilled smaller, less conspicuous roles. It was a testament to how unimportant Lanica was to Katria that the Church had tossed meeting with the Lanican leader down to Mirala.

"We're almost there." Mirala spoke up, "Are you nervous?"

It wasn't unusual for Mirala to check on Silvia's mental state, nor was it entirely done of kindness. Remaining calm and focused was just as important when meeting politicians as it was in the heat of battle. Mirala did genuinely care, but she still found a way to make each and every one of her worries into a lesson. It was simply their relationship, Master and student, a bond as close as friendship yet infinitely more distant at the same time.

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Yava
The sudden scream and stench of burning flesh were the one scenario Yava could never have anticipated here. Before she could even process what had happened, Sola was already on the floor, and on fire. She took a brief step backwards in horror, and as she did she caught the bitch out of the corner of her eye. Sitting there on her hands and knees, hand clenched in front of her and nails glowing as the Dame slowly burned to death. Her jaw clenched as her lips curled into a snarl, wanting nothing more than to leap to Sola's aid, but knowing full well she'd probably just burn too. It didn't matter how much she wished it hadn't come to it. It didn't matter how much she was just wanted to run out of here with her and get away from this freak and her goons.

If she wanted to save Sola, she had to eliminate the present threat first.

The thief took off at full sprint towards Ambrosia. Her hand shifted the key to a reverse grip as she quickly closed the distance. But she resisted the primal urge to lash out with it. Instead she used her built up momentum to drive her foot into a full-powered roundhouse aimed directly towards Ambrosia's temple.

It had occurred her to her that such a blow might end up just as deadly as simply driving the key into her jugular, but she welcomed that risk as acceptable collateral for Sola's life right now.

[Glass]

Jessie

"...fuck!"

Jessie took off to the north as fast as she could.

"No, I am very much not okay, I'm pretty damn sure she copied my fucking weapon!"
Silvia

Silvia gave a bit of a nervous chuckle. "Think I'd have to be stupid not to be. First time meeting someone this big.
...can we go over the plan again?"

[Takosher]

Jessie

Lali was silent for a good few seconds, during which Jessie had plenty of time to get herself lost in the crowd.

"Say again, Alice." Lali replied after what seemed like ages of wading through bodies, "I must have misheard you. It sounded like you said she copied your weapon."

A healthy dose of measured skepticism was necessary on this sort of mission, but it couldn't change the facts. The way the girl had disappeared was too similarly convenient, no other explanation made sense. Somehow that little girl had poached Jessie own ability to use against her.

Silvia

"For the moment, we focus on playing nice." Mirala instructed, "The Lanicans will no doubt be as suspicious of us as we are of them, we do not wish to arouse those suspicions. Our role here may be somewhat dishonest, but we do not mean any ill will. Most likely, neither do they. If everyone wants the same thing, that makes this easy. We remain polite, Ishma remains hospitable, and we hopefully earn the right to roam freely for a few days. You remember our visit to Gnittel last year? This is just a larger scale of the third casino we scoped out. When both sides are open with one another, there is no need for spying."

It was abridged and the anecdote was new, but it was essentially the same speech Mirala had given before their departure from Katrespite. The casino in question had been a very smooth adventure, especially compared to the harrowing events surrounding it, having it as a comparison was good to set Silvia's mind at ease. Of course she would not totally lower her guard, Mirala would no doubt scold her if she did. Even if everything seemed set to go fine, there were always unforeseen factors. And Silvia couldn't quite shake the feeling of something insidious watching her. Perhaps it was just paranoia, she'd felt unusually anxious even since arriving. There seemed to be something about Lanica that made her a little less comfortable than on her previous missions.

Yava

Ambrosia was hurting, but she wasn't helpless. Rather than take Yava's kick, she rolled to the side. It was a sloppy maneuver that she probably wouldn't have executed well on her best day, turning into more falling than rolling when she was already struggling to stay upright to begin with. But it was enough to make Yava miss.

A follow-up likely would have had the desired effect of the original kick, if not for Sola interrupting. "Yava, chainsaw!" she choked out desperately.

That didn't seem helpful, Sola had left her chainsaw behind before they left. Even in its concealed suitcase state it was far too conspicuous to carry around all day. Going all the way back to Sola's mansion would spell certain death. The only way for it to show up now was for their backup to arrive, but they hadn't had any chance to call for backup yet. But Sola seemed so certain, there must have been some reason she was bringing it up.

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Yava
Seeing her target roll out of the way, Yava had already begun preparing for a follow up. She took the circular momentum generated from her missed roundhouse and used it wind up a backside kick. Only to halt midway through the pivot upon hearing Sola call out for her Chainsaw, her leg still cocked like a coiled spring but not quite turned far enough to unleash the power into it's intended target. With the follow up effectively ruined, she put her leg back down and shuffled forward a bit to remove herself from Ambrosia's immediate reach. She stared at Sola for a brief moment. In any other scenario, with anyone else, she would've assumed they had gone delirious from the pain and edging ever closer to death. But something about the certainty in her voice... and she had already been a step ahead on the earlier plan.
    "...Chainsaw," She muttered, "I see."
    With a single glance back to Ambrosia she ran to the doors with the same speed she had initially closed the distance between them. Still holding it in reverse-grip (in case a certain doorman or anyone else really wanted to interfere with an angry short woman pumped full of adrenaline and holding a key-shaped shiv), she presented the shaft of her key up to the doors lock. Almost immediately a construct of water extended from it's tip, molding and warping it's shape to perfectly match the lock's internals as it slid inside. Yava wasted no time turning it till she heard the click of tumblers disengaging, all the while praying that Sola really was on to something.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Monika

As she had before, Monika let Kirari form her words, gaze lingering while she offered her answers. Ultimately however... Monika simply gave Kirari a shrug, closing her as whilst her head fell back into the seat, "And that answers that. If you were sure on your answer, then there might've been a problem... But you're still the same Kira as I've always known. I'm sure we'll figure out something that doesn't involve going on a mass killing spree again" Monika stated, her tone in a slightly more jovial and joking tone than before.

[Chevaleresse]

Kirari

She looked at Monika for a long moment. A part of her was disbelieving. She was trusting a ruthless killer, someone she knew had delighted in torturing the life out of those unfortunate enough to cross her path. Monika was relaxing after being told, giving Kirari free reign to inflict whatever she pleased upon her.

The rest of her, though, was relieved. Monika would keep her on the path the dreaming girl had chosen. She accepted the horror seated next to her. "Hopefully." The single word, spoken almost without inflection, was her only further response. She had many questions, but those could wait. There was a long road ahead.

[Glass]

Jessie

"Okaaaay." Jessie kept making her way through the crowd, trying to find the girl. "I'll say it again. I'm pretty sure the girl copied my fucking weapon. I am at least as pissed as you are."


Silvia

Silvia took a deep breath, and smiled a bit.
"Let's do this, then."

[Takosher]

Eilyth

"Good morning, Colonel." General Cara said, her tone making it clear the morning was anything but, "It's time for you to get your first taste of real command, and that starts with skipping out on beauty sleep. Scouting party just got back, which means we've got a decent sense of the enemy's strength. It's not much. Which, as you may know, doesn't bode particularly well for us. Holy weapon combat is a delicate thing, and both sides of this war rely on it heavily for different reasons. While we can field more meisters in a larger battle, a skirmish like this is going to be a lot more limited.

"As we discussed earlier, your battalion will be the one primarily handling the engagement. But in the interest of not wasting resources, I will not be sending our full might to accompany you. Rather, I intend to march most of our forces deeper into Tyranian territory. You won't be able to inflict as big of an upfront blow in this battle, but gaining a foothold at this early stage is worth a less decisive victory now.

"I've authorized the Oh-Three to provide tank support, but you'll be on your own in terms of meister deployment. I'll leave the details up to you, but I do have special instructions from on high that you place yourself on the front lines."

Cara paused, thinking. Something had clearly displeased her, but she wasn't certain she should follow through on that displeasure. After making her decision, she leaned forward and her face took on a more serious expression than had accompanied her tired exposition.

"I'm not a fool." she continued, "I know exactly what the brass are up to with you. And frankly I don't like it. So I have my own special instructions: Until I have complete confidence in you, you are not to engage in holy weapon combat. Draw enemy meisters out, fine, but leave the actual fighting to your subordinates. You're not just a warrior now, you're a commander. And brass be damned, I'll have you act like one. Is that clear?"

Monika and Kirari

The Katrians' mysterious savior opened the driver's side door and climbed in, seemingly oblivious to the dramatic exchange that had just occurred. She was wearing a ragged t-shirt that probably cost less than a loaf of bread and an equally ratty skirt. Evidently fashion didn't matter much to an exhibitionist. She leaned around to look at the back seat and gave Monika and Kirari a smile.

"I'm a pretty good rescuer, eh?" she said, "Name's Trick, I need a favor."

Jessie

There was another long silence as Jessie waded through the press of bodies.

"I know you prefer to keep things to yourself, Alice, and I don't blame you. But this whole operation is going to be pointless if we can't get around this. So how about a trade? I need more info on how to overcome your weapon. In return for you telling me how your power works, I'll tell you what mine is, deal?" Lali's proposition was delivered with a surprising amount of confidence. It made sense, in a way, trading information was her element, after all. But it was still a side of her Jessie had rarely gotten to see.