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"WAAGH!" He called out, as he tumbled. There were trees here, and he was glad to play around, usually. After all, he was almost as at home as some of the flying fiends when he was in the trees. He could bounce, and strike, and it gave him a really nifty feeling when he was swinging to and fro. It was just the opposite, however, when he fell. He'd been caught off guard by a rather large thing. He hadn't even been anticipating something reaching up and snapping his perch into splinters, and he'd barely managed to escape with his tail in tact.
Running until he was all but breathless, the young Genome was currently trying to come up with an exit strategy. He couldn't run out - he'd be leaving anyone else that decided to use the training room at the mercy of this giant beast. But at the same time... he didn't know if he could take it on his own. Gritted teeth replaced the usual smile that almost always marked his face, as he peeked from around his current hiding place behind a rather thick tree. The monster was close - sniffing around. A giant. Friggin'. Lizard. A tyrannosaurus REX?! Who thought it would be a good idea to bring something like that to a training room?
He let out a little whimper, ducking back behind it, flinching away. He heard it let out a loud, earth-shaking roar, as though irritated with the simple fact that it's prey had eluded him. He had his Spearshot gripped tightly in both hands, clutched so tightly his knuckles were white. He didn't know what kind of choice he had. He was a SeeD member, no matter how new to the group he was. He couldn't let any other students get themselves eaten.
His tail flicked agitatedly from side to side, as it tended to do when he too was agitated. Asher was supposed to be a kickass monster hunter now. That's just what he was supposed to do. But that didn't mean he wasn't freaked out. He took several deep breaths, glancing down at his hands. He was shaking. Fear wasn't something he'd ever actually had to deal with - he'd always had someone to back him up, and he'd never had to stand up to someone on his own. Not that his memories could inform him of.
No - his body was strong. It was everything else that felt like jelly right now. His finger tightened on the trigger, and his eyes narrowed. Taking a deep breath, he shot out from behind the tree, almost skidding as he turned to face the giant beast.
Or rather, the giant, empty space. "Wha...?" He murred the word uncertainly. There had totally been a monster. A giant thing that had tried to eat him. Had it left? For whatever reason, he found that hard to believe. But it wasn't like it was threatened. Still, the problem still stood. Just because he couldn't see the T-rex didn't mean the beast wasn't roaming. That, of course, was a bad thing, for reasons he'd already determined.
He took off, back in the direction he came from. His body shot up, and he twisted in an impressive bit of acrobatics, hitting a tree to keep his upward motion continuing. From up here, he could see much better than he could before. Resting precariously on a branch, he spotted the creature, not too far away. He hopped forward, in the direction of the colossal, sharp-toothed reptile, eyes narrowing. He was coming in at an angle, which meant one thing.
He had a surprise attack that he could pull on the giant, and he might be able to hit it and kill it in one shot. Asher forced himself to move faster, bounding through the trees as he 'hunted' the hunter. He was almost close enough to see the thing's eye clearly. Heart pounded furiously in his chest as adrenaline coursed through his veins. He was terrified. But he wasn't backing down.
Lunging from the trees, breaking into the clearing that the beast currently occupied, he brought the bladed edge of the Spearshot down, finger squeezing the trigger as he felt the blade crash in to the scaly hide of his target. The bullet tore into it, allowing his blade to pass through, and easily dealing damage the smaller individual might not have been able to do on his own. He was neither big nor muscled, and so he had to focus more on his speed, using gravity to deal most of the damage with this blow.
He landed with a sharp thud, rolling with it so as to not be right next to the damn thing. He popped up, teeth bared in an almost-growl. He was met with sharp teeth and a pained roar, and he couldn't help but yelp and hop back as those same sharp points tried to maim him.
"What am I doing?!" He said, aloud, panic in his voice, fingers tightening once more on the shaft of his weapon. God, he hoped he could pull this off. With all his limbs attached. Blood, sticky and thick, coated his blade, and he only now noticed, though he could smell the ichor like wet steel in the air. he was desperate for something - someone - to come to his aid.
But he knew better than to let desperation lead him. The predator was staring him down, and he... well... he didn't know what else to do but stand here and wait. If he moved too slowly, the thing would no doubt seize him within those massive jaws, and he was the perfect size for snacking.
At this point, he could come up with only one solution.
He teleported. On the dino's head, just behind where it's ears would be. Weapon now grasped by his tail, he clutched at the creature's head, clinging until he could come up with something infinitely more useful.
The cold steel of your spear cuts into the beast's hide. Alone, it would have done minimal damage; however, the added effect of the bullet increased it greatly, causing the dinosaur excruciating pain. Nonetheless, it was not dead, only more furious. Perhaps teleporting atop its head was not such a great idea due to its enraged state. As soon as you step foot on it, it begins to shake violently and vigorously to dislodge you, and consequently, eat you.
You may decide to test the strength of your grip and try to stay attached or you can let go and attempt to regain some stability to try something else. Whatever your decision, you notice that another person has entered the scene. This new figure seems young and new, like you, however he appears to wield a pretty strong looking blade. He looks ready to help you, but being new, he is unsure of whether this is ordinary or not. So, you will have to ask his assistance and hope he is an adequate fighter. But remember, there is still a big, bad dino rampaging and trying to eat you.
Battle: 800 words to defeat the T-Rex
Note:To allow an easier transition, we shall say that the new arrival is Squall.
Squall moved through the trees with a practiced ease, the gardens being a ground his feet had tread upon countless times. He knew it well, the feel of the soil, the soft, velvety green foilage soaking up the rays from the specially made lights above them. His steps were carefully planted, giving little to no noise lest he give wake to his prey. He knew sneaking through this overgrown forest was the best way to stumble upon unsuspecting creatures, and hitting them when they are unaware is the time that brings the most pain. A crashing noise, however, gave him pause, his body hidden in darkness as the lights were blocked out by the head of a gigantic Rex. He waited, calm, assured in his form. This wasn't the first time he had blundered upon the mammoth eater, and it wouldnt be the last he was sure.
Then he heard another noise- Sniffing. The beast was hunting something. This gave room for greater concern, as Squall was the only thing in and around that area who was even so much as a snack for this monster. Suddenly, the beast let out a painful cry, and Squall tilted his head up and back to view the long, graceful arch of the beasts back, its whipping tail and razor sharp teeth. On its back was a weapon, embedded deep, someone jumping off after making the weapon release a terrifying gunshot. Not unlike his own weapon. The beast was no longer looking for him him(if indeed he was in the first place), instead concentrating on the child who happened to appear upon the back of his head.
Squall emerged, hands in his pockets, piercing blues sliding up the powerful legs of this creature, along the torso and tiny little arms until finally reaching the head, and in this he analyzed the damage done by the weapon, and the individual foolish enough to hop on a thrashing tyrannosaur.
He waited, wondering if perhaps he should interfere, or if he should wait and watch- after all, perhaps this was a challenge for the kid, or a test presented for him alone to complete.
The dinosaur was now thrashing about wildly - but he anticipated this. He was clinging as tightly as he could, thankful for whatever it was that made him so different from humans. He was amazing at climbing and this was just like climbing. Well, except for the roaring and the teeth that were threatening to eat him if he moved too far in any direction, or was thrown away, he'd get gobbled up. And probably not in just one bite, that'd be too easy. And not nearly painful enough, he could guess.
The giant red beast's thrashing was distinctly bad, and he could already start to feel his fingers slipping. It was when he saw someone else, he started to panic. There was nothing that he could do. "Run away! It could get you!" He called, though of course, it was only after he said that that he noticed the guy had a weapon. For just that instant, he had a glimmer of hope.
Then, his left hand slipped.
Though he clung as hard as he could, with one side weakened, he was flung to the right. He could feel the hot breath of the creature as those teeth came towards him. He gasped, and he felt the very distinct adrenaline rush that he'd become so accustomed to. His body twisted acrobatically, for an instance moving just too fast for the eye to see. Those teeth crunched down right where his body had been - he dodged, albeit it was so close he wasn't entirely certain all of the fur on his tail escaped.
He righted himself in midair, skidding on to the ground. He bounded to the right, as the Dino recovered itself, so that he could exist next to the guy. Asher wasn't sure he knew who the guy was - upon closer inspection, though, he had a Gunblade. Which meant that he was at least a competent fighter - it took someone special to wield weapons like the Gunblade and the Spearshot. Similar in design and execution.
He looked up at him, before letting his eyes turn back to the T-Rexaur. "Helphelphelphelphelp." His childish voice called, mostly because now that he knew that the guy was at least armed, he figured that together, they could take this thing down. Taking a deep breath, Asher closed his eyes, tail flicking back and forth aggressively. Soft green light filtered out around him, before he aimed his free hand at the T-Rex.
Slow.
A brilliant orange light would filter out over the Dinosaur, specifically to slow it down so that he could at least buy the other guy a chance to get the hell out if he didn't really want to get in the middle of this terrifying situation. He could understand that sentiment - honestly, he wanted to get out of here, too. But he knew better. He knew that doing that was dangerous. Not necessarily for him, but certainly for everyone he'd be leaving to clean up.
"Or you can run! But... whatever you do, don't get eaten!"
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( Word count: 506 Boss Battle Count: 506 Total Word Count: 1498 )
The large beast shook viciously, but the monkey-like child seemed to have an iron-grip and would not let go. The monster had not yet noticed the presence of another in the room, as it was focused on the nuisance of a meal still atop it. Much to its fortune and luck, however, the child's grasp began to loosen until eventually, he had detached completely. As soon as the boy was off, the dino went for the finishing chomp; nevertheless, the boy was not making its life easy by simply staying still.
The boy, with much dexterity, landed beside the new figure, which the dino now noticed as it turned its giant head to face them. Letting out a bellowing and terrifying roar, the dinosaur wiped its tail at the pair of young fighters standing before it, intent on brushing them away like flies. Regardless, its tail appeared to slow down quite a bit as a peculiar aura enveloped the great beast. It could feel its movements and reflexes slow, it did not know the cause, though, due to its rather simple brain. Nonetheless, it still made the sweeping attempt in hopes that its two hopeful meals slowed down as well.
He watched with much interest as the boy contorted his body through the air, landing near him. The beast turned its body and mind upon the task of now devouring both of them- that coupled with the kid screeching in his ear about helping him gave enough information to conclude that this monster was not something he was trying to tackle on his own, but that this battle was just a stroke of mindless misfortune, and with that blinding flash of brilliant thought his gunblade emerged, catching the light and reflecting it back in a thousand brilliant flashes of transient beams. He turned to face the threat of the tail, which happened to be slowed down a bit after the quick casting done by his sudden ally. He tore straight for the base of the tail, eyes set on the back right leg of this tyrannosaur.
His blade heated beneath his fingers, sending off a dull blue light along the serrated edge. He spoke the word in his head, jumping upward with the meat of the thigh right within his reach.
'Renzosuken!' ((Renzosuken: A terrible burst of concussive adrenaline which allows for for slicing of his sword in quick, rapid and sometimes frenzied but always controlled movements.))
His blade would flash brightly with his consecutive stroke, every turn and tear, every string of blood and cry of pain from the dino gave way to flares of blue and spouts of red. Ten of them, all in less then eight seconds. He would land and, using the influx of adrenaline that now coursed through his veins, would leap to the side, likely avoiding the snap of this creatures jaws. His right leg would probably not hold, but even if it did it was highly unlikely that it was going anywhere. He would land and come to his feet in an Olympic runners stance, sliding a little as he looked at the mess he had created. His eyes were wide- not in fear, but with Adrenaline.
He would turn to the kid.
"Hey! Make it follow you! Get its attention so it will be directly facing away from me!"
He would say this while the Dino recovered, and would watch the movement of this behemoth the entire time. Some may say that it was uncanny to use the help of a child in the defeat of a monster, but Squall had already seen the movements this kid had, he was no stranger to battle, even if he was slightly unorthodox and definitely overzealous in attacking a Rex head on. They were in this together now- whether they wanted it or not.
Should the boy comply, Squall would take advantage of the slow movement the thing had, and while he was facing away roaring, He would bound forward, Leaping over the excited sweep of its tail to land right in the middle of its appendage, racing up it with grace and speed. His blade flashed again, this time red, and humming. He leaped into the air, his thought once again recalling the motion and name of his movements and ability.
'Rough Divide:' (( Rough Divide: A final, destructive burst of energy that fuses and hones the power behind the blade into an combustible line of fire that lights along the blades edge. Hard to block, and powerful to the bone. Can only be used once a day))
He would stab downward, the blade hissing as it would slide through the meat of its head and, very probably, through the bone. Should it slice through the bone, the beast would likely die, and should that be the case and would draw it out and ride on the back of this creatures head as it fell forward. If it didn't pierce bone, he would pull the trigger on his gun, aiming to blow a hole straight through to its brain, and end its existence.
Once it hit the ground (should it fall) he would leap off, landing about ten or twenty feet in front of its snout, his eyes locked on the boy he had just saved. He would stare for long moments before replacing his gunblade and slashing through the air with his right hand, most angrily.
"What the HELL were you thinking!? Why didn't you just run!?"
He was upset not because he was tired or had to save him, but because the battle was probably of his own doing. If the Rexaur had found this little boy first, he wouldn't have had time to fight back- but from the spear positioning and the angle of attack, Squall could definitely see the attack both came from above and from behind, leading straight to the obvious outcome- this child had assaulted this creature, and it lead to him needing saving. Thats what pissed him off- he had to be saved from something, and Squall had to kill it because of some foolish decision of bravery.
He ought to slap the kid, thats what he should do.
He waited, hoping for some kind of reasoning behind this pointless death.
He was terribly excited when the older boy decided to help, instead of running like he'd original told him. It was this distinct distraction that came from him being accepting of the help that allowed him to miss the fact that the Dino was now attacking. He turned his attention back to the T-Rexaur as Squall began to rush forward, just in time to see the tail - albeit slower than it might normally have been going. He gasped, sharply, trying to leap upwards. Not fast enough, however - his legs were smashed, sending him spinning in midair, until he crashed down to earth with a sharp groan.
His shoulder hurt. A lot. He had landed quite expertly - it was strained, but he didn't think it was dislocated or broken, as he could still move it. It hurt, but moving it was a good thing. Squall had managed to move inside the swipe, and was now more or less eviscerating the beast, as Asher righted himself, standing up, grabbing his Spearshot.
Squall gave him his command, and he nodded, tugging the trigger down so that it was perpendicular to the shaft of his weapon.
Rifle mode. Nothing really changed, except now it was more or less calibrated to long-distance fire now, not just fire from right up close. He teleported, as it was the fastest way to get to the side of the bloody creature. He took aim - his Marksman's Eyes narrowing on his target. Without any hesitation, he squeezed the trigger, and the rifle spat it's high-powered bullet, flashing through the air to catch the reptilian beast in the jaw. He was aiming to wound it and distract it, specifically so it would turn to face him. Luckily, he always hit* when he felt like this.
Of course, the problem came from whether or not he inflicted enough damage to catch the T-Rexaur off guard. He started to move, specifically pulling the trigger twice more, though these shots were more to create the noise to help in the drawing of the T-Rexaur's attention. Asher was no stranger to keeping up with the things that were bigger and badder than he, and so, should the Fiend actually start to attack him, he was now fully ready to...
well...
MOVE! He would allow himself to agree with the fact that he'd not dodged the tail because he'd been distracted. Now that he was focusing, he should very well be able to get out of the line of fire - or rather, the rows of teeth - before they clamped down on him. He yelped sharply, however, as the dinosaur came at him.
It all fell down to Squall, who'd given him the order, and who was apparently taking this opportunity to attack the creature from behind. He gritted his teeth and rolled, breaking the roll to continue to pounce away without losing momentum. He was easily faster than the cut-up monster, and he shouldn't have had many problems escaping it's wrath.
Another gentle - albeit perfectly executed - mid-air spiral would have him far out of the reach of the creature. He could hear the sounds of that blade crashing through flesh once more, and turned in time to see Squall doing what he was to pierce and destroy the beast's skull. Asher didn't even so much as wince, as he did so, the beast crashing down, and Squall hopping towards him.
But... was that anger in his eyes? Asher had been just about to cheer, and probably hug Squall when the older boy yelled at him, making as though to smack in front of him. He yelped once more, flinching away from that hand and that angry voice, tail drooping a little bit as he demanded an explanation for his actions. It was almost piteous, the boy looking as though he might cry.
"I... I couldn't just leave it to keep going crazy like that... it was trying to tear through the gates to get in the Garden proper when it found me in a tree. I didn't want anyone else to get hurt... I thought... I thought I could beat it on my own." Which wasn't entirely true - he hadn't thought he'd be able to take it down. Quite the opposite - he'd more or less resigned to the fact that he was just going to weaken it enough to make it abandon it's assault on the gates.
He kept his eyes averted and his head tilted downward, just in case the guy really was going to hit him. "A SeeD can't just run from a battle where someone else would get hurt. Isn't that why you didn't run?" He asked, softly, trying to make sure he at least tried to make his saviour understand. It also might give Squall a little insight as to why the boy had managed to handle his own as well as he had without getting eaten.
He grimaced, a little bit, finally able to put a hand up to his shoulder to massage the wounded area just a bit. No, that wasn't going to help - it only served to make him wince again. That... really sucked. He had to bite his lip to keep from yelping again. "My name is Asher - I just graduated the other day. I'm a SeeD now... I couldn't just back off." He offered, finally allowing himself to look back up at the taller boy.
He at least should look his punishment in the eye if the older SeeD planned on meting one out to him. Flinching away as he had would only serve to prove the other boy's thoughts that he was just putting himself - and possibly others - in further danger by taking that beast head on.
[/blockquote][/blockquote]
( Word Count: 957 Boss Battle Count: 1463 Thread word count: 2455 )
As you would assume, from both of your assaults and brilliant combative maneuvers and strategies, the great T-Rex fell to the ground with a booming, thud. Blood oozed from the giant beast's wounds, though now the clean up was mainly not your concern, you could probably leave it to others to dispose of the body.
Reward: Excellent post on both your parts; very detailed and thoughtfully written. Both of you receive +100 XP.
[Now that the beast has been slain, you two may posts regularly and role play together. If you need another post, let me know.]
Squall shook his head after the child gave his reasoning. 'No- sacrificing your life for what you believe to be a just cause is the same no matter which way you look at it- suicide. The monster would have just eaten you and decided you werent enough, then tore through the gates anyway. A SeeD needs to think things through and use his head before leaping into a battle.' His thoughts spoke for him, though outwardly he said nothing, instead turning his head away. He had never heard of this kid, but even if his name was unknown, his abilities were well grounded. He had never heard of a thirteen or fourteen year old possessing such talents, but he wasn't going to question it. His own name was well known throughout the garden, and he honestly didn't feel like giving it. However, he would have no choice since the boy gave his.
"Squall."
He left out the last name, instead turning back to the Rex to look it over. He had never actually looked at one after fighting it- then again, he had never actually stayed and fought one to the death- nobody was that dedicated to hunting it down. To see the massive thing lying in a cesspool of its own blood and saliva brought a pang of disappointment and regret. This monster had been legendary, and none had dared to stand in its way. He frowned- for some reason, it seemed smaller then the last time he saw it. He looked around, wondering if, perhaps, there was another one somewhere in the brush and wood.
He looked back at the kid.
"C'mon- this blood is going to draw other monsters. Lets get out of here."
He stepped off through the foliage, heading for the Garden gates, not looking back and, truthfully, unconcerned about whether he was being followed.
It was weird - He'd expected a scolding, or for the gunblade wielder to actually smack him for his stupidity. It wouldn't be the first time, and it would certainly not be the last time - for some reason, people always thought he couldn't understand certain things that only 'adults' could get. So they smacked him. Not in an abusive way, but definitely in a 'bad kitty' sort of way. When Squall didn't do that, or even tell him off, he tilted his head a bit.
Had he made enough sense to warrant Squall having some form of respect for him? That thought made him smile - especially 'cause Squall gave him his name and everything! Squall was more or less a living legend of the Garden. Where Asher and Skeeter were unique because they were literally the only ones of their kind in the SeeD program, Squall was just... impressive. He'd heard stories as had everyone else in the Garden. Some of them were outlandish, and some of them were absolutely insane, but he couldn't help but believe them.
He was rocking on the balls of his heels, a little bit uncertainly. Squall seemed pensive, and he wasn't entirely certain why. Following his gaze to the downed T-Rexaur, he tilted his head uncertainly. His hands were still gripping the Spearshot rather tightly, as if for some reason the T-Rex might just get back up and start attacking him again. He wasn't particularly afraid of zombies - but then again, he'd never fought one directly. Besides, he had a couple of phoenix downs, and a potion or two handy!
Squall made the suggestion that they leave before anything else decided to show up. There was certainly an inherent danger in staying here, but now that the major fight was over, he was starting to feel that sluggishness of his nerves. He hated that feeling. Wrinkling his nose, he finally nodded, and headed after him, tail wagging as he trotted to catch up to him. As they moved, he looked up to Squall again, pursing his lips a little bit at that.
He slipped up next to him, with all the practiced ease of a ninja - even if he himself was not one of those acclaimed entities. Biting his lower lip, he found himself unusually nervous. He knew how to be serious, and most of the time, he ignored that feeling brilliantly, in ways people could only dream of doing. Most of the time, when he chose to be serious, in anything other than combat, it ended in someone laughing at him for his foolishness.
"Don't hate me." He said, with as big a smile as he could muster. "Promise you won't hate me 'cause of today. I'll get better! I promise!" He nodded as sharply as he could, which was awkward, because at this point, he was walking backwards, in front of Squall, eyes on him, full of childish awe. As much as he would have liked to think he didn't really need Squall's help, there was the obvious catch. He'd been in real danger, and his life may very well have ended if it hadn't been for the interference of the older SeeD.
It meant, from the things he'd learned from Odion, that he owed him. He wasn't sure how, or with what, but he was at least determined to make him at least happy, to the best of his ability. With a deep breath, and a sharp nod, he reached behind him, activating the Gate to the Garden proper, without even so much as glancing in that direction. "But you have to promise not to hate me. And Squall?" He finally came to a stop, and unless Squall wanted to trample him, he'd have to stop, at least for a second, to get around him.
"Thank you so much for saving me today. I won't mess up like that again, 'kay?" He was bristling with barely restrained excitement and contentment, tail wagging furiously as he gave him the traditional SeeD salute - before completely vanishing from the spot.
[ Asher Exit ]
[/blockquote][/blockquote]
( Word Count: 697 Thread Word Count: 3152 Thread XP gain: 315.2 Bonus XP gain: +100 Total XP gain: 415.2 )
Squall looked away as the boy said he wouldn't mess up again, stopping as he did so since there was nowhere for him to go- unless he walked right through the kid.
"Tch. Whatever."
The boy vanished, causing Squall to frown- who in the world had that ability? He sighed before re-adjusting the sword at his side. Asher- that name he would need to remember and investigate on. The kid was the youngest SeeD Squall had ever seen, and would need much attention on his part. He started forward, making his way to the dorms for a shower.
'Hnnh...blood...'
Yeah...covered in it.
((Lame post >_> apologies to the brains of those who read this. lol))
