View source for WMAT A1 Zeno vs. Blackout

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/06/22
|Location=Papaya Island - Yunzabit Heights
|Synopsis=Blackout and Zeno duke it out in Bracket A's first round.
|Thanks=To Zeno for being a fantastic opponent, and to Satsuki Kiryuin for amazizng commentary!
|Cast of Characters=428, 430, 450
|Tinyplot=WMAT
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:430|Satsuki Kiryuin (430)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> -&lt;WMAT&gt; Satsuki Kiryuin&gt; "Ladies and gentlemen, this is Ira Gamagoori, and on behalf of the REVOCS Corporation and Honnouji Academy, I am here to bring you a match live from the Yunzabit Heights, between the mystery combatant known as Blackout and the Union Shinki Zeno! If you wish to listen in on this match, then tune your radio to 900.7 immediately!"<br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the World Martial Arts Tournament. Commentary today will be brought to you by Honnouji Academy's finest students under the request of Lady Satsuki Kiryuin. I am Honnouji Academy Student Council's Disciplinary Committee Chairman, Ira Gamagoori!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama says, "The same, Athletic Clubs Committee Chair, Uzu Sanageyama!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Houka Inumuta says, "The same, Information and Strategy Committee Chair, Houka Inumuta."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Nonon Jakuzure says, "The same, Non-Athletic Clubs Committee Chair, Nonon Jakuzure~."

:'''{{#var:428|Juno Eclipse (428)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> One of today's two competitors is already here in this godforsaken, frigid place. The enigmatic Confederate pilot known only as BLACKOUT has arrived a little early to scope out her fighting ground, and maybe earn herself a slight advantage. Lord knows she needs all the help she can get. Sure, she has training as a frontline soldier, but only the bare minimum. She doesn't compare to most of these people and she knows it.<br><br>Today, the pilot is not wearing her usual nondescript smuggler's gear, nor Imperial uniform; but instead wears full cold-weather gear, the sort of getup one would expect to find on the miserably frigid surfaces of Hoth -- slightly bulky but extremely warm and protective gear, along with snow goggles and a fur-lined hood.<br><br>Certainly she's armed, too. One would expect no less of a tournament on this scale! At the pilot's left hip is a vibroblade, a sword-like implement that to sensitive hearing seems to hum with some kind of charge. She also wears a holster for a pistol-like laser blaster, one on each hip.<br><br>She has a data pad of some sort she's fiddling with, leaning against the skeletal ruin of a decomposing building; steel rebar reaching for the sky like bones. The blue glow of the screen illuminates her face, which seesm to be drawn in an expression of concentration. Or maybe displeasure. It's hard to say with the goggles obscuring half her face... but at least they're nice and warm.<br><br>Considering the beating she's probably going to take today, not having her face freeze is always a nice and appreciated touch. She'll be able to feel every nuance of pain!<br><br>Sigh. Wonderful.

:'''{{#var:430|Satsuki Kiryuin (430)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> -&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "This afternoon we have a match between a Confederate pilot operating under the codename of Blackout, who appears to be using simple combat weaponry and hard-earned skill, and a heavily-armed six inch tall combat android called Zeno. Blackout is already present, and while I have yet to spot her opponent, she appears more than ready for combat."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama says, "Good. A proper warrior should be ready to throw down any time!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Houka Inumuta says, "To judge from what I can see here, she appears to be using a blade with its cutting power augmented by hypersonic vibration, and what appears most likely to be an energy weapon of some sort. High-technology armaments. Lethal ones, too."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "If she's brought them to the tournament, I'm certain she is capable of using them nonlethally. That is, after all, a core part of the rules!"<br><br>-<RADIO: WMAT>- Female, British: Blackout says, "H-hey, announcers, don't worry. I read the rules. They're only set to 'stun.'"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "I have been informed that Blackout's weaponry has all been set to 'stun'. A satisfactory deference to the rules."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Nonon Jakuzure says, "My my, maybe the froggy should have been a referee."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "I am maintaning as much neutrality as possible with Lady Satsuki in the competition."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Nonon Jakuzure says, "Competition is boring without a little favoritism."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama says, "That's not true at all! All you need for a good competition is guts and skill!"

:'''{{#var:450|Zeno (450)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> Somewhere. Somewhere in these chill wastes, hidden amid snow and permafrost and dying grass, a soldier lays in waiting. Zeno, too, is here. Though smaller than the average combatant, by far, the Firearms shinki is by no means unprepared for a lengthy tour in the desolate wastes, hidden from sight.<br><br>Did Blackout's opponent welch? It might seem that way at first, considering how Juno might seem to have to wait a bit. Until something rustles in the frosty grass not too far off.<br><br>At first only the gleam of three red pin-points of light from IR goggle lenses might be all anyone catches.<br><br>Until Zeno tugs off her winter-foliage ghillie suit, revealing a fresh layer of arctic white-and-blue camo paint on her armor, the sleek form of some super tiny rifle in her grasp obscured by further foliage covering.<br><br>Zeno reveals herself in utter silence, lips set in a grim line that speaks volumes about how surly she might still be about getting tossed out an airlock the last time she saw Blackout.

:'''{{#var:430|Satsuki Kiryuin (430)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> -&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "-that's not important at the moment, Blackout's opponent appears to have arrived! I can just barely see the tiny form of Zeno, who looks equally well-armed for this fight."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama says, "Heh. Hard to believe something so small and adorable could be so dangerous."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Nonon Jakuzure ahems!<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama says, "I stand by what I said!"

:'''{{#var:428|Juno Eclipse (428)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> Oh, hello. Her opponent is here. She's sharp enough to notice the rustling of permafrozen grass a little ways away.<br><br>Behind her goggles, Juno grins a savage little grin. Maybe this won't be so bad after all. A little payback is always a good thing, as far as she's concerned, and having her eye shot out put her through a little bit of personal hell.<br><br>So it is that the 'mercenary' pilot in cold weather gear has absolutely no problems aiming her blaster pistol and attempting to shoot Zeno the hell in the face even as she's standing there looking all grim... and immediately turning and sprinting for the cover of the ruined building whose outermost struts she'd been leaning on.

:'''{{#var:430|Satsuki Kiryuin (430)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> -&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "It looks as if neither combatant is feeling particularly conversational, and- it's begun! Blackout opens by simply opening fire, and then running for cover!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Houka Inumuta says, "Given her opponent's size and maneuverability, it's not surprising she's choosing the stick-and-move approach. Cover will be better protection than avoidance on its own, but no cover will be safe for long."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Nonon Jakuzure says, "You really do have to watch out for the smaller ones~."

:'''{{#var:450|Zeno (450)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> Blackout's grin gets nothing. The utter silent treatment from the soldier shinki as she cranes her head up to keep those IR lenses focused on the cold-weather equipped pilot. It almost seems like she's a doll, the way she stands so still, but what can't be seen in all the grass is the slight shift of her posture. The coiling tension in tiny legs as she waits for the signal.<br><br>The signal that comes in the form of a stun bolt lancing right at her. It's a sudden tumbling leap that carries Zeno aside, the searing laser grazing dangerously close for comfort as it leaves her armor a little warmer than she'd like from the sheer proximity that was more than enough to scorch her paint visibly before she simply disappears into the grass again. It barely even rustles as she crawls amid snow and brittle grass before poking her head up again.<br><br>Like some kind of deadly gopher, there's a seriously miniaturized looking kalashnikov in her grasp. Though shinki-sized, the peppery bolts of laser light it fires seem to be enough to chip at cover as her tries to chase Blackout with a hail of fire all throughout her break for that building.

:'''{{#var:430|Satsuki Kiryuin (430)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> -&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "And the tiny shinki only just manages to evade a full hit! It looks like she was just barely clipped by that shot, but in a fight, even grazes can add up! She'll need to be careful with- she's ducked her head under the grass and disappeared! I can't see her at all!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Houka Inumuta says, "She's maneuvering for a better angle. If I'm correct, she should appear just about... there she is. And she's armed with some sort of assault rifle, though the payload is light-based rather than ammunition. She's making it difficult for Blackout to reach and stay in cover."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama says, "If Blackout lets her keep that pressure on, she's as good as beat! She'd better turn things around or Zeno will easily take control of the match."

:'''{{#var:428|Juno Eclipse (428)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> Gah.<br><br>Suddenly there is laser fire sent in Blackout's general direction aimed from a very miniature Kalashnikov. The energy bolts it's firing may be small in stature, but they're still big in ow, and she can't help but hiss in pain as one or two of them flash past and take a charred bite out of her cold weather gear's sleeve, crisping the skin beneath. The same is done to one of her legs, grazing just past the knee. That's going to hurt like a bitch later on.<br><br>She simply dives behind a ruined column of concrete, with far more grace than one would expect of somebody wearing bulky cold-weather gear, rolling and coming up with her back to the column. What? She /does/ exercise every day. It's important to maintain a healthy figure, and a generally healthy lifestyle, because her day job pushes her to grueling limits and beyond.<br><br>Panting through her teeth, sucking in air and letting it go, she's unsurprised to note her breath fogging in front of her. Yunzabit is /cold/. Actually, it's reminiscent of Hoth, only with fewer smelly Tauntauns wandering around.<br><br>Blackout raises one of those blasters, holding it up like a trained pistol as she waits in silence. Her eyes flick sidelong to regard the last point at which she'd seen Zeno poking about the weeds. After another heartbeat or two of waiting, she risks her cover, leaning around the edge of the column to fire three precise, staccato shots of glowing blue-white energy.

:'''{{#var:430|Satsuki Kiryuin (430)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> -&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "Both combatants seem to be moving with respectable agility and reflexes! Blackout has managed to avoid anything worse than getting singed by Zeno's fire, but I would be unsurprised if she was feeling that for the next few days regardless."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Houka Inumuta says, "For wearing such bulky gear, she moves well in it. There's extensive training behind that agility. Military, without a doubt."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "And she seems to have a good spatial memory, because she's kept track of her opponent's position well!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama says, "Either that, or she's just got sharp senses! That little robot seems to have a tough match on her hands."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Nonon Jakuzure says, "Don't count the cute little ones out. We're as dangerous as it gets!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama says, "Huh? Who's cute?"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Nonon Jakuzure says, "Why you-!"

:'''{{#var:450|Zeno (450)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> Already the match has devolved into a pretty intense firefight as the two trained soldiers exchange replies of hailfire over verbal banter. With Blackout hunkering down behind cover, Zeno is still dangerously out in the open; even in the camouflage of tiny foliage.<br><br>It's only that seriously tiny size that prevents the shinki from taking a direct hit, because there's no denying that the pilot KNOWS how to use those blasters, and that's why the biggest form of respect Zeno has for her opponent comes in the form of doing her best to not be in the line of fire. She's taking Blackout utterly seriously. Why wouldn't she?<br><br>Still, for all her attempts to not be shot, those bolts get too close for comfort, even for such a small target, and that's why another roll and skid, and Zeno leaps out of the grazz, sliding herself along an icy patch of permafrost while sporting some new scorches, in a powerslide that carries her behind a rock. For a person it's just a rock.<br><br>For a shinki, it is a fortress wall.<br><br>That miniature assault rifle continues to unload, but the shots go nowhere near Juno. She's not trying to hit her. It becomes obvious that the blindfire is little more than a diversion, an attempt to keep the pilot pinned as something seriously tiny pitters to the ground in an epic throw behind cover. It's... A black BB?<br><br>No, it's a shinki-sized grenade.

:'''{{#var:430|Satsuki Kiryuin (430)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> -&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Houka Inumuta says, "Hmm. It looks like they may just both be having trouble hitting each other solidly. Zeno seems to have been clipped again, though it's hard to see for certain from here."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "The little Shinki has been pressed hard enough to take cover herself! She's continuing to fire, but it looks like she isn't even trying to actually hit. What is she planning?"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama says, "She's probably- THERE! I can just barely see it, she's thrown something small with perfect precision! I don't think my Baseball Club's members have that good a throwing arm!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Nonon Jakuzure mutters, "At this rate I'm going to have to recruit her to one of my clubs before the monkey can."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama says, "WHAT WAS THAT?"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Nonon Jakuzure says, "NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori thunders, "THERE WILL BE NO ARGUING AT THE COMMENTATOR'S DESK!!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Nonon Jakuzure says, "And now I'm deaf."

:'''{{#var:428|Juno Eclipse (428)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> Very carefully, Blackout leans around her support column, squinting into the white glare to see where her pint-sized opponent might have gotten to. She can't afford to watch as she's being fired at, so she hasn't been looking this whole time. Fortunately, she just manages to catch the tail end of Zeno's powerslide... and something very tiny being hucked out from behind the rock. It looks kind of like ball bearing painted black.<br><br>How strange--<br><br>"Oh, /sh/--"<br><br>Blackout is a little too slow to pull back into cover. It's not that the explosion itself catches her, because it's just a little too far away from her face to do any damage that might catch her snow gear. No, it manages to take out a rock, and she manages to be in the way of very sharp, splintery shrapnel made of stone. Thin trickles of blood weep from the slices cut through the unprotected parts of her face.<br><br>"Aagh!" It's with an annoyed outcry that Blackout hauls herself back behind the support, her predicament gives her an idea. She stoops, fetching a few smooth, relatively round rocks that look like they have decently aerodynamic properties. Well, for a rock. She pockets most of them, and seizes one.<br><br>And then she flings the damned thing as hard as she can right for Zeno's position. It's not meant to hit her, because she's behind a rock, but maybe the bone-jarring CLACK of a rock hitting her fortress wall might flush her out of her cover.<br><br>Blackout will keep on hucking rocks as long as it takes to flush the shinki out, and she'll keep pocketing more. Never know when they'll come in handy.<br><br>Yep. She has some of the more advanced technology in her galaxy in holsters at her hip, and she's throwing rocks.<br><br>When and if Zeno finally /does/ come out, there's a blaster waiting for her, and three more precise, staccato shots fired. She'll shoot the damned rock if she has to; that's probably bound to be just as disorienting... and hopefully damaging.

:'''{{#var:430|Satsuki Kiryuin (430)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> -&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama says, "That was a grenade?!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Nonon Jakuzure says, "How did you even /see/ that?"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Houka Inumuta says, "Impressive yield for such a small piece of ordnance."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "Indeed, the grenade appears to have done more than a little damage through sheer area of effect! Blackout hasn't suffered direct injury, but the rock that Zeno's grenade shattered has cut her up more than a little. And it looks as if she's... throwing rocks in return?!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Nonon Jakuzure flatly, "What the hell."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Houka Inumuta says, "She's trying to flush Zeno out. I believe as soon as the Shinki shows herself-"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "-she's done it, and Blackout is opening fire!"

:'''{{#var:450|Zeno (450)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> CLAK. CLACK-CRACK. Every rock that pelts Zeno's tiny fortress makes her retreat, hunkering down further and further as she's the one pinned now. That's a hell of a throwing arm, and they may not be blaster bolts, but getting smacked by one of those will-<br><br>"Tch..."<br><br>She's given little choice when one bounces off the rock in a bad way. It almost hits her, and just like that Zeno is up and off like a bullet, a sudden sprint that-<br><br>Is ended abruptly with a clattering tumble, caught cleanly in the side by a stun bolt that slams her dead on in the armor and sents the miniature commando sprawling in the icy dirt and staring up at the sky.<br><br>Zeno's ears ring, her vision swims. A hit like that apparently more than enough to topple her and make the world spin, one hand sliding her IR visodr off her face to pant, she's in a pretty bad place as she rolls over onto her chest and crawls into the nearest patch of grass to try and get back out of sight. It takes a few seconds before some return fire comes. Several plinking shots of -more- lasers.

:'''{{#var:430|Satsuki Kiryuin (430)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> -&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "IT'S A HIT!! Blackout finally manages a square hit after driving Zeno out of her own cover, sending her to the ground! It looks as if she's taking cover to give herself a chance to return fire."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Nonon Jakuzure says, "At her size, that really is a perfect use of the grass. I'm impressed~!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Houka Inumuta says, "Oh? Has the snake discovered a kindred spirit?"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Nonon Jakuzure says, "Nobody asked you."

:'''{{#var:428|Juno Eclipse (428)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> That miniature laser is starting to get really annoying.<br><br>For the second time today, miniaturised shrapnel pelts the pilot, catching her across the face and ripping into the sleeve of her cold-weather gear. That's great because the sleeve absorbs most of the blow. That's also terrible because now she's starting to feel the cold. Sooner or later it's going to slow her down.<br><br>Blackout shrinks back against the other side of her support column, clutching her arm and setting her jaw as she considers her next course of action. Having such a small opponent means that it's hellishly difficult to target them accurately, but she herself is painted as a much bigger target.<br><br>She's going to have to present herself as a less attractive target, then, and level the playing field somehow. She glances up at the ruined structure over her, narrowing her eyes as she considers, very quickly. That might give her the distance she needs, and it'll also give her an eagle's-eye view if that little rustbucket decides to hide in the grass again.<br><br>Perfect.<br><br>Blackout launches herself at the nearest ruined strut, little more than a rusted I-beam sticking out from a ruined hunk of concrete. It used to be a big building, but now it's just a skeleton. It does, however, make for a great climbing surface, and the strutted mess does tower pretty high into the sky, with struts jutting out for plenty of promenades to /shoot shinki from/.<br><br>In a display of truly impressive athleticism, Blackout kicks off and makes a running leap for the nearest horizontal beam, swinging herself up and kicking off from there to vault herself to an even higher horizontal. Shimmying along that, she edges closer to the concrete pillar it all sticks out from, all the while watching down below, and firing warning shots whenever she thinks the shinki might be getting too frisky -- or watching her.<br><br>Looking up again, she leaps for the nearest beam (doggedly not thinking about how high off the ground she is by now) and swings herself up higher, forced to curl around it and pull herself up from her stomach; placing combat boots flat on the thing as she tests it.<br><br>The whole thing lurches with a horrible screech of fatigued metal; Blackout abruptly shrinks so she's as low as she can get, frozen as she crouches along the teetering beam. She doesn't move, though her blaster is still pointed down at the shinki. When it seems the mess stabilises itself, she shimmies along the beam, making her way to a more reinforced point from which she can hide behind -- a cluster of concrete pillars, which are in slightly better shape than most of the other pillars.

:'''{{#var:430|Satsuki Kiryuin (430)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> -&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "It appears as if Zeno's carefully-considered counterfire is proving much more effective now that she's landed a first blow!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama says, "That first injury probably slowed her down just enough to make her an easier target. This could easily become a fight of attrition!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Houka Inumuta says, "It looks as if she's trying to counter her opponent's size and stealth with higher ground. The vantage point should make things a little more even in that department; there's a reason eagles hunt from high above, after all."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama says, "And she's definitely in pretty good shape! Maybe we should organize a Parkour club at Honnouji!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "But she's put herself in a precarious spot in climbing that structure. She's going to have to be much more cautious about moving up there, though she did manage several good shots on the way up. Could this climb prove to have been a mistake?!"

:'''{{#var:450|Zeno (450)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> For all she tries to hide in the grass, every shot pelted into the brittle blades results in a frantic scramble. It's probably difficult to hear the tiny grunts of a tinier combatant, amid the howling chill winds, return fire, and rustling of leaves.<br><br>But rather than turn this into a battle of distant attrition, Zeno suddenly stops somewhere inside a random bush that is apparently hardy enough to weather out the cold. While Juno is maing that precarious perch on beams and pillars, she'll no doubt see the trio of red lenses as Zeno flips her visor down. The gun she holds now, tugged from slipway is... Big. For her. But sleekly designed, two smooth prongs forming an open barrel as she loads what looks like a sewing needle into the breech and takes aim through a high power scope.<br><br>It starts as a hum as power builds and the prong barrel crackles visibly. Before the rail rifle unleashes a tiny cough. The needle lances out, a thin threading trail of silver light as she aims somewhere non-vital, as per rules.<br><br>But getting shot with a teeny railgun probably won't be pleasant.

:'''{{#var:430|Satsuki Kiryuin (430)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> -&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "Even if it was a mistake, Blackout's own fire has done a more than adequate job of keeping Zeno suppressed, and- one shot appears to have found its mark squarely! But Zeno has taken cover, and- I'm having difficulty seeing just what she's pulled out, but for her size, it's absolutely huge-"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama says, "It's a rifle! It's a huge energy rifle!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Houka Inumuta says, "My, that truly is impressive hardware. I'm almost tempted to acquire a Shinki of my own."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Nonon Jakuzure says, "Oh, what's this? I didn't know you went for little cute things~."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Houka Inumuta says, "I've never really been exposed to them before."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Nonon Jakuzure says, "Y-"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "That deafening report can only be a railgun! Blackout is a sitting duck!"

:'''{{#var:428|Juno Eclipse (428)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> Clinging to a vertical length of rusted rebar, Blackout squints against the howling wind, loosely clutching her pistol in the other hand. She looks for all the world like a lookout clutching the mast; except her ship is a rusted hulk of building and she's got a weapon in her hand. She watches the shinki run and scramble about, until--<br><br>Aww, what a cute little railgun.<br><br>--Wait. Shit. That's a railgun.<br><br>The impact lances cleanly through Blackout's shoulder; with a cry of pain she's knocked from her perch, and she falls a good distance before she manages to catch herself on a horizontal bar like a monkey on a branch. Forced to shimmy back up by curling double over it, she quickly climbs back to her similar vantage point, and proceeds to cling to the rebar pole like it's a lifesaver.<br><br>Blackout also reaches into her pocket and proceeds to pelt Zeno's location with at least four or five rocks. She's got a really good fastball arm, by the way. And she's aiming for that railgun, to try and compromise it through blunt trauma.

:'''{{#var:430|Satsuki Kiryuin (430)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> -&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "And that's a clean hit! Blackout has suffered a direct shot from Zeno's railgun, and it's- SHE'S FALLING! SHE'S GOING TO FALL- WAIT, /NO/! SHE'S PULLING HERSELF BACK UP!! And-"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "..."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Nonon Jakuzure says, "She's throwing rocks again."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Houka Inumuta says, "She's throwing rocks again."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "She's... throwing rocks again."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama says, "THAT'S RIGHT, DON'T GIVE IN JUST YET! SHOW THAT LITTLE ROBOT SOME HUMAN GUTS!"<br><br>-<RADIO: WMAT>- Female, British: Blackout huffs and pants over whistling wind. "Yes! I'm throwing bloody /rocks/!" WHIFF of something being thrown. "If you bastards don't like it--" WHIFF, "--you can go commentate somebody else's bloody match!" WHIFF. "Hah!"<br><br>-<RADIO: WMAT>- Toph Beifong says, "You still can't throw rocks like I do."<br><br>-<RADIO: WMAT>- Female, British: Blackout WHIFF! "Whatever! I still have--" WHIFF! "--a good throwing arm!" WHIFF! "--/Hold still you little rustbucket so I can give you some proper payback/!" WHIFF.

:'''{{#var:450|Zeno (450)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> Throwing rocks is a tactic handed down from humanity's ancestors in the before time, from the long long ago. And with a good arm... It is -still- a viable tactic.<br><br>Blackout seems to have a very good arm.<br><br>The bush rustles and Zeno is beset with an incoming swarm of-<br><br>Smack!<br><br>SMACK!<br><br>/SMACK!!!/<br><br>Curiously, that little piece of hardware is sturdier than it looks. In fact it might be sturdier than the shinki herself considering the pelting impacts batter her around, but the worst of it connects solidly with her head. A tiny yelp and Zeno is flung off her perch on one tiny branch and clatters to the ground, a crack running down her helmet, which she slogs off with a breathless grunt, letting it lay where she drops it.<br><br>NOW the world is nothing but a blur. Simply plopping her toy back into Slipway, she totters out. Stunned, dizzy, out in the open and in terrible cover as she suffers from a nasty case of rock-induced punch drunk confusion. It takes her a second, and the first thing she tries to get out of further harm's way might not be the best as she keys up the activation rune for the tiny space marine jump pack attached to her back.<br><br>Which launches her wholly for Juno in a sudden rocket propelled use of her own body as a projectile.

:'''{{#var:430|Satsuki Kiryuin (430)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> -&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "AND A ROCK SCORES A DIRECT BLOW TO ZENO'S HEAD!!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Houka Inumuta says, "It's debatable whether that has the same meaning for an android as it would a human, but it still seems to have stunned her at the very least. And she's stowed her weapon, as well."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama says, "What's she fiddling with on that backpack of hers, there-?"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Nonon Jakuzure says, "A rocket pack?!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "She's using herself as a battering ram! Blackout is going to be in trouble if she doesn't move!"

:'''{{#var:428|Juno Eclipse (428)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> While the shinki is momentarily stunned down below, Blackout takes the opportunity to check over her wounds as she clings to her rusted mast. So far, everything still seems to be within acceptable ranges, but she's going to need to cauterise those wounds. The railgun shot through her shoulder is literally through it, and it hurts like the dickens. There's blood staining the points of entry and exit, and the other places she'd been hit.<br><br>And suddenly there is a tiny rocket-powered shinki headed right for her.<br><br>For the second time, Juno squawks and loses her grip, knocked backward by the power of tiny rockets; falling again for the second time as she makes a desperate grab for another beam. She catches herself, fortunately.<br><br>As she does, she aims a vicious kick for the shinki; if she can get away with it, straight for the shinki's head.

:'''{{#var:430|Satsuki Kiryuin (430)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> -&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "AND BLACKOUT HAS TAKEN ANOTHER HIT TO KNOCK HER RIGHT OFF HER PERCH!! Letting herself get distracted for just a moment has proved to be her downfa- NO!! SHE'S MANAGED TO CATCH HERSELF AGAIN!!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Nonon Jakuzure says, "Hello, police? I'd like to file a noise complaint."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama says, "THAT'S RIGHT! KICK HER GOOD AND HARD!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Houka Inumuta says, "Honestly. If nothing else, you do have to admire her coordination. Not just anyone would be able to hang on and still manage to counterattack like that."

:'''{{#var:450|Zeno (450)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> /BAMF/.<br><br>For all those guts- or sheer drunken bad idea making- poured into that rocket-propelled slam, Zeno eats a boot to the head for her troubles. Without her helmet it's even worse as her jetpack cuts out and she's sent veering into a pillar with a tinny CLANG of impact.<br><br>By now her armor is cracked in places, and the grit of teeth says she's suffering as much Juno right now, if not more. Instead of trying to fly again she intends a different tactic, a new gun in hand, she aims it for Blackout mid-fall and squeezes the trigger.<br><br>It's a grappling gun. And her intent is to latch right onto the pilot and reel herself in. Because she has a tiny knife in hand. Juno will recognize this one. It's the same one the shinki introduced her to on the Rogue Shadow. And now she's trying to peck at her with it all over again.

:'''{{#var:430|Satsuki Kiryuin (430)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> &lt;J-IC-Moderated&gt; Satsuki Kiryuin&gt; Ira Gamagoori bellows, "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IF YOU ARE NOT TUNED INTO THIS CLASH BETWEEN THE CONFEDERATE PILOT KNOWN AS BLACKOUT AND THE LITTLE SHINKI CALLED ZENO, /YOU ARE MISSING OUT!!/" Nonon Jakuzure adds, "Tune in to 900.7 for all the delightful commentary from ~yours truly~... and a couple others." Mutter mutter. "I promise most of it isn't that deafening."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "And one single kick sends the Shinki careening into a pillar! A split-second decision on Blackout's part proves more than effective!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama says, "She's got the reflexes of a martial artist... or maybe a pro soccer player!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Houka Inumuta says, "She's also got some very interesting toys. I'm going to have to work on something similar. And-"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Nonon Jakuzure says, "Wait. What the hell is that in her hand?! I can't even see it, is it a toothpick?"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama says, "It's a tiny little knife! It looks like it was sized for the little robot, not Blackout!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "COULD THIS BE THE RETRIBUTION OF A PAST GRUDGE?! A STAB WITH HER OWN KNIFE?!"

:'''{{#var:428|Juno Eclipse (428)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> The mysterious pilot Blackout takes a moment to le-e-ean over on her beam, towards the desolate and lonely stand the commentators are using, which is quite a ways away from her current position. Fortunately it's really desolate out here and Blackout can be /really loud/ when she wants to be.<br><br>"OH, PUSH OFF!" Blackout calls, cupping a hand around the side of her mouth. "/YOU/ TRY GETTING IN HERE AND FIGHTING A BLOODY SIX-INCH-TALL DROID!"<br><br>Hmph.<br><br>That done, she turns with blaster in hand to greet her opponent. She's clinging tenaciously to the rusty I-beam as she does, as that piece of wreckage is her only real defense against gravity.<br><br>Suddenly there is a shinki hurtling for her again, this time on the end of a grappling hook, which is... stuck into her jacket.<br><br>Blackout frowns as she observes this, as though detached from the situation, considering what to do. While she could yank the grappling hook out, that would also tear a pretty significant chunk of her cold-weather gear with it. And that would be bad. She's not sure how long she's going to have to put up with things out here, and the cold here is intense enough to take an unprepared warrior down.<br><br>"Oh, fuck me," Blackout spits sourly, once she sees the tiny glint of that tiny knife. Oh, yes, she is well acquainted with that knife. It's the same goddamn thing that /carved her left eye out/. Protip, kiddies at home: Having one's eye replaced is an incredibly disconcerting, excruciatingly painful experience! Especially when performed by Nurse Medusa Gorgon.<br><br>So she does the first thing that comes to mind. She reaches into her pocket and attempts to crush the goddamn shinki with a rock, just as one would crush a particularly bothersome bug.<br><br>"What /is it/ with you and bloody /knives/?!"<br><br>-<RADIO: WMAT>- Female, British: Blackout calls, distantly; over whistling wind: "Oh, push off!" She may be counter-harassing her lively commentators. "/You/ try getting in here and fighting a bloody six-inch-tall droid!"

:'''{{#var:430|Satsuki Kiryuin (430)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> -&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Nonon Jakuzure says, "My my, it looks like a tiny little robot's knife isn't that big of a threat to a human after all. I feel bad for anyone who manages to get badly maimed by that~."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Houka Inumuta says, "Now now. Not just anyone could have deflected an attack like that. Zeno's movement patterns and reflexes are far above human average. It takes a certain degree of skill to manage that."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama deadpans, "And a rock."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "That's right! She's brought out a rock to deflect that tiny little knife and its tiny little owner with it! And she's not just blocking, SHE'S TRYING TO SMASH ZENO RIGHT OUT OF THE AIR!"

:'''{{#var:450|Zeno (450)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> Yes. It is that knife. Juno remembers it well, it would seem, as Zeno flings herself on that nigh-suicidal course towards her foe. Her grapple is rapidly reeling her in, and this means there's little time to react as she raises the blade, ready to re-introduce it to Blackout once more.<br><br>It is a simple case of the fact that Blackout is able to react quicker than the old soldier shinki could have anticipated. Faster, with more force, and a much larger, if improvised, weapon.<br><br>The dull -crack- of tiny armor plating hitting against stone resounds with a carrying echo that seems to float all across the Yunzabit Heights as Juno smashes Zeno down.<br><br>For a moment. The Shinki remains motionless where she lays in the permafrost, sprawled and splayed in a bad way like a crushed bug. Her armor is cracked and dented, scorched from blaster fire, and she's not moving. It takes a few seconds. A soft buzzing whirr of a jittery struggle to move before blue eyes peek open, leaving the little Zelnogrard biting on her lip as if in pain. And it takes some work for her to hoist her arms up, palms out. She just stays like that for a moment. Several silent beats.<br><br>"...I give."

:'''{{#var:430|Satsuki Kiryuin (430)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> -&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "AND THE ROCK SENDS THE LITTLE ROBOT FLYING LIKE A TENNIS BALL!!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama says, "IF SHE WERE TEN YEARS YOUNGER I'D HAVE MY NEW TENNIS CLUB PRESIDENT!"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "And Zeno is down on the ground, not moving! I'm not sure whether or not that blow damaged something vital, but- SHE'S STANDING UP!! The little robot is standing up, and-"<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Uzu Sanageyama hmph. "She knows when she's beat, it looks like."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Houka Inumuta says, "A wise call, all things considered."<br><br>-&lt;RADIO: WMAT7&gt;- Ira Gamagoori says, "ZENO HAS CEDED THE MATCH!! VICTORY IN THIS CONTEST GOES TO /BLACKOUT/!!!"

:'''{{#var:428|Juno Eclipse (428)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> The shinki goes spinning off, and it's all Blackout can do to stare after the tiny robot. She'd hit hard, but she hadn't expect to hit quite that hard. Well, not that it's done any permanent or crippling damage. It's still a surprise.<br><br>She slides down her post a bit, carefully craning her neck to see whether this turns out to be a fluke or not.<br><br>Nope. No fluke. Zeno manages to collect herself and offer up her surrender.<br><br>At exactly the same time, the rusted-out beam Juno had been clinging to emits a tremendous CRACK and begins teetering to one side. She manages to ride it down a short distance, apparently having anticipated this breakage; once it leans over at approximately forty-five degrees, she kicks off it, flailing a bit as she catches herself on another beam; from there shimmying down and making her way back to terra firma.<br><br>Yeah, maybe she's in shape, but it's still unnerving to be up there.<br><br>Blackout lands heavily in a three-point crouch, but the way she has her teeth bared suggests it's less cool than the movies, and more bone-jarringly painful in reality. It takes her a second or two before she can stand up again, wincing as she does. Shit, those wounds hurt.<br><br>"Nicely done," she affords the shinki, grinning and reaching up to sweep her hood back and pop off the goggles. She's pretty -- pale skin, pale blonde hair, pale blue eyes; hair frizzy from the hood. Her cheeks are red from the cold; wind-burnt. She'd shake hands but the whole of the shinki could probably /fit/ in one hand.<br><br>She crouches down, slinging the goggles around her wrist to carry them more easily, squinting against the wind. "You need any help getting back to the medics?"

:'''{{#var:450|Zeno (450)|| has posed:'''<br><span></span> There is such a thing as pride. Every soldier has it. Some moreso than others. Despite Zeno's own pride in her absolute professionalism, she is not a fool. Panting and doing her best to keep from moving too much, it looks like that rock -really- put her down hard.<br><br>Though for all her experience and combat knowledge, she also knows when to give. Yes, she easily would fit in Blackout's hand and...<br><br>"... Yes please."

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