3492/A Bad Time to Travel

A Bad Time to Travel
Date of Scene:	07 December 2015
Location:	Avatar World <AW>
Synopsis:	Union forces under Pepper's leadership escorts a trade caravan for the Beifong family when mercenaries and Confederates strike. Also, dino-train.
Cast of Characters:	Maya, 20, 132, 204, 368, 513, 604, 754, 801, 824, 857, 903

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Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Previously on Avatar:

    The interior of the Beifong estate, where Lao Beifong and Pepper Potts seem to be having a brief meeting. Lao himself speaks, his expression one of concern and worry.

    "The shipments have been stolen, people have been killed, wagons and beasts of burden destroyed..." Another sigh, and Lao forces himself to take another sip of the tea, as if seeking a way to calm his nerves. "It's pretty much clear that sending a regular escort is too dangerous, and more people will die." Here he looks at Pepper again, swallowing not only his pride. "We... need Elites to ensure the safety of the workers, the cargo and the future of the Beifong family."

    "I can't promise anything." Pepper replies quietly, and she sets her cup in her fingers, supporting it between them as they neatly steeple. She closes her eyes, and remains sitting ramrod straight.

    "You didn't endear yourself to the Union in general. Ordinarily, I would suggest putting a line out to The Syndicate for... mercenary work..." she dryly levels her gaze at Lao.

    "However." There's the softest of clicks as she sets the cup down, voice soft as a spring breeze -- and carrying with it the same chill malice of a spring snow at the same time. "I can understand your reasons behind what you did. I will find you protection for your caravan... on one condition."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Even in the southern Earth Kingdom the effects of the oncoming winter can be felt, especially along the coast. It's a treacherous route, but it's the better option for today. Considering the previous caravans sent up towards the Fire Nation colonies were ambushed by mercenary benders, the chances of it happening it again are rather high. So rather than settling for the safer and more commonly travelled roads further inland through the forests and mountain passes, today's band of wagons have begun on the coastal path. The winds are fierce here, and while it's a bit too far south to snow this early in winter, the rain is coming down rather heavily. The ostrich horses pulling the wagons are sturdy luckily, though they do protest. The workers inside the wagons aren't uneasy just because of the weather, of course. The previous workers who were sent up this way did meet an early demise after all, and the precious goods were destroyed or stolen.

    It had taken time to gather the necessary goods again, and not to mention convince potential workers to take the chance. But it does help when the Union is on security duty. Even so, Lao Beifong himself has joined the caravan, riding with some of the Elites who have been offered the opportunity to take turns guarding outside and taking a well deserved rest. It's been a long trek, after all. Several hours have passed, and the road isn't exactly the easiest to travel. Even the strong and sturdy ostrich horses has needed a break now and then.
    The Beifong patriarch has been quiet most of the trip, looking out of the window of the wagon with obvious concern. And his daughter is one of the Elites who haven't accepted the offer of riding inside the wagon for several reasons. Instead she is at the front of the caravan, clad in a cloak to help keep her dry even as she focuses on making sure that the road is stable and not about to crumble under the weight of the caravan, as well as keeping her senses open to whether this attack will be met by an attack like the previous ones.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Up on a cliffside overlooking the road below it should be even harsher weather conditions, but nonetheless the mercenary bender gang has chosen this spot to get a better view of the caravan when it arrives, themselves hidden behind rocks and trees that offer some shelter against the elements. And as the much awaited caravan approaches in the distance, one of the mercenaries turn to the others, as well as the hired Elites. Mostly Confederates, from what he was told. But seriously, they are a strange bunch. For one, there's the little talking fire ferret. It's more than a little weird. That's nothing compared to the big guy dressed in all black though, or the weird lady, the young fellow with the sword, the metallic mercenary... and a peculiar four legged talking creature unlike anything they've ever seen before.

    "Remember," he says to those gathered, "We need to make sure the caravan doesn't make it to Yu Dao one way or the other. Our employer has warned us that there will be Union Elites there, hired by the Beifong family. You guys handle them. Any questions?"

Teemo (801) has posed:
The talking fire ferret raises his little hand and pipes shrilly, "Is this gonna be a standup fight, sir, or another bughunt?"

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     Raine is here...wearing a hooded jacket over his usual ensemble...to fend off the rain.

     Seriously, who wrote this scenario!?

     Choosing a well hidden vantage point from behind a tree, the swordsman peered out over the cliffside at the path below while listening to the mercenary and his explanation. Raine's ghostly companion seemed to be less interested in the job, and more interested in flipping through a comic book of some sort. The weather seemed to phase right through her.

     "Make sure the caravan doesn't get to it's destination. Simple work..." Beat. "Simple work made harder by the Union. What a shame, what a shame." Raine shrugged his shoulders in a cavalier manner, smirking all the while. "Well. I got no questions. Stop the target from reaching it's goal, waylay Union Elites, and I'm gonna assume we keep the cargo as intact as possible. Anything else?"

Beelzebumon (132) has posed:
     Normally, Beelzebumon wouldn't think to hire himself out as a mercenary, but things have been rather... slow on the homefront, and Beelzebumon has been getting bored since the end of the Worlds Martial Arts Tournament. Besides, he happened to be in the bar these bandits frequented when they came looking for talent to help them with a job... and hey, more money = more booze, and booze always makes Beelzebumon happy.

     Speaking of which, Beelz is current laying on his side on a rock, with his head propped up on one hand, while the other holds a bottle of booze that he takes a swig from. He is largely indifferent to the downpour from the heavens, "S'long as I get to pound heads, I really could care less."

Eve (857) has posed:
    Mercenary work is a little unusual for someone like Eve, but she's more likely to sign up for something like this than for something that's clearly and obviously a war thing. Here, she doesn't HAVE to fight, not unless the caravan is attacked. And if they're attacked then she's defending people. Yes, this is much better than something directly warlike.

    She doesn't, however, ride along with some of the others in the caravan. Horses are HUGE, and these giant bird-horse things are perhaps even more menacing than a normal horse. Not that she's scared of them or anything of course. Not much. It's just that if Toph can walk, she can too.

    Fortunately Eve's tough, and she's strengthened a fair bit over the last few months. Good nutrition and exercise make quite a difference, and she has no trouble keeping up. The little blonde remains behind Toph, closer to the wagons than the front lines. She's not quite antisocial, but she doesn't really contribute much to casual conversation out of a certain stoicism.

Tesla Armadia (368) has posed:
Realistically, the Confederacy could likely just give the raiders whatever supplies they wanted, on terms of their support at a later time.

But realistic is boring. Especially in comparison to when you could be taking those supplies from your enemies and breaking anything else that belongs to them

Besides, it was nice when ones allies could be at least somewhat self reliant, instead of running to you for help every time someone got a proverbial black eye.

"Mmmhmm," is Tesla's primary reply to the rundown, as she's watching the caravan through a telescopic viewer. "Considering the Earth Nation isn't on the sturdiest of terms with the Union, you've done well in disrupting them if they've been willing to go this far for support."

Fiora Laurent (824) has posed:
    Fiora has deigned to bring her own mount, in this case. A sturdy creature, that she purchased before leaving with the rest of the caravan. Marching is for soldiers, and she is not one of those. She has a feeling Garen would bend over backwards at the opportunity, though. She sighs lightly, drawing the hooded cloak she's wearing over her normal attire a little closer, every time the wind whips up the cliff face.

"Hopefully not much longer, now. Goodness, this cold is something." She lets out a sigh, but keeps her guard up. She knows bandits, especially those who have money, to be the well-prepared sort. Even more true, with the potential for a large take, such as the caravan she's guarding.

Teemo (801) has posed:
"Button it, furball," the merc leader snaps, and since that's just about the reaction he'd been going for, Teemo just smirks and hops down from the rock he'd been standing on, the greyish/greenish/brownish of his all-weather cloak making him difficult to see amongst the grass and mud and rocks as he surveys the road below and starts picking his way along to a better intercept point. What of his white fluff is exposed, is swiftly matted down by rain and mud, and when he does finally come to a stop, behind the bole of a lightning-charred tree to crouch down and swing his pack off his shoulders, he becomes nigh invisible to the naked eye. He hums a silent tune inside his head as he swiftly, surely takes out the implements of his trade and starts shaping the poison charges into forms most resembling the rocks and fungus to be found along this particular road.

Finna (513) has posed:
    WHY, why oh why did it have to be raining? Finna would have gladly flown and soared around as a hawk or something. Or in a lighter rain, maybe a seagull.

    As it is, she's currently spending her time as a seagull WITH HAWK TALONS instead of seagull feet, all puffed up and perched atop a wagon. Looking all over for any signs of trouble!

    She is NOT happy. She wanted to enjoy good food and chatting things up with the festive caravan fleas! This caravan is, well...

    It's impressive, but it's got nothing on the Guild's caravans that she's always happy to take advantage of. And short of caravan fleas there should be good food.

    Instead, there's a lot of rain. WHY is this such a problem?

    Because rain mucks with vision. It slows travel. It throws off scent. It is the PERFECT TIME to attack a caravan.

    That's why Finna has dutifully chosen to NOT follow her stomach's lead and is instead toughing it in the rain. "There better be good food when this is all over," She grumps.

    Today was supposed to be a fun day.

    She is in such a horrible mood that anyone using binoculars or whatever that might randomly spot the bird might find themselves gulping and blood running cold at the sheer waves of UNCANNY FRUSTRATION rolling from the seagull's ruffled feathers as it preens and peers about.

Maya has posed:
Maya was willint to help with the escort duty, and she'd been fairly prompt to show up. The Earth Kingdom also had terrain much like Maya's home shell and that made her feel a bit more at ease even if the wildlife was crazy. So many mammels and reptiles of various stripes rather than giant insects, arachnids and Helgak. Eitgher way it would be an adventure or at lest anotehr chance to see more of the Earth Kingdom itself.

Still given who it was Maya was shocked but well she's still here and even so she's now wondering just what to do here. Rain didn't bother Maya at all, she loved the rain it was a rare thing in Oasis and generally turned into a party when it happened she looked over to Finna for a moment.

"What's wrong Finna? I thought you would adore the elements and be dancing in the rain, Fates Know if I wasn't working I just might."

Ebon Ribbon (903) has posed:
     The strange-looking four-legged creature watches from the shadows of a large tree and the brush around its base, staying low to the ground to try and avoid detection. Only her tail moves every now and then, much like a cat lying in ambush. And she is not enjoying the rain. Her usually expertly styled mane and tail have both gone flat from the dampness, and she is desperately trying to hold her tail up out of the mud. Had she known it would be raining, she would have made proper preparations!

     But, Ebon Ribbon is dealing with it for now. But, she is unwilling to wait for long. Once the caravan is within range, she targets the lead wagon's beasts-of-burden. Her ribbons strike out with the swiftness of snakes, seeking to entangle the legs of the ostrich horses and start draining them of strength. If there are additional wagons, she sends out ribbons toward the second wagon as well. Her plan? To stop the forward progress of the caravan and make them a sitting target for explosives and benders.

HK-47 (754) has posed:
     It was likely plaintively obvious that he disliked the concept of 'Earthbenders' very much. More so then he did even for regular meatbags. The reason why was also, very easily, discernible to the naked eye - for his processor subroutines at least. Namely that they twisted the 'natural order' of things.

     Droids were, in every conceivable way, far superior to the common meatbag amalgam of frail flesh-sack container pulled grotesquely taunt over a jumble of soft, squishy liquidious components and supported by a fragile carbon-calcium skeletal structure. And yet... to think there were such creatures out there that could warp and rend durable polymers and hardened alloys as if they were the frail flesh-coverings of a meatbag themselves was nothing short of a gap in logic.

     It was illogical. It was not possible... and yet, he had witnessed it all too often to dispute the effectiveness of this. The outcome of when the natural order was utterly inverted - when simple, lumpen meatbags could rip apart droids with the same efficiency and ease that a droid could disassemble a meatbag.

     Yes... to say HK-47 had come to loathe the very concept of Earthbenders was a /gross understatement/. And this particular meatbag was one he now had something of a very personal grudge against. As close to a 'nemesis' as the droid could comprehend a meatbag becoming.

     One he would like nothing more then to leave as mere scatterings of ash by the end of the day.

     The droid is currently garbed in light clothes - a simple shirt and pants with bandages and cloth-covers on his arms and legs. All precautions to try and blunt his metal body from being detected easily - by Earthbenders or scanners - by using the cloth bindings on his feet to limit direct contact with surfaces. This is finished off by a waterproof cloak camo-patterend for the area to protect against the heavy rainfall. As a further precaution, HK had, upon breaking off from the group, decided to set up 'shop' so to speak in a treetop blind, finding a branch sturdy and large enough to support his metal body... and with the cold wind and rain, his plate-temperature was likely cold enough to avoid thermal detection or infra-red vision - at least until he started shooting.

     For the moment though, he was training sights on the caravan, lining his rifle's scope up with the cloaked, hooded figure that held the lead for the group... honing in on where her head would be.

     Just a bit closer... that would be all he'd need. And then the Earthbender would be nothing more then a memory.

     And woe to any meatbag that tried to get in his way.

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
    LIstening to everyone over the shortband, Potts was above the caravan in flight. The red and silver of the RESCUE armor gleaming on what was an orignarily peaceful, rainy day. Down below she keeps her tabs on the caravan, not yet hyperventilating.

    WHyw ould she be hyperventilating? This was the first real mission without Tony. Her daughter was involved /AND/ the elder Beifong had also decided to partake. This could be bad.

    Very bad.

    She comes down, closer to the caravan and hovers neatly above it, keeping an eye on Toph, whose ground progress was setting the pace for everyone involved.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Whatever the fire ferret is talking about doesn't seem to sit well with the mercenary leader, and he lets out a huff as the creature heads off down towards the road. As long as it doesn't alert the caravan to their presence he doesn't care. Instead he turns towards Raine. "The goods are worth a lot, the workers however are expendable." He glances at Beelzebumon before he continues. "Pound their heads in for all I care, as long as the job gets done. Otherwise we don't get paid." Which is kind of why they are here. When Tesla mentions the fickle bond between the Earth Kingdom and the Union, he chuckles. "Well, the earthbenders are stubborn and got thick skulls, I don't blame them." In response to that one of the other mercenaries lets out a huff of obvious disapproval, which causes the merc leader to glance at him. "What? It's true." Sure, there might be firebenders, earthbenders and even a waterbender in the group, but they are still getting used to working together after a war that lasted for a century.

    It had been a bit strange with how Eve had declined to ride in the wagon, but Toph hadn't pressed the issue and only shrugged it off when the younger girl had decided to instead follow closely behind her as she walks ahead of the caravan. Eve isn't a tough earthbender, and she's a bit on the small side, but it would be hypocritical of Toph to push her aside. Maybe she will learn and toughen up from this, who knows? Instead she focuses on the area around them, only speaking up in response to Fiora. "Yu Dao shouldn't be too far away from what father said during our last stop." The other Union members should easily have noted how tense the situation had been between Toph and her father, and they had barely exchanged words during the stops they had taken on the journey today. "And I'm sure we can eat when we get there," she assures Finna.

    Suddenly Toph halts however, and her eyes widen as she's already moving into a bending stance. "Behind the trees!" she calls out. Perhaps it would have been easier for Ebon Ribbon to blend in if she had resembled any of the local fauna, like Teemo who goes unnoticed for now. Ebon's ribbons do manage to strike the lead ostrich of the first wagon, and the large bird lets out a startled sound! There are many of them though, two for each wagon, and they are far apart, so it might take time to get them all. Not to mention that the earth underneath the pony reacts, and a series of earthen spikes shoot up, an attempt to knock the pony back or the very least disrupt her in whatever she is doing.

    As HK-47 isn't on the ground it's impossible for Toph to see him, and if he's far enough away she can't sense the metal in his body either.

    When they realise the caravan has been alerted, the mercenaries head on down the slope, the earthbenders sliding down on earthen plates, and the firebenders and the lone water bender are close behind.

Beelzebumon (132) has posed:
     ""Welp, looks like it's time to cause a little chaos." Beelzebumon says with a shrug as he polishes off the last of his booze and gets up, then swaggers over to where Behemoth is parked, before climb on board.

     One settled onto his machine of war, he takes a moment to fetch a rather nasty looking chain and hook from the stowage compartment, then guns the throttle with his other hand as he releases the brake pedal... and with a sudden roar, the biker demon tears off down the hill, swinging his chain over his head with a wild war cry.

     Then as he comes into range of one of the lead wagons, he heaves his arm forward and hurtles the hook towards the wheels of one of the wagons as he aims to snare the wheel spokes with the intent to tear it clear off as the chain goes taut.

Fiora Laurent (824) has posed:
    "Ah, that is a small comfort, at least." Fiora replies, urging her mount forward with a light kick of her heels. She draws back on the reigns, however, when she notices Toph's very sudden change in demeanor, and quickly draws her sword. "To arms!" She calls back to the other wagons behind, and anyone else, Elite or otherwise, who might not be immediately aware of the situation. There are several calls for such, in fact. But, in this sort of situation, it pays to have your attackers come to you. So, Fiora wraps the reins around her free hand, her sword in the other, as she awaits the bandit's charge.

She also makes note to circle back around to the wagon that Toph's father is in. "I see them. Let them come to us."

Tesla Armadia (368) has posed:
Now the fun begins.

The unicorn manages to at least slow down the beasts of burden with her attack, which is all that is necessary. The stall will be enough time for HK-47 to get his shot while Teemo and the mercenaries move in. Likely Beelzebumon will just follow their lead and start destroying whatever. The raiders likely won't fight too long if they prioritize the stealing of supplies though.

Unlike the more... ethusiastic members of the raiding party Tesla takes her time to calculate her options, even as the magnifier slides away from her usual battle visor. Her sights are already set on a specific wagon after peering through its windows.

A pulse from her kinetic boosters are enough to launch herself off the cliff, down to the caravan, and land with a hefty thud atop the wagon. The technopath's gauntlet glows briefly, and then she slams it right into the roof of the wagon. A very specific wagon. Forget the material resources, as appropriate for someone of her rank and infamy Tesla Armadia has gone directly for the elder's wagon, and the prime political target within.

Needless to say, someone probably wants to get her down off that wagon before she breaks through it entirely.

HK-47 (754) has posed:
     And there is the opening! As the Earthbender is distracted by the ribbons... HK-47's disruptor rifle charges and discharges, a bolt of purplish-white disruptor energy lancing out of the trees like lightning for Toph Beifong's center of mass.

     As a disruptor rifle, it could bypass energy shielding... and was was lethal so long as it struck head-on, so he did not ned to focus on the head as opposed the easier-to-target torso. The odds were not in the meatbag's favor.

     Toph will likely recognize the effects of the disruptor rifle... if she survives the opening attack.

     He takes note of the form of the Rescue armor - one of the meatbag Metalbender's parental units.

     How befittingly perfect. She would be able to bear witness to her surrogate successor-unit's death-by-atomization.

Eve (857) has posed:
    Eve has plenty to prove, at least in her own view. She's new to the Union side, and hasn't fought much in open battle. Training, sure... but at some point the training wheels need to come off. The irony of course is that no one else has any reason to think Eve has something to prove. And the one she most wants to impress, the one she considers her own personal rival because she's a young and skilled warrior, has no reason to even consider her in that way.

    Eve doesn't look like much, to be sure. Dressed in a long rain-cloak, her hair tucked away, she looks like nothing much at all. The only thing that might make her seem at all intriguing is the metal umbrella she carries. It glistens in the rain and does a fine job of keeping the wet from the girl beneath. Why anyone would carry such a needlessly-heavy implement as a metal umbrella is the question however. Either she's stronger than she looks - which wouldn't be hard - or the umbrella isn't entirely what it appears.

    Eve is quick to respond at the cry of alarm. She turns her head, studying the attack for a moment, then breaks into a run. Her cloak streams out behind her, her umbrella held before her, still serving to keep the rain from her. And... acting as a shield as well? It does look vaguely shield-shaped, should anyone be paying the girl any heed.

    Between the Earthbender and the wagons, Eve is in good position to respond to the attacks on the lead wagons. She studies the snakelike ribbons for a moment, then collapses the umbrella and slashes away at them. The metal pole grows edges, somehow turning seamlessly into a sword. It doesn't fold and extend, not like a mechanical transformer. The tool flows and expands, shaping itself seemingly organically into a weapon.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     "Heh. Got it."

     That said, once the cue was given, by way of Toph noticing their overall presence. "Well, looks like the party's started. Time to dance." Grinning, Raine conjured up a sword of black and red, hoisting it onto his shoulder. "'ey, Fragarach! Time to move!" He called back behind him to the ghostly girl floating in the air and flipping through a manga.

     She sighed and gave him a sidelong glance before quietly glaring and floating after him, the book tucked away into some manner of portal. Raine then slid down the cliffside with the mercenary benders, red energy gathering over his sword. "Annnnd we're gonna need you to stop moving!"

     Gripping his weapon, he lifted it and swung inwards, sending a volley of energy bursts hurtling towards the wheels of the rear caravans, aiming to break them and force immobility. He didn't immediately look to engage any specific Union Elite yet.

Teemo (801) has posed:
Teemo freezes for a split second as the caravan leader suddenly looks and shouts in his direction, and then the earth erupts a short distance away at Ebon's hiding spot. He swears softly under his breath, makes sure his prepared charges are secured to his belt for easy access, and then dashes out from behind his tree, keeping to the cover of the rocks and brush along the side of the road as much as possible. To the untrained eye, between his camouflaged cloak and muddy fur, probably just looks like a wet, filthy animal spooked and fleeing blindly for its life. An illusion bolstered by the crowd of small birds that spook up out of a clump of tough grass where they'd been sheltering, flying up and every which way in a cone of flapping wings and chaotic cawing as he runs through.

What he's really doing, of course, is taking as much advantage of the initial surprise as he can -- since he's evidently not to be allowed to do his customary leisurely ambush from behind -- to dart suddenly between the dancing legs of the ostrich horses, and dive under the lead wagon. He takes in the construction of the undercarriage at a glance, and one little hand lashes out to stick what looks like a clod of mud to the front axle, just left of center. It's a swift, practiced maneuver, his thumb depressing the timer on the charge as he speeds past without breaking stride. He dashes out from under the opposite side of the wagon and dives for the grass on the other side of the road.

Ebon Ribbon (903) has posed:
     Ebon expected a quick response from the targets, but did not expect to be targeted so directly and accurately from her cover. The pony lets out a pained cry as those earthen spikes explode upward, knocking her upward and back. Her ribbons are disrupted by the attack, and Ebon lands on her back in a mud puddle, which of course splashes all over her.

     When Ebon rises, she looks more like a chocolate pony than a normal one, her eyes blinking away a bit of mud before she wipes it off with a ribbon. "Ug...why is there so much mud around here?" she snorts in annoyance, then gallops toward the lead wagon.

     Even after the attack, Ebon Ribbon doesn't target a person. Without the ostrich horses, moving those wagons will be difficult, so she continues targeting them and leaves the destruction or commandeering to others more capable of such things. As she closes in, she extends all five of her negative energy streamers, banking on the likelyhood that the members of the Union and Earth Nation will be focusing on those who are actually attacking them. Three ribbons wrap around one of the lead horses, and two wrap around the other, focusing on their legs and necks. The binding is bad enough, but Toph knows first hand how sapping the ribbons are. The already tired bird things are sure to succumb.

     At least, that is Ebon's plan.

Maya has posed:
The caravan has come under attack there's a number of dangerous feds here but she only knows a few. Tesla is quick to mak herself known even as the rain comes down she's bursting into an attack leaving Fina behind, she knows the Lunar can handle her self for now she plans to keep Tesla off the caravan and she's moving in. She would find a Blurr of motion coming towards her and the roar of a rifle opening up as Maya closes in on her.

"Armadia, it seems I was right to come here. If your involved the Confederate are doing more than just a smash and grab!"

Also when HK is noticed it makes it doubly so.

Fiora Laurent (824) has posed:
    "Merde!"

Fiora curses, letting go of her mount and quickly jumping up onto its back, pushing off with her feet and hurling herself at Tesla, as she spots the incoming attacker. She's not seeking to stop the aerial assault, but if she can knock it off center, she can at least spare Lao Beifong from being crushed by it. The wagon, unfortunately, might not be so lucky.

Fiora also has to adjust for where she's going, now, too. Which is into the back of the wagon behind that one. She can't do much more than brace for that unpleasant and likely painful experience. Thankfully, it looks like Maya is moving in to handle that particular angle, so Fiora rolls out of the back of the wagon, sword still in hand. Just in time to catch glimpse of something darting around beneath them. ".. Oh, gods, I hope to King Jarvan's name, that's not who I think it is.." She mutters, followed by another curse, and some sort of foul word that's further followed by 'mushroom'.

If that IS who she thinks it is, now there's two assassins in their midst.

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
    Potts had seen the attack start in. She wasn't the leader type, she didn't bark orders, but she did see a familiar form pop up on her HUD.
    "It appears that the charge in that riffle may contain antiarmor proporties, Miss Potts -- it is doubtful that the shields this suit is equiped with will withstand--" Jarvis begins, but Potts is already on the move, activating one of the heavy-duty energy sheilds in her wrist armor. The woman in the armor then digs down into the dirt, casting up a rain of rocks, roots, boulderish debris and creating a deep trough in the earth, trying to disrupt the blaster before it could reach her daughter.

    And she sternly looks, the disapproving, waspish face of her suit taking in the chaos of the battlefield.

    "In lieu of Tony being here... waste 'em." Potts replies, giving a look over to Toph.

Finna (513) has posed:
    "Dancing in the snowwwww, dancing in the SNOW!" Finna counters sing-songily, only to whip around at the strange sound of BAD THINGS happening. A lot of bad things! Disruptor rifles going off and - "That's my cue!" Finna yelps at Maya.

    Cue for what?

    There's no time to ASK because she just dives into the woods as if that is that.

    And... well... really... IT IS.

    Because Finna is not seen again anytime soon.

    Instead....

    WHUMP-CRASH-THUNk-RAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOSHCRK!! TREES Are felled and toppled and the ground rumbles and shudders. As if some great drill were bursting up towards the surface. A colossal, muffled bellow echoes from the woods, the path parallel to the road...just slightly diagonally heading towards it... and in no time at all a corridor of foliage is smashed clean through by SOMETHING moving at PRODIGIOUS speeds. The source of this rumble must be MIGHTY for EVERYONE can feel the ground shake. That's when the head of a TYRANNOSAURUS REX breaches the tree line, toothy maw wide open and bellowing an eardrum-shattering ROAR at the road ahead.

    Seated cross-legged with dignity, arms folded, right atop the very head of this beast... is LAO BEIFONG. Stalwart and sure of himself.

    As the mounted TYRANT LIZARD breaks free of the trees and comes crashing onto the road it becomes quite clear that the attackers may have made an atrocious tactical error. This two-legged beast's harnessed and chained to a wagon. A wagon of bark-colored wood and enrusted with rich jade decorations. But not just ONE wagon.

    As it goes barreling down the road at galloping speeds - making no small amount of HORRIFIC bangings and the rattlings of wheels and craking wood - THREE MORE WAGONS EMERGE, each connected to the last like train cars. It is a WAGON TRAIN full of riches, being pulled by a GREAT AND MIGHTY LIZARD that only a MASTERFUL MERCHANT could hope to purchase or tame, let alone ride. Looking more carefully, these wagons DO look like train cars, albeit covered in mud. Mud, mud, and more mud.

    Mud is kicked up in their wake in huge, sloshing torrents.

    And this creature isn't stopping for ANYTHING. It has one speed setting: CHAAAAAARGE!

    Oh dear.

    The 'real caravan' is leaving the attackers in the dust.

    Nobody's getting paid if those riches get away!

Eve (857) has posed:
    While Eve could cheerfully cut ribbons all day, she's not particularly sure it's doing any good. The horsebirds seem to be entangled, but it seems a rather minor problem. There are other threats, and she isn't about to be side-tracked opposing just one relatively minor threat!The boy with the red-glowing sword, for example, is a much more obvious threat. Eve, looking grim, turns towards him and breaks into a fleet-footed charge, her silvery sword held before her. "Why don't you try picking on someone your own size!" she cries out, pointing the blade at Raine as she charges. This is, of course, completely illogical. For one thing he's attacking wagons bigger than he is. For another, she's not his size. Probably far from it. Hopefully it at least gives him something to consider and to focus his attention on.

    As she charges, Eve forms up her left hand before her, spreading silvery metal out from her fingers until she holds a small shield before her as well as the narrow-bladed sword. No point in being an entirely defenseless target if he's got some kind of magical ranged laser-blade attack right?

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Inside the third wagon Lao Beifong can't help but notice the disturbance outside, and he leans up close to the window, only to let out a startled gasp as /something/ rushes past. And he's even more shocked when the wagon in front of his is broken as one of the wheels is torn off. The wagon drivers and the workers are easily panicked, sticking to the wagons and afraid to rush off into the forest. With the ocean cliffside behind them there's nowhere to run. When Tesla lands on the wagon, easily the most luxurious one, the people inside startle and gasp, turning their heads upwards. Only to scream when Tesla slams her gauntlet into the ceiling.

    Up at the front of the caravan Toph's head jerks slightly to the side as she hears a familiar voice crying out, shock on her face. "... father!" Man, there are many of them approaching, and Toph silently mouths a 'thanks' under her breath when she hears Maya engage Tesla. Which means that her father isn't left unprotected. Which means she can focus on the incoming benders. Though idly she wonders why that silly fire ferret is running /towards/ the caravan. Stupid animal.

    Speaking of which, the ostrich horses are easily affected by the ribbons as they are mere beasts, easily falling prey to the attacks, not to mention unable to get away considering they are fastened.

    What's surprising to Toph is the fact that Pepper... is digging up dirt? Though she hears the order from her mom, even if she technically outranks Pepper, Toph isn't about to disobey a command like that. Perhaps she's glad to not know just what Pepper intercepted. "Already on it!" Toph calls out, then throws her arms forward, causing an earthen explosion to happen just as the mercenary benders reach the bottom of the slope. One of them cries out as he sails through the air and tumbles down the cliffside into the waiting water of the ocean, and the others fall roughly down to the ground, momentarily stunned.


    Stunned is also the reaction that the workers and caravan crew has when the tyrannosaurus roars its mighty arrival, and they stare, mouths agape.

    "It's a dragon!"

    "Wait, isn't that...?!"

    As the unusual dino train advances down the road, Toph just stands there, looking mighty confused, frozen in a bending stance. The comments on the Union tactical band doesn't help either, and some people nearby might hear her let out a loud 'WHAT?!' as she speaks into her radio. Finna's distraction has certainly worked, and not only on the Feds it seems. Of course the one who looks the most confused is Lao as he stares up at the large beast... and what looks like himself sitting on its head.

    Meanwhile some of the workers spot the pony, and one of them cries out. "That thing is hurting the ostrich horses!" Well, turns out that some of them are earthbenders, which should be made clear as some of them kick into the ground and launch several rocks in Ebon's direction.

Beelzebumon (132) has posed:
     Beelzebumon cackles as the wheel tears away, then gives his wrist a flick and sends a snap running through the chain that throws the dislodged wheel off, before reeling his chain back in for another go.

     And then... a god damn /T-REX/ goes charging past, with a snooty looking rich guy perched on it's head and a train of wagons hitched to it.

     With a loud screech, Beelzebumon skids to a stop and just stares, gobsmacked as the Dino-Train crashes away through the woods, before throwing his arms up in the air, "/THE FUCK?/"

     Then he grabs onto both handles and guns his engine as he wheels about, before tearing off in pursuit of the T-Rex, because seriously, how often can you say the words 'And then after I chased down the T-Rex'...

     "GET BACK HERE YOU GIANT HANDBAG!"

HK-47 (754) has posed:
     The droid feels frustration mount within his behavior core as the disruptor shot impacts the torrent of earthen debris, sending a blast of immolated stone and roots scattering outwards in a micro-explosion as the disintegrator-shot's power is diffused.

     Then... for some indiscernible reason, the trees exploded outward as an immense creature that they /should/ have been able to detect well beforehand suddenly emerged out of the woods... carrying what looked like Lao Beifong and four jewel-encrusted wagons out with it.

     ...

     What a confounding display.

     Was this supposed to be the true caravan? If so... why draw such attention to it? Why encrust it in gemstones and advertise it as having supposed monitory value? Why have the head of house sitting atop the creature's skull in the rain and wind when meatbags were so very /timid/ of so much as a light twist of the joints?

     No... in all likelihood, /this/ was a decoy - it was too flamboyant and grandiose a display to be anything but... and he would not be indulging in it. Perhaps the fact that he doesn't reflexively chase the caravan will clue others in... but he doesn't take the time to access his radio.

     To him, the caravan was more of a secondary goal - one he preferred to let his 'allies' handle. His primary objective was more... personal. Namely, the extermination of that miserable meatbag Earthbender... only now he had her parental unit to focus on.

     Well... it seems he would have to Already, he's charging up another shot - again, he aims for the Earthbender while she is distracted by the chaos herself; it seems that distractions can work both ways.

     And this time... the droid decides to rub salt into the wound as, after firing - which has likely already given his position away to rescue - HK-47 takes the time to reply to Pepper's 'waste 'em' comment and taunt Toph at the same time... with a recording of Toph's own voice.

     An angry, panicked shriek that Toph will likely very well remember the circumstances of which she said the following words - "SAY THAT TO MY FACE ON EVEN GROUND, YOU LILY LIVER!"

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     Raine smirked as one of the wagons loses wheel functionality. "Heh. That's one down. Now for the next!" He mused aloud, flippingg his sword and gripping it in reverse as it began to glow red again. But right as he was about to let loose another burst of energy fire...something distracted him.

     'Why don't you try picking on someone your own size!'

     "Whuh-" Raine paused. A brief moment of stillness setting in as the rain pattered over his hood. "That's weird. I could /swear/ I just heard someone tell me to pick on someone their own si-" Fragarach sighed again, coming to a stop a short distance behind the swordsman. "Look ahead, fool." At her behest, Raine did just that, finally seeing Eve.

     "Oh. ...Ohhhhh. It's you!" Pointing at her with his free hand, he made an expression of clarity. "But wait...what?" And then reality kicked in. "Wait, wait...you said 'your own size, right?" Beat. He looked her up and down, despite the blade being pointed at him. "Uh....So what does 'own size' entail here? 'cause you don't seem to be three thousand pounds to me." He brought a hand to his chin at that point, grinning mischievously.

     "I mean, like...unless you ARE. But hey, appearances can be deceiving, yeah?" At that point, Fragarach rolled her eyes. "Get serious. She means you harm." Raine sighed and shrugged following that. "Right, right. Fine, fiiiiiine." Shenanigans out of the way, the black clad youth took a stance. "Sorry girl. Business is business. Try not to hate me too much." And then he dove forward, not directly at Eve, but aiming to pass by her. And in the process, he let loose a quick slash from his sword, gripped in reverse and cloaked in crimson energy. "Now then, let's get down to work!"

     As that T-Rex barreled out of the treeline and off ahead, it took a supreme force of will for Raine not to stop and just gape. But let it be known, his ridiculousness quota has just been reached for the day.

Ebon Ribbon (903) has posed:
     Ebon, having downed the lead ostrich horses, or hostriches as she has decided to call them in her head, wonders what else a pony might do that doesn't involve getting any more dirty. Then...T-REX! Ebon doesn't know exactly what a T-Rex is, but she knows it is big, it has very dangerous looking teeth, and it is far too large for her to stop on her own. Draining something that large could take forever, and it would be nearly impossible for her to trip it.

     So, what is a pony to do when encountering a huge predator that is apparently pulling the real wagons? Well, Beelz seems to be after the dino, and there are still wagons over here.

     "Ow!" Ebon suddenly cries out in what to the Earth benders must be a surprisingly human voice. Their thrown rocks pummel her sides and one even catches her in the brow, drawing a trickle of blood. Ebon blinks as she feels the trickle, then bears her teeth at the benders. "You will regret that." she says with a grin, then her sinister streamers lash out at the workers. Instead of grabbing them, she whips them with the ribbons. Each blow would be like a bullwhip, not to mention the dose of life energy it would take with it.

Teemo (801) has posed:
Teemo crawls on his elbows into a taller patch of grass, the clock in his head counting down from the moment he depressed the timer on the explosive charge. Three... two... one...

There is a sudden loud WHUMP! from the underside of the lead wagon as the front axle snaps, dropping the wagon's nose into the mud with a great crunching thud, the vehicle's own weight compounding the damage to itself. A haze of choking miasma spreads upward from beneath the wagon, causing the ostrich-horses, driver, and anyone else who passes through it to cough and gag from the eye-watering, stinging vapours. It diffuses relatively quickly though, pounded back down into the dirt by the driving rain.

The Yordle grins to himself and makes his way further down the caravan line, keeping low (an easy task when you're barely three feet tall), and pauses by a bush to lob another of his little gifts toward the second wagon. A small, compact object about the shape and size of one of the local mushrooms bounces once and rolls toward the wheels of the vehicle before coming to a stop with an almost inaudible click as it quietly arms itself. It's right in the path of the second wagon! And quickly becoming indiscernable from the terrain around it, as dirty water sloshes over it.

Tesla Armadia (368) has posed:
Someone still has it in the decency of their heart to rush to the aid of the Beifong patriarch, even if he tends to be a callous jerk to outsiders as well of his own family. Or make it look like he wasn't in the wagon at all, but we'll get to that a few lines down.

Perhaps the only mistake Maya made in doing so was call out the technopath's name. It's just enough of a forewarning for Tesla to look up, and brace herself for the Junker's charge.... Except Fiora comes at her while Maya is shouting at her. Tesla manages to hop back out of the way of Fiona, but it does get her off of the wagon in doing so. She can't dodge both would-be attackers in the same limited span of time even if she knows it's coming though. Maya's lunge is enough to plow into her even as she digs her heels in to arrest the recoil and keep from skidding too far away as she grapples with her attacker.

At the accussaion of her presense? Tesla just smiles smugly, an added bit of ominousity from the rain splatter trickling down her visor. "What can I say? Harassing the last world got boring when Defiant retired."

Of course that is when an extremely more awesome enactment of 'Dinosaur Train' comes barreling out of the woods and down the path past the first caravan ... and sitting upon the dinosaur's head was... wait, was that possible? Had the Union actually thought to utilize a decoy? It wasn't out of the realm of possibility, the Beifong elder riding personally on the caravan was.. hmmm....

Back to the matter at hand. "It would seem your allies are prehaps more devious than anticipated." .. Wait, did that sound like a compliment? Maybe a back-handed one; Tesla isn't unknown for at least appreciating an effort. It was an impressive effort.

There's only one way to find out if the wagon she originally attacked has the authentic occupant or not. Namely, break it open.

Which she does by picking up Maya and throwing HER at the Beifong's wagon. Two birds with one stone and all that.

Fiora Laurent (824) has posed:
    Fiora knows, right away, the telltale sound and sight of the all-too familiar cloud of noxious gas of one of the Swift Scout's weapons of choice. "Stay clear!" She calls out, quickly rushing to the location she saw that second mine tumble towards. It's very difficult to spot, if you didn't see it set there, but thankfully, she caught a glimpse of it. Carefully testing the wet ground, she feels something and thrusts her sword at it.

There's a weak little 'PUFF' of that violet mist, but not at all the same conflagration that erupted from the other one, when it exploded under the other wagon. "Now then, my little friend.. Where might /you/ be?" Fiora turns in a circle, sword at the ready. Particularly, the bushes and grass are areas she pays more attention to.

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
    Inside the helmet, Potts' eyes narrow. Her HUD lights up as she straightens. "All right." she says, and she prepares. She brings her arms up, shield emitters powering up before she brings her hands up, and she leaves Toph's side. The suit moves fast enough to rouse dust in its wake, coming up upon HK-47.

    She tries to get face-to-face with him, the robotic scowl of Rescue, the bright yellows of the glowing "eyes" flaring blrightly as she powers up.
    "Waste 'em." she replies to his challenge, and unleashes a bright blast from the repulsers in her hands.

Maya has posed:
Maya is more than happy to help Fiona is catpable Maya knows that much from her being involved with the minstry of war on her world, and she's thankful for the help as well. Maya is very muych now intent on dealing with Tesla and keeping her from Mr. Beifong even if she's very not fond of the man. He'd suffered enough after all and now it seems TEsla is on her a game today, maybe it was a mistake but Maya's not one to often go for the back stab. Only a few have ever pushed her that far and most have wandered off fromt his secotor or are long dead. EIther way she's closing now andf catches Tesla for a moment.

"So looking for new stimultion? Is that it for you? Your just so bored you turned to things like this? Pitty, the things you could build if you put your mind to it."

the pauir grapple a little bit longer but it looks like Maya' gong to get launched at the wagon, and she is. However she grabs something about her neck, mutters and wings form from her back made of ewnergy and she darts upwards.

"Catch me if you can Tesla!"

she then launches a burst of flame as she pulls out a single fate card.

Eve (857) has posed:
    Perhaps unfortunately for Raine, the little blonde has no practical understanding of buffonery and jokes. She understands them intellectually, at least somewhat, but the nanowielder simply lacks experience in japery. She just scowls at him in a manner of annoyance, readying her blade as her reply.

    She's caught only slightly off-guard by Raine's dive, but she's trained against a number of agile foes. Thanks to Zephyr Windstar and Yunomi, she's at least somewhat used to both speed and deception. Eve dives forward herself, turning a neat one-armed somersault using her shield as the pivot, coming up out of range of the slash.

    Eve sizes Raine up, also giving a look at Fragarach. If the ghost girl isn't going to do anything though, Eve'll be content to leave her as a noncombatant. "Just business?" she asks, holding her blade steady before her. It begins to change, thickening, rounding, shortening... and gaining little studs. "This should be easier then. I just have to thump you until you decide it's not worth what you're paid." she states, perhaps a bit optimistically. Still, that bone-crushing club is at least somewhat intimidating, right? Perhaps not as intimidating as an elegant sword, but Eve seems to think the tradeoff worthwhile. She darts forward, trying to take advantage of her small size to get inside quickly and begin delivering the pain.

Finna (513) has posed:
    Handbag?

    HANDBAG!

    If that was really a T-Rex it would be offended.

    After all, it is worth at least a hundred giant handbags. AT LEAST.

    The T-Rex picks up the pace though! Somehow it's capable of pulling that WAGON TREE at speeds that ALMOST exceed Beelzebumon's bike. Even in this mud. There's something WEIRD about the tracks it's leaving though. One would expect footprints and wagon wheel grooves. instead there's no proper tracks at all. Even the T-Rex prints are mostly squashed inside oddly shaped sideways trenching and zigzaggy patterns in the mud.

    The closer Beelzebumon gets though, the weirder this arrangement gets. The encrusted jade decorations are far too leafy. the wagon construction is covered in bark. Every exposed wood surface is barky...

    Hey, now that he's really staring at it, he's chasing a tree. He's right behind a HUGE tree that was just RIPPED FREE OF THE GROUND. The torn roots are off to his left and up ahead are three more trees. There's no wagons here! Just trees. Trees and a T-Rex.

    A T-Rex that isn't harnessed or chained to anything. The chains and leather tack is... HUGE OCTOPUS TENTACLES. There's no noble on its head. Just an uprooted bush held down by some stones.

    The T-Rex turns its head as Beelzebumon closes in... and GRINS. It's a downright EVIL look no T-Rex could possibly maange to do.

    It doesnt' STOP though. But one of the massive TENTACLES sprouting from its back lets go. The furthest tree comes to a screeching halt, RIGHT IN BEELZEBUMON'S WAY!

Teemo (801) has posed:
Teemo's mouth thins into a flat line and his eyes narrow as Fiora thrusts her blade into his second gift to the caravan and neutralizes the ignition mechanism. Otherwise, however, he doesn't move, as her sharp gaze passes over the spot where he's crouching. Movement draws notice, and it's bad enough she knows he's around /somewhere/. He knows all to well that if she spots him, he's as good as skewered.

The thing is, he doesn't really /dislike/ Fiora. In League matters they've been assigned to the same team as often as not, and he has a great respect for her skill. But it is a narrow skillset. She's a duelist, and fights best when she has but one opponent at a time to face. Sooner or later, he thinks, she'll have to turn her attention to some other more immediate threat lest her companions accuse her of not carrying her own weight.

Slowly, agonizingly slowly, his hand creeps to the blowgun holstered at his belt.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Distracted as she is, both by the chaos and the heavy vibrations from the large animal that drown out the smaller ones, Toph is at a disadvantage as she still is unaware of the danger lurking. However she hears something from the direction of the forest, and she feels it too as one of the earthbender mercenaries has gotten up, and he sends a rock her way. An attack that the earthbending master easily avoids as she steps to the side, simultaneously summoning up an earthen pillar that soots out of the ground as she throws her arm forward, knocking the guy back. Perhaps it's pure luck, but with the earthen pillar there HK-47's attack doesn't hit Toph directly. Instead she lets out a pained cry as the the shot strikes the pillar, utterly destroying it as the pieces strike Toph and pushes her back, knocking the air out of her. When she hears the voice - her own voice - calling out, her eyes widen in obvious surprise and horror.

    Crud.

    As Tesla tosses Maya into the wagon the people inside scream, though luckily it seems that Maya avoids the wagon, not inflicting damage on herself, the wagon or the people inside. Perhaps the crew on the other wagons are less fortunate. They let out cries as the first carriage drops down in front, and then they cough as the nasty miasma rises. Likewise, the workers who opted to go against Ebon have no idea what they're in for as the ribbons repay the damage they inflicted with their rocks, adding in a little extra pain. They cry out as the ribbons lash, and some of them stumble and fall down, easily weakened by an Elite. Yes, it seems they are already regretting it. It doesn't stop two of the workers from continuing the attack in tandem however, determined to help their colleagues. Ebon has to deal with an earthen wall shooting up towards her from the ground!

    Meanwhile Toph launches another attack at one of the other benders as they rush towards her, only to get knocked back as well. Honestly, they aren't what Toph is concerned about at the moment. She hears Pepper's voice, and well... if that is where the damn murderbot is, then she will have to deal with it! Toph takes a deep breath, spreads her arms, palms facing the ground... and then she begins raising them, all while the earth around the general area of the tree that HK-47 is in begins moving, threatening to topple the trees. Better watch out!

Beelzebumon (132) has posed:
     "Wait... what the..."

     Why is the T-Rex pulling trees and not wagons? And why did the man on its head become a bush? What gives! Beelzebumon was really looking forward to fighting some badass Dinosaur-riding Kung Fu Grand Master.

     I mean, this IS the world where people can create tsunamis or uproot the earth with martial arts! Surely there must be a Martial Art for riding atop a trained dinosaur into battle!

     Beelzebumon is disppointed. :