334/WMAT C4 Cameron Baum vs. Good Nanoha

WMAT C4 Cameron Baum vs. Good Nanoha
Date of Scene:	03 August 2014
Location:	Papaya Island - Stadium
Synopsis:	The young newcomer to the WMAT, Takamachi Nanoha, fights it out with another new but capable fighter, the mysterious and dedicated Cameron Baum.
Cast of Characters:	24, 281, 381, 401
Tinyplot:	WMAT

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Rider (281) has posed:
Commentator's boxes are for chumps. Rider is right there on the field, sitting on a folding chair with her feet up on a table. The microphone is in her hand, and a mug of what is probably ale is sitting on the table nearby. "Ladies and gentlemen and assorted others! Welcome to this round of the World Martial Arts Championship! Today we have what's going to be a great match!" She extends her hand toward Nanoha. "In this corner, we have Nanoha Takamachi! Wait, aren't there three of them?" Rider glances back over her shoulder to some man who's frantically signaling at her. "Oh, I get it. Nanoha 'The Good One' Takamachi, looking cute as a button and at least ten times as deadly!"

She sweeps her arm over. "And her opponent, weighing in at--" While Rider's lips move, the sound is mysteriously bleeped out for a second. "--pounds, Cameron, Destroyer of Worlds! Huh?" Once more she looks back to the signaling man. "Oh. Cameron! Who isn't a destroyer of worlds! Probably!"

The Servant reaches over and grabs her mug. "Let the game begin! Let's have fun out there!"

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
The stadium, this time? Well, Nanoha can handle that. The young girl, clad in that school-uniform-esque Barrier Jacket, flies in with little ankle wings of pink on her ankles, dress fluttering about her legs. With a shallow plume of dust kicked up as she 'skids' to a halt on the surface, she lands lightly and twirls her staff in a playful but non-serious flourish!

"Hello!" A pause so that everyone else can settle down, and she gives a polite bow to the other ends of the stadium. "Takamachi Nanoha. I'll be your opponent today. Good luck!" Apparently she's not really the type to throw insults or psychologically attack.

Meanwhile, in the stands, a busty young catgirl has an ENTIRE TRAY of fish tacos, with one stuffed in her mouth. "YUUH! GUH GEH ER MIFFTRUFF!"

John Connor (24) has posed:
     At the other end of the stadium, Cameron stands. She seems completely unremarkable, really, in a set of cargo pants and a dark leather jacket with a blank, neutral expression on her face as she watches Nanoha land. She doesn't bow or nod or do anything other than stare. She holds a shotgun in one hand, nice and casual.

     In the stands, the rest of the 'Baum family' sit. John, Sarah and Derek. While the latter two seem somewhat disinterested, John is sitting forwards - rapt and ready.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
Nanoha blinks at the blank expression, scratching her head. "Well um. Okay." Lots of weird enemies in this tournament! "A flying dark robotish girl first time, then a pretty but brooding man, and now an almost as pretty girl who doesn't react. That's kind of weird. Is there anyone normal in this tournament?"

Sigh. Oh well. "Let's go, Raising Heart. Divine Shooter for the first part, let's see how tough she is. Be ready with a barrier, that shotgun doesn't look like it's set to stun like you."

<ALL RIGHT, MASTER,> the staff pings lightly. Nanoha gets into a ready stance as a little ball of pink light erupts from the tip, spins a circle around her body, and then... <DIVINE SHOOTER.>

At high speed that little glowing sphere blasts toward Cameron, with the force of a large bullet.

John Connor (24) has posed:
     Maybe she was already moving or maybe she can just react that quickly, but Cameron steps back and around, raising her shotgun in one hand. It booms, loud and sharp, but at this range it probably won't do much to hurt Nanoha beyond peppering her. Her glowing sphere, on the other hand, slashes along Cameron's cheek, drawing blood.

     She doesn't even flinch. John has one hell of a sister, apparently.

Rider (281) has posed:
"Normal is boring!" calls Rider, hand cupped to her mouth.

"And it's begun! Nanoha opens with a pink blast that hits Cameron right in the face! Seems that wasn't full power, though, since she takes it like a man! ...woman. Yes." She takes a drink from her mug. "And she returns fire with that shotgun! If I begin to see those bullets glowing pink, I'll know I've been drinking too much!"

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
A shotgun, even at long range, to a child like Nanoha would leave quite a mess! Of course Nanoha wouldn't have gotten this far into the tournament if she were a weak little thing, would she? <PROTECTION,> the Device speaks, forming a shimmering pink globe. It... didn't pump enough juice into it though, as the force field shatters and the pellets slam right into the jacket Nanoha wears.

Fortunately the Barrier Jacket is just what it says on the tin, soaking the impact so she staggers back instead of getting bloodied. "AH!" She suddenly bursts into the air, whipping about to counterattack with a few small shots, followed up by a brief pulsing beam. No names this time. "Um! I'm really not trying to hurt you, but you still shouldn't just stand there, miss!"

John Connor (24) has posed:
     "You should surrender," Cameron replies, "Then I don't have to hurt you." She racks the slide on her shotgun with a loud 'ker-shak' as if to punctuate her point. She moves towards Nanoha, slowly, with firm, measured footsteps. The bursts punch through her jacket and shirt, rocking Cameron back, but she continues to advance.

     She brings the shotgun to her shoulder as she walks, sights down the barrel, and snaps off another shot. Definitely one hell of a sister, this one. Ice cold.

Rider (281) has posed:
"Harsh words from both of them! At least I think it's harsh. It's hard to tell! Seems like a battle of two gunners out here, both of them staying slow and methodical..." Rider slaps her hand on the table. "It's only a matter of time before they burst into action and start something really fancy! That's what we came here to see, right, audience?"

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
<PROTECTION POWERED.> This time the shield is stronger, as it needs to be, and though it shatters it blunts some of the blast away from the bruised main body of the girl. Nanoha still spins about, grabbing her shoulder, but she doesn't crash or anything. Whatever that jacket is made of seems to be some tough stuff!

"Ah... I'm sorry, but I do want to win! I got hurt worse fighting my best friend!" Nanoha huffs as she rights herself, coming to a stop in midair to hold out her hand. Pink light collects within it.

<SCATTER SHOOT,> the Device chimes, sending out a series of tiny pink bursts that pock at the stone floor and barrage toward Cameron.

John Connor (24) has posed:
     As Nanoha opens up with another series of pink energy bursts, these ones stitching their way across the floor of the arena towards Cameron, the cold brunette breaks into a run. She's fast! A few of the bolts strike at her legs, burning holes in her jeans, but they don't quite arrest her advance.

     After all, there's some very powerful hydraulics at work under her skin.

t So, Cameron charges, puts her shoulder down, and throws her weight into Nanoha. The force field, if it returns in time, however, might deflect much of the kinetic energy from the blow.

Rider (281) has posed:
"That forcefield of Nanoha's seems to be helping a little, but it just can't stand up against Cameron's shotgun! Looks like the girl's outfit is pretty good at soaking hits, at least, otherwise she'd be in trouble!" Rider tips back her drink. "Looks like Cameron's clothes aren't quite as durable, though! Those energy blasts are burning right through... but that doesn't stop her from closing the distance!"

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
She's learning. Well, both of them, really. Cameron is changing things up, and Nanoha? Nanoha is learning just how tough and strong the silent girl is. "Ah... I do appreciate the warning though! It's nice to see you aren't like some of the ones I've seen!" Oh but she should do something about that CHARGE!

<ROUND SHIELD.> The barrier that springs up this time isn't a bubble around Nanoha, but a single circle of blazing pink power, far more 'solid' than before. It's before her outstretched hand, and Cameron slams into THAT instead. IT cracks and fragments for a moment before a loud >CLACK-HISSS!< announces some kind of cartridge loading into her Device from the clip on its side, sending a burst of power that lets her 'stop' the charge... or at least ride it out as it plows her backward several feet and makes her flinch from the pressure put on her.

<FLASH IMPACT,> comes the chiming voice, an instant of warning before the staff's blunt end whips around and explodes with mana, jabbing in toward Cameron's middle in a surprisingly deft and skilled staff strike.

John Connor (24) has posed:
     "I'm very different," Cameron states in reply, putting all of her weight and strength against the barrier. In a moment, Cameron begins to /push/. When the staff collides with her mid-section, there's a dull - but still quite strange - thud of metal at the impact. Cameron doesn't even react. A normal person would be winded.

     "I still think we should have entered her as the Tin Miss," Derek murmurs, idly chewing away at a hot dog.

     cameron steps back, and goes to grab at the tip of the staff before Nanoha can pull it away, quick like a viper. She goes to pull that staff towards her, hard, and plow her fist right into her opponent! Ouch!

Rider (281) has posed:
"And Nanoha puts up a different sort of shield... this one doesn't break! Cameron slams into it, and she keeps on pushing, even when Nanoha hits her with her staff--whoah! It exploded!" Rider leans forward in her seat and slaps her mug on the table. "Cameron looks like she's still okay... and she grapples with the staff so she can try for a punch past the shield!"

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
This close, a Barrier is pointless, and only Nanoha's Jacket protects her. The punch slams into her middle, and something /cracks/ hard! It... probably wasn't a bone, but some part of the Jacket that snapped, actually. It'll still leave one hell of a bruise on the girl's chest though! "BUH!"

Wheezing and winded, Nanoha can't actually cast a spell! She has to rely on an emergency measure to get some distance. <REACTOR PURGE,> Raising Heart chimes, resulting in a sudden blast of magical power that explodes outward! If Cameron is ready for it, she can probably roll with it, but either way it should get Nanoha some distance! Unfortunately it sacrifices some of her ability to tank damage until she can regenerate the Jacket.

John Connor (24) has posed:
     Cameron takes the explosion right on. Terminators don't exactly dodge - most of the time, they don't need to. There's a bright flash and Cameron is launched off her feet, tumbling some distance away. She rises again, scuffed and cut, hair dishevelled, but seemingly ready to continue the fight.

     As Cameron reaches into the pocket of her jacket, taking a second to put on a pair of sunglasses in the middle of a duel, Nanoha might just catch a glimpse of one burning red eye. But then it's gone, hidden behind a polarised lens.

     That's not all she draws, however. In one smooth motion, Cameron reaches behind herself and pulls out a handgun - a big thing, all heavy, black and mean looking. She levels it towards Nanoha and snaps off a shot.

Rider (281) has posed:
"Ooh... that one looks like it hurt! I think I heard that impact from out here! And... wait, what is--" Rider's eyes go wide. "Nanoha just exploded! She seems to be okay, but it launched Cameron back across half the arena! Looks like she's okay, though... huh. And she's put on some sunglasses. Is now really the time to look cool? Maybe it helps aiming that big pistol she's just whipped out!"

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
When the air clears, Nanoha is zipping about, firing off sluggishly-moving spheres of pink light that lazily try to fling themselves toward Cameron. Easy to avoid, really, and they blast into the stone with little effect. She's probably a little desperate because she's down to a sleek, skintight little affair that looks more like a leotard than anything protective. Her belt is slowly forming of pink light, and scraps of her Jacket are still starting to appear around her.

Too slow! <PROTECTION POWERED,> Raising Heart says, but the barrier shatters and the bullet, somewhat but not completely blunted, blasts through Nanoha's right shoulder with a spray of blood! She cries out in pain, plummeting to the ground to bounce roughly a few times and end up in a tumbled heap! That had to have hurt!

<CONVERGE,> Raising Heart chimes. Those 'missing' globes all erupt from the ground then, and in a barrage of pink all of them start homing in toward Cameron at once, exploding with blasting magical power!

John Connor (24) has posed:
     Cameron vanishes, swallowed up by a series of pink explosions. In the stands, John frowns and leans closer, as if trying to peer through the smoke and dust.

     Slowly, it all begins to clear. Cameron twists her neck left and then right, stepping from the dust and ash like it was all only a momentary inconvenience. Still, smoke rises from her clothing, some of it openly smouldering. Cuts and lacerations are there, all over Cameron's face, and some are deep enough to reveal the telltale glint of some sort of chrome metal.

     Cameron seems to come to some sort of conclusion - these attacks seem to be doing more damage the further away she is from her opponent, like using an explosive device. And so, Cameron charges again. This time, however, she doesn't throw her shoulder into it - she takes a running leap, aiming to flick her foot up against Nanoha's head.

     That might hurt.

Rider (281) has posed:
"Will you look at that... most of her outer dress is gone, but it's beginning to grow back. I didn't know clothes could do that! I wonder--whoah! Looks like that shot managed to hit flesh! I see some blood! That looks like it really hurt... But that doesn't stop her from firing back! Looks like she's repayed the favor and... is that metal on Cameron's face? Less messy than blood, I guess.. But she charges in, trying to stay in too close to be shot again!"

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
Sadly for Nanoha, she's still staggering to her feet and regenerating that Barrier Jacket when the kick is incoming. She has time to look up with a 'wuh?' and raise her staff to soak the kick... but with a loud CRUNCHING noise it cracks down the middle, jarred out of her injured arm's grasp so the boot wings her head. There's a loud CRACK from that, and she's sent reeling back with a short, shrill cry of pain, dizzied and reliant upon her Device for counterattacking.

Raising Heart cares a lot about Nanoha, though, and with a loud clattering hiss, another cartridge loads into the glowing red gem which announces, <DIVINE BUSTER.> A roar of mystical power erupts from the Device, blazing upward and toward Cameron like a sudden appearance of a pink semi truck. At least that's what a direct hit tends to feel like.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    "YEAHHHH NANOHA! SHOOT HER AGAIN! SHOOT HER AGAIN!"

    There are three good words to describe Arf. They are: Tall, busty, and busty. And the fact of the matter is, the orange-haired woman with wolf ears is... In a skimpy cheerleader outfit. She doesn't have pom poms though, she's pounding her fists at the air.

    "Why are you wearing that?" Fate is here, too, looking nonplussed at her Familiar's choice in attire, and a little pink around the cheeks. But Nanoha unleashing a cartridge empowered Divine Buster makes her wince a little out of memory.

    "OH MAN Fate, that one looked-"

    "Yes. I know." That one looked painful.

John Connor (24) has posed:
     Boom!

     Cameron hits the ground, hard, face down. In the stands, John gasps, Derek stares and Sarah frowns. That wasn't a good blow, made apparent by the fact that Cameron isn't rising. Acrid grey smoke curls out of somewhere in her chest, making it quite clear that she took a bad, bad hit.

     And then, she moves. Cameron turns her head up to look at Nanoha and rises, pushing herself up. For a moment she seems unsteady, as systems begin to rerout along more active pathways and bits of circuitry. There's a deep, scorched hole in her abdomen. The flesh has been burned away and much of the metal there is charred... but Cameron is still in the fight. She gathers up her shotgun, takes aim, and fires. And this time, closer to her target, it's probably going to /hurt/.

Rider (281) has posed:
"Both of the combatants are taking a heavy beating here! Cameron cracks Nanoha's staff, but it looks like it's still working. And wow is it working! That's sone blast! It looks like it almost burned a hole right through Cameron! She's still up, though, and the shotgun comes out again! And... oh, hey, looks like Nanoha has a cheerleader. Get some cameras on that one!"

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    Fate shies out of any camera shots.

    Arf continues to be exuberantly bouncy.

    Bardiche pings lowly: [DESTROY HER.]

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
Raising Heart and Nanoha seem to have decided on a defense-heavy approach, given the reliance of Cameron on mass-based attacks. So the Barrier she throws up this time is pretty solid, and if she still had her Jacket she might have tanked it full force. In her condition, though, a little of it slips through and shatters the Barrier, slamming into the partially-formed jacket hard enough to knock her back to the ground from her takeoff position. She stays on her feet this time, skidding across the ground with a little gasp of pain, the blast tearing at her jacket and no doubt bruising her. "Ah... she's... a robot?"

<IT IS A DOLL, MASTER.>

"That's not nice, Raising Heart."

<SORRY.>

Nanoha clutches her shoulder and discards an attack, wincing at the thought of trying a Flash Move under this condition. She zips to the side, trying to keep moving, but is much slowed by now, and running out of options. "Raising Heart... that spell..."

<DIVINE BULLET,> the staff chimes, sending out a sudden and extremely dense projectile from the ruby orb, many times more powerful than the earlier one.

Keep moving, press the attack. Those are her only options, wounded as she is.

John Connor (24) has posed:
     "Come on, Cameron," John is murmuring, over and over. "Come on..." Sarah's face is cold, lips set in a thin line. Derek seems remarkably nonplussed, seeming to busy himself with another hot dog. His expression, when Sarah looks at him pointedly, says: what?

     After all, there's no hot dogs in the post-apocalyptic machine war future.

     "I'm a scary robot," Cameron replies without emotion, stepping close. The moment she detects the chime of that staff, however, Cameron /whirls/. She throws the shotgun into her other hand, reversing the grip so she's holding it by the barrel, not minding how the hot metal burns her living tissue, and she throws herself into a spin.

     The red orb clips her, further adding to her momentum as it tears away a good sized patch of skin from her cheek and, putting all of her strength into the blow, Cameron goes to slam her shotgun - with all of her hydraulic strength behind the blow - squarely into the side of Nanoha's head. Someone doesn't know how to play except for keeps, apparently!

     Or maybe she's just running out of time.

Rider (281) has posed:
"Thought so! Cameron was a robot all along! Maybe she really is a destroyer of worlds after all? But she gets clippd by a condensed blast from Nanoha and loses a bit more of her face... Don't worry though, folks! I think she's still okay!" Rider leans in closer and squints. "Yeah, she's good! Probably! She spins around and tries to use her shotgun like a club! I've done that with a gun before, too. The gun didn't come out too good in that!"

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
The shotgun instead impacts the haft of Raising Heart, which cracks a little more... but this time, none of the force is transferred to Nanoha herself. It's a desperate, adrenalin-fueled block that's nigh-perfect, the sign of some actual training that the young girl possesses. "AH!" The little wings on her feet saved her... boosting her out of reach using that instant of time bought by the parry, giving her a touch more space. The strike causes something to clatter away from the staff, but it isn't a vital piece.

It is, in fact, something that looks incredibly like the magazine of a rifle.

And with a loud *CLICK* a spare magazine is slammed into place, Nanoha streaking up with a blaze of pink energy trailing behind her. With her arm wounded, she has to couch the damaged Device in at her side, wincing from the bruises there, but she aimes the reconfigured tip that glows with a ring of power around it. <DIVINE...>

This spell again? But this time, it's glowing much brighter, and the loud repeated loading and clatter of cartridges sounds through the stadium. Empty, smoking shells tumble down as she loads four cartridges into the growing blast.

<BUSTER.>

"SHOOOOT!" Nanoha calls out with a slight quaver in her voice from the pain creeping through the endorphins. The explosion of pink is very much like the last Divine Buster... but considerably larger and louder.

John Connor (24) has posed:
     At the sight of that magazine, Cameron tilts her head, almost as if she's curious. She's never quite seen a weapon like that before and even she, with the mind of a killing machine, doesn't know what to make of it. And then-

     BOOM - BOOM - BOOM - BOOM!

     The explosion is huge. Even on the stands, John, Sarah and Derek need to avert their eyes. And Cameron? She just vanishes in the midst of it all.

     For a few seconds, it might seem like Nanoha has won. And then the pink glow fades, the smoke clears, and Cameron is /there/. She's beaten up - half her face is just gone, revealing the leering chrome skull of a Terminator's cranial casing. The rest of her face seems to be set in a deep, unhappy frown - but one wonders if a machine can even feel anger?

     Her right hand comes up, going to snare Nanoha by the throat. Her limb, from the elbow down, is all metal and hydraulics - like the skeletal hand of death itself has come out to get her. Cameron squeezes.

     And then, with slow, halting motions born of intense combat damage, tries to level her shotgun at Nanoha's gut.

Rider (281) has posed:
"And she manages to block it with her staff! That poor staff has seen better days, but Nanoha is still fighting fit! She gets some distance and--does her staff have a magazine of bullets? I'm not sure how that works, but it makes a gigantic blast!" Rider lifts a hand to shield her vision from all the pink. "...and Cameron is still standing! Most of her is, anyway! She closes the distance and tries to improve her accuracy with a shot up close! Could this be the end of the fight?"

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
That is a TERRIFYING image, really. "Wuh..." Blue eyes widen at the skeletal visage of the 'robot' that bleeds levelling a weapon at her, as Nanoha is still a bit impressionable. It's giving her some mild flashbacks to the zombie attack that was so utterly devastating to her psyche.

The protective barrier that leaps into being is thus... less powerful than it could be. It's an automatic 'reflex' action from Raising Heart, and it does save Nanoha from defeat... though not intense pain. "IYAH!"

Her Jacket is partly-regenerated, which also helps, but the blast sends her flipping end over end in midair, and she nearly crashes into the ground. She rights herself just in time, a wave of dust blasting around her from the resistance, and then a skim along the ground to whip about... though there's a large wobble and a trail of blood left behind.

What she ends up doing doesn't create a spell name at all though. It's entirely a different maneuver, and probably not something any of the other Nanohas would try. A shimmering barrier appears beside Cameron... and SLAMS forward, trying to knock her toward Nanoha where the little girl's suddenly glowing, mana-charged staff can smash forward with full force, aiming to knock Cameron into the ground with a high-impact smash. The reason is pretty clear... Nanoha's breath is pretty ragged, and her flight is wobbly. She's running out of time, too.

John Connor (24) has posed:
     The staff /slams/ into Cameron's chest, knocking her to the ground. The tension in the stands is palpable - sure, she's gone down hard before, but Cameron has always climbed to her feet. In the eyes of John, Sarah and Derek: it's just what they do. The machines never stop coming. They're built to kill.

     There's a painful, mechanical whine of some burnt-out system or failing hydraulics as Cameron tries to get her arms under her, to get herself back into the fight. To win, as she was instructed to. As she wants to do.

     And it seems like she might just achieve it.

     But then something gives way and Cameron collapses onto the floor of the stadium, face down. She doesn't go still, but she struggles to rise. She just can't find the co-ordination of her limbs or the power from her fuel cells to do it. Even if a Terminator never surrenders, they can still lose. And, as John and Sarah and Derek gets out of their seats and make their way down to the stadium proper, it's clear: Cameron has lost.

Rider (281) has posed:
"And that shotgun blast sends Nanoha flying! Is this it? No, she's on her feet! That sure looked like it hurt, though. Can Nanoha keep it together long enough to fight on? Wow, and she's using a shield to knock Cameron toward her... and right into an explosive swing of her staff! Cameron is down! ...no, wait, she's back up again! And... there she goes, she's down! The fight is over, and Nanoha is the winner! Wow, I think I'm hurting just watching that... but nothing a bit more ale won't fix!"

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    "HMRMF?!"

    That is the sound of Fate getting pulled into Arf's chest as the cheerleading wolf-woman starts jumping up and down ex<span style="color:itedly.
    c#ffec8b">[SIR CANNOT BREATHE.]</span> Bardiche notes.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
Wobbling in midair, Nanoha pants loudly... and Raising Heart's haft splits open to eject the last spent cartridge, then a hissing plume of steam from the exhaust vents. "Ah..." She lands lightly a few feet away. "Will she be okay?" Nanoha asks weakly, clutching her shoulder and barely managing to stand herself. In fact...

Barely after the winner is announced, Nanoha topples over, saved from a painful impact by Vesta darting in. The catgirl catches Nanoha and purrs, squeezing her gently. "You did it, Mistress! Aw... you need a doctor and plenty of tins of cat food!"

    Someone fetch a REAL doctor, please.