822/TZ: Battle Over A Rock

TZ: Battle Over A Rock
Date of Scene:	18 October 2014
Location:	TARGET: Phase Rock (PR)
Synopsis:	What was to be a simple capture target operation, became a bit more then just that.
Cast of Characters:	Kirito, 75, 522, 583

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Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
The war over then different resource points has been a heavy one as of late. Back-n-forth the battle rages at different points. So leading to victories for the Union, some leading to victories for the Confederacy, others have been brutal ties.

The Phase Rock has been in the eyes of the Legatus for some time when he started his campaign to aid the Confederacy to regain some points, even if a few of those had been lost just over due time of the clash of war. With the pressing ordeal to return to Garlemald for a war council meeting, he may not have another chance under a few weeks later to come.

And then given other matters the Union has been handling, it may be the perfect time to strike.

With this in mind, the Lieutenant by rank of the Confederacy gathers Confederate forces and his own men alike to make the march for Phase Rock. The Union defense will see it coming from a mile away, which will allow them to quickly raise the alarm. At least before the sudden Ceruleum missiles come flying in exploding in blue fire, being launched high in the air by Trooper Airships that are quickly moving in over-head and Garlean Troops along with Confederate alike jump down from as they do a fly by. Rolling along the ground and then quickly getting up on their feet to open fire with their gunblades and slashing with their blades alike.

Those that march in, level their own weapons and start to open fire on any who try to escape the main assault. Their feet impacting the ground in perfect time and shields raised when bullets are returned in, only to lob another set of bullets down the line.

Yet from another low moving transport drops the true threat of this pack, with confederate ally along side. If she has been watching, she will know that these airships are moving in at a good clip, but not fast enough for one to get harmed. Which Gaius Van Baelsar demonstrates as he jumps off, and goes to land down with his left hand glowing brightly from the Magitek device designed in his armor. Once he lands on the ground, his hand slams into the very ground, causing a massive blue wake to blast outward from him, knocking over the Union guards alike.

He then raises up and reaches for his Gunblade, before twirling it easily in his hand. Then he starts to make his way with an easy walk more toward the true point of contested area, using his sword to deflect away any shots that come his way and tossing union guards aside with a simple throw of his arm, as the lines on his armor glow as he does so. Clearing the way if need be for further confederate forces and for his allies alike.

Mantigora (583) has posed:
Honestly, her typical source of transport is flown by a nearly psychotic space furrball. Dangerous low-altitude high-speed flyby is hardly going to phase Mantigora any in comparison. She mainly lets Gaius go first because he's effectively in charge her, and as a former career soldier turned bounty hunter she knows you let the commander take the first steps. She delays a few moments after, letting the speeding airflow flare through her hair and longcoat tails a bit, before finally leaping out herself as the transport passes over the opposite edge of the Zone.

By that point most of the attention has already turned towards the rather large and boisterous arrival made by Gaius and his men. Which is just the way she prefers it. Let the big tank take the initial aggro. It gives her the chance to land behind the enemy lines and do what she does best.

Several of the guards that were going to join the counter-charge skid to a halt as they hear something land behind them, spinning their heels and bringing their weapons up... and right into the second assault as the Draken is already leaping on top of them. Clawblades slice through the air, and through one's gun, followed by a spinning kick into the face of another to knock him back into the rest of the group and send them tumbling over.

Like good soldiers they quickly scramble back to their feet... but by then Mantigora has 'disappeared' thanks to her cloaking tech, leaving them bewildered and, frankly, more than a bit worried as they huddle together back to back so they're not standing with vulnerable rears. Enemies that can NOT be seen are NOT pleasant to deal with...

Kirito has posed:
    There's a reason Kirito's been so quiet on the Union front recently. He's been spending more and more time training in the Red Wing and the holodeck. Polishing his sword skills, getting his timing down better. Enemy after enemy's fallen to him as he focuses more and more.

    If he fails, the consequences are too dire to even state. So the Black Swordsman of Aincrad has reawakened, and the mischevious spriggan has been sidelined.

    Hearing a call for help, he has deployed swiftly...

    And so, a figure in all black emerges from the warp gate. A young man by the look of it, with spiky hair, pointy ears... wearing a trenchcoat, a single sword sheathed over his back...

    Who is this guy supposed to be again?

    "Uweh, it's a real madhouse here!!" Good guys, bad guys, and explosions as far as the eye can see! They weren't kidding whent hey needed help.

    The boy reaches up behind his back and draws an equally black longsword from there...

    "Confederate troops! This is Union Reserve Lieutenant Kirito... if you're having any second thoughts about this, now's a good time to turn around."

Ezio Auditore (75) has posed:
    The region of Phase Rock will have salvation by an unconventional source. As Ezio Auditore lies in wait aboard one of the airships, breaking forth from his hiding place after what felt like /hours/ of being cramped in that damned container. While he had been acquiring intel on the 14th Legion, Ezio found himself into the good graces of those absorbed into the legion from a rival unit, the 7th.

    Something about Garlean inter-factional grudges and such came to mind, given the conversation. As such, it's given him an in on giving the 14th some serious havoc, with the former 7th legion's under-the-table support of the assassin. Ezio doesn't like being the hired killer for this sort of thing, but he's learned over the decades that it's just another day at work for him, being the instrument through which some men stab others in the back for their petty grudges.

    He's discovered by sailors aboard the airship, but he easily evades them, cutting his way through their ranks with Cold Embrace in hand. The Gunblade should draw some surprise from these soldiers, given its design bearing similarity to their own weapons, and it's just as deadly if not more so in the hands of the Roman Mentor.

    The Hawk of Florence comes to hunt, and he spies his target amid the chaos. Unlike Kirito, he's got no interest in playing nice with his target.

    Ezio grins, and he relieves an archer of his bow and plucks an arrow from the quiver as he takes a leap off the side of the airship. After a very complicated series of nimble manuevers later, he takes aim upon reaching solid ground with Gaius in his sights.

    Eyes narrowed, Ezio takes the shot.

Mantigora (583) has posed:
The guards are left to second-guess themselves jumping at shadows from the mysterious assailant, and the confusion breaking out in general from the attack. Not realizing that Mantigora had already slinked away through the melee with her job done. Sow a little more chaos in the ranks, other than that, the general ranks were of little interest to her. The hunter needed a better, more appropriate prey...

One of which just conveniently present himself from the gate and loudly proclaiming the invaders should just leave. Really, why do they bother? Must be a 'good guy' thing.

Doesn't matter to her as the cloaked Draken winds around the fighting a bit so she can slip up behind the newcover, analysis hardwiring briefly scanning over his form. Swordfighter, but not visibly heavily armored like the Warriors back home. May be more agility oriented possibly. Should be interesting.

True to form Mantigora comes out of stealth right behind Kirito, giving the boy maybe split-seconds to realize she's there as she thrusts one set of clawblades for his backside. If only ending fights before they began was a simple as that.

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
Gaius Van Baelsar knocks aside another union guard, until his ears can hear something over his com, a voice from what he thought was one of his own. >"Our mighty lord Darnus sends their regards, traitor to the one true ruler!"<

Weather this message was pre-recorded or someone on board one of the trooper airships was watching the show who was a member of the defunct VII Legion, matters little when suddenly Ezio's arrow comes whistling in.

The Legatus had less then a second to react o the well aimed arrow, his steps were quick, but not quick enough. The Arrow impacting him right between the chest piece and shoulder pauldron of his right arm. It caused him to stagger back. The arrow itself punctures into the kevlar armor. The Garlean Steel that the arrowhead is designed with along with the cermet fiber rod making the arrow light has extreme speed when coming in.

Not as fast has one of their bullets, but it indeed does the trick and actually gets past the kevlar fabric to impact into the skin.

The Black wolf staggers back a step, before he reaches up with his left hand and actually yanks the arrow out, tossing it aside. Those void-eye slots in his full face helm seem to stare directly where Ezio stands. "Assassin whom uses one of my own's arrows. Clever." He then takes a step forward and points the tip of his blade toward Ezio's direction. "But your own teeth best have a deeper bite."

As Gaius then takes another step, he pulls the trigger of his own gunblade. Bullets fire out from along side the blade, as the Legatus makes his way toward Ezio's position with calm steps, ignoring the ache in his arm from the injury that now ales him and possibly could effect his aim if he doesn't adjust for it.

Though as he continues forward, that is when an explosion rocks the sky. One of the airship troop ships suddenly explodes, causing the air to shake violently from the massive Ceruleum explosion almost like a mini-nuke going off in the air. It may give Ezio a well timed opening as everyone, including even Gaius in the area near it, has to get down a bit from the percussion wave.

Kirito has posed:
    Indeed, if only it was. Mantigora will notice Kirito getting awfully tense when she gets up close to him. And he manages to do what few have likely ever done in that situation.

    Survive.

    No, not just survive...

    The instant she moves, so does he. The boy becomes a whirl of motion and spins in place. His blade interposes itself with incredible precision in the way of Mantigora's clawblade. They clash in a shower of sparks and Kirito's pushed back, but not before Mantigora gets a tiny nick along his other arm from all the spinning.

    The wound is a mere scratch on his outfit, but it's strange indeed. The contact was like slicing into thick, uniformly tough jello, or some similarly weird texture. The blade sank in but didn't sever anything. It instead left a glowing red mark filled with a grid-like pattern... one that's quickly closing.

    "The sneaky type. That was close!"

    How the heck did this kid know Mantigora was there?!

    She's gonna be hard-pressed to find out, because he finishes deflecting the strike and ripostes with a swift thrust to the shoulder!

Ezio Auditore (75) has posed:
    Ezio wasn't banking on the arrow being enough to take out Gaius that easily. He does however thank whoever had the foresight to set that message up just in time to send the Legion's morale into disarray. It's a chaotic scene indeed, as he drops the bow and advances with gunblade drawn. "I missed. You won't be so lucky a second time!" He taunts back, before quite literally disarming a shield-bearing Hoplomachus, finishing him with a decaptitating strike as he claims the shield for himself.

    Focusing back on Gaius, he raises the shield before him as he takes off in full-tilt toward the Legatus, using the shield as a means of deflecting attacks by sword, lance, axe, arrow, or bullet.

    Gaius's shot catches his side, staining his white robes in blood as it penetrates his armor, but it's not enough to keep him down for long as he regains his stride and sprints towards his enemy.

    Ezio brains a sizable soldier across the face with his shield before using the man as a platform to bounce off of with a leap, then closes the distance between himself and Gaius with his gunblade raised.

    He makes a downward slash just as he lands, and the duel between warriors begins.

Mantigora (583) has posed:
Well it does prove she was right in her deduction that this swordman was based in dexterity rather than just enduring blows to beat things with a big sharp object. There's a flash of sparks as her clawblades glance off the sword. Mantigora's own heightened responces kick in, but the deflection still caught her off faster than she can readjust her balance. Physically the counterstrike only hits the pauldron protecting her shoulder, but it came with enough strikethrough force to spear right through her personal shielding to do so and the impact causes her to skid backwards a good deal before she reorients herself.

Now in plain sight as she crouchs a bit with flexed legs, it was clear as the day just how alien this woman was by appearance... Well maybe not -that- bizarre by some Multiverse standards, but definately not one of your 'space human with rubber forehead' type of extrateresstrial. "Hmph. Not many would be able to pull that off...", she admits, tail whipping to one side, then the other. "But was that effectiveness, or just luck?..." And undaunted by the previous clash she launchs herself right back at Kirito, darkened nano-energy rippling down the blades of her weapons. She comes in with a spinning, sweeping strike, leaving a crackling wake of energy briefly trailing behind it. "Let's see what you've really got!"

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
Ezio comes in and Gaius has to quickly ready himself even as shrapnel from the airship starts to come flying down in blue flame. The Black Wolf quickly steps back as Ezio's strike comes in, the blade slashing against the chest armor of the Legatus, cutting into ever so slightly as spark fly off from metal meeting metal.

Gaius does a quick step away with a rapid turn of his body which should be slightly inhumanly possible given that seem like heavy armor he was wearing mixed with what seemed like leather red cloth. The Legatus then flourished his sword back with the step, before moving directly back in with a quick swipe of the blade downward, before following up with another strike, and another.

Testing Ezio perhaps on just what type of skill he is dealing with to rapidly make a decision on how to handle this battle. All the while ignoring his arm's complaining against the rapid movements yet being assisted by the very armor he wears.

Kirito has posed:
    Kirito's an extremely experienced swordsman, but he's not had to deal with claws all that often. Plus... all things considered, Mantigora's pretty quick. "Hwgh!---" He brings his weapon up to block, face showing boyish innocent panic for a moment. There's another mighty clang, and again he manages to deflect the blow... somewhat. The resultant slash strikes his front and fails to gain terrific purchase. As before, the injuries cause strange red marks matching the cut pattern... but they're in his OUTFIT, not skin. There's no blood.

    Perhaps strangest of all...

    The boy doesn't seem to be terribly pained by this. he barely grunts, and certainly doesn't wince, flinch, or cower back. Instead... "That trick of yours doesn't cover everything it needs to for real stealth." He answers without really answering. Why would he want his enemy to know what their faults are?

    The Spriggan swordsman's expression turns fierce indeed, and he rushes in at Mantigora with a series of one-handed slashes and thrusts that leads into him in a weird stance - the black blade raised diagonally across his body. It's a strange stance indeed, one that looks full of openings.

    But.

    Moving in close is a really bad idea. As is trying to parry. Cerulean light encases the weapon from nowhere, accompanied by the obvious high-pitched whine of SOMETHING charging up. There's only this tiny flicker of warning before... "EEEEYAH!"

    The one-strike single-handed sword skill, 'Slant,' is launched.

    Kirito's blade comes down at that diagonal angle with tremendous force and lightning speed!

Ezio Auditore (75) has posed:
    Gaius may be inhumanly skilled with his sword, but Ezio's no slouch in that regard either when it comes to the blade. He manages to evade one or two of the legate's strikes, experience counting for his ridiuclous reaction time. That said, Gaius ends up getting a nick or two in, his armor suffering more before he finds himself with a few more nicks here and there for his trouble.

    Oh right, thinks Ezio. I have a shield.

    He takes advantage of this, proceeding to drive the shield up against Gaius's gorget with a blow that would dent most metals, and reduce mere bone and flesh to meat and powder.

Mantigora (583) has posed:
Slices but no blood. No evidence of personal shielding like her own, either. Interesting. There was something more subtle at work here than just exceptionally good armor, but tactical analysis is something that one needs to do on the fly if they don't want to get clobbered while trying to think. Nostrils flare in what could almost be an amused snort. "A good hunter does not rely on just one trick," she replies. Admittable a lot of people just don't pay that detailed attention.

Mantigora takes a jump back as the boy charges her with his swings, giving herself just enough space to adjust and use her own weapons to parry the quick, light strikes. Then he draws back and holds his sword like that.. and due to a lack of familiarity with the style Mantigora sadly falls for it. She twists to thrust with her clawblades, only to miss when Kirito shifts for his attack and diangonaly slams his sword into her side and tumbling roughly across the ground until she finally flips back up onto her feet. Turns a little to look at the gouge ripped through the side of her longcoat. The leather material sags away from the cut enough that her side is visible, a bit of blood dribbling from the gash. But that dries inhumanly quick and the nanotechnological 'skin' infused to her body weaves itself back together to protect the wound from farther aggrivation.

With a quick flick of the wrist one set of blades retract back into her arm (even though they looked much too long to do so, there's got to be some nanotech trickery going on there), and instead a buzzing sound not unlike a sawblade can be heard.

Probably because that's exactly what she channels some of her nano-tech into, forming a spinning serrated blade in the free hand and hurtling the normally armor rending projectile at Kirito much like one would throw a charkam.

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
The Shield slams into the gorget the extended collar bone edges catch most of it, but the blow does cause Gaius Van Baelsar to get a bit off footed by the strike, which he rolls with. His legs slides out from under him, as he goes to lower down on his knee.

The tip of his blade swings around as he throws up dirt into the air toward Ezio from the swords swing. Ezio may even for the moment see his handy work that has dented some of the collar armor, but for his handy work, he will find also the Legatus' left hand raised up toward him and that hidden weapon inside the bracer of the gauntlet glowing blue.

No sooner then the glow becomes obvious even hidden by the dirt and dust kicked into the air, several bolts of blue plasma irrupt out from the bracer. Each with the high velocity of the bullet, with the power of an low-yield explosive on impact that flashes out with blue light of plasmatic energy.

Gaius uses the few shots to buy him just a touch of time to swing himself back up on his feet and fire off a few more shots for good measure.

Ezio Auditore (75) has posed:
    Ezio drives his blade down to strike at Gaius, only for the LEgatus to send him flying with a plasma blast. It scorches his armor and leaves him burnt badly underneath, grunting in pain as he fights to keep himself standing. With a growl, he raises his shield to avoid more of the hits, but he's still battered hard from the impacts alone from each shot.

    He grits his teeth, however, and Ezio fights onwards as he throws the now-useless shield when it begins to crack and shatter. Raising his Gunblade, Ezio cocks Cold Embrace and fires away at Gaius, blasting as much as he can at the General.

    Each shot packs enough firepower to make a magnum seem feeble by comparison, and the ice magic they carry will bring the coldest oceans to mind upon impact.

Kirito has posed:
    Kirito's no lover of real violence and pain. He didn't wince from being struck, but he does show a slight twitch when he pulls back a bloodied blade and readies again for another skirmish. "What the--" He's eying Mantigora's unusual regeneration and shapeshifting tech... "...Nanotechnology?!"

    The boy's quick and knowledgeable, that's for sure. But he's only got a sword, doesn't he?

    He doesn't react quite in time. The boy jerks sideways and takes the strange projectile through the shoulder. It passes STRAIGHT THROUGH him and out the other side, drawing a huge splorch of some strange red light to go flying everywhere. It... is merely a special effect, though. It doesn't stick on anything, and it doesn't appear to have hindered his arm whatsoever. But surely that damage is doing SOMETHING, right?

    Because Kirito's looking a little more worried by it all.

    His eyes have gone wide. Very wide. With fear. Not for himself... but for what's likely to happen if he fails to stop the huntress. These weapons are vicious!

    And so new determination fires up behind his eyes as they narrow.

    Screw not wanting to hurt someone. He'll just have to beat her down into submission or retreat.

    With a deep growl, he again lunges forward into motion. Green light covers weapon as he drops into another weird stance. It'll probably be another powerful strike right, from a different angle?

    Yes... and no!

    As he bears down on Mantigora, the single blade does lash out in a motion very much like before... but the super-propelled weapon keeps on moving, changing angles several times for a mighty combo blow that leaves a glowing shape much like the number '4' in the air for a second!

    "Four hit sword skill... Savage Fulcrum!"

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
Gaius has little time to react as the cold bullets come blasting in. One manages to strike him dead in the side of the helm, chipping away the armor as the magitek within resists the cold freeze in combination with the cermet.

The other shots find themselves impacting into a hexagon like shield that suddenly generated as he extends out his hand. Each strike impacting the magitek shield, causing parts of it splinter and crack, before the last shot shatters it entirely.

It is all the time the Black Wolf needed, as the last shot is fired, Gaius sweeps around as he then brings up his left hand, which has a glow around his finger tips, "Assassin, you come before me on behalf a fools mission. Turn away now before your reckoning leaves you but a stain on the ground."

"For I grow tired of your filth in my sight. Phase Rock shall be the Confederates!" He then swings his left hand to create an aetheric blue line of Ceruleum, then with a quick step back he takes aim into it with his gun sword, before he fires.

As the bullet impacts the ceruleum line, it sudden accelerates the line like a massive fireball and the bullet flies forward in its wake like a magnetic shot fired by that of a Railgun with the explosive force a bomb going off if it should hit.

Ezio Auditore (75) has posed:
    "Not if I have any-AAAGH!"

    Ezio's retort is interrupted by the blast as Gaius fires away with that Judgement blast. It hurts like a bitch alright, somewhat akin to being zapped by a piece of Eden when in the hands of whoever it's deemed its puppet of the day. Ezio's fine white robes are definitely blackened by the attack, and he throws away a now useless and shattered pauldron as he struggles to his feet.

    Coughing and spitting blood, Ezio stares at Gaius before he draws the crossbow on his back, the weapon folding into place as he pulls back the string and loads an explosive bolt in place. Retrieving his gunblade, Ezio then charges, firing the crossbow first, then letting loose with a barrage of frozen bullets at the Garlean Legatus once more.

Mantigora (583) has posed:
The change in the boy's demeanor may be subtle, but it's enough for the huntress to take notice of. The rumblings amongst foes of Draken being able to smell fear may or may not be exaggerated, but the shift in his posture, the realization of just what sort of potentional she has at her disposal, look in his eyes of first fear and then angry resolve; it's more than enough to make the message clear. And Mantigora?

She -smiles- at it, lips parting just enough to show that she has some rather sharp teeth. Regardless of how the fight turns out she's pushed him past his comfort zone and realize she is at least a respectable threat. How much of a danger she would be to these lower rank and file occupants if he falters in this battle. It is in itself an important factor in her line of work.

Never let if be said that a Draken doesn't know how to wage a little psychological warfare as well.

Clawblades re-extend as he charges to enact on his newfound resolve, bringing them up to cross in front of herself. Sparks of energy crackle in random directions as the two forces collide, but she looses her braced footing under the power of the blow, staggered back just enough for the follow up slashes to slice through.

"That's more like it, yesss." A few subsystem readouts in the HUD from her datacrom are nearing redlining, but she pushes that aside for the moment. Boots kick off the ground and the huntress charges back towards Kirito, bringing up an arm as if to strike straight forward again... Only to side-step at the last possible moment to duck and roll past his side. The feinting maneuver brings her spinning to her feet behind him, and that's when she lets loose with a flurry of energized slashes in an attempt to shred his backside before he can catch up and adjust to the maneuver she pulled.

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
Ezio opens fire with the explosive ice bolts. Gaius swings his gunblade at one of them to knock it aside, unaware just what he is striking until it explodes. Soon the bitter cold explosive force ends up shoving the Legatus straight back and into the air, the armor can be seen with some frost over it, even as Gaius flips in the air to recover and lands roughly on the ground.

His feet slide back a bit as the boots dig into the earth soil, along with the finger tips of his left hand. The frosted armor doesn't remain so as gentle flicker of red can be seen moving through some of the crevasse of the armor itself, but the damage was noticeable with cracks along some of the metal work, and pieces of the armor's edges missing.

"Impressive." The Legatus says all to calmly as he then stands up. With a hard push off with his foot then, he goes racing right for Ezio, before he throws out his left hand, there a portal of blue flame engulfs him and he seems to vanish.

Only to sudden reappear right behind the Assassin, which he strike out with a hard strike of his fist. This is followed in with several more strikes, each coming in to strike harder then before as the flicker of lines could be seen at times against the gauntlets of the armor as his final strikes to come in.

Though at this close of range and with sheer physical exertion being put in with full physical strikes, Ezio may notice if he has a trained enough eye that Gaius is favoring his right arm when he does attack. It is only the question if he can take advantage of that possible weak point.

Ezio Auditore (75) has posed:
    Ezio has to admit, Gaius isn't one to let fair play stop him from fighting to the death with this sort of thing. His instincts tell him to duck, and he does so, dropping his crossbow and gunblade immediately as he dodges to minimize the impact of another blow, only suffering a small bruise before taking another hit to the chest. The wind is knocked out of him, and Ezio wheezes before he finds himself reaching up with his gauntlet to block another strike.

    "NOt bad yourself." He grunts, before then shoving Gaius off-balance as he tenses up his right fist.

    A metallic unsheathing sound would be heard by those who sharp enough ears, but that's all the hint Ezio gives as he plunges a hidden blade into Gaius, stabbing at a gap in his armor.

    Twisting the knife, literally, is what Ezio Auditore is best at.

Kirito has posed:
    Unfortunately for Kirito, this being his first experience against a claw user is working against him. He's fought BEASTS that used mostly claws, but they were mostly predictable fights against digital monsters. They followed scripts and patterns.

    He's got nothing of the sort helping him out here.

    He falls for the feint, bringing his blade around to catch a blow that doesn't come from where he thought it would. He's just slightly too slow in turnin around and most of the strikes connect. THIS time he does flinch and stagger back, even as he slams his black sword against the claws upon recovering. He inhales with a hiss.

    For one so young though, Kirito's eyes are incredibly haunted as he settles his gaze on Mantigora. "That's way more endurance than I'd expect from a huntress or assassin." The boy states, his tone wary and solemn.

    He disengages briefly with a small hop backwards... but as he rises to his full height again? Something shifts behind him. Two pairs of translucent black dragonfly-esque wings that glitter and sparkle stretch out, then-- FWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

    Up, over, and DOWN! He's out of sight in the blink of an eye, but only because of a sudden show of tremendous speed. When he reappears it's right in front of Mantigora. There's no glowing weapons this time, but instead...

    "UUUUUUUURRRROOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

    Instead, moments after his first slash with the black comes in he follows up with the other hand that was PREVIOUSLY EMPTY.

    It sure isn't now. A crystal-blue longsword has appeared, along with a matching scabbard that bears a white wyvern insignia. He apparently managed to equip this in those few blinks of confusion, and transforms into a whirlwind of high-speed slashes and thrusts!

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
Gaius is knocked off balance and though he goes to try to knock aside Ezio's strike, the Assassin Fox is faster on the move then the Black Wolf can bite back. The dagger gliding right in where the armor had already weaken the material and diving into the exposed flash beyond the point.

As Ezio turns the dagger to drive in further damage, he does not hear a scream or cry of pain from the Legatus. Only a simple grunt of displeasure. He then goes to grab the man's arm if he doesn't not move it quickly and will hold it there. Those void-full eye slots staring right at Ezio, his own reflection barely be seen against the black. "...That.." His teeth sound gritted. "...was unwise.."

It was the only second warning Ezio with have, until he will see the gold lines of Gaius armor for a moment glow brightly and red streaks slam into the armor of his hand. Not only then will Gaius try to forcefully remove Ezio's hold within his arm, but will then use the Magitek enhanced strength to actually dislocate Ezio's arm in one fell swoop of sheer raw power.

At least if not dislocate-- knock him over to the side as if he was a simple toy.

Ezio Auditore (75) has posed:
    SNAP

    Ezio feels bones break in his arm. He lets out a howl of pain and fury as he stares at Gaius, but it doesn't do much to dissuade him from continuing the attack, if anything he's even more motivated to kick this smug git's ass up and down the region.

    "I have a knack for that." the assassin says, a cocky smirk on his face as his left arm moves to draw a dagger, his right hanging limply as he charges forth with his dagger drawn. Leaping to Gaius, Ezio boots him in the face before moving in to strike at Gaius' throat through a gap in his armor. Hopefully that gorget he damaged earlier will be obliging to letting the stiletto sneak through.

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
The boot strike is knocked away by Gaius' good left hand, but the attack leaves him open for Ezio to slide in their with the knife. However what he finds when the knife strikes is strange cable armor lines that protect the throat further.

This guy, if it wasn't already obvious, was no medieval walking armor.. there was some high-tech near star wars BS going on here. Like those metal airships were not already enough to give that indication with their chain guns and missiles.

On the bright side, at least Gaius' right arm was made useless for the most part, but that did not stop the Black Wolf from lashing out at the Assassin Fox (that is your new nickname Ezio). The Legatus simply rotates around to allow the knife to skid by as he then reaches when his good hand to grab for the Assassin's shirt in the back.

If his fingers can take hold, he will simply yank the man back to slam him into the ground, before he brings his armored boot up and tries to slam, with all the force in his leg right onto of the knee cap.

Mantigora (583) has posed:
Mantigora adjusts her stance slightly when Kirito breaks backwards briefly, giving her head a brief tilt of acknowledgement to his assessment. "Draken live for the thrill of the hunt and the glory of battle.. but strength is found in a combination of skill and toughness, not one dominate over the other."

And then he takes off high and fast. To her credit Mantigora does adjust quickly this time, threat analysis almost immeadiately jumping to the similar tactic used by many of Nexus' flying monstrousities. When the boy dives in fast with his sword she moves just as quickly, turning out of the way and using one of her sets of blades to catch the sword and push it down from her.

It's the sudden production of a second sword swung in to strike that throws her off, and the spinning barrage that follows it successfully battering her even as she attempts to shield herself from the worst of the assault. Even then the force of the repeat strikes is enough to push her back and away from Kirito.

Mantigora draws herself backwards afterward, heaving a deep pant or two. But the thrill and intensity of the fight easily outweighed the concern with loss, at least for the moment. All the same, Kirito was pushing her through her reserves at a frightening pace, faster than her nano-suit can rebuild its charges entirely.

At the same time a signal flashes in her HUD, notifying her that one of her special abilities has been charged fully. With it energy practically burns along the length of her claws as muscular predator-like legs launch her into a sudden low and longreaching lunge towards Kirito. One that brings both of her sets of blades slicing towards in a powerful downward arc just as he's coming out of the spinning motion of his previous maneuver.

Ezio Auditore (75) has posed:
    Had it not been for his armor, Ezio would've been crippled then and there by the stomp. He groans, before the 'Assassin Fox' proceeds to kick out at Gaius's own knee with his other leg. The assassin stumbles to his feet, noticing he's got a bit of a limp now as he tries to stand. Whoever is his doctor after this is going to be very unimpressed, god help him.

    Ezio tucks his dislocated and broken arm into a makeshift sling, then he rips his hood off, revealing a bruised and grizzled face shaped by pain. "You're getting to be very...very tenatious, I have to commend that at least."

    Then Ezio grabs something from his belt, a frag grenade no less. Pulling the pin one-handed, not an easy feat under any circumstances, Ezio tosses the frag at Gaius's feet before he limps fast as he can to cover before he's caught by the blast himself.

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
Gaius is hit the side of the knee and thanks to that armor, it is keeping him from having a terrible fate of what happened with him and Master Chief. That too-- was a brutal fight. However this battle was already one of a loss, but until everyone cleared out-- which was already in the works.

He would not see his own men or comrades be left to fend the Union alone until everyone was gone. He was a commander and he leaded by example. Courage was the mark of this and Gaius was not simply called the Black Wolf by his sheer ferocity-- but also his own cunning and loyalty to all under him.. or in his charge.

When the grenade comes, he attempts to throw himself with his good arm away from it, however the blast catches him and throws him completely head over heels. He slides along the ground, rolls a bit, before sliding a touch more before coming to a stop.

The armor he wore battered now, spark of blue light emitting in places in the armor itself from damage to the magitek circuits within and yet--- yet he finds away to get himself to stand back up. Though his right arm lays limply by his side.

He stands there looking directly at Ezio and his head lowers. The order was given, but he slides one more order over his comm to one of the airships in the area. To lock onto his target and unleash missile fire.

To aid with the sights he then took aim with his gauntlet and fired off a shot, though the plasma shot he fired was a trail of red and it actually went directly by Ezio lodging itself into one of the near by rocks flaring away with a red glow. "When you have been in battle long as I, you learn to endure. No matter the cost. For failure can have a higher price then that of success."

He continues to stand there for a moment, until the sky lights up above him. "The simple question is, Assassin. Do you know whom it is you face?" His head tilts ever so faintly, "Though I do even wonder if you even care... Given a target is simply that. Is it not?"

That is when Ezio may at last see it, several missiles coming to rain down at the very area around him. The Ceruleum warheads coming to rain down with tremendous terror of explosive power, that will not only leave craters in their wake but blue flames that will reach high into the sky. Explosions that Gaius himself even has to kneel down and turn his back slightly to in order to shield himself from the force.

But this too-- was all at the cost to make sure his men all escaped...

Kirito has posed:
    "Whaoh---!" Consider Kirito startled. He'd devoted himself into that assault, believing that Mantigora would never see the one-two combo of wings and dual wielding from nowhere coming! Well, apparently she didn't, but she's handling it frightfully well! Using his wings for extra force, he zigs slightly - and it's just enough to avoid a deeeeeep blow to his vitals that would've depleted FAR too much hp. Instead, a nasty gash is ripped through his side as he whips through the air and down to the ground in a weird flip. The resulting glowing damage decals are much brighter and last longer than the previous ones...

    "You've got the skill and toughness, but I can't say I approve of your hunting grounds." The boy points our sourly, frowning fiercely at her.

    "I'm chasing you off of them!" VRRRRRRRWHOOOOOSH! His wings thrum up to speed again and zip! Right across the ground. His black blade was lowered, and glowed a light blue... but then he's out of sight. WHOOOOSH!

    A Sonic Leap. System Assist pulls him directly past Mantigora faster than the eye can see, drawing a vicious slash across her side in the motion!

Ezio Auditore (75) has posed:
    "...Merda."

    Ezio doesn't even get a chance to run from the explosive impact, and for a few minutes or so, nothing is heard from Ezio Auditore.

    Until suddenly a white robe is thrown out, scuffed and blackened from soot and scorches. It's not a white flag, however, as Ezio isn't seen crawling out of whatever hole he's in just yet.

    Instead, Ezio's in an outcropping just looking for Gaius like a wounded predator, weighing options whether or not he should cut and run or just end this out. He stares out at Gaius, gunblade in hand, and he takes aim as though it were a sniper rifle.

    It's close enough, anyway.

    'Sighting' down the gunblade, Ezio takes aim with his good hand, resting the weapon along a thing of rock before he cocks the hammer, and then he squeezes the trigger.

    Bang.

Mantigora (583) has posed:
In Mantigora's case, it was that while she was familiar with battling swordfighters, Warriors tended to be hulking Granok or broad muscled humans loaded down in heavy armor suits and swinging massive swords powered by minature fusion generators. No, I'm entirely serious on that last one. When armor reached the point that a mere blade couldn't cut through it anymore in that part of the universe, someone got the bright idea to strap a tiny partical accelerator to an already still lethal instrument.

The point is, it's Kirito's reliance instead of speed and dexterity that keeps throwing her off. Even the split-second processing provided by the nanotechnological hardwiring running through most of her neural system can only cope so quickly, and when he pulls off moves like that Kirito proves to be much quicker.

The strike is so fast you never see it actually connect, just Mantigora thrown to the side of his path bouncing along the ground roughly for several meters before she finally stops, and more tiredly forces herself to a crouch rather than roll up to this time. "Mantigora Vertibraeker does not 'chase away' easily." Tenacity was one of the things this bounty hunter was deftly known for.

She pauses a second when the comm from her datacron makes its 'beep-beep-bing-bing' chirp, though fortunately since everything is internal she only needs to devert a brief moment of attention to see the order to withdraw.

"She does however," she adds as she stands up fully, blades retracting as rubs some blood off her lip and straightens out the collar of her longcoat with the other hand, "know better than to disregard the order to depart." She gives Kirito a vage waving salute of sorts. "You're tough, kid... but you psych way too easily."

By the time she's done saying it she's already turned and sprinted off, fading out of sight both from her cloaking tech and in disappearing amonst Gaius' retreating forces.

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
Gaius watches as Ezio walks out from the smoke and levels his weapon at him. The Legatus in turn levels his own gauntlet right for the Assassin. As soon as one bullet flies, so does the plasma shot. The plasma streams right by the bullet, warping the metal as it passes by. The Ceruleum dancing against the magical effects inside of the metal casting.

The Ceruleum shot goes firing right past Ezio in a near nick, exploding against the background-- as for his own bullet...?

It slams right into the Legatus chest, digging right into the armor for the heart, metal tearing apart, the fabric behind ripping. The force enough to knock him clear off the ledge. Only for Ezio to see his prey escape by the means of being caught by several of his men on one of the Airships as it pulls upward and starts to head up. The lights on it shining across Ezio's location only for a moment before the doors can be seen sealing shut.

It seems the Confederates were held off from this location for another day...