01-21-2018, 10:05 AM
Proper stories are supposed to start at the beginning. It just ain't easy saying what the beginning is. The series of events, decisions and coincidences that led the characters of this story here though, do you really want to know them?
At the end of the day, what matters is that two unlikely partners pissed off the wrong people, and now they've got a reward on their heads and two equally unlikely partners on their heels. A hot pursuit that began by the edge of the Tangled Green led them to the outer reaches of the foresty verse, where the hunted find themselves standing at the edge of a large area filled only with whitened, dead trees that. The sporadic patches of grass and the dry, cracked ground, hardened from excessive exposure to the sun, indicate that this area was a battlefield before. Whether it was a battle of living beings who destroyed the forest as they clashed time and time again, or a battle of the elements where a forest fire had tried to consume the trees whilst the rainwater had struggled to extinguish it, remains unsolved. It's not like either party would have the time to conduct much research on the matter, though.
As Undyne attempted to run forward, into this zone of death and decay, Amber held her back. "The grounds are treacherous here! If we charge through we'll get our feet stuck, or worse."
"What do you suggest we do then?" the fish asked, baring her teeth. "Are you finally agreeing on that we should fight?"
"No, but if we go through or around this we're going to lose a bunch of time. Can't you let me try to reason with Carmelita?"
Undyne showed her the scorch mark on her shoulder where she had narrowly avoided getting hit by one of their pursuers's projectiles. "You may be able to get your head out of the noose, but I'm a stranger. I'm not giving them another chance!" Besides, she was annoyed from running away. Wanting to pursue her mission without delay, she had agreed with Amber to try and run for now. Apparently the Faunus had similar reasons to not engage their opponents, besides that one of them was apparently an acquaintance. But they were tenacious pursuers, and her patience wore thin. Why not just bash their heads in a little bit? Enough to scare them off from pursuing.
Far closer than they realized, their pursuers were hard on their trail, following the very obvious footprints along a mud-path. Carmelita's field experience paid off here, allowing her to identify fake prints made to throw them off whilst Erik used what he could in psychic powers to track the lingering traces of mental auras of the ones they were hunting. Had this been a city neither of their skills would have been useful for long, but out here in the Omni-forsaken parts of the Tangled Green there was not an intelligent living soul to mess with their perception.
"They've stopped", remarked Erik. "I sense that they're not moving anymore."
"A trap?" asked Carmelita.
"No idea. Maybe they're summoning, or one of them's got their leg injured. Are you sure that your shocker-"
"Yes. I fired it by accident so it wasn't properly aimed", the fox responded, cutting Erik off. "I didn't catch where it hit her but it couldn't have been the legs. Either way, if they're summoning a vehicle we have to catch them right now, before they can complete it."
"Understood. So, I leave the one in armor up to you?"
"I'll see if I can stealth up and handcuff her. Amber can detect me so I can't surprise her. For the fish one, go ham. She seems like the aggressive type."
"Right", murmured Erik, still wondering how he got roped into all this.
Carmelita loosened the stun gun in her holster as they slowed to a walking pace. Through the foliage they could see Amber and Undyne, facing in their general direction with their weapons drawn. Did they want to fight? "Sorry Amber, but I'll have to subdue you before I have you tell me how you managed to be branded as a criminal."
At the end of the day, what matters is that two unlikely partners pissed off the wrong people, and now they've got a reward on their heads and two equally unlikely partners on their heels. A hot pursuit that began by the edge of the Tangled Green led them to the outer reaches of the foresty verse, where the hunted find themselves standing at the edge of a large area filled only with whitened, dead trees that. The sporadic patches of grass and the dry, cracked ground, hardened from excessive exposure to the sun, indicate that this area was a battlefield before. Whether it was a battle of living beings who destroyed the forest as they clashed time and time again, or a battle of the elements where a forest fire had tried to consume the trees whilst the rainwater had struggled to extinguish it, remains unsolved. It's not like either party would have the time to conduct much research on the matter, though.
As Undyne attempted to run forward, into this zone of death and decay, Amber held her back. "The grounds are treacherous here! If we charge through we'll get our feet stuck, or worse."
"What do you suggest we do then?" the fish asked, baring her teeth. "Are you finally agreeing on that we should fight?"
"No, but if we go through or around this we're going to lose a bunch of time. Can't you let me try to reason with Carmelita?"
Undyne showed her the scorch mark on her shoulder where she had narrowly avoided getting hit by one of their pursuers's projectiles. "You may be able to get your head out of the noose, but I'm a stranger. I'm not giving them another chance!" Besides, she was annoyed from running away. Wanting to pursue her mission without delay, she had agreed with Amber to try and run for now. Apparently the Faunus had similar reasons to not engage their opponents, besides that one of them was apparently an acquaintance. But they were tenacious pursuers, and her patience wore thin. Why not just bash their heads in a little bit? Enough to scare them off from pursuing.
Far closer than they realized, their pursuers were hard on their trail, following the very obvious footprints along a mud-path. Carmelita's field experience paid off here, allowing her to identify fake prints made to throw them off whilst Erik used what he could in psychic powers to track the lingering traces of mental auras of the ones they were hunting. Had this been a city neither of their skills would have been useful for long, but out here in the Omni-forsaken parts of the Tangled Green there was not an intelligent living soul to mess with their perception.
"They've stopped", remarked Erik. "I sense that they're not moving anymore."
"A trap?" asked Carmelita.
"No idea. Maybe they're summoning, or one of them's got their leg injured. Are you sure that your shocker-"
"Yes. I fired it by accident so it wasn't properly aimed", the fox responded, cutting Erik off. "I didn't catch where it hit her but it couldn't have been the legs. Either way, if they're summoning a vehicle we have to catch them right now, before they can complete it."
"Understood. So, I leave the one in armor up to you?"
"I'll see if I can stealth up and handcuff her. Amber can detect me so I can't surprise her. For the fish one, go ham. She seems like the aggressive type."
"Right", murmured Erik, still wondering how he got roped into all this.
Carmelita loosened the stun gun in her holster as they slowed to a walking pace. Through the foliage they could see Amber and Undyne, facing in their general direction with their weapons drawn. Did they want to fight? "Sorry Amber, but I'll have to subdue you before I have you tell me how you managed to be branded as a criminal."
Quote:OOC thread: http://omniverse-rpg.com/showthread.php?tid=9546
To recap, the terrain is mostly barren with some patches of grass and rocks sticking out of the ground. The burnt area, about half a kilometer in diameter, has trees that are... well, burnt, mostly black or white and very brittle. The ground is dry and equally brittle, so watch your step if you don't want to get your feet caught in a cavity! The rest of the area is medium to dense temperate forest, just like most of the Tangled Green, allowing for fancy tree-top battling and sneaking or ambush tactics.
"(Note to self: insert quote & picture once I find stuff)"
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