Swords and Gunplary

[Roromi 417]

((This is a GBN battle rematch between Roromi and Frosty! Creed will essentially be using just a dolled up Astray Red Frame.))
 

Creed’s environment shifted from the public GBN lobby into the familiar scene of a Gunpla cockpit. The man stroked his beard as he glanced at the displays and the status of his unit. CIWS empty, beam rifle lost; they weren’t kidding about melee weapons only. The veteran let out a nervous chuckle as he took in the virtual controls. He looked at the environment he was in and was surprised to see that he was on an earthly pasture. It appeared to be set on a high plateau with views all around of deep valleys. The grassy field he was set on danced like waves in the wind, crashing harmlessly across his mobile suit’s feet. There were a few mobile suit sized boulders around, enough to offer brief lapse of cover against an opponent. Enough boulders riddled the field to offer a loose maze with no path clearly seeing the other side of the plateau’s edge. It felt like a perfect dueling ground, not too open, and not too convoluted with obstacles. 

Cracking his knuckles the man let a grin grow on his face as he took the controls. The Astray Custom Gold frame jerked into motion lifting its colossal hand in front of Creed and swinging the limb over to grasp the hilt of the stories-tall samurai sword on his hip. With his left shielded hand he brought the Astray to hold the scabbard steady and poised to draw the blade out in a slice. 

He held the blade back, instead opting to stalk the maze, like a samurai stalking a ninja. He was ready to explode into action with a single stroke. His mobile suit strode deliberately and not quickly. The Astray was nimble enough but Creed knew that melee fights could be unpredictable and his best bet was to remain aggressive but cautious. 

It had been years since Creed had built, much less used this particular unit. Essentially it was the Astray Red Frame but painted up as the gold frame instead. The markings were also custom displaying “OMNI Enforcer” and other earth slogans since this was a unit he had made long before he became a Zapp employee. The armaments consisted of a single samurai sword, his anti beam Shield, and the two beam sabers on his back, not to mention the somewhat unreliable power couplings on the hands. Needless to say he was excited to be using the unit once more. The gold glistened in the sunlight and he couldn’t help but appreciate the aesthetics the unit had to offer. He shook his head letting the notion slip from his mind so he could focus on the challenge before him. He had to find his enemy and destroy them, no matter the cost. 

[FrostyFoster 453]

Amy sat in the main lobby of GBN, browsing through various modes. "No. No. Definitely no." She said while scrolling down. Eventually, she found what she was looking for. "Close Combat only 1v1." The diver exclaimed. "This could work." As she pressed accept, her avatar was brought to the cockpit or her Gunpla, the Murasaki Archer. With an arsenal of close combat weaponry, the GN Archer had technology from the Blitz Gundam, allowing invisibility. "I probably won't even need it that much." She said as she looked around the large duel zone. "This place is perfect." 

The Murasaki Archer was currently hidden behind one of the larger boulders this field had to offer. It'd be a challenge to find her, but the same could be said for her opponent. This is until the fake sunlight glistened off the gold mobile. Peeking ever so slightly over the boulder, she saw the Astray, ready to attack with its samurai sword if she got close. "Hmmm. Can't get close with the Folding Razors." She thought. Kyle could likely pick off a mobile suit like this for her, but she was all alone here. Her skill as a diver was all that mattered now. 

Amy pulled a Beam Boomerang with her right hand, aiming and throwing toward the left side of the machine. She quickly turned on the stealth system, opting to now hide behind another rock almost perpendicular from the Astray. Hoping her distraction would work, she threw the other boomerang toward her real target, the beam sabers on the back of the mobile suit. 

[Roromi 417]

A boulder to Creed’s left suddenly exploded, a line forming from a slice of some type,trailing through the material. The dust from the explosion sucked behind the source as it flew away, a beam boomerang. Confusion riddled Creed’s face for just a moment before it dawned on him that it was a distraction, or rather that I most likely had to be. Based on the direction of the boomerang it had originated somewhere vaguely in front of him, which meant what exactly? Creed instinctively brought the Astray to his right, weapon poised but still tucked away; and just as he turned his attention away from the exploding boulder a glimmer caught his eye. 

Two boomerangs! He thought as he jerked his controls to hop backwards into the direction of the cut boulder. There was no way he could track the second projectile, and he feared that he couldn’t do much to prevent the second attack. While he wished he had the skills to cut the boomerang midair he was happy enough as his instincts paid off.  The glimmer of the second projectile violently sailed just in front of the Astray’s head. The heat of the beam likely sizzling off some of the paint. The proximity of the weapon was enough to startled Creed, and he stumbled backwards against a boulder which barely stopped him from falling on his butt. 

Thinking of how “uncool” he must seem he took a deep breath then fired his thrusters. The Astray hobbled back onto its feet and began a trot roughly towards the 2 o’clock from his original position. He didn’t run in a straight line, he knew better. Instead the Astray jerked after every other boulder and would kick off one of the obstacles to make a zig zag approach towards what he was guessing was his enemy’s location. 

He grimaced as he picked up a tempo to his movements. He still didn’t have a good idea where the enemy was or what he was facing for that matter. Based on the returning vectors of the boomerangs he could make a good guess where to go but nothing was popping out to his eyes. This made the veteran all the more skittish as he kept checking his rear sensors for another trick. If he kept moving maybe he could stir up another attack and get a better idea what he was dealing with. “Bide your time…” he murmured to himself. 

Edited March 27, 2020 by Roromi

[FrostyFoster 453]

Her attack didn't end up going to plan, but it wasn't a failure either. Amy could tell the other diver had experience, opting to now weave back and forth as they headed toward her location. She was shocked at first, but realized that the boomerang's trajectory would give her position away. The two beam weapons were heading back to their owner, so she had to think quickly in order to not be sliced in two.

The Stealth System was out of the question, since its flaw of turning off the Phase Shift Armor could ruin her quickly. Plus, the other Gunpla was coming quickly, making the wise decision of kicking off the boulders. However, Amy noticed a pattern in the Astray's movement that she could take advantage of. Every other boulder was being used. "This'll have to be timed just righ- OH SHIT NOW!" The Boomerangs were close, so her attack began. 

The Archer ignited its thrusts, landing on top of the boulder it was hiding behind. Pulling out two Folding Razors, Amy leaped into the air, right over her opponent. Throwing the knifes downward at the machine, she rolled into a landing right as the Beam Boomerangs landed in each of the open hands. Her back was toward the Astray, Boomerangs now becoming beam sabers.

[Roromi 417]

The sudden flash of thrusters stole Creed’s attention. The strange mobile suit seemed to phase into existence and it dawned on the veteran that his opponent was using Mirage Calloid (or something like it). His fascination was short lived as the Archer-esque mobile suit jumped straight over him, launching a pair of daggers at him as it went to dazzle past him. Again, Creed wasn’t the type of sword man to bat a projectile out of the air; instead he let go of the hilt as he lifted his shield up with both arms to block the weapons. 

Between his momentum and shield he ended up only having to block one of the daggers as the other flew past him harmlessly; the other struck deep into the shield, becoming lodged. With his right free hand he reached up to grasp the hilt of his right beam saber.

The Astray wasn’t particularly special in terms of features, but something it had was speed and agility. He pushed off another boulder to change his direction and twist around to chase his opponent. As he turned he slashed down with the poised right arm, simultaneously igniting the pink blade of his saber. He knew the stroke was one of desperation but he needed to swing the tide of the battle. The important thing was he now had his shield and weapon directed at his dangerous foe and he was within striking distance. “Let’s get this started!” Marco howled out loud as he moved in for a follow up to his initial attack. 

 

[FrostyFoster 453]

For what seemed to be a regular Astray, the machine had its strengths, likely due to the experience of the pilot. As the enemy's machine slashed down at the Archer,  Amy turned her machine clockwise, attempting to block the attack with her right beam saber. The strength of the Astray, plus the awkward angle of the block, put tons of pressure on the Gunpla. With all her might, Amy turned again, pushing her other beam saber up against the enemy's by creating an X-shape with the two pink blades. The Astray's weapon was getting dangerously close to her Gunpla's head, sizzling off some of her own paint, just like her opponent. "I won't be able to hold for long." She thought. The angle of the attack was just awkward enough for her to be on the losing side, but she did have a trick up her sleeve, or rather, on her backpack. 

Two slash disks, taken from the Kimaris, were attached to the machine back thrusters, mostly used as short ranged shuriken. But they could also be launched directly from the mobile suit at opponents. "These are for one time use. Let's make this count!" The slash disks jettisoned for their normal spot, one aimed at the body, while the other was mean't for the Astray's right arm. She hoped that her aiming skills were good enough during this tense situation, but she had to regain her distance from the gold machine.

Edited April 6, 2020 by FrostyFoster

[Roromi 417]

Beam blades locked up as Creed’s stroke fell against the enemy’s twin blades. The veteran hardly celebrated as he made contact, instead his eyes grew in alarm as the enemy fired a devious attack. Twin shurikens fired at him. He was too close to do anything fancy, and Creed knew he had to pay the price. Again his shield helped as it absorbed yet another physical barrage, the proximity of the attack nearly making the disk drive straight through the hardened material. The second attack was less gracious as it dug into his sword arm. It seemed just as he was about to drive his pink blade for a killing blow the power behind the limb suddenly cut out. The beam saber didn’t exactly fall out of his hand but the arm went limp. 

A lesser pilot would have overreacted by doing something drastic or overly cautious; Creed was not one of those. The experienced diver knew that any good sword fight relied on footwork as much as any sword stroke. Above all else Marco could not let the enemy gain any advantage over him. Instead he doubled down, redlining his thrusters and bashing his shield into his opponent, the embedded weapons in the shield digging into the enemy. Any damage was secondary to his true design, Creed was angling the shield to hit and pin his enemy down; make them stagger and stay on the ground. As he drove the shield into the enemy his saber wielding arm flew out wide, beam saber shutting off as his mobile suit shifted its weight into the enemy. 

With an arm likely out of the fight he would have to be even more resourceful in his pursuit. His shield was getting more and more damaged and he doubted it would last too much more. That left him with one more beam saber and his katana, the latter being more challenging to wield with the off hand. Gritting his teeth he focused on keeping the shield connected to the enemy. It was simple: Creed would have to resort to being more brutal if he was gonna get out of his predicament. 

[FrostyFoster 453]

The Murasaki Archer's shurikens were quite special. Due to the way they were built, the Kimaris' weapons could pierce almost any surface, including Phase Shift Armor. What Amy didn't realize was that those weapons could be used against her if the enemy was smart. As the Astray pushed down on her machine, one of the shuriken's pushed down on the body of the purple Gunpla. "Damn it!" She said as the Archer was given a "stomach" wound. The handle of one of her knife's embedded in the shield smacked into the strongest part of the body, breaking the Folding Razor's blade in two. The partially broken dagger landed on the floor as the battle got worse for her.

The Archer lost its footing, falling straight to the ground. As it bumped onto the grassy field, Amy lost control of her Beam Boomerangs, falling out of arm's reach. The Gold Astray kept pushing on the body, jamming the shuriken deeper in into it. The Diver had many options, but she didn't want to give away all of her tricks just yet. "This isn't over Astray!" She yelled as she pushed her right hand up against the head of the machine. While attempting to push the Gold gunpla off, she looked for something she could use. The broken Razor lied on the grass, barely within reach. Using the enemy's broken arm and preoccupied shield to her advantage, she pushed the dagger into the part with the least amount of armor surrounding it, the neck.

[Roromi 417]

Red warnings lit up Creed’s display as the enemy pushed the broken dagger into the Astray’s neck. It didn’t take an expert to know that damage would be catastrophic, possibly severing the head if he didn’t do something about it. The desperate nature of the enemy’s attack simply reassured the veteran however. A grin slowly grew on the man’s face as the two suits got more and more entangled. He was too close to draw his katana, and it would leave him too open to draw his beam sword. Pulling away would surely sever his suit's head, and his right arm seemed to be barely hanging on. To top it all off his shield jerked suddenly as it began to warp and bend. 

“For all the marbles…” he grumbled as he deftly moved his good hand from the shield; he quickly slipped it past the deteriorating defense and found a broad opening against the pelvis of the enemy suit, just below the cockpit. Creed began his quote of the manga almost as if it was a prayer, “diverting all power…” The power coupling on the hand sparked wildly as it came to life, forming an unstable energy ball.  Additional warning lights flared as he jetted the arm towards his enemy. The angle may have been a little awkward but he had a firm press against the hull of the enemy machine. The impact was sure to be devastating, similar attacks had severed the head off a rival Astray in clean motion, the attack wasn’t without its’ faults though. 

The explosion jerked his shattered suit away from the enemy. It sent him flying backwards into a boulder. Creed barely had enough sense to look at his own damage. The head of the Astray tilted unnaturally to the side, hanging on by cables and little else. The right arm was missing from the shoulder joint down now. The left arm was severed from the elbow below, sparks fizzled over the wound. About the only thing working on his mobile suit appeared to be his thrusters and legs, with the latter showing moderate damage from the attack. Creed knew that his attack was a “Hail Mary” and he had little hope of fighting beyond that last attempt. The man’s grin didn’t die down however and he merely laughed, “damn that has got to look cool on the replay!” He still didn’t know if he won or lost but big explosions always made him happy. Win or loose, he mused and slowly his attention returned to his foe to see what happened. “Hey there!” He hailed on the public chat, “that was quite a fight!”

[FrostyFoster 453]

The inside of her cockpit dimmed as what was left of her Gunpla lied on the floor. The energy ball did its job, giving the win to her opponent. Amy couldn't believe it, but it taught her a few lessons on the defensive capabilities of her Archer. The Phase Shift Armor wouldn't be enough for her next battle, whenever that would be. "Hey there!" Her opponent said. "That was quite a fight!" Amy clicked on the chat to respond. "Yeah, it was! I learned a lot from it." She exclaimed as her machine materialized from the battlefield. 

The diver appeared back in the GBN lobby, immediately checking her battle record. "71-23 for one on one matches." She thought. "I've played this game way too much, but I have to practice more." She walked up to mission area, noticing that the team above her was going to take the Kobayashi Hayato test. "You do realize that's a no win scenario, right." She said to the three burly men wearing Zeon jackets. The biggest one turned around to Amy as the other two scowled. "You do realize that we're one of the best teams in all of GBN right?" He yelled. "We don't lose any matches!" She smirked. These three looked tough, but looks meant nothing in a cockpit of a mobile suit. "Ok, tough guy. One on one. Right now."