Re: [Episode] Threads of Fate

[NPCNPC]

The member 'Skarlet' has done the following action : Dice Roll

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#1 'Reflex Check' : 13, 15, 12, 19

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#2 'Reflex Check' : 16, 9, 10, 14

[Skarlet]

Skarlet uses HT [Rapid Fire] on Skarlet.
Skarlet uses LT [Dark Venom] on the Princep Lackeys..
Skarlet uses UT on the Princep Lackeys.

The Princep Lackeys uses MT on Skarlet.
The Princep Lackeys uses LT on Skarlet.
The Princep Lackeys uses LT on Skarlet.
The Princep Lackeys uses UT on Skarlet.

COMBAT TRACKERS:

[NPCNPC]

The member 'Skarlet' has done the following action : Dice Roll

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#1 'Reflex Check' : 14, 10, 1

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#2 'Reflex Check' : 2, 2, 4, 11

[Skarlet]

Due to the ignorant woman’s proclamation, Ebony decided it was better to sit back and watch the fight unfold. She figured that the blue-haired woman needed a taste of reality and Ebony was more than happy to provide her that experience. This, after all, wasn’t a happy walk in the park but, rather, an arena where life and death were always grabbing at each other’s throats.

Ebony relaxed herself in her chair as those around her sprang into action. Truthfully, there was no need for her to brazenly jump when those around her were willing to take the hit. For now, she preferred to see the fight between the Princep and the blue-haired woman. Not that she had any hopes of the female winning the fight.

What amused her, however, was that the woman took the first shot at the leader. Which, quite frankly, was a sight to see. Despite all his airs and machismo, he pathetically fell to her throwing knife. Ebony snickered. It seemed as if the Princeps were all bark and no bite. He would redeem himself, however, once he managed to pin the woman to the ground.

Ebony kept her eyes trained on the two until boredom got a hold of her. There was nothing that interested her enough to continue seeing it go further. In fact, she had the mind to do them both a favor and end it right then and there. With that in mind, she began to switch out the bolt to a much more interesting one. One, that would make its entrance quite… explosive.

Ebony hummed to herself as the controlled chaos ensued. She had long since ignored Mr. Gutierrez but she figured it was now a good time as any to see what he had decided upon. Although, she had a rather sneaky suspicion that he had already agreed to her terms. She grinned at the thought.

As she lifted her eyes to meet his, her grin widened even further. It was obvious that the man was desperate. However, she’d let him sweat until he responded in her favor. Once he nodded to confirm her demands, she stood up from her chair. She grabbed the man by the collar and dragged him towards the kitchen entryway.

A few steps away from the swinging doors, Ebony pushed him inside and gave him a swift kick to give him the momentum needed to stumble in. It was enough to send the man flying inside with the rest of the work staff that had decided to hide. He fell to the ground but by the time he tried to protest, Ebony had already left.

Now satisfied that the man wouldn’t be in the way, Ebony moved away from the mass fighting being done in the middle of the establishment. She figured it would be best to take it outside but, first, she needed to spice things up. Finding the perfect vantage point, she aimed and fired a couple shots of what she had lovingly dubbed as Crying Crimson.

As soon as the bolts hit the floor near the entryway, an explosion erupted leading into chaotic confusion. She didn’t wait to see how much damage it had caused as she was more focused on the attention she was receiving. Shooting another bolt to cloud her movement, she waited until the plumes of smoke came out before making her way to a more concealed vantage point.

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[GuestGuest]

Up the stairs he went, making sure to turn in time to take a few pot shots of his own at his pursuers. He wasn't strong enough to bring down the entire building just yet. He had a ways to go before he was capable of such a feat. But for now at least, he wanted to make sure that he could use the tightness of the corridors to his advantage. An easy way to do that was frequently puncture the building with his bayonet. So that he could extract more of the building's structural integrity while building up pressure within his water gun.

If what his former commander said was true, one day he'd not need to rely on the gun in order to build up the pressure within the liquids that he manipulates. Since he'd be able to naturally condense and build up the water without needing the specialized rifle.

It was a goal that he was going to have to find himself working towards in the future. For now, however, he'd have to pay attention to the Princeps and their hired muscle, Bruno. He didn't want to die here, especially since he was nowhere near the point he needed to be in order to fulfill his ambition.

"Come now boys, you don't want to do this really. Princeps should stay on their side of the fence."  He gleefully mocked them through his mask, which made his voice sound deeper due to the muffling.

Bruno was the biggest threat here, but he hadn't seen the man enter the building... or at least hadn't seen him move up this ascending staircase with the other goons. Something that Adonis would need to keep in mind, despite his distraction from the nearly ceaseless gunfire that rained down upon his current position.

"Hmm."

Adonis kept his calm as he decided to stand at the top of the staircase, using one of his abilities that unleashed a great torrent of liquid down the staircase, pumping his gun to the maximum so that it would shoot a large enough burst to sweep the remaining goons down a couple of floors. It wasn't anything too major, but it was enough to wash away his opponents in a manner that was greatly

"On your right!" Bruno called out as he came crashing through the hallway window, it seemed as though he scaled the neighboring building moments prior to arriving.

His swing was powerful, serving as a reminder of why Adonis wished to have him team up in the first place.

The sledgehammer that he kept in his right hand moved in a quick horizontal motion, like some sort of destructive windfall.

Adonis barely managed to dodge it and he noticed the hammer imbed itself into the wall. Leaving a miniature crater where it landed.

Bruno merely flexed his his muscles and removed the instrument from the wall. Panting a bit due to how much force he had put into the swing despite missing it entirely.

One thing was made clear to Adonis now, if he got hit by that hammer then all of this would be over in a flash.

"Oh damn, you got faster since the last time I saw you Adonis. Makes this all the more interesting. If you're strong I'll follow you. You know the deal!" Bruno smirked while rearing back with his left hand.

"Radio Impact!" Bruno called out the name of his attack, allowing for his sledgehammer to become coated in enhancement busoshoku haki. Not that Adonis could tell from looking.

The only way he was able to know this, was because he had seen the attack before. Which meant he also knew how to dodge it.

Instead of diving to the left or right, he ducked down and a good thing too.

Bruno didn't stop at merely coating his weapon, he tossed it out as though it was a whirling flying buzzsaw. His accuracy with throwing his weapon was far higher than most people would have been with such a weapon.

It flew forward, right over Adonis' head, smashing into the floor. He had thrown it at an angle that allowed it not to go flying through the window across the hallway.

This caused Bruno to smirk at Adonis' close shave. Though he charged him like a bull in a china shop only moments after throwing the weapon.

Close Quarters wasn't Adonis' forte... so he'd need to think fast.

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sucré @ gs

[Skarlet]

As the cloud of heavy white smoke was just beginning to dissipate, Ebony had already fired another shot. This time, she made it so that the Princeps that had remained by Damien’s side were blinded temporarily. As the bolt landed right in front of the men, it flashed in rapid succession before going out. By the time the flashing stopped, Ebony was already racing up the stairway.

Taking advantage of this momentary lapse in time, Ebony rushed up towards the inside balcony of the restaurant and propped herself up against the pillars. Loading her crossbow once more, she quickly turned and fired at one of the Princeps down below. Not waiting to see if it hit, she returned to her position. However, her grin widened as she heard the sound of a scream.

Taking the time to ready another shot, she could sense some heavy footsteps making their way up towards her. Thus, she turned and waited until she saw the glimpse of the Princep’s coat before firing several bolts. As the body of the first man fell, his colleagues had already started firing towards her.

Taking account her lack of cover, Ebony locked and loaded as she took cover on the opposite side of the pillar. It did not provide her much safety but it was enough for her to take a moment to reassess her situation. She reached into her coat and,  pulling out a small orb, she waited to hear the small gap of space for them to reload before throwing it towards them.

As the bullets grazed her, she remained completely still until she found the time to strike. Tossing the orb towards the group, she rushed away from the pillar as the orb exploded. Pulling out her revolver, she shot towards the men that had barely managed to survive the explosion. Seeing as she wasn’t in what she considered much danger, Ebony took the chance to look down at the ground floor.

She began to search for the leader in the midst of the fight. As she scanned the bodies down below, she could easily tell how pathetically weak the Southern branch of the Ruby Spiders had gotten. If Francesco being replaced meant anything, it was that the Orochi’s hierarchy would be easy to bring down. After all, it seemed as if any coward could take out the established executives.

Ebony continued to look at the other fighters below. She figured that the other families had seen it as an opportunity to size up. After all, the Princeps had usually kept to themselves until now. Much would change if the man, Damien, had been given control of the Southern region. Inner conflict would rise if the other heads did not sort this mess out.

On the other hand, it provided an opportunity for them to see how much power and strength the Ruby Spiders actually had. Perhaps, in this way, the other families could take control as the new heads of the Orochi Syndicate. The Onyx Owls, of course, would be the first to strike. They had much to gain if they were the first to take Damien down.

Ebony clicked her tongue in irritation. Unfortunately, the more she looked, the more it dawned to her that the coward had turned tail and ran. In fact, Damien was nowhere to be found. For, where he once stood, only the bodies of his men and the blue-haired woman remained sprawled lifeless on the floor. Collateral damage but that was the way of life.

The remaining men, however, would look up and catch sight of her. Those who were not currently preoccupied in a fight of their own lifted their weapons to fire at her. Ebony immediately recoiled back into cover. Despite their leader’s pathetic escapade, it seemed as if he still held a loyal following. Ebony loaded her crossbow once more. If they wanted to die, who was she to refuse them?

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[GuestGuest]

Adonis figured it out, prolonging this fight would prove to be detrimental in the long run, so he got up and turned around, heading towards the window at the end of the hall. He’d raise his leg up and press his boot into the window seal, before pushing with all of his might so that he could leap out of the window.

As Bruno reached the window behind Adonis, he reached his arm back, preparing to launch his weapon once more, but he wasn’t paying attention well enough for what was happening.

Adonis had aimed his rifle in front of him, releasing all of the water with enough force to blast him backwards, right back at the window entrance. Angling himself in such a way that his protruding knee would be aimed towards Bruno’s face.

The knee would connect with resounding force, sending Bruno rolling backwards with only the whites of his eyes being visible after coming to a stop.

Adonis did feel the pain in his knee, since Bruno had a thick skull, but he did his best to ignore that pain. Choosing to take a deep breath and hobble his way over towards Bruno, he’d kneel down and raise his left arm up, his fist balled triumphantly. “You’re a tough son of a bitch.” He’d huff and let his arm fall back to his side.

He staggered a bit as he raised himself back up to his feet. Making his way towards the steps, so that he could exit the building. He was not at the level in which he could just bring an entire building down, but by making it structurally unsound he figured it gave his opponent an idea that he was going to try to do that anyway.

Once he made it lower, stepping over the bodies of the men he had knocked out prior, he headed outside panting all the while. He was strong, but he wasn’t invincible.

As he approached the location in which he had left Ebony, he wondered if she had finished up fighting yet. They had more things to figure out, opposed to simply kicking ass. They still needed to interrogate the instigator of this little conflict. Especially since they needed this information sorted as quickly as possible.

They also needed to get out of the area before the authorities arrived and put two and two together. It wasn’t a good idea for their notoriety to rise any higher. Especially given the plans that the pair had for the future.

As he made his way back to the building that he had left Ebony, he crept along the side, peeking into the window to see what was occurring.

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sucré @ gs

[Skarlet]

As Ebony moved into cover, half a dozen shots would find their mark mere centimeters away from where she had once stood. “Not bad,” she muttered to herself. “Not bad at all…” However, their extreme eagerness to bring her down had become their downfall. In their momentary lapse of judgment, they had unknowingly given her a few moments to act while they were forced to reload their weapons.

Ebony took hold of the opportunity so graciously provided to her by immediately placing her crossbow into position. She stood from behind her cover and began to walk across the landing all the while firing continuously at her enemies. As bolts rained unmercifully down upon them, they scattered like ants to frantically take cover. Not that it would do much for them considering she had taken the higher ground.

Finally having arrived at the other side, Ebony took a brief moment to scan the results of Damien’s ignorance. If that bastard’s entrance was any indicator, the next few years would most definitely be a pain in her ass. Especially considering how much the other families had eagerly jumped at the opportunity to test their might against his men.

At least now, Ebony could see that the Princep family, at least in Baterilla, wouldn't be too keen on keeping the peace between the families. It was evident that their South Blue heir was far too hot-headed to amount to much either. Which, in turn, provided a different set of problems if the main Princep family allowed for his behavior to continue.

Unfortunately, this also meant that if anything was going to go the way she wanted it to, she now had to find a different alternative. With Francesco gone, this meant she needed to branch out. It was either that or ally with another family to take the Ruby Spiders out. Not that any of those options would be easy considering that she lacked enough power to do so.

Having now grown bored of the bloodshed, Ebony figured it was time to take the coward and leave the newly renovated establishment. If she continued to linger, she was sure the Marines would arrive with no time to spare. Thus, with a click of her tongue, she launched herself from the railings and landed beside the groaning bodies of the men who had attempted to shoot her moments prior.

Without giving the groaning sacks of bone much thought, Ebony lifted her crossbow slightly from her side and shot them several times in the face. However, instead of lingering to make sure they were dead, she, instead, made her way towards the kitchen. She was sure Adonis would be fine. However, Gutierrez was a different matter and, for now, securing him was her top priority.

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[GuestGuest]

Adonis did his best to survey the destruction on offer by the mafia mistress, finding her ruthless efficiency to be wholly indicative of the experiences that she had growing up.

He was impressed, to say the least, it only made him wonder further why she spent such an unimaginable amount of time here stuck in the blues. She was destined for greater things in this lifetime, she only need to reach out and grab them.

And he was more than sure he was the right man to assist her in this endeavor.

To that end, he found himself entering the establishment with a sway, his jaunt being a dead giveaway to how little carnage affected a man in his line of work.

He himself preferred more systematic means of combat. But, wasn’t too sure how viable those forms of combat were.

At least, not at this time.

All that he wanted was to ensure that he could take out whomever he needed that posed a threat to Ebony. Other than that, he just needed the time to set up his future enterprise.

As it sat right now, however, meeting back up with her was important. He simply needed to figure out what their goal was with this Mr. Gutierrez. He really needed to pay more attention overall. Especially if he was going to provide a high standard of aid.

Making his way through the dining hall, stepping over corpses that lay in his path, he’d stop at the entryway of the kitchen.

Looking over towards Ebony, he’d approach their interaction with his trademark bluntness.

“So, what now? We need to kick rocks before the piggies arrive.” He spoke in the most matter-of-fact tone that he could muster.

He wasn’t afraid of the Marines, but he didn’t want to gain a bounty at all. Operating in the shadows was what made their lives that much easier. Sure there might be evidence of a scuffle here, but that dead pirate lady could take the blame for all of that.

“I say grab your contact and let’s hightail it out of here. We can debrief at a later point.”

That was his way of saying that their best bet was to just hit the road. Any sort of discourse that could be had now would prove problematic. But they did need to discuss what had just happened. Which would be easily done once they changed location.

So by her leave, they’d head on out with Mr. G in tow. Making it back to their territory without incident. Whomever these Princeps family people were, they were not locals. Or at least, he didn’t recognize the name.

Any up-and-coming families in the area were, not well known to him. Which meant that he’d have to suggest something bold.

Making his way inside what appeared to be a small house, he’d push the open door nearly off its hinges before slinging his rifle onto the table nearby. Flopping into a creaky old chair. Kicking his shoes up onto the table, not bothering to stop and dust them off beforehand.

Crossing his arms and gazing toward Mr. G and Ebony, he spoke in a boisterous manner.

“Now that we have that madness behind us, we need to sort out this whole Princep thing… but… let us conclude our business with your guest first.”

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[Gray]

GRADING

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Quality Score (Re)assessment: No (Thread abandoned. Distributing partial rewards to @Skarlet upon request.)

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REWARDS

Ebony M. d'Etth: