Important to note is that officially this battle is a SPAR. Due to what happened with one of their former members, Shadowolf, I have proposed to turn the battle into a spar in case they had lost their spirits. They picked up my offer, and thus no official points will be handed out for this battle (sorry voters!). We, and in particular the Blade Mercenaries, would still appreciate your CnC though! But most importantly, we sincerely hope that you'll enjoy!
Without further ado, here are the fighters :
Vern's 'Agent Gamma'
vs.
The Blade Mercenaries :
-Haru's 'Kiro Sarr' (Leader)
-Chaotic_Penguin's 'Deam Catena' (Co-leader)
-Shadowolf's 'Maxar | Shadowolf' (BANNED)
(Apparently Shado's original character profile got torn down together with his account. Luckily for those who haven't read it, I had taken a copy of it with me in a word dox so that I could work on the story while on my travels. The story and demo have not been incorporated, however).
And here are their battles :
The Blade Mercenaries
Spoiler (Click to Show)
“You know who this is if you have the right number. If not, you will want to hang up.”
A voice that would not have sounded out of place coming from a cobra oozed out of the speaker and into Shado’s pricked up ears.
“Oh indeed I do know. It just so happens that I have a job for you.”
“‘You’ as in me personally, or ‘you’ as in all of us?”
“I think the entire Blade Mercenaries group will need to take out this target.”
Shado tilted his head so that the phone was pressed between his right shoulder and his ear. He snatched up a beige note-pad bearing the “Staybridge Suites” logo on it, along with a blue and white “Mat-Su Credit Union” pushpen. Readying himself to write down the info, he started to ask the standard questions.
“Name of target please.”
“Agent Gamma of the Organization.”
“Suspected location.”
“Westlands suburbs district. Outside of RHG City.”
“Can you be more specific?”
“I’m afraid not, although I can say that he was supposedly caught on camera at Lorenzo’s Deli and Market on Jackson Street East at 2:31 PM yesterday.”
Rather precise information, Shado thought. “That will be enough for us to work with. Now, what’s the bounty you are paying.”
“Considering how important you will be to me, I thought that ten million would be suffice.”
“I will presume you meant ten million apiece.”
“No, I --”
“Then there is no need for you to have called. There will be three people working on this, and thus there needs to be three paychecks. You did not even choose a price that could be divided three ways. Either reconsider immediately, or you will need to find another set of mercs.”
“Wait! Fine. Thirty million it is.”
“Good. Thank you for your patronage. Agent Gamma will be dead within the week, probably sooner. You will receive an automated message from a computer generated number when the job is done. Goodbye.”
Setting down the pen and hanging up the phone, Shado turned to his recently acquired companions. The apartment consisted of little more than a bedroom with two double beds, a bathroom, and an eat-in kitchen. They would need to find larger quarters sooner or later, but the anonymity provided by this location was not easy to come by, and the lack of three beds did not bother Shado. He had slept through blizzards in mountain crags, so an outdated mauve shag carpet made a fine enough bed for him. Catena was browsing the refrigerator aimlessly, while Kiro Starr lounged on his bed, tapping his foot to the beat of one of his seemingly endless supply of songs. Raising his voice slightly to make sure Kiro would hear him over the headphones, Shado announced, “We have a new target. Full force attack, on our part. Going after a person by the name of…” He glanced at the pad. “Agent Gamma. Works for something called the Organization.
“
“Ugh. I hope he’s not related to that Omega guy.” Catena grumbled. “Where is this… Gamma located at?” She continued. “Jackson street East is the last place he was seen” declared Shado. Catena’s mind drifted as she imagined all the great foods that could be purchased there. “What’s the reward?” Shado grinned. “Managed to get us 10 million each.” Catena spun around, startled. “T-t-ten million?!” Catena had not eaten too well in the last few days, and the thought of suddenly being a millionaire excited her. “Kiro did you hear that? 10 million! 10 million!” She proclaimed. Shado stood there, still grinning at her excitement. Kiro opened one eye, and mumbled, “Say that again?”
“Ten Million, you idiot!” Kiro sat up, now mildly interested. “Well, I guess that is more than what we usually get.” Catena was confounded. “Why are you so unusually calm? It is Ten Million Bucks!” Kiro laughed, and then held a grin. “Of course I am happy! Imagine all the songs I can buy!” Kiro stopped grinning. “Of course, 10 million probably means that the target will be very dangerous. We don’t know what to expect, so be on your guard.” Catena was too busy thinking of all the food she would eat to listen.
Shado stretched, flexing his clawed hands. “Well, I’m not particularly in need of money, myself. It’s the principle of the thing. Anyhow, I’ve been needing a good fight. The big problem is that we don’t know where he lives. I’ll need to be your ‘point-man’ considering the fact that I can sniff out his trail from the Deli. You guys are a lot better at blending in than me, so it will be up to you to do the surprise attack.”
“Alright.” Kiro glanced at Catena. “Anything you want to say?”
“We go now. Gather your… whatever. We’ll bring this guy down.” Shado and Kiro looked at her curiously. Usually she is calm and tactical, always wanting to know more about the target. “What are you staring at me for? Let’s get going!” She slammed the refrigerator shut and leaped out the window. “We’ll strategize on the way there!”
“Strange,” Kiro thought. “She must be rushing for the money… But oh well.” Grabbing his trusty shotgun, Cecile, off the bed, he walked towards the door. “Hope she didn’t break a leg, jumping out of that window,” Kiro jokingly murmured to Shado.
Shado nodded his agreement, following her lead out of the window. “The bigger thing is if she breaks her caution. I didn’t like the feeling I got from our caller. I can’t put my finger on it, though...I’ll probably wake up in the middle of the night with it.” He shot a steel pole up to Kiro. “Slide down, fireman style, since apparently no one here is civilized enough to use the door.”
“Hmm?” Kiro turned. “Oh, a fireman pole! That’s nice, even though it brings back old memories…I’ll use it.” He started to slowly slide down the slippery pole. “Thanks.”
----
“Ok, here’s the jist of the battle. We know nothing of the target, but we know we’ll be fighting in the city, so I’ll make a little arena so we can reduce collateral damage. I’ll take some time to make sure this Gamma guy doesn’t escape. I’ll jump in to try to pin him down, then you two can pound down on him. Let’s do this quick, clean, and easy.” Shado and Kiro nodded as the trio sprinted toward the city. “Stay on the comms, we’ll split up to find him.”
As Kiro ran, for some reason, he suddenly was a bit worried. “I have a feeling that not researching this guy is going to prove to be our downfall.. Oh well.” He put on his headphones, and played some music to clear his mind. It also doubled as a disguise so people looking at him would see a regular young man with a music device, like ones they usually see around the city. He hid Cecile
for now in his backpack.
Catena, though taking advantage of a nearby ice-cream parlor, kept watch outside the deli while Shado browsed around the store. Though the door to the back office was locked, he merely melted bolt and strolled in. A set of security monitors were arrayed in front of him. Reaching up to the earbud he was wearing, he tapped it once and spoke softly. “Testing BM closed circuit radio system. All members online?” A cough from Catena and a bar of “Another One Bites the Dust” whistled by Kiro gave him the affirmative.
Setting about his work, he began scrolling through the video history until he reached the appropriate date stamp in the bottom right corner. Several people were in the Deli. Assuming the target was not a geriatric black lady or a “soccer-mom” wrangling three elementary school kids, no one was inside. Outside the front window, however, the camera caught a relatively non-descript white man with neatly trimmed brown hair and beard. He stood at the window for a short time, presumably deciding if he wanted to go in or not, then continued walking down the sidewalk. Shado furrowed his brow. Something isn’t right about this… Rewinding the film, he played it over again, in slow motion. A sly, predatory grin tugged at the corners of his lips. Why you little devil. Couldn’t outsmart old Maxar, could you?
Shado jumped at the sound of the balding manager tromping his way towards the Big Mac sitting on the corner of the desk. Hurriedly, he melted the bottom cans in a stack of Bush’s Original Baked Beans. The man sighed, scratched irritatedly at what little red hair he had left, and stomped to the shelves on aisle three to clean up the fallen cans. Dashing out of the store, Shado stopped several feet away from Catena at the spot where Agent Gamma had stood. Several minutes of sniffing brought up the scent he was looking for. Young caucasian male, faux leather, black wax shoe polish. He tapped the intercom again. “Target’s trail acquired, video identification made. White male with brown hair and beard, grey eyes. Tidy in appearance. I’m going to track him down. Guys, I need you to be careful. I have suspicions that we are getting ready to spring a trap...on ourselves. On the video, Agent Gamma stood at the window from 2:31:00 to 2:31:59, precisely the time that our contact told us he was there, and no longer. Also, when he first arrived, he glanced towards the camera, then adjusted his position for a better camera angle. Lastly, I don’t smell a man at ease...his scent give every indication of one who was anticipating combat, though not anxious of any immediate threat. This is Shado, out.” Without waiting for their response, he began to walk down the sidewalk like any normal person. No one would have noticed his nose working furiously underneath the shadow of his hood.
Catena took heed in Shado’s warning, but nonetheless stood relaxed outside the deli. She watched carefully as each person walked by, all the while mindlessly licking her ice cream. Grey eyes? That’s peculiar. Still, it’s gonna take a while to find this Gamma guy in this crowd.
“Shado, catch sight of him yet?” Catena mumbled. “It’s hard to spot out this agent in such a large crowd.” She continued, munching on her sugarcone.
“Could you not eat and speak at the same time? Also, I think I may be close.” Shado replied.
Hearing the chatter between them, Kiro jumped in while he was walking in a abandoned street.
Something didn’t seem right about this place… and it personally gave him the creeps. He talked into his intercom, unaware of the shadow creeping up on him.
“Not really finding a place to fight… We might have to-Mmph!” Kiro suddenly was put in a tight choke-hold from behind. Struggling to breathe and gasping for air, he tried to throw him off, but the man seemed to have a iron grip. Summoning all his remaining strength, he threw a desperate
back kick into the man’s chest. He heard a “OOMPH!” and saw the man stagger back, releasing the grip and momentarily hindered as Kiro sucked in as much precious air as he could.
Shado was immediately in alert. “Kiro, are you there?! Are you in combat with our target, or with another person?!” He quickly followed up with a page to Catena. “I need you to get over to…” he hurriedly checked the triangulation function on the radio in his pocket “the next street over. Safton Lane, first alley on the right. Kiro needs back up, but I’m not leaving this scent trail yet. GO!”
Catena sprinted towards Safton Lane, zigzagging through the crowds. A chain link began to multiply in her pocket, until she was covered in chainmail. Many eyes glanced toward her, until one exclaimed, “Run! She’s one of the RHG! There’s gonna be a fight!” The civilians lost control, screaming and scrambling for their lives. “Shado, I think we got rid of all possible civilian casualties already.” Catena said. By now she was gliding effortlessly at max speed.
Kiro quickly rolled behind a large box labeled “CAUTION: ITEMS FRAGILE.” Quickly taking out
Cecile, he jumped over and.. the man was gone! “W-Where did he go! He just vanished like a puff of smoke!” Slowly moving around the area, he kept Cecile at the ready. Sweat slowly trickled down his face. “What did we get into?” A sharp blow from behind sent him into pure darkness for a moment. Then, he woke up.
By the time she arrived at the alley, Kiro was collapsed in a corner. “What happened?” She asked. “H-He, He just… just disappeared! And then, out of nowhere, he struck me from behind.” Kiro answered. “Shado, we need to be more cautious. This Gamma guy is fast, and he’s trying to incapacitate us. Are you sure his trail doesn’t lead here?” Catena lifted Kiro up, and slung his hand over her shoulder. “Come on, let’s go find Shado.”
“Guys, use the ‘Locate’ function on the radio pods in your pockets to find me. I think I’m getting warm...something tells me there is a trick being played on us. Whoever attacked you is going to be after me next, of that I’m sure. It’s best that we stick together from now on.” Shado wound his way through the now abandoned streets. “Door Open” alarms beeped from the vehicles hastily