Team AERO: Chapter VI

Bzz. Bzz.

You get up and begin your morning ritual. You step out of the bathroom and make your way to the cafeteria to eat with Regalia.

[Anything you wanna say?]
[Just eat.]

"So what do you think of Crystal?"

She tilts her head, "What do you mean?"

"I just wanna be able to work better with her, ya know?"

She taps her chin a moment before smiling, "I think the two of you work well together already. Obviously there's room for improvement, but we all could use it."

You nod, going back to your food for a moment.

"So how did you develop your weapon?"

"Hmm.. Well, once I knew my semblance, it was easy to design something that worked well with it. The harder part was adding the ranged option."

[Anything else?]
*[Finish breakfast.]

You finish your meals, beginning the journey back to your dorm.

"Hey, Regalia. Do you wanna train together some time?"

She smiles as you reach your room, holding her scroll to the door. "Sure."

You move inside after her and get ready for class.

You head out with Regalia and are soon joined by Crystal and Oliver. You go through your morning classes easily and find yourself in line for lunch.

[Anything you wanna say to your team?]

"Do you guys sometimes get the feeling like you don't function when there aren't enough voices on your head telling you what to do?"

Crystal squints her eyes, "What?"

Regalia tilts her head, looking concerned, "Are you ok? Should we take you back to the nurse?"

Oliver just looks confused.

"N-never mind. It's just a Vacuoan saying."

Crystal raises an eyebrow, "What's it mean?"

"N-nothing important. I'll explain later."

She shrugs.

You get your food and sit down to eat. You decide to pull out your scroll and look up weaponsmiths while your team talks to each other. Looks like there's one on the far side of town, in the section you're not very familiar with. At least you know there is one.

You finish your food and head to Combat Class.

You take your usual seats as DeFleur paces near the railing. She looks way to happy.

"Today you will begin fighting your fellow students with your partner. Try not to kill one another."

[Volunteer to go first.]
*[Sit back.]
[Tell someone to do it.]

You decide to watch some fights for today. Nothing and no one really stands out to you.

Your team looks like they're getting bored. Crystal especially.

You think about maybe volunteering when Crystal stands up. You stand next to her.

"Ms. Swann and Ms. Eton. Very well. Any takers?"

It's silent as you begin walking to the arena.

"We'll go."

You turn to see who stands before taking the stairs.

Phyllis Cyclamen and Ivory Elliott from Team PINK. You don't know much about either of them. Guess you should have been paying better attention to your classmates' fights.

[Battle Plan](Roll plan)
[Wing it.]
[??]

You head down with Crystal.

"Lay a bubble mine field across the entire arena. Large for distraction, small to lure them into getting hit. We'll keep them at range and control the fight."

She thinks a moment then nods, "It could work.."

You prepare your weapon and walk to the usual starting spot. The two from PINK go to the opposite end, being the challengers.

From what you can tell, Phyllis uses some sort of triple barreled gun with blades on the barreles, while Ivory uses a pair of overly large scizors.

The horn sounds, and Crystal immediately starts sending out a torrent of bubbles that fill the arena. You prepare your spear to fire. You scan across the arena to see Phyllis getting ready to fire as well, while Ivory has her hands in the air.

Crystal's bubbles have effectively divided your teams, and you're still searching for a shot.

Suddenly the bubbles begin popping, explosions filling the air. The other two haven't moved. You look around, trying to see what's setting them off.

A piece of white in the air catches your eye. It's a paper airplane! And it's... Shooting the bubbles?!

Actually, there's dozens of them! You grit your teeth, but with Crystal's minefield being eliminated, you have a clear shot.

[Attack them. (Which one?)]
[Regain air superiority! (attack the planes)]
[??]

You fire your shot at Ivory.

"Type-3 Fire!" What.

Phyllis's barrels rotate twice before she fires, sending out a small barrage of dust that intercepts your shot and knocks it off course. It also causes even more of Crystal's bubbles to pop.

Luckily for you, you can readjust it with your semblance. You pull the shot back at Ivory, and she blocks it with her scissors.

You keep pressure on her, assaulting her with your magic bullet. You take a peak, and it looks like the airplanes are just gliding through the air now. She can't control them and defend at the same time!

Meanwhile, Phyllis has left her teammate to your attack to focus her fire on Crystal. Her barrels turn once more.

"Type-1 Fire!" The shot crosses the battlefield and explodes just in front of Crystal, who brings her arms in front of her to shield herself, skidding backwards some.

She quickly adjusts the dial on her weapon and launches a torrent of bubbles at Phyllis.

The pink haired girl's weapon switches again, firing the shotgun-like blasts that mow through the bubbles before they can arrive.

You've got Ivory more or less pinned, but you can't reload to get another shot out without letting up on her.

[Switch targets.]
*[Keep her contained. Crystal will have to win her 1v1.]
[??]
*[Give Crystal an order. (What?)]

You keep the pressure on Ivory.

"Crystal! Use your bubbles as shields, move to close range. Use your ring on her scissors."

She nods before switching the cylinder and blowing bubbles forward, filling the air between her and Phyllis.

She takes off, dashing through her own mine field in a blink. Phyllis switches to her 2nd barrel and fires at her. Looks like this mode is just an assault rifle.

Crystal catches Ivory while she's trying to block your shot, and she jumps forward, sliding the ring of her weapon around the scissors as she passes in front of Ivory. Her feet land before her body, but she pulls hard, tearing the scissors from her grip and sending them flying to the back wall.

Phyllis switches to her shotgun barrel and aims at Crystal. You catch it in time and send your shot right at her barrel. She fires, but your shot takes all of it, but that ruins it's trajectory and sends it into Phyllis' shoulder. She pulls the shot wide, but your bullet is done.

You need to reload, and fast. You collapse your weapon down quick to make it easier as your right hand quickly grabs a vial of dust from a satchel on your hip. You open it with your teeth and pour it in with your left hand, holding the weapon with your legs. You grab another shot with your right and drop it in before the weapon springs open again.

You look back at the fight before firing.

Crystal's engaging Ivory, who's doing a poor job of avoiding her bladed weapon. She still isn't able to launch her planes, but she's staying alive thanks to Phyllis, who is taking shots at Crystal when she can, and slowly lowering her aura. You need to fire fast to help Crystal.

[Phyllis.]
[Ivory.]

You spot an opening in the bubbles and fire at Phyllis. You arc your shot through with your semblance and try to aim it at her arm to throw her off.

Without looking, Phyllis rolls forward, letting your shot pass her. You keep it after it as she does her best to deflect it with either shots or the bladed barrels.

You keep the shot on her as you traverse the battlefield, avoiding the bubbles. You close in on her, but something seems off.

She's baiting you in. She has the shotgun barrel ready as you close in on her.

[Charge]
[Deflect the gun with your shot.]
[Throw your spear.]
[??]

You move your shot to deflect her rifle. She pulls up, anticipating it and letting it go past her. But that's enough for you to close the gap.

You thrust your spear forward into her stomach, firing the gun end for extra umph. She skids back, doubled over.

Bubbles pop at her feet, freezing her legs in place.

[Ivory Elliott: Eliminated.]

Crystal drop kicks Phyllis, shattering the ice and sending her to her back.

[Phyllis Cycramen: Eliminated.]

["Great job, Crystal!"]
[??]
[Go back to the stands.]

"Great job, Crystal!"

She smiles, "You too."

You gather your two shots and head back to your seats, Ivory and Phyllis taking the opposite stairs as you.

You sit down and Regalia pats your head.

[Tell her she's next.]
[Thank her.]
[Just smile and let whatever happens happen.]

"Thank you. I take it you enjoyed the show?"

She rests her cheek on her hand, turning to you, "Oh, yes. You were so.. Captivating." She slowly licks her lips.

["Well, looks like it's your turn."]
[Panic.]
[???]
[Focus on the next fight.]

Your tail wags back and forth, which gives her a chuckle.

"W-well, looks like it's your turn."

She brushes her hand on your chin, "But we were having so much fun." She shrugs before standing as DeFleur asks for volunteers.

"Ms. Arachnera and Mr. Greene. Any takers?"

Immediately the other half of Team PINK responds.

"Aye! Gotta even the score!"

Kelly Wolff stands up, cracking her knuckles. Her partner, Nikolai Thistle, stands next to her.

*[Wish 'em (R+O) luck.]
[Tell 'em to kick their ass.]
[Tell Kelly off.]
[Just stay out of it.]

"Good luck you guys!"

Regalia pats your head before taking the stairs. Oliver gives a thumbs up as he follows her.

They make their way to the same end of the arena you and Crystal were in. Regalia prepares her threads as Oliver shoulders his rifle.

Their opponents stand opposite of them. Nikolai with some kind of large rifle, Kelly with a long bow. She draws an arrow and knocks it as Nikolai's rifle begins to electrify.

The horn sounds. The three ranged attackers fire. Nikolai is hit by one of the plasma bolts, but dodges the other two. A mass of electricity hits near Oliver, sending sparks out that zap at his aura. Kelly's arrow is sliced out of the air by Regalia's threads, causing the tip to explode between them as it hits the ground.

Your teammates realize their advantage and quickly switch away from range.

Oliver pulls his rifle apart as he charges Nikolai. Nikolai gets a shot off but misses badly before transforming his rifle into a bat. Electricity dances along it's length as he matches Oliver's swings. Oliver looks slightly pained with each manuver, as the electricity jumps from the bat to him. Nikolai isn't faring any better, his aura taking chunks of damage to prevent his weapon from being sliced clean through.

Regalia advances on Kelly, using her threads to prevent her arrows from hitting their mark. She thrusts her arm forward, sending threads at the girl, but she barks, sending a sonic blast at Regalia that deflects her threads. It's enough for her to get an arrow off, which Regalia just manages to avoid. She gets close again, and before Kelly can knock another arrow, she raises her arm again. This time, instead of threads, she fires a shot from her wrist. It hits Kelly's shoulder and she immediately pulls her bow apart into a pair of swords, the thread disappearing into one of the blades. She deflects shot after shot as Regalia marches towards her before the both close at each other. Kelly seems to have the advantage, but the bladed fingers of Regalia's weapon are enough to withstand her swords.

Kelly takes in a breath to bark, but Regalia's too fast, her thread's around Kelly's ankle, and a quick tug has her blast the cieling.

Nikolai ducks under Oliver's swing, rolling to the side and sticking his bat out. Kelly cuts the thread on her ankle the moment the bat makes contact, sending a wave of electricity back to Regalia.

She takes the massive shock and drops to her knee as Oliver closes the gap and stabs him in the back.

Well, he would if he didn't have aura. Oliver's plasma blade shortens against the aura shield, and Oliver pulls it away just as the announcer calls.

[Nikolai Thistle: Eliminated.]

Kelly's back up, and she lashes out at Oliver. He's quick to respond, deflecting her blades with skill. She inhales to bark, but Regalia has her leg again. She pulls, this time sending Kelly face first into the ground. Olive points his blade at her neck, and the match is over.

[Kelly Wolff: Eliminated.]

Oliver and Regalia high five before returning to the bench.

[??]
[Ignore them.]

"You guys make it look so easy."

"Thanks." Oliver moves past you and sits next to Crystal.

Regalia pats your head as she sits. You nervously play with your tail, leaning towards her a bit.

"A-and you were v-very.. c-captivating yourself."

Regalia chuckles into her hand, "Thank you."

The last few students fight, then your team heads to your dorm.

[Homework.]
[Fuck that, it's Friday!]

You do your homework. Luckily, the professors understand that a ton of weekend homework in the first week will kill morale for the entire year, so there isn't much. It doesn't take long, but you can feel yourself slowly getting smarter.

Now that that's out of the way, you weigh your options. You are showing your team around Vacuo tomorrow, but there's still plenty of time tonight.

[Stay in.]
[Go out.]
*[See what else there is on-campus.]

You look around the room once everyone has their homework away.

"Hey, guys. Anyone wanna see what there is to do around here? We've only really seen the classrooms and the town. We haven't explored the rest of campus."

Oliver shrugs, "Sure."

Crystal nods, "It'd be nice to see what else there is."

Regalia smiles, "Let's go then."

You walk around for a good hour or so. Besides the oasis you called your parents in on day one, there's a few more things around the school.

There's a rec center which has a large weight room, sparring circles, a decent sized indoor pool, and a few rooms for various sports.

Next to that, there's an elongated building used as a range. Attached to it is a smaller building with a decent sized smithing area for students skilled in weapon construction, modification, or just upkeep.

Last, is the library. Not located in the school building, the library is just smaller than the massive rec center. The school's local CTT server hosted there, though the kingdom's main CTT is in the center of town.

[Where to?]

"Let's go swimming!"

Your team gives it's various forms of agreement and you all return to your room to change. Oliver locks himself in the bathroom for your convenience, which allows the three of you to quickly strip and get your swimsuits on.

Regalia is wearing a simple, though revealing light purple bikini that looks like it's made of silk.

Crystal is wearing a frilly light blue top that looks like it forms wings down her side and a plain bottom.

Oliver is just wearing a green pair of trunks. For some reason seeing him in swimwear doesn't fluster you.

You're wearing

[A standard one piece.]
*[Some sort of bikini.]
[I don't know what else there is, but I'm sure someone here has something they'll write in.]

You are wearing your favorite bikini. It even has room for your tail! Though you don't quite fill yours out as well as your teammates.

You all head to the pool and jump in upon arrival. It doesn't seem this place is very popular, or maybe because it's the weekend. Or going on dinner time. But that doesn't stop you or your team from swim time!

You stay in the water for a couple hours, but you're starting to get hungry.

*[Go back and order a pizza or something (what?).]
[Change and go back to town (for what?]

You head back to your room and change into more comfortable clothes. You gather on the edge of your beds and face your most difficult trial yet.

"A pizza each."

"We don't need that much."

"Two pizzas each."

"Oliver, common. We need like two max."

"5 pizzas."

"But what are we going to get on them?"

"20 pizzas."

"Oliver, shut up."

"Meat."

"Alright, so three pizzas."

"I don't want vegetables."

"Ok. Two meat lovers."

"Are we getting cheese sticks?"

"Why don't we just each order our own thing?"

"Yea."

"Sure."

"Fine."

What are you getting? You can choose multiple or write in.

[(Small/Medium/Large) Meat Lovers]
[(Small/Medium/Large) Veggie]
[Small/Medium/Large) Delux]
[(Regular/Double) Cheesticks]
[(Regular/Double) Breadsticks]
[(Small/Medium/Large) Desert Pizza)]

You decide to go with the small meat lovers and an order of cheesticks.

Regalia handles the call, even placing an order for a large desert pizza to share with everyone at the end. Score!

You have some time before the food arrives.

[Anything you wanna talk about?]

"I looked up a weaponsmith on my scroll. It's a bit out of the way if you guys don't mind."

"You're the tour guide." Regalia smiles.

"Yea, we don't really know where you plan on taking us anyways." Oliver shrugs.

Crystal nods.

"Alright. Well, Regalia?"

"Hmm?" She tilts her head.

"May I ask if your eyes modify or enhance your vision?"

She taps her chin. "You may~"

"W-well, uh. Do they?"

She chuckles, "A bit, though not as much as you'd think."

Your food arrives shortly after, and you dig in. It's nearing midnight when you finish up.

[You got a busy day tomorrow, you should sleep.] (Alarm{time?}/wing it)
[It's the weekend, stay up!]

"Let's see what's on Schneeflix!"

Your team nods and soon enough, the TV is filled with terrible acting, horrible CG, and no plot in sight. You're laughing. You're booing. You're-

Asleep by the second movie.

[Chapter VI: End]