Match of the Millennium

Description: Deep in the jungle, Ayala and Braun locate the wreckage of the security chopper that seems to have been sent by Professional Fighting Worldwide, along with its crew - or what remains of it. Soon, the Big Game Hunters find themselves pulled into a Darwinian competition of predators and prey... but which will they be?

[BRAUN]
"Man...what a pain.."

Braun's feelings about this whole...incident haven't really changed all that much since this debacle began...but having to trudge through the jungle in search of a distant crash site...? That's certainly not helping his view on things improve. The possibility of survivors is always a good thing mind you. He's not so callous and disconnected that he doesn't care...and beyond that the possibility of supplies being found is always an incredible boon as well.

But it doesn't make the situation suck any less.

For all his grouchiness and grumpiness though...he's probably been weathering this situation a little better then most. He's not pleased at the outcome of the tournament itself mind you - matches have still happened ....his partner had to bow out due to her condition and status and the partner he did end up being paired with was a sort of oil and water mix in terms of their personalities...and now he's out all together. The actual physical strains of being on this godsforsaken island paradise have been managed well enough though. Growing up where he did and his own supernatural abilities have exposed him to harsh tests and environments before .. even the wrathful attention of beings of supernatural origins looking to exert their dominion over presumed lesser beings. Nothing new.

But again..it doesn't make it suck any less.

"How much further, do y'reckon?" his deep voice drags out, addressing his travelling companion before he bounds forward a few yards and then leaps up to wrap a massive hand about the side of a tree - looking to scale it to get some height to get a better lay of the land.

"We been marchin' for awhile!"

[AYALA]
Ayala had not been with the NFG group on Zack Island as long as the others--she hadn't seen the horrific event that led to the sinking of the cruise liner that brought them there--nor did she see the carnage that took place upon it. She only heard vague and scant stories since, second hand. Apparently there was some kind of trouble abrewin' in the island, so when she heard there was opportunities for people to go in and investigate--and finds ome of those Zack coins for prizes to hopefully bring back home--she jumped at the chance. Her tribe still needed things and a job was a job. She would not rest until they had some kind of complex built down there in Brazil, gods above willing.

At her new partner's question, Ayala sniffs at the air, cocking her head to one side. The scent of burning foliage and motor oil was faintly detectable on it--which you know, is somewhat ironic--since there is a non-zero chance Braun has a much higher percentage of beastly heritage than Ayala. Though her own is a little murky, to be fair--given her level of strength and chi abilities.

"Not far, this way--" Ayala hefted one of her boots over a log, wiping sweat from her brow as she crested the fallen tree and found the earth on the other side. She had run into the brawny catman by accident, actually--and it had been for the better, since they were both on the same mission. After Ayala had made sure Hawksley and Henry were alright, she had set out alone to check on word of the fallen helicopter. Big machine with propellers that flew through the sky--apparently not well enough... Of course there had been the usual questions since Braun's feline features were apparent.

"Big cat man not smell it?" she asked, turning her head back to Braun, the 'tail' of the sabrecat scarf she had on hanging down her back, looking vaguely like a feline tail itself. She had modern boots on but she was still rocking the blue-gray bikini, skirt (more like jorts to be more practical) and scarf that she had come out of the portal wearing. She was used to it, and it was sometimes more practical, given the environment.

[BRAUN]
"Of course I did... That don't mean I got it down to the exact number of miles or something. 'Not far' is still 'too far away' when you don't feel like doing this crap to begin with.... so I was lookin' fer a second opinion.."

He pushes from the tree and lands, roughly, a few yards ahead of her and thens traightens back up again and reaches up to rub the back of his neck.

"Plus..." he slowly admits, "..I'm a little worn out. I think I'm handling this better then most of 'em ..living near and dealing with The Makai...this sorta thing isn't all that unique it's just...even I got my limits."

Braun's nostrils flare and he starts padding forward again, moving slowly through the foilage with a subtle lack of his usual predatory ..well grace...isn't the right word but he is clearly a little haggard. He's basically just shorts and rope belt at this point. Bare footed, hair long and scraggly and beard getting more mane like. It's very much been not the greatest summer vacation.

"How'd you manage to get in here to begin with?" he eventually asks, "I thought Miss Over-Hyped Flamebird had managed a wall of fire around the whole place? Don't tell me you were the -only- folk trying to get in here and barely did?"

[AYALA]
"Been staying in big city too long--" Ayala gently teased as she ducked her head low and pushed a large branch out of the way, illuminating a small patch of jungle that had been roughly disturbed. It looked somewhat like someone had taken a plow our a weed whacker to the growth around it, or something very big had heavy had fallen from the sky.

"They brought me and some others in with whirlybird machine--like what we're looking for," she cocked her chin towards the apparent signs of the crash in the distance. "Ayala wanted to raise money for village back home," she looked back at Braun, hearing about the apparent literal firewall that was around the place.

"Ayala guess so... not many people wanted to come here," Ayala shrugged. She hadn't done especially well in the last round of NFG herself, so she had not exactly been swimming in offers to show up in as many promotions or the like as she had been--more local stuff, in fighting arenas and exhibition matches.

[BRAUN]
To his credit, Braun doesn't get annoyed by the teasing. "Maybe I have." he comments with a mildly lopsided smirk, "But a nose is a nose...and if anything having to filter out all that craziness in Metro City is practice at makin' one stronger..."

He looks over the evidence of the chopper and narrows his eyes in considreation of it before looking back to Ayala.

"Not many people wanted to come here?" he repeats before looking aaway, "Maybe...it's a little unusual. Some of the folk stranded here are downright celeberities or have contacts in high places like Coco. Made big names for themselves with sponsors like Hawksley. Plus, I was in the final tournament... we had sponsors that'd probably fold Junko like a napkin... I don't know...feels like more's going on to me but I didn't go to that big get t'gether so I don't got all the facts. Just speculating. Maybe we'll find out more when we get t'the chopper..."

His voice trails off at the end there, as if considering the exact phrasing of his words..but he shrugs it off.

"Anyway...let's get this over with.."

[VERONICA]
Fortunately, the billowing smoke still rising from the presumed wreckage provides a signal more clear than any GPS as to where the pair need to go - at least, when viewed from a sufficient height. The canopy of the tall trees above expands to cover most of the sky, with just enough early morning daylight reaching the forest floor to avoid the feeling of being truly in the dark.

As the duo venture forth, they soon find the way clouded by more of the smoke, hanging like an encroaching fog over the jungle and mingling with the morning mist. They pass signs of a hasty helicopter disembarkation from a height as they get closer - packs and parachutes hanging in the trees, torn bits of uniform fabric caught in branches - but nothing identifying the exact nature of the forces that were deployed here. And, as they get closer, intermittent sounds of automatic weapons fire and shouts come from deeper into the thickening smog.

The mercenary among them will be able to easily identify that somebody is engaging in asymmetrical warfare.

However, the noise is getting more and more sparse rather than more frequent. It seems clear that the scattered team members made their way toward the crash site once boots were on the ground.

It's just before Braun and Ayala reach the edge of the flattened trees of an unnatural clearing (crushed flat by a crashing 'copter) that they find the first body.

Horribly mangled, the soldier is missing a left arm - or at least, no longer attached, as the severed limb is easily found two yards away. His throat has also been sliced open, providing a clear cause of death. The man wears an Arctel security uniform - the kind Braun might recognise as having been worn by the security officer that had made an appearance in the atrium of the Mermaid on the day that the new batch of NFG hopefuls had arrived.

It's possible based on his injuries that the Arctel soldier could have made some error in his ejection from the helicopter and caught himself in the vehicle's blades - otherwise, he's been attacked with some kind of large, bladed weapon.

As the pair are discovering the corpse, they'll notice another body further along - this one slumped against a tree, head bowed, with a massive gut wound leaving both his stomach and the ground beneath him slick and crimson. Disconcertingly, the second body appears to have fallen with weapon in hand - finger still curled around the trigger of a submachine gun with a spent clip.

[AYALA]
There is a rising cackle of tropical birds as they near the wreck, no doubt scavengers that have come to nose around the remains. Ayala had known there were vultures, carrion feeders--that lived in both North, Central and South America, and had killed one or two herself here and there. She wasn't sure if there were any out this far in the ocean, however. The part that bothered her more was that there didn't seem to be /much/ left of said remains, one would have expected to found who they were looking for with the birds.

The gunfire is next to get her immediate attention, however--the sound of big exploding pistols and rifles were never a good sign. Ayala's knees bowed as she ducked down instinctively, not wanting to get hit, head quickly turning in Braun's direction to look at him, before her head darted around, trying to get a bead on the location of where the fire was coming from.

Crouching and walking until she was sure they weren't going to get any stray bullets--Ayala sniffed at the air--at once catching the scent of the blood and burning before she saw it. She made a motion with one hand to direct Braun's attention to what she saw, then sidled around it, still crouching low.

"Look like knife," she drew patterns in the air to indicate how she thought the wounds were made, shrugging, unable to be sure. The logo on the badge had caught her eye, she'd seen it before, in the NFG.

"Ayala did promotion for protein powder with them," she made a little motion towards it with her chin towards the logo. "But why they here--" she looked over, noticing the rest of the man, plus his now discarded weapon.

"Ugh..." she wrinkled her nose at the stench. "Don't look like tonguebear," she tilted her head, still crouching low and trying to look for clues.

[BRAUN]
It's been a long time since Braun has had to engage that particular skill set. His change of purpose and decision to pursue a path free of the need to sell his strength to this conflict or that conflict caused him to end up burying many of those instincts. This was especially true as his interactions with his fellow NFGers started to 'take the edge off' so to speak, turning him gradually from a soldier for hire turned fighter into a surly 'big brother' to the other NFGers.

Frankly, only Buford had riled that old hardened monster out of him once in a fit of rage and in that same instant gave him cause to tamp it back down and enjoy things for what they were.

This? This is different...and as the smoke settles in and the gunfire fills the air he suddenly freezes, eyes becoming more pinprick and then predatory as his hackles raise and his burly figure begins bulking up with a surge of adrenaline.

"This is..." he begins, haltingly, and then pauses as he hears Ayala. .

"C'mon then.." he rumbles after the bullet storm has died down, "Sounds like a desperate fight..." The sight of the bodies? That pretty much confirms it.

"Tth. Same as that mouthy security guard.." he rumbles while absently nodding as Ayala explains her own familiarity. He'd put that incident on the ship out of his mind until now...intending on more or less addressing it after NFG was finished and he had a better read on the newcomers and Arctel. Circumstances have clearly changed.

"They're here because they're connected to this all. Hired to watch us and maintain some order and probably play retrieval with us and whatever else damned foolishness is going on here on this island. That's my guess. Doubt they landed looking to get taken out the way they were. The way these strikes hit 'em - looks pretty well targetted t'me. Signs of someone who knows what they're doing with a bladed weapon, natural or otherwise...and they were fast with it."

After a fw seconds of reflection the large bruisier grunts, "C'mon.." He pushes up from examining the body and starts prowling forward, "Let's check the copter out."

[VERONICA]
As Braun is starting to step away and Ayala is leaning down near the second body, it suddenly shudders with a loud cough - the security trooper regurgitating blood as he reaches out to grab hold of Ayala's foot.

"Cap..." the glassy-eyed trooper manages to burble out before straining for another wheezing gulp of oxygen.

As the gunfire dies down for the moment, the sounds of local wildlife can be heard - what sounds like the croaking of bullfrogs audible through the mist and the trees.

"Get back," a voice comes from behind the pair. Stepping out of the trees comes a woman with short, brown hair. Her pants appear to be of the same design as those of the uniformed trooper, but she's wearing a grey tanktop without the uniform jacket - which appears to have been torn and wrapped the length of her right arm as makeshift bandaging. Perhaps more pressing, though, is the .45 caliber handgun she's levelling with her left hand in the general direction of the duo.

"Caugh..." the wounded trooper tries to repeat himself before gargling on his own blood.

"Move," Veronica says more insistently and specifically, keeping her weapon aimed toward the trio. Her eyes shift to one side at the sound of croaking nearby. "Now."

[AYALA]
Ayala squats next to the corpse and listens to Braun, nodding a little. She wasn't aware of the feline man's past, but he seemed to understand what he was talking about. "Maybe machete--" though somehow, Ayala had a sneakin' suspicion that it might not have been a knife. She's seen stranger things, to be fair--but she's also keeping her voice low and rising from her squat to follow Braun. Not a lot of time to inspect the scene.

The touch of the gurgling, rattling-voiced man's hand on her ankle felt clammy and damp. Like death. Her eyes shot open and seh stifled a cry of surprise, her foot rising and trying to pull away, but the hand remained--looking down and back on the wounded man.

Her surprise was tempered by the sudden arrival of the short-haired woman with the bandage--now pointing a gun at her and Braun and ordering them to move. Ayala didn't like it, but she also knew when someone pointed one of those at you then you did what they told you to--so with some effort she would attempt to wrench her leg free from the wounded man and step back from him, holding her hands up in the air, keeping herself mum for the time being.

She did however shoot a glance over at Braun to see what she might read from his face.

[BRAUN]
"You?!"

Braun turns towards the woman with the gun, eyes widening a bit in surprise but clear recognition as this was the very same individual he was recalling to his mind mere seconds prior. The gun doesn't seem to alarm him overly much as much as Ayala which....well they're professional fighters after all. But - he's also not a fool, despite his antics, and seems well aware that agressive action on his part would not only be unwarrented but also counter productive if not excessively dangerous for them all. A gun being raised against them and a barked order under these circumstances can be forgiven.

But it doesn't prevent him from 'barking back.'

"The hell's going on 'ere??" he demands while stepping to the side as requested so that the captain can see to her man. Granted, he doesn't expect the question to be answered right away but still, one can't blame him for asking.

He keeps his arms down to his sides, massive hands sporting their claws and his chi barely restrained as he grows more and more agigated. "Point the gun elsewhere, lady, we aint yer enemy. We were sent to find survivors....." His nostirls flare as his hyper senses adjust and he fixes his gaze around in a seriers of rapid fire movements to try and pinpoint what might be causing the croaking sound either by sight or smell.

"You better talk quick, because I don't think we're about to be alone fer much longer..."

[VERONICA]
The standing soldier's steely expression falters for a moment as Braun recognizes her. The shifting of her cheeks shows that her teeth are clenching tightly behind them. The pistol is lowered away from the pair as she steps closer to the wounded trooper, moving quickly. She kneels next to him, quickly checking his injuries, his pulse and his eyes. As she does, she speaks.

"This was supposed to be a recon mission. Figure out why you all hadn't reported in. We made it over the wall, but deployment went shit-shaped when the chopper got tagged by a fireball. Lost the pilot in the crash. The rest -"

The brunette's green eyes widen as some sort of realisation passes over her pallid face. She stands up, firearm at her side as her finger moves to the trigger. "These things are lethal and precise. He's been bleeding out for hours. No arteries or vitals punctured. He's not lucky," she concludes as she levels her weapon at the soldier's head, "he's bait."

Just as she's about to fire, there's a loud croak from the mist - and seemingly out of nowhere, something large and scaly leaps into view just long enough to tackle the soldier into the fog and out of sight. Shots ring out as an unseen skirmish ensues.

More croaking rings out from either side of the clearing - and glimpses of shapes moving in the mist and maneuvering for ambush can barely be seen by the keen-sensed NFG fighters...

COMBATSYS: Gamma has started a fight here on the right meter side.

                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                  |-------\-------\0            Gamma

COMBATSYS: Delta has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                  |-------\-------\0            Delta
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                  |-------\-------\0            Gamma

COMBATSYS: Ayala has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Ayala            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Delta
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                  |-------\-------\0            Gamma

[AYALA]
Ayala is somewhat relieved when the gun is lowered as they backed off from the wounded man. Though she didn't seem to understand why the scary brown-haired woman thought they were going to hurt wounded man... Cave woman sadly no understood, there.

"Fireball? chi-user," Ayala had the time to say before the /sounds/ in the jungle grew closer, and more menacing. Didn't sound like tongue bears again--for one thing those moved a lot more carefully, like chameleons, through the jungle, no this was something... different.

"They are... something else," Ayala ducks as the creatures explode from the sides of the brush, jumping back and out of the way as the poor man is carried off, reaching forward and upwards to try and tap Braun's shoulders to get his attention--before putting her hands up again--this time curled into tight fists, her white teeth bearing as she realized things were about to get real.

Said tightly balled up fists soon move to the ground as Ayala punches directly into the soft earth beneath--unearthing a large rock which she then hefts and begins to twist and throw it towards where she saw one of the shapes disappear into the brush--apparently trying to flush it out.

COMBATSYS: Braun has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Ayala            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Delta
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Braun            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Gamma

[BRAUN]
"Fireball? Chi-User? More like magic most likely. Sounds like Junko did it..." muses Braun in response to Ayala, "Especially with her being all leveled up now. She'd have the range. She could have downed a copter before all this stuff happened so it'd be no big deal for her now..."

He watches in silence, expression unreadable , as Veronica tends to the unfortunant status of the soldier but as the captain determines th real reason why the soldier yet livers, Braun's eyes narrow and his body tenses. "Wait.." he begins - only to be interrupted as the blur of movement happens and Veronica gets tackled out of sight into the dense rising fog covering the terrain. He -almost- springs after her but is halted, mid movement, as the other movement blurs past his peripehral vision causing the large man to spin around with a plum of foilage following behind his rapid movements. "It's an ambush alright!" he declares, mouth pulling into a fanged grimace as he scans the area to try and lock in and track on the movements of their unseen assailants. Chi crackles up and down one of his large arms, boiling into a wreath of energy about a big hand and wrapping about his extended claws as he dips low and moves away from Ayala as she makes her own attack. The gunfire isn't lost on him either but there's no way to help the captain out without firs tmaking sure that they'll be in one piece themselves.

"Let's draw 'em out and see what we're dealing with!" With both of them having been on Team Blaze there should be some instinctual coordination. As Ayala's boulder flies, Braun brings his arm sweeping around in a wide scything movement that drags an arc of red and black chi behind him, cutting a jagged scar into the air. The claw swipe sends the energy whipping out from him, cutting through both air and ground as it races out for the second shape he lays eyes on at the clearings edges.

COMBATSYS: Ayala successfully hits Delta with Beast Toss.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Ayala            0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0            Delta
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Braun            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Gamma

COMBATSYS: Braun successfully hits Gamma with Shockwave Claw.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Ayala            0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0            Delta
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Braun            0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0            Gamma

[VERONICA]
Despite the trap that has been laid for them, the two primal hunters steal the initiative and let loose their volley into the mist - soon to find themselves rewarded for their efforts as the sounds of a heavy thump and tearing report their success in striking the scarcely-visible shapes. More croaking, now with an increased sense of agitation, comes from the two creatures as they rise from being knocked down to crouch in the twilight of the jungle.

Then, as one, they leap.

There's barely time to register the shapes as they fly forward - humanoid, but reptilian, with hunched bodies and powerful, almost froglike legs. They're bipedal, with scaly, muscular arms and pale, rubbery bellies. But the most salient aspects of the creatures are the wicked, scythe-hooked talons on their feet, the rows of vicious-looking shark-like teeth in their open maws, and the massive, knife-like claws at the ends of their four-fingered hands. There is no question as to the basic purpose of these creatures' existences.

They are predators.

At first, it may seem that their initial leaps are off-target, each sailing clear past the Big Game Hunter that struck the first blow against them - because they aren't targeting the foes facing them. Instead, they're each aiming to sail past and slam into the one facing their opposite, using ambush tactics despite having lost the initial upper hand. They're heavy for their size and speed, enough so to potentially bowl over either fighter if they collide with their prey.

COMBATSYS: Ayala blocks Gamma's Battle Hop.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Ayala            0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0            Delta
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Braun            0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0            Gamma

[AYALA]
"Augh--frog men," Ayala blinks as she sees exactly what she just put the huge rock off of--not quite what she was expecting, but more and more her suspicions were getting rewarded with unearthly creatures. Creatures that reminded her a lot of the expanse. Sure Earth had mountain lions, poisonous snakes, honeybadgers--but nothing really was quite like seeing a huge bipedal frog monster lope out of the jungle at you, or something like the long-tongued marsuipials she'd run into before.

"Ayala find bigger rock next time!" she puts up her arms and contacts the frog that tackles her--coming away with little bruising for it's efforts. Right now, she intends to give it some incentive for distance and brings her right arm back and winds up--before swinging it out with a curled hand, intending to strike it with the back of her fist to smack it away from her!

Ayala tribe eat frog! they delicious!"

COMBATSYS: Delta successfully hits Braun with Battle Hop.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Ayala            0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0            Delta
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Braun            0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0            Gamma

[BRAUN]
By contrast, the other Hunter doesn't fare -quite- so well. Ayala manages to recover and adapt to the sudden shift in tactics, Braun turns a split second too late and instead finds his large frame slammed into and sent tumbling towards the ground with talons and fangs finding purchase onto his sturdy hide and piercing his flesh as the fog burss apart around the brawny beastman and his opponent.

He grits his teeth, eyes bulging slightly from the force of impact and the density and weight of his opponent ...but he then quickly adjusts as a burst of speed kicks into his body and he spins about, attempting to manuever his frame around and then back up again in a spring like movement to try and keep pace with his foe.

Keep pace, and overtake him.

"Nasty critters! What's going on with this place!?" he bellows before going into a lunging tackle of his own, attempting to bring his huge arms around and swelling them forward in an effort to seize hold of the mutate with his hardening physique.

Success would lead to the large mercenary going into a spiraling leap, bringing his oppopent up with him into the air and then back down again in a whirlwind of movement. Chi would whirl around him as well, slashing and burning in a move that has all the hallmakrs of an attempted Spinning Piledriver merged with an Izuna Drop.

A miss, however, and he'll find himself stumbling and vulnerable once again!

COMBATSYS: Gamma blocks Ayala's Swift Backhand.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Ayala            0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0            Delta
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Braun            0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0            Gamma

COMBATSYS: Delta blocks Braun's Cyclonic Driver.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Ayala            0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0            Delta
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Braun            0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0            Gamma

[VERONICA]
The reptilian hunter that had pounced at Ayala bounces off of her as she succeeds in defending herself. When she goes to retaliate, it puffs up its chest before getting battered away almost like a balloon before landing on its feet. There would be something almost absurdly comical about the uncanny creature if it and its kindred hadn't already revealed themselves to be so deadly in instinct and action. It bounces on its hind legs twice, letting out a croak, before it springs forward again - aiming to and on the jungle floor just in front of the huntress before lashing out with frenetic full-body swipes to-and-fro with its vicious claws!

Meanwhile, the one that Braun is squaring off with shrinks back, but still finds itself caught up between the burly beast-brawler's biceps. It's carried up toward the canopy, crushed and engulfed in the slashing, fiery energy - but even as it is, its skin exudes an oily chemical, rapidly lubricating itself and its captor's limbs until it slips out of his grip like a wet bar of soap.

The frog-creature croaks loudly as it lands on its feet, then snaps out with its shark-like teeth, aiming to bite down on Braun's arm when he lands!

COMBATSYS: Ayala blocks Gamma's Frenzied Swipe.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Ayala            0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0            Delta
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Braun            0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0            Gamma

[AYALA]
"Ayala eat dinomen for breakfast!" the cavewoman was undaunted by the strange reptilian predators. It's unclear if her taunts were true, though her bravado was resilient--a grinning sneer as she hefted a piece of rotted wood that lay half-buried on the forest floor--using it to shield herself from the creature's frenzied attack. Eventually the wood comes apart in chunks and she's forced back against a tree, hard. She grimaced just a bit, but did not shrink in fear--feeling behind her for the tree. Ayala took hold of the tree trunk to steady herself, and quickly kicked off the ground and aimed her booted feet towards the creature as she used the tree like a pole--one can blame being around Djamila far too much--swinging herself around it and trying to land a double drop kick against the beast, keeping herself anchored to the tree for leverage, her hair and tail scarf flailing in the wind!

COMBATSYS: Delta successfully hits Braun with Medium Bite.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Ayala            0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1            Delta
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Braun            1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0            Gamma

[BRAUN]
The attack lands true and Braun lets out a snarling roar of pain and frustration as the teeth tear into his flesh and find their purcahse. Blood sprays flesh, fur, foilage and ground as the large bruiser is forced backwards into a defensive posture and pulls away from the frog-man using his free arm to push against the body of his assailant as he drags his other arm down and away. It leaves visible fresh gouges in his limb that quickly well with the rising red of more blood - forcing his regenerative abilities into overtime to try and prevent any lasting and serious internal damage that could prove far worse then what is visible on the surface.

"Alright...." he hisses out after hoping a few steps backwards and then springing forward at his attacker again.

"Gotta reset this playing field 'ere! I aint keen on being anybody's lunch!"

A quick glance reveals that Ayala seems to be doing better then he is at the moment but his attention recoils back to the monster that's on him. His uninjured arm comes swinging around in a massive clothesline attempt as he tries to cross the slicked animal up and bowl past him with the powerful strike.

COMBATSYS: Gamma blocks Ayala's Tail Spin.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Ayala            0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1            Delta
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Braun            1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0            Gamma

COMBATSYS: Delta blocks Braun's Medium Punch.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Ayala            0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1            Delta
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Braun            1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0            Gamma

[VERONICA]
More croaks can be heard coming from the fog, along with the snapping of branches as scuffling occurs just out of sight of the two NFG fighters. There's a sound of something slicing wetly into organic material.

Meanwhile, the creature closest to Ayala attempts to pursue her as she shifts around the tree, nearly finding itself caught in the back of the head by her dropkick. At the last moment, though, it pivots, claws crossing to catch the kick with the blunt ends as it staggers backward. It retaliates by lunging forward toward Ayala when she comes back around - mouth wide, ready to chomp down on whatever part of her it can reach!

The defense of the other creature as Braun comes in for the clothesline is similar - claws crossing in a protective cage of keratin, shielding its face as it's bowled onto its tailbone. It flips over to face its quarry, crouching low as it warks menacingly. Then, tucking its limbs in, it hops into the air, rolling across the uneven terrain with sudden speed and gaining momentum steadily - forming itself into a deadly buzzsaw of claws and sharp spines along its back as it aims to crash into the mercenary!

COMBATSYS: Ayala interrupts Aggressive Bite from Gamma with Spin Kick EX.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Ayala            0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1            Delta
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Braun            1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1            Gamma

[AYALA]
At the last second, Ayala lets go of the tree, putting an extra amount of force into the swing as she flies towards the creature, sensing it's incoming attack--red lines scored along her thigh and left arm as her booted foot connects with the creature--and she's sent tumbling.

"Agh--oof--awoo--" she rolls to recover from the manuever, pulling herself up, barely aware of the sounds around her at first. It sounds like more of the creatures were out there and they were going to be in even more trouble if they didn't make haste.

"Braun! watch out--more of them coming, maybe!" she pulled her hands up again in fists, trying to locate her opponent before it can come at her again.

COMBATSYS: Braun blocks Delta's Razor Spin.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Ayala            0/-------/-----==|=======\=------\1            Delta
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Braun            1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1            Gamma

[BRAUN]
"It's the security chief fightin' off her attacker! We gotta help her! "

First, they have to live.

Braun takes several hops backwards, eyes beginning to enflame with chi as he braces his form into the ground, coiling up just as the blur of fangs and claws comes spiraling at him in a violent blur of movement.

"We gotta drop these guys! Now!"

He brings his arms up and around in a broad arcing swipe of movements that connects his claws into the buzzsaw of movement - sending sparks flying and chi crackling from the razor thin blocking effort performed by the large fighter. Another swipe occurs in the space of a heartbeat and then another as he pushes back against the momentum of his attacker with a flurry of counter movements that ends with a final rebounding effort that sends the bruiser backwards from the kinetic energy of the two fighters pushing off each other.

But Braun immediately lunges into the offensive. He'd held back, pulled back, to gather his own energy and to try and force the creature into an aggressive offensive move to try leave it open. Now, he strikes - a sudden lightning bolt of movement that flashes him from visible sight only to reappear nearly twice as large as chi explodes around him, enflaming his hair and bulking his physique out to proportions that would do the likes of Abigail proud. A long tail dragging behind him and his visage fully lion-esque as he enters his engorged humanoid 'Battle Cat' form (as so named by Buford.)

A loud roar rips out from him as he goes blazing across the battlefield like a comet, seeking to slam full body into his attacker with the explosive impact of crashing car. Hit or miss, he spirals past his foe, hitting the ground into a skid and then turns and lunges again - this time leaping up in a wild uppercut that spins his body about like a windmill as he jumps - dragging his huge claws along with a contrail of chi behind them.

COMBATSYS: Braun blitzes into action and acts again!

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Ayala            0/-------/-----==|=======\=------\1            Delta
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Braun            1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1            Gamma

COMBATSYS: Braun successfully hits Delta with Chimeric Crash.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Ayala            0/-------/-----==|=======\======-\1            Delta
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Braun            1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1            Gamma

COMBATSYS: Braun successfully hits Delta with Whirlwind Fang.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Ayala            0/-------/-----==|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2            Delta
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Braun            1/---====/=======|=======\==-----\1            Gamma

[VERONICA]
The landshark that's been chasing Ayala around the tree catches more of a mouthful than it anticipated, sending saliva and blood splattering as several teeth are knocked loose to lodge in the nearby trunks and underbrush. It lets out a guttural sound full of implicit rage as it catches itself against two trees, the blade-like claws at the end of its fingers tearing gouges from the bark. Then, wrenching itself forward, it hurtles toward Ayala, sending bits of wood flying loose from its nails as they swipe at Ayala left and right and left and right in almost blind fury!

The other hybrid is faring even worse than its compatriot. While it had appeared to have the upper claw against Braun in the opening exchanges, the surge of power of the Battle Cat proves more than it can handle. Its eyes shift to lock on to its foe, the puffing of the sac under its maw visibly accelerating as adrenalin kicks in to try and match the burst of speed, but even as it tries to lunge out of the way, the beastman collides with enough force to send the frog-thing crashing into a tree hard enough to send spiderweb cracks through the bark and leaves tumbling down from above. It tries to elude the follow-up chi-infused claw slashes with a second leap, but ends up getting sent spinning to the ground while trailing arcs of blood along the jungle floor behind it.

It rises to its feet, bloodied, one eye sliced clean through as slash marks along its front ooze slowly. It sniffs the air, visibly and audibly, scenting the tang of blood. It croaks loudly, then leaps at Braun, clawed hands apart, talons high and maw wide - aiming to latch on in full blood frenzy and tear into him however it can with its teeth!

COMBATSYS: Ayala blocks Gamma's Frenzied Swipe EX.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Ayala            0/-------/---====|>>>>>>>\-------\0            Delta
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Braun            1/---====/=======|=======\==-----\1            Gamma

[AYALA]
Ayala is getting a little winded from all this, to be sure--but the knowledge that there's someone in trouble that she needs to help save gives her a bit more adrenaline. She's able to put her foot up and plant it against the frog, the claws unable to rake across her front--but it manages to overpower her and forces her to stumble back--knocking her back and catching a claw or two here and there on her shoulders. Ow. She winds up thrashing about and grasping at the creature, slippery thanks to it's leathery skin and the dirt and mud--trying to grab it and smash it repeatedly with her fist!

"Big cat has claws, hoo--Ayala have claws too--" she bares teeth as she attempts to wail on the strange creature!

COMBATSYS: Delta successfully hits Braun with Feeding Frenzy.
- Power hit! -

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Ayala            0/-------/---====|>>>>>>>\-------\0            Delta
[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Braun            2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\==-----\1            Gamma

[BRAUN]
There's something of an unspoken understanding and rule among professional fighters. Certain expectations that are maintained, for the most part, in tournaments, duels and contests. With fists that can pulverize concrete, use of chi that can unleash fireballs or summon lightning, blades - magical or otherwise - that can cut steel, strength that can crush vehicles....fighting can very quickly become something that can get out of hand as even as new entry into this field such as the NFGers can be a match for armed lesser individuals en masse. The fight to win, not to kill and though they unleash attacks that would decimate lesser opponents and others - against each other it simply 'works'.

Not so, right here. This has quite plainly become life or death and as his blood is sent painting the landscape, and massive wounds are gouged into his toughened flesh - something snaps in Braun. Of all of the NFGers he's been, essentially, the 'big brother' for the most part. Slightly more experienced in matters of the world at large even if a neophyte to professional fighting with his past efforts having him in other life or death situations...he'd tamped most of that down and essentially re-written his own script to fit in and as a result of the open mindedness and kindness of his peers. He'd forgotten what -this- felt like.

Not anymore. A certain bellowing roar emits from him, not of pain from the attack, but of sudden fury and berserker rage. His body flashes forward in a dash of golds, reds and browns, looming forward up and above the attacking creature, and then both of his immense arms come down and hurtling around in a flurry of attacks that drag violent slashes of crimson and ebony energy through the air in their wake and tear massive rips into the jungle floor as his arm sweeps down and up in repeat destruction slashes.

At the end he lunges in, a final double arm swing occuring after he crosses his arms and then swings them outward - creating a gigantic 'X' shaped tear of energy in the air and around the mutate for the final strike of the berserker assault.

COMBATSYS: Gamma interrupts Grasp And Pound from Ayala with Hunter's Howl EX.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Ayala            1/------=/=======|>>>>>>>\-------\0            Delta
[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Braun            0/-------/---<<<<|=======\===----\1            Gamma

COMBATSYS: Braun successfully hits Delta with Monarch's Relentless Fury.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /                             ]
Ayala            1/------=/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>-\1            Delta
[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Braun            0/-------/---<<<<|=======\===----\1            Gamma

[VERONICA]
With its claws still thrashing and teeth still snapping, trying to get a grip on the slippery shark monster that's assailing her proves a troublesome challenge for Ayala. In the end, she's able to hold a hand against the shorter creature's head to keep it from biting her as she starts hammering a fist into the top of its crown. Flailing its arms in an attempt to slice away the oppressing limb, the monster becomes more and more agitated, until it finally starts to shake violently, its chest swelling. A moment later, its maw is forced open by a burst of unleashed breath, a horrible shriek piercing the air. Such is the pitch and force of the alien scream that it strips away the loosened bark from the slashed trunks nearby, simultaneously blowing back the huntress.

At the same time, the battle between beastman and hybrid becomes deadly as Braun carves bloody wounds into the frogshark that's between fighting him. The creature's chest starts to swell up, just before the arms swing outward - and then, the flesh deflates like a burst blood-filled balloon as Braun's unleashed energy tears a ragged X through it. The frogshark burbles and gargles as it tries to breathe, its eyes straining to focus on its killer. In that moment, the knowledge of its own imminent death becomes almost legible as the desperation in its eyes becomes resignation.

But, for this objective-driven pack hunter, resignation is not the same as surrender.

It leaps up, spinning around in a kick that would almost resemble a maneuver by a human martial artist - except that the striking point is not a foot, but a claw as long and sharp as a knife. The beastman will need his instincts about him to avoid losing his head - literally.

COMBATSYS: Delta can no longer fight.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Ayala            1/------=/=======|=======\===----\1            Gamma
[                     \\\\\\\\\  <
Braun            0/-------/---<<<<|

[AYALA]
"Augh!" Ayala raised her arms in an attempt to shield herself from the sudden forceful breath--unaware if it was the sound of it's shriek, or a literal gust of air from the creature, turning her head and cringing as she was blown back into the tree, both tree and brush yielding under her weight with a series of cracking noises.

NOW Ayala is bloodied, while she had been holding her own during most of the melee, Braun had apparently dealt with his opponent, but she doesn't see the creature she'd been dealing with stopping anytime soon. She has to get it together, she realizes--or she might wind up taking a trip down that monster's gullet.

"Rrrghh---" the canine-like growl from the cavewoman was followed by a sharp intake of air, her pupils narrowing as she psyched herself up for her next manuever.

COMBATSYS: Ayala focuses on her next action.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Ayala            1/------=/=======|=======\===----\1            Gamma
[                     \\\\\\\\\  <
Braun            0/-------/---<<<<|

COMBATSYS: Delta successfully hits Braun with Decapitator.
- Power hit! -

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Ayala            1/------=/=======|=======\===----\1            Gamma
[                                <
Braun            1/----<<</<<<<<<<|

[BRAUN]
Well, to his credit, he manages to avoid a full on decapitation. A twist to the side and a backwards dip causes him to bring his neck down and away from the incoming scything attack -- but it also brings his torso up into the direct path of the attack as his immense feet slip on a pool of blood and careen his body directly into the attack.

It's not pretty...not as if anything happening here has been pretty...but this is -especially- not pretty.

An earthshaking roar of pain is ripped from Braun as the attack moves clear across the entirety of his upper body and sheer force of will keeps him moving in order to avoid the attack cutting in deep enough to start the process of bisecting him in half.

The creature may be down but its death knell of an attack has pretty much put the brawny beastman on the brink. His chi and natural abilities fight, roaring into overdrive to try and knit together vital spots and send a surge of recuparative energy into him - but he may not be enough.

Instead, he turns his instinct into pure aggression and as he falls backwards ... his bloodied legs tense and another fireball of chi roars to life around him as he spins in place.

"Ayala!" he shouts, "MOVE!"

His vision runs the risk of leaving him but in that moment before blackness tries to take him .. he springs forward and launches like a roaring comet at the remaining monstrosity, attempting to blast into it and rip past it with the force of his body and a terrible rending sweep of his arms in his passage.

COMBATSYS: Braun can no longer fight.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Ayala            1/------=/=======|=======\===----\1            Gamma

COMBATSYS: Gamma dodges Braun's Predator and Prey Collision.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Ayala            1/------=/=======|=======\===----\1            Gamma

[VERONICA]
With the encroaching mist and smoke from the nearby wreckage becoming ever thicker with each passing second, the silhouette of Braun all but vanishes from Ayala's sight as it dives into the murky haze toward the shape of the hybrid hunter - and then disappears completely.

An eerie silence descends on the jungle.

Following the blood-soaked trail in the beastman's wake would reveal Ayala's fellow former Blaze fighter lying on the ground, bloodied, but still breathing. A red streak stretches further into the fog... before disappearing completely.

And then, Ayala might recall the words of the security captain moments before she was tackled out of sight:

"He's not lucky... he's bait."

A single croak can be heard from above.

Then, the faint sound of a breeze through the leaves as something plummets rapidly toward her.

If she doesn't defend herself, she'll find herself pounced on by the predator, claws flashing in the twilight as they prepare to fall on her again and again...!

COMBATSYS: Ayala dodges Gamma's Death From Above.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Ayala            1/------=/=======|==-----\-------\0            Gamma

[AYALA]
The cavewoman can barely turn her head fast enough to see what's happening to Braun before the intense roar and scream motivates her to quickly move. Ayala rolls out of the way as the fireball of chi explodes into the jungle around her and the huge croaking creature slams down from above, she rolls away covered in mud and with leaves and water splashing from a puddle.

"Frog want jump--Ayala jump too--" she brushes her long curly blonde hair back, giving the creature a devilish grin--turning and running up to a nearby tree--her whole body wreathing in golden chi as her boots hit the tree hard, both at once--the thin boughed tropical tree yielding under her weight as she springs herself off it.

Suddenly, perhaps much to the frog's dismay, there is a blonde haired cavewoman flying across the jungle right towards it, fists poised to crash into it!

COMBATSYS: Ayala successfully hits Gamma with Falcon Hit EX.
~~ Alluring Hit! ~~

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////                         ]
Ayala            0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1            Gamma

[VERONICA]
The frog-shark lands in the mud, claws already swinging and flinging the wet soil this way and that like a rabid badger. It takes a few seconds for the creature to realise that its quarry has eluded it. It looks up, chest swelling as it turns its head over its shoulder before letting out a lonesome croak.

A moment later, Ayala crashes into the frog fists first, sending both hunter and huntress rolling through the muck.

As it rises, its eyes are hidden by the mire that coats it, leaving it all but blind. This only seems to incense the desperate creature as it flails about, trying to find the female fighter, tackle her to the ground and start snapping and slashing at her with reckless abandon!

COMBATSYS: Ayala interrupts Fierce Mauling from Gamma with Tooth & Nail.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /                             ]
Ayala            0/-------/-======|=======\===----\1            Gamma

[AYALA]
Ayala flips herself off the giant sharky frog-like humanoid, getting to her feet just as the creature rises and attempts to maul her. The creature finds that the Cavewoman meets his challenge with mauling of her own, her own nails scoring lines across it's body and her wrestling with it even as it slices long red lines in her shoulders. With a feral cry, she whips her head back and buries her teeth in the side of the creatures head, her teeth ripping out a large patch of skin!

She looks like a horror herself, coated in blood, mud and god knows what this creature has coating it's body--finally letting go as she spits out the sliver of flesh onto the forest floor.

[VERONICA]
In the end, it's a truly animalistic battle for survival between apex predators - but the hybrid learns why it is humankind that is known as the most dangerous game as Ayala overpowers it, tearing bloody wounds with tooth and nail. In the end, it goes still, blood oozing into the mud around it as a low, rattling final croak utters from its lungs...

...but then, just as she starts to rise, a single trickle of blood falls down into the creature's throat - a reminder of the one thing that it might yet relish in its few remaining moments. And, quaking with bloodlust and the spasms of damaged nerve endings, it leaps at Ayala's back - trying to bite down on her shoulder for one last taste of flesh and blood!

COMBATSYS: Gamma can no longer fight.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ayala            0/-------/-======|

COMBATSYS: Gamma successfully hits Ayala with Feeding Frenzy.
- Power hit! -

[                        \\\\\\  <
Ayala            1/----===/=======|

[AYALA]
The creature latches onto Ayala's back, and she screams, a loud, shrieking gutteral sort of scream--like having one's skin cooked against a hot boiler. Eventually, Ayala's arms rise, quivering--and she is able to grab the creature behind her--somehow able to grab it's jaws and force them apart enough to pull herself free from the jaws. Still riding an adrenaline high, Ayala spins around, half crazed--eyes wide and covered in blood. A large rock is spied out of the corner of her vision and she grabs it by both ends, raising it up over her head as she descends upon the creature--

Scene fades to white as some Resident Evil-style Death Animation business ensues.

When it is over, Ayala has picked up Braun by one ankle and is dragging him away from the site with his leg slung under one arm. Her movements are slow and rigid, wiping a mixture of blood and sweat from her forehead as she pants heavily, her long curly blonde hair hanging around her in blood-twinged ringlets.

[VERONICA]
As Ayala moves through the mist, she could swear she sees another inhuman creature lurking - stooped, a clawed arm hanging with implicit menace at its side. The figure shifts in the smoke, though, and as the wind blows through, it disperses enough for Ayala to see that it's the security captain from before, standing over two of the predatory creatures - no, wait, it's actually one of them that's been sliced completely in half. She turns her eyes toward Ayala, one of them hidden by her disheveled brown bangs - but the same breeze ruffles the damp tendrils, parting them enough for a brief glimpse of an iris of alien gold before it resolves to the natural green of its mate - or is the huntress's blood-deprived mind playing tricks on her?

Veronica finishes tightening the bandages around her arm and gives Ayala a long, dead-eyed look before turning and starting to move away through the underbrush.

Just as Ayala might give chase, like another moment out of a horror movie, she feels something seize her leg - and if she looks down, she'll realise that it's the wounded soldier from before. Veronica mentioned that his wounds weren't as bad as they looked - with the amphibioid hunters dead, it's possible that he might still be rescued. Yet, she appears to have abandoned him to his fate.

And there's the wreckage itself - where there could be some supplies, one of the original targets of the mission.

Thanks to his healing factor, Braun should be able to assist within short order, but the Big Game Hunters have three clear options: to pursue officer Sullivan, to rescue the wounded soldier, or to collect what supplies they can. Each could carry out one of the tasks, but which would they choose, and do they dare split up?

[BRAUN]
"Ugh, leggo. I'm fine."

Braun pulls his leg free from Ayala if she complies or not. Or at least attempts to if she maintains a solid grip. He's not fully back on his feet after all.

But he does recover in just enough time to see Veronica and see as she darts off into the jungle. Well now -that- is perculiar.

HIs mind races with possiblities but he slowly pulls himself back to his feet, coughing and hacking a bit and still keeping a hand to his torso as if trying to hold himself together as his body rapidly works to knit itself back into working condition.

"....I might be behind in the local news...but my guess is we got us some grade-a bio-weaponry experimentation goin' on around these parts.... Nothing supernatural about this from what I can tell...at least on the surface... and that might include her..."

He -wants- to go after her but Braun - while he can be callous..is not without empathy nor pragmatism.

"Folk are countin' on these supplies..." he considers ..and there's also a life at stake here as well...plus the very real factor that the soldier might have needed information so they stop flying so blind. But clearly they can't do it all.

"What're you thinkin'?" he asks.

[AYALA]
"Ayala will help man, Braun can get supplies," Ayala finally lets go of the giant cat man's leg as he gets her attention, turning to look around, wiping more of the blood and sweat off her face.

"There still frog men around somewhere, we need to hurry," she narrows her eyes, sweat and blood stinging them. "Woman no can chase--" she looks back at Braun, tilting her head. She realized Braun was not totally human, obviously, and he was already trying to heal back up.

"Braun can get back on own?" she leans down and attempts to try and haul him up to his feet--first by grabbing one of his arms and then pulling him up before steadying him. As much as she can since she's likely a lot shorter, mind. She'd make sure he could stand and didn't object to her plans before she moved to pick the wounded man up and haul him up over her shoulders, trying to carry him piggy-back style.

[BRAUN]
"Yeah my thought exactly..." confirms Braun, nodding in approval of Ayala's perspective.

"If she is some sorta mutate herself...she can obviously take care of herself and it might be a fight. Plus - more of these things are on the way yeah. I can feel that too... We can get a proper search party out for her but we can't let the others suffer and miss out on these supplies or let this guy die."

The thought that he might -also- be a mutate has crossed his mind as well mind though...but considering his condition at present, even if he does have some qualities like that when they are in a group setting they should be able to properly attend to it.

"Yeah...I can find my way back. Just watch yer back with that guy. Keep both eyes on 'im. One to make sure he stays alive and the other to make sure he don't try anything."

By now he's fully on his feet, with her aid, and with his strength returning he begins to quickly bound his way towards the helicopter wreckage to deal with what lays there.

Log created on 10:51:49 08/18/2024 by Veronica, and last modified on 02:34:29 08/30/2024.