Tournament Arc! Al Ciendra vs Nocte Fabri

[Al Ciendra]

Wow, this tournament was something, Al had never been so nervous to attend a fight, sure the one's in combat class had spectators, but it wasn't this many, nor did those classes have actual stakes, she had made her name among the first years, which ever her peers wanted to use for her at the time.

But now here she was, in the midst of the arena, she was here earlier, taking the time to simply stretch a bit and loosen up, her nervous expression was still hidden behind her mask, which made Al feel a bit better, not having to put up a poker face of any sort for the crowd.
As she leaned back, hands locked together over her head as she stretched and let her back pop a few times.
Finally, fully relaxed.

Just in time to greet her opponent, Al was already in her corner, so she took to waving over at the new arrival.
"YO! You're my opponent, huh?"
Al puffed out her chest, studying her opponent, she looked pretty tough, a giant gun with her.
"Let's have a good match, kay ?"
Al asked, with a quick motion she pulled the revolvers from her cloak, spinning them as she lifted them upward to show off, as she soon held them at the ready.

[Nocte Fabri]

To all looking on, Nocte appeared to be the very image of stoic. Cool, calm, and collected, she stood before Al with a stony look on her face, barely even blinking, let alone changing her expression. No matter who was watching, or what they said, the Fabri heir remained a stone in the face of it all. However, beneath the mask, Nocte did actually feel emotion - and nervousness was amongst it all. Having people watch her at once was not new, given that she would often end up testing her family's weapons herself, but this? This was something else.

Hordes of eyes followed her, no doubt scrutinising every slight movement she made, and no doubt knowing whose blood ran through her veins. For a Fabri to be knocked out in the first round of some school's impromptu practice tournament... she couldn't imagine the embarrassment. Yet, despite how much of her pride was riding on the match, she maintained her composure and bowed slightly as a sign of respect, since her hands were occupied with holding her machine gun at the ready.
"May the best hunter win." Was all she said, the statement as terse as it was flat, before taking her place. She hadn't the time nor the inclination for formalities - there was a match to fight.

[Nova Starr]

"Today's Fourth bout is between Al Ciendra and Nocte Fabri, two of Beacon's finest first years; so I've been told. This one'll be a doozy for the gun enthusiasts in our crowd today!"

The intercom clicked when Nova lifted a finger off the button. She watched the live feed intently as it switched between footage of either student and then split to show portraits of both fighters side-by-side. Their Aura gauges appeared, both sitting healthy at one-hundred percent.

'There's no way this ends with either of them still in the green. Hmm... wonder who's got the advantage? Al's probably got more mobility with her revolvers but Nocte's gonna pack one hell of a punch if she can land shots with her machine gun... oh, this is so exciting!'

Spotlights swivelled around the Amphitheatre and settled on each of the fighters, signaling that the fight was to begin soon. Nova recalled the Professor's instructions and, after a few buttons taps, the protective barriers around the room whirred to life. Clearing her throat, she leaned on the intercom once more.

"Our fighters are armed and ready! The starting signal will tick down any second now."

[...]

"And... begin!"

[Al Ciendra]

Wow, this Nocte was about as exciting as stale bread, Al who had been excited for a fight had stopped spinning her revolvers, the look of her mask had not changed, but her body language was simply showing disappointment as Nocte's attitude had swiftly taken the wind out of her sails.

But the commentary was great, who ever this was behind the microphone better be fast with their words or they won't be able to keep up with this fight.

As the signal counted down Al, switched her revolvers into axe form, she was gonna get in close and crush this killjoy swiftly, get this fight over with and hopefully fight a more excitable opponent.

On go, Al dashed forward, low to the ground and keeping a low profile as there was an issue, Al with her bad sight, could not yet make out what her enemies' weapon was, she could only see that it was big, maybe some sort of grenade launcher ?
Not that it mattered, she was gonna dismantle them quickly and that's that.

[Nocte Fabri]

Whether Nocte noticed Al's deflating disposition or not, it didn't show. Every second between their introductions and the start of the match was filled with Nocte sizing up her opponent, eyes darting across any points of interest, trying to figure out a strategy before the klaxons sounded. She couldn't afford to take chances - not here, not now.

Nocte wasted no time. The very moment that the match started, her target was acquired, and Unkindness was levelled at Al. That she kept a low profile mattered little - as soon as the trigger was squeezed, a hailstorm of lead flew at Al, filling the arena's once-still air with the deafening crack of rapid-fire gunshots. All the while, Nocte kept her distance, pelting Al with bursts of bullets, firing with pinpoint accuracy and tracking with eyes as sharp as her blade. It was clear that she was no amateur - every movement she made was deliberate, and every shot aimed with startling precision.

She was fast. Not as much as Al, but that was what the machine gun was for. A huge magazine, a rate of fire that threatened to saw whoever was on the receiving end in half, and the kind of aim that could only come about through countless hours of practice - even while moving - made approaching a daunting prospect indeed.

[Al Ciendra]

It had finally clicked what the huge box Nocte was carrying was, not a grenade launcher or other such weapon, nope, a machine gun.
Fitting her opponent like a glove, the straightforward yet logical approach of just shredding everything with a hail of lead.

Al tried her best to kite around Nocte's aim, using all manner of leaps, dashes and rolls to try and desperately get closer, to no avail.
Every time she made any progress as was forced to retreat, as the closer she got, the harder it was to dodge.

With her second attempt squashed, Al grunted in frustration, using the brief pause Nocte left her while taking aim to switch her weapons form.
A hail of bullets returned toward Nocte, Al quickly emptying all 16 rounds of her revolvers in a furious burst of gun fire, giving Al ample time to charge up her next attack, a flurry of small fireballs sprayed from her mouth toward Nocte.
Al used the time the fireballs gave her to reload, ready to repeat the process as she ran in again.

[Nocte Fabri]

Al was agile, Nocte had to give her that. Just tracking the other hunter was hard enough - actually hitting her, despite the volume of lead being poured down the other end of the arena, was a more difficult task altogether. Even when Al fired her own volley of shots, Nocte only let up when a volley of bullets was returned at her, but even then, her hands didn't remain idle. The empty magazine was tossed aside, replaced with a fresh set of rounds - all primed to be fired at Al. Even with that reload it all seemed to be something of a stalemate, with neither side able to make any headway.
Until that fireball came barrelling towards Nocte.

There wasn't time to dodge - the earlier volley had seen to that. Even if she managed to avoid the projectile itself, Nocte had no idea if it would explode on impact or not. It was slow enough to hit, but it wasn't small enough for her hammer to deflect - and the problem of whether it burst or not yet remained. To her, there was only one option. Loathe as she was to reveal her hand so early in the fight, she hadn't much of a choice. It was that, or take catastrophic damage.

Thick, grey, chains emerged from her back, bathed in the silvery glow of her Aura, and shot towards the fireball, knocking it aside with practised ease. They retracted just as fast, standing ready at Nocte's side, waiting to block anything else - all while she unleashed yet another wall of gunfire.

[Al Ciendra]

Hah!
Her counter offense seemed to have worked, Nocte, even with her stone faced expression, was obviously feeling the pressure, the bullets Al fired weren't nearly as threatening as Nocte's constant shower, which Al could see pausing as Nocte was reloading while being shot at.
Wait, how would she block the fireballs when her hands were busy.
Al didn't know, nor did she care, this was the perfect opportunity to engage!
The telltale sounds of her weapons mechanism switching forms was heard as Al dashed forward, ending into a jump and midair spin to speed up her descent to smash her axes downward on Nocte.

It all happened quickly, a gray chain swatted away her fireballs with ease and Al found herself staring down the barrel of Unkindness, midair and no way to dodge.

It hurt, Al had just enough time to curl up in a defensive position, but the lead hammering in on her body still hurt.
Al was sent flying backwards, landing with a "thud" and roll on the ground, getting up shakily as she could feel new dents in her breastplate and mask as well as new cuts and bruises on her limbs.
Her Aura gauge was down by about half.

Al sighed, she wanted to play this smart, but Nocte was just much smarter, if that didn't work...
Blue motes of flame flew around Al, as the air surrounding her began to flicker with heat.
Al growled, a growl that grew into a full on roar as Al leaned back and smashed her fist into the ground, blue flames shot into the ground creating a wall of fire surrounding Nocte, a blinding, loud roaring wall of fire.
...she'd just have to play dumb instead!

Al ran towards her competitor, the noise of her footsteps being drowned out by the fire, she aimed her burning axes at Nocte in a vicious cross slash from above, a glow coming from underneath Al's mask before a stream of flame shot towards the now cornered gunner.

[Nova Starr]

The commentator booth was plunged into stunned silence from the beginning of the fight. Hails of bullets pounded the shields around the Ampitheatre as wisps of smoke trailed Al's volcanic projectiles. Nova's attention only briefly left the screen when a bullet struck the booth in front of her; when the girl looked back, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Cinematic mastery was made when the cameras flew alongside a fireball careening toward Nocte, only to be snuffed out by chains sprawling out from the Huntress' back.

"And our fighters have revealed eachother's semblances!"

Witnessing (what could only be described as) a burning ring of fire engulfing one of the combatants, her finger flew onto the intercom button as she trained an eye on the pair's Aura gauges.

"Things are really starting to heat up!"

[Nocte Fabri]

Internally, Nocte breathed a small sigh of relief. She'd not been certain that the strategy would work - she'd have been satisfied if the fireballs alone had been dealt with. But giving her foe a faceful of bullets held its own kind of charm. However, she didn't take time to celebrate - not when there was an advantage to press. Chains at the ready to defend against whatever came next, Nocte kept firing, her each burst fired with frightening accuracy for someone running about the arena with a machine gun trying to leap out of their hands with the recoil.

But even with all her training and all her smarts, a blinding, blazing, wall proved to be too much for her to handle. Eyes squinting and gun shifting into its hammer form, Nocte assumed a defensive stance, her chains pulling in tighter as if to try and cocoon her. But it wasn't enough. Even without touching them, she could tell that the heat would be too much for her chains to bear directly, and that was even at range. She didn't know what Al had in store next - all she knew to do was brace, and wait for an opening.

That opening never came. The very second her grip tightened on the hammer's haft, two axes descended from the sky, striking down at her with frightening strength. It was all she could do to raise Unkindness and her chains into a haphazard block, but that wasn't enough. The chains shattered like glass, and the sheer force of the blow sent her staggering away, until the flames licked at her back. A quick glance at either side confirmed her fear - there was nowhere to go but forwards, at a range where she had a distinct disadvantage. But even with her Aura down to about half, and the two of them locked in a dead heat that Nocte wasn't sure she'd win, she grit her teeth and brandished her weapon defiantly, before lunging in and swinging down at Al's head.

[Al Ciendra]

That was satisfying.
Their weapons clashing, Al bearing down on her opponent with all that momentum and strength, until Nocte was forced backwards, her chains shattering against the heat that Al had brought with her. It all felt incredibly good! This rush was the reason for her love of combat.

Al leapt backwards as their clash ended, back in a lowered fighting stance.

She could see Nocte's weapon had changed form, a big hammer now being swung at her.
Melee combat ?
Al had honestly thought that Nocte would try and find a way to run and keep her advantage at range, it seemed like her opponent had no counterplay against her flames.

Al dodged backwards as Note attacked, taking a deep breath once she regained her footing, her flames faded, the arena returning to normal, the heat no longer bearing down on Nocte and the strain no longer on Al.
"Let's settle this, in the good old-fashioned way.
Al assumed her stance again, hoping that Nocte would accept this, if not and Nocte would try to run, she could turn the heat up again.

With that, Al dashed forward, with a war cry, as a vicious melee only match begun.
Axes clashed against a heavy hammer.
Blasts of flames were used to boost Al forward, give her hits the momentum to break through and to dodge out of harms way, but never to directly attack Nocte, only her chains if she were to use them.

A brutal swing of Unkindness was dodged, Al leaning backwards to have the hammer fly over her, using the momentum of the motion to land a mean flip kick in Nocte's chest, she sent her opponent staggering backwards.
With Nocte's guard broken, Al dashed forward, another blast of flames sending her forward in a vicious dropkick, which finally, after a long struggle, put Nocte on the ground.
Al was already over her, masked eyes glaring down as she lifted her axes to slash...
Al stowed her weapons, both blades vanishing into the inside of her cloak.
As the only thing that was extended to Nocte was an empty hand.
"That was a great fight in the end, sorry I doubted you."
Al said, her hood having come loose exposing the fluffy ears atop her head, still twitching in excitement.

[Nocte Fabri]

Without the Aura to break through the flames, and any kind of exit route cut off by them or Al, melee was the only choice. It wasn't what she wanted - her hand felt far more comfortable squeezing a trigger than it did gripping a haft. But with the two of them so close, she had no time to draw her pistol, or fire off another burst of machine gun rounds. And, though she'd never admit it, there was a thrill to the melee - to swinging her hammer about in frenzied arcs, teeth grit and eyes maddened.

Clashing steel rang out like a drumbeat against the roaring of the flames, interspersed by Nocte's furious bellowing. This was it - she could tell that, no matter what happened, this was where things were going to be decided. So every stop was pulled out. Her chains were bolstered, burning through her Aura, but strengthening them until even the intense heat of Al's blue flames couldn't melt through them. Unkindness struck through the air, each swing delivered with force enough that the arena's floor was turned to powdered rubble wherever she hit. And she herself never once let up. Driven by a frenzied adrenaline burst, she pushed forward, not giving Al even the slightest hint of quarter.

But Al was faster, and her Semblance stronger. Nocte's chains finally, after sustaining strike upon strike, melted to slag. And with them gone, one missed swing was all it took to give Al the opening she needed. Nocte could only watch in anger as that missile of a girl bore down upon her - and the telltale sound of shattering glass rang out into the searing air. With not even a sliver of Aura remaining, there was no two ways about it. She'd lost, fair and square. Frustrating as it was to admit defeat, the truth of it was displayed on the screen for all to see.

As maddening as it was to have lost, however, some comfort - small though it was - was taken in both Al's treatment of her, and the state of the battlefield. Surrounded by stone that had been charred, mauled, and chopped, that display of sportsmanship assured her that even if she hadn't won, it had been a good fight nevertheless. And, bitter though she was that she'd disappointed both herself and those that had expected better of her, it all comforted her just enough that she could take Al's hand without protest, and fix her with a firm - but not unfriendly - look. One so focussed that it took her a good moment or two to notice that she wasn’t the only wolf there.

"I must confess, I did the same. You have my apologies. And... congratulations. You fought well." Short though she may have sounded, there was no doubting that every word she spoke had been delivered with the utmost sincerity.

[Nova Starr]

Nova watched Nocte's Aura level drain rapidly, a bead of sweat slithering down the commentator's forehead. Some fighters were want to leave no question of their dominance and shatter their opponents Aura completely, but with each bit of damage dealt, the line between assured victory and tragedy blurred, and Al's assault bordered on brutal.

Thankfully, the buzzer finally sounded, and Al conceded her onslaught. Nova chucked herself into the back of her chair in relief, though she just as quickly flung herself forward to smack on the intercom button. "What a battle! The most action-packed, blink-and-you'll-miss-it bout so far draws to an end, and only one fighter comes out on top. Al Ciendra advances to the second round while Nocte Fabri is knocked down to the losers' bracket."

As the audience gave applause to the two students in the ring, Nova looked past the monitors to the arena floor. The displays couldn't accurately capture the level of devastation enacted upon the ampithreatre, and as she bore witness to bits of red-hot rubble and scorched stone scattered all over the place, she could only feel sorry for whoever's job it would be to clean it up.