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Post by zuyuri on Mar 7, 2023 4:03:21 GMT
“So long as we avoid cutting off heads, let’s keep it from getting close to civilians or crowded areas. It’ll buy us time to come up with a plan.”
Zuko didn’t really know much Greek mythology, but he did know the monsters in them were tough. Hydra heads were just part of that knowledge. As for how Hercules defeated it, we’ll, that was tricky. The story got retold so many times it was hard to figure out which method was right. Poison head stumps? Cauterize each stump? Too many what ifs.
Just as Zuko punched a fireball into Professor Locklear’s wind yo create a literal gust of hot air, it attacked their teacher who was pushing Bella out of harm’s way. The crunch of stonework echoed, and Bela was quick to show concern, and he was torn. Leave the beast and tend to her? It’d get away too quickly. But they couldn’t just leave her alone. He cooled his fire with an exhale and ran to help Bella up, looking over at the armored hero playing defense.
“Make sure that Locklear’s safe, If that thing comes close, beat its head in.”
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Post by skyeknight on Mar 10, 2023 2:01:54 GMT
Ruby's grip on her gun loosened when she saw her teacher go down. Her heart began to race. She leapt off the side of the building before in a swirl of red and rose petals she stopped at her professor's side. Her hands shook as she checked to see if the woman was okay. If need be, she could run to find a healer. Or someone who had the ability to heal.
"Stay in formation!" Caspar shouted.
He clunked into place in front of their fallen professor. He lifted his shield and glowered at the beast. He was fully prepared to take the brunt of any attack that came the way of his teammates. He could handle it. That's why he made himself a big target. He wasn't smart. Not like the other people were. He knew that. He hit stuff. That's what he was good at. But how do they kill a monster that just regrew its own heads!? And myths? He didn't know anything about Greece except that it made good, tasty foods.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Mar 13, 2023 22:30:57 GMT
All the students were quick to rush to Pocahontas's side, worry on their faces. Damn. She was supposed to be making things better, not worse. They were safe for the time being, but the hydra would attack again. "I'm fine, I'm fine," she said, although she held her side with one arm. It was definitely bruised up. She wouldn't be able to move as fast. "Bella, any recollections on how that myth went?"
"Uh..." Bella frantically tried to think as Zuko helped her up. "I think the heads were burned off? Or squished by a rock?" Honestly, there were so many different versions. it was hard to recall.
Pocahontas thought for a second. "Let's go with both," she said, hoping that at least one method would work. "Zuko, Caspar, that'll be your job. Ruby, Bella, we gotta distract it so the boys have a clear shot."
The hydra roared, all three heads rushing towards them, jaws snapping.
"Scatter!" Pocahontas cried. She blasted herself out of the way with a gust of wind, but she winced as her ribs ached with pain and she didn't go as high as she would have liked. Bella swung out of the way with a vine and frantically looked around, trying to find her other classmates. Had they gotten out of the way? Was Zuko okay?
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Post by zuyuri on Mar 13, 2023 22:59:23 GMT
Much to Zuko’s relief, their teacher was fine. Bella murmured two different variations. One was burning, another was crumbling. Unfortunately, one meant more collateral damage than the other, and he was sure none of his hard earned tips would be enough to pay for broken windows. Burning the heads could work. If the head was cauterized, the chances of three more popping back would be limited. Mrs. Locklear said they’d go for both, and she split them into trying each strategy. Bella and Ruby were in crushing, leaving Zuko and Caspar, the blue haired kid with the shield, for burning.
Speak of the devil and it’ll appeared worked for monsters too. The three heads lashed in. Zuko didn’t have time to react when a long tongue wrapped around his ankle and tossed him skyward. Three greedy mouths hung open before Zuko shot a fireball towards one mouth and he shot another to propel himself out of the literal jaws of death. After clumsily landing next to Caspar, he started throwing fire again at the hydra.
“This isn’t enough. We’ve got to lure it close enough for us to really singe it.”
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Post by skyeknight on Mar 16, 2023 2:41:00 GMT
As the hydra lunged forward to attack them, Caspar took a running leap to block the oncoming attack and give his teammates time to clear out. He held his shield before him and rammed it into the beast's mouth. Or at least 'a' mouth, but it prevented the creature from biting anyone. He held on as it began to rag doll him across the plaza, trying to shake him loose but he held tight.
"What if I get gasoline for you?" Ruby asked Zuko, "and douse this thing with it?"
She held her gun up and with a careful shot bloodied the eye of one of the hydra heads. Not enough to kill it, but hopefully make it harder for the creature to see out of that particular head.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Mar 17, 2023 0:12:36 GMT
Bella cried out when Zuko was flung into the air and almost eaten, but sighed in relief once he blasted himself away to safety. Zuko and Caspar landed some solid hits, enough to cause the hydra some pain.
Pocahontas liked Zuko's idea of luring it closer. It would be easier to land some hits. She felt panic though when one of the heads got a hold of Caspar's shield and started swinging him back and forth like a dog trying to break the neck of a small animal. "Hey bozo, pick on someone your own size!" she yelled, throwing some blasts of air at the other two heads. If she could just hold its attention long enough, maybe the third head would let Caspar go and it would be close enough for Zuko to get a shot.
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Post by zuyuri on Mar 17, 2023 1:02:49 GMT
Zuko couldn’t tell if Ruby was making a quip or offering a suggestion. In response, he just shook his head and punched a fireball at a free head that was eyeing Caspar hungrily at the other one was shaking him around. “Gasoline will cause too much collateral damage.” Mrs. Locklear was able to knock the hydra back, and as the beast was pushed away, Zuko had an idea. “How much heat can you shield withstand, Caspar?” It would take teamwork and a lot of confidence but it could work. The other tricky part? Getting up on the hydra’s back.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Mar 25, 2023 21:13:42 GMT
((Loling at the hydra's back comment. That's been on my list of crack ideas for this RP for a while. XD))
"Better do something fast, it's coming back," Bella said. Pocahontas had let out one more blast of wind before clutching her side. She could only ignore her injuries for so long. They needed to take this thing out fast. Maybe she could buy the others enough time for them to pull off whatever idea Zuko had in mind. Focusing, she turned the few trees left standing into sharp, pointy thorns. With thrusts of her hand, she launched them like javelins. Her aim was a bit off and she only grazed the hydra, but it had to focus on her to avoid getting skewered through the eye.
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Post by zuyuri on Mar 26, 2023 18:25:32 GMT
Bella was right. Time was their enemy. The longer they spend discussing game plans, the more time the hydra had to attack them. It stomped over almost on cue. Locklear sent more wind, but her injury was making it difficult. Zuko ran to stand in front of her to deliver a fire blast to a head that could have easily gotten her. Bella acted fast, summoning large thorns. Thorns big enough that if snapped away could act as swords.
Time for plan B
“Good call, Bella!” Zuko cheered. He raced to one branch - carefully - and grabbed two on either side. The bases glowed orange before finally snapping free his hands. Weaving through the thorns, he followed the path to the hydra’s back. One head was waiting for him. The neck that was scratched. Perfect. Hopefully, this worked.
Zuko swung the two thorns with a rotating slash. There was some resistance where the thorns met flesh, but he continued the attack on the head until after what was way more hacking and slashing than he would have like, Zuko had the head severed. Time was ticking faster now. Yelling in effort, he thrust both hands towards the neck’s stump. Fire coated the neck until a smell like cooking meat that had gone bad filled Zuko’s nose. The neck was cauterized. No more heads were going to pop out.
One head down. Two more to go.
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Post by skyeknight on Mar 29, 2023 2:27:38 GMT
Caspar took one hand off the shield and held on tight with the other. He leaned over the sharp canines and swung an iron gloved fist into the creature's face. The punch knocked a tooth clean out of the beast's mouth, but as it roared in agony, it released his shield. Only bad thing was, he was now at least three stories off the ground. Even Ruby, with all her speed was not able to get to him before he crashed to the ground, leaving a hefty crater in the asphalt.
Ruby wrinkled her nose in disgust over the smell of burnt creature flesh. Her breakfast almost made a violet reappearance. Pushing the urge to yak down, she took stock of what was going on. One head was gone. Caspar was down. Was he moving? Things were happening so quickly! If here sister - wait! Her sister!
Ruby changed her gun to the scythe and began slowly walking forward, focusing her effort on bringing the massive, bladed weapon with her. If the heads were the problem, why not target the heart? If the heart stopped beating, shouldn't the rest of the bodily functions cease as well? As the creature began to notice her, she moved quicker. Leaping over the attacks sent her way, dodging, ducking, weaving with a swirl of red and rose petals. A nasty slash was left along the beast's right flank. Not deep but ugly unnatural blood oozed from the wound.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Mar 30, 2023 23:16:21 GMT
Pocahontas quickly took stock of the situation. Zuko had burned off one head, Ruby was aiming for its heart, and Bella was keeping it at bay with thorns. They seemed to have an okay grip on things. She focused her attention on Caspar and she hurried over to him. "Caspar, hey, are you alright?" she asked, trying to bring him around.
Zuko and Ruby did some pretty decent damage. The hydra was hurting now with a big gash on its leg, a tooth gone, and one head burned off. Bella coughed at the awful smell, but it seemed to be slowing down, its remaining two heads struggling to keep its momentum. "Keep going!" she called out encouragingly. She called on more branches, trying to make it easier for Zuko and Ruby to get where they needed to go.
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Post by zuyuri on Mar 31, 2023 0:40:45 GMT
The morale of the team seemed to be pretty high. Good for them, bad for the hydra. Zuko tucked one thorn into his belt. He’s use it later, and he didn’t need to burn his weapon. He clenched his fist, creating a small flame that looked like a dagger. Maybe burned skin cut easier than undamaged. As Ruby sliced the hydra, Zuko dove for the closest neck and began swinging the fire blade. Each swing made the neck redder. He had gotten the skin to about first degree before using the thorn in his other hand to jack away. Turned out he was wrong. The swollen raised burn area was harder to slice through with his substitute weapon. Frustration fueled his hacks, until suddenly, the thorn was reduced to ash. Zuko growled in anger. Damn it! Anger and passion had blinded him from control. He hadn’t even made a gash big enough for a head bleed out.
However, the hydra was getting tired of the annoyance on its back. It gave a furious shake, and the next thing Zuko knew, he was literally in the maw of the beast as a head snapped down and swallowed him.
If it stank of the outside, being in its throat about to be pushed down its digestive track was worse. Not today. This thing made a mistake swallowing a frustrated fire powered human whole; It didn’t chew, giving plenty of time for retaliation. Zuko knew with the saliva and other liquids, his fire was useless. His only hope was the second thorn. Pulling it out, he jabbed furiously at the hydra’s tongue. The prodding finally culminated in Zuko being literally spat out, drenched in hydra spit and what he knew was a tiny bit of monster vomit.
“This is why you don’t swallow things whole, dumbass,” he angrily muttered to the still reeling hydra.
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Post by skyeknight on Apr 7, 2023 3:11:40 GMT
Casper gave a slow, pained exhale but when his professor came rushing over to his side, he pushed himself up into a sitting position. He gave her the best thumbs up he could. He was fine. A little stunned. He took a deep breath, bracing himself to stand.
Ruby gave a furious shout before she swung the scythe again. Another horrendous gash was formed across the creature's front, just below the throat. She skipped out of the way of another attack her way, this time a claw.
"Zuko! If I cut off a head, can you cauterize it?"
They would have to get their timing down pat, before the creature could grow another head. She didn't want to cut a head off and make an even bigger mess. Not like they were bringing a building down on it or something. That'd be crazy and super reckless.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Apr 10, 2023 23:47:14 GMT
Pocahontas froze for a moment when one of the hydra's heads swallowed Zuko whole. Bella cried out in horror. But he made his way back out with a couple of stabs with one of Bella's thorns and it spat him back out pretty quickly.
"Zuko! Are you okay?" Bella asked as she frantically ran over to his side. From what he could see, he looked alright, besides being covered in hydra spit. Ruby took charge, planning to slice off a head so Zuko could move in to cauterize it. "If you're gonna do it, better do it fast," she said. "I don't think we can take another hit." Zuko was lucky to still be in one piece. Pocahontas and Caspar were still standing, but they were a bit less mobile. If Bella, Zuko, or Ruby took another hit like they did, the hydra might win the fight.
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Post by zuyuri on Apr 11, 2023 5:50:40 GMT
Zuko couldn’t decide what was worse. Being covered in mucus from his escape from the hydra’s mouth or the fear in Bella’s eyes as she asked if he was okay. No, he wasn’t okay. He was downright pissed. But there was no time to get feelings out and getting mushy. That was for after the fight. As he wiped off the grime with a look of disgust, Ruby asked if he could cauterize the head the minute she cut it off, like he had with the first head Was his fire still able to combust and heat? The spit dousing probably made his fire weak. However, he still had his hot touch and he was ready to get his revenge for nearly being eaten. “Faster suggestion; I can heat up your scythe, so that when you cut the head, it’ll cauterize instantly.” He carefully touched the edge of her weapon and watched the metal go from cool silver to an intense orange. The hydra was stomping towards them, and he pointed the scratch he had started on one head. “Go!”
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