King of the Hill (Franz)

[MKR]

The Randgirth never saw it coming, raised in the sky by the red brick of a stag beetle that was the Alteisen. Red paint gushing over the target as all enemies were eliminated. And so with the last foe preoccupied at the time Johanna aimed her rifle at the target and fired. Paint coming over their goal and with it, as ample time was left on the counter above victory was declared for the duo.
"Yes!" Johanna exclaimed as she saw the score total. With her securing the objective she had a good lead over Vi who had ample more 'eliminations' then she did. "You're gonna need to catch up in the next round Vi! Otherwise that paycheck is going places!"

Immediately weapon systems locked up, it was time for cleanup. Exactly what their teacher swiftly announced over the comms. Everyone would help clear up, the two people unfortunate enough to get staked would have to get replacement parts for even with paint rounds the hull damage was visible so they were free from cleaning duty. And of course once all that was done, they would get the time to reorganize the defenses and set up new ones.

As they entered the set up time, with just the two of them they would receive help from the faculty in worker machines to be able to adjust things under the time requirement. Still Johanna reached out to Vi.
"So Rampage-1, what're you thinking for the defense?"

 

[Franz_Korderos]

Violet blinked and then she blinked her eyes a couple of times more as she registered what she did and what Johanna was crowing about. The Randgrith fell noisily on the earth. The brunette hastily double checked the scoring system and her face twisted in a scowl, gritting her teeth as she saw the score totals! Oh that bitch! No wonder she was content to let her and the Alt Eisen loose!

"Hell no!" She all but yelled at the comms. "I've finally found the ritziest place to eat at, Jo! No way in hell am I gonna lose!"

Both of them bantered and traded barbs, at times cackling and at times admiring of the destruction they just left in their wake. In particular, Vi was still grumbling about their points, muttering loudly about how skewed and unfair it was that she got so little points with the amount of effort she put in. Jo just smugly smiled and cackled at her expense.

Kinda cute, in Vi's humble opinion, but she wouldn't say that to her face lest she make the mood awkward again so soon after they decisively won.

"Defense?" She echoed as the Alt Eisen settled into its berth after the Weiss Ritter, smaller worker machines already darting in to replenish and take stock of her mech's condition.

Frankly, she was kinda shit at defense but ...

"Just turn me into a wall, Rampage-2." She thoughtfully said. "I'm not as mobile as you and this scrappy thing can't fly. Put me into a flank or something and let them smash into me while you snipe them one by one."

She shrugged and then leaned back on her seat, idly eyeing her autocannon's bullet counter steadily rising.

"Your time to put on some work, basically."

 

[MKR]

Using the walls one of the entrances was blocked off, leaving one funnel to the objective. Through which she could shoot and Vi could guard.
"Alright then, round two." She grinned as everything was put in place, since there was no more massive point leap if she wanted to not lose she would need to prevent Vi from getting two eliminations more than her. Which... easier said then done even with her range advantage they were funneling the foes into one big place to get into a melee with the Alt.

So in preparation the Weissritter took off into the sky, rifle in hand.
"Don't worry, I've no intent to let you win." She coyly replied "So you better do your best because otherwise that ritzy place will also have to come from your paycheck."
It began, the hangar doors opened and their class mates flooded in. The Gespensts forming the vanguard followed by a hail of Huckie fire. They were not playing around, though that was obvious. Nevertheless Johanna levelled her gun as the paint rounds flew in the air, aiming at the Gespensts two of which intended to jump the Alteisen with the plasma stake as another two levelled their guns at them.

This moment of chaos was abused by the Randgirths who more than a little spiteful set up a small distance away and prepared their main gun.
Even on the Alt, getting hit by both of those was an instant loss.

 

[Franz_Korderos]

"Nah, Jo." She hollered, annoyed and grumpy still. She really didn't want to lose this fight. At all. It was a matter of pride and ... and her silly schoolgirl crush. "You'll gonna be paying for a full course meal with entertainment and then fund my casino run!"

And when the hangar doors opened, Violet had to swallow a curse and immediately go on the defensive as much as she can as Johanna and her white mech flew up while she had to contend with all their classmates who probably held a bigger grudge against her because of the last bout than her partner. Which pissed Violet to no end. She got all this aggression honed on her and she didn't even have the bigger points in her little much with Jo?!

"Come and fucking get it!" Violet roared to her loudspeakers, promptly deciding to vent on these schmucks.

The Alt Eisen raced forward to meet the Gespensts, low on the ground and directly in front of them to hide her mecha's silhouette. She saw the Plasma Stake of the leading Gespenst already primed to punch her red machine and Violet's mind sharpened as the somewhat slow Alt Eisen suddenly burst into motion.

Deftly and smoothly, like a machine several tonnes lighter than it actually was, the red brick nailed a brutal jumping side kick towards the machine's torso, crushing the metal and probably causing the pilot to panic but Violet's not the premiere close combatant in their class for nothing. The kick struck the machine's lower torso and pelvis but all the weight into that forward kick was perhaps more than enough to stop it dead. If not, then the fact that Violet stepped on it as it fell probably did the deed.

It was a new maneuver she was itching to do, but she didn't congratulate herself yet. Her autocannon fired for the first time in this match nailing one Gespenst while the Alt Eisen's other fearsome weaponry caught the other Gespie's fist, nailing and ruining it before it's charged plasma stakes could land.

"RAAAAAA!" Was Violet's battle cry as she then dragged the impaled Gespenst with all the Alt Eisen's formidable power towards the other, smashing them together all the while her gun fired and fired, strafing towards the Randgrith's as she landed a kick on the impaled Gespenst making both machines collide once more until the Alt Eisen ended their misery by punching a hole on the forward Gespenst's head ... and then continued towards the head of the Gespenst behind it.

When she removed the Alt Eisen's hand and it's frightening weapon, there were two squashed and ruined Gespenst heads on it like meat on a barbecue stick.

Violet was gonna win.

She fucking has to she's doing maximum effort!

 

[MKR]

To say she was caught by surprise would be an understatement, that counted doubly so for their foes. Who didn't expect the Alteisen to rush them even more aggressively then it had done during its turn on the attack team, and while far from bad pilots their classmates were still students and caught woefully unaware by this turn of events. Drilling such things out of them had been mostly successful but this was an unusual case. Even the Weissritter halted for a moment as the brick started its rampage.

Johanna however caught herself quickly enough to defend the Alteisen, shooting at the two Randgirths who were setting up, disabling one of them and hitting the main gun of the other before their heavy ordnance could come down upon her peer. Still now their score was nearly equal, with the last five machines being the deciding factor. Four huckies, a Randgirth and the last two Gespenst standing in the wake of destruction. Poor Filip deciding to make a run for the objective instead of trying to contest with the berserker in their midst while the remainder split their attention, the huckies wanted nothing to do with that scene and began retaliating fire against the Weiss while the Gespensts played goalie, leaving the Randgirth to hold its shotgun and aim it at the Alteisen.

As Johanna evaded the long range shots she blinked.
"Uh, Vi? You okay there?" She could almost hear the Alt creak under the duress she was putting it through "Think about your safety, also uh you shouldn't kill our classmates."

 

[Franz_Korderos]

With almost frightening ease, the suddenly fearsome Alt Eisen chucked an arm he casually pulled from one of the downed Gespensts under his feet at the Randgrith, firing at the Gespies left to distract them as its pilots started taking deep breaths to calm herself. It was a good thing that Johanna called her or else she'd continue her reckless rampage. She could see now that she has rattled their foes by her sudden aggression and while that's a good thing for her and her partner in combat, it was something that she doesn't want to happen again.

Losing her cool shouldn't be something that happens easily in combat.

"I'm ... okay, Jo." She replied as she started to move towards the Randgrith, catching it's arm with one hand and violently raising it, jerking the entire Randgrith upwards as the Alt Eisen hid behind the bigger and wider mecha, hiding specifically from the Gespensts.

"Just peachy." She grunted, burying her machine's stake at the back of the Randgrith, where the spine would be if it was a human being.

"And I know the specs of these machines. I only struck the vital parts nowhere near the cockpits."

"Keep focusing!" She suddenly called, peeking behind the disabled Randgrith to fire at the Gespies with her autocannon.

 

[MKR]

"I mean duh, because if you had hit a cockpit this entire thing would have shut down." She rained fire down on those who tried to pass under her, "but I still doubt our classmates, let alone our teachers are gonna be happy with that display. I can already hear the lamentations about repair costs and what not, as well as the bruises." She sighed, poor Filip was at least spared from that but instead had to deal with a shot from above disabling his machine as Johanna dropped down, a firing lane established for her to shoot down as the other three huckies came face to face with the white knight and she shot them one by one.

"Look I know we get competitive sometimes, er a lot of the time but well. That recklessness is gonna land you in a hospital someday." She still cared, that much was clear and she didn't want her friend to do that kinda thing to herself let alone those around her. In the meanwhile their classmates tried to defeat the pair but with the Randgirths down and the already damaged Gespensts now dropping it was just two Huckebeins left. Right now the score didn't matter to Johanna, not as much as before at least. Even as they now were tied her eyes weren't on the scoreboard.

So while Violet said she was fine the pilot of the Weissritter instead was worried because it didn't feel like her peer was fine. More the opposite.

 

[Franz_Korderos]

Violet closed her eyes, inhaled deeply, and then exhaled loudly. Loud enough that her partner probably heard said exhalation in her comms. Violet was silent for a solid minute otherwise. When the brunette opened her eyes, she was calm, or at least she's managed to regain her composure. The Alt Eisen let go of the downed Randgrith she was hiding behind and then finished both damaged Gespents with a pair of pinpoint bursts from the red machine's autocannon. Aiming might not be her strongest suit, but the damage machines were in no position to dodge.

"Sorry I made you worry, Jo." Vi softly said, the apology awkward in her tongue. As all apologies that comes from the lips of the rough-and-tumble brunette. "I seem to have worked myself up over something relatively trivial."

Now calm and focused, Violet made the Alt Eisen head towards the Huckebeins, their remaining foes. Still, the woman wasn't quite perfectly calm. Her thoughts churned. She went at it too hard and now the person she holds dear was starting to worry for him. Not good. Not good at all especially since the reason she got so worked up was something that Johanna never wants to be discussed.

Her own stupid infatuation.

The greatest thing plaguing their friendship.

With a grimace and a shake of her head, the Alt Eisen's pilot unloaded her autocannon at the closest Huckebein almost leisurely. They weren't threats to either of them now and Violet's competitive spirit and fervor for battle has completely ebbed.

 

[MKR]

As the last shots rang, the victors were decided. Both huckies falling to the ground in stillness before all machines were reenabled and weapons locked. The scoreboard was obvious, the two of them had won and among the two of them Vi had taken the lead, the 'winner' of the competition. A word soured by the previous display as well as the structural damage dealt to several machines which now once more were moving. Glares were aimed at the 'best' of their class from all angles, the Weissritter placing itself on the ground in awkward silence.

"We- uh. Should focus on cleaning up now I suppose." Johanna remarked, wanting to dodge further talk about what had just transpired. A meeting with the student counselor was undoubtedly already being scheduled for Violet. One non-voluntary nonetheless. Displays as such were fantastic against the likes of DAMON but a sense of civility against one's fellow human, let alone student, was found lacking currently.

For what it was worth, as the various machines began to disassemble the defensive construct she had won, she would get the totally-not-date she wanted from her arrangement. A question would be 'at which cost'.
As through the external speakers the Teacher's voice rang clear.

"Miss Royce, after clean up please report to my office. Immediately."

 

[Franz_Korderos]

"Fuck." Violet cursed softly, closing her eyes and sagging in her seat upon hearing what the instructor said. She didn't need to look at the cameras, didn't even need to see the expressions of anyone watching or participating in the practice--god she was such a fucking idiot--match to know that she was in boiling hot water. And why wouldn't she be? She just went ahead and let her emotions get the best of her, ruining years of exemplary behavior and superb scores in any activity just because she got herself worked up about a fucking bet?!

She let out a sigh and opened the loudspeakers.

"I ... yes, sir." She weakly said. None of the confidence and the hot-blooded vitriol she had much earlier.

The red machine ambled towards its berth, sedate and mechanical, a contrast to the wild unhinged beast that caused much of the awkwardness of the post-match. She deliberately didn't speak to Jo, either. Too flustered and absolutely bloody embarrassed to even do so.

When she finally exited the machine she robotically went down the steps, looking at no one in the eye, not even raising her head. Still, she briefly glimpsed and heard how most of her classmates were already cursing, some of them near the foot of the stairs.

To that, she grimaced but her eye sharpened ...

They converged towards her, most of them sporting pissed off expressions. She quickened her steps and before they could even say anything or reach her to punch her or something, Violet did something they did not expect of her.

She bowed.

Deeply.

Hands to the side and body almost ninety degrees. She willed as much sincerity to the act as her troubled countenance could muster.

"Sumimasen." She uttered, voice deep and subdued.

And then she marched straight to the Instructor's office. She glanced a look at Johanna's machine and promptly wished she hadn't. The regal machine that is the Weiss Ritter looked disappointed. She flashed it a pained smile, more a grimace, that hopefully conveys her apologies to Johanna for ruining their sporting fun.