A Fated Meeting (Tsu/BP)

Ilona Raquel, Insecure, but talented HAREONite (4/2/3 Hylian) Reward: Clawshot, -20 Rupees.
TJ Fireslap, G-Unit Goron (5/3/1 Goron) Reward: Pony Kicks (Pegasus Boots)
Gerard Ramenda, Deathbound Grinder (4/1/4 Hylian) Reward: Power Beam, +5 Rupees.
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Gerard Ramenda sat patiently in the camp his team had set up. He could see it from here... The enemy encampment had high ground, but when the guards were sent in before, they'd set up decent cover before being butchered.  

Gerard looked at his companions around the small camp. There was captain Kimil, a soldier indeed, in full plate and sporting a broadsword. Third rank Palirez, in leather armor and with two daggers. He was more or less the stealth guy until everyone else wrecks the enemy's shit. Next was his brother, Desmond. A look of focus was on his face because he'd sent out a falcon with a hyoi pear for scouting. A guitar also sat next to him, something Desmond often liked to have at camp for calming everyone. Sometimes he even performed hilarious duets with the big guy. 

Speaking of... He looked over at TJ, who was reaching around in the ground, and then pulled out a rock, taking a massive bite. "Not gonna clean it first?" Gerard joked.

TJ, smirked, talking through bites. "Man, what's dirt but a lil' bit'a seasonin'? At least I don't have to raise my food."

Gerard leaned back, chuckling. "But ours is renewable."

"Mo'fucka please, you're saying imma eat every rock from here to the forbacon fortress?"

"To be honest, I wouldn't put it past you."

TJ smirked, finishing off the rock. "Heh, niether would I, baby. That's how I roll. TJ do what he please."

Gerard shook his head laughing, an looked up the road. "Aren't we getting a temp today?"

Kimil nodded. "Yup. A girl named Ilona Raquel. From HAREON. She should be a decent help."

Palirez scoffed. "A girl. Really. I've never fought alongside a woman I didn't have to protect."

"Then you haven't fought alongside MY sisters. They're beasts in combat. Military captain and royal guard."

This prompted the man to shake his head. "Soldiers are weak unless proven otherwise. We'll see how this girl does. My bet? She doesn't make it into the encampment. Running away or dying is optional."

Gerard looked at Palirez closely before taking the bet. "Fifty against. You're on. I just hope she gets here soon."

Ilona Raquel was a less than impressive sight to behold. She had her shield, bladed sword, lance and bow and quiver on her, but she didn't exactly look like the grizzled war veteran her temporary companions might have been expecting. Oh, well. She had requested an actual mission from Denolle, so turning back was not an option. Not that she wanted to.

Helping Theta squad rout an encampment of Ganon's minions sounded like a little harsh for her first REAL mission, but that was what she had been given and that was what she would do. She wasn't even sure what Theta squad was... wasn't it a suicide team?

At any rate, as she approached the camp, the wind picked up. She hoped it wasn't going to turn into the direction of the enemy camp- Moblins weren't smart but they had good noses. At the allied camp, she saw three men- all men. Eeeep. Two in full armor, one with a broadsword, one with what seemed to be as haphazardly thrown together an arsenal as her own, one man who seemed to be able to fill the same role Chriselia could in HAREON, and... a Goron in the middle of a meal. Seeing a Goron eating rocks always caused Ilona to raise an eyebrow, but only in private. It was just how they were.

As she came close enough to be heard, she swallowed. "Um... I'm Ilona Raquel... I'm sorry for being late."

Gerard finally saw the new girl show up, and she was kinda cute too... He stood up as she arrived, ignoring Palirez's immediate comment about the rupees being his for the taking. He shook Ilona's hand, Kimil standing by as well. 

"Welcome to Theta, Ms. Raquel. First rule of the squad..." Gerard smirked as TJ chimed in. 

"Girl keep yo' head down." He then went back to munching rocks. 

Gerard chuckled, releasing Ilona's hand. "Yeah. In these kinds of missions, most people die from the archers. Cover is your new best friend. I'm sure I'll be a close second, but cover's hard to beat."

TJ chuckled. "Sandpaper man. Sandpaper smooth." 

"Oh come on TJ, I'm trying to lighten things up before things get bloody and people start dying. Anyway, intros. Captain Kimil, Palirez, my brother Desmond, TJ Fireslap, and of course me. I'm Gerard Ramenda."

TJ, nudged Gerard aside, sitting down right in front of Ilona, their heads now even. "Wait wait wait, hon... Raquel? Like Jon Raquel? Man, I swear, if yo' Jonny's girl and you got a tenth'a that dude, you gonna wreck shit out there. I seen that cat meow, so we in for one fancy feat of fightin' tonight."

Ilona swiftly did as she had been told, also taking her shield off her back just in case- it had served her through mostly close combat, but she knew it could save her from bowfire as well. She then looked at... TJ? The Goron, who resumed his meal. If she had been in HAREON company, she would have remarked that most people eat breakfast before leaving on a mission, but she couldn't even open her mouth to get the witty remark out- Palirez seemed similar to Chriselia in more ways than just his expertise, and she was afraid the joke wouldn't be appreciated.

Desmond hadn't spoken yet, and neither had Kimil, but Gerard seemed nice enough... although if what TJ implied was true and he was hitting on her after a minute in each other's presence, she wasn't sure if she felt comfortable around him. Next was the Goron himself, who, after letting her name sink in (he might not have been the brightest of the bunch), made uncomfortable eye contact. "You know my father?" Ilona said, immediately regretting it. Now she'd have to live up to the expectations. And she knew she wasn't anywhere near as mighty as her father was on the battlefield.

"R-regardless... what is it they have for archers? Bokoblins, Moblins, or something else altogether?"

TJ nodded. "Dayum, girl, you be bringin' back memories I ain't thought in a while! This was just outta Goron city after the ham himself stomped us out. I had just joined Theta and two dudes were helping us out for the mission. Poppa Raquel, and... Aw shit... What was his name? Brown hair... Swordsman... Made dekus look tall.... It'll... Dorrah? Something like that... Oh well, hear he got a hit on him or something. Anyway, those two wrecked the bacon off all the guys that came at us, and I was right there with'em. Good memories..." TJ stood up, looking at the base. "As for the archers, we don't really know. That's what we sent D-man here to do."

Kimil looked towards Desmond. "Don't pay much attention to TJ. He rambles a lot."

Desmond was still just sitting, a blank expression on his face until a few seconds passed. He then snapped to attention. "Huh? Who's this girl? The transfer?"

Kimil nodded. "Yeah. Ilona. So what'd you see?"

"Typical shit. Bokoblin archers... Probably about thirty. Then about ten moblins inside, and one tent I couldn't close in on. Anything could be in there."

Kimil looked to Ilona. "Alright. We're starting at midnight. Ilona, what kinds of things are you bringing to the table?"

Palirez chuckled. "Cleaning? Knitting, maybe? Oh! Please tell me you brought a cake."

"Palirez, for that, your pay is being dropped by forty percent for the mission. Any more smart-ass remarks?"

"...No sir."

Gerard chuckled from the exchange. Kimil always stood up for squad mates. Even temporary ones. 

Ilona had opened her mouth when Kimil asked for her skillset, but shut it again and swallowed when Palirez interrupted. C'mon, Ilo, she told herself, don't let him walk over you like that... say something. She opened her mouth again, but Kimil was faster, cutting the male Chriselia's pay. Ilona swallowed again. She wouldn't have been able to get anything out of her throat anyway...

When Gerard repeated the question Kimil had asked, she snapped back to reality. "Oh, right. Er, well... most of my use is going to be in melee. I do swordplay and lance fighting... my lance isn't really suited for being thrown though. Other than that I have some archery skill... and these guys." putting her arm further through the handles of her shield so her hand freed up, she opened the pouch on her waist and pulled out one of its seemingly infinite residents, showing it to the men around her.

"I... also know some details about the monsters we're up against... I was kind of hoping we'd be dealing with Moblin archers. Bokoblins may be short and weak, but they're smarter than they look... they actually know what they're doing with those bows." As she looked at the Bombchu, wondering why she was still holding it instead of putting it back away, she got an idea. "...fortunately, if I recall right, they're also very curious... much like their dumb cousins. If I send one of these in between their watchtowers, I'm fairly sure that'd leave a massive opening for us to sneak in."

Gerard saw that Ilona was hesitating, probably a bit unnerved by Palirez's comment. "Ilona? What can you do?"

When she explained she was good at archery and had Bombchus, Gerard smiled. "Perfect. This team's pretty devoid of ranged abilities. Unless, of course, TJ starts lobbing rocks."

"Man, I ain't throwin' rocks!" He said, smirking. "You don't see me goin' 'Yo Gerard! Hit 'em with the mash potatoes!' and hon? I don't know if you've noticed, but guys as big and heavy as me don't sneak nowhere. Plus that shit's too complicated. When TJ steps in the ring, E'RYBODY knows it. No matter what we do, those lil' piggies are gonna go cryin' to momma because the big bad wolf blew down their rucking ass encampment! How about a tasty Fireslap sandwich with'a side'a TJ! Hold the living, and the mayo!"

Gerard sighed and looked at Ilona. "He gets like that sometimes. Makes a good distraction though."

"Oh... well..." Ilona hurriedly stuffed the Bombchu back into the pouch, flustering a little. Of course TJ wasn't suited for stealth operations... "W-well, in that case..." fortunately Ilona was clever and thought quickly. "Then depending on how big the enemy camp is... maybe TJ could draw attention to one side of it while we circle around and infiltrate from the other side?"

Once they were inside the camp, Ilona would be fine. She knew she could fight- especially some Bokoblins who were decent archers but next to useless in close combat, and a couple of Moblins whose head barely contained more brains than their rear end did. "So... midnight, right? Sir Desmond... I don't suppose you know what kinds of arrows the Bokoblins are using?"

Bokoblins and Moblins weren't the most intelligent monsters to be up against- Ilona had called Bokoblins smarter than Moblins and that was true, but it was just enough to make them fire the bow instead of chewing on it. They were nowhere near as smart as a human or, say, a Wizzrobe. Most often, Bokoblin archery used typical, crude arrows- but it never hurt to check. After all, the choice of arrows could give them a hint to the identity of the commander in the tent Desmond had not been able to reach...

Gerard laughed when Ilona recommended TJ be the distraction. "I like this girl! She'd been here five minutes and knows some of our best tactics! Well Kimil, you heard her. What's the plan?"

The captain held a hand up, pausing Gerard. "Hold on, Raquel brings up a good point. What kind of archers are they?"

Desmond shrugged. "Well most were the standard pointy stick ones, but about a third were flamers. There was one too, who had a hawkeye mask and a pretty sweet bow. Couldn't tell with the arrows though. Oh well though, he's a bokoblin. Just because he can see far and has a fancy bow doesn't mean he has too much better aim. Besides, there are three entrances. Front, Eastern and rear flank."

Kimil nodded. "Perfect. But we'll still have to be wary of that archer. Here's what I propose. TJ, you do as instructed by Ilona, going in the back and causing as much noise as possible. Clear?"

TJ laughed. "You know we clear, cap'n Kims, TJF always loves surprisin' em from behind."

Kimil shook his head with a sigh and a smirk. "Alright, Gramenda, you and Raquel use TJ's distraction to launch the eastern flank, Palirez, Dramenda, you're on me. We take the encampment head on. If there's anything you want to ask, now's the time."

Ilona was a little worried when Desmond told the group about the Bokoblin with the Hawkeye and the apparently special bow. That either meant the commander was intelligent enough to know the combination, or the Bokoblin intelligent enough to use them. "Don't underestimate an archer with an Hawkeye, even if it's a mere Bokoblin. if the commander deems it intelligent enough to use one, its aim will be significantly better than that of its brethren."

Much to Ilona's relief, Kimil seemed to find her opinion more valuable than Palirez did, and agreed with her idea to have TJ form a distraction. In fairness, it was probably more that it was an often-used tactic than that they thought Ilona was a genius. She reddened a little in the face as she realized she was already making a fool out of herself. Maybe she could improve the image these men had of her once she got into combat...

Fortunately, she was to team up with Gerard, and not with the knife fighter that made her feel so horrible. "N-no questions, sir." She assumed she was at leave to kill as she saw fit, rather than to take prisoners. She also didn't bother asking about his method of naming the Ramendas separately. Apparently not all branches were on first-name bases like HAREON...

Gerard nodded to Kimil. “You’ve got it. I’ll take her over what to do.”

Kimil looked at TJ and sighed. “Alright TJ, we’re never going to hear the end of this, and I don’t think the world is ready for this chaos bu-“

TJ jumped to his feet. “Are they in?!”

Palirez shook his head. “Oh god no… HQ approved that?”

Kimil nodded, pulling out a compaction pouch and reaching in to pull out a big box. “Yeah, let’s face it. TJ can ALWAYS use more ways to kill stuff.”

Grabbing the box, TJ opened it and sat back down. “Awwww Hells yeah, I got m’ pony kicks!” He took the shoes out of the box and put them on. “Custom fit baby! That’s what I like to see!” He charged for a moment before sprinting off at a very high speed, and then put his fist right through a tree.

Gerard chuckled. “Man, he’s been trying to get those for months. Anyway… From what we know of the side we’re attacking, there’s a decent number of trenches and crates on the way up the hill, and archers attacking. So stay in cover and you should be good. Here’s what I suggest: I spot the archers and tell you where they are, then you fire. It’s safe for me to pop up more because I’m covered in metal. Sound good? By the way Ilona, I’m sure you’ll do fine.

Ilona frowned when she saw TJ not only take out, but also put on, the 'Pony Kicks.' They were Pegasus Boots... that was a little disturbing. She'd seen Jayden use the same items several times, and imagining what a Goron could do with them... "...let's go, Sir Ramenda," she said, hastily making for the east.

When Gerard took her over the plan and told her she'd do fine, she resisted to urge to remind him he didn't even know her. "That seems fine," she said, no knowing why, "But I could be in danger the second I rear my head, as well. My shield can only protect me if I'm holding it... I have to get out of cover if I am to shoot..."

However, she had a secret weapon. "...I might be able to take out a lot of them in one shot, though. It has to be relatively close, but it's strong..."

TJ called after Ilona and Gerard when they broke off. "Remember you two, go on my signal! When the hill starts thumpin', you two get bumpin', a'ight?"

Gerard nodded and led Ilona to the forests on the side they needed to be. She then told him of a way she could take them out better if she was closer. He leaned closer, listening intently. "How's that? I assume something you forgot to mention when Palirez was being a dick?"

Meanwhile, TJ was walking around the opposite way to not draw attention to himself. He loved these missions! He just gets to bust in and kick ass! Nothing strikes fear into their hearts and joy into teammate's hearts like a big Goron bustin in wearing armor and smack talking while he busts down a wall. 

After a few minutes, TJ reached his destination and sat down on a fallen tree. He just had to wait a few minutes to ensure everyone was prepped.

"W-well, not so much forgot..." Ilona once more reached into her Bombchu Supply and pulled one out, taking care to make it a small one this time, and followed up with taking string out of her other pouch. "I just didn't think it'd be all that relevant." She then attached the Bombchu to an arrow, which she immediately notched. "Trust me," she said when she thought Gerard would be giving her strange looks (she couldn't see- his helmet blocked everything from view), "I know what I'm doing."

As they came a little closer to the cover, Ilona settled herself behind it and sat down. "So... now we wait for TJ to give the signal, right? Is there a default signal or..."

Gerard understood what Ilona was doing fairly quickly. He nodded, realizing just how useful of a skill that was to have. “That’ll be perfect. More shock and awe, that’s what we like to see. And yeah, our usual signal is just as TJ said. The ground thumping. You’ll know it when you feel it. For now, make sure you’re one hundred percent prepped.

Meanwhile on the other side, TJ was ready. He beat his chest twice, giving a “Hoorah!” before charging his feet with his Pony kicks. He took off towards the encampment, a few arrows whizzing by him and a few deflecting off his stone skin. Once he reached the log wall of the encampment, fireslap met wood, blasting apart the wall and creating a hole big enough for the Goron to fit through. “Knock knock, mo’fuckas!” The next attack was a full goron punch to the ground, making the earth shake lightly. The fun was starting.

Gerard felt the ground shake, nodding to Ilona. “Let’s go!”

"Gah!" Upon the ground shaking, Ilona noticed the Bombchu on her arrow shaking along. She needed a second to regain her composure, but then followed Gerard. Upon getting close to a batch of archers, she stood straight and unleashed her shot.

The result was as destructive as she had hoped. Not only did she fell three Bokoblins who stood close to the blast, she also severely damaged the tower holding more of them. "Gerard! move in and-" She dropped her bow to raise her shield, blocking a number of arrows shot at her. "-get them!" Unsheathing her sword, she moved to alongside Gerard, ready to topple that tower and unleash hell on them.

It was for that very purpose she set down a fresh, bigger Bombchu.

Gerard rushed forward at the signal, hearing the explosion more than seeing it. Either way, he ran to the other tower, the metallic tang of arrows dinging off his armor ringing to him. He reached the tower just as Ilona’s bombchu did, and as the explosive took down the tower, he began fighting the bokoblins as they landed. They were poorly equipped for melee, trying to block with bows or small knives. Gerard stayed at a distance, first sweeping wide with his trident.

The first managed to duck under it, but was way too far away to retaliate. The trident dug into the second one, and with him hooked, pulled back. The bokoblin flung forward to it’s knees, where Gerard instantly took it to the throat with Honor, stabbing with his blade to the stunned bokoblin while also thrusting his trident into the ducked one. With only one left, Gerard saw it had taken aim at Ilona, so he used Legacy to swing at the bow, snapping the shoddy material in two.

When Gerard lunged forward a lot more quickly than Ilona had anticipated (Sayomi was certainly not that fast in her similar armor), she quickly recovered from her shock and took her lance to hand instead of her sword, plunging the tip through the shoddy sternum of the Bokoblin whose bow had been destroyed by Gerard.

"Don't try killing all of them. I'm a soldier too, you don't need to protect me." She didn't really believe he was coddling her because of her femininity- he was probably just a little overzealous and wanted every last one of them gone. Which made sense. But if Ilona didn't claim her place now, these people would continue making fun of her.

Getting her bow back, she notched a normal arrow. "Was the Bomb Arrow satisfactory? There's more where it came from, but I don't want to risk blowing US up. Bombchus are volatile."

“Alright, I’ll leave some for yo-“ He leapt forward in front of her, and all he heard was a metallic clang and his neck jolted to the side as an arrow hit his head. It didn’t really hurt, but it would illustrate a point. “Eyes open, Ilona. Let’s go.” Gerard wondered to himself when he’d get to test out the new technique Alexander had taught him before this mission…

The armored man ran forward, leading Ilona up towards the entrance. They did so without too much more resistance. Obviously something inside had their attention.
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“C’mere you piggy ass mo’fo!” TJ said, picking up a moblin over his head and bring it down hard, snapping it’s back on his knee. The archers were also firing, about four of them, but TJ used the limp Moblin to shield himself, then threw the thing at the archers, making them disperse. He even knocked one off the wall with his projectile enemy.

The goron grabbed a section of log he’d blasted out with his initial entrance, using it as a shield. A few arrows stuck out of the goron’s skin, but TJ didn’t really care about that. It was all about two things. The mission, and fun. But of which were getting done.

Ilona let out a surprised cry when she saw Gerard getting hit by bowfire. However, he seemed fine, and under the cover of her shield, she followed the fully armored warrior into the camp.

Once there, she heard and thought she saw TJ making a ruckus over at the archery part of camp. However, she didn't get a lot of time to look at him- her Sense went off and she spun around, Spin Attacking a Moblin that had approached them from the side. When the beast got knocked back, Ilona changed her grip on her blade and swung it in front of herself without expecting to hit anything.

Instead, pure energy shot out of the blade and straight ahead in an arc, the same arc she had made with her swing. The blow knocked the Moblin further back, and Ilona dropped sword and shield to prepare a new Bombchu arrow she would use to finish it off. "Be careful!" she shouted to Gerard, even though she knew he didn't need her warning, "We're up against the big guys now!"