trans_9 | Mission 01 - Recovery: Group 1

Plays doesn't look back. One thing he learned while fighting his crazy war for the fate of the world: never, ever look back. Something might be gaining. He does catch on to what Cybil is thinking of and he barks over at Leaf, "I might need your help knocking down a tree!"

Dean did not sign up for this crap, but hey, he doesn't want to die, either, so he'll keep running. He's a a bit behind Cybil, and is trying not to look back at the crazy mud thing that's attempting to eat them. Or whatever.

"I can distract it if you need me to!" Dean shouts to Cybil, glancing around at the others. That would give the wolves time to knock down the trees...

He's caught her meaning without being told, sizing up the trees along the bank and unsheathing the sword in the same motion.

"It's not a lightsaber or anything but it'll do you one better than chainsaw nanchucks! This way!" He veers to the right as they reach the bank and drops into an approach run, gunning for a tree at least eighty feet high with a thicker trunk than most.

He shouts up into the trees, knowing Sean's within earshot.

"BRO, I'M GOING TO NEED SOME WEIGHT UP TOP OF THIS THING!"

Five seconds later the trunk of the tree is severed cleanly and another quick slice on the side that faces the river has it notched for a fall. He snaps the sword back into it's sheath and doesn't wait to start running UP the trunk - as up quickly stars to become across.

"What with?" Geoff demands, shooting an exasperated look at Dean as he dashes along. Mysterious 'acid' is coming after them, unlikely to be sentient, and Dean wants to distract it?

"I might as well throw my blanket at it and pray it was only feeling a chill!"

Crashing behind him. Crashing of trees acting like dominoes. Now was DEFINITELY the time to keep moving forward because letting falling trees catch up was a bad, bad idea.

He could see the river ahead. Fast river and just far enough that it was going to be problematic, but it seems that problem was already solved. Oh, he was totally going to be revealed at this rate, but getting away from the acid monster came first.

Besides, if the other teammates WERE other ninjas in disguise, doing anything on a planet with stuff like that would be suicide. Hopefully they weren't suicidal.

He compensates for his brother's veering, moving to the side trees, managing to find one that was still solid in the ground and in direct line with the one his brother had cut. He kicked off the tree's branch, running along the side before kicking off hard to gain more momentum for the jump.

Now for the pain, because landing in a way that wasn't gonna hurt or send him back was just gonna send him towards falling trees and acid creature. He slammed into the tree, hard, grabbing on to the top branches so he didn't just fall out completely after his 'landing.'

"The apes have beaten us to it!" One-Leaf-Ear calls back to Plays, shifting into crinos as she runs. She veers to get closer to the other Garou, still loping along on all fours. "Jump together?" she asks, gesturing towards the tree with her head.

Plays flashes her toothy grin, legs already coiling for the leap, "Rock on!"

"Everyone across! When we're over, we're chopping the bridge down and shoving it in the water so it can't follow!"

And she's gonna be the last to go, and that's that.

McNinja keeps pace, although there's A LOT of arm windmilling when the weight of two wolves comes down on the log too. He gets to the other side, gives a quick look over to make sure Sean didn't get crushed, then stations himself at the edge of the river and unsheaths his sword.

...why is Cybil standing at her side of the tree freaking WAITING for the rest of them?

"Cybil what are you doing? Get over here! They'll catch up!"

The dude that waits to go last ALWAYS gets eaten in the movies! ALWAYS! USE YOUR COMMON LOGIC WOMAN!

"Hell if I know, that's why it's called improvising!" Dean shouts back at Geoff, and then the trees are falling down, and he's concentrating on getting across and making sure everybody else is going across as well.

And sure, Cybil's going last, but damn if Dean's going to just keep going and leave a lady behind. He takes a few steps, glances at Chaucer, and then stops.

"C'mon, lady, hurry it up! That thing's looking for an appetizer, and I don't think it's picky!"

Geoffrey doesn't need to be told twice to get across. He outright tugs his blanket-kilt off to sling over a shoulder before clambering up onto the crude bridge; it will be a lot easier - and swifter - to get across without it hampering his movement.

Then he sees Dean stop, and he about hits the man out of frustration. No, strike that, he does hit Dean, if lightly. The man is no knight, after all, he's probably descended from Wat for all the intelligence he's showing. "The faster we go, the more quickly she may follow. Now move."

And to further illustrate his point, he continues across.

"Listen to the man!" says Cybil, and indeed, she's right behind the both of them.

The blob is right at her heels, burning away at the tree trunk as it creeps along it.

...Burning away at the tree trunk.

Before long, it starts to dissolve through and the end near the bank they left goes plunging into the water. The blob clings to it, trying to escape the water, as that end of the trunk starts to tiiiiilt sideways, dragged by the currents.

That, of course, means for Dean, Geoff, and Cybil, that the damn thing lurches under their feet.

"Sonovabitch!"

Cybil reholsters her gun so both hands are free, as she falls to her knees.

Shit! He's got the sword back in the sheath and is off the bank before he can really think about it. Back of the group, inches from the acid monster... she's not outrunning that without at least losing a foot.

Him though? He can get there and back in a flash. It's what ninjas do.

"Had to be last, huh?" he says as he lands lightly beside her, grabbing for her hand.

"Somebody had to be." Her legs are half-dangling in the rapids and it'd been making it difficult for her to climb up.

Dark Smoke Puncher finally orientated himself after the collision with the tree and took in the situation. The other two were near the branches, his bro seeming to have the leader, but there was one last problem.

Acid monster. Acid monster that was eating the trunk and not too far from his bro and the leader. While he trusted his brother to get the leader out, one small mishap and they were acid food and that wasn't bringing up the fact that the monster was getting close to THEIR bank by eating the tree.

So Dark Smoke Puncher did what any ninja would do and would cut away the problem. He leaped from the branches and landed on the trunk between the monster and his brother and the leader. He drew his sword quickly and slashed down into the trunk just ahead of the monster. "Only thing that's gonna melt is you in those rapids, yo," he said as the current jerked away the little bit of trunk not eaten by the acid creature and the creature with it.

All would have been fine and dandy except...well, cutting off as much trunk as he did, the tree plunked into the water, the current carrying it to a rock outcropping the proceeded to be slammed into by said tree and lurched violently.

And Dark Smoke Puncher, being still in training and just never having luck when water was involved, couldn't keep his footing and fell into the water.

The lurching causes Cybil to drop more into the water and she's ripped from the Doc's grasp into the rapids, before she even has a chance to catch her breath.

They're in enough luck that the blob had been swept away far ahead of them--and most likely dissolved and torn to shreds, but that won't save either of them from drowning.

Being in the rapids was bad! A bad, bad thing because they were fast and even NINJAS had trouble swimming with THIS fast a current. Especially when a ninja determined they couldn't be on their own because there's someone ELSE in the water now that said ninja could see trying to stay afloat himself.

Dark Smoke Puncher was really starting to rethink that 'keep your teammates alive' idea, but he was committed to it now. He managed to swim enough to reach Cybil. "BRO! A LITTLE HELP!" He shouted as he tried to keep Cybil afloat. At least this way there was no dastardly question of 'who do I save, the leader or family?' Sticking close meant getting them both at once.

As long as they could stick close.

"SEAN!"

The Doc is up and off like a shot down the side of the riverbank as soon as Cybil is ripped from his hands. There's nothing for it but to chase them down the river and try to get ahead and find a point to reach down to them from.

"Try to stay to this side, keep your head up, and just go WITH the current!"

Shit shit shit shit SHIT! Not good!

Tony is right behind the Doctor, loping along on all fours, a low growl in his throat. This isn't good. It would be pointless to survive that stupid blob monster only to see two people get drowned. So he puts on a burst of speed, looking for large rocks in the water, overhanging branches, a spot where the bank narrows... anything, really.

Leaf, meanwhile, is staying back to keep her eye on Chaucer and Dean. The Talon pins her ears back and growls as she looks from them to the river and back. "It would be wise for you to stay here. You would likely get in the way."

There are some over-hanging logs and whatnot, a few rocky outcroppings. If they can just get to them ahead of the two...

Cybil doesn't bother shouting. It's all she can do to just stay afloat, and she's trying to make sure the ninja kid (that came out of nowhere, but she wasn't complaining with him helping and all) stays afloat, too.

Plays puts on a burst of speed and then makes a limb-flailing leap from the bank for one of the rocky outcroppings. For a moment, the giant, furry, wolfman flails through the air and then lands with a crash (and a bit of a splash) on one of the rocks. He flails for a balance, the rock slippery and wet, but manages to right himself, barely. He crouches low, trying to keep a grip on it as he watches Cybil and Sean rush downriver towards him.

He extends one giant, muscled arm trying to gauge where they'll be in a few moments. If he doesn't get this right the first time, he probably won't get a second chance....

An arm is reaching out for them and Dark Smoke Puncher doesn't think, just acts. His arm shoots out and grabs onto the furry hand, trying to keep a hold of Cybil with the other.

Just gotta keep the grips, just gotta keep them.

Yeah, except with the rapids and their hands being wet? Not so easy. Ninja or not, he's a teenage boy, she's a good 150 pounds of mostly-muscle, and the river is pulling hard enough to nearly wrench their arms out of the sockets.

It's hard to tell if she slips or if she just let go, trying not to drag the kid down with her.

They might not get the chance to find out which. Check that mist way up ahead? Looks like the river miiight be leading to a waterfall.

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