Pre-Season Match: Hayley's Comets vs. Better Than All Of You

Better Than All Of You is Predator’s #3-5, Orc #1 and Cobra Viper #1

Hayley’s Comets are The Shining Force, 8-Ball, 6-Ball, 9-Ball and 11-Ball

It was a warm sticky day on the planet of Kashyyyk. Small amounts of light were attempting to find its way through the thick foliage that covers the entire planet. For the natives of Edean, this is a normal occurrence. Something one gets used to after spending a lifetime on the planet. Today was not a normal day though. For this day was going to be filled with the bloodshed and chaos from the visitors of this match.

As per usual, the two teams have been transported to their separate specified areas away from each other. This is not usually a cause for concern, but today is not your average day. The two teams begin their match the way most teams do, by setting up a battle plan and trying to figure out who their opponent is going to be. The only problem with that today, is that neither team can seem to find their respective opponent.

You see, I am not sure if it was on purpose or if it was a miscalculation in the transportation system, but both teams are no-where near each other. It appears that one team has been transported to the very top of the tree landscape and the other team has been placed on the ground floor of the former Czerka Corporation slave planet. This means that the two teams are miles away from each other, with no real idea of where their opponent is located.

For tactical purposes, this match seems to be in favor of the veteran team of Better Than All Of You. They have been placed in the treetop, where they have the advantage of having the high ground. This wouldn’t normally be such a huge deal if it weren’t for the fact that this is Hayley’s Comet’s first match ever. The very naïve and inexperienced team is still working out the kinks of getting their home base together, let alone actually fighting a match.

As both teams settle into the vast surroundings that Wookie Planet C has to offer, they begin to realize that they are no-where near their opponents. They look all over the place, even screaming and firing weapons to try and get the attention of the other team. It took them both a couple hours to come to grips with the fact that this match was going to take much longer to fight then anyone of them ever counted on. This next part was brutal to watch and though I know I am not allowed to interfere, I have never been more tempted to do just that.

Soon enough, the hours turned into days. Then the days turned into a week. During this time many things happened, including many of The Shining Forces members becoming victims to the numerous different animal species on the ground level. Luckily for them though, 8-Ball in all of his engineering genius, had managed to devise many trap’s to catch much of the danger that surrounded them.

Better Than All of You’s Predators were all fine, as they were used to being on the hunt for extended periods of time. The Predators also made sure that Orc #1 and Cobra Viper #1 were well taken care of as well. Predator #4 even took some time out of searching for the enemy and helped the Cobra Viper learn how to accurately shoot his weapon. The Predator had been appalled when he saw what a miserable shot the Viper had been. As another week went by, both teams began to wonder if the time in this match was equal to the actual time of the season.

Naturally the time of this match has no reflection of how real time goes, but it was something that both teams had never really thought of before. I don’t know the exact time exchange that occurs during a match, but no more then a few hours will pass regardless of how long the match may seem to the combatants. With that being said, I will just skip to the part where the Predator’s finally found 11-Ball taking a leak in the newly created bark bathroom on the side of one of the trees.

It has been two and a half months since the match first started. 76 days that I will never be able to get back. At this point the Shining Force had spread out into small groups that were all over the place. Some of them were in the trees and others were spread out along the ground in small search parties. 8-Ball’s gang had pretty much stuck together, though 6-Ball had been known to wonder off for hours at a time without telling anyone where he had gone off to.

Back with the Predator’s…

The three Predator’s had ceased to use their invisibility cloaking for sometime now, as the threat of danger has yet to be upon them. Today was different though, today was the day this match would finally come to an end. All three Predator’s knew the advantage was in their favor, as they began to finally put an end to this never-ending story-err I mean match.

The Predator’s at this time had all switched on their invisibility cloak’s, making them part of the forest to the large group of Comet’s below them. They decided to spread out and try to cover as much ground as they could. Predator #3 spotted a group of five or six people as he moved on down the tree he had been climbing. Instead of taking his time studying his opponents like a Predator would normally do, he decided that it had been long enough since he had taken a life. He took three quick, but accurate shots at Anri, Diane and Gong, killing all of them with shots to the head.

The remaining members of the group instantly took cover, quickly hiding away from the Predator. Predator #4 and 5 each had equally successful opening shots on their opponents, killing Alef, Arthur, Mae, Gort, Guntz, Ken and Khris. This opening attack on the Comet’s was brutal, but they still had strength in numbers. Immediately Tao started to light the forest on fire with a Blaze1 spell in hopes of bringing out her attacker. Unfortunately for her though, the spell did nothing but light up the sky. All three Predator’s had come out of the initial fight unscathed.

The 8-Ball gang was together at the time the attack’s started and had come up with many different plan’s on how to handle an ambush such as this. They of course were still in the dark for who their opponent was, but at least they were ready for the fight. 8-Ball and his boys had rigged the trees in various places with explosives that he had concocted using G5-623’s natural ingredients. It wasn’t a guarantee that any of this would work, but it was the best they could do with such limited resources.

Meanwhile up in the trees…

Orc #1 and the Cobra Viper were keeping watch of the base. They were a bit worried as they had been alone now for days. They were both trying their hardest to stay alert to any possible danger, but as it had been months since they had first came to this place, the worry at this point seemed to be a bit lacking.

On the flip side to this, Max (the leader of The Shining Force) had been gone for three weeks in search of his enemies. It had been a long arduous journey up to this point, especially if you factor in their lack of any new information. They were still unable to locate their enemies whereabouts and the doubt in the back of Max’s mind in regards to the decision to make this trip, had already begun to grow. Max himself had been riding on the back of Bleu the dragon, as he knew the only way to the top of the forest was going to be through air travel.

Joining him on his trip were Balbaroy and Amon, who were bird people and the Wing Knight named Kokichi. The five of them had been traveling together for weeks now and they were all feeling the effects of the trip. None of them had eaten very much and they were all very tired. The hot and humid weather that this planet had to offer was not helping either. As the day turned into night, Max had decided to call it for now and make camp for the night.

They naturally flew to the highest point they could get to and made their stay for the night. Taking turns on look out was always the best option in a situation like this, though the last couple of days this duty seemed less and less important. The lack of danger in their journey had also taken away their attention to defense, just as it had for the Orc and the Cobra Viper. If it were any other night, this lack of attention would not have affected them so; but tonight was not any other night. For tonight was the night that they were no longer sleeping unnoticed.

Back on the ground…

The remaining Comet’s had decided to cull their efforts together in an attempt to use their numbers to their advantage. The only problem with their situation though, was the fact that they still did not know who they were even fighting against. The Predator’s knew this fact and it was the reason why they had remained stagnant since their initial offensive display. They had watched 8-Ball and his gang set-up their trap’s and were staying put until the time was right.

8-Ball remained confident in his creations and was letting none of his teammates know how truly uncertain he was feeling about all of this. He knew that as long as his team was blind to their opponents, they would be at a fatal disadvantage. It was in this thinking that he decided to use something other then his technical abilities. He knew that despite his un-tapped potential, the werewolf Zylo still was very useful. Normally Zylo would be thought of for his physical strength, but this time it was his innate sense of smell that would be needed. 8-Ball had explained to Zylo his plan and through a series of loud distractions, he would be able to search through the trees unnoticed.

The Predators were very watchful of all the commotion that was taking place below them, but were still unable to know exactly what was going on. This fact did not sit well with Predator #3, who had grown impatient with this situation. He decided that somebody needed to make a move and if his opponent's were not going to make one, he would do it instead. Predator #3 began to move about the trees when out of the blue, explosions began to go off all around him.

The bright flashes from the fire blinded all of the Predators for the time being, though the only one it truly affected was #3. He could no longer see where he was going and during his last jump, missed a branch entirely and fell to the ground. It was still too far away from the Comet’s base camp for them to hear it, but it was close enough for Zylo to pick-up on it. The Predator had been hurt by his fall, not enough to kill him, but his injuries were going to take a long time to overcome. It took a second for the Predator to regain his balance and as soon as he did, he realized that he was not alone.

Though the Predator was still invisible to Zylo, Zylo knew that he was around. The smell that was emanating off of the Predator was very distinctive, making his presence very much known to the wolf. The Predator stood there in plain sight, as he knew there was no point in hiding behind a tree. He waited until he had a clear shot at the wolf, but before he was even able to get a shot off, Zylo lit off an array of fireworks to alert his team of their enemy’s presence.

As soon as 8-Ball saw Zylo’s signal, he unleashed a reign of fire around the perimeter of their base camp. He had rigged the majority of the trees in the area with the explosives he had created and with the help of his gang, set the forest ablaze. Tao and Arthur both used their Blaze 1 spell’s to ignite the explosives and Hans was able to launch a large amount of fire arrows into the surrounding forest. There was no way to know if this scorched earth plan was going to work, but now that they knew their enemies were near them, they figured it might be able to shed some light (literally) on the situation.

Back at the top…

As soon as Orc #1 noticed the Comet’s camp, he alerted his teammate to the situation. They knew that without the help of the Predator’s, this fight was going to be rather difficult to win. On the other hand though, they knew that they could not let this opportunity pass them by. Despite the disadvantage in numbers, the Orc and the Cobra Viper had a plan. It was obvious to them that by the way the others were acting, that the human was their leader. It was also obvious to them that if they were spotted, it would not take them long to be disposed of.

This was why the death of the human was so important. If they could get rid of him, they might be able to gain the tactical advantage in this fight. The plan was going to be simple. The Orc would divert their attention to the tree below them. Then the Cobra Viper would shoot the human in the head. As soon as the Viper disposed of the human, the Orc would launch one of the explosives the Predator’s left for them into their camp, hopefully killing everyone in the process.

The Orc quietly climbed down onto the branch below, diversion in hand. He was moments away from initiating the plan when he realized that one of the bird people were missing. He looked around for a second and could not see the creature anywhere. Then right as he was about to launch the object he had in his hand, he saw something move. He noticed the bird person flying up from the branches below. It was then that he realized his plan wasn’t going to go as he thought it would. As he attempted to stay still on the tree he slipped a bit, making just the slightest bit of noise. This slip-up got the attention of Amon and blew the cover of the Orc.

The Orc now knew that the only option he had was to use himself as the diversion and hope his teammate would be able to take care of the plan on his own. The Orc took a deep breathe and as Amon darted right at the Orc, he jumped off of the branch he was standing on and tackled the bird creature down into the dark forest and they began to fall into the void that would become their grave. The Viper now knew that he was on his own and that he would only get one shot at this. He took one look at the alerted human leader and hoped all the practice he did with the Predator was worth it.

Back on the ground…

The reign of fire was a good idea in theory, but that theory was not exactly paying off. Sure the bright light of the fire was blinding Predator’s #4 and 5, but it was not getting the Comet’s any closer to seeing their opponents. 8-Ball was now terrified that his plan had failed and was wondering what had happened to Zylo. He knew that he had survived long enough to get the fireworks off, but past that he was not sure what was going on. He still had no clue to what they were up against and was now thinking that his rookie status in this league was a bigger deterrent then he originally thought.

Predator #3 continued to stand his ground in the middle of the forest, while Zylo slowly tried to smell his way towards his opponent. The werewolf tried to be as quiet as he could, as he knew his opponent was very close. The Predator was now aware that the wolf could detect him, but being the inquisitive creature that he was, he was more interested in facing him face to face then just killing him with his cannon. Zylo was getting very close to the distinct smell of his opponent, when all of a sudden he saw the Predator appear out of what seemed to be thin air.

The werewolf instantly pounced on the Predator, actually knocking him to the ground with the force of his attack. This instant attack was a surprise to the Predator, as he was used to his opponent’s being in aw of his presence. The wolf began tearing at the skin of the already injured Predator, spilling small amounts of green blood on the ground of the forest. The Predator then got a hit in on Zylo, knocking him into the side of one of the trees. The wolf was disoriented by this hit but quickly charged back at Predator, this time with a razor sharp object in hand. The Predator quickly noticed the object but did not brandish his blade quite yet. Instead he let the wolf charge at him and get the first strike in. This allowed the Predator the chance to push Zylo aside and then plunge his blade into the back of his enemy, which is exactly what he did.

The Wolf let out a great howl as the blade pierced his back. The howl was short lived though as the Predator in one fluid motion retracted the blade from his opponent’s back and just as quickly snapped his neck. Zylo’s lifeless body fell to the ground as Predator #3 ran towards the remainder of his opponents. Though the Predator was injured and bleeding a bit, it was not enough to stop him from keeping up the fight.

As the rest of the Comet’s team tried to reformulate an attack plan, the two tree residing Predator’s began to climb back up into the forest to gain a clear view of the situation.

Back at the top…

As they always say, practice makes perfect. This was made apparent by the fact that Max’s now lifeless body was falling to its eventual resting spot on the Edeanian floor. The shot from the Cobra Viper’s gun was the first accurate shot in the history of the organization. The resulting death was also only the beginning as the Viper threw one of the Predator’s explosives at the stunned flying members of the Comet’s. The tree erupted into flames as the explosive went off, blowing all three Comet members out in the vast forest.

Both the dragon and the wing knight were killed in the explosion, but Balbaroy the other bird person was able to regain control of himself and flew right back up to the tree in which the Viper was standing on. Though the winged creature was hurt, he was not willing to give this match up to the lowly common. He flew directly at the Viper trooper, almost knocking him from the branch he was standing on. The Viper then took aim with his gun and began to fire as many shots as he could towards his winged opponent. A couple of the shots struck the bird, injuring him very badly.

Balbaroy knew he could not take many more shots from the trooper, so instead of going in for one last direct charge, he decided to take the trooper out from below. The Viper Trooper took notice of this but was unable to do anything but to except his fate and fall to his eventual death. Though despite death, he would fall with the knowledge that he had already done more then anyone would have ever expected from him in a match. Balbaroy then began his long trip back to the Comet’s home base, a trip that he knew he would not survive.

Back to the ground floor…

The forest continued to burn as the Comet’s waited for their opponents to zero in on them. They could not leave their temporary home, as it was the only place in the forest that was safe to them. 8-Ball had the entire surrounding area rigged with more explosives and traps. The only problem with his plan though, was that the only way the traps would work is if their opponents came to them. As of right now, the plan wasn’t working.

Predator’s #4 and 5 had each found new locations in the branches above the burning base. They looked down on their enemies and contemplated their next move. They knew the young teams decision to burn the forest had backfired and that they would be in disarray for the time being. They also knew that their fellow Predator was down on the ground, most likely charging at the Comet’s in his usual hasty manor. Predator #3 was always the first one into any battle, which had given him the reputation of being reckless. This had always made for a difficult relationship between him and the other Predator’s, as they have always been more patient and willing to wait for an opening, opposed to creating one for themselves.

Predator’s #4 and 5 in their observations had noticed several carefully placed traps all around the perimeter of the base. They knew that these were no more then just simple net trapping devises. Nothing they couldn’t out maneuver, but still a danger to them nonetheless. As they stayed there in the tree, Predator #4 noticed something moving directly outside the Comet’s base. After focusing in more directly on the object, he came to the conclusion that the movement was none other then their own teammate. He was heading directly towards the enemies location, but more then that, he was heading right for a trap.

Both high-ground Predator’s cursed their teammate for his haste and began to think of a way to fix this problem before it happened. Just as they began to try to fix this problem, Predator #3 began to run towards the trap. The Predator began to wildly fire his weapon into the base of the Comet’s, almost as if was trying to announce his presence. The Comet’s quickly responded to the Predator’s attacks by launching as much firepower at him at once. The Predator continued his forward attack towards the Comet’s when all of a sudden one of the trap’s that 8-Ball had set went off.

It was just a simple net trap, but it did the job as the Predator was encapsulated into the various fibers and foliage that made up its contents. He was now trapped in the netting, with only the brutality of the Comet’s left to look forward to. His fellow teammates could only watch from above, as he remained trapped. They started to move in towards the Comet’s base when all of a sudden, both of their computer systems began to detect something.

You see, Predator #3 might not have been very patient in his decisions, but that didn’t mean they were not thought out. He knew that his injuries were severe enough to the point that he was no longer a strong asset to his team. In doing this act, he was confident he could solidify a victory for his teammates. As soon as Predator’s #4 and 5 checked out their notification systems, they realized what was happening. They immediately changed their direction and began to climb as fast as they could away from the Comet’s home base.

The large group that still made up the Comet’s team assembled below the netting, firing anything and everything at their trapped opponent. After they were confident the creature was dead, 8-Ball cut down the netting and finally revealed the Predator to the Comet’s. What they found was a creature covered in bright green blood, with a band on his arm that was emitting a noise. The noise kept getting louder and louder and before anyone on the Comet’s knew what to do, the entire floor of the Kashyyykian forest was engulfed in light.

As the bomb went off, both remaining Predator’s felt the blast and held on to the trees as best as they could. Though their grips were tight, they were not strong enough to hold on as they both fell several hundred feet to the ground. After all was said and done, both Predator’s were lying critically injured on the forest floor. The Predator’s knew that their wounds were too much for them to overcome. Luckily for them though, it would be just enough time to survive, as Balbaroy succumbed to his wounds just after the explosion went off. Handing Predator #4 and 5 the victory over the inexperienced Comet’s team.

Hayley’s Comets: All Dead

Better Than All Of You: Predator #4 and 5: Still Alive (Barely)

BETTER THAN ALL OF YOU IS VICTORIOUS!