Match 20515 E. Aster Bunnymund vs. Fran

[JohnnyChany]

In the vast expanse of the Australian Outback, the Strahl airship descended from the clouds. Balthier, the dashing sky pirate, expertly piloted the vessel, and landed gently on the plains. His enigmatic partner and navigator, Fran, sat by his side, her keen eyes scanning the horizon below.

"Balthier, are you certain this place is real?" Fran inquired.

Balthier smirked confidently.. "Of course, my dear Fran. E. Aster Bunnymund's warren is as real as the Strahl itself."

Fran raised an eyebrow skeptically. "And how do you know this?"

Balthier leaned back against the controls, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Let's just say I have my sources. Besides, you brought it up first as legend you were told in Euryt Village."

Fran nodded slowly. "Yes, but that was a long time ago. And since leaving the village, I've lost my connection with the Wood so I am unable to verify."

Balthier grinned. "No matter. We'll find it one way or another. The leading man always finds his path."

After they touched down on the rugged terrain, Fran's keen senses tingled with anticipation. She scanned the landscape, searching for any sign of the hidden warren.

"There," she murmured, pointing towards a thicket of trees in the distance. "I sense it."

“Ah, excellent. Nice to know the Wood has not totally deserted you,” Balthier noted.

The adventuring duo set out towards their destination, weaving through the dense foliage until they stumbled upon a hidden entrance obscured by vines and foliage.

Balthier flashed a roguish grin. "Shall we, my dear Fran?"

Fran hesitated for a moment, her thoughts troubled. "According to legend, E. Aster Bunnymund is the Guardian of Hope and the protector of nature. It feels wrong to steal from him."

“I feel like due to let's say certain similarities, your village may have been biased toward him and overstated his importance. It’s just the Easter Bunny.”

Balthier felt Fran’s continued hesitation and he sighed.

“Allow me to put your mind at ease by reminding you of three important details. First, we are only here to steal the biggest Easter Egg we can find. As far as treasures go, it’s much less dangerous than our usual fare. Second, I promise to not damage any of the nature around us during the heist. Third, and most importantly, it was my turn to pick the treasure target, so we are doing this.” Balthier extended his arm toward the entrance. “After you.”

The two jumped into a large green tunnel that twisted and turned and deposited them in a large field of greenery. Fran marveled at the sight of Bunnymund’s warren.

“It is even better than I had imagined,” she stated. “Its beauty is breathtaking.”

“That it is,” agreed Baltheir.

“We shouldn’t be here,” said Fran.

“Alas, but we are. And what a waste to make such a trip and leave empty handed,” Balthier responded.

“Then let us be quick and get this over with.”

After a few steps, their presence was detected by the eight foot sentinel warrior eggs, the guardians of the warren. The golem-like warrior eggs hastily launched an attack. They lunged at Balthier and Fran with spears in hand. Fran parried their assault with a spear of her own, the fabled Zodiac Spear. Balthier rolled away from the skirmish and pulled out the Mithuna long gun, blasting at every egg in sight. The sentinel eggs were knocked back by the shots from the Mithuna. Fran joined her partner in firing upon the intricately patterned shells of their attackers with arrows from her bow. Soon, the sentinel eggs fell in defeat.

“Let us not let this unfortunate clash be in vain,” stated Fran.

Balthier scanned the horizon. “Already on it my dear.” His gaze landed upon an ornately designed egg, bigger than all of the others, but still small enough to hold. “There she is.”

Balthier grabbed the egg and the sky pirates hastened a retreat out of the warren. Within a few yards of the Strahl airship, a hole opened up in front of them and out jumped a large blue rabbit duel wielding magical boomerangs.

“It is him!” Fran remarked.

The rabbit glared at them with righteous indignation. “You dare steal from me, pirates!”

Balthier smirked. “It’s an honor to meet you in the flesh, Bunnymund. Guess the viera might have been on to something calling you a warrior. Know that this isn’t personal. It’s just business.”

Bunnymund was unmoved by Balthier’s attempted charm, and threw an exploding egg at the former Archadian judge.  Balthier jumped away from the explosion.

“That wasn’t very nice. Certainly not becoming of someone whose entire purpose is bringing joy to children,” Balthier commented.

Bunnymund squeezed his boomerangs tightly. “There’s more where that came from, mate. Don’t too much care for my personal property being nabbed by low life looters.”

“Low life? That was uncalled for,” Balthier retorted.

“Balthier, take the egg, and go to the Strahl. I will take on Bunnymund,”  Fran announced.

Balthier lifted an eyebrow. “No need for dramatics, Fran. We can take him down together.”

“E. Aster Bunnymund is a well revered guardian, and we should show him the respect of a one on one battle,” stated Fran.

Balthier shrugged. “I know better than anyone not to argue when you have your mind set.”

Balthier grabbed the egg and walked toward the Strahl. 

“Hold on a bloody minute, what makes you believe I will let you walk away,”  said Bunnymund. 

Fran stood in between him and Balthier. “Your fight is with me, Guardian. If you wish to get to Baltheir, you will have to go through me.

Bunnymund was in disbelief. “Crickey, I know you, like me, are not actually a bonnie, Still, it feels like you are going against your own kind in defense of a thieving human?”

Fran was steadfast. “Balthier is my partner. I will always fight to protect him.”

“Do what you must. Know that I’m crossing off Eruyt Village from ever getting a visit from me, Sheila.”

The two proud warriors then clashed in battle.

[Callisto]

Learn More About
E. Aster Bunnymund
Read more about E. Aster Bunnymund at Wikipedia
Official Site: DreamWorks Links: Wikipedia

Fran
Read more about Fran at Wikipedia
Official Site: Square-Enix Links: Wikipedia Final Fantasy Wiki Final Fantasy Insider

[JohnnyChany]

Another Easter match that I didn't finish in time but still wanted to do.

[Macklemore]

It's a fight between a somewhat stronger direct fighter (Fran) and a fighter who has the ability to dictate the tempo of the match (Bunnymund with his flora growth and holes). Since they are fighting head to head, Fran should have this fight due to superior range (bow trumps boomerang, even if Bunnymund is very good with it) and better skill.

[Callisto]

Match Final Results

Member Ratings:
4.40 - broadwaybeyonder
5.00 - Boratz
5.00 - Macklemore
5.00 - patrickthekid

FPA Calculation:
4 Total Votes cast
19.40 Total Combined Score
19.40 / 4 = 4.85 Final Rating on the match

MATCH SCORE
E. Aster Bunnymund: 0
Fran: 5