Mustang watched the gathering crowd and tried to appear relaxed. Judging by the bemused smirk that was tugging at the corners of his Lieutenant's mouth he was only partially successful. He hadn't intended on making a show out of this little exercise, but it was quickly becoming one. Ah well, far be it from him to pass up an opportunity to show off a bit.
"Colonel Mustang," Lt. General Raven addressed him as Mustang and the other officers gave crisp salutes. "Glad to see you are finally getting this exercise underway. We've only been hearing about it for three days now," his expression was stern, but there was an amused twinkle in his eyes. He stroked his goatee thoughtfully, his dark beard a stark contrast compared to his white hair. "We," there was a slight cough behind him, "Well, I, am eager to see just how this new training program of yours works out."
"Thank you, sir."
"Living Stone," the Lt. General turned to Major Durnhoft. "I remember watching your entrance exam a year ago. Was impressive then, so I'm sure we're in for quite a show today. If this goes well you may very well find yourself running these scenarios rather often," he said with a small smile.
"Yes, sir!" Durnhoft acknowledged as the group of Generals moved off to their own private section of the stands, allowing everyone to relax.
"Is that a good thing?" the Major whispered to Mustang once they were out of earshot.
Mustang had to hold back a laugh. "Anything that gains you recognition with the higher officers would be considered a 'good thing' in my book, Major," Mustang remarked, then gestured towards the playing field before them. "Shall we begin?"
Durnhoft nodded, and turned to retrieve extra ammunition from the Sergent standing behind him, handing them off to Hawkeye. She gave him a quick salute before joining Mustang in the center of the ring.
"Good luck, Lieutenant," Mustang remarked as he pulled on his transmutation gloves. At the sidelines he could see Living Stone pulling his own gloves on, with his circles on his palms instead of the back of his hands.
"You too, sir," she replied, readying her guns.
The Lieutenant earlier identified as Kessler came up beside Durnhoft with a microphone in hand and addressed the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen! May I present to you The Flame Alchemist Roy Mustang and 1st Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye!" the announcement was followed by assorted cheers, and a few wolf whistles for the Lieutenant, prompting Mustang to glare about the circle. "Both have agreed to a friendly duel to see just who can take out the most enemy targets in battle! The challenge ends when one..." Kessler stopped and turned to mutter to Durnhoft, but was still audible over the microphone. "Just when does the challenge end?" Laughter erupted from the crowd at the question.
"When one or the other gets taken out of the fight. Or when I run out of energy to continue transmuting. Whichever comes first," Durnhoft's amused reply echoed across the field.
"Taken out?" Mustang heard Hawkeye echo. Looking over at her he could see a hint of nervousness in her eyes. He couldn't entirely blame her. He had expected it to be a simple matter of destroying targets; he didn't realize he was going to have to defend himself as well.
"I thought - " whatever else she said was drowned out by Kessler's voice over the speakers.
"Ah, well you heard him! Place your bets now if you haven't already! Duelists!" there was a brief pause before he continued, "Fight!"
At that command, Durnhoft dropped to his knees and neatly smacked his hands onto the ground before him. A dull rumble rose up from the ground beneath their feet as half a dozen vaguely humanoid shapes erupted from the ground amidst crackling blue light, surrounding the Colonel and Lieutenant. The crowd erupted into excited "ooohs" and "aaahs" at the sight.
Mustang didn't lose a moments pace and began snapping his fingers as soon as the golems appeared, sending out wave after wave of fire. Hawkeye, however, had hesitated just a moment in surprise at their abrupt appearance and only now was regaining her composure. The air soon filled with the sound of gunfire and shattering rock as she struggled to catch up with his tally. Added to that were the explosions of Mustang's own attacks and the constant cheering of the crowd; creating a cacophony of noise.
As each stony creature was destroyed a new one rose from the ground to take its place, leaving shallow depressions scattered about the arena as Durnhoft gathered material from below. Mustang briefly wondered if they'd have to worry about the ground collapsing beneath them as more stone was brought to the surface.
"It looks like Mustang got a head start over the Lt.!" Kessler's voice rang over the battlefield, fighting to be heard over the constant cheering. "She's going to have a hard time catching up now! Mustang has already destroyed eight to her five!"
Mustang smirked to himself as he blasted another walking statue to bits. It was taking more than one bullet for Hawkeye to destroy most of the targets, though she did manage to get a few down in one shot. Her speed and accuracy seemed to make up for the imbalance between their techniques, however, as more and more lifeless chunks of rock fell before her. As he destroyed several more golems he also noticed that fewer were now crawling up from the earth, than were just being rebuilt from the pieces of their fallen comrades. So it seemed he didn't have to worry about unstable ground after all.
Kessler's commentary continued, "Hawkeye's not going to let him win so easily, it seems! What great marksmanship! At this rate she's bound to catch up quickly after all! Looks like she lives up to her name!"
Movement to Mustang's right caught his attention, and he turned to see a dog-like golem bounding heavily towards him. He brought his hand up, snapped his fingers, and destroyed it only just in time as it made a leap towards him. It exploded in midair, showering him in dust and debris. Dammit, I didn't know he could make them move that fast. He rubbed at his eyes furiously in an attempt to clear them of dirt.
Some of the humanoid ones were beginning to move about more quickly as well, and Mustang found that he could no longer merely stand still while attacking. Durnhoft was having the golems throw punches now, and while they were clumsy movements that he easily avoided, it certainly didn't make it any easier to destroy them when he had to make sure they didn't destroy him.
Another snap, another explosion of rock. The air was starting to get thick with dust, making it hard to breathe without getting a lungful of dirt. He brought his arm up to his mouth, trying to use his sleeve as a filter. Another golem attempted to flatten him into the ground and only narrowly missed him as he ducked behind the remnants of one of the original six golems. It proved to be a poor choice of cover, however, as it abruptly transmuted into another hulking statue bent on pummeling him. Two other golems quickly joined it, and Mustang found himself encircled by the rock creatures.
"Looks like Mustang is in a bit of trouble," Kessler announced to the crowd. "He's gotten himself surrounded and if he doesn't get himself out of there pretty quickly this contest may be over! He's still ahead of the Lt., though! By five targets if I'm keeping track accurately, and – Oh! Nice move, Colonel!" he praised loudly.
Mustang had taken a diving roll between the legs of the larger of the golems; snapping his fingers as he did so, taking out two of the rock creatures at once. Loose stones jabbed him painfully in the back as a reward for the risky maneuver. He was sure to have some lovely bruises down his spine tomorrow, and probably elsewhere as well.
"Durnhoft!" Mustang yelled across the battlefield, "Is it an automatic win if we take out the one controlling these monsters?"
"Still trying to find a way to cheat, Colonel?" the alchemist's voice drifted through the gloom that was now permeating the area, followed by raucous laughter. Despite his taunting, he must have taken the hint as the golems' attacks lessened slightly.
But only slightly. They still tried to flatten him whenever he allowed them to get too close, but Durnhoft no longer had them approaching in droves. Now if only something could be done about the air quality, or lack thereof. Not only was he coughing at nearly every breath, but seeing was also now becoming difficult. If he wasn't tripping over scattered chunks of rock as he dodged about the arena, he was falling into holes. From what he caught of Kessler's announcements, Hawkeye seemed to be facing similar difficulties. At least he wasn't alone in that regard.
Two more large shadows rapidly advanced on him, and he quickly dealt with them, throwing even more dust and rock into the air. Just how is Living Stone seeing through this mess to be able to control these things? he wondered as he sent a blast of flame towards a smaller shadow away to his left.
"Lt. Hawkeye is starting to catch up with the Colonel now! She's only three targets behind! Those canine ones seem to give her a bit of trouble though. They don't seem to go down easily! It's certainly – Ah! Watch out Lieutenant! No!! The other way!!" Kessler's voice shrieked a panicked warning as a horrified gasp escaped the watching crowd.
Mustang froze at Kessler's cry, realizing his mistake too late, and watched helplessly as the flames approached the shadow he now knew to be his 1st Lieutenant.