Treating this whole thing with the seriousness that it deserved, Alicia's expression only grew more stern as Mariette and then Helga explained just what this Sonia was capable of. Using space magic to suddenly appear in places and summon objects? That was the kind of outside context power that could really mess all of them up, and at the moment it didn't seem like they had a way to counteract it yet, aside from taking advantage of the fact that she couldn't be in more than one place at once. Yet if she was able to move fast enough, it might not matter.
"That's going to be a pain to deal with," she decided with a sigh. She glanced around, wondering just how many people here had their own special powers that they were just holding on to, waiting for a rainy day. She knew that she would have in their situation, but it was frustrating when up against such powerful opp-
The planning session dissolved into near pandemonium as 'Libby' revealed that she had not in fact been Libby this entire time, but rather one of Justine's psycho allies. At least everyone was quick on the uptake, Mariette throwing out all sorts of portals while Suwako added her vines to the mix. If it was enough, well, they would soon see.
Making a mental note to point out the fact that the only ally anyone else had been able to recruit was actually a bad guy, thus leaving Beacon as the only place for viable reinforcements in this entire damn fight, Alicia was quick to summon Star seraph as she hopped onto one of the inner railings for a better vantage point. Only one eye was on Caroline though, presumably preoccupied by everyone else. Instead her main focus was on the castle across the lake. Even if they hadn't been traveling, it was right there. And even if Justine didn't know Caroline was here, she could likely sure as hell see the chaos now enfolding. It would be the perfect time to attack.
"Plan B it is then," she muttered to herself, before calling out to the others. "I have eyes on the castle. Watch out for more attacks!" if needed she'd step in on the Caroline fight, but she didn't want to get in their way if they were holding their own and potentially disrupt things. Otherwise, she'd keep ready for Justine's efforts to sally out and fight them, then start shooting. Here was hoping this was easier than they all thought it would be.
Shade was not a delusional being who believed that her cutesy exterior was gaining anybody's actual trust. It was merely a defensive plating to deflect accusations away from her were they to be fired by the magical girl she had fought before. At least, there was the smallest chance this disguise could work and keep people from being hostile were she to bring up the one who originally sabotaged this vessel, and that's all Shade required. She did not need someone's trust, she did not desire their friendship, and she certainly expected no benefits other than no outright aggression towards her.
But deep inside, she truly resonated with a single individual aboard the ship. Enough so that, despite them not actually proclaiming what was on their mind, Shade understood them perfectly. And that person was none other than the costumed Alexander Shields, though she was not currently privy to his name. The way he appeared to be clueless as to whom he should flock to was, in no uncertain terms, the most relateable thing she'd seen in another individual that wasn't Veronica. It was endearing to the point that had Shade been a normal girl, she might've swooned right then and there. Of course, perhaps to the untrained eye this simply wasn't as obvious as it was to her. She had a habit of tracking just about anything in her immediate area and keeping tabs, so that might've played into her realization that she and he were kindred spirits in a sense.
What a terrible crew this is. How do they expect anything to get done at this rate?
She mentally stated a simple truth. They really were a mess. She'd been thinking that a lot already, but it was so blatant it was hard not to keep realizing this. Shade noticed a lot of things right now, but Alexander's deal was probably the most pointless yet interesting thing that didn't immediately pertain to the fight that was going on. Portals being flung everywhere and the others reacting to their newfound foe was not something that required wits or years of training to spot. It was pretty damn obvious and she most definitely did not miss it. The problem was that she had no way of assisting these individuals in the fight while all that stuff was going on. Without her blade (even with it, honestly) her involvement would be a detriment. She would be at a huge risk of friendly fire by all the commotion, so instead Shade assumed a supportive role in this case.
Drawing closer to the portal-flinging Mariette, she equipped her fists and merely waited while watching the fight unfold. If there was an attempt to attack Mariette, Shade would assist in her defense.
The air itself seemed to faintly shimmer with magical energy as Mariette's fury resounded through it, causing ripples to form in the surface of the lake. And in a single moment, all hell broke loose; portals rapidly opened in every direction around Caroline, and out of them poured out a force beyond imagination. In addition to the tentacles familiar to all, grasping and whipping like a roused kraken from the deep, there were also creatures of the dark that jumped out at the vampire girl, the kind of minions only a Dark Magical Girl could bend to her will. While any other girl would have been utterly overwhelmed at the sheer malevolence that Mariette unleashed, Caroline only giggled at the sight, insanity coursing through her crimson eyes.
"Hahaa! Toys! Toys!" She screamed in utter delight, and spun her spear in place, deflecting the first wave of tentacles before jumping up; a Shadow was suddenly pierced by her red spear as it was thrown, leaving it impaled in gruesome fashion. Just as Mariette knew from personal experience, Caroline was a fighter unlike no other; unlike Minnie, who fought with grace and composure, the terror before her was like a deranged madwoman, her movements precarious and contorting. Yet, there was a method to her madness; as if she was simply dancing around, she extended elongated nails from her fingers, and performed a wide scratch around her as she dashed through the air, tearing the surrounding Shadows and tendrils apart. She also grabbed one of the Shadow's arms, and met the creature's rubberband attack with a giant snap of her jaws, biting the neck off the summoned being. She shot blood out of her palms, solidifying it, into a a pair of curved scimitars that she swung around with wild abandon, slashing faster than the naked eye could follow. However, despite her efforts, she could not close the distance to Mariette. "More! MORE!" She cried, and continued fighting, kept busy by the portal-based barrage.
"Holy crap...I sure am glad I never had to fight Mariette," Helga commented, only to realize this was their chance to slip by Caroline while she was distracted. When Alexander ran up to her, she nodded, and began running towards the secret entrance, gesturing for the magical boy to follow after her. ”Roger!” Penny did the same, and jumped up to the deck of Earth Bastion, preparing to storm the castle with all of her might as she charged up in electricity, her fists clenched as she stood with legs apart, teeth grit as she powered up. The ship hit the water with a big splash, and soon enough was afloat, sailing swiftly across the lake, soon leaving Mariette, Eli, Suwako and Shade ashore to fight with Caroline.
"Oops! Big sister will be mad! Come in, Curie!" Caroline screamed amidst her fighting, and threw up a sphere of blood into the air. Once it reached the apex, it exploded, causing red rain for a couple of seconds.
"Freeze!"
A young woman's voice could next be heard coming from the castle as Earth Bastion approached it. And then, a sound of crackling could be heard; like a rapid wave of cold, the lake was instantly frozen, causing Earth Bastion to be stuck in place. "Who dares trespass upon Lady Justine's estate?" Another, more mature voice could be heard. And then, the crew on the ship saw her: floating high above, with the soles of her feet pushing out bright flames like rocket jets, and with her arms crossed over her chest, they saw her:
"The Curie Corps, gatekeepers of her holy land, will not tolerate this intrusion! Doris, attack! Kimble, flank them! Umeko, provide covering fire!" She screamed, and pointed with her giant sword.
"Understood. Beginning purification." The crew saw another woman floating over the ice, her hands tucked to her sleeves as she approached the ship, in full visual range:
The crew then felt how winds began picking up around the ship. They then saw a gust of green winds rapidly blow in their direction from behind them. "Nyaaah, I'll slice them to ribbonyah!" Far away, thanks to their enhanced vision, they could see a catlike form that seemed to ride the winds:
The bestial girl then swung what looked like a sickle in her hands, and a gust of wind was shot at them; it sliced at Scout's leg, causing her to drop to one knee from the wound.
”Scout! Watch out-AGHHHH!” Penny cried out as she was suddenly shot on her shoulder, and the harsh sound of a ricocheting bullet could be heard; the nearby girls were fortunate their magical bodies were protected from deafening. It was a far distance, but Alicia managed to see where the shot came from: standing atop the castle rooftop was a familiar face aiming a sniper rifle at them: Umeko. ”Not you again, dammit!”
However, despite the danger, Amber felt that the winds of fate blew in her favor, as Earth Bastion was now just 200 meters away from the castle: she could reach the rooftop of the castle by flying, if she chose to do so. Helga, Alex, and Makoto ran through the gloomy tunnel for what felt like a long time, and noticed that the way split up at several points in a mazelike fashion. "Damn, it's confusing in here. I think it's...This way?" However, Alex also felt how fate pushed him to walk a certain path, and as he led it he could sense a magical boy just like him lurking the passages. As he peeked around a corner he saw Ilia, the snakelike monster boy, slithering about, clearly patrolling; if they waited, they could let him pass by without him noticing them, and they could go on without alerting him.
Meanwhile, the fight was heating up on the lake shore, as Suwako joined in the attack and Mariette began performing more complex attacks, using her portals to redirect attacks and multiply her output. At that point even Caroline, the ferocious vampire, began to struggle; she kept slashing and biting, but to no avail. And soon enough, one of the vines pulled out a scimitar from her hand, while another struck from behind, vines and tentacles now wrapping around her as she was stunned for an eyeblink. However, the moment the tendrils touched her body, they slipped right through, as if grasping viscous liquid.
"HAAHAAHAA!" Caroline laughed, and her red dress bubbled on the surface. "Caroline can play pudding, and play sweet red! Dennie taught Caroline how!" Taking advantage of the surprise, she then swiftly dashed in, her arm raised in an overhead swing, aimed at Mariette. "MARIMARIII!"
Suddenly, sparks flew in the air, and Caroline's eyes turned to slits as they saw how Shade parried her attack with her fists. Some of Caroline's blood spilled on them, and Caroline leaped back, snarling.
"Go away! Caroline only wants to play with long-haired dolls!" Her dress flowed as if bustled by harsh winds, and blood began puddling around her as she summoned a battleaxe with a wide blade.
Alexander sighed "you think? That doesn't really inspire...any" however, he trailed off as a strange feeling took hold of him. it was almost as if some unseen force was trying to push him down a specific path. He knew it wasn't Sol, since the god's influence was very distinct and impossible to miss. This on the other hand, was hard to put into words. "hey guys? This is going to sound crazy, but I think I know which way to go." Guided by the strange feeling, he walked that path until he felt something else; another magical boy. Taking a peak around a nearby corner, he saw the boy in question, and signaled to the others to stop 'I guess this means we're on the right path...at least I hope so. The question now is do we jump him, or do we just wait for him to leave? Gah, espionage is not my forte'
The Earth bastion lurched into motion, moving away from the shore of the lake and towards the castle as Suwako and Mariette occupied Caroline, leaving the rest of them to carry on with the assault. It was probably for the best anyway since they were on the clock. Nonetheless she couldn't help but worry for her fellow Beckoner. Suwako was a skilled fighter, but it seemed like everyone who worked for Justine was exceptionally skilled in some way. the fact Caroline had gone undiscovered for so long emphasizes that point.
Her musing was cut short as it started raining red, which left her bit annoyed given that much of her clothing was white. It didn't last long but even then there was no relief as the Bastion was frozen into the lake by magic. At which point the rest of the defenders made themselves known. "About time," she remarked to no one in particular. Honestly she had figured it would have been quicker than that. Justine must be slow on the uptake right now.
The attacks came quick, including the barking of a modern weapon. Her face hardened into a frown as she caught sight of just who it was who had fired that them. "You again," she growled, anger rising. It looked like all the rats were crawling out of the woodwork. They just had to overcome this obstacle and move on towards their final destination.
First things first, being stuck here in the lake wasn't going to help anyone. Lifting her bow until it pointed directly upwards, she strung her bow and let her magic infuse the arrow that she strung. With a snap she fired, the arrow splitting into several as it rose towards the top of its arc. They impacted all around the ship, small bursts of energy shattering the ice that locked the hull in place. Maybe they could try flying now, or at the very least they'd be able to move.
Just as quickly she reoriented towards their foes, lest she get sucker punched by an attack. "Let them have it." There was no point in trying to reason with these people, not if they had sided with Justine. Glowing runes traced themselves in the sky as she fired one arrow after enough, each turned into its own separate volley as a veritable storm of projectiles was sent careening across the space between them and at the quartet. And thanks to that same magic, even the fierce winds picking up wouldn't be as much of a problem as they would have if she were using normal arrows.
This was the point where, naturally, her arrows would start exploding, effectively creating their own version of flak. It might not take anyone down but if they were dodging then they'd be too busy to shoot at them, and then someone with heavier armament like Penny could finish them off. She just had to keep up the pressure, and she aimed to do just that
Tonya wasn't too pleased to see that the ship had been frozen in place. But it seemed like that wouldn't be a problem much longer as Alicia was making it rain laser beams. This put Tonya in quite the predicament, as she couldn't readily cross the frozen lake, nor could she help the people back on the shore.
Perhaps she'd heckle beacon with some mind games.
She'd just have to make Alicia think she had less mana remaining than she actually did. It wouldn't be hard, especially since she exerted herself during that gorelion fight. But it wasn't all bad for Alicia. Tonya would make sure there was a firework show keeping her opponents busy.
And again, the fighting had started. Sue pushed as hard as she could on the levers, but the earth bastion wouldn't budge another inch. The lake must have been frozen completely solid. Otherwise the earth bastion would have cruised straight through the ice on the surface. At least that was what she suspected. The familiar didn't have a lot of faith in Alicia's plan to free the bastion. Even if she was able to clear the ice away from the perimeter of the ship, there was likely a great deal of ice under the ship that still had to be removed before the ship could be expected to do something. Not that she didn't appreciate the attempt. It was certainly a step in getting the ship moving again. But Sue couldn't help anyone from the bridge. Something needed to happen.
The familiar tore a strip of cloth away from therim of her gown and pulled it around both levers. She then tied it around a monitor on the console, Even if she wasn't going to be here, the ship would continue to drive forward. She just needed to return here if she needed to do any course correcting. She kept telling herself it would be fine, and ran out the front door. As soon as it locked behind her, Sue transformed and flew for the main cannon's turret seat. With any luck, she would be able to reach the seat before the cat-girl spotted her. Normal cats terrifies sue, and magical cat girls were sure to be even more frighting.
Meanwhile, Amber put her plan into motion. At least her part of it. She spread her wings and jumped off the edge of the ship. Her destination was further away than usual, but the sudden updraft helped her shoot across the sky. She fired her cannon at the frozen lake to give herself some lift, and was also able to take evasive action in the event a projectile came her way. She was moving so fast that her hat blew off her head before reaching her destination. Amber didn't have time to slow her decent, and ended up rolling across the battlements. This type of entry wasn't what Amber preferred, but given the situation she'd take what she could get. The pirate girl had lost sight of Umeko after flying into the castle, but Amber doubted she'd be left alone. Amber crept to the edge of the battlements, arms and face covered in scuff marks from when she tumbled. If Umeko hadn't bothered to check her flank, she might be able to ambush her. Amber would like that.
@Card Captor Makoto visibly cringed just as Alex began speaking. "It is crazy." She didn't care if it was helping these magi or not, she wasn't going to just sit there and let Fate have its way. "Coming through!" she shouted as Impact formed on her arms. Her Redirected Magic boosting her strength as she punched through the nearby wall, manipulating gravity to increase her destructive power and launch the debris straight at Ilia. She felt a small surge of strength as she did so, her patron rewarding her for changing the coming events. "C'mon, snakey! The hero has arrived!"
‘Eh?’ Eli made a noise in the midst of being emotionally perturbed, suddenly called to action. Mariette, still in the midst of making Caroline’s life a living bullet-hell, made her opinion known.
‘Go!’ Mariette told her, irritation in her tone, startling Eli. ‘You are a scout. Upon encountering new enemies, they will have need of your eyes. Get back on the ship, leave Caroline to me. Staying will simply force me to protect you.’
‘Ah…’ Eli stumbled back to her feet, her spirit having taken a shock. Her mistress had told her she wasn’t needed here. A sense of disappointment went through her, a regret at her uselessness. ‘Yes, mistress…’ With regret in her eyes, the liquid harpy spun to get back on the ship.
That’s right, they needed her eyes…
Briefly the vision of Libby’s eyes crossed her mind and made her wince, remembering what she had seen in those eyes…
‘… Huh?’
Eyes…?
Eli froze, realizing something.
‘Tsk.’ Meanwhile, Mariette clicked her tongue in annoyance when Caroline showed off her ability to make items pass through her body. Deni and Eli’s greatest achievements in Dark-magic, their last resorts to saving themselves, the ability to make them intangible for just a moment… Caroline had used it to make herself even more untouchable than she already was. In the case of Deni and Eli, the counter was simply to press the attack, they couldn’t do that twice in a row. For Caroline… Mariette knew it was the same, she just needed to press the attack, but it just got a whole lot harder, and a whole lot more taxing on her powers.
Mariette would have prepared to portal herself away when flown at, but their new flashy ally stepped up to her defense. Nice to have proof she’s at least partially on their side. Mariette definitely had numerous portals on the side gazing at her just in case she went for the backstab, but turns out she was of use.
Meanwhile, the sound of the Bastion driving away quickly became apparent, splashing into the water and engaging the castle, the sound of battle starting elsewhere could be heard in the distance…
‘Disobeying my orders, are we?’ Mariette commented in annoyance.
Eli stood behind her mistress, her slime body’s posture tense as she stared ahead at Caroline, a new conviction in her eyes. An additional conviction to overcome the guilt knowing she had been selfish. But if she ran now… then she’d be running forever, never able to properly face the truth. And with her earlier realization…
‘I got a bead on her bane when I looked into her eyes,’ Eli shared with her allies. ‘It has to do with emotions. If you let me stare into her eyes additionally, I’m confident I can find out more. Way more.’ So Eli told, not sounding particularly confident, but she certainly looked like she had made her choice. Mariette raised an eyebrow, gazing at their enemy. If it’s Caroline’s bane, it could be Justine’s bane, too. Just that it had to do with emotions was too vague to be of use without putting themselves at considerable risk…
‘Very well. I just need to keep your eyes locked to hers, then?’ Mariette commented. ‘Suwako, keep firing, we need to keep her busy. New girl, do as you please, but close combat with the likes of her is very dangerous if she can form herself into a pool of blood, which she might. If you attack, I can support you with portals. Watch out for any blood, it is bad news whenever a Visceral is nearby. Go.’
With that, the assault continued, but with a considerable change. She surviving Shadows gathered in a circle around the battlefield, continuing to throw attacks through portals and Mariette continued rerouting the attacks as well as Suwako’s arrows at the target, but in addition she created portals from Eli’s eyes to in front of Caroline on something of a distance, opening and closing (in that order) new portals with Caronile’s every move to keep their eyes locked. On a distance for the safety of Eli’s eyes at first, but moved closer if Eli says she needs them closer, at any angle needed, while spending considerable awareness trying to keep these portals safe, make them vanish in time should they be attacked. And if Caroline hid her eyes, well. Then they’d be dealing with a blinded opponent.
If Shade engaged, Mariette could attempt to create portals to make Caroline’s attacks go through and hit nothing some distance away, or open portals for missed attacks to try to hit the enemy again, or open portals to potentially let her attack from behind or the side or other unpredictable angles if she so wished, trying to close them fast if Caroline tried to take advantage. Attacking blood with blood would probably be counterproductive, so any of Caroline’s attacks Mariette could intercept would be sent just as far away as she could cheaply handle, assuming Caroline needed a fairly short range to make use of it.
On the other side of those portals, Eli’d be staring focused but scared, trying to delve into Caroline’s eyes with conviction, and would say so if she needed to be closer or more from the front.
Emotions was a troublesome bane in that they didn’t have an empath, but on there was an advantage of availability. After all, Mariette smirked the slightest, all emotions came from within.
"Ehehe...That's right, play with Caroline, bring Caroline all the toys. Caroline wants to play more, more, MORE!"
The onslaught upon Caroline persevered, and in fact only intensified when the crazed girl revealed yet another horrifying power. With the giant axe dragging behind her, she giggled heavily, and began moving towards the girls, undeterred by their efforts to stop her like a slasher movie villain; as tentacles and vines attempted to pierce and rope around her, they could not hold her malleable form. They saw how one of the Shadows launched themselves at her once its limb struck through her, only to be greeted by a maw-like opening that appeared at her side that swallowed the minion whole; her entire body now actively attempted to envelop and absorb the various attacking appendages that lashed at her, like a gluttonous blob. She seemed to ignore the portals that appeared at her eyes, causing a chilling effect on Eli as she had to contend with the pure, crimson madness that emanated from the two mirrors to her broken soul.
By this point, Shade had moved forwards and created just a bit of distance between Mariette and herself, her only confirmation to the portal-girl's earlier instructions being a determined nod. Her current intention was to be in a position where she could support the others and, if the situation allowed it, also go on the offensive. She had not let the possible futility in her actions go unnoticed. If this foe was able to avoid blows in such a manner, then "Shade" had very little she could pull off here. It wasn't possible for her to get a good running start and punch with enough momentum behind it to blow the girl away due to where they were fighting, and if the countless tentacles among other things wasn't doing their job, then why would Shade's own punches?
Mentally, the DMG would prefer leaving the area and abandoning everybody, but that would result in a very unhappy Veronica, she imagined. So, she'd stand her ground and assist how she could.
‘Tsk.’ Mariette clicked her tongue again. As her Shadows proved ineffective she commanded them to stop their attacks, instead setting them on trying to unearth boulders from the tiled floor for projectiles. That probably wouldn't work. Mariette focused more on rerouting Suwako's arrows hoping they'd be more effective. To use the extra awareness that now went unused, she created portals under the surface of the lake, letting the water gush down from one portal into another to gain speed before blasting these waterfalls at Caroline from different directions, high-speed water appearing from portals to try to attack the girl and throw her off-guard to be peppered with arrows. Mariette wasn't actually sure how effective the water would be, but she was running out of options. She'd make arrangements if Suwako's arrows couldn't go through the water, and keep making sure Eli would be gazing into Caroline's eyes if at all possible.
Eli shivered, chills running through her due to the madness within the eyes she was looking into. Yet, she had to gaze ever deeper if she was to find the bane. The darkness harpy braved her fears, her eyes narrowing as she resolved to keep looking.
Caroline was unfazed by the splashes of water Mariette sent her way; though they did seem to slow her down a bit, it was not enough to make a noticeable difference, and only made her more vicious. She made a provocative move towards Suwako, and Shade stepped in, ready to defend the bow-using Beacon girl. However, Caroline had other plans for the two, and swung her arm to her side. At that moment, Suwako felt how Shade's stasis-frozen knuckles impacted right against her face, knocking the poor girl out with one punch. Shade then realized what happened: Caroline used the blood that splattered on her arms to control them from a distance. And then, Caroline swept down, forcing Shade to drop down to her knees as her arms swung against the ground. There, the blood from the rain had coalesced as the battle had gone on, and Shade's arms were stuck in the crimson pool of liquid, unable to pull them out. With her legs soon following suit, she could only look on in horror as Caroline brought her attention to Mariette; she gave her another bout of deranged laughter, and turned the axe into a rapier.
Frustrated at how terribly this was going and that she hadn't been quick enough to create portals to prevent what had just happened to her allies, Mariette opened a portal beneath her feet to quickly relocate herself out of Caroline's reach, but...
"You've been a fun to play with, Mariette! The most fun Caroline has had in centuries!" She suddenly dashed right before her, and gripped the Dark Magical Girl by her neck before she could fall, lifting her to the air. "Caroline had never had a friend like you, you know. So Caroline will let you have fun too! You get to see how Caroline plays with Ellie! And then, Mariette sees how gentle Caroline will be...Hee hee..."
‘Kh...!’ Mariette made a complaining sound, hanging uselessly in the air, her hands hanging by her sides. Dark tentacles tried to spawn under Caroline's hand to give her breathing room, numerous portals gazing at the scene from angles to prepare to open portals for self-defense. She knew that was pointless, however. At the mention of Eli, Mariette quickly threw open a portal under Eli to send her far away...
Except Eli saw it coming by Third Eye and sidestepped off where the portal opened, keeping her eyes focused at Caroline. Eli was shuddering, expression one of panic seeing her mistress in such a state, yet she had resolved to stay. Mariette could but grunt in frustration that the girl refused to be saved.
Caroline only squeezed tighter as Mariette continued resisting, until she was gasping for air, and her portals closed. Then, with a cackle, she threw her to the ground, her clothes and hair dirtied as wet sand stuck to her. In but mere seconds, even the Reflective Witch herself was brought to such a degraded position, helpless before the demon-like girl. Then, she turned towards Eli, who shuddered as the eyes of the devil once again met hers.
"Ellie...Caroline has waited for...this moment...Ever since Caroline had a taste, Caroline couldn't stop thinking about you." She slowly walked towards her, her eyes unflinching as they gazed on Eli's own. The harpy staggered back a few steps as Caroline approached, fear coursing through her, but ultimately she steeled herself and gazed back, despite her fright. She wasn’t there yet. She couldn’t see the deepest parts…! She winced as Caroline started speaking again.
"Hmm...You're quiet, Ellie...Did you see something?"
With that said, the vampiric girl's body began changing. Her dress turned black, her hair fell and grew straighter and purple. Her body and facial-structure changed, and Eli gasped as she realized what Caroline was changing herself to. Standing right before Eli was now her twin sister, her Twinned Soul, Deni, exactly as she remembered her to be, yet her smile was gone and she was frowning with sad eyes at her. A severe pain struck through Eli, like she had been stabbed in the heart. Those eyes, which Eli knew so well, showing such sadness. Eli could see straight through them, and there…
There she saw it.
‘What do you see?’
‘Love.’
Deni’s eyes widened, her lips turned into a horrible snarl. ‘L-L-Love? LOVE?’
Eli took a deep breath, gathered her thoughts, and then focused again on the being before her. The words came naturally to her as she spoke.
‘Deni… You were always the original. I was the intruder. When people looked to us, it was “Denise” they called for. By all rights, I was the inconvenience, the one that shouldn’t exist…’ Eli took a step forward, lifting a hand and stroking it along the cheek of the false Deni before her, the eyes of the slime harpy leaking with fluids replicating tears.
Caroline’s teeth now showed from her disguise, twisted into a growling expression. ‘Hate! I Hate you!’ But despite her protests, she did not move, her mind grinding to a halt.
‘… Yet you didn’t hate me. You teased me endlessly and got me into trouble for your amusement, sure, but you accepted me as your sister, your twin existence, and loved me. The first thing you did when we got our own bodies was not to run away with your new freedom, but you hugged me. You loved the world and those in it, you had so much love to give. I… I’m so sorry, that you never got to experience true freedom…’ Eli leaned forward, letting her wings close around the Deni-copy, hugging, pressing their bodies together. Deni… was in there, wasn’t she? Absorbed by Caroline…
Deni’s body shuddered, trying to fight back, but she was paralyzed by the act of love that Eli gave to her. Bright red veins could be seen coursing through her limbs and cheeks. ‘Ellie! You can’t! It hurts!’
Eli repressed her powers, she didn’t need them. For right now, she established her disguise, visually changing her body back to that of a tiny girl with black, short hair, currently wearing glasses because it was part of the disguise, and a school uniform. So now, she was but a normal girl, hugging what remained of her sister.
‘No! Noo-’NOOO!" Now Caroline’s voice came out of Deni’s lips, and the disguise began slowly melting away, like snow, returning her back to her true form. Her red dress roiled and bubbled like a boiled pot of water.
‘Th-thank you for everything, Deni. I… I love you, my sister.’
"AAAAGHHHH!"
With a final scream, Caroline turned limp, her posture slumped, only held up by Eli’s embrace. Her dress turned normal, and the blood in the lake shore seemed to dry away, freeing Shade. Eli felt that Caroline was still alive, but only barely; she had been knocked out. Caroline was defeated.
And there, as if carried by a wind of magic, Eli heard the smallest whisper.
‘...I love you too...’
A sound of rumbling could be heard coming from under the lake, as Makoto struck against the tunnel wall, creating a thick hole to the other tunnel where Ilia was. The monster boy was caught by surprise, and the debris hit him with great force, sending him flailing back. "Ouch! I knew you bastards would try to worm your way through here!" He spat out, visibly wounded, as he swiftly coiled around back up. and brought his Toxic Censer to bear; it exhuded vile fumes as it was swung around. "Makoto, you idiot!" Helga screamed as she dashed around the corner to Ilia. She struck at Ilia with a claw, only to realize it was only his duplicate as it soon faded into green mist. "These catacombs will be your tomb!" He spoke about 50 meters down the tunnel, and drew in a deep breath. He then exhaled, and a wave of poisonous mist blew through the tight confines, filling the air with poison strong enough to weaken Mahou. Helga scratched at her cheek in fury. "Now look what you did!" She managed to speak amidst her coughing.
Alicia succeeded in carpet-bombing Earth Bastion's vicinity with her arrows, piercing through the thick ice and cracking it into several large pieces; the ship swayed a bit as it was now capable of moving around, if only in place, as there was still some distance of ice in front of them. "Ice integrity compromised. Commencing restoration." Doris, undeterred by anyone, held her open palms before her, and soon enough the floating pieces were brought together to form walls around Earth Bastion, preventing it from turning. The ice crept up the side of the ship, until it reached the deck.
Alicia then attempted to shoot at all four of the Curie Corps with her arrows, and it turned out to be a mistake on her part; with her still recovering from going all out against the Gorelions, and with no clear target to focus on, she ended up creating a fireworks show, arrows exploding in the air randomly. However, it did mean that Kimble ended up being too busy dodging the explosions to attack, flying around rapidly and hissing like an irritated cat, ignoring Sue as she took the gunner's seat. "Fnyack nyouh!"
Curie kept her eyes on the ship as she swayed back and forth to avoid the random explosions that were still forming in the air. "What have you to gain from this assault?" She asked with a hateful glare. "Answer me, or be purified in the fires of nuclear fusion!" She then lifted a hand up, and a fireball began forming and expanding over it; it glowed brighter than regular flame, brimming with energy.
Amber launched herself up into the air before she performed a landing roll, her hair now frazzled. But appearances were a small sacrifice to having finally reached the Visceral castle, and its upper parts to boot. She sneaked around to the other side, and found Umeko still shooting down towards the lake. With a resounding boom, she landed a shot right through Alicia's distracting lightshow, and the bullet hit her through the elbow, causing the Beacon girl to drop her bow as she was overcome with not only physical, but mental pain, knocking her down. ”Don't you dare, you bitch!” Penny screamed, and shot her gauss discharge at Umeko, and it hit her in her leg, causing her to crouch down. "Damn..." Amber could hear her mutter to herself. "I'm not paid enough for this."
"Normally I'm supposed to be bringing help to you." the Puchuu grumbled as he traced down the point that had caused quite a ruckus in Penrose. A bunch of magical girls had made a scene big enough for the non-magical beings to take notice. Although they were still quite unsure what had happened.
"Maybe. But there are more important things. Rumor about this city was already floating around. Lily calling me in, the Beacon HQ being attacked, and now this. We have to help."
Rolling his eyes the Puchuu pointed into an open area on the street. "Here, the fight is happening in this area in the Overcity." Crossing his tiny arms and floating over Shannon he shook his head. "Your "sister" is so much easier to work with. You're too nice with your Friendship power."
The girl only smiled and twirled her umbrella. "Well I guess that's your fault for picking me first huh?" Raping the end of the folded umbrella against the pavement she transformed into her magical girl form. Her appearance was nothing spectacular aside from being unusual for the region. The stone staff she held tapped against the road again and she disappeared.
Having been a well traveled magical girl for a a while now, transporting into the Overcity was a normal thing for her. But popping into a war zone was not what usually greeted her. The stationary Earth Bastion was the first thing she spotted. Judging by what she'd heard that had to be the thing that started the police and citizens of Penrose. There was fighting going on all around. Shadows, portals, blood, ice, utter chaos... The oppressive magic of the magical girls under Father was one thing that could be made out fairly quickly. It was somewhat difficult to tell what side everyone else was on until they attacked someone.
Having made something of a surprise entrance into the unknown Shannon put her staff to the ground to get the lay of the land. The castle was obvious and the seismic pulse gave her a layout of tunnels beneath. There were people down there as well but no telling who was who.
"Well, better late than never." Advancing she raised her voice. "Looks like you could use a little help!"
Given that this would likely be her best chance before she was noticed, the Earth specialist temporarily poured some of her vitality into her magic. Thrusting the staff forward the ground shook. Like a wave the ground in front of her moved toward the frozen lake. It appeared that some of it had been broken up but the Earth Bastion was still largely trapped. When the swell met the shore though the upheaval transferred into the lake. Stressed by the shock wave the ice, thick though it may be, buckled and began breaking up as the wave progressed across the lake.
"That's one way to break the ice." Expecting retaliation from somewhere she stayed on the ground for now.
@Ariamis Makoto laughed, nearing hysteria. "That's a good joke!" she shouted at the monster boy as she walked straight into the depths of the poison. Two rather stylish gas-masks came from her direction, thrown towards Alex and Helga. Makoto's laughing became silent as she no longer had air in her lungs to create the noise. She quickly walked forward in Nanba style, completely removing the noise from her movement, rushing towards and grabbing Ilia by the neck. The whole ordeal took less than a single drop of mana, thanks to Makoto's Eternal Style providing the gas-masks and her Enhanced Sustenance allowing her the luxury of not needing to breathe. "Now then..." she began, contemplating whether to use intimidation or cuteness to proceed. "What should I do with you?"
"Somebody needs to slap that girl...hard" Alexander grumbled as ignored the gas mask that was thrown at him. Somehow, getting magic had made breathing optional for him. It wasn't something that came up often, but when it did, it tended to be really useful. 'even though the airborne poison isn't going to be a problem for me, he might have something else up his sleeves. And since poison isn't something I want to gamble with, I think I'll play this safe.' Summoning a clone, he made a a rather large ball shaped barrier, one that had a lot of pointy spikes on the outside. Without needing any instructions, the clone charged at the magical boy, propelling the death ball as well.
Eli gaze lifted into the sky as Caroline cried out within her loving embrace. She held on, as if she was holding her sister, her disguise leaking tears from her eyes. And then… as Caroline passed out, there was a voice in the winds…
‘… Bye…’ Eli muttered her reply, perhaps too silently to be heard by anyone. She sat down, still holding on to Caroline, as a silence encompassed the area from the immediate battle ending. Now, Eli simply sat there hugging Caroline’s limp form, resting her own head against the passed out vampire. It all… felt so peaceful now… … …
Mariette
Mariette spat, her neck in pain from where Caroline had held her. She pulled herself onto her feet with janky, aggressive movements, really not appreciating what she had just been forced through. Still… she had seen all that had happened. She smiled oh, so pleasantly, her form slightly hunched over due to still being in pain.
‘That’s it, Eli… Now just hold onto her, just like that, for just a little longer…’
A portal opened from here to within the Bastion, and from it Mariette used her arms to retrieve the large, frameless mirror that she had been gifted. She placed it against the ground leaning on herself, directed towards Caroline. The surviving Shadows gathered around, the amount of light in the area seemingly decreasing as they got closer. Of course, she still had portals linking to her eyepatched eye all around to see if anyone was going to try to interfere.
This, this was a decisive victory that Justine could not overcome. Now, Mariette would have wanted to flaunt it over her, but as long as Sonia could pop out of anywhere with her bane in hand it was way too risky. Mariette had to place this girl somewhere not even Justine could reach her. Besides… This worked wonderfully for striving towards Mariette’s ultimate goal…!
‘Asengav… I have… an offering for you… Do treat it lovingly, he-he…’ Mariette uttered with difficulty due to the pain to her throat, yet there was a strain of playful vengeance in her voice, and she even giggled a little from being drunk on pain and triumph. Eli blinked in realization, felt that perhaps this was a bit twisted, but it was also for their survival, and so she held on as ordered.
The mirror slowly darkened in colour, the Shadows around them seemingly getting small grins as the dark powers coalesced. The mirror now a portal directly to the ancient horror Asengav himself, in whose grasp Mariette could be certain Sonia could not rescue her from. Dark tendrils, some of them with grasping large shadowy hands on the tip, emerged from the mirror, seeking to lay claim to the girl in Eli’s grasp. As those limbs approached they would gently, almost affectionately, curl around around Caroline’s body. Eli’d let go at that point, pulling herself back as to not be accidentally snared up as well.
With Mariette and the Shadows all smirking at the scene, the dark arms would gently start pulling Caroline back into the depths of the dark portal.
Sue was to run to the turret without injury. Perhaps in a fight between magical girls, a familiar didn't look like an important target to anyone. Sue did not spend a lot of time thinking about it. Sue spent very little time thinking about herself. The thing driving her forward was her desire to save Lily. Deni was enough, she wasn't going to let the Viscerals take Lily too!
Sue recognized her error from earlier. Clearly the cannon needed to be loaded before it could be fired. Sue had familiarized herself with the turret console on the drive to the castle, so there wouldn't be any screw ups this time. Now in human form, Sue loaded a “beam” round into the barrel. She had no idea what it did, but it sounded right for the situation. Sue then aimed the turret. It made a light hum until the familiar was satisfied with who was lined up in the cross hairs: Doris.
“Hussie!”
Sue fired, launching a golden beam of energy at her target. It was so bright that Sue wasn't able to tell if her target dodged or not. But with the beam still firing, she pulled back on the stick, causing the turret to swing the beam into the sky, Where it would undoubtedly hit Curie. At least that was what Sue hoped.
Meanwhile, things continued to get better for Amber. It had been so long since she had been the one to do the ambushing that she almost didn't know how to react.
"Damn..." Amber could hear Umiko mutter to herself. "I'm not paid enough for this. Not for the pain and suffering I can inflict on my fellow man, I deserve so much more than what they're giving me."
The pirate didn't waste any time. She simply raised her weapon and fired a cannonball straight into Umiko's back. “Then consider that payment in full!” Shortly after her quip, the pirate girl fell to one knee and chuckled to herself. Her hands were visibly shaking.
“Wherefore doth thou act like mad shamble-lass?” Boteg's voice echoed in her mind.
“It's just...” The pirate stood back up. “I think that's the first time I actively tried to kill another magical girl.”
Age: 24/11 | Gender: Female/Female | Illusion, Gravity Body | Power of Friendship, Regeneration | Moirai Wings, Soul Jar, Martial Training, Familiar, Environmental Sealing, Gifted, Awareness, Mystic Artifact
Well, Amber couldn't take full credit for the hit.
Tonya had made Umiko's words less sympathetic to paint her as a monster in Amber's eyes. Normally Amber would be much too nice to shoot someone in the back, least of all with a lethal kill shot. But the rest of Amber's team needed to catch up with her , and that would be harder if Umiko could still fire on her allies.
It pained Tonya to do in a fellow beacon hater, but she had no remorse for those who helped Justine, brainwashed or not. She continued to remain hidden just behind amber, assisting with Alicia's distraction as best she could.
"Tch." It quickly became clear to Alicia that she had not recovered as much as she thought she had, for as much as her arrows did they were nothing more than a fancy light show. A distracting light show to be fair, but one that didn't exactly pack the kind of wallop that she had been hoping to achieve. Even her success with the ice had been rapidly reverted, as the one responsible merely layered on even more ice to hold them in place.
Unsure how the fight with Caroline was going, Alicia felt herself wishing that Suwako was here, or any of the other girls that she was used to fighting with. She could trust them to cover her back, or know that she wasn't exactly going at it with all her strength and be able to adjust to cover the gap it made. As it stood, she only really trusted Penny in that capacity here, since they had fought together before.
At least it was causing a bit of trouble for their attackers. Her gaze narrowed as she kept it up, not wanting to overplay her hand and reveal how drained she was. Better if they thought it was deliberate on her part. When it appeared though her focus snapped to the orb. Sure, the restored Bastion might be able to take it but the people on the ship (like her). "Your 'master' tried to kill my friends!' she yelled back in response to the query, going for the personal option over the obvious 'save the world' one. At the same time she prepared to switch focus now that it was clear this wasn't working.
Not that she got the chance to. A gunshot and then sudden pain flared in her arm, causing her to drop her bow as she was sent spinning from the impact before falling to the deck. Tears budded in the corners of her eyes as she cradled her limb, which felt like it had been torn off rather than just shot. Dimly she could hear Penny return fire and the ship heave beneath them for some odd reason, but her mind was focused on one thing right now.
Alicia was in pain, exhausted, angry, and her nerves were rapidly approaching the point where she was just fed up with everything. Each breath rushed out in sharp bursts as she closed her eyes and focused on dealing with her current situation. "Come on Alicia, what would the girls think if they saw you like this?" she spat at herself with a scowl. Forget impressing any one else here, her fellow Beckoners were the ones who really motivated her to perform at her best. Reaching inside she grasped at what strands of energy remained to go about healing her wound or at least dulling the pain.
Once she had accomplished that to the best of her capabilities she grabbed her bow and rose, assessing the situation at hand. Swinging her aim to Kimble, the arrows she launched would be more like small clusters of needles, pinprick sized bolts of light designed to be more efficient in her mana usage. She couldn't just spend it needlessly anymore. At the rate things were going they might not have enough left in the tank to beat Justine even if they reached her. She had to do her best to prevent that situation from arising if she could, even if it taxed her beyond her own personal limits. Sure, maybe she had to use one arm and her foot to draw the bow, but that was nothing new for her either. They all had to do their best if they were going to win.
It can never be stressed enough that Silhouette, by her very nature, is a selfish and uncaring individual. She was the kind of person who never really even flinched the first time she took a life. She always had an objective-based mindset that made her a rather efficient killing-machine. It is also why she never had any actual friends. The closest she ever came before becoming a 'she' was "preferred employers", but that simply wasn't the same. The only exception to this was currently Vermillion Veronica, but that was a relationship far too complicated to dub "Friendship". It was, however, much closer to that strange, foreign concept, than anything else had been. But perhaps it was more?
Not even Silhouette knew.
What she did know, however, was that she was not one to do things that could be labeled "selfless" without some ulterior motive. If she saved a life, it was only because she desired to use it to some end. If she gave somebody something, it was solely because she'd benefit in some way. Her protection of Mariette was also one such case. Because she was with this ship of infighting waiting to happen, she'd benefit most backing up another member. She was not used to using her fists as her main way of fighting. Sil owned experience in some martial arts, sure, but they were typically complementary to her knife, not a primary means of eliminating her foes. Lending Mariette her support during conflicts allowed her to "take it easy" in a way.
Or, well, it was supposed to.
Sil understood that something about the blood on her was off, her eyes told her as much. That the blood was a weapon in and of itself was quite obvious to Silhouette, so she continued fighting while keeping it in mind, waiting until the moment Caroline would attempt to use the blood against her. The really unfortunate part about all of this was that Silhouette's selfishness was the entire reason she suffered a swift, decisive loss. Believing that the blood would be used to attack her in some way (her guess would be that it'd form a bladed weapon to attack her arm or throat with), she was left rather perplexed when she suddenly felt a tug upon her arm and a subsequent crash -- into one of her own allies! This clever use of the blood had surprised Sil long enough to prevent her from placing the blood itself into Stasis, and immediately she found herself restrained and unable to continue the fight.
Had she originally simply removed the threat of the blood, then perhaps all this may have been avoided. But Caroline seemed, at least in this short interaction, quite prone to temper tantrums. Sil's very presence as a support to Mariette had caused her to get upset, so she figured if a supposed 'sneak attack' the girl SHOULD have attempted was to be thwarted in a cocky manner, that perhaps that might fuel her ire. And an enraged foe was often easier to predict and outmaneuver than a calm one. But regardless of her justification, in the end it was her own fault she wound up defeated. She took her enemy too lightly and paid for it. It was up to Mariette and the other girl to see this fight through.
...
...
...
The ensuing fight did... not actually last that long. It seemed Caroline's bane had eventually been figured out and used against her. "Love" was apparently it. Quite a pathetic bane for a rather vicious foe, but in this magical world, nothing was as it seemed. Sil was released from her bloodied prison and immediately stood up, gazing rather longingly at the sight of the incapacitated Caroline. It would seem this is where she was to be discarded as a sacrifice to someone's deity. What a gruesome end. And... what an... anticlimactic one, too.
But she's so very strong!
A voice in her head stated. It was her own, but Sil did not feel as though she owned it. No, she knew what this was. The damned black coin's wicked perversion. It didn't matter if Caroline was strong or how the battle went, so long as Sil was alive and she could continue her mission, that was all that mattered. This voice. This no-good, horrible voice in the back of her head, calling for action in a situation that does not necessitate it was contradictory to her very nature!
It would be a shame to allow her to end so... quickly. Not without a proper taste! Such a foe should be savored, not thrown away!
Shade's hand fell to her side and she squeezed it into a fist, so much that it began to hurt. This was serious. Sil knew that if she allowed herself to summon ChronoRend, then this dark, violent side of hers would thrust her into a fight she need not be in. That was unacceptable! Her cover would be blown and she'd not have a way back home!
Veronica did mention an alternative means of leaving this place...
While that was true, there was no way Sil would allow herself to willingly be thrust in such a position. At the moment, taking that way out was admitting defeat and failing the objective. Even if she had a potential ride home, the true Sil did not want to take it. Not unless she had to. She could not allow this corruptions influence on her being to increase more than it had. Falling for its excuses to go berserk... it could only harm her. So what if Caroline died? She was admittedly powerful, but also an obstacle. Sil was smart enough to know that allowing such an enemy to escape would only bite her in the ass later.
I can stop this! I deserve a rematch, I deserve the kill, not her!
It likely wasn't too long before Caroline would be dealt wtih. But it didn't matter. She didn't care. It was better for Sil this way. Caroline's death was one less obstacle for the group to have to deal with. There was no benefit in protecting her. And even if there was, Mariette was in the way. She certainly wouldn't be happy with that, neither would the rest of the ship, she'd imagine.
But Mariette is overconfident. She thinks her portals can see everything. But she's much too slow. She has no way to respond if I utilize my true power. In a moment, I could strike her down. I T W O U L D B E S O E A S Y
So overconfident this nagging voice was. But... well, wasn't it onto something? Shade wasn't at a distance from Mariette that prevented her from getting the first strike in utilizing her Time Manipulation. She had the advantage. Going off of what she had pondered earlier, this was her ideal scenario for this fight. In that case...mothing could stop her. She was certain of this. Mariette may have been keeping an eye out for potential backstabs, but this did not matter. Her inability to understand what Sil was capable of prevented her from formulating countermeasures, making her nothing more than a rabbit in the face of a lion -- there was simply no chance for her. She was prey.
Yes... she is nothing more... than easy prey...
Shade turned and took a step towards Mariette. She was silent as can be, even though Sil knew against this particular woman, that it didn't matter because she had exception awareness courtesy of her portals. For Sil, those were easy to keep track of. Mariette would find that Shade's right hand was not in clear view of any of her portals, Shade was walking towards her and keeping it in such a way that none had a direct line of sight on it.
Another step. And another. They were rather slow, deliberate steps. Like a predator stalking its prey. There wasn't very much distance at all between them, what with Shade acting as a shield for Mariette earlier. Any distance they had gained during the fight had soon disappeared.
And eventually, she reached the point where, if Mariette was going to strike first in anticipation of betrayal, it'd be now or never, and... then Shade's right hand came out into the open, with nothing in it. She wasn't armed with anything, it was no different than it had been. She stopped and gawked at the sight of Caroline's imminent fate for a few seconds, then sniffed and looked down at herself.
"Eww~!" she groaned. "My poor outfit is covered! How gross! Why can't this world cater less to metalheads and more to cute, stylish idols like myself? Haaa. I'm not a part of BabyMetal, I don't like this one bit!" she complained rather comically. She took a moment to settle herself down and then sighed. "We may have won that fight, but at what cost? Too much effort and now I'm dirty and I don't feel as cute. Blegh."
Penny couldn’t help the vindictive smile that spread across her face as she witnessed Umiko getting ambushed, and fired off another gauss round at her for good measure before she started moving to cover Alicia as she recovered. The turret firing off a massive beam gave the cyborg hope that at least one more of the guards had been taken care of, possibly two, but the light of the energy made it hard to verify.
That left only one target easily visible, the airborn catgirl throwing wind at them. Seeing as Scout had been down by this nuisance earlier and Alicia had already been pegged by a sniper round that the mechanical girl knew from personal experience hurt a lot more than it should. Penny opted to act as moving barricade looking to intercept any incoming attacks while she waited for another Gauss charge to become ready.
“Don’t be afraid to me as a shield if you need to, I can tank the hits easily and I’ll heal faster than you” Penny nearly growled out as she kept her eyes on their current target, while also trying to keep an eye out for any other potentially incoming attacks.
Her hands keep flexing in to half claws in irritation as she vastly preferred close quarters combat, but knew that it would be unlikely that she would get her wish to beat one of the opponents bloody any time soon. Part of her wished she had went with the infiltration team, feeling that she would be of more use there as she had a rather limited ranged combat capability but another part vastly preferred to be here helping out Alicia as at the very least she knew she could trust the light user.
Asengav's looming shadow crept out of the mirror Mariette held, using it to support her frail, beaten body upright. It was followed by a couple of tentacles, blacker than the night and darker than that cruelest truth. The Horror did not seem amused to be summoned so lightly by her Chosen, but the cosmic being's attention was quickly drawn to the unconscious girl laid down on the sandy shore. Asengav was pleased at the opportunity to obtain the chosen of his sworn nemesis, and to further his master plan using the girl's tremendous power. But as the tentacles coiled around Caroline's limbs and lifted her in the air, the dark magical girl felt a burning pain stinging her back.
"I won't allow anyone to harm Lady Caroline," Sonia spoke with a harsh tone, and pressed the candlestick's tip against her dress; the shoulder piece was set aflame at that point, causing her to drop the mirror. It landed on the soft sand with a thud, and Caroline flailed in the air as Asengav was confused but not willing to let go of its prize. It tried to reel in the vampire girl's body, and managed to pull her lower body into the mirror. "Nobody defies Father's will!" She screamed, and grabbed her hand out. Mariette could tell from a slight glow that she was about to teleport and take Caroline with her. But then, a mighty earthquake raged through the shore; it threw the sand up in a cloud, and nobody could see what happened. "Lady Caroline! NO!" Sonia screamed, and appeared elsewhere on the shore, clearly distraught. "A dimensional rift...How did I let this happen? Lady Justine will be furious." And as Mariette felt, Asengav was also angry, as Caroline also eluded his gaze. She gave one last gaze at Mariette. "Once I have dealt with the others, you will be next, Mariette Pedersen." And with that, she disappeared leaving yet another in a seemingly endless series of threats.
Shannon's earth-heacing spell did more than cause Sonia to fumble with her Space magic; it spread through the lake, cracking the ice like an egg shell, until only floating pieces remained. Earth Bastion was consequently freed from its cold prison, although the blocks that did reach the deck still lingered there. "No! My beautiful landscape!" Doris cried out, and powdery snow began swirling around her hands as she charged up. Her eyes then widened in shock as ship's cannon aimed at her, and fired a powerful beam right at her. Doris reacted by forming an ice platform and a thick wall of ice over it, and it succeeded in stopping the beam from reaching her. However, due to the downward angle of the beam and lack of stable footing, the ice wall broke off from the platform, and Doris was pushed along with the wall under the water, disappearing from sight.
The beam quickly shot up, and attempted to shoot at Curie, but she simply moved her sphere before her, and the dazzling fireball absorbed the energy of the beam into itself, growing many times bigger; it now resembled a miniature sun, shining upon the lake; the result was a bizarre sight, as if the sun itself struggled for dominance with the dark night and attempting to turn it to day. "You fools! My Atomic Flare shall leave no survivors in the fallout!" She spat out, her eyes glaring with hatred as the Earth Bastion sailed forward; it would reach the island in but a moment.
Umeko aimed at Shannon's heart as she stood still. She smirked, believing she would get a killing shot. But then, her eyes opened wide upon hearing Amber's voice. She did not have time to turn before the cannonball impacted against her; the pirate girl heard how her spine made a crunching sound, and she fell from the battlements, as if Caroline herself had thrown one of her broken dolls away. A couple of seconds later, she heard another crunch as a gauss discharge hit her, courtesy of Penny, and her mangled body was left laying at the castle gates.
Despite Alicia's heavy wound, the Beacon girl summoned her will to fight for her world, and used her powers of Light to slightly dull out the pain with some modicum of warmth; it was not a permanent solution, but it was enough for her to not collapse right on the spot, as the light helped alleviate the clouding magical pain. Then, she took aim at Kimble. Instead of going for normal sized arrows like she usually operated, she unleashed a barrage of a smaller scale, and a swarm of thin needles were launched towards the sneering catgirl. The smaller projectiles, though less powerful, were able to out-speed the wind-using girl's agility, and successfully hit her, causing her to land on the small island the castle was situated at. Kimble softened her landing with a gust of wind, and hissed; she looked absolutely livid after she was drenched in the icy water. "I've had it, damnyan! This is the nyaend!"
Kimble dropped her sickle, and lowered herself to all fours. Her tail turned into a jagged pattern, and the irises of her eyes turned completely slit, like a cat's. She bared her fangs, and gripped the earth with claw-like nails, arching her back as she meowed, gradually turning into a lion-like roar. Wind began picking up around her, and it quickly turned into a raging hurricane, with her at the center. The stormy statue reached high up past the battlements, and nearly sucked Amber in from the force of it; fortunately her strength was sufficient enough for her to hold on.
In the underground tunnels, Ilia's ploy to poison the infiltrators turned useless, and before he could slip away he was caught by Makoto. Like a fish out of water, he flailed around, slapping the magical girl with his tail, but to no avail. "Hrgh! Damn you, squirrel girl! Ghhh!" He spat out, even as he was choked. It seemed as if that was the end for the minion, but Luck was on his side; Alex' hamster ball of death slammed right into Makoto's back, piercing her with numerous spikes, and she let go of Ilia as she now laid on the floor. She managed to resist the crushing mass of the barrier, but the numerous wounds left her bleeding profusely; if Alex did not focus on her, she would soon share Minnie's fate. "Phah, hah! Idiots! " The snakeboy gloated, but not for long before Helga gave her a punch right in the face, knocking the slimy reptile out. "Finally he shut up. Now, you broke it, you fix it!" She shouted at Alex, looking like she might punch him next.
"Fuck!" Alexander rushed over to Makoto and began to heal her "AGGGGGG! This fucking sucks!" He once she was stable enough, he dispelled his clone and the hamster ball of doom, before resuming healing Makoto.
Obviously, the universe couldn’t just allow her to hold her little ritual in peace. Even after it turned out the new girl was not, in fact, intending on interrupting during her kidnapping, someone else did. Now, Mariette had entirely expected Sonia to show up in some manner. The fact she had no counter for her was another thing entirely.
The sudden presence of the candlestick hurt far more than the fire that ignited on her dress, the pain causing Mariette to drop the mirror and jump out of the way before opening a portal right over her head through which water from the lake poured down over her and extinguished the fire on her dress. She was fine, the fire had burned off the dress of her shoulder showing her bare somewhat singed skin, but ultimately it was nothing that was going to stop Mariette. What WAS going to stop her, was Sonia’s candlestick, the light of which was causing the Shadows of Asengav to melt out of existence, descending into puddles where they left the area for Mariette to summon once again at a later time, but they couldn’t help stopping Sonia from saving Caroline.
… But it was too late. Asengav’s tentacles were curling around Caroline. Surely, even with her ability to switch dimensions, she couldn’t claim something in the grip of the interdimensional horror, could she? … Turned out, that didn’t matter, for a powerful earthquake which made it so Mariette had to stumble a bit to maintain balance.
‘Wah!’ Eli sounded out, stumbling back, focused on the scene since Sonia appeared. She was ready to fire, but that candlestick had even worse effect on her than it did on Mariette, preventing her from getting close.
The dust settled, and… gone? Dimensional rift, Sonia claimed? … Mariette glared at her, exhausted. Did that mean a third player was getting in on this? … Good lord, did Mariette not feel like that. She liked being the person in the background, manipulating things, and the thought that there was now someone watching and manipulating her was nothing short of humiliating. Sonia went off, and Mariette was left looking annoyed…
‘…!?’ … When suddenly a tentacle gripped her leg, pulled hard, and Mariette fell and hit her head into the shoreline.
‘M-mistress!’ Eli sounded out, worried once again.
‘…’ Oh. Mariette confirmed what had happened with a dull stare into the sky. From the mirror planted on the ground, black tentacles leaked out, one which had stretched and gripped her leg. Twice now, Mariette had summoned Asengav and given him nothing but humiliation. While reasonable, Asengav was still a short-tempered horror that hated when things went badly. It seemed Mariette was trying his patience, and he was most certainly the kind to show when he didn’t like when his champions weren’t performing. Slowly, the tentacle started dragging her towards the mirror, other tentacles moving to secure her from above…
‘… Keh,’ Mariette sighed in annoyance, and a portal to her Hammerspace Handbag opened, dropping something into her left hand. She held it forward to Asengav’s tentacles, which momentarily froze, inspecting what Mariette was holding to him.
A deep red crystal, the one Justine had given her, supposedly able to call forth a monster more powerful than anything she had seen earlier. Mariette had been saving it…
Asengav naturally understood what the item was, and accepted her offering. One of the tentacles circled the crystal, and the one on her leg gave one final hard squeeze before letting go and sinking back into the mirror with the crystal, leaving a black tentacle-shaped mark on Mariette’s leg, a visual warning to remind that she had tried his patience. As the tentacles vanished, the mirror returned back to the transparent colour of mirrors, and the presence of Asengav disappeared.
Hopefully that crystal was actually what Justine had advertised it as, or Mariette may be in trouble. As in, the kind of trouble that would probably be her end shortly.
‘Tsk,’ Mariette sounded out in annoyance as she slowly sat up and got up on her legs, Eli watching her with worried eyes. Mariette had been collecting injuries lately…
She had, since that meeting with Justine; had her body and clothes singed from exposure to the explosion Justine triggered, gotten bruises on her arms and her dress tattered from debris of a building falling on her, a red mark probably on her neck where Caroline had so harshly gripped her, sand and mud rubbed into her dress where she had been thrown into it, had her right shoulder of her dress burned up and the skin under damaged, her left leg probably lost its black stocking and a black tentacle-mark squeezed onto it, and she had to soak herself earlier to put out the fire.
Mariette did not look happy.
‘Wake up Suwako and go help,’ she told Shade, giving her a glare with her not-eyepatched eye. Then, she turned to look at the scene.
Curie looked like the saw going to launch a fairly powerful attack, way over there. Mariette, while exhausted and in pain from the battle that had just taken place, prepared her magic to open a portal to take the attack when she blasted it and send it… at Doris will do, from a portal opening in her vicinity, and just in case it kept going have it continue on into Justine’s castle in that case. And if it wasn’t that kind of attack and it was just a widespread radiation-blast or something Mariette would attempt to open a portal as close to it as possible and put the other end to just launch the effects at the ground somewhere. In some way she wanted to portal that while she didn’t have to think about other enemies attacking her… hopefully.
She did still have small portals around her looking in a variety of directions just in case someone was intending on launching an attack at her.
Eli was still kind of recovering from her victory, and as such simply stood where she had been left, still tired and a little dazed. Mariette had not addressed her at all.
