[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/cRMH2zR.png[/img][/center]
[center][color=Aquamarine]It's Tempest Tuesday, bitches![/color]
[color=888888]-Nyxia Torrentia, Neon Tempest of the Ultraviolet Rainbow[/color][/center]

As has been mentioned many times, Nyxia had never really cared for Rei, but on this particular night, she found herself despising the club’s enigmatic leader even more than usual. There the girl was, standing atop a light post like a total fucking chuuni, giving vague orders and trying to look as cool as possible. Hell, the one-eyed bitch wasn’t even [i]transformed[/i], as if announcing to all who cared to look her way that she didn’t [i]need[/i] her mystical abilities in order to be a total badass. Nyxia found it incredibly grating at the [i]best[/i] of times, and with the weight of the afternoon’s distressing revelations still pressing heavily upon her mind, it had become almost unbearable. Thankfully, the night had provided the Neon Tempest with no small number of distractions to help with taking her mind off such dark ruminations, if only for a few hours. There was the swarming Miseria, of course, the ever reliable punching bags whose slaughter never failed to bring her great joy, but there was also the night sky itself.

As she stood atop one of Hibusa Town’s taller buildings (to gain both a better vantage point from which to blast Miseria and from which to look down on Rei), Nyxia couldn’t help but note the cluster of billowing storm clouds gathering in the distance above the far side of town. Their contours stood in sharp contrast against the sparkling stars of the otherwise clear sky, lit up as much by the moon’s soft glow as the flashes of intermittent lightning from within the depths of their turbulent forms. It reminded the Neon Tempest of a scene in an anime film she had watched with her brother several years prior. It was one of Makoto Shinkai’s earlier films, one released long before the country had lost its collective mind over Your Name. Yet, as an ardent fan of the director’s work, Kaito had always felt Shinkai’s lesser known, and less well-regarded, works held a particular charm, a rawness that had been lost in the wake of overwhelming commercial success. Nyxia, too, had come to share that sentiment, even if she didn’t entirely agree with his opinion that those early films’ less-than-happy endings were far more accurate portrayals of reality than the more upbeat endings of the director’s most recent fare. After all, if striving against all odds to attain a seemingly impossible goal could only end in failure, then what was [i]she[/i] even doing any of this for? No, the Neon Tempest told herself with firm resolve as she glanced over to where the illuminated spire of Hibusa Town’s tallest antenna rose up into the highest heavens in an uncannily similar manner to the iconic tower from yet another of Shinkai’s works. It wasn’t impossible. Not for her. She [i]would[/i] get Kaito back, but first, she would force-feed Ashbringer her own intestines, and to do [i]both[/i] of those things, she needed to get [i]stronger.[/i] Culling the night’s crop of Miseria was sure to assist in attaining that goal, at least, if she was able to find them…

An instant before she was about to fire one of her death ray’s writhing cylinders of annihilation at a nearby cluster of Miseria, Nyxia felt her body suddenly begin to shudder. At first, it was slight, like a shiver brought on due to cold or fright, even if she never experienced such things while transformed. All too quickly, however, the shaking became much more pronounced, and the Neon Tempest realized that [i]she[/i] wasn’t the one shaking. It was the very ground itself. It had been quite a few years since she had last experienced an earthquake, but the sensation was unmistakable. Although the trembling subsided in short order, its aftereffects promised to have rather unfortunate implications for the success of the night’s hunt. Although Rei, predictably, didn’t seem especially bothered by the turn of events, Nyxia knew that the power outage brought about by the quake would make locating and exterminating the Miseria all the more difficult…

Bracing herself so as not to unceremoniously plummet over the edge of the roof, Nyxia’s glowing eyes scanned the darkened streets. While some of the club’s members were heeding their leader’s command and mopping up any stragglers, the vast majority of the Miseria had since departed for more lucrative feeding grounds. [color=Aquamarine]“Fuck…”[/color] the Neon Tempest hissed. [color=Aquamarine]“Now we’re gonna need to find a way of gathering up the little shit stains…”[/color] She didn’t see her partner yet, but then, she hadn’t exactly been looking for her either, simply figuring Earthshaker would meet up with her sooner or later, as the Rule Keeper usually did. Now, Nyxia began actively scanning her shadowed surroundings for the tribal girl. It wasn’t long before something caught her attention, but it [i]wasn’t[/i] Roche.

A massive pillar of blindingly bright radiance had suddenly lanced up into the sky near the center of town as if to serve as a consort to the towering, cloud-piercing antenna. While it only lasted a few short seconds, that was more than enough time for the beam’s afterimage to be thoroughly seared into Nyxia’s mind. [color=Aquamarine]“Holy [i]fuck…[/i]”[/color] the Neon Tempest breathed in hushed awe. In all her time as a Magical Girl, she had never seen an expulsion of power quite so spectacular, and, she had to admit, this particular spectacle soundly surpassed even the most intensely powerful of her own ruinous energy beams. Not only that, but whoever had fired it was clearly at least [i]somewhat[/i] intelligent. While Nyxia normally didn’t care to fuck around with what other magical girls were doing (like how she’d simply ignored that portal in the back ally she’d leapt over on her way here), the recent light show was obviously intended to attract the Miseria, like moths to the proverbial flame, and [i]that[/i] was an opportunity the Neon Tempest wasn’t [i]about[/i] to pass up.

[color=Aquamarine]“Maybe this’ll be more fun than I thought…”[/color] Nyxia mused as she raced off towards the pillar’s point of origin. She had to admit, she was very much looking forward to meeting whoever had fired it…    

[hr]

[center][img]https://images2.imgbox.com/05/f0/erQTQlw2_o.png[/img][/center]


[center][color=MediumAquamarine]It’s also April Fools Day![/color]
[color=888888]-Stacy[/color]

[color=FireBrick]Actually, I think it’s closer to Halloween.[/color]
[color=888888]-Ramona[/color][/center]


[h3][i]A short while earlier...[/i][/h3]

[color=MediumAquamarine]“And here we are!”[/color] [url= https://images2.imgbox.com/33/3d/G1a8zKVM_o.png ]Stacy Sterling[/url] (aka Storm Witch Stacy) declared as she stumbled out of the crackling portal. [color=MediumAquamarine]“Huh,”[/color] she added a moment later, a puzzled frown forming as she took in her surroundings. [color=MediumAquamarine]“Geopolis looks kinda different from how I remember it…”[/color]

[color=FireBrick]“Yeah, I’m pretty sure this [i]isn’t[/i] Geopolis,”[/color] [url= https://images2.imgbox.com/09/fc/LkPuOUwS_o.png ]Ramona Ralorin[/url] (aka Razor Weaver Ramona) observed in her trademark deadpan.

[color=MediumAquamarine]“What makes ya say that?”[/color] Stacy inquired, turning her head around to look at her companion. 

[color=FireBrick]“I don’t know,”[/color] Ramona replied. [color=FireBrick]“Maybe it’s because Geopolis doesn’t have any [i]mountains[/i] looming over it, or maybe it’s the fact that all the signs are in [i]Japanese?[/i]”[/color]

[color=MediumAquamarine]“Holy freaking crap!! You’re totally [i]right![/i]”[/color] Stacy exclaimed as she finally noticed those two prominent incongruities. [color=MediumAquamarine]“Man, and I was soooo looking forward to taking that tour of their snowplow museum!”[/color]

[color=FireBrick]“Yeah, what a disappointment,”[/color] Ramona muttered, before giving voice to a tired sigh. [color=FireBrick]“Well, as far as fuck ups go, this might just be your worst yet. We’re not just in the wrong city, we’re on the wrong [i]continent.[/i]”[/color]

[color=MediumAquamarine]“But, that’s still crazy awesome!”[/color] Stacy insisted. [color=MediumAquamarine]“I mean, I always wanted to visit Japan, and our magic should totally translate things for us, like it did with that Big Foot guy!”[/color]

[color=FireBrick]“Yeah, I’m [i]pretty[/i] sure that was just a school mascot,”[/color] Ramona replied, although Stacy was no longer paying attention.

[color=MediumAquamarine]“Oooh! Look!”[/color] she cried in delight. [color=MediumAquamarine]“An arcade! We should totally go in there!”[/color]

[color=FireBrick]“You’re forgetting the fact that our money isn’t good here,”[/color] Ramona pointed out.

[color=MediumAquamarine]“We can use our magic!”[/color] Stacy replied. [color=MediumAquamarine]“I’m sure if I gave the coin machine a little jolt—”[/color]

[color=FireBrick]“You’d probably blow up the building,”[/color] Ramona cut her off.

[color=MediumAquamarine]“Well, then we can use [i]your[/i] magic!”[/color] Stacy declared with her typical irrepressibility. [color=MediumAquamarine]“You can send those crazy cool web strings of yours inside the machine and get it to give us the coins! Y’know, just like how you used them to control me like a puppet that one time so I could actually hit what I was shooting at!”[/color]

[color=FireBrick]“Did you [i]also[/i] forget that normal people can’t see us while we’re transformed?”[/color] Ramona inquired. [color=FireBrick]“Don’t you think it’ll look a little odd for the machines to start running through games all by themselves?”[/color]

[color=MediumAquamarine]“I guess…”[/color] Stacy conceded before rapidly brightening back up. [color=MediumAquamarine]“But I’m sure it’ll totally be fine! Like, when they see all that crazy stuff and suddenly find our names at the top of the score boards, it’ll totally be like an April Fools Day prank!”[/color]

[color=FireBrick]“It’s the beginning of [i]October.[/i]”[/color]  

[color=MediumAquamarine]“Well, maybe it is [i]here[/i], but back home it should totally be early April! Y’know, because of timezones and rotation and junk!”[/color]

Ramona simply stared at her companion with a blank expression before finally uttering an even more deadpan than normal, [color=FireBrick]“…What.”[/color]

[color=MediumAquamarine]“Yeah! Like how on one side of the planet it’s Fall, but on the other side, it’s Spring! Just like how on one side of the world it’s day and on the other side it’s night! I mean, that totally [i]is[/i] how it works, right?!”[/color]

[color=FireBrick]“[i]Wrong.[/i]”[/color]

[color=MediumAquamarine]“Huh?”[/color]

[color=FireBrick]“That isn’t [i]remotely[/i] how it works. For one thing, seasons are only reversed on the northern and southern hemispheres, and even then, the months of the year stay the same. So there’s no way it’s April anywhere on this planet.”[/color]

[color=MediumAquamarine]“But maybe it [i]is[/i] on [i]another[/i] planet!”[/color] Stacy suggested. [color=MediumAquamarine]“Or in another [i]universe![/i] Well, anyway, let’s check out that arcade!”[/color] 

[color=FireBrick]“Fine…”[/color] Ramona relented with a weary sigh. [color=FireBrick]“But only because I don’t wanna get rained on…”[/color] she added, glancing up at the ominous thunderheads that seemed poised to unleash a torrential downpour at any moment.

Although Stacy was often blissfully unaware of it, her magic had the unfortunate side effect of causing extremely localized storms, especially if she was feeling exceptionally emotional about something. Which was to say, most of the time, and this seemed to be yet another such occasion. Ramona only hoped it wouldn’t end up leaving her soaked, struck by lightning, or [i]worse[/i]… 

No sooner had they entered the arcade, then Stacy darted over to one of the machines along the back wall. Its cabinet was covered in artwork depicting several robotic warriors in dramatic poses, while a battle between two of the fighters was playing out on the machine’s waiting screen. [color=MediumAquamarine]“Oh sweet!”[/color] she cheered gesturing to the machine excitedly. [color=MediumAquamarine]“They’ve got Gearmantic Hearts! Come on!”[/color] she insisted as she grabbed the far more sedately moving Ramona and pulled her over. [color=MediumAquamarine]“Let’s play a match!”[/color]

[color=FireBrick]“If you insist…”[/color] Ramona muttered.

[color=MediumAquamarine]“But, uh, first we need some coins, so, like, if you could get those for us, that’d be great!”[/color]

[color=FireBrick]“Yeah, whatever…”[/color] Ramona grumbled. [color=FireBrick]“After all, what could [i]possibly[/i] go wrong?”[/color]

Surprisingly, nothing [i]did[/i] go wrong, and soon enough, the multi-limbed patchwork girl had returned with a small fortune in less-than-legally acquired coins. Placing the required amount into Gearmantic Hearts’ coin slots, the game commenced its start up sequence. First, the logo for Covington Arts filled the screen, before the elaborately calligraphed letters gave way to the opening animatic, which succinctly summed up the game’s meager story. Then it was time for the players to choose their respective fighters…

[color=MediumAquamarine]“Okay! So, I think I’m gonna go with Finnegan Fabricant!”[/color] Stacy declared, selecting a brooding bishonen pretty boy with a robotic crow perched on his shoulder and wearing a tattered trench coat. [color=MediumAquamarine]“He’s crazy handsome, has really cool moves, and a super tragic backstory that just makes me wanna give him the biggest hug!”[/color]

[color=FireBrick]“I guess I’ll take this girl,”[/color] Ramona decided, her sullen voice devoid of any hint of enthusiasm as she chose an attractive female android with stark white hair.

[color=MediumAquamarine]“What?!”[/color] Stacy exclaimed, her eyes going wide. [color=MediumAquamarine]“But, uh, that’s Penny Pinnacle!”[/color]

[color=FireBrick]“So?”[/color]

[color=MediumAquamarine]“Well, she’s, like, [i]crazy[/i] OP, and she’s banned in all kinds of tournaments and stuff!”[/color]

[color=FireBrick]“I was able to select her just fine,”[/color] Ramona noted.

[color=MediumAquamarine]“W-Well, yeah…”[/color] Stacy conceded hesitantly. [color=MediumAquamarine]“I mean, they didn’t remove her from the game or anything, but…”[/color]

[color=FireBrick]“Then I can play her,”[/color] Ramona stated flatly.

For a moment, Stacy didn’t say anything, looking rather conflicted on how to proceed. But soon enough, she clenched her fists and her visage took on a look of fierce intensity. [color=MediumAquamarine]“Okay, fine!”[/color] she relented. [color=MediumAquamarine]“You’re on! I’ll show ya that I can [i]still[/i] beat the game designer’s super busted special snowflake with a [i]balanced[/i] character like Finnegan!”[/color]

[color=FireBrick]“Knock yourself out,”[/color] Ramona replied as the game began.

[color=MediumAquamarine]“I’m gonna knock [i]you[/i] out, Ramona!”[/color] Stacy shot back as she charged Finnegan into combat.

[color=goldenrod]“I choose violence!”[/color] the fabricant declared as he thrusted his glowing energy rapier at Penny, the blade leaving a series of after images behind itself. 

At first Penny didn’t move, Ramona’s controls having been locked to represent Finnegan’s manipulation of the very fabric of time to grant himself hyper-accelerated speed. Yet, at the last possible second, Penny leapt above the thrust and over Finnegan himself, leaving after images in her wake as she slammed a supercharged fist into the fabricant’s back.

[color=9e0039][b][u]“Cool power.”[/u][/b][/color] the android remarked. [color=9e0039][b][u]“Think I’ll take it.”[/u][/b][/color]

[color=goldenrod]“You really don’t get it, do you?!”[/color] Finnegan shouted as he got to his feet and conjured a flock of robotic crows from his outstretched palm. [color=goldenrod]“No one can see what’s really going on!”[/color]

[color=9e0039][b][u]“Don’t need to see,”[/u][/b][/color] Penny replied as she activated her four energy blade tipped spider limbs and sliced each of the robo-crows apart in a rapid flurry of motion. [color=9e0039][b][u]“Just need to win.”[/u][/b][/color]

For the next minute and a half, the battle proceeded at a furious pace, Finnegan making rapid jabs with his energy rapier and shooting crackling arcs of bronze lightning at his white haired opponent, while Penny employed her prodigious strength, nanotech mastery over metal, and devastating gauss cannon to keep the fabricant on the very edge of total destruction. However, although Penny was clearly the more powerful fighter, Ramona wasn’t the most experienced player, and Stacy’s expert knowledge of the various strengths and weaknesses of Finnegan’s moveset ultimately allowed her to gain the upper hand.

Leaping above Penny, the fabricant held out an antique golden pocket watch that furiously crackled with writhing tendrils of lighting as he prepared his ultimate attack. 

[color=goldenrod]“Time to[/color] [color=MediumAquamarine]end this!”[/color] Finnegan and Stacy shouted as one, the finishing move an instant away from striking home.

And it was at that exact instant that all the power in the building suddenly went out, immediately followed by a bout of shaking that reverberated for several seconds.

[color=MediumAquamarine]“W-What the…?!”[/color] Stacy exclaimed in horror as her seemingly inevitable victory was snatched away at the last possible moment.

[color=FireBrick]“Wow. It looks like you continue to be your own worst enemy,”[/color] Ramona observed with a wry smirk.

[color=MediumAquamarine]“That wasn’t [i]me![/i]”[/color] Stacy shot back as she held onto the game cabinet in an attempt to maintain her balance. [color=MediumAquamarine]“It must’ve been this stupid earthquake!”[/color]

[color=FireBrick]“Then I guess the universe [i]itself[/i] didn’t want you to win,”[/color] Ramona snarked. [color=FireBrick]“Or maybe Penny’s just too powerful for a ‘balanced’ character like Finnegan to ever beat.”[/color]  

[color=MediumAquamarine]“She is [i]not![/i]”[/color] Stacy protested. [color=MediumAquamarine]“I totally had you on the ropes! I just needed that one last hit!”[/color]

[color=FireBrick]“But you didn’t get it,”[/color] Ramona told her, pointing out the obvious. [color=FireBrick]“Which means it’s a draw at best. And since I had more HP left,”[/color] she added with a smirk. [color=FireBrick]“I think that counts as [i]me[/i] being ahead.”[/color]

[color=MediumAquamarine]“It does [i]not![/i]”[/color] Stacy shot back. [color=MediumAquamarine]“Penny had waaay more HP than Finnegan to [i]start[/i] with, so of [i]course[/i] she’d have more left before I landed my killing blow!”[/color]

[color=FireBrick]“That sounds like the kinda thing a sore loser would say.”[/color]

[color=MediumAquamarine]“Oh, whatever!”[/color] Stacy grumbled, before grabbing her lighting staff and infusing it with mystic power. [color=MediumAquamarine]“I’ll just recharge the game with a little zap, and [i]then[/i] we’ll see who has more HP by the end of the match!”[/color]

[color=FireBrick]“I really wouldn’t do that,”[/color] Ramona advised. [color=FireBrick]“You’re more likely to completely fry it, and then we’d never be able to have our rematch. [sub]Well, at least not on this machine…[/sub]”[/color]

[color=MediumAquamarine]“You’re probably right…”[/color] Stacy conceded with a defeated sigh. [color=MediumAquamarine]“So, uh, I guess we should head back home now… Or, maybe we could try going to Geopolis again?!”[/color] she suggested, her dour mood brighting considerably in response to this new possibility. [color=MediumAquamarine]“I mean, with all the extra power I can draw on thanks to this storm, I’m sure I can get a super strong lock on it this time!”[/color] Before Ramona could protest, the cheerful witch tore open another crackling portal in the arcade’s back corner and gestured to it eagerly. [color=MediumAquamarine]“Come on! If we hurry, we can make it to the snowplow museum before it closes!”[/color]

[color=FireBrick]“The anticipation is killing me,”[/color] Ramona muttered as she was dragged through the portal, idly wondering where they might wind up [i]this[/i] time…