Heated Rivalry
Starring
'It's what's for dinner' Hilaria
'Too new to have a gimmick' Aria
The world of business was cutthroat. One had to always be looking for the next advantage, the newest edge. This was especially true for the world of magical business, which combined all the dangers of finance with wild magical powers. Needless to say, things could get pretty dramatic.
Such was the case now. The bounty poster, who preferred to remain anonymous, had directed the girls she had hired to go and smash the workshop of a rival. In doing so she would take a decisive advantage in terms of mercantile production within the city. Or something like that anyway. Whatever the logic was, it did not change what they had been directed to do. Hopefully they would be up for the task.
As part of this effort the duo had been provided information directing them to the general location of the workshop. It was located near the rail yard, serenading them with the sounds of trains as they stepped closer. From what the poster had said, there was a secret entrance in one of the old sheds that would take them underground to the workshop. Which was probably better than trying to get in from the sewers.
There were some challenges of course. Entering the shed, they would find a damaged train, a leftover from some major accident or the fight that had ravaged the rail yard like a million years ago. Mechanicals parts laid scattered about, to say nothing of the dirt and snow that had accumulated. There just weren't the people to maintain this when they had more to do to keep the reduced city running.
For now they had at least a couple hours to work this out before the owner returned, according to the bounty poster. Hopefully they could make good use of this time.
Wearing a snug winter coat, the larger of the two girls idly kicked some of the debris on the ground as she looked around the place.
“Mmm~” she punted a small piece of metal, sending it bouncing off a far wall of the shed with a clang.
“Hilaria will be out of a job if the lab looks anything like this place~” She continued to find small things to kick, looking like she was bored initially, but she also seemed to be checking to see if there was anything hidden beneath the stuff.
While Hilaria inspected things to kick, the thinner girl was scanning their provided literature for more clues.
"I'm sure it's just hidden, like a diamond in the, hmmm, snow?" She folded up her documents when she approached the train.
"Maybe it`s in the train? Maybe, under the train?" Aria continued to think out loud as she stepped inside.
"Now`s the time you earn your nectar boys and girls!" Her butterflies flew out from underneath her kimono and inspected the interior of the train. They rocked levers, explored the furnace, trying to find anything that might have indicated a hidden lair. On the train at least.
Working in tandem, the duo would soon find their success.Hilaria kicked free a latch disguised beneath some rocks, which combined with a lever pulled by one of the butterflies to cause a hatch to swing open next to the train.
"Down we go~” Hilaria would say as she entered first. Aria followed shortly afterwards.
The passage was a bit larger than one person wide, with stone stairs leading downwards into a tunnel. It was all illuminated by lamps interspersed at regular intervals, and so far everything looked normal for the sake of the public that might stumble across it on accident.
Eventually the tunnel dead ended in what looked like a utility closet. One section had various mundane tools, the other side had cleaning supplies like mops and buckets and grease lift and stuff. Given what they had done to get here, this section would likely require more of a magical touch to get results.
Hilaria carelessly tossed aside the various items in the closet to get to the back. When she, presumably, didn't find any glaringly obvious markings or the sort, her eyes seemed to glow gold as she scanned the area with her magic-sensing vision.
"Doesn't it seem like such a pain~?" she asked her kimono-wearing ally.
"Hilaria doesn't think you can get delivery down here~" "No, I don’t suppose we could." Aria chuckled at the unusual observation. Hilaria seemed to know what she was doing, so she kept her butterflies back for the moment.
"Perhaps they have a way to make their own food further in." She looked at her notes, then back at Hilaria.
"While we are here to destroy everything, I wouldn’t mind having a peak at any literature we find before it goes up in flames."As Hilaria continued to look for anything suspicious, she smiled.
"Sure~" she agreed readily.
"Hilaria would think our client would want to gain as much intel on her opposition and at least gather things~" she shrugged.
"Yes, for our client." Aria’s eyes squinted slightly as a smile crossed her lips. Her butterflies, oblivious to what was going on, continued to fly around without a care in the world.
As expected, there was no obvious marking to tell them what they should do next. While they conversed among themselves, Hilaria put her Third Eye to work, scanning the room for any signs that might clue her in to a secret entrance. You know, the sort of thing they were here for.
After a bit of looking, she found what she needed. It seemed there were magical conduits in the wall, which triggered a locking mechanism. Or something like that. Presumably one had to use a particular specialization of magic to activate it, or an item, but with Hilaria’s experience and Aria’s help, she could probably brute force it.
"Hilaria sees, she sees~" she placed her hand on the wall where the mechanism was, turning to face Aria.
"The unseen lock is the trickiest~! Mmm, but Hilaria wonders what the key is~?" she attempted to see if the lock would react to her gravity magic in any way, but didn't expect any results. And assuming that didn't work, she would ask of Aria,
"Hey, hey..." she paused, realizing that they hadn't exchanged names yet.
"Hilaria forgot to ask you your name, but Hilaria's name is Hilaria, for future reference~!""Oh? I had no idea." She extended her hand towards the giant woman.
"My name is Aria. I’m an artificer. I typically don’t talk to people much when I’m on outings like this. Well, not during an operation at least." She stepped past Hilaria to look at the wall. She couldn’t see the lock, of course.
"Hmm, we might be able to brute force it, but might that just summon surveillance?" She tapped her foot.
"I suppose if we’re quick, it won’t matter too much. But just in case..."One of Aria’s smaller butterflies inspected the wall, trying to fly inside the “lock,” if it even had a physical shape. Meanwhile, Aria placed her wand on Hilaria’s shoulder, and she could feel her strength increase dramatically.
Having located what they were looking for, work began to deal with the lock. The butterflies would not see much success, the lock seemingly protected against physical intrusions like that. Though presumably no one expected that to work on its own.
The use of gravity magic would provoke a greater reaction. The conduits shifted and pulsed, reacting both to the physical force used as well as the magic itself. From what Hilaria could discern of the reaction, her magic would function to activate the circuit. She just needed to provide a consistent force to the entirety of the circuit to get it to activate and unlock the path forwards. Or she could just smash it down, that was an option too.
Naturally, Hilaria chose the option more suited for both the mission and subtlety, using excessive force, presumably breaking through the entrance. She had probably just gotten bored.
"Is everything going to be like this, Hilaria wonders~?" She led the way in, but looked wary, as if searching for any surprises on the way in. But Aria would hear a weird crunching noise coming from Hilaria as she did so.
"Oh I’m sure it’ll get more exciting once we get inside. " Aria was not far behind Hilaria.
"Anyone willing to hide their lair this well is bound to have interesting things. You can’t invest all this time in something without having something of value, right?" She stepped over a pile of rubble that Hilaria made.
"But if I’m being honest, just meeting you has made this trip quite fascinating. Your approach to entering a secure lair is simple but also very entertaining!"“Oh, thank you~” Hilaria didn’t stop walking.
“Most of the time people just call Hilaria lazy, foolish, or a brute if they bother to comment~ But she just doesn’t like a circuitous approach, is all~” Every few words of hers had a short, two second pause between them, with the crunching continuing still. But eventually, Aria would see Hilaria toss an empty bag of chips off to the side.
“Mmm, Hilaria thinks that if there’s an easier way to do something, that the more difficult or complex way is about as useful as the ‘G’ in lasagna~”"Exactly! Meanwhile the ‘y’ in Lasagna found a way to do its job without even being there, which I find far more impressive!" Aria looked at the casually discarded potato chip bag. She was starting to notice a theme.
"When we’re done here, we should get something to eat. I don’t know about Penrose, but there’s a few places I like in the overcity. There’s this really unassuming stall that sells some of the best muskrat you could ever put in your mouth. "“Yes~! Hilaria thinks that sounds like a wonderful plan~!” enthusiasm for the date was all over her words. Aria would notice a bit more of a spring to Hilaria’s step than before, which continued until they reached the end of the tunnel.
The tunnel did not do much to interest, being a fairly normal tunnel. The main difference was that the lighting here was magical rather than mundane. There was no need to hide the masquerade here after all. At least they knew it wouldn’t end in a utility closet.
Past the end of the tunnel, through another set of mundane doors with no magic lock this time, they would find they had reached their destination. It was a fairly large room, probably too big for the space it was supposed to be if not for magic, with an arching ceiling and some cents for air. The place was a bit of a mess, with fabric strewn about, some looms and various crafting materials, metal presses, a furnace for blowing glass, all the tools of the trade. In one corner was an office space, presumably for stuff like storing designs and cash and the like.
For now there did not seem to be any sign of anyone around. It was time to go to work.
For a moment, it seemed like Hilaria was in a bit of awe at all the stuff they had shoved down there. This, however, changed when she promptly pointed her shotgun at a loom and blew it to smithereens without any hesitation and a giggle. Now pieces of that were scattered about the floor as well. But she didn’t stop there, and continued onto the next item to be destroyed.
“Ahh~” Hilaria was enjoying herself. She might’ve been enjoying herself too much, even.
Aria was also swept up in Hilaria’s gleeful destruction of personal property. She swept up a few fragments of the devices into her her hammer space gourd before marching into the office. Once there, she started to sort through the things written there. Anything that was relevant to Aria’s interests was quickly shoved into her gourd. Everything else was tossed off the desk, at which point her butterflies would do a sloppy job of devouring it.
"I have a hard time *BANG* believing this is everything." She was not phased by the sounds of Hilaria’s shotgun. Though it was kind of annoying to get cut off every few shots.
"Hillaria, do- *BANG* do your eyes *BANG* see *CHOMP* anything else?"It appeared to take a great deal of effort for the girl to pull herself away from blowing things into pieces. To say she was reluctant was putting it lightly, and it also might have had some implications. But she did eventually succeed, facing Aria for a moment.
“Lets see~” she hadn’t bothered to really concentrate on looking beyond what was obviously present, so now would be the time she did, searching for anything that might’ve been hidden.
The duo worked well, setting about the destructive efforts with a naked glee. Wood splintered and shattered, paper and parchment devoured, as they painted on this canvas they had been given. They were making a big mess and making their client very happy, that was for sure.
However, they were not as alone as they thought they were. The bounty had mentioned guards, and now was the time when they made their appearance. But rather than lumbering giants, they fit the owner who utilized this workshop.
First would be Hilaria, standing amidst a growing amount of rubble and detritus even though she had stopped shooting. Shimmering fabric sprang to life and leapt forward, several robes animated by magical power now rising to the defense of their creator like malicious magic carpets. One moved for the shotgun, seeking to wrench it from her grip as it wrapped around the firearm. Another skimmed low to the ground and began tangling itself through her legs, so as to bind her in place and pull her down to the ground.
Meanwhile Aria would suddenly find herself confronted as well. Her foes were a trio of wooden mannequins, like the sort you’d use to model clothes in a department store, or a larger version of those dolls you’d have in art class. One of the mannequins went for a jump kick, springing with an inhuman flexibility and speed as the others moved to block her from reaching Hilaria.
This mission had just gotten a bit trickier.
Aria’s magic was ill suited for direct combat with an adversary, but being cut off from Hilaria didn’t mean she was necessarily alone.
"Rupy!"One of Aria’s larger insects changed its shape in a blinding flash of light. While still a butterfly, it wore a glowing neon crown, and its wings had cannons woven into each one. On a down stroke of its wings, Rupy fired two projectiles that looked like shooting stars at the incoming dummy. The rest of Aria’s butterflies surged in front of her to act as a shield should one of the guards break through.
"If you want it so badly, then Hilaria can let you have it~" Hilaria nonchalantly threw the gun-axe to the side with enough force to destroy whatever mundane objects came between it and the wall, where it should've lodged itself into. Hopefully pinning the fabric that was latched onto it.
She was clearly more worried about the one going for her legs and placed priority on that, attempting to make a high jump towards the nearest wall where she would create a grip by force if there was nothing immediate to grab a hold of, perhaps hoping the higher view would give her a better assessment of the situation.
Hilaria’s move worked as intended, snagging the robe and yanking it back to the far wall. It was able to tear itself free eventually, but that took several moments and it left a significant hole in the fabric that Hilaria could potentially exploit. Her leap to the ceiling gave her a greater vantage point of the trouble that inflicted Aria as well as the space she had to work with. The destruction was not too widespread just yet, but there was definitely open space to use. Which was good and bad, considering the nature of her opponents.
Speaking of which, they rose to attack once more. This was simpler, a matter of pinning her to the new perch she had chosen. They would not hurt her directly, but they would constrict tightly and hold her there. Presumably until the owner returned or until she starved, whichever came first.
The wooden mannequins proved a tough foe as well. The projectiles embedded themselves in the mannequin, where they remained and mostly inhibited its movement. More butterflies rose to act as a shield, which was a wise decision as the mannequins advanced from two separate angles. The second mannequin took the full brunt of the butterflies, clearing a path for the third to burst through and launch a sharp kick at Aria herself.
"Hmph!"With her defensive barrier breaking, Aria chose to duck and roll under the desk, just as her opponents broke through the butterflies. She was running out of room, but not options.
None of the mannequins had bothered with Rupy himself, allowing the familiar to attack with impunity. With every flap of his wings, he fired another pair of shooting stars. After a few of the enchanted butterflies merged with him, this happened
much more frequently. His body glowed with a radiance that could only be described as divine. This was passed on to his projectiles, which detonated like fireworks.
Hilaria had to admit this sort of foe was one of the ones she was ill-suited to fight. She had every bit of confidence when it came to wrestling another magical girl, but sentient fabrics did not exactly have limbs to restrain or a neck to choke. Since she had to abandon her axe, recalling it would take more time she was afforded. However, that was not the same case with her scutum.
“Hilaria suggests you duck, Aria~!” giving this ‘suggestion’ to her ally, Hilaria had summoned her scutum in her free hand and gave the shield a heavy hurl in the girl’s direction, aimed at the mannequins attacking her. This one would have much more strength behind it than even her tossing vulcun aside, cutting through things like a sawblade.
Aside from that, although she wasn’t confident she would be able to do so since she spent precious time assisting Aria, she at least attempted to kick off the wall before the fabric could pin her to it. At the very least, being restrained on the floor would be preferable to the wall.
The shield soared through the air with impressive speed, cutting right through one of the mannequins before burying itself in the wall. That one was cleaved in half and clattered to the floor. The upper half continued to pull itself towards Aria, but it was not particularly fast in doing so. With the shield embedded in the wall though, it would take some doing to use it again.
Meanwhile the other mannequin struck by Rupy all but exploded from the force of accumulated projectiles, blasted into little pieces and wooden limbs. That just left the remaining mannequin, who chose to focus on Aria herself rather than the minion. Flipping over the desk, it swung around and sought to both haul her out of her hiding spot and then hold her from behind as a human shield from Rupy.
As for Hilaria. She would successfully push off the ceiling. But her luck ended there as her legs were entangled by the first robe. She would fall heavily to the ground, landing amidst broken tables and other debris. The other robe was quickie closing in, looking to ensnare her arms and prevent any more saving throws. Once bundled tight, there would be little she could do. Hopefully.
With the desk being thrown aside, Aria had a brief moment where she was able to understand exactly what was going on before the mannequin reached for her. It wasn’t a lot of time, and Aria wasn’t especially strong by magical girl standards. Even a minion like this would be difficult to overpower by herself. It took hold of her baggy kimono and tried to hold her in front of the incoming projectiles. But much like how a butterfly emerges from a cocoon, Aria would emerge from her Kimono.
With a single tug on her belt, the entire thing came undone, and it wasn’t hard for the slender girl to slip out of her kimono. Fortunately her uniform came with a pair of hot pants and a silken ribbon that was wrapped around her chest. Both were yellow and decorated with red butterflies. It preserved some of her dignity, anyway.
Rupy, like most butterflies, had an erratic and fast movement pattern. With the additional agility he was packing, it was easy for him to circle around the dummy and resume blowing it to bits. The dummy was reduced to splinters, with Aria’s new year kimono fluttering to the ground.
But Aria herself was not concerned with what was happening behind herself. One of her butterflies flew into her back, granting her a burst of strength. She pounced on top of Hilaria and tried to rip the robes off her body with the fervor of a child opening Christmas presents.
Hilaria had already begun struggling to break her arms free from the robe she knew was damaged.
"Oh, my~" Aria landed on her with a thud, but it didn't seem to bother the knight very much.
"Hilaria appreciates it~" She knew that if they could break free her arms that the ones holding her legs would soon follow.
The mannequin was destroyed in an incredible explosion even as it sought to reclaim its hostage, all but shredding the kimono in the blast as well. At least that wasn’t the sort of thing Aria needed to worry about.
Leaping on top of Hilaria, Aria began to tug and tear at the robes. It was a task she would find difficult, as they flowed and twisted and kep[t her from getting a solid grip. Without that purchase, it was difficult to tear anything. It also masked the moves by the enchanted robes to bind Aria too, leaving her trapped alongside Hilaria in their grasp.
"Ara ara~!" Aria had fortified her strength to it’s limit, but it seemed that it wasn’t quite enough to do anything about the robes. Fortunately, she didn’t mind getting bound alongside Hilaria. She didn’t really mind anything that had happened this entire mission.
"Well, it appears that was a bust. However, we’re not out of options yet!" As the robe squeezed the two of them tighter, Aria would become increasingly aware of the fact that her attempt was not the only bust around.
“Mmm, it’s a bit tight here, isn’t it~? Not the the worst, she supposes~”Instead of enhancing her own strength, Aria channeled all of her mana into Hilaria. At this range, it wasn’t too difficult to place an enchantment on her.
"It would be fun to nap here, but I’m still hungry, aren’t you?" Speaking of hunger, Rupy hadn’t had anything to eat since he was summoned. He wasn’t a moth, but that didn’t stop him from swooping in and trying to devour the robes. In his war form, Rupy’s mandibles were more than enough to sheer mundane cloth.
Aria didn’t even need to ask.
“Hilaria prefers her naps after a delicious meal~” Using the power of her newfound friendship, eagerness to eat, the prior damage to the robe, and this buff she found, Hilaria would push her arms outward. It, presumably, would snap the torn piece of fabric
otherwise what the fuck is the CR on this encounter Flame and she would recall her shotgun-axe in order to begin cutting the two of them free from their fabric foes.
With a tremendous flexing of muscles, an exertion of effort, and the inclusion of a combination shotgun axe and an enchanted butterfly, Hilaria would tear her torso free and bring Aria along with her to freedom in the process. This destroyed one of the robes, with the other slipping free now that it was all alone in this fight.
Instead it engaged in a game of ‘keep away’, flying back and throwing stuff at them with the projectiles Hilaria’s destruction had provided. Not that it would save it from a shotgun blast, but it had tried. With its destruction, silence descended upon the workshop once more.
”Whew!" Aria hung on Hilaria’s neck with both hands, with the crook of her legs over Hilaria’s extended arm. She surveyed the destruction as smoke waifed out of the end of Hilaria’s shotgun.
”That was really something else!" She pulled her legs up and dropped onto the ground, where she approached the remains of her uniform. With the help of her butterflies, she was able to retrieve all the pieces and use her magic to make her kimono whole again. After which, she threw it over her shoulders.
”I think this place is destroyed enough. Let us depart so that we may collect our bounty and get something to eat." She stretched her arms over her head with a yawn.
Hilaria took one final look at the workshop that was now in tatters. If it weren't for the fact that it was underground someone might assume that it was hit by a tornado. In any case, whomever's shop this was would not be making use of it for a while. They had done their job.
"Hilaria would love that~" her voice laced with eagerness, the ancient lost any and all interest in the destruction that laid behind them as they left.
"Now," Hilaria caught Aria's attention.
"About that muskrat stall~"”Of course, just let me get this thing back on."
Several hours after the destructive rampage that had been committed by Hilaria and Aria, their act had been discovered. In a particular store the phone rang, seeking to establish contact with its owner.
“Brittany’s Boutique, how may I help you?” The familiar voice spoke back with practiced politeness.
The measured response was met with a verbal snap. The speaker made no effort to hide how angry she was as she surveyed her destroyed workshop. “Really Brittany? Sending thugs to smash up my work? That’s low, even for you.” There was no doubt as to what had happened or who was responsible. She was not going to take this lying down.
Brittany made a confused sound.
"Excuse me? Who is this?"
The confusion, whether feigned or real, did not earn Brittany any favors. “It’s Tijana. You know, the other weaver in town. Don’t play dumb with me.”
Brittany turned silent. “Oh, Tijuana? I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about. I gotta go now, bye.”
She hung up the call, and went over to her Patron who was sitting on the counter, meaning on it on her elbows, pouting.
“Man, I can’t believe Tijuana would call up and blame me for it...Heh, serves her right, though.”
She smiled deviously.
“It’s unfortunate, but it can’t be helped. Sometimes you gotta grease some wheels to get results in this town. But how did she find out? I gotta make sure there’s no screwups from now on...”
op2024
VitaVitaAR
Izurich
Genkai
twave
Knight 7
