To Pentius-04’s amazement, no one seemed to react to MDP’s enthusiastic mention of Doctor Nykannis, causing the bodyguard to breathe a sigh of relief. Discussion instead moved to the possibility of a change in meeting venue, culminating in Connie offering to host everyone in her expanded interdimensional home. Being such an innocuous presence, despite her forbidding specialization, everyone agreed to the masked maiden’s suggestion, and, soon enough, 04 found herself rushing to keep up with Lily as the excitable greenette ran through the home’s newly opened entryway. Although she highly doubted Connie would do anything to harm Lily, or anyone else present for that matter, as the greenette’s bodyguard, 04 wasn’t about to take any chances…
Job Satisfaction | Chatty | Mana Font | Mystic Might
Cagey | Expendable | Big Brother
“Oh my, what a lovely name!” the Angel told Rose with a brilliant smile after the other girl had introduced herself. Yet, what really got the heavenly beauty’s attention was what the new arrival said next…
That’s the Keeper of the Keys?! Holy shit… This must be my lucky night! I mean, it sure as hell took long enough, but better late than never…
“Oh, no,” the Angel told Rose when asked if her “friends” were also present. “The poor souls I have pledged to help are the members of a support group for inconvenient magical abilities that meets once a week at a tea shop in the Overcity,” she explained. “And their many horrific afflictions are not all the result of corruption,” she added.
And they’re not my friends… Shit, I wouldn’t wanna even be seen in public with those losers…
“For instance,” she continued. “One tragic case involves an unfortunate maiden whose magic is so strong, it causes a raincloud to remain over her head, even in her mundane form! Is that not unspeakably awful?!”
Hey guys, Kate Carson here! This chapter features some content that might offend the easily offended, so, uh, just keep that in mind if you actually decide to read it! -Kate
Wow, sure is crowded in here… Kate noted as she made her way through the veritable sea of bodies that filled The World Fighting Carnival’s vast reception hall, her meager size allowing her to slip between the larger, musclebound fighters with relative ease.
The various Nomads were an eclectic bunch, to be sure, with cyborgs, robots, genetically engineered super soldiers, supernatural creatures, and even a few mages and magical girls in attendance, along with the myriad ki-enhanced martial artists (not to mention the overly-energetic announcer with a purple worm on her head). Still, when one was a seasoned multiversal traveler like Kate, for whom crossing from one universe to another was as easy as crossing the street, it was all fairly mundane. In fact, it really wasn’t any different from any of the other gatherings of magicals, espers, or so-called “superheroes” she’d been to in the past, although super powered fighters weren’t the only people present. Since it was taking place in a universe that didn’t really have a “masquerade” to speak of, the event had quite a considerable media presence on hand to record the various happenings and conduct interviews. Not wanting her vacation to be entirely unproductive, Kate had offered her photography skills to Fighting News Now! magazine, a publication she had done some work for during her previous visits to this universe. Although its editor, M. Malachi Magnuson, was a dictatorial control freak, and its star journalist, Polly Path, was quite the prima donna, for someone who had done freelance work for both the Daily Planet and the Daily Bugle (not to mention the infamous Penrose Independent), dealing with FNN’s “detestable duo” was a piece of proverbial cake.
As she wandered through the crowd, snapping pictures of any particularly interesting sights, Kate’s attention was drawn to the strange trio that were hovering in mid-air above the bustling crowd. One appeared to be a Buddhist monk, deep in contemplation, who calmly floated several feet off the ground. Another was a bearded flagellant, who spun through the air like a whirling dervish, while furiously whipping himself with a leather belt. Finally, the third, and furthest off the ground, was a small, annoyed-looking girl whose arms didn’t even extend beyond the sleeves of her outfit. Raising her camera, Kate prepared to take a picture of this somewhat comical scene. However, no sooner had she snapped the photograph, then she felt someone crash into her, nearly knocking her off her feet.
“Woah!” the photographer yelped as she struggled to keep her balance.
“O-Oh gosh! I-I’m so sorry!” A nasally voice apologized hastily, shouting to be heard over the din of the crowd, coupled with the loud rapping that was now blasting from the room’s various speakers. “I-I hope I didn’t ruin your picture…”
“Nah, it’s fine,” Kate replied, taking a look at her camera’s display. “And don’t worry about the bump,” she added with a grin. “Ya kinda have to expect gettin’ shoved around a little in a crowded place like this. I’m Kate, by the way,” she introduced herself, while holding out her hand. “Kate Carson.”
“I’m Olivia Bell,” the bespectacled bluenette replied with a big smile as she took the offered hand. “And this is my best friend, Xolys!” she added, pulling a small, seemingly scratch-built robot from her backpack and presenting him to Kate.
Olivia Bell, huh? I thought she looked kinda familiar…
“Hey little guy,” Kate told the robot, taking one of his electrical wire tendrils between two fingers and giving it a small shake. “Nice to meet ya! You too, Olivia.”
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance as well, Miss Carson,” Xolys replied.
“Y-Yes! It’s very nice to meet you, too!” Olivia added.
“Gotta say, I wasn’t expecting to literally run into the famous video game character come to life and his partner today,” Kate noted with a chuckle, while reflecting on all the various differences that iterations of the same individual could display across multiple universes. Yet, even if those differences could be quite drastic, there were also plenty of similarities…
“Are you a Nomad, too?!” Olivia asked with exceptional eagerness, her eyes beginning to sparkle. “Is that camera how you fight?! Oh! I bet it totally is! Like, it’s a super awesome magitech invention that was made by your mad scientist best friend, and it lets you create negative copies of anything you take pictures of with it, which can then fight on your behalf!” she rambled, eyes getting bigger and smile getting wider with each passing second. “It probably has lots of other cool abilities too, like freezing people in place and speeding up or slowing down time for anyone you aim it at! But its most simple feature is also its most useful, since any time you take a picture of someone, you get to find out everything about them!”
While Olivia continued to babble, Kate began to grow increasingly pale, and one of her eyes had begun to twitch. When the bluenette finally stopped, Kate simply blinked three times, momentarily reduced to stunned silence. “T-That’s, uh, oddly specific…” she replied in a dazed deadpan once she’d finally regained her ability to speak. “But, nope, I’m not a Nomad!” she added with a nervous chuckle. “Just a humble freelance photographer! My last job got finished waaaay faster than I was expecting it to,” she explained. “So I thought I’d take a little vacation down in sunny Brazil, and since I’m here, I figured I might as well make a little money on the side. So, yeah, just a photographer takin’ pictures for a magazine,” she reiterated, holding up her camera for emphasis. “In fact, I try to avoid gettin’ into fights if I can help it.”
“My apologies,” Xolys intoned. “My dear Olivia can get rather… carried away…”
“Gosh!” the bespectacled bluenette exclaimed, her enthusiasm worryingly undiminished. “So, do you wanna interview us?!” she asked the photographer, her jubilant face now only a few short inches away from Kate’s own. “Oh, wow! I’ve never been interviewed before! This is so exciting! Let’s see, my favorite color is eldritch blue, my favorite author is H.P. Lovecraft, and my favorite pizza topping is fried octopus tentacle, but most places don’t seem to have it, which is really strange, because it tastes so good, especially when—”
“Woah! Woah!” Kate yelped, while holding up both hands, her fingers splayed wide. “I’m just a photographer! I leave the interviews to the actual journalists.”
“O-Oh… Okay…” Olivia replied, her demeanor suddenly becoming quite sullen. “S-Sorry for getting ahead of myself….” she apologized. “It’s just that, I’ve never been interviewed before, well, except for that first time, but that one had to be cut short because they said they were having technical issues, so I was really looking forward to finally getting a chance to do my first real interview…”
“H-Hey,” Kate spoke up, feeling kinda terrible about dashing the poor girl’s hopes. “I’m sure there are plenty of other reporters here who would love to give you an interview,” she added.
“You really think so?!” Olivia asked, rapidly returning to her typical exuberance as she brought her face less than an inch away from Kate’s.
“U-Uh, y-yeah!” Kate replied with a nervous chuckle as she leaned back in an attempt to put as much space between her and Olivia as possible. “Y-You’ll probably bump into one in no time!”
“Oh, wow! I really hope so! Oh! Before we go, could you at least take our picture?!” Olivia asked as she hugged Xolys to her chest.
“Sure!” Kate replied with a grin as she readied her camera. “Like I always say, it’s the pictures that tell the story.”
Striking the best pose they could, given the circumstances, Olivia and Xolys waited for Kate to get the perfect angle, and then…
*SNAP!*
“Okay, looks great!” Kate announced after examining her camera’s display. “Welp, guess I’ll see ya around,” she added as she got ready to depart. “Good luck in the tournament!”
“O-Okay!” Olivia called to the departing photographer. “A-And thanks so much!”
Yeesh… Kate thought as she hurried away. She’s even more excitable than the last version of her I met…
While Kate knew that there were other important personages she would need to get photos of, like SHINING’s newest Justice Rider and Horizon Frontiers’ own recently unveiled rider knockoff, the photographer figured the best time for that would be during a match. After all, who wanted to see a superhuman fighter just standing around? Watching one about to deliver a charged-up attack in the midst of a pulse-pounding battle was what people were really hungry for, and Kate was fully prepared to give them what they wanted. But first, she wanted to take care of her own need for sustenance.
Well, can’t say they half assed the catering, she observed as she looked over the massive spread in the center of the hall.
Even with all the fighters in attendance, it seemed like no one had even managed to make a dent in the extravagant feast, and Kate was sure she could indulge to her heart’s content without anyone batting an eye. As she began adding items to her plate, she heard the sound of a mid-air explosion, but it only succeeded in making the photographer smirk. Chances were, it was merely one of the Nomads giving a demonstration of their abilities, and if it was something more dangerous, there were plenty of others on hand to deal with it. Indeed, the anthropomorphic bat and armored amazon on the other side of the table seemed more interested in gushing over a fiery-haired, androgynous individual than paying the recent detonation any mind. No sooner had Kate finished piling her plate, then the announcer declared that the first round of matches was about to begin.
Guess I should head over to the stands, the photographer noted. Wonder who I should watch first… I really need to get some good shots of Horizon Rider and Justice Rider Blaze, but I’m pretty sure they’ll both make it to round two, so maybe I should start with checking out Olivia and Xolys’s match…
Upon venturing towards the stands, Kate would notice how little room there was to sit down. This appeared to be a pretty large event if the television cameras were anything to go by, almost like the venue couldn’t contain it all. Most of those seated didn’t look like normal pedestrians. It looked like it was mostly made up of contestants, with the occasional reporter thrown in for good measure. It was a collection of weirdos that made the few normal looking people stick out like a sore thumb. Normal looking people like Kate.
Thus, she was likely to become the target of unsolicited conversation.
She was approached by a man who could have played the big green giant in his younger days. But now he was much too old. His skin was pale, his beard as thick as moss, and there were even a few twigs nestled in his unkempt hair. He held his viridian cloak closed as he approached. The only reason Kate noticed him aside from everyone else looking at her was because of his height. His tall, lanky frame made him an oddity even among the other tall fighters, who had far thicker frames.
"She’s carrying a camera?" The druid stroked his beard. "Is she a photographer or a journalist?" He leaned in as his amber eyes examined her camera closer.
“Oh, uh, hey there,” Kate said with a slightly awkward smile as she stopped to let the elderly druid examine her camera. “I’m just a simple photographer,” she explained. “Is there, uh, somethin’ I can help ya with?”
The druid stood up straight. "Oh, I was lost in thought." It seemed like he was talking to himself rather than Kate. "But I’m glad you’ve offered your help. I’m having a hard time seeing the announcer, and I can’t help but feel that something is amiss. Almost like the world I’m in isn’t quite right." He pointed past Kate’s head. "Additionally, there are two nomads that look like they are ready to fight. That would not be an issue if it was part of the tournament, but it sounds like they’re squabbling over something else." Sure enough, a tiny blond girl and a guy who looked oddly like Elroy were having a heated discussion. Or at least it looked like the blond was getting heated. Her fingers were coiled around her sword hilt. "You seem like a nice lady. Would you mind speaking with them? I’d rather not involve security."
Squabbling Nomads? Trouble seeing the announcer? Not in the right world? What the hell was Kate supposed to do about any of that? She was just an ordinary photographer, and the match was just about to start. She didn’t have time to deal with the “problems” of a senile old druid who probably wandered through a random portal after eating one hallucinogenic mushroom too many. Still, she couldn’t just tell the guy to screw off so…
“Well, I’m not really sure if I’m the best person to break up an argument,” Kate replied with a chuckle as she turned to look at the pair the druid had pointed out. “But I guess I could give it a shot,” she conceded, snapping a quick picture of the two Nomads in an effort to gain some insight into the reason for their confrontation. “As for the announcer, I can’t see ‘em either, but I think the most important thing is being able to hear ‘em, y’know?”
As if to prove the photographer’s point a deafening voice called out,
“BEGIN!”
Crap… Hope I can deal with this garbage without missing too much of the match…
On Kate’s way over, her camera did tell her a few details. The Elroy-looking fellow was Daniel Castro, a mexican football player gone nomad. He worked for SHINING, but wasn’t quite as high profile as the other people Kate wanted to photograph. The other one was Oriko Ishii, but she wasn’t an actual nomad. She was a magical girl that went by the title Oros the Swift. Were they analogs from her world? A glance at their behaviors wouldn’t make it seem evident.
It seemed that Oriko had it out for a rapper and destroyed some speakers. Not wanting to get blamed for it, she set things up to frame Dan for the whole thing. Dan had been disqualified from entering the contest, but he soon figured out what had happened. He had approached Oriko to talk about what happened, but she denied everything. Still, being found out made her irritable, and she called one of the contestants autistic. When told to knock it off, she misgendered someone with they/them pronouns and was promptly disqualified along with Dan. Oriko blames Dan for setting her up, but Dan just wants an apology. Neither of them are backing down, and things are starting to escalate.
”If you played your cards right, we’d both still be in this thing! You’re a member of SHINING after all, they’d have overlooked it.” Oriko folded her arms inside her kimono. ”But no, you cracked like an egg and admitted to something you didn’t do. That doesn’t give you permission to try and drag me down with you!”
”I’m not even mad I was disqualified. Honestly? I’m a little relieved.” Daniel didn’t budge. He was apprehensive about fighting, but he held his ground without trying to appear too aggressive. ”But what you did was wrong. Taking out Jaden’s speakers made everyone a lot happier. But those were also WFC property. We can’t just go smashing people's stuff.”
”No wonder Mexico is still ruled by its cartells. You guys just roll over and let your aggressors do whatever they want to you.”
”Hey...”
”Well I’m built of sterner stuff than you, and-”
Both nomads turned to look at Kate when she approached.
”The worm wins.” Dan stated. Oriko gave the slightest nod of her head, like there was great shame in agreeing with this statement.
”Who cares about that fight anyway? It’s just some American ginger with a gun fetish facing off against- Is that Xolys?”
“Yup,” Kate confirmed. “He’s a lot bigger when he’s—Woah!”
Oriko picked up Kate by the back of her shirt and marched towards the stands. Dan merely huffed and walked after them. When Kate was lowered back down, it was in a seat between Oriko and Dan.
Welp, at least they’ve stopped tryin’ to fight each other, Kate reflected. And I’m actually getting to watch the match, so I suppose this counts as a successful outcome…
”To pick up our conversation from earlier, the worm most certainly wins. If it doesn’t, it’s because that girl is going to screw it up somehow.”
Dan raised an eyebrow. Kate could practically sense the desire to express something, but he regained control before his intrusive thoughts won. ”I like her outfit. She really went in on the blue look.”
”Why am I not surprised?” Oriko grumbled under her breath.
While the pair bantered, the cowgirl had opened fire with her sizable weapons, although her target wasn’t Xolys, but Olivia…
Yikes… As much as Kate hated to admit it, Oriko was right. Olivia was undoubtedly Xolys’s biggest weakness, although at present, it seemed that was less to do with any lack of skill on the bluenette’s part and more with simple naiveté.
Thankfully, it wasn’t hard for Xolys to intercept the cowgirl’s ki bullets with his massive body, the multiple impacts sending showers of sparks flying off the eldritch machine’s technomantic armor.
“Hey! You’re supposed to be fighting Xolys, not me!” Olivia called out, even as she used her custom game controller to instruct her monstrous partner to lash out at the cowgirl with one of his technomantic tendrils via a series of quick button taps.
“You’re on the battlefield…” the cowgirl said as she dodged Xolys’s technomantic tentacle in a superhuman burst of agility and pulled out a grenade that was painted with the stars and stripes. “That means you’re a combatant!”
She threw the grenade and it exploded with a massive burst of red, white, and blue.
“B-But…! Uh… T-That’s not…!” Olivia stammered, before instructing Xolys to begin rapidly spinning his myriad tendrils around himself in an effort to disperse the patriotic-themed smoke.
“So, uh, why’d you two wanna fight in this thing so badly, anyway?” Kate asked her new companions. “I mean, I know a Power Stone’s up for grabs, but what were ya plannin’ on doin’ with it if ya won it?”
”It wasn’t about the stone for me.” One of Dan’s agents stopped by with a tray full of refreshments, which he moved onto his lap. ”It was just to get some combat experience against other nomads. Getting to fight against Justice Rider Blaze would have been amazing, but there’s always next year. It’s not like I’m in danger of fading into irrelevance.” He offered the tray to the others, and Oriko grabbed a drink off it.
”I wanted to wipe that smug grin off of Jayden’s face. I mean, no way is he winning, but I wanted to be the one to do it. Second goal was to rise above all of these other weirdos and prove I’m the strongest. But I guess it’ll be more interesting next year when someone has the power stone. At least then I can look forward to a worthy opponent.”
“So, uh, maybe all this was for the best then, huh?” Kate observed, while grabbing a drink for herself from the tray. “Besides,” she added, turning to Oriko after taking a sip of the ice cold beverage. “If you’re really The Oros the Swift, then I’m sure you’ll be able to spin this to your advantage. Y’know, say somethin’ like, ‘Justin was so afraid of facing me that he bribed the officials to get me disqualified’.” It might not have been true, and a colossal asshole like Jaden, the “Rapping Ronin”, might have been a far more likely candidate to do such a thing, but after learning about Oriko’s crush on Justin, Kate just had to see what the blonde magical girl’s reaction would be if she used him as an example instead.
”I guess.” Oriko did a double take. ”Wait, Justin? The cute cyborg guy?” She averted her eyes. ”Why would I slander him? E-even if I could beat him-”
Dan raised his hand to interject. ”Cute cyborg?”
”Y-you know what I mean!” Oriko folded her arms, but her face was getting more red by the second. ”He’s blond, has a boyish face, always has those headphones on. I also heard he likes dancing, and if it’s anything like he fights it’s probably really good.”
”I thought you said no one here could beat you?”
”Probably not. But you don’t-” She sighed and tightened her arms. ”I mean this is the world’s best. Just because I could have beaten everyone doesn’t mean he’s bad at fighting, it means he can’t measure up to me!”
”I see.” Dan looked back at the arena. ”I wonder if he’s humble enough to apologize.”
”Ugh!” Oriko also looked ahead. ”You’re more tenacious than a cockroach.”
For her part, Kate couldn’t keep herself from chuckling at the exchange her little “suggestion” produced. “Sorry, I meant to say Jaden,” the photographer admitted. “Just a minor slip up,” she added innocently. “It’s probably because their names both start with ‘J’.”
By this point, the cowgirl had been ensnared by Xolys’s techno tendrils and was now being reeled into range of the technomantic terror’s other appendages. The trans-phasic energy scythe-tipped limbs darted out to repeatedly jab the cowgirl with a series of powerful blows, and although the attacks were blunted due to the rules of the tournament, they were still more than sufficient to batter a Nomad senseless. However, before she could be knocked unconscious, the cowgirl reached down and pulled out two grenades, which promptly exploded. The force of the twin detonations sent her hurtling backwards and severely damaged several of Xolys’s appendages. However, the crimson-haired cowgirl was still being tightly held by a single techno-tendril, and Xolys’s cyclopean, neon blue eye was beginning to glow ever-brighter…
An instant later, a churning beam of unreality lanced out to slam into the cowgirl with staggering power. She quickly rolled to the side to dodge the beam, before pulling out her machine guns and blazing away at the tendril that had her bound. Such concentrated firepower was enough to sever the tendril, the part wrapped around the futuristic cowgirl disintegrating in a shimmer of blue particles. Yet, even before those particles had fully faded, three more tendrils shot out in quick succession to hold her in place, while Xolys’s eye began to glow again, clearly powering up for another blast…
Yet, even as the techno-tendrils coiled around her, the cowgirl pulled out a bazooka and shot a rocket right into Xolys’s face. It shot across the arena, before being annihilated mid-flight by the eldritch energies of Xolys’s unreality beam. A moment later, each of the three tendrils holding the cowgirl in place sent a torrent of eldritch electricity shooting into her, which caused her body to violently convulse. However, even these spasms couldn’t prevent her from making one final gesture of defiance…
“Oh crap!” Olivia cried as a grenade was chucked towards her.
Even as a techno tendril whipped out to knock her out of the grenade’s path, Xolys fired another unreality beam at the convulsing machine gunner.
“Are you all right, Olivia?!” Xolys asked, his voice filled with concern.
“Y-Yeah, I’m okay,” Olivia replied shakily as she tried to catch her breath after having the wind knocked out of her. “T-Thanks, Xolys.”
“AAAAAAND THE AMERICAN DREAMER IS OUT!”
The announcer shouted with wild exuberance.
“THIS MATCH GOES TO OLIVIA AND XOLYS!”
“Welp, that was sure one heck of a match, huh?” Kate noted.
”It was okay.”
”I liked it a lot!” Dan grinned.
“Guess you were right about Xolys comin’ out on top,” Kate added with a grin.
Oriko folded her arms. ”They’ll go down the next round.”
”That worm looks unbeatable though.”
“So, you two gonna stick around for the rest for the tournament, or…?” The photographer’s voice trailed off as her phone started ringing. Retrieving it from her jacket pocket, she tapped the device and held it to her ear. “Hello? Oh, hey! What’s up? Ouch… Well that sucks… Oh? Huh, that’d be fun to see, and I should be able to manage it. So, do ya want me to start workin’ on that before or after the ‘caustic bovine’ thing?”
“NOW, DAMN IT!!!” the voice on the other side of the phone shouted, the volume being so loud that a cringing Kate had to hold the phone a fair distance away so as not to be deafened.
“Sheesh… Okay, okay, chill out!” she told the other party. “I’m pretty sure I’ve already got two of the photos ya want, but I’m kinda in the middle of a job, so I can’t leave to get the others just yet. Huh? Really? Well, I’ll keep a lookout, but with all the possible universes they could’ve wound up in, the odds of any of ‘em showin’ up here are kinda slim. Okay, see ya.” With that she returned the phone to her pocket. “Sorry about that,” the photographer apologized. “Just an old friend in a bit of a bad mood.”
Oriko shrugged her shoulders. ”Whatever. You seem like you can be insufferable when you want to be.” With a sigh, she reclined. ”I guess I can watch a few more matches. Gotta see Jayden lose to ‘bizby land’ so that I can rub it in his face afterwards. How about you, Dan?”
”You still haven’t apologized.” He sighed. ”But I am enjoying myself. It’s inspiring watching strong fighters go head to head. ”
”Sounds like we’re going to be here a while.”
“So, uh, I guess I’ll be seein’ ya around,” Kate told the pair as she got up to head back to the main reception hall. “Oh!” the photographer added, pulling out her phone once more. “And if ya happen to see either of thesetwo,” she continued, showing them images of the individuals in question on her phone’s screen. “Can ya shoot me a text?”
I’d ask about the wolf girl, too, but she could look like practically anything…
Oriko raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. She just nodded along and looked ahead. Dan raised his hand like a child in school. ”Don’t we need your number to text you?”
“Yup, it’s right here,” Kate replied, taping her phone and bringing up her contact info.
”Right.” Oriko and Dan pulled out their phones to start adding Kate, only Oriko froze when she realized they both had the same phone case. ”Is that-” She lifted a hand to her mouth. ”Is that a red cauldron you have on your phone?”
”The case?” He looked at it. ”I think so.”
Oriko pulled Dan closer. To look at the phone. Maybe, ”It even has the same pattern on it.”
”Okay?”
After some time, Oriko nodded. ”Very well. I apologize for getting you thrown out of the tournament.”
Dan raised an eyebrow, but he was starting to smile. ”It’s fine. Getting Jaden to stop singing was the right thing to do.”
”Speaking of singing…” Oriko bat her eyes before looking over her shoulder at Kate ”Was there anything else? It sounded like you had someplace to be.”
“Nope, that’s all!” Kate replied. “And since it looks like Horizon Rider and Justice Rider Blaze both won their matches, I’m gonna see if I can talk whoever’s in charge of pairing opponents to match them up against each other for round two,” she added with a grin. “Gotta get some good shots of both of ‘em, so might as well kill two birds with one stone, right? Well, you two have fun!” she called over her shoulder as she joined the crowd heading back to the reception hall.
Heh… Y’know, they actually make a pretty cute couple…
Meanwhile, back at the Meeting…
Connie
3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 5 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 5
Oddball: Nightmares | Tentacles
Enhanced Weapon | Power Artifact | Mystic Artifact | Ally | Interdimensional Home
Focused | Mental Link | Hidden Death | Mana Font | Mystic Might
Alien Mind | Formless | Rival Force | Clueless
Mia
3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 5 | 8 | 7 | 22 | 5
Wood | Barrage
Enhanced Weapon | Dual Weapon | Purification Artifact | Big Red Button
Blessing | Divine Competence | Gifted Item | Mana Font | Mystic Might
Rites| Arrogance | Big Brother | Clueless
(But actually just Connie)
As she listened to the debate over where to move the meeting, Connie realized that she might have a possible solution, and so, as soon as there was a slight pause in the discussion, the masked maiden timidly raised a trembling hand.
“U-U-Um, i-if you’d l-like, w-we c-could m-move the m-meeting to m-my i-interdimensional home,” she offered. “I-It’s l-larger than a n-normal one, s-so e-everyone s-should be able to f-fit…”
“There is no fucking way I’m eating that,” Nyxia told Suki, even as a trembling finger pointed at the gurgling slop the piranha-mouthed girl had so creatively named “Endless Eclipse”.
The others seemed to have similar sentiments, with the blonde who’d been sitting next to The Neon Tempest going so far as to actually run from the meal as fast as her legs could carry her. Earthshaker was the only exception to this otherwise all-pervasive disgust, and The Neon Tempest watched with astonishment as the tribal girl not only began serving everyone a bowl of the bubbling goop, but upon completing that task actually ate a spoonful of it!
“D-Delicious?!” Nyxia echoed, even as her visage contorted with revulsion. “Are you out of your fucking mind?! I can’t fucking believe you actually put that shit in your mouth!”
However, before Roche could respond, Suki decided to sample her own twisted creation, but not before changing back into her magical girl form. As far as Nyxia was concerned that was proof enough of how hazardous this toxic waste masquerading as food was to one’s health, and what happened next only reinforced that sentiment…
As The Neon Tempest watched, Suki’s serving exploded out of her bowl to not only splatter all over her face (served the psycho right), but also fly back into the larger pot. A few seconds later, and something that, while possibly not a Miseria, certainly looked like one, emerged from it. “The fuck is that…?” Nyxia wondered aloud, even as the creature lurched into horrifyingly swift motion in pursuit of the perhaps-not-so-wisely-fleeing blonde…
“Well, at least things just got more entertaining!” The Neon Tempest declared with a sadistic giggle as she aimed her massive weapon at the departing monstrosity and disgorged a wildly crackling torrent of incandescent annihilation. “Ya might make me wanna vomit, but my precious little baby is gonna EAT YOU UP!!! HAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!”
Lunella observed Orion's fiery display with a focused expression, her eyes tracing the dance between his flames and the elusive Shadowy Manifestations. Recognizing the potency of his elemental mastery, she decided to complement his efforts with her own unique abilities.
As Orion launched torrents of flames, Lunella stepped forward, drawing upon the lunar magic that flowed within her. “In the name of the moons’ grace, I shall weave a tapestry of light to guide your flames, Orion,” the young Lunatic told her companion with a serene smile, her gentle voice carrying a melodic quality. Retrieving her Crescent Blade from the folds of her robe, she raised the shimmering weapon high, infusing it with the essence of moonlight. Focusing on precision and timing, she synchronized her movements with Orion's attacks.
With a graceful wave of her luminous weapon, Lunella directed beams of silvery moonlight toward the shadowy forms, weaving her magic to enhance Orion's assault. The ethereal beams danced alongside his flames, creating a harmonious interplay of fire and moonlight against the encroaching darkness.
The combination of Orion's fierce flames and Lunella's guiding moonlight worked in tandem, creating a potent synergy that aimed to repel the Abyssal threat. As they fought side by side, the elemental and lunar energies intertwined, casting a brilliant display that pushed back the shadows, if only momentarily. The Celestial Defenders found strength in their unity, determined to withstand the ominous forces that sought to consume Nexustead.
Before Willow could continue with her inane banter, Earthshaker emerged from the kitchen to inform them that their meal would be ready soon. The transformed girl then proceeded to take a seat at Nyxia’s table, choosing to sit on the bench across from her. However, since the Neon Tempest was sitting on the table itself and facing the kitchen door, this meant that the club’s rule keeper was now staring at her bare back. “Enjoying the view?” Nyxia sneered, turning her head to face her supposed “partner”. “You better hope Suki doesn’t catch you staring,” she added with a smirk. “Or are the two of you not an item?”
Speaking of Suki, the piranha-toothed girl chose that moment to reveal what her cooking had accomplished, even if Nyxia found herself wishing she hadn’t…
The smell alone made the Neon Tempest want to gag, but that was nothing compared to the sight of it. When the pot’s lid was opened, she was presented with what could have easily been a half-dead Miseria, writhing in its pitiful death throes. Indeed, what filled the pot looked like nothing more than a pile of bubbling, viscus mucus, or perhaps toxic waste. Whatever it was, it was nothing Nyxia wanted to be anywhere close to, let alone put in her mouth… Still, Suki had asked for her honest opinion, and Nyxia was more than happy to provide it.
“W-What the fuck is this shit?!” she snarled as her body visibly recoiled from the “meal”, her visage one of utter disgust. “Somethin’ ya dredged up from the fuckin’ toilet?!”
Thankfully for Pentius-04, her bubbly charge had calmed down considerably after various disheartening statements had been made. Although a small part of 04 felt bad for the idealistic girl, a far larger part was immensely grateful for how much the greenette’s sullen demeanor served to aid in the completion of her own objective. Even Chloe’s latest comments toward her were taken as more of a compliment than anything else. Yes, 04 reflected, things were going much smoother now, which, of course, meant that it was time for another awkward situation to manifest itself. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was MDP who initiated things by revealing that she knew of someone capable of hiding Penrose and placing a fake city atop it. As it happened, 04 also knew such a person, and she was pretty sure it was the same individual the Princess of Dreams was referring to. This was a problem, not only because said individual had absolutely zero interest in helping the inhabitants of Penrose, but also because bringing them up would inevitably focus everyone’s attention on 04 herself.
Maybe Lily didn’t hear her… And perhaps the others will simply ignore her ramblings as mere whimsical nonsense…
And maybe Penny will choose this moment to dump MDP and reveal she’s getting engaged to Oros.
Magical Dream Princess
3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 4 | 9 | 4 | 24 | 9
Oddball: Sweet Dreams | Barrage
Wealth and Resources (not while tf'd) | Enhanced Weapon | Power Artifact | Dual Weapon | Natural Aging | Money | Intuition
Focused | Mental Link | Hidden Death | Mana Font | Mystic Might
Alien Mind | Formless | Rival Force | Clueless
“Like, she totally wotally does~! (giggle!)” MDP replied to Lily’s inquiry. “And, like, Magical Dream Princess will totally wotally asky wasky~!” the cheerful girl added. “But, like, Magical Dream Princess thinkie winkies it’ll be even better wetter if everybodywody asky waskies together wether~! (giggle!)”
As if this wasn’t bad enough, Miko had to ask for this person’s name…
Please say you forget, please say you forget, please say you forget…
“Like, she’s a really super duper cooly wooly mad scientist wientist person werson namey waymied Nykannis Wannis~! (giggle!)” MDP revealed with a happy giggle. “Like, she got super duper angry wangry when Magical Dream Princess forgot her namey wamey last timey wimey, so, like, Magical Dream Princess worked super duper hard to always walways remember wember it from now onsie wonsie~!” the whimsical girl declared, sounding very proud of herself.
Job Satisfaction | Chatty | Mana Font | Mystic Might
Cagey | Expendable | Big Brother
To the Angel’s considerable shock, no sooner had she mentioned the Keeper of the Keys, then a rose-haired girl approached and said that she might be able to pass a message on to the mysterious individual.
“Oh, goodness! That would indeed be most helpful, kind champion,” the Angel told the newcomer with a bright smile. “Thank you so very much for this remarkably generous offer!”
Holy shit… Is this really happening?
“If this humble servant may be permitted a request of her own, there is a group of suffering souls that she has promised to free from their myriad torments,” the Angelic beauty continued, clasping her hands together in a gesture of supplication. “Would you perhaps be able to intercede with the most noble Keeper on their account?”
Yeah, the sooner I get that bunch of losers off my ass, the better…
Connie
3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 5 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 5
Oddball: Nightmares | Tentacles
Enhanced Weapon | Power Artifact | Mystic Artifact | Ally | Interdimensional Home
Focused | Mental Link | Hidden Death | Mana Font | Mystic Might
Alien Mind | Formless | Rival Force | Clueless
Mia
3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 5 | 8 | 7 | 22 | 5
Wood | Barrage
Enhanced Weapon | Dual Weapon | Purification Artifact | Big Red Button
Blessing | Divine Competence | Gifted Item | Mana Font | Mystic Might
Rites| Arrogance | Big Brother | Clueless
Connie’s mask formed a genuine smile when Kayli praised her suggestion, its stark white cheeks also turning a slight shade of red. “T-Thank you…” she whispered, feeling a little embarrassed from the attention, but also comforted by her guardian’s kind words.
More surprising by far, however, was Chloe’s response. It was substantially less playful and mocking than anything she had said up to this point, almost as if the junior coin broker was affording Connie a measure of respect she felt the others undeserving of. Was Chloe actually intimidated by her after hearing about what had happened to New York’s broker? Connie couldn’t begin to say, but she was appreciative of the noticeable lack of condescension shown towards her nonetheless.
“That was a wonderful suggestion, little sister,” Gaia whispered. “And I think it might have actually shaken her up, even if only slightly,” she added with a small smirk.
Lunella couldn't help but share a small, understanding smile with Orion at his candid assessment of their current predicament. His words resonated with the reality they were facing. She appreciated the whimsical nature of Quincy's antics but recognized that the whimsy had its time and place.
“You are absolutely right, Orion,” she replied, her voice sincere and tinged with a sense of gravitas. “The whimsy and magic of moonflowers and ethereal dances may be enchanting, but we must meet the Abyssal menace with strength and resolve,” she added, holding up a fist clenched around her Moonstone Amulet. “There is a time for dreams and another for facing the harsher aspects of reality. Quincy has his role, and now, we have ours.”
With this knowledge at the forefront of her mind, Lunella focused herself on the task ahead, ready to confront the darkness with the strength and determination needed to overcome it.
As the exchange between Quincy, Ennui, and Marshal Elara played out, Lunella’s outward demeanor remained the epitome of serenity amidst the tense drama unfolding before her. Inwardly, however, she couldn't help but feel a mixture of fascination and concern in light of Quincy's continued eccentricity, her enchanting eyes following the intricate dance of the Oneiric Gauge with an air of curiosity. The cryptic movements of the tape around Elara might have baffled others, but Lunella's own experiences had honed her understanding of unique phenomena, making her more receptive to such displays.
When Quincy eventually decided to abandon the theatrics and engage in earnest conversation, Lunella couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. She recognized that their current situation was far from an ideal time for his peculiar antics, and his playful responses had initially exacerbated the tension. Yet, as Ennui assumed the role of a more rational spokesperson, Lunella's outward serenity extended to her thoughts as well. She silently commended Ennui's attempt to provide a more straightforward explanation of their circumstances, understanding that the situation required clarity and focus.
Marshal Elara's firmness was evident throughout the conversation, and her skepticism was understandable given the unique personalities she was dealing with. Yet, Ennui's efforts to clarify their situation seemed to have been effective to some extent. This provided Lunella with a glimmer of hope that the unusual duo might not be immediately considered adversaries.
When the exchange concluded, Lunella nodded in agreement with Ennui's promises, supporting the idea of the pair keeping a low profile and refraining from causing further trouble. However, she couldn't help but wonder about the implications of their continued presence in Nexustead and the unforeseen challenges that lay ahead if she continued to journey in their company.
Of course, there were currently more immediate challenges to attend to, as Orion was quick to point out.
“Agreed,” Lunella concurred with a demure nod when the fire elementalist noted that the impending attack of the approaching Abyssals at the present moment was far from a simple coincidence. “And while I fully trust Nexustead’s elemental defenders to completely extinguish the threat they pose, if permitted, I would also like to add my own humble contribution to this settlement’s defense.”
As “Necroid 99” gave his response, Olivia’s eyes and mouth seemed to open even wider with each passing second. “Oh my gosh!” the astonished bluenette exclaimed once the strange robot had finished. “Really?! That’s incredible! And also really dangerous!” she added, adjusting her glasses as her visage took on a serious expression. “Tsubotica’s super powerful and super insidious! Her Lagomorphoids can take the appearance of anyone, so they totally could have replaced all those people, and no one would know the difference! So, yeah!” she declared voice filled with determination. “You can totally count on us! Oh, but, like, if she’s taken control of all the game’s other characters by infecting them with her corrupted Gearless Arcanetech Code, then how did you manage to escape?” she asked a moment later. However, by this point the announcer’s voice had drowned out her inquiry, and when the announcement of the next round of matches had concluded, “Necroid 99” was already departing, while telling her to come find him after her next match, regardless of the results. “O-Okay!” she called after him. “See you then! Oh, and good luck!” she added with a wave.
“Wow, this is so exciting!” Olivia gushed as she and Xolys made their way to their assigned arena.
“It is certainly intriguing,” Xolys agreed from where he was nestled in Olivia’s backpack. “But it is also rather suspicious,” he added. “Thus, I believe we should proceed with caution.”
“S-Suspicious?” Olivia echoed, her tone one of confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I do not know for certain, but I have a feeling that ‘Necroid 99’ is not being entirely truthful with us,” Xolys replied.
“Okay, well, you know I trust you more than anyone, so if you think we need to be careful, then that’s just what we’ll do!” Olivia declared as they entered the arena. “Anyways,” she added as she set Xolys down and activated his combat mode. “I wonder who we’ll be going up against next! Oh my gosh! I just thought of something! What if some of the other characters from Gearmantic Hearts are competing in the tournament?! Going up against the real Finnegan Fabricant or Penny Pinnacle would be so amazing, don’t you think?!”
However, before Xolys could respond, a massive blue explosion appeared on the opposite side of the arena. Walking out of it with his hoodie up and his hands in his pockets was Justin Haggar. He walked to where his line in the tournament was, before he raised his head to look at the opponent. In a swift motion Justin threw his hoodie up and dropped into stance. He looked at Xolys.
”I get to fight an alien…” Justin flatly said as he rolled his eyes. ”Oh joy. Let’s get this over with.”
“Oh, um, Xolys isn’t an alien,” Olivia corrected, raising a finger for emphasis. “He’s actually a non-corporeal, extradimensional entity who inhabits a robot I made! Xolys is also a character in a really cool video game called Gearmantic Hearts, and that character was based off the Xolys in my robot, ‘cause in the universe he’s from, the events of that game really happened! Isn’t that awesome?!”
”You know what an ‘extra dimensional entity is’, right? Justin added, ”A fancy way of saying an alien.”
“Oh, um, well, I thought you meant alien as in ‘extra terrestrial’, a being from a different planet, star system, or galaxy, but still from this universe,” Olivia replied. “But if by alien you just meant otherworldly, then I guess Xolys could be called one!” she added with a smile and a giggle/snort.
”Hehe… yeah,” Justin said with a chuckle…
”.... BEGIN!”
Justin maintained his stance and did nothing, waiting to see what Xolys could do.
“Oh, um, I should probably head to the stands now,” Olivia noted. “I don’t want to be mistaken for a combatant again…”
”Yeah, you do that,” Justin said as the cybernetics on his arms started glowing, blowing steam. He grabbed his forearm with one hand and slid the sleeves of his hoodie up, showing his cybernetics to the world. Then he did the same thing to the other side. Then the palms of his hands started glowing as he quickly pointed them at Xolys, and then a beam of blue energy went straight for his face as Justin shouted. ”Chord!”
Olivia got to her position in the stands just in time to see Justin reveal his cybernetic nature, causing the bluenette’s eyes to sparkle. “Oh wow! You’re a cyborg?! That’s so cool!” Olivia gushed, but her enthusiasm swiftly shifted to panic when he promptly fired off his first attack. “Oh crap!” Olivia yelped, even as her fingers rapidly tapped the button combination that activated Xolys’s head-mounted Unreality Beam. A swirling cylinder of crackling, constantly-shifting energy shot forth to impact Justin’s own beam, hopefully before it was able to strike the technomantic terror’s head.
The two beams clashed. Justin’s Chord gaining leeway for a moment then the unreality beam. He quickly pumped more power into it in an attempt to gain leeway.
At Olivia’s instruction, Xolys did the same, the churning cylinder glowing brighter and growing more warped with each passing second. But that wasn’t all. The technomantic terror’s glowing energy wings had begun to reposition themselves around Xolys’s central eye, the same eye that was emitting the Unreality Beam. As they did so, they began to spin, causing the beam to surge with exponentially increased power.
“Let’s see if you can handle an APEX Unreality Beam!” Olivia called with a fierce grin.
The beam quickly overpowered Justin, sending him sliding backward, dragging alongside the ground. Supers, already!? He thought to himself as he realized that he was going to get overpowered… and was launched backward but quickly rolled onto his feet. ”Don’t blow your load just yet, alien-man,” Justin said with a smarmy grin as he pointed both hands at Xolys and unleashed a barrage of Beat/Pulses, each the size of basketballs and hit like a truck.
Xolys was forced back by the Beat Pulse barrage, sustaining light damage in the process. “Your durability is most impressive,” Xolys commended, even as Olivia instructed him to lash out with his technomantic tentacles to ensnare Justin and then reel him in closer. “Withstanding the power of my APEX Unreality Beam is no small feat.”
”... Or maybe its just weakshit,” Justin said as he stuck both of his hands out as the tentacles approached him. They glowed a blue color as he shouted, ”BASS-DROP!” A blast of blue energy came out of his hands that slid him backward quite a distance while also getting the tentacles off of him. He slammed his fist on the ground to decelerate, then he looked up at Xolys.
“Perhaps,” Xolys conceded, even as he sent several more tendrils darting out with lightning speed to coil around the cyborg. Which wrapped him… with surprisingly little resistance.
”Lemme guess, you’re reeling me in to hit me with some melee attack….” Justin said as he was dragged across the ground. ”Well… RECORD SPIN!
Justin spun so fast that he appeared like a blue tornado, hoping to knot Xoly’s tendrils. While Justin did indeed succeed in knotting the technomantic tendrils, he did not break their hold on him, nor did he stop their retraction. Yet, even before the cyborg was brought into range of Xolys’s myriad trans-phasic energy scythes, he had a more immediate problem to contend with.
“Now we’ve really got you!” Olivia declared, even as the tendrils wrapped around Justin began to glow brightly, before sending over a dozen crackling arcs of lightning shooting into his captive body… He convulsed as electricity was the one thing he was explicitly weak against. He loudly yelled before he stopped and grit his teeth… he had one ace in the hole, and both hands started glowing.
Gosh, I hope that didn’t hurt him too badly… Olivia couldn’t help but worry as she watched Justin cry out in pain. Still, that pain didn’t seem to be keeping him from charging up another attack… Well, if he’s still in the fight, then I guess we’re just gonna need to use a bit more power!
Even as Justin’s hands continued to glow, so too did Xolys’s central eye, before yet another crackling Unreality Beam lanced out towards the restrained cyborg.
Well, here goes nothing!
Fighting through the pain and his circuits were getting fried (That can NOT be tournament legal!), he got enough slack to point both hands forward. He gritted his teeth, letting out a Bass-Drop that reverberated through the arena and launched him away - just in time to dodge the Unreality Beam. However, he was still restrained, which was what the former MAVERICK Hunter hoped for. He fired another Bass-Drop, trying to launch himself around Xolys to wrap the robot in his tendrils.
Olivia gasped as Justin put on a burst of impressive speed, which not only allowed him to dodge Xolys’s attack, but also to begin wrapping the technomantic terror up in his own tendrils. The cyborg was moving far too quickly to be shot at, and, by this point, he had already ensnared most of Xolys’s scythe-tipped limbs, meaning there was only one real option left. Fortunately, it seemed to be an effective one. Pressing a well-known key combo, Olivia instructed Xolys to hit Justin with another pulse of Eldritch Electricity.
Hopefully this time it’ll KO him…
“Son of a bi-” Justin convulsed in electricity; he wouldn’t be able to take much more even if he wrapped up the robot. He had one last card up his sleeve… He went limp, and the lights illuminating his cybernetics had gone dark.
Not wanting to cause permanent harm to the cyborg, Olivia instructed Xolys to halt the attack.
“Nice work, Xolys!” she called out with a grin. “Uh, I’m pretty sure he’s KO’d,” she added, turning to look up at where the announcer was standing nearby, while pointing her thumb at Justin’s limp form. “That means we win, right?”
In hopes of catching the two off guard, Justin raised his hands and slammed them. Creating an explosion of blue energy that would hopefully break him free.
With both Olivia and Xolys believing the cyborg to be fully out of action, Justin’s escape attempt was an unopposed success.
“W-What?!” Olivia stammered. “B-But I thought…!”
Justin hopped to his feet,
”... You’re new at this, aren’t you?” Justin said as his hands started glowing brighter and brighter… the ground shook violently as rocks began floating. He continued, ”You know that you can’t beat everyone with just one strategy… you gotta think outside the box or else this will keep happening….”
He shot his hands forward, as he shouted,
CRESECENDO! CRESECENDO!
A massive blue beam of energy came out of his hands that went directly towards Xolys.
Olivia barely had time to comprehend what Justin was saying, before the cyborg blasted Xolys with a mighty energy beam. While the technomantic terror had a few means of dealing with such an attack, they all required a bit of charge up time, and it was just that time that he didn’t have…
Slamming into Xolys with the force of twenty bullet trains, the beam sent the techno horror flying into the arena’s far wall, where his battered and badly-sparking form collapsed onto the floor.
“XOLYS!!!” Olivia cried out, her voice filled with panic and her wide eyes filling with tears.
The light faded, and Justin was frozen… he stood there for several moments before he stood straight up. He looked at Olivia and then at his fists.
”... AAAAAAAAAAAND THE FORMER MAVERICK HUNTER HAS DEFEATED THE MAIDEN AND THE MARVEL!”
Justin sighed, thinking to himself: ... This is my revenge? He sighed yet again, as he turned his head to Olivia and said,
”... Look, I should have eased up just a little. Is there anything I can do to help?”
Olivia, who by this point had leapt out of the stands and raced over to where Xolys had fallen, turned to look at Justin, her eyes red and cheeks streaked with tears. “H-He’ll be fine,” she sniffed, before returning her gaze to her partner. “H-He’ll just have to be in repair mode for a while,” the bluenette added, before giving voice to a sullen sigh. “I-I just… I just can’t help but feel I let him down…”
“You did nothing of the kind,” Xolys replied, the myriad lights scattered across his massive form flickering with each syllable. “You did your best, as you always do, and that is all that I could ever ask for.”
“Oh, Xolys!” Olivia cried, wrapping her arms around the techno horror in a hug. “I-I don’t deserve a friend as wonderful as you…”
The transformed Aiko’s brow rose and her visage couldn’t help but take on a look of puzzlement when the small pink-haired girl bounced up and began acting like a character from some fantasy roleplaying game (not that she had much knowledge of such things, but one of her former bandmates had been a fan).
Damn… That backpack must’ve done one helluva number on ‘er brain case…
For a moment, she tried to figure out just who this amnesiac girl was, before quickly deciding that it didn’t really matter.
Well, whoever she is, at least she’s motivated…
“Glad to hear it!” Aiko told her smaller companion as they raced after the others. “But I ain’t no bard!” she corrected. “I’m a kick ass rocker, though if ya wanna call me somethin’, the name’s Nails!” Despite not using her stage name in nearly ten years, it just felt natural to go by it now.
Soon enough, the group had reached the stage at the end of the field, where both the imperiled student and his monstrous captor waited.
“Holy shit…” she whispered as she came to a stop along with the others. “That’s all kinds of fucked up…” That sentiment was reinforced a moment later when the abomination began speaking in a warped mockery of its victim’s own voice, causing Nails’ grip on her guitar to tighten. However, before an attack could be made, the untransformed Andrew began trying to talk it down…
“What the hell are ya doin’?!” the incredulous rocker snapped, even as she fought to keep her balance in the wake of the shockwave generated by the “cook’s” enormous backpack striking the ground. “Ya can’t reason with a thing like that! ‘Sides, Shinobu’s the therapist ‘ere! An goin’ to some armorer ain’t gonna help, either!” she added, turning to glare down at her pink-haired companion. “Hell, he is the…” Her voice trailed off as various pieces of information clicked into place, like notes in a melody. “Wait…” Earth, time, music, metalworking, cooking? “Are… Are you Amber?!”
Majoraa
op2024
twave
CitrusArms
Shinny
FaithfulMuse
Lime
Villamvihar
Shadow Dragon
BrokenPromise
