Dina’s eyes stood still for a second, trying to process the chaos she had been immersed in. The Sanctuary was in disarray, and people were going everywhere. The backlash from her Power of Friendship told her it was looking pretty dire at the moment. A voice seemed to stand out from above most, that of the gardener she had met earlier.
“I’ll handle the sludge.” Dina said curtly, as she began to trace back the cause of such exotic waste to pour into Sanctuary’s inner sanctum. A couple of panicked, yet still loyal catmaids clung on to Dina, their eyes watery.
“Mistress, what do we do?” They said, completely in confusion.
“Help me trying to get the sludge off here, try to fetch some gear, as soon as possible. Also avoid any combatants.” Dina said, as she kept pressing on, before saying in a sharp voice.
“Ruler’s Menagerie: Stymphalian birds!” She beckoned, manifesting the dreaded birds of bronze beaks and pinions who could sunder armor and whose very dung was poisonous. “Seek and harass any intruder you find!” She commanded, fully aware that whoever had orchestrated this would not be stopped by ugly mythological birds.
Her eyes now rested on the entrance. It was key that it had to be cleared, as some people apparently had unsuccessfully tried to exit through there. Her brow furrowed upon seeing the scene. Her tail was swishing from one side to the other non stop, as her fists clenched, manifesting a weapon. Her Cat’s Cradle.
“What is the meaning of this?” She demanded as she raised some barriers attempting to create a dam against the toxic waste.
The front gate to Sanctuary wasn’t holding.
Adamantium claws cut through the metal door like a scythe harvesting wheat. Oros had already cut an opening, and now that the magic waste was funneling in, she was about to make the hole a lot bigger.
”Berzerker Barrage!”Each fury enhanced swing reamed out the hole a little more, allowing more and more of the questionable substance inside. It slammed against the barrier and surged against the walls. It would only be a matter of time before it overtook the barrier.
One of the stymphalian birds spotted Oros and flew closer to her, talons and beak ready to dig into its prey. The wild magical girl looked away from the gate she was opening and spit some water at the creature’s eye. With the creature bamboozled, Oros leapt away from the door and cut through the bird’s neck in a single swipe.
”Another one for the bestiary!” ”Do my eyes deceive me?” Oros waded closer to the barriers.
”Did you come back from wherever you were just to play with me? Or did I wake you from your nap… Dina?”Warped in with the other crap from the Overcity, Melisa fell and plopped into the toxic waste. While she was light, she had no buoyancy whatsoever and sank straight to the bottom. This didn't quite register at first though as she went into shock, the swirling magical energies assaulting her metallic body and manifesting in unpredictable ways.
Two such effects had noticeable results. Her vision, which had been obscured by the toxins, began to clear and soon she could see perfectly fine through the liquid and dimly lit space. The second thing was the pink flame inside her core shifted into pink shaded vines and twigs. It wasn't something she noticed immediately, but as she stood up she could see small seedlings begin to sprout on the outside of her body and vines began to reach and twist out of her chest. Thankfully it wasn't Trixy level speeds of growth and she scraped off the initial sprouts.
Finding that the level of the toxins was higher than she was tall her movement was much slower. She could see that Oros was trashing the gate and letting the stuff pour into the spaces below. At first she panicked and tried to yell but of course that doesn't work underwater. Pausing and thinking more like a magical girl her eyes darted around. This building was practically made of metal. Taking her cannons she pointed them in Oros direction once again and fired. They flowed by the attacking girl and hit the door several times.
The gates that Oros had been mincing began to creak and bend. Not inward as they had when being struck, but folding back and mending in place. Shooting at another nearby building pieces of it began to come to life and began breaking apart. The metal objects moved to converge on Oros to entangle her.
Dina’s ears twitched slightly as she threw yet another barrier, raising the dam according to the level of sludge. Her eyes rested on the maniac marauder. She knew her. Her Power of Friendship was having some sort of reaction. This strange foe was possibly elated to see her. She had to try something.
“You have advantage over me, stranger, but magic works in queer ways. Playing with you seems a fitting proposal, and yet, one must be assured that the playground is clean. Would you be so kind of removing this… grime? If you do, I will play with you. I will even have tea with you, and share many words, as perhaps, once upon a time, we were acquainted.” Dina said, focusing her Power of Friendship and Reinforcement to boost this statement. She also had noticed the girl had some… beastly qualities. So she threw some Beast coercion too.
”You serious? This isn’t typically what happens when we meet.” Oros scratched the top of her head.
”Though I’m gunna be honest, I’m a sucker for well mannered bread boards.” She grinned.
”Why the hell not? I’ll get all of this shit out of here before you can scream my name at the top of your lungs!”Oros jumped to the halfway point between the front gate and Dina’s barriers.
”Alright! Let’s get as clean as a whistle!” She dug the adamantium claws into the floor and cut the floor open, causing the ceiling of the floor below to fall and crush whatever was unfortunate enough to be under it. Shortly afterwards, the magical waste was draining to the floors below, reducing the level of sludge at the present level.
”It’s like they say about employment, The boss looks down and sees nothing but shit, the workers look up and see nothing but ass holes! And speaking of ass holes…” She reached her hand towards the hole in the door, and with a tug, Melisa was pulled past the gate and into Sanctuary. The flow of the magic waste helped drag her closer to Oros.
”Can’t you see we’re trying to save all those innocent civilians outside? Go open up a hole on the lower level! We gotta drain this stuff as fast as possible!” Oros opened her hand to try and catch the incoming doll.
”Don’t you worry, sweet pea!” She looked at Dina and winked.
”We’ll have all this shit at the lowest level in no time!”At the very least, the top most floor looked like it would be safe.
Melisa didn't make it far past the gate as all the metal objects she'd thrown in that direction caught their master. Her head was just visible out of the spray coming through.
"Protect the- You're the one that brought this stuff here!" ”Zip and shush!”Instead of Melisa, Oros outstretched hand was met by writhing metal that shot out and attempted to wrap itself around her arm and as many of the girl's limbs as it could to pull her back out.
“What have you done…” Dina whispered, aghast and livid, at the action to unfold. She had underestimated the sociopathy of this freak, who had then proceeded to comply with her command in one of the most horrific ways possible, just to make a joke. “Do you think this reality is a game for you to plunder?”
Multiverse theory was a bitch. One of her grandsons had always been the science fiction nerd. How many Dinas this creature had tormented for sick amusement? That casually made statement suggested a routine of meeting several Dinas. However, at least she was not alone. There was another, the doll monster girl. Was it Melisa?
“Melisa, be a dear and hold her off!” Dina sharply remarked as she focused, a sharp pain on her forehead heralded the appearance of a single horn with a screw pattern. Dina flared her beast magic to the max, before deploying her reinforcement magic as well, jumping, -no- diving into the waste.
“Cleanse!” She said out loud as she combined the magic of the unicorn horn and her own reinforcement magic while she went further into the sludge, and eventually the hole, to cleanse all the toxic muck.
Oros did not seem to have what it took to free themselves from their metal cage. Melisa had little difficulty entangling Oros and pulling her towards the opening, even if it was just her legs. Her arms were swinging at everything that moved, and her claws seemed to cut through just about anything. But as Melisa dragged the girl towards the gate, she’d notice that Oros was moving much faster than she should have been. Almost as if gravity was conspiring to help move Oros in her direction as fast as possible. Because of course it was.
A tentacle popped out of the ground, right under Oros’s back. This forced her into the air, where she grew two more arms. Her borrowed flaming blade and black katana appeared in her extra hands, seconds before she arrived at Melisa’s location. With all of Oros’s weapons brought to bear, she…lowered one of her hands onto Melisa’s head.
”Sup.”Oros lifted Melisa off the ground. The maniac didn’t wear an elated grin or anything one might associate with a crazy person. Her eyes were half closed, and her brow was scrunched together.
”I just want you to know that I have no problem putting you on respawn right now. But that also seems kind of like a shame since you’re turning into a bonsai plant.” She rested the claws on her other hand against the makeshift barrier the doll had erected.
”But do you smell that? That stench? There’s a Mint agent around here, and I need to meet with them.” She sniffed the air.
”Come to think of it, I think I smelled them a bit when I took everyone to the magic ball pit that nobody but I wanted to play in. It’s not you, is it?” Her claw split the barrier in half, and the magical waste flooded in again.
”Nah, it has to be one of those other two. I bet they’re hiding further down. Things is, there’s a rainbow shitting unicorn down there now. Can’t just let my remaining hookah water get tarnished by Dina.” She sighed.
”Wait! I bet Dina is testing me. She’ll give me another chance if she can see how great I am with kids! Okay, what’s something cool I can say before I do it? Perhaps…”
The hole in the gate that Melisa was trying to keep shut had finally been sealed off. One of Oros’s legs swelled and crystallized, blocking the gate entirely. Even though no more waste would leak inside, it was still interfacing with Oros’s body. This was not the end of her grotesque metamorphosis. Her flesh bulged and stretched, like her skin was nothing more than a piece of cloth trying to hide . Her shoulder blades turned into rows of talons, The pit of her neck turned into a maw filled with jagged teeth, she sprouted more limbs, more tentacles, it was easier to just write Oros off as an abomination. Her new shape wasn’t comparable to a human. The misshaped blob had none of the features the magical girl once had. Save for her face, which was attached to a tentacle rising out of the top of the mass. Melisa’s body was being wound up in ribbons of flesh, attempting to bind her arms and legs to its massive form.
When Oros had put her claws against the door Melisa tried shooting at the hand. The bullets bounced off the claws or failed to penetrate the Tough Skin. To be honest, she wasn't really sure what to do here. She'd been told to hold Oros off. At the moment she wasn't doing that so much as distracting her so... Same thing? Melisa didn't really have a clue what Oros was rambling on about but the doll answered
"No." a couple times when she asked about smelling things.
It seemed to Melisa that Oros didn't want Dina messing with the makeshift reservoir of whatever they'd brought with them. At the moment she didn't have a lot with her that she could use that wasn't already shredded. When Oros began to shift though the gate partly scrunched up like an accordian to one side, pulling the crystal leg with it. Water began flowing back in to be purified by Dina below. Melisa's arms rotated around and she just started firing wildly to snag any piece of metal off adjacent buildings she could despite being unable to see.
Most of Oros shifted, save the Adamantium claws that Melisa had struck which broke free from the liquifying flesh and flew to Melisa. They didn't seem to do anything just yet but she clearly had taken possession of them. The buildings outside groaned and creaked as parts of the structure were working their way free. The girl didn't yet have a whole lot of answers to being wrapped up by the flesh. In fact it had been a little bit since she last dealt with the plants growing on her and the vines were also starting to wind around her.
Dina heaved, and her breath became ragged as she continued to purify what amount of water had trickled in, seeing the carnage the actions of this interloper had caused. Her eyes rested on the immobile shape of one of the cat-maids, crushed under debris, while another one, with one eye full of blood and a crushed arm, was trying to pitifully make her move frantically. Even if her arm seemed more minced meat than an actual arm.
Her heart sank even more upon seeing the image, yet the fear of battle she once had, and indeed the fear of death she had been feeling, was slowly but surely replaced by an ice cold fury. She was not the best warrior magical girl by any shot, but right now, she was the only one besides Melisa who could stop the maniac, their forces spread thin.
She gritted her teeth. Where did Penny go? They could sure use her strong-arm approach right now! Even if she was pro Beacon…
Then it clicked.
The purification vials that had been set aside on a table on the first floor. She slung her Cat’s Cradle with determination, gaining enough leverage, and with her cat-like spine, having little trouble to reach the first level again.
Apparently now there was a tumorous burrito fused to Melisa that she could have sworn had been cooked in one of the Red Army’s kitchen. Dina’s gaze was oddly glazed and detached, as if her hesitation and fear had been washed away by a cold unrelenting Russian winter.
She made no further admonishment or sound, merely stared for a brief moment, her tail swishing and ears twitching, before turning her attention and pouncing onto the nearby purification potion table, to get a couple of vials.
“Necessitas etiam timidos fortes facit.” She whispered. “Hen to Pan…”
The Avatar markings and clothes enveloped her.
Unfortunately, it appeared Oros’s “no kill clause” only lasted as long as Melisa adhered to the unspoken rule that she couldn’t interfere with what Oros was doing. The windings of flesh soon attempted to coil around Melisa whole, swarming around her head and torso. They were no longer aiming to just bind her, either. They were going to
crush her. Melisa had pretty average durability as far as monster girls were concerned, but Oros’s strength was massive. The doll’s limbs were cracking, one of her ankles shattered under the pressure being applied to it, all with the key to her release hovering just out of reach. The pool fist hovered just out of reach, with Oros’s gravity magic fighting Melisa’s metal magic. But the fight ended when Oros slipped one of her fifteen arms inside the gauntlet, and pulled the claw deep into its girth.
As soon as Dina pounced on the table, tentacles would pop out of the ground from every side and attempt to bind her to the ground.
”You’re not running are you?” Oros’s sword arms hovered high above Dina. The arms holding her blades had become swollen with muscles. They were even appearing outside of her skin.
”But I agree, I’m getting tired of this dungeon too. I think it’s about time I fueled up again anyway.” Once again, the area around Oros’s massive body started to darken. She was preparing to shift again.
Unlike most Oros had attempted to crush, Melisa did not cry out in pain. She was however terrified as her body was being broken and let out a muffled screamed. Being mashed to the size of a fist probably wasn't the worst way to go but she really had no idea how or if she could recover from such. Perhaps she would get the chance to find out as threads shot through the ball of flesh and attached to the doll. A tug ripped the near lifeless form from the monster girl's grip, tearing through the layers of flesh like paper.
Whipping up and away the doll landed limply in the arms of a blue eyed little girl. She had a pleasant smile despite having to step in to retrieve her play thing. She held the doll up and examined her, humming to the tune.
"Oooh you poor thing. And here I hoped you'd found a new friend." Suddenly stopping, she pretended to hear something and lifted Melisa's head to her own ear.
"Mhm, mhm. Oh that's a wonderful idea!" The girl giggled and the side of the building that had been rattling blew apart. Sheet metal, a couple beams, and a light pole came hurdling in the direction of the entrance.
As Dina was entering into her Avatar state she found herself becoming attuned to all of the metal Melisa had enchanted with her Metal and Spirit magic. This included all of the flecks and shredded metal strewn about. For this metal alone she could manipulate and issue it mental commands without the need to exert her own mana. The last command Melisa would give was simple
Protect Dina. Everything she'd taken surged in obedience and the damaged metal morphed back together to intercept the arms going after the Stray Empress.
Dina’s spine twisted in a fashion that would have broken any other girl’s spine as she saw the tentacles coming for her, putting a hasty barrier before jumping away… and noticing something else holding the offending appendixes. The Empress of Strays broke in yet another pounce at Oros, ready to deliver a slash...except she did not. Instead a barrier placed inside her own heart crushed the muscle, causing massive damage to Dina.
The conditions were met.
Gravity CancelTime Stop!Dina said no words, as she powered through the immense pain and determination to bring herself to an inch of her life in order to grind the entire reality to an halt. She tore muscles, broke bones, but she went on sheer grit towards the goal.
The purification potions were dunked with fury in the newly opened maw of Oros’ neck. Gaining more mouths was sometimes a big mistake. Dina didn’t stop there however, focusing one last time.
Purification! She amped up the Unicorn’s horn until it broke, alongside her reinforcement to boost the effect of the potion.
When time resumed, Dina fell in an awkward position, blood seeping from her mouth, but her gaze of spite on Oros. No words were spoken. She didn’t deserve to even be addressed as such.
Dina could ram potions down Oros’s neck, enforce them, but it was difficult to make the abomination swallow when time couldn’t even tick by.
”Lick lick lick lick lick lick-”The black aura continued to grow around Oros, while also inching ever closer to Dina. No mere scrap of metal could stand in the way of ultimate evolution.
But for some reason, the abomination stopped on its own.
Pfffffffffffffffft~Holes started to open up all over the abomination, and red steam blasted out of its every crevice. Soon the entire monster was covered in a cloud of red smoke. Though Dina would not have to wait long to see what was left of the creature inside.
That was when Oros stumbled out of the cloud, seemingly
purified of her condition. Her eyes had turned a soft green, and her outfit had taken on a less corrupted look. While still undoubtedly revealing, her miko outfit had taken on the appearance of a bright red jacket and hot pants.
Oros looked at her trembling hands. Her wide eyed expression clearly displayed her shock. Though few knew what was actually going on in her head, and the usually mouthy woman had yet to say a single word. But her starstruck look didn’t last forever. Her eyes focused, her lips curled into a scowl, and she rose to her feet again. She had been purified, not beaten.
Once she got to Dina’s side, she kneeled beside the woman. Her eyes trailed over her broken form. With a groan, she laid her left hand on Dina’s stomach. While water magic wasn’t the most potent healing, it was all Oros could offer her former lover in a long forgotten world.
The little girl watched curiously as the monster burst and very shortly a drastically changed girl stepped out. Gasping out loud and eyes sparkling she held the limp doll up to see.
"Woooow! Look Melisa, isn't she adorable?" The childlike patron whimsically danced a bit and called over a small portion of metal to start repairing the damaged figurine. Other than marveling at Oros' change she didn't seem concerned at all with anything else going on.
Dina’s gaze seemed steely, but the resolution was quickly waning in her. If she could she would be sobbing and crying in a fetal position. She wanted to live! She could not stand dying! She would forget who she would even be!
Yet, even if someone truly fervently wished something, did not mean it would come to pass. She desperately tried to knit together what was left of her own heart with Reinforcement. It was no use… She was likely going to die here.
At least they would never find out how ungraceful her last thoughts would be.
And then something happened. The… purified opponent began to heal her? Dina’s cold gaze of hatred seemed to shatter at once, as she stood wide eyed at her benefactor, the former callous foe. She shuddered, trying to move, and utter something.
“Wh---why?” She said weakly. She had half a mind she’d be swatted or kicked.
Oros continued to focus on healing Dina. For a moment it seemed like she was ignoring her. But she did finally speak.
”I don’t know, Dina. I’ve seen this world die too many times to care about what makes sense anymore.” She didn’t take her eyes off of Dina’s face.
”I’ve watched my family die, you die, Penrose claimed by flames taller than the clouds, and then monsters eat up the remains until only dirt and stone remain. I’ve watched it happen so many times I’ve become numb to it.” She inhaled.
”Numb to everything. I never thought I would miss the cool autumn breeze, the warmth of the sun, the softness of my pillow. Even food didn’t do it for me anymore. You know what I’ve been doing? Fighting and fucking. That’s what my life has been.” With a sigh, she closed her eyes.
”However.” Oros smiled.
”I’m not too surprised with this outcome. I mean yea, if I die, it’s usually Penny who kills me and shit. But she’s been on a bit of a losing streak recently. Of the hundred, no, thousands of times I’ve experienced this reality, you are the one person I’ve never been able to kill.”The Empress of Strays looked at the whole tale of the marauder. Apparently the purification had brought some sense of self. Dina could no longer hate this person, nor have killing intent towards her. She felt sympathetic towards her foe.
Dina shuddered a bit more, her broken limb managing to stir due to force of will, as she brushed it against Oros’ cheek, still leaving a bloody handprint on her. “It feels as if you don’t have a home anymore, is it not?” Dina said, managing to get a bit more of strength. “It’s okay, sweetie.” She said in a wizened, old tone, finally letting go her actual age speaking for herself. “...in these times, all you need to know is that home is where your heart actually is. But you forgot. Good thing you remembered.” Dina said, before choking on some blood, causing her to cough. “You have granted me mercy, and I shall not forget about this. Yet I am greedy.” Dina said.
“Please spare these girls, who have lost everything too. I’m just an old woman.” Dina finally admitted, as the exhaustion was getting the better of her.
Oros didn’t respond to Dina, and instead focused on mending her heart back together. It wouldn’t matter, as she was on the verge of losing consciousness.
By the time Oros was satisfied with her healing job, Dina had passed out. She looked over her handiwork. The feline woman’s rising stomach was evidence that she was breathing normally.
”Damn, Mika has no idea what she’s missing out on.”She leaned over the woman, her lips hovering a few inches over Dina’s. And then… she pressed her forehead against hers. There was a soft glow as Oros transferred some of her memories over to Dina via memory link. It was something she used to be able to do after using the red coin, but hadn’t been able to do it since she became a monster.
Once she was done, Oros kissed Dina’s temple before rising to her feet again and walking towards the exit. The cheerful little girl had almost finished repairing the gate, but Oros swiftly cut an additional hole just big enough for herself before leaving Sanctuary.
The patron casually picked vines and twigs off her creation. Skipping up to Dina the little girl set the doll down in front of the cat girl. Melisa's body hadn't fully repaired but she had all the components for her own magic to finish the job.
"Keep the kitty safe okay?" The threads came loose from Melisa and the patron stepped away.
Coming to a moment later the tiny girl took back possession of the metal she'd relinquished. Even though she had been out she had a vague recollection of what had happened. Drawing the metal to her some of it went to Dina to brace her body and prevent any further internal damage. She didn't really have any kind of proper healing. For now she surrounded herself and Dina with metal, shaping it to look like a crate. Someone she recognized would come along eventually.
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