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Post by Vapovile on Apr 11, 2021 21:43:32 GMT
Arachne moved forwards as he attacked. He didn’t run, just walking casually forwards and spreading out more and more threads. A maze was slowly forming, spreading out to the right to separate Aria and Melody from Stephan with a wall of razor-sharp string. The whole time, he had his eyes fixed on Caroline. The traitors would pay the most dearly. But she did have a use for now. He could use a distraction. With a simple mental push, he made her dive towards the nearest threads, threatening to shred herself completely. “Perhaps one of you should stop her! F you’re all so fucking clever!” He pointed, waiting to see who made a move.
Melody’s eyes widened when Caroline began to run at the razor wires. She knew her own speed wasn’t fast enough, and she didn’t particularly care about the doll...but sighed. “Aria, could you please…” Without even finishing her sentence, the HWIC president flash stepped several times to reach Caroline, grabbing her by the belt and throwing her toward the treeline. “Stay out of his vocal range!” Aria commanded her, Caroline saying something inaudible before disappearing.
Meanwhile, Melody turned her attention back to Arachne. She popped open her rifle’s top and took out the magazine inside, slipping in a red colored one instead and closing it back up. “Didn’t think you’d die out here in the middle of nowhere, did you?” Melody chuckled, firing a concentrated beam of fire directly at Arachne that would have an easier time getting around his wires.
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Kuromi’s arm got sliced by the jab, letting her see what was going on and slammed her chainsaw down on the ground to knock her away from Stephen. The gash was deep, and it compounded the burnt body she had already suffered in the explosion. “I guess if you can’t hear me...I’ll take advantage of that! JANET! HIS EARS!”
From the left side, the barely visible pixie fired a small beam of compressed air meant to tear a hole in Nucleus’s armor around Stephen’s ear. Regardless of what happened, Kuromi would drive her chainsaw into the dirt and slash it upward, sending a wave of sharp rocks barreling at Stephen.
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Post by HungryHunter on Apr 14, 2021 3:07:43 GMT
With Aria out of the way, Arachne closed in on Melody. “I am dying nowhere.” He spoke with confidence, but he was forced to summon up more and more threads directly in his path to form a wall against the rushing flames. She had him pinned down. It wasn’t just annoying, it was likely fatal. When Aria got back in a few seconds, she could simply flank his cover and finish the job. He put all threads into the column, broadening it first to keep the flames at bay, then spiralling it higher and higher. He could only push it so far in the time he had, but he didn’t need much. When he saw the glow of Melody’s flames through the pillar, he let it drop. It fell towards her like a towering tree, and he stepped up to take advantage. Razor-sharp threads slashed out, ready to decapitate her no matter which way she went.
Stephan had expected Kuromi to close in, not back off. Her weapon was one that worked equally well in close quarters as at midrange. Retreat suggested lack of preparedness, a moment of panic. He moved to close the distance and inflict further wounds, but he never finished his step. There was something like a bomb going off on his ear, and he went reeling. Pieces of his helmet went flying past his vision, and hearing was instantly gone in one ear. The Nucleus was doing damage control, throwing out a thin membrane over the damaged area, but it wouldn’t be able to fix the damage to his body. Stephan couldn’t even correct his balance before the rocks caught him in the chest. Again the Nucleus took the worst of the damage, but he was knocked on his back. He was still completely off. With his balance like this, he couldn’t stand. He looked up at Kuromi with wobbling vision and sighed. He couldn’t fight on his feet, no, but he just needed to keep her busy another moment before he could get backup. His arms bunched up behind him and with a small flick, he was launched. No matter what, his body was incredibly flexible and springy, and that made for a particularly impressive jump, even when it was made with his hands. He aimed his feet right for Kuromi’s chest, ready to knock her down with him.
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Post by Vapovile on Apr 19, 2021 8:09:06 GMT
Melody watched as the tower blocking her flames expanded, taking a step back and hopping to flank Arachne from around his wall. But then it began to come crashing down, while Arachne sent out wires to block her path. "I really hate your wires, you know?!" Melody said in frustration. Before she could leap out of the way though, she was engulfed in a flash of light and reappeared several feet to the side, Aria holding onto her arm.
"Don't worry, I got you." The HWIC president said reassuringly. Melody gave a light giggle and adjusted herself. "Aw, thank you! Now..." Her eyes darkened when they fell upon Arachne. "Let's end him!" Eyes flashing a shade of red, Melody's hands grew into claws, and a short pair of black wings sprouted out of her back. She hated using her succubus powers, but it was now or never!
She flew off toward Arachne's right, while Aria went for the right. Arachne stared at them both with a mixture of fear and pure rage. "That's it, KUROMI! JANET!" He screamed, ripping his wires across the ground to create a thick cloud of dirt that made Aria slow down, but Melody surged forward. "I am NOT letting you escape, you monster!" She screamed, firing a shot from her rifle directly into the dirt where she thought Arachne was, and the area erupted in flames.
Melody was thrown backwards by the blast, scorch marks running along her body and dress. Her succubus traits were gone, her normal pink eyes staring at the carnage. The charred body of Arachne crashed out of the cloud and tackled Kuromi out of the way, letting Stephen crash against a nearby tree. She stared in horror at Arachne's condition.
"WE'RE LEAVING! NOW!" He screamed, grabbing Kuromi and the pixie out of the air, and disappearing in a flash of light. Melody let out a defeated sigh and laid back onto the grass. "He got away..." She said in disappointment. Aria walked over and stood over the pink-haired girl, holding out her hand.
"But you helped save our timeline from a similar fate. Thank you for your service, future president." Aria gave a wink, Melody staring up in awe. The current HWIC president was acknowledging her?! Tears began to well in the corner of her eyes. "...thank you, aunt Aria!" She took the hand and leaped up, wrapping Aria in a hug. Aria was taken aback for a second, but hugged back, patting her on the back.
"You must have dealt with so much that I couldn't fathom. If you ever need a break, please don't hesitate to call. I know I am not always available...but you're still family." Aria said softly. Melody continued to cry into Aria's arms. Years of watching her family and friends die while the world fell apart had taken it's toll. "I'm just...happy to see you all again..." Melody sniffed.
While she was dealing with Melody, a figure approached Stephen and popped open a capsule and placed it on the agent's chest. "Jeez...what the heck happened here?" Erin asked in confusion. The heal spell inside the capsule would quickly take effect, mending Stephen's wounds and replenishing his spent energy. "You uh, ok?" She asked, shifting slightly seeing Aria being so affectionate with someone a few yards away. Who was that girl? And why did they ask her specifically to come and help out? The battle seemed over now. Her attention then turned to the captured dolls...and a familiar green-haired doll that was acting casually leaning against a nearby tree, giving her a wave. Erin immediately blushed and looked down, making sure Stephen was well attended to and activating another healing capsule.
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Post by HungryHunter on Apr 25, 2021 0:17:26 GMT
“Success. To an extent.” Stephan sighed. The nucleus melted away to let Erin apply the healing capsule directly to his body. He tried to push away sour thoughts, reassuring himself that actually capturing the ringleaders was a longshot. Honestly, they weren’t even under their jurisdiction; what did they have to charge Arachne with? Future war crimes? Perhaps this was the best-case scenario. “Yes, I was barely injured.” He mumbled, focusing on the prisoners. Caroline hadn’t taken the opportunity to run. It didn’t mean she was innocent, but it was a good sign that they had done a lot of good today. “Let’s take this show home.” He called to the agents around him. “I’m proud of everybody here.” He smiled at both Erin and Caroline. Did they know each other? Strange. It seemed some of them already had a place in this world.
Back in the kaspa, only those of our time remained. Martha sat on the couch, knees hugged to her chest as she stared into nowhere. She still hadn’t processed everything. Maybe it would take days for her to know what to think about Margaret. Marika had locked herself up in her room, weeping in Miles’ arms. It would similarly take days before Yuu expected her to be back to normal. That was fine. Perhaps better than fine. Yuu rolled a kunai in her hands. Marika was sick, she had always known that. But she had just gazed into the future and seen no end to it. Marika didn’t get better. She didn’t fix her, because she couldn’t fix her. Perhaps she was even sicker than Marika. Her kunai turned to her chest, like she could actually destroy herself like that. There was no heart where she pointed it, and she felt that absence more than ever. The kunai was dropped. She turned to Martha. “Martha. You knew Miles before the rest of us, right? I need your help if I am to kill him."
I'm sorry, Marika.
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