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Post by Neo 5.0 on Jun 3, 2022 6:15:36 GMT -5
Nora reverts back to her base otherworld form, grabs the tiny Alice and places it back on her shoulder, and rockets towards the ceiling.
"I've had enough of you! This ends here! Mercia, can you buy me some time to concentrate, please?"
Nora positions herself directly above the dragon's head and the egg, and begins charging her magic again. She casts Majestic Concentrate on herself.
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Post by Vitsheep on Jun 6, 2022 6:12:09 GMT -5
Nora
"I've got it, I've got it..." Alpha says. He raises his camera and takes a shot, the room briefly flashing in stark black-and-white contrast. The dragon rears back and opens its mouth. Flames start to flicker, then fade just as quickly.
The dragon flaps its wings and tries to fly up, but it stops short. The martial artist is wrapped around its tail, pulling it back and yelling with effort.
Mercia flies up, raising her mace. It starts to glow with holy light.
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Vitcity
Jun 6, 2022 17:16:30 GMT -5
Post by Neo 5.0 on Jun 6, 2022 17:16:30 GMT -5
"You aren't getting away with my Alice!"
Nora activates her heart skill once more, using the tiny Alice's aether, and unleashes all her charged up magic in a giant blast. She fires a double strength Eldritch Cannon directly down at the dragon, targeting both it and the egg.
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Vitcity
Jun 7, 2022 22:51:45 GMT -5
Post by Vitsheep on Jun 7, 2022 22:51:45 GMT -5
Nora
"Alpha," Mercia says.
"On it, Boss." He raises his camera again, and again all the cracks and weaknesses and loose scales seem to practically glow.
Mercia dives down, whirling past a burst of fire to slam her mace into the side of the dragon's head. It responds by spewing fire randomly across the room. Alpha tries to move out of the way, but ends up coated in burning red. Mercia and the other woman just shrug it off and press their attack.
You ignore its tantrum, firing through a ball of flames as you unleash a watery beam at the dragon and the egg. The dragon tries to shield the egg, roaring and hissing as the blast forces it down. It starts to lose its grip, and the cracks running through the egg worsen. The dragon itself seems to be struggling to stay in one piece, parts of its scaly hide flickering in and out.
The woman wrapped around the dragon's tail yells angrily, digging into the ground and pulling. The dragon shifts back as she continues to wrench and pull, until it slips. She starts to spin, holding onto the tail as she rotates faster and faster, flinging the dragon around in a circle. The dragon lets out a new, confused roar as it's flung around. The woman starts yelling louder before slamming the dragon's back into the ground and leaping onto its face.
The egg goes flying out of its grasp, crashing into the ground and rolling to a stop below Nora. Alice bounces around inside, grunting with pain. Large chunks of the egg start falling away as it starts to fall apart.
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Post by Neo 5.0 on Jun 8, 2022 6:23:01 GMT -5
"Alice!"
Nora hacks away at the remainder of the egg using her sharp new book, and as soon as there's a big enough hole, reaches in and pulls Alice out.
"I've got you...! I've got you... I've got you..."
Her eyes start to well with tears and she angrily shakes her head to clear them. No time for crying now. Later. "Mercia! Can I leave the rest to you while I get Alice to safety? I don't know how much longer my key can hold out."
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Vitcity
Jun 8, 2022 20:37:58 GMT -5
Post by Vitsheep on Jun 8, 2022 20:37:58 GMT -5
Nora
"Go," Mercia says without looking away from the dragon, smashing its chest with her mace.
The lady on its neck has given up any concept of subtlety, throwing a barrage of punches at the dragon's face while screaming. She clasps her hands together and starts smashing it repeatedly.
"Great, let's get out of here..." Alpha says. "This place isn't safe."
Alice leans on Nora, an arm wrapped around her shoulder. "No..." she mutters. She reaches out to the Doll-ice, absorbing it into her palm and shifting into her Otherworld form. She steadies herself and tugs Nora closer. "We can still stand. We can still fight."
Alice's form starts to change. Her usual outfit fades, replaced with thick, red armor made of glowing scales, a deep V running from her shoulders down to her midriff. A gold-winged crimson helmet covers most of her face, and a skirt of swirled red and gold dangles from her waist, stopping just shy of her high-heeled boots. Golden wings on the back appear decorative at first, then flap and lift her into the air. She raises her rapier, and it grows longer, stretching into a lance. A bright blue flag appearing near the tip unfurling to reveal a snarling dragon. She floats in the air for a moment before taking a shaky breath and leveling her lance. "Come on, Love. Try to keep up."
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Post by Neo 5.0 on Jun 9, 2022 6:32:13 GMT -5
"Reckless. Beautiful. Stubborn. Infuriating."
Nora straightens herself and catches her breath, then unfolds her wings and hovers in the air next to Alice. She smiles. "Good to have you back. But do try to be careful. I did just get you back."
Nora will cast Majestic Concentrate on Alice. "Let's see what that gorgeous new form of yours can do, dear."
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Vitcity
Jun 9, 2022 21:16:08 GMT -5
Post by Vitsheep on Jun 9, 2022 21:16:08 GMT -5
Nora
"I've had enough of this nonsense!" Mercia yells. She raises her mace, the other woman leaps to the side, and a bolt of golden light strikes the dragon in its chest. "There!"
"Right..." Alice takes a few steps forward, then jumps. In the air, she flips and hurls her flag-lance. It seems to change into a near-identical bolt of light, tearing through the sky and stabbing straight through the dragon.
The dragon lets out one final shriek as it starts to fade into nothing. Alice flares her wings, managing to hover shakily in place while the creature disappears. The martial artist turns to you, grabbing one arm in pain.
Obtained Condensed Mist x5
Before she can speak, the ceiling shudders. Mareena appears at the door. "Hey, we should really get out of here. Oh! And you look really cute, Alice."
Alice, too confused and exhausted to argue, lowers herself carefully towards the ground with some clumsy flaps. She lands a few feet from you, staggering off-balance as she does. Mercia grabs the other woman by her good arm and starts flying out through the roof. And Alpha... You didn't actually see Alpha leave, but he's not here anymore. It's probably fine.
"This place isn't actually gonna collapse or anything. Just figured you might want to have a minute in private before dealing with all the monsters and Tom and everything... maybe two if you need." Mareena gives you a smile and a wave before disappearing back through the door.
"...Ugh, I'm so tired. I feel like I've spent all day fighting... or maybe 10 minutes with you and that feather duster." Alice smiles weakly. She takes a step, then trips and stumbles into you. "Stupid... high-heeled... boots... Do they look good on me, at least?"
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Vitcity
Jun 10, 2022 7:50:18 GMT -5
Post by Neo 5.0 on Jun 10, 2022 7:50:18 GMT -5
Ignoring Mareena, Nora wraps her arms around Alice and holds her tightly. "Naturally."
She takes a deep breath. "We'll sort all this out later... For now, the only thing that matters to me is you're safe. And you need rest. If you want to help with the monster clean-up around the city, we can, but only after you've had some rest."
Nora looks her over. "Are you hurt anywhere...? Is your key working normally again?"
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Vitcity
Jun 10, 2022 23:47:33 GMT -5
Post by Vitsheep on Jun 10, 2022 23:47:33 GMT -5
Nora
"Mmm... I'm fine." Alice's armor disappears in a flash of light, leaving her in a pajama gown and fuzzy slippers. "Good, actually. My key even seems to be working better than usual. I just need a minute to catch my breath, no rest for the wicked and all, but you can take a proper break if you need." She tosses her arms around your neck and grins. "So, um... hey. Thanks. I remember feeling really... angry. And lonely. And then I saw everyone that came to help, and... y'know? You and Tom... Tia. And I think that was... Jimmy? Mercia, even that pain-in-the-ass Mareena decided to help for once... And that other woman..." Alice is quiet for a minute, then snaps out of it. "...Mattea and Natsumi didn't come, huh."
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Vitcity
Jun 11, 2022 10:47:27 GMT -5
Post by Neo 5.0 on Jun 11, 2022 10:47:27 GMT -5
Nora allows her own form to drop briefly, revealing her in jeans, a tank top, and sandals. She looks like she threw on whatever she could find quickly and dashed out that morning, which is... not like her.
Nora holds Alice tightly and shakes her head. "No, if you're sure you're fine, I'm going to fight beside you. I'm not leaving you again."
She pauses, hesitating. "...Mattea and Natsumi are in the same situation you were. Other groups went to rescue them. We'll hear from Mareena when we get back to base camp if there are any updates. Mareena said it's because the soul keys went haywire due to extreme emotional stress... Yours and theirs. And that they opened a rift to the otherworld. She said... if nothing was done, you would turn into a monster yourself."
Tears well in Nora's eyes and she quickly shakes them away again. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't even know it was possible for keys to do that, I didn't realize truly how bad things were for you, even though I acted like I did... I never should have left you alone last night. I've been a terrible girlfriend so far. I'm so sorry. I'm going to make it up to you."
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Vitcity
Jun 12, 2022 21:26:33 GMT -5
Post by Vitsheep on Jun 12, 2022 21:26:33 GMT -5
Nora
Alice sighs, then shakes her head. "No, I should've been more honest about how... bad things were..." She sighs again, louder and longer. "And I was being stupid. About a lot of things. I'll... try to be more open about things from now on. But for now it sounds like Mattea and Natsumi were being stupid, too. Come on, we need to be there for them, too."
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Vitcity
Jun 12, 2022 22:49:37 GMT -5
Post by Neo 5.0 on Jun 12, 2022 22:49:37 GMT -5
Nora sighs herself, then leans down and gives Alice a gentle kiss. "... All right. Just... don't scare me like that again. You aren't alone. I'm here for you. I want to be here for you."
She steps back and smiles. "Let's go help the others, then. But afterwards I expect to get you all to myself for a bit. And maybe you take a sick day or two from school, hm?"
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Vitcity
Jun 13, 2022 20:30:26 GMT -5
Post by Vitsheep on Jun 13, 2022 20:30:26 GMT -5
Nora
Alice shakes her head. "I don't think that'll be necessary. The school's definitely going to be closed for a bit after this... which is... at least partially my fault, I suppose."
Mareena reappears. "Hey, we're meeting back at the park to plan."
Alice nods. "OK." She turns her key back on, her usual outfit springing into existence. "Hm... I liked the other look, but that might be a bit too much for me right now..."
"Oh! And good news. Mattea is safe."
Alice stops mid-step. "Ah... That's... good. Yes."
"Tom and Tia are fine, too. They're already on the way to the park. There's just Natsumi left to rescue, and it should be fine... probably."
Alice nods. She seems relieved. "OK..."
Mareena waves again. "I'm going ahead, too! Be careful."
Move to Park
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Post by cheeseybear on Jul 7, 2022 15:38:34 GMT -5
Nora"Yeah, I can reach the boss. But we're already all hands on deck and already had to call in some outside help... whatever that means. Last I heard she said she would do her best to keep the angels in the air focused on her instead of swooping down every 2 seconds," Alpha says as you duck into the alley. "I mean, she used a lot more words like 'insolence' and 'smite' but you get the idea." "You're right we can't waste too much time dealing with the towers or whatever," Tom says. "What would Alice say? Something about how you win by checkmating the king and capturing the other pieces is just a means to the end?" "But Alice would be a queen?" Tia asks. "...Right. Checkmate the queen," Tom agrees without arguing. As you wait to see how the tower will react, it draws closer to the alley, slamming down out in front. Instead of the tower you expected, it's a large knight mounted on a stone horse. It looks into the alley, staring. Ah. Of course. A knight wouldn't have any legal moves to advance into a narrow alley with its movement pattern... AronThe snake explodes just as it starts to lunge at the woman. It gets knocked slightly off its trajectory, and she's quick to grab its tail as it flies past. She swings around, whipping and slamming it into the ground. She winces and grabs one of her arms. "Th-that's more like it!" she cheers you on. "But something with a little more kick-" The woman is interrupted as the snake recovers, flicking its tail and launching her backwards as she skids into a car with a thud. "Alright!" Aron concurs. "Let's make this one a big one! ...You can hold it off for a sec, right?" He tosses another sticky bomb at the snake, holding down the trigger as the plastic seems to wiggle and expand [C-Chronic]. "I just need to make it explode harder, right?" |
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