[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXnw5hrc1bs][img]https://i.imgur.com/njpYKuH.png[/img][/url] Back in the past, after way too long a wait, Penny charged Oros with her giant fist pulled back. [color=9e0039][u][b]”You try my patience, cultist!”[/b][/u][/color] [color=tomato]”Again with the blind charging, shemale?”[/color] Penny was pretty fast, but Oros could avoid attacks like this in her sleep. She turned her body sideways and allowed Penny’s fist to graze her nose before slamming into the concrete wall. Dust and a hail of stones filled the room. Once it settled, Oros looked at herself. [color=tomato]”Oh man!”[/color] Her eyes went all over her outfit. [color=tomato]”The artist did a nice job! I mean, it’s not a 200$ commission, but look at my little outfit! [url=https://i.imgur.com/ncsDB58.png]Look at my big hair![/url] Look at everything!”[/color] [color=9e0039][u][b]”What are you babbling about? you looked like that when you came in here!”[/b][/u][/color] [color=tomato]”Yea, I guess the patrons saw it weeks ago when the Grand Magistrate showed them.”[/color] She looked at her reflection in her katana. [color=tomato]”Anyway, now that our sheets are done I’m just gunna take a look at-”[/color] Her eyes shot open. [color=tomato]”The hell?! Challenger Grade? Ranks that are above S? A leitmotif that copies other leitmotifs AND has its own powers on top of it? Huge ass mana pool? As well as all that other bullshit?!”[/color] Oros grinded her teeth. Her eyes were daggers, and they were pointed straight at Penny. [color=tomato]”Even in other portions of the multiverse, you’re still an over powered piece of shit, aren’t you?”[/color] The iron queen only grinned at Oros’s frustration, even though she had no idea what she was talking about. [color=9e0039][u][b]”Am I to understand you realize you’re no match for me? This is your last chance. Surrender now or-”[/b][/u][/color] Oros erupted into laughter. [color=tomato]”Wrong again, you Teal-haired Tumbltard!”[/color] Oros brought her sword up in front of herself. [color=tomato]”You think I’m scared of some stats? I’m a Grand Magistrate’s Patron Champion. Your power level is entirely arbitrary in this situation. I’ve got commissioned art and everything, there’s no way I can die here. The only thing that’s up in the air right now is if the Grand Magistrate will try and save you.”[/color] [color=9e0039][u][b]”The nerve!”[/b][/u][/color] Penny raised her hands, and the lenses in her palms lit up a brilliant blue. [color=9e0039][u][b]”I will ensure your death is slow, humiliating, and painful!”[/b][/u][/color] [color=tomato]”Sounds hot. When do we start?”[/color] [center] [h3][color=tomato]O[/color]ros[/h3] Old, But Still Sexy | Female | Depraved | Meta Game Endless Eclipse | Greatsword | Physical | Arcane Blight Dark Garb | Number of the Beast Inner Beast | Nature | Therianthropy [Poison, Transform], Pull, Heal, Purify, Restrain, Pierce, Damage X, Blink, Portal, Bend, Transplace, Delay, Zone, Full Extend, Homing, Multi-Cast DAMAGE: A | SPEED: S | SENTINEL: E | 1186 PHYSICAL: D | ARCANE: A | CHAOS: B | 1250 [h3]Vs [color=9e0039][u][b]P[/b][/u][/color]enny[/h3] 29 | Male, Female Esper Form | Depraved | Combat Module Omnissiah | Fists | Physical/Arcane/Chaos | Omni Slash Immortal Machine | Immortality Binary_Signal | Metal, Lightning, Gravity | Trinary_Signal [Quake, Mass, Paralysis, Speedster, Weightless, Suspend], Damage X, Pull, Slow Fall, Channel, Shield, Reflect, Magic Sense, Construction, Summon, AoE, Full Extend, Full Enhance, Powerful, Homing, Multi-Cast DAMAGE: SSS | SPEED: SS | SENTINEL: SSS | 2000 PHYSICAL: S | ARCANE: SSS | CHAOS: SS | 2000[/center] [center]Diplomacy has failed![h3]THE CARBUNCLE ATE ITSELF!![/h3][h2]TELLING 1[/h2][h1]Get motivated, white boy![/h1][/center] With a pool of mercury nearby, there was no reason for Penny to conserve her massive pool of mana. She reached a hand into the hallway and filled it with twisting metal and electricity. Then for good measure, the whole mess activated a forcefield around itself. Even Oros would have trouble getting through that, Penny assumed. Penny: [Diamond Touch][Full Enhance][Powerful][Construction][Multi-Cast] =490, 1510 remains [color=tomato]”We could fight anywhere in Bastion, and you confine us to a concrete box?”[/color] But Penny wasn’t done, as a second melody was coming. Penny’s palms glowed like road flairs in the dark. There wasn’t another esper in the world who could launch an attack like this, but that was why she was the strongest esper in the world. A beam filled with sparks and shrapnel raced towards Oros’s position, Penny:[Diamond Beam][AoE][Damage X][Paralysis][Suspend]][Quake][Full Extend[Powerful] = 1440, 70 remains There wasn’t any room for Oros to hide. Her options were to dive into a pool of mercury and hope Penny missed, or attack Penny at which point her sword would bounce off her chassis. The fight had only started, and Penny had Oros right where she wanted her. Oros shrugged her shoulders and tossed a critter into the pool of mercury. She then looked straight at the material beam headed straight for her head. There was no time to evade. The beam slammed into Oros’s chin, throwing her head back before detonating into charged shrapnel. But when the melody expired, she lowered her head and grinned. Not a single piece of metal remained in her skin. [color=tomato]”Spicey, got anything else?”[/color] Oros: Number of the beast: 6 6 6 -1 attack, 6 debuffs = 5 0 6 Penny growled. [color=9e0039][u][b]”You tanked that entire attack?”[/b][/u][/color] [color=tomato]”Yea, I was a little surprised too, given how many different effects the [Paralysis] note can create, That’s gunna have to get nerfed later.”[/color] She was sitting on her butt, and one of her arms hung limply at her side. [color=tomato]”Wait, no, that was paralysis in all four of my limbs, suffocation, disorientation, suspend, and quake. So I resisted all but my arm going numb and being shaken to the floor. Yea that needs to get nerfed. It's a shame my melodies won’t be strong enough to break these hexes. At least talking is a free action, so you can’t interrupt me. But that also means I can’t stall for time.”[/color] [color=9e0039][u][b]”Stall for what?”[/b][/u][/color] [color=tomato]”I just think your bathwater is really gross and needs to be changed. ”[/color] The small critter Oros had dumped into the mercury turned into a portal. The mad esper had been prepared for Penny’s seemingly endless supply of mana, and had set up a portal earlier to drain it. Oros: [Bronze Projectile][Portal] = 80, 1106 remains Penny charged towards Oros. She didn’t really care if she hit her or not, but coming into contact with the mercury would cause her mana to restore. Oros held her sword in front of herself, but it did little to slow Penny’s charge. The iron queen drove her fist into Oros’s stomach before carrying her through the portal. Wherever her mercury was, Oros was coming along with her. But she wasn’t going to show any signs of damage from Penny’s efforts. Oros: Number of the beast: 5 0 6 -1 attack = 4 0 6 [color=9e0039][u][b]”Still glad you started a fight with me?”[/b][/u][/color] Penny crossed her brow. [color=tomato]”I’m not happy because I started a fight, I’m happy because I’ll end it!”[/color] Oros had set the portal on the ceiling of a warehouse that hid one of the entrances to the Bastion. Below it was a cement mixing truck, and the mercury was all falling into a hopper that funneled everything into its bowels. Before the last of the mercury slipped into the mixing tank, Penny managed to touch the liquid metal. Penny Mana = Max! 2000! But Oros wasn’t just standing by while this happened. Mana surged into her limbs, causing her muscles to bulk up. While most espers were gifted with peak human strength, Oros could temporarily grant herself the power of a silverback gorilla, capable of lifting nearly two tons of weight. Oros: [Diamond Self][Transform][Full Extend] = 150, 956 remains Therianthropy: Might of a Silverback, 36 seconds. A katana couldn’t do much to layers of titanium alloy, but Endless Eclipse was an instrument. It was an indestructible piece of flat steel that could take any abuse its holder could put it through. With the strength of an ape, Oros’s attack was sure to do more than mar Penny’s paint job. She rammed her sword under Penny’s arm, which sent the queen spiraling into the iron wall supports. Oros was able to grab a hold of the cement mixer and take a hard landing. Though she hadn’t endured any damage from the fall. Penny’s chassis was dented under her arm, but otherwise sustained no injuries. The iron pillar she slammed into took far more damage than she did. Though the wound she had endured inhibited her movement a bit. it wasn’t possible to lower her arm all the way. [color=9e0039][u][b]”I think you made a bit of an oversight. Allow me to show you.”[/b][/u][/color] Penny charged towards Oros while weaving a series of melodies. The first was to phase a spell inside the cement mixer. Once it blew up, she would be rolling in mercury again. It was also possible Oros would get caught in the blast. Meanwhile, her second melody was a copy of Oros’s own beast magic. Now Penny also had Oros’s immense strength on top of her own powers. And why not? She’d heal away that bit of damage too. Penny: [Diamond Spawn][AoE][Damage X][Multi-Cast] = 500, 1500 remains [Diamond Self][Transform][Full Extend] = 150, 1350 remains Therianthropy: Might of a Silverback, 36 seconds. Combat Module: Heal any wound for 100 mana, 1250 remains Oros’s grined as she stepped away from the cement mixer. It exploded not long after, ripping the vehicle to shreds. Shards of metal and yellow dust filled the air. But there was no mercury to be found. [color=tomato]”Fun fact time!”[/color] Oros pointed at what remained of the mixing truck. [color=tomato]”If you stir elemental sulfur and quicksilver together, you get mercuric sulphide! You just gotta slap ‘em around a bit, like you’re their pimp or something.”[/color] Her smirk only grew wider. [color=tomato]”You weren’t hoping to bathe in mercury through the whole fight, were you? Be a shame if you couldn’t beat me fair and square.”[/color] [color=9e0039][u][b]”Says the assassin resorting to trickery!”[/b][/u][/color] Penny did not respect her opponents. It was a fact that she had no equal, and anyone who fought her would be ground to dust. The fact that Oros needed to prepare so much before their encounter proved how weak she was. Though it was bothersome that Oros knew so much about her powers. Mercury’s effect on her was a closely guarded secret. Someone was helping her, and they would be dealt with in time. Penny balled her hands into fists. [color=9e0039][u][b]”Fight me head on!”[/b][/u][/color] [color=tomato]”Guess I can try.”[/color] Oros had only one hand to hold her great sword with, but that would change. Her inner beast surged with energy, and tore its way out of her rib cage just under her defunct arm. Until her other arm recovered, this was the best she could do. Oros: [Gold Self][Transform][Full Extend] = 120, 836 remains Therianthropy: Extra Arm, 36 seconds. Penny’s strength was equal to Oros’s, and her speed was even greater. The cultist was clearly on her back heel as Penny’s attacks forced her towards a wall. As amusing as it would be to draw out Oros’s demise, Penny had other matters to attend to. A single debilitating melody would doom the assassin. But her mana was limited, and she didn’t want to waste it if she didn’t have to. It would be some time before she could amass that much mercury again. Something that Penny had been holding off on using was her ability to copy her opponent’s leitmotif. It wasn’t something Penny liked to do, more out of her own pride than anything else. But since Oros had proven to be a pest, there was no reason not to make use of it now. Her eyes opened a bit wider than usual as soon as she did. What. The. Hell. The world opened up to Penny in ways both horrific and wonderful. Like Oros, she could now get a glimpse of the future and better understand her opponent’s powers. She could see her every ability and understood them as completely as Oros did. But also like Oros, her world felt artificial and beyond her control. The future was already written. She could sense there was a fight at a police station, as well as one outside the Bastion with a pretend queen of Pax. Penny would also go missing before any of this transpired. She may have looked like a machine, but Penny was also a human esper, and these images even gave her a tinge of fear. The idea that her unfortunate fate was set in stone was not something she agreed with. It was during this brief existential crisis that her opponent swung their sword at her. Oros: [Diamond Touch][Piercing] = 40, 796 remains No, Oros [i]would[/i] swing their sword. It seemed that Oros also had the ability to see her opponents actions just before they happened. This ability now belonged to Penny too. Even the notes Oros used were not hidden from her. No wonder she was impossible to blindside with her attacks. But if Oros was all knowing, that just meant that she needed to deliver an attack that couldn’t be avoided. Now that Oros had committed to an attack, Penny should be able to use her slightly greater margin of speed to deliver a counter punch right at Oros’s ribs. And… Oros: Number of the beast: 4 0 6 -1 attack = 3 0 6 [color=tomato]”Whoa!”[/color] Oros hopped backwards after Penny’s attack connected. [color=tomato]”Stranger danger! Can you poke me somewhere less sensitive next time?”[/color] Another confident smile crossed Penny’s lips. Oros’s resilience was no longer so frustrating now that she understood it was a front. She could take three more attacks and turn invincible for six seconds. After that, she’d bleed like anyone else.[color=9e0039][u][b]”Perhaps you’d prefer it if I took you to a massage parlor?”[/b][/u][/color] [color=tomato]”Do they tickle people in a massage par-... Ohhhhhh!”[/color] Again, Penny wreathed her arms in lightning and steel. She plunged her fist into the ground, and the same twisted steel barrier from before erected on either side of Oros. The walls closed over her head to form a ceiling, and then dropped behind her to form a wall of jagged, electrofied spikes. Oros’s sword may unmake any enchantment it cut through, but a barrier this durable was beyond the ability of her blade. [Diamond Touch][Powerful][Full Enhance][Construction][Multi-Cast] = 490, 760 remains Over the next few seconds, Penny threw a series of quick jabs at Oros. Each one she blocked would just push her backwards into the spikes. This forced Oros to use her strongest defensive ability. Over the next few seconds, every puncture and bruise Penny inflicted would heal instantly. Number of the beast: 3 0 6 -6 seconds of invulnerability = 3 0 0 [color=tomato]”You know for a non-binary robot, your computing ain’t half bad. ”[/color] [color=9e0039][u][b]”It seems we’re in agreement.”[/b][/u][/color] Oros could resist her attacks for a few more seconds, but her “Number of the Beast” was dwindling and wouldn’t save her much longer. Oros could try to blink out of the way, but she was cornered and couldn’t aim around Penny. She might be able to create a portal, but that would just lead back into the concrete room where she was just as trapped. All of Oros’s other notes were too weak to do anything to Penny or didn’t fit the situation. But the Iron Queen was aware that she was dealing with an unorthodox opponent. Penny needed to deny Oros as much as possible. An AoE Paralysis melody would suffice. She’d be helpless before her resounding blows. Penny’s fist was covered in the magic of her next melody. She could practically taste her opponent’s defeat. She thrust her fist towards Oros with confidence. [color=9e0039][u][b]”You’re finished!”[/b][/u][/color] [Diamond Touch][AoE][Full Enhance][Full Extend][Powerful][Paralysis] = 560, 200 remains Oros was between Penny and a hard place, and she was going to die there. … … … Regardless if Penny wanted to admit it or not, her life was on the line. Any screw up she made was something that Oros could take advantage of and spell her end. But that made it all the more confusing when Penny handed Oros such a big opening. When a Patron Champion commits to an action in a Patron Observation Station Transcript, or P.O.S.T., that’s it. No takesie-backsies. Because Penny committed herself to an attack, she would not be able to react regardless of what she divined. That was why “Meta Game” was so useful against the Iron Queen. It was hardly a perfect form of divination, but Penny’s tactics held no surprises for Oros. She was so focused on ending the fight that her strategies were simple and easy to understand. They were obvious to her as soon as she acted. Every action was designed to kill her opponent, and Oros hardly needed to metagame to understand what she was doing. No matter how powerful someone was, that sort of mindset would never defeat an esper like Oros. But that didn’t mean that Oros could do whatever she wanted. If there was justification for an action to be “retconned” because Penny could react to it, Oros would lose her advantage. It was just in this instance Penny's ability to metagame wouldn't be able to aid her. While Penny pounded the crap out of her, she wove a few melodies of her own. Oros would have no problem casting two melodies if she was discreet about it. She formed two man-eating pythons on her back. Their size was far larger than normal, but Oros could keep them concealed behind her billowing hair. They were curled up and ready to strike. But the important part was that they each had a portal inside their throats. [Diamond Self][Portal][Transform][multi-cast] = 360, 436 remain Therianthropy: Man-eating snake, 36 seconds. [Diamond Self][Portal][Transform] = 250, 186 remain Therianthropy: Man-eating snake, 36 seconds. And now, all Oros had to do was wait. Her opportunity came when Penny prepared her second melody and thrust her fist towards Oros. But that was when Oros revealed her secret weapon. She ducked as the snakes lunged for Penny and opened their mouths as wide as they would go. While Penny was a bit faster than Oros, she wouldn’t be able to pull out of a straight she put all of her weight into. Her fist plunged into the mouth of one snake, and came out the mouth of the other. By the time Penny realized what was happening, it was too late. Even if Penny could stop her arm, Oros’s other snake was striking, moving Penny’s own fist towards her face as fast as the snake could strike. [color=tomato]”No you.”[/color] While Penny had incredible defenses, her fists were even more impressive. It always turned its damage type to whatever her opponent was weakest to. Even in Penny’s case, her physical defense was far outclassed by her own weapon. Even as Penny tried to pull Back, Oros’s snake guided the iron queen’s own fist to its target. Penny’s melody triggered as soon as she punched herself in the face. Even as lightning filled the area, even as Oros’s body shut down, her own incredible strength drove her fist through her head. Omnissiah was massive enough to not only decapitate Penny, but also shattered her torso into a hundred pieces. Blue hydraulic oil stained the floor like blood, and her circuitry arced and sputtered before losing all power. Oros collapsed into what remained of her opponent and lost consciousness. Second by second, Penny’s chance to counter attack ticked by. Oros laid in the hydraulic fluid, defenseless, practically begging for a finishing blow, but it never came. Oros lifted herself out of the blue oil. She was used to being covered in entrails at the end of a fight, but now she felt like she had just changed the oil in her car. after swinging the oil off of her sword, she lowered her gaze to her opponent's remains. [color=tomato]”Shattered, just like all your old relationships.”[/color] She squeezed her sleeve in a vain attempt to rid her uniform of oil. [color=tomato]”But you got [i]me[/i] wet, so I guess you have some potential.”[/color] Then, Oros’s body froze. She suppressed the urge to meme when she realized what she had accomplished. A [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrDMAkRO2J4]single tear[/url] rolled down her cheek. How long had she been waiting to fight Penny in an arena where she could lose? How long had she wanted to pay her back for hurting her friends? It didn’t matter now. All the preparation, suffering, and sacrifice had paid off. The haters didn’t think it could be done, but they were all wrong. The joy erupted from her lungs in a warcry that shook bastion to its core. The empty halls were filled with her voice, and none of the corpses stirred. Though as her voice died down, Oros could hear a clapping sound. She turned to look at who it was, but it was someone she was expecting. A [url=https://cdn.donmai.us/original/c6/4b/__koshimizu_sachiko_idolmaster_and_2_more_drawn_by_sasahiro__c64be7861729864440fe5fb639625a57.jpg]young girl in a purple dress[/url] strut into the warehouse. Once she had Oros’s attention, she folded her hands behind her back. [color=e3bbc6]”The queen has fallen, and by a single pair of hands.”[/color] She skipped towards Oros. [color=e3bbc6]”I’ll be honest, I didn’t know what to think when you said you could beat Penny with a cement mixing truck filled with sulfur and your wits.”[/color] [color=tomato]”Just gotta be smarter than your opponent. Barring that, make sure the patron overseeing your fight likes you more. ”[/color] Oros shook her head and smiled. [color=tomato]”Speaking of patrons, this has got to be the most petty I’ve seen mine act in a long time! Haha!”[/color] [color=e3bbc6]”You say such strange things. I don’t understand it, but you get results so I won’t question it.”[/color] With a shrug of her shoulders, the girl folded her arms. [color=e3bbc6]”By the way, we just cleared out the entire Bastion. Penny’s generals, lieutenants, commanders, you slew all of them.”[/color] Her hands moved onto her hips before she leaned towards Oros. [color=e3bbc6]”You do know what a power vacuum is, right?”[/color] [color=tomato]”I’m not too concerned with it, if only because I know who’s filling the vacuum.”[/color] Oros took a seat on the floor. [color=tomato]”Uncle Sam and Alternative have been eyeing this shit hole for a while. Best case scenario, they wipe each other out. Worst case scenario, they have an uneasy truce that inevitably breaks. Either way, the Iron Queen’s reign ends.”[/color] [color=e3bbc6]”I’m just not sure why you dealt with the queen like this. She could have been a powerful ally.”[/color] [color=tomato]”The short answer is two parts.”[/color] Oros raised her fingers and wiggled them. [color=tomato]”Firstly, everyone in a given area has urgency. You kill the most urgent person in the area, and their urgency is divided among the survivors. Shemale had so much urgency that no one else really mattered. Now that we’ve taken them out of the picture, everyone gets some urgency. Even us.”[/color] She shook her fingers. [color=tomato]”Secondly, we kind of have history together, and I hate their guts. Just a bonus reason, we’re the good guys. Kicking the bad guy’s ass is sort of our thing.”[/color] [color=e3bbc6]”I see.”[/color] The girl in the purple dress ran her hand through her hair. [color=e3bbc6]”So we’re just going to parade her body around Pax Septimus to establish your power?”[/color] [color=tomato]”Nah, it’s tempting though.”[/color] Oros wiped her finger through the hydraulic fluid. [color=tomato]”I’m not ready to be the most urgent person in Pax Septimus. I’ll let the other ring leaders hold that title while I prepare.”[/color] [color=e3bbc6]”Then what [i]is[/i] next?”[/color] [color=tomato]”Next they gotta patch lightning. Holy shit AoE [Paralysis] melodies suck.”[/color] Oros looked over at the girl. [color=tomato]”We also need to do something with your alias.”[/color] [color=e3bbc6]”What’s wrong with Aria Rizzo?”[/color] [color=tomato]”Yea, see? That’s what I mean.”[/color] Oros pointed at her. [color=tomato]”There’s already a Patron Champion in town with the name Aria, so it could get confusing if we call you Aria too. Besides, there’s no real reason to hide your real name here. Everyone who wants Sharr Webber dead is long gone.”[/color] Sharr groaned. [color=e3bbc6]”Fine. I think it's a little silly, but I'll play along.”[/color] Oros was looking around herself. [color=e3bbc6]”What is it?”[/color] [color=tomato]”We’re not done here.”[/color] Oros rose to her feet. [color=tomato]”Shemale would have turned into a human corpse.”[/color] But then why had Penny not acted? While she could heal any wound with a hundred mana, she presently only had two-hundred mana, and judging by how fragmented her body was, it probably wasn’t enough to put her together. Maybe she was just hoping that once Oros and Sharr walked off, she could revert back to her human form and sleep this loss off. But after searching a bit, Oros could see the reason why Penny was still alive. There was a glowing chip that served as her central processing unit. [color=tomato]”Nice hustle, but I don’t do repeats.”[/color] She drove Endless Eclipse into the chip.