One two three, four five six. One two three, four five six. Well this is a splinter if ever there was one. Static. Fog. One, two, three. Four, five, six. What can she manage in the face of this observation? One two three, four five six. 

"You are correct," she says with words that feel drunk and heavy on her tongue, "You have fallen into my trap. But you are... (four five six) still mistaken on one (two three) front."

Tail Four, Tail Five, Tail Six: disengage from main body, formation on points one, two, three. Nine Drive System, Partial Configuration. The Third Form: Moonlight Fantasy, Manifestation. A new technique but a lazy one. Just a play on her Immemorial Vanguard's full-sphere protection but focused into a traditional front facing shield with the maneuverability of a single tail. Rotating but imperfect protection that doesn't require the use of either arm, and leaves other active tails free to continue other activities. 

A blip over the corner of her left eye: two partial configurations at once is straining several power systems more than expected. More even than the Fang. Fascinating. And her apologies, Kiriala, for the lack of -- one two three -- vocalization. But she promised to fight you as the Ultimate Warrior would. And she Speaks Not to the Outsider. Besides which, your form leaves very little room for flourishes, if any. 

Four, five, six. Divert power from thruster systems to maintain configurations. Seventy percent functionality suffices. The earlier dodge, unnecessary. The shield absorbs the laser blasts admirably, but even these weak shots will erode its integrity before long. Irrelevant. Its true purpose, the one thing it can do that the Immemorial Vanguard cannot...

...Is ram into an idiot's face when she tries the same perfect charge twice in only a handful of seconds. The flash of sparks is blinding, one two three. The impact is equivalent to planting face first into an iron root, four five six. Mirror feels none of it, even second hand through the rattling of her frame, since the point of origin isn't even touching the Gods-Smiting Whip. One, two, three. The shield shatters, along with Kiriala's form. The brief stagger buys Mirror time for a strike.

Her attack is pathetic. Lazy in the extreme. A long trailing slash from her right arm reaching up from the Ginger Tiger's thigh and ending at its midriff. The equivalent feeling through a neural mesh of having your skirt slashed open and your underwear admired by a playful finger, and nothing more. The Nine-Tails steps into the attack so that it can pivot through and roll away. Re-establish positioning and facing. Tails Four, Five, and Six are scattered, but hovering in positions both hidden and not. Deeply dangerous, and not firing at all. 

Hm. Not bad. She can work with this if she doesn't fight it. One two three, four five six. Until the itch is scratched. Until she is allowed to think in a way she wants to again. She taps her fingers on the console to this new beat, and opens her mouth. 

"It was [i]not[/i] a mistake to fall for my schemes. It has purchased you the opportunity of your life, if you do not waste it. One, two. Three chances. It does not become you to attempt an experiment in this way when the variables have already changed in front of you. It is... (four five) unwise. To think my claws are the same as my fists. The next time you attempt this maneuver, I am ending our fight. So please, play with me. Find what I have left for you. Please."