10-28-2015, 08:01 PM
The nameless warrior’s new metallic fingers creaked and she flexed them into a fist. The sensation of Gildarts’ stolen limb had only just started to become comfortable to her and she was prone to fiddling with it in every idle moment. She gazed over the gulf of smog and grotesque mist that stretched between her platform and her opponent’s, the acrid stench of the arena slicing at the inside of her nostrils.
Shaking the jitters out of her new hand, she grinned at the flaxen-haired girl. She appraised her wide, glossy eyes and saccharine aesthetic and exhaled heavily. “Don’t tell me,” she grumbled, “She’s got some kind of weird ass transformation she’s gonna do before she actually starts fighting.”
Quickly, the backdrop changed. The girl offered a coy smirk and held her hand out, a ring on her middle finger gleaming amber before flashing dramatically. She drug her toe across the ground in front of her and in its path flowers rapidly grew and stretched up around her. Her hands came together and clasped in front of her, a bright light flashing before she folded them down in-between her breasts. Her hair seemingly lit on fire before a feathery accent and hat revealed themselves, shortly followed by a series of magical ribbons that wrapped around her midriff.
“Yup,” the bandit said flatly, pulling her rifle up into her shoulder, “fuckin’ magical girls. Every time.”
The girl’s complex and wondrous transformation continued, the ribbons morphing into a corset. She flung her arms and a torrent of rose petals flooded the arena, somehow, and a theatrical blaze consumed her legs as expensive-looking, calf-high boots took the place of penny-loafers.
A beam of red energy flashed just in front of the girl’s face, and all of her dramaturgy and fancy lights came to a sudden, jarring end.
“Hey!” Mami shouted obstinately, “what’s the big idea?”
Lowering the rifle from her cheek, the raider shrugged. “Are we fighting, or are we still in the ‘fighting evil by moonlight’ phase?”
Frowning, the girl rushed forward and jumped onto the springboard that was offered on the corner of her platform. Crouching down, the pad assisted her already-powerful legs and flung her high into the air, nearly impacting the invisible ceiling. She flipped head over heel and tossed her hands out the side, stalling midair, and a halo of muskets appeared around her waist. The majokko’s primitive firearms immediately began firing, each tumbling away into the fog below as it spent its single shot.
“What the FUCK,” the bandit swore and ducked down and held Gildarts’ arm over her head as a shield. The musket balls rained down upon her as she scurried across the metal, desperately searching for cover.
Diving behind the massive gun installation that had been offered to her, she took a breath and shook her head. “Who uses muskets?” she complained, slamming a new energy cell into her weapon. “I mean, seriously. Muskets.”
Peering out from the edge of her hiding place, the gladiator searched for her opponent. Finding her on a stage to her left and near the middle of the arena, she began to hammer down on the trigger. Beams of crimson red slashed across the field, and as Mami’s multiple, unnamed muskets fired, she snatched them up and deflected the plasma that blazed in her direction. When each shot impacted her guns, they split and she cast them aside in quick, fluid movements that could have only been perfected over a lifetime of practice. Or magic.
Rolling her eyes, the bandit sighed, “Magical god-damn girls.”
Tossing the rifle over her shoulder to be caught by the sling, the bandit quickly climbed the towering canon that she had been hiding behind and slid into the seat. She flipped the power switch, grasped the handle with both hands, and swung the anti-aircraft canon into place.
Mami’s large eyes shot open as her foe began laughing maniacally, each of the four muzzles recoiling in succession as lobbing beams of energy thicker than her arm. With no other option, the girl rolled to the side as the turret tore into the steel that she had been standing on, a smoking crater left behind.
A barrage of life-ending blasts pelted the platform, but the blonde warrior simply leapt into the air and reached under her dress. Pulling her hands out, nearly a dozen muzzle-loaders appeared all around her. And in a cloud of black-powder, they fired.
Shaking the jitters out of her new hand, she grinned at the flaxen-haired girl. She appraised her wide, glossy eyes and saccharine aesthetic and exhaled heavily. “Don’t tell me,” she grumbled, “She’s got some kind of weird ass transformation she’s gonna do before she actually starts fighting.”
Quickly, the backdrop changed. The girl offered a coy smirk and held her hand out, a ring on her middle finger gleaming amber before flashing dramatically. She drug her toe across the ground in front of her and in its path flowers rapidly grew and stretched up around her. Her hands came together and clasped in front of her, a bright light flashing before she folded them down in-between her breasts. Her hair seemingly lit on fire before a feathery accent and hat revealed themselves, shortly followed by a series of magical ribbons that wrapped around her midriff.
“Yup,” the bandit said flatly, pulling her rifle up into her shoulder, “fuckin’ magical girls. Every time.”
The girl’s complex and wondrous transformation continued, the ribbons morphing into a corset. She flung her arms and a torrent of rose petals flooded the arena, somehow, and a theatrical blaze consumed her legs as expensive-looking, calf-high boots took the place of penny-loafers.
A beam of red energy flashed just in front of the girl’s face, and all of her dramaturgy and fancy lights came to a sudden, jarring end.
“Hey!” Mami shouted obstinately, “what’s the big idea?”
Lowering the rifle from her cheek, the raider shrugged. “Are we fighting, or are we still in the ‘fighting evil by moonlight’ phase?”
Frowning, the girl rushed forward and jumped onto the springboard that was offered on the corner of her platform. Crouching down, the pad assisted her already-powerful legs and flung her high into the air, nearly impacting the invisible ceiling. She flipped head over heel and tossed her hands out the side, stalling midair, and a halo of muskets appeared around her waist. The majokko’s primitive firearms immediately began firing, each tumbling away into the fog below as it spent its single shot.
“What the FUCK,” the bandit swore and ducked down and held Gildarts’ arm over her head as a shield. The musket balls rained down upon her as she scurried across the metal, desperately searching for cover.
Diving behind the massive gun installation that had been offered to her, she took a breath and shook her head. “Who uses muskets?” she complained, slamming a new energy cell into her weapon. “I mean, seriously. Muskets.”
Peering out from the edge of her hiding place, the gladiator searched for her opponent. Finding her on a stage to her left and near the middle of the arena, she began to hammer down on the trigger. Beams of crimson red slashed across the field, and as Mami’s multiple, unnamed muskets fired, she snatched them up and deflected the plasma that blazed in her direction. When each shot impacted her guns, they split and she cast them aside in quick, fluid movements that could have only been perfected over a lifetime of practice. Or magic.
Rolling her eyes, the bandit sighed, “Magical god-damn girls.”
Tossing the rifle over her shoulder to be caught by the sling, the bandit quickly climbed the towering canon that she had been hiding behind and slid into the seat. She flipped the power switch, grasped the handle with both hands, and swung the anti-aircraft canon into place.
Mami’s large eyes shot open as her foe began laughing maniacally, each of the four muzzles recoiling in succession as lobbing beams of energy thicker than her arm. With no other option, the girl rolled to the side as the turret tore into the steel that she had been standing on, a smoking crater left behind.
A barrage of life-ending blasts pelted the platform, but the blonde warrior simply leapt into the air and reached under her dress. Pulling her hands out, nearly a dozen muzzle-loaders appeared all around her. And in a cloud of black-powder, they fired.