OK, next bit with help from Rob. Bit of a rework of the scene Rob posted, but I feel it works.
- Radio communications
… […] - Foreign language [Translation]
~ … ~ - Thoughts
**15**
Laevatein was already aflame as A.C. brought him down at the middle Spartan-II, who blocked him with a Covenant Plasma Sword. The rear two Spartans behind were engulfed in flames from Phobos and Deimos, distracting them from assisting. That left the two now behind A.C. With a vicious rear kick, she slammed an armoured heel into the crotch of the one to her rear-left, then she used the two contacts to spin herself counter-clockwise to free herself. She landed, dropped, and spun.
Schlangenform.
The Belkan Senshi of Mars finished her spin, Laevatein returning to Sword Form.
The Spartans came apart.
Ziele immer noch in Reichweite. [Targets still in range.]
A.C. replied as she and her helpers raided the remains before taking off.
Phobos warned, causing A.C. to hug the roof. Thus she saw clearly the energy blades fly through the middle of the corridor.
Narrowing her eyes, the cyborg dropped centreline to the corridor and accelerated.
The three waiting device users were blasted through like paper.
***
“Is it just me, or are things getting ridiculous?” Noah asked wryly.
“It’s not just you.” Leda replied, still slightly flushed in embarrassment at the looks the others had given her when she’d cheered at A.C.’s senshi transformation. She was a visibly pregnant woman! Blame it on the hormones!
“The explanation is going to be interesting.” Kohran noted. “You gotta admit, this is cool. Not enough explosions though.”
Noah turned his head, and noticed that Yayoi was still trembling with fear.
"Yayoi? What's wrong?" Noah focused completely on his closest friend, the video all but forgotten. "Come on, Yayoi; speak to me!"
"A. ... A.C. ... she's ..." the rest was a whisper, too soft for Noah to make out.
But Kohran heard it, and went pale. "Are you sure, Yayoi?" She was answered with a nod. "But how? She was here on Stellvia while we were cleaning out La Mariposa's base - she never came into direct contact with The Girls!"
Noah shook his head. "She spent at least an hour alone with Nancy."
"But Nancy isn't a mage," complained Leda.
"Isn't she?" Kohran looked straight at Leda. "There's no way other than magic that you can use to explain the I-jin; technology can't reproduce some of the things she can do. She's a mage, a lot like Doug."
"Who?"
"I'll explain later," Noah interrupted. "Are you telling me that A.C. is a spellcaster of some sort?"
"I don't know. But I think she isn't the same person she was before The Girls visited."
"Oh, dear ..." Noah stopped for a moment. "But you and Yayoi spent more time with The Girls than anyone else here, other than Sora. What effects did they have on you?" After another pause, he ran his hand through his now-green hair and continued, "Or on me?"
“Um?” Takami interjected. “Wouldn’t A.C. have noticed? I mean, didn’t she examine Noah after he got back?”
There was silence for a few moments as they all thought about that.
"Would she know what to look for, though?" Kohran asked.
"Oh, right." Takami blushed.
“We REALLY need to keep this from the Wizards.” Kagome blurted.
“We need to invite A.C. to a Halloween party.” Kohran added. At the looks she got she expanded. “Just think of the Sorceress costumes she’d have for us!”
Noah and Yayoi did, and blushed.
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with wanting to throw fireballs, would it?” Noah asked suspiciously, trying to redirect attention.
Yayoi blinked, then turned to give Kohran a Look. Kohran shivered.
“Oh look!” Kohran pointed at the big screen. “More action!”
**16**
Now that her tactical systems had built up a decent experience knowledgebase, A.C. was finding it easier to deal with the tactics of the Op-For. Which was why she was shielding against the assault the Mages were pouring at her, and dodging the other fire while wondering about the layout of the arena. It seemed fairly wasteful, given she was currently 200 metres above the top of the keep (300 metres above the average ground level and, according to the map from her orientation system, 600 metres above the deepest point she’d found while exploring the underground).
Laevatein was finding the increase in magical power due to his Meister’s Senshi Mode very useful. He hadn’t had to trigger a cartridge since the upgrade and he was able to handle the shielding fairly easily.
However, this didn’t help when a woman came blazing in with a flying kick. She bypassed the planar shields Laevatein was generating and smashed A.C. back.
It hadn’t hurt her, as the cyborg had raised a barrier around the hand she’d blocked with, but she didn’t like the fact she’d been trapped like that. Never mind she’d been hit by an Otome.
Deimos warned, causing A.C. to spin out of the way of the approaching hardsuit and its Knuckle Bomber.
The hardsuited figure caught themselves with a heavy burst of thrust and span around, unleashing a jet boosted Leg Bomber enhanced roundhouse kick. A.C. flipped forward, deflecting the kick by essentially performing a hand stand on the leg. Then she snapped out her own kick, thrusting a 9cm armoured heel into the faceplate of the helmet.
The crack resounded over the landscape.
Grabbing an arm, the raven-haired cyborg heaved with all her senshi-enhanced cyborg strength and swung the limp power armour at an approaching pair of motoslaves.
“Get a shot of leg boys!”
The armed Leg Bomber smashed into the side of the lead motoslave, blowing off an arm and knocking it into the other one.
The Otome shot in, causing the Belkan cyber-senshi to block her Element with Laevatein. The two broke, and Laevatein ignited before A.C. hopped in mid-air back at the Otome with an overhand strike. Flaming sword met Element with a great crash, before cutting through. Wide-eyed, the Otome threw a hand up to block as the emerald-eyed woman drew her Device back and swung again, this time throwing all her weight into the swing.
Two and a half tonnes of momentum plus senshi-enhanced strength plus impact-magnifying spell against Otome robe force field equals Otome-style bunker buster as said Otome hit the ground at about the speed of sound. She crashed through five metres of dirt and rock to penetrate the first level, then made it most of the way through to the second level.
The violet edged ball of plasma that followed her down pushed her the rest of the way, incidentally fusing the walls of the tunnel the Otome had carved into the complex.
Turning away from the explosion on the ground, the magical combat cyborg faced the approaching forces and decided to give a new spell a go. The formulae for spell creation were complex, which was why she hadn’t tried one not in Laevatein’s memory already. But she didn’t really care right now. The sim was shot to hell anyway.
A Belkan magic triangle spun into being in front of her and she began casting.
“Three suns newborn, a rosette against my foes.”
The circles at the points of the triangle ignited into blazing balls of plasma.
“Light orbits and encircles, racing Fate’s winds.”
The triangle array increased its spin, faster and faster until a fire-wreathed ring of light appeared.
“Gather in the eye, a whirling dervish of purification. Crush it!”
Laevatein triggered three large cartridges in rapid succession as A.C. assumed a two handed grip on him, the mage knight not yet used to the simulated drain.
“FIRESTORM SMASHER!” And she thrust into the centre of the array.
A maelstrom of burning energy as wide as the Belkan Senshi was tall roared forth, raging through the incoming forces and continued to hit the far side of the town/village. The resulting dome of destruction levelled everything in a 50 metre radius, and left a 15 metre wide hole in the ground through which the underground industrial complex could be seen. The top four floors of it now had a skylight.
A.C. was long gone when the Op-For finished gaping.
***
“You were saying something about explosions Kohran?” Takami teased.
Said android blushed.
“You have to admire the skill that went into the construct.” Takami continued. “It’s holding up well considering.”
"If I am some kind of mage now," Noah commented sourly, "please stop me from doing anything that ridiculous. Besides, I strongly doubt that I would look good in a fuku."
"Well," Leda mused philosophically, "at least we know how I really got pregnant. A wizard did it."
- Radio communications
… […] - Foreign language [Translation]
~ … ~ - Thoughts
**15**
Laevatein was already aflame as A.C. brought him down at the middle Spartan-II, who blocked him with a Covenant Plasma Sword. The rear two Spartans behind were engulfed in flames from Phobos and Deimos, distracting them from assisting. That left the two now behind A.C. With a vicious rear kick, she slammed an armoured heel into the crotch of the one to her rear-left, then she used the two contacts to spin herself counter-clockwise to free herself. She landed, dropped, and spun.
Schlangenform.
The Belkan Senshi of Mars finished her spin, Laevatein returning to Sword Form.
The Spartans came apart.
Ziele immer noch in Reichweite. [Targets still in range.]
A.C. replied as she and her helpers raided the remains before taking off.
Phobos warned, causing A.C. to hug the roof. Thus she saw clearly the energy blades fly through the middle of the corridor.
Narrowing her eyes, the cyborg dropped centreline to the corridor and accelerated.
The three waiting device users were blasted through like paper.
***
“Is it just me, or are things getting ridiculous?” Noah asked wryly.
“It’s not just you.” Leda replied, still slightly flushed in embarrassment at the looks the others had given her when she’d cheered at A.C.’s senshi transformation. She was a visibly pregnant woman! Blame it on the hormones!
“The explanation is going to be interesting.” Kohran noted. “You gotta admit, this is cool. Not enough explosions though.”
Noah turned his head, and noticed that Yayoi was still trembling with fear.
"Yayoi? What's wrong?" Noah focused completely on his closest friend, the video all but forgotten. "Come on, Yayoi; speak to me!"
"A. ... A.C. ... she's ..." the rest was a whisper, too soft for Noah to make out.
But Kohran heard it, and went pale. "Are you sure, Yayoi?" She was answered with a nod. "But how? She was here on Stellvia while we were cleaning out La Mariposa's base - she never came into direct contact with The Girls!"
Noah shook his head. "She spent at least an hour alone with Nancy."
"But Nancy isn't a mage," complained Leda.
"Isn't she?" Kohran looked straight at Leda. "There's no way other than magic that you can use to explain the I-jin; technology can't reproduce some of the things she can do. She's a mage, a lot like Doug."
"Who?"
"I'll explain later," Noah interrupted. "Are you telling me that A.C. is a spellcaster of some sort?"
"I don't know. But I think she isn't the same person she was before The Girls visited."
"Oh, dear ..." Noah stopped for a moment. "But you and Yayoi spent more time with The Girls than anyone else here, other than Sora. What effects did they have on you?" After another pause, he ran his hand through his now-green hair and continued, "Or on me?"
“Um?” Takami interjected. “Wouldn’t A.C. have noticed? I mean, didn’t she examine Noah after he got back?”
There was silence for a few moments as they all thought about that.
"Would she know what to look for, though?" Kohran asked.
"Oh, right." Takami blushed.
“We REALLY need to keep this from the Wizards.” Kagome blurted.
“We need to invite A.C. to a Halloween party.” Kohran added. At the looks she got she expanded. “Just think of the Sorceress costumes she’d have for us!”
Noah and Yayoi did, and blushed.
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with wanting to throw fireballs, would it?” Noah asked suspiciously, trying to redirect attention.
Yayoi blinked, then turned to give Kohran a Look. Kohran shivered.
“Oh look!” Kohran pointed at the big screen. “More action!”
**16**
Now that her tactical systems had built up a decent experience knowledgebase, A.C. was finding it easier to deal with the tactics of the Op-For. Which was why she was shielding against the assault the Mages were pouring at her, and dodging the other fire while wondering about the layout of the arena. It seemed fairly wasteful, given she was currently 200 metres above the top of the keep (300 metres above the average ground level and, according to the map from her orientation system, 600 metres above the deepest point she’d found while exploring the underground).
Laevatein was finding the increase in magical power due to his Meister’s Senshi Mode very useful. He hadn’t had to trigger a cartridge since the upgrade and he was able to handle the shielding fairly easily.
However, this didn’t help when a woman came blazing in with a flying kick. She bypassed the planar shields Laevatein was generating and smashed A.C. back.
It hadn’t hurt her, as the cyborg had raised a barrier around the hand she’d blocked with, but she didn’t like the fact she’d been trapped like that. Never mind she’d been hit by an Otome.
Deimos warned, causing A.C. to spin out of the way of the approaching hardsuit and its Knuckle Bomber.
The hardsuited figure caught themselves with a heavy burst of thrust and span around, unleashing a jet boosted Leg Bomber enhanced roundhouse kick. A.C. flipped forward, deflecting the kick by essentially performing a hand stand on the leg. Then she snapped out her own kick, thrusting a 9cm armoured heel into the faceplate of the helmet.
The crack resounded over the landscape.
Grabbing an arm, the raven-haired cyborg heaved with all her senshi-enhanced cyborg strength and swung the limp power armour at an approaching pair of motoslaves.
“Get a shot of leg boys!”
The armed Leg Bomber smashed into the side of the lead motoslave, blowing off an arm and knocking it into the other one.
The Otome shot in, causing the Belkan cyber-senshi to block her Element with Laevatein. The two broke, and Laevatein ignited before A.C. hopped in mid-air back at the Otome with an overhand strike. Flaming sword met Element with a great crash, before cutting through. Wide-eyed, the Otome threw a hand up to block as the emerald-eyed woman drew her Device back and swung again, this time throwing all her weight into the swing.
Two and a half tonnes of momentum plus senshi-enhanced strength plus impact-magnifying spell against Otome robe force field equals Otome-style bunker buster as said Otome hit the ground at about the speed of sound. She crashed through five metres of dirt and rock to penetrate the first level, then made it most of the way through to the second level.
The violet edged ball of plasma that followed her down pushed her the rest of the way, incidentally fusing the walls of the tunnel the Otome had carved into the complex.
Turning away from the explosion on the ground, the magical combat cyborg faced the approaching forces and decided to give a new spell a go. The formulae for spell creation were complex, which was why she hadn’t tried one not in Laevatein’s memory already. But she didn’t really care right now. The sim was shot to hell anyway.
A Belkan magic triangle spun into being in front of her and she began casting.
“Three suns newborn, a rosette against my foes.”
The circles at the points of the triangle ignited into blazing balls of plasma.
“Light orbits and encircles, racing Fate’s winds.”
The triangle array increased its spin, faster and faster until a fire-wreathed ring of light appeared.
“Gather in the eye, a whirling dervish of purification. Crush it!”
Laevatein triggered three large cartridges in rapid succession as A.C. assumed a two handed grip on him, the mage knight not yet used to the simulated drain.
“FIRESTORM SMASHER!” And she thrust into the centre of the array.
A maelstrom of burning energy as wide as the Belkan Senshi was tall roared forth, raging through the incoming forces and continued to hit the far side of the town/village. The resulting dome of destruction levelled everything in a 50 metre radius, and left a 15 metre wide hole in the ground through which the underground industrial complex could be seen. The top four floors of it now had a skylight.
A.C. was long gone when the Op-For finished gaping.
***
“You were saying something about explosions Kohran?” Takami teased.
Said android blushed.
“You have to admire the skill that went into the construct.” Takami continued. “It’s holding up well considering.”
"If I am some kind of mage now," Noah commented sourly, "please stop me from doing anything that ridiculous. Besides, I strongly doubt that I would look good in a fuku."
"Well," Leda mused philosophically, "at least we know how I really got pregnant. A wizard did it."