Tale 4: The New, Mysterious Transfer…
Just like the defeat of Redcap, the end of Jack-o'-the-Lantern brought about by the Great Armor Templar, Britain began another period of tentative peace. People were beginning to get a bit paranoid on when the next attack was to take place. Though, with the Armorgers always on the scene, the parliament didn't issue any sort of country-wide order. In fact, they seem heavily insistent on the idea of simply returning to normalcy, a widely disliked stance on the matter.
But, with things going back into the swing of things, that meant that the Armorgers could no longer stay within the confines of Arthur's castle. The Dragon agreed that it would be highly suspicious if 5 random people had disappeared, and with two of the sorceresses' minions destroyed, she'd most likely be out to find who these new knights are. With that agreed upon, the Dragon allowed them to leave the underground caverns, back to the surface world.
For Julian, it was like nothing happened. He simply returned to his apartment and planned what he can do with his ring to get rich fast. Riley got back to her multiple jobs, but the hardest to explain was the 3 students. Many people in their university questioned their absence in the city, though they quickly dismissed such questions. They all simply answered that they went to go visit relatives during the week period school was closed to make sure they were alright before coming back. Most people bought into the lie- It wasn't unbelievable for that to happen. After all, Moraiza's forces left their mark on Britain, for sure.
Despite their sleeping schedule being disturbed from the week-long training session at Arthur's Palace, Jessie found that her body's internal clock was still working perfectly fine. She found this out when she awoke 5 minutes before her alarm went off- A situation that always left the student with the decision to either wake up and get out of bed, or use the very little time to get in a few precious seconds of sleep. Though, with how her training had taught her, she simply slinked off the bed and decided to get up early. With a quick stretch and an even briefer brushing of her teeth, she just caught the alarm clock as it was about to go off, stopping it just as it started beeping.
Taking the 10 minutes she had left in her morning to prep herself for the usual rotation of classes, Jessie contemplated brushing her hair… Before figuring no one would care in the campus. Slinging her backpack upon her shoulder, she opens the door, only to find that Jack was late for once. Or, at least, so she thought, until she saw him slump down the hallway, looking like he literally dragged himself out of bed.
"Never thought I'd say this to you, but… You look like utter crap, man." Jessie notes, her classmate letting out a despaired groan of pain. Seems he was having a harder time adjusting to the change, or so she theorized.
"Yeah… I was so used to waking up at 9 AM that I forgot how to wake up at 8 AM." He grumbles out, Jessie letting out a bit of a chuckle at his expense. Though, she found it curious that, instead of placing his alchemy ring on his ring finger, he instead opted to wear it as an earring. He did have his ears pierced last summer on a whim, so she supposed they finally are serving a purpose.
"Well, let's not stand around like a bunch of friggin' idiots- Let's get to class." She flicked him on the forehead in an attempt to at least wake him up a bit. The most that accomplished was making him flinch in pain, but tiredly so.
"Why must you torment me like this…" The student, exhausted, laments. Feeling sorry for him, Jessie patted him on the back- Maybe a bit too hard, as he reacts as if he were slugged right in the shoulder blade.
"S-Shit, sorry! Arthur's Training must've had more of an effect on me than I thought- Or maybe It was the water I drank today…?" The student found herself tripping over her own words watching as Jack simply shrank from the hit and crumpled to the ground.
"Sheesh- Not even the start of the day and you guys are already killing each other. I know you don't get along too well sometimes, but try to keep the fighting to outside of the campus." A familiar voice piped up, before the two looked to what appeared to be their english history teacher, Ms. Thompson- A horrid witch of a woman who seems to have a thing against people younger than her. And she looked positively ancient.
"So, what'll it be? A write up, a visit to the dean, or a call from the cops?" She asked, adjusting her glasses to get a better view of the two students. Before Jessie could tell the old witch to go screw herself, Jack grabbed her wrist.
"No, no, we're fine- I just injured my shoulder the other day." He tried to explain, the English Teacher raising her eyebrow in suspicion. Jessie checked the time on her phone, gawking that it was nearly time for classes to start. Excusing herself and Jack wordlessly, the both of them left, much to the chagrin of the teacher.
College was just as droll as both of them expected- Bahisa had no classes today. She needed to work, something they somehow found envious about her life. At least with jobs, something unpredictable could happen- But with classes, it's always the same. Lessons, assignment at the end, the teacher trying to relate to the class with a varying level of effectiveness. It all blends together at the end of the day, and the two were almost wishing for a new golem to attack Britain so that they would have something enriching in their day. But, alas, today, they were not as lucky. While their Government Teacher droned on about Parliament, Jessie couldn't help but wonder how Bahisa's day was going...
"Dammit, woman, you move slower than a snail out there! 20 minutes to deliver a friggin' pizza to a flat that wasn't even 20 miles away! Hey! HEY! I'M TALKING HERE-" The familiar screeching of her co-worker rang out within the pizzeria, before it was quickly quelled by a swift smack to the back of their head by baker's peel. A bird-like squawk emerged from their throat as they hit the glass divider between the pizza toppings and the lane where customers line up to choose, as the coworker slowly slid onto the floor. Shaking his head, the head chef and boss of the Joint let out a disappointed sigh.
"'Ay, Omar. Give it a break, a'ight?" The New York american chided, before Omar slowly dragged himself back up to his feet.
"Bad traffic again, eh, Bahisa?" He asked, Bahisa letting out a groan of exasperation at the suggestion. She just began to slide the pizza carrying box off of her shoulder as the question was posed, before she looked to her boss.
"You wouldn't believe, Julio. It was like, as soon as I left the damn place, the daft bastards thought it was a good idea to form a sort of blockade on all sides! Couldn't turn around, couldn't try to go between the cars… I was surprised I even made it under 30 minutes." She relayed, the American letting out a chuckle as he hands the Pakistani woman a free slice of their more experimental pizza- The Curried Special. Instead of regular tomato sauce, they bake pizza with curry sauce, covered with freshly shaven mozzarella cheese and chicken, along with small slices of bell pepper and carrot. Definitely not one of their most ordered menu items, but damn if she didn't love it. Taking a bite, she closed her eyes as she savored the more traditional flavor that she loved. After all, she was the one who loaned her parent's chicken curry recipe to Julio.
"On the house- For ya troubles, Bahisa." He nods, before getting back to work, Omar giving her the stink eye as he goes back to work. The part-time student takes a time to rest, waiting for the next order, as the door to the pizzeria lets out a familiar jingle. Turning her gaze over to the entrance, Bahisa gawks as none other than Riley walks in- Wearing a very crinkled and dirty looking sweat suit and sweat pants, she quickly puts on the familiar 'Al Capone Pizza' visor as she rushes in.
"S-Sorry, boss! Jus' got th' text that I'd be needed today, an'-"
"That isn't an excuse, Riley! Next time, pay more attention to your damn phone! What if we were understaffed!? That attack only made people want to stay home and order more pizza-" Bahisa's co-worker immediately ganged up on Riley, before he was put back in his place with a well timed strike to the back of his neck with a peel.
"'Ay, you're fine. Wit' everythin' as it is, I'm even surprised ya were able t' make it, Riley- Oh, actually, I don't think ya met th' other delivery girl I had hired here, did'ja? Riley, meet Bahisa- Bahisa, Ril-"
"A-Actually, sir, we… Know each other." Bahisa interrupts, garnering her boss' attention.
"Oh, do ya? Sorry, then." He wiped the flour off of his apron, before noticing that the pizza in the oven was charring a bit. Panicking, he reached for his peel and went to remove it as quickly as he could, leaving Bahisa and Riley in the lobby. The two looked at each other long enough to make them realize how awkward this was, before Riley finally pitched in.
"... Fuckin' small world, eh?" She asks in her usual thick Irish accent, the pakistani woman letting out an awkward chuckle in response.
"Y-Yeah. Very small." Bahisa replies, Riley sitting down at one of the nearby tables, relaxing. The two sat in silence once again, trying to find a way to break the ice on how they should treat each other outside of being a part of a squadron of magical knights- But, thankfully, they didn't have to wait long. Julio walked out with a box of pizza at the ready, before ringing the bell on the counter.
"Order up! This one's on Mark Drive, flat number 322." He announces, Bahisa letting out a sigh of relief as Riley got up to take the order.
"Actually, since ya two are good friends, why don't'cha work together on this one? Probably'll make it go faster, eh?" The head chef suggests, to which the two looked at each other. Of course, while it was framed as a suggestion, the two delivery girls knew that it was practically an order.
"Yes, sir…" They said in unison, before they went out with the order.
Julian counted out the various hundred pound bank notes he had got- He was a bit disappointed that after 5 Golden 1 Pence Coins, the most he got was 200 Pounds, but hey, it's enough to survive for a while at least. He can at least pay rent now. Looking to the alchemy ring on his ring finger, he remembered the long and arduous process of trying to find a way to, albeit temporarily, transform metals into gold. It certainly wasn't easy- He found that via. Experimentation, the more noble a gold is, the more it takes out of one when they try to transmute it. That, and the shorter it keeps that form… Hence why he beat a hasty retreat after selling the coins.
The punk looked behind him to make sure he wasn't being followed, before he released the concentration on the pence coins he transmuted into gold. So, now, that poor pawn shop he pawned them off at will probably be on him like a bat out of hell. Walking down the streets of England, he made sure to keep his eyes open for anyone that looked like the owner or the staff of that pawn shop… Before his attention was caught by a rather gaudy looking man. Reminded him of those Japanese Boy Bands, but… Well, not japanese. If anything, he'd peg him more to be German just based on the shirt that had german written across it.
He was waifish at first glance, though his thin appearance hides his more muscular definition. The foreigner wasn't a bodybuilder, but he certainly looks fit. His hair was blonde, but clearly it wasn't naturally blonde- It had a look of dye to it. It went past his face and towards his neck, covering up a portion of the person's face. The foreigner had piercing ice blue eyes- The sort that could probably stop a deer in the middle of the road like a car's headlights. Hanging from his ear lobes were two earrings, complete with a single jewel on each of them, though it's hard to tell if the diamonds were real or not. His sense of style was certainly… Farfetched. A camo tank top with the words 'FEENRITTER' across it in black, bold letters- It was at this moment Julian wish he paid attention in his German Classes while he still went to high school. Underneath the tank top was a sort of sleeveless turtleneck muscle shirt… Or something. Must be popular in Germany or wherever he came from, because it certainly looks bizarre here. And for his pants, he simply wore baggy jeans that were a bit torn at the knees with chains on each side of his waist, complimenting his black and blue sneakers.
However long it took him to observe the man seemed to be too long, though, as he seemed to grab his attention. With a wave, the foreigner approached the street punk, who almost instinctively leaned back with how close he got to him.
"Ah, hello- You look young enough. Do you know where the Campus is around here? I just enrolled a bit ago, and-"
"Askin' the wrong dude. I don't go to college." He cuts him off, the foreigner raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"Are you… Sure? You look like you might be the school delinquent in a school drama. You know, the one who seems mean on the outside, but has a heart of gold on the inside- Are you sure you aren't enrolled in College?" He asks, eliciting a confused stare from Julian who took way longer than usual to process the information. The foreigner might as well be speaking another language, as Julian legitimately had no rebuttal to that.
"I… I… Uh. No. I'm… I'm not. Enrolled in… College." The words stagger out of his mouth as the stranger lets out a disappointed sigh. Reaching into his jean's pocket, he takes out a small notebook- Decorated with various pictures of butterflies and shaded with a nice subdued pink, he clicks a pen and writes something down in it.
"Excuse me, what is your name again?" He asks Julian, who pauses.
"... J… Julian…?" He asks, still not sure how to respond to him in a coherent manner.
"'Ju-lee-ahn…' Any hobbies? Special interests? I wanna make sure I get it all down- Think of this journal like my memory. Anything that goes in here, I will remember forever." He continues writing into the journal, presumably putting down empty slots for useless facts that Julian couldn't be bothered to give.
"L… Listen, you can just look up the place you're looking for on your phone- You have one, right?" The punk asks- Instantly, the foreigner stared at him as if he was speaking some alien language.
"Phone…?" He repeats questioningly. Julian stared at him as if he grew a second head- Was he living under a rock or something? Then again… Could he be a part of Moraiza's army? They were sealed away for a while, so it's definitely possible. As the punk stared him down, the foreigner smacked the side of his head.
"Ah! I nearly forgot to introduce myself! I am Alberich- Nice to meet you, Julian." Alberich smiles, before holding out a fist bump. Julian looks between him and what appears to be a genuine smile before hesitantly fist bumping him back. Clapping excitedly, Alberich pats Julian on the head before snapping a finger gun at him. Thoroughly bamboozled, the punk simply pulls his phone out and types in the nearby university into the map app. After a few seconds, he shows Alberich the way to the campus- Scanning it for a minute, he lets out an astonished 'wow' before walking away with no other words. Standing there, dumbstruck at the series of events he had gone through, he was brought back to reality as he heard a familiar voice yelling to people to 'help him find that bastard.' Julian's eyes widen as he beats a hasty retreat into a nearby alleyway, hopefully away from his pursuers.
A day went by for Jessie and Jack with nothing of note happening save for the reminder of why they take Tylenol- To exclusively deal with the Wicked Witch of the West that was their English teacher. Her lessons were less lessons and more of ranting about the youth these days by using various examples in literature that were stretches that'd put most elastic superheroes to shame.
Eventually, they met outside of their usual cafe spot near the campus to wind down after a day of headaches and groans. Drinking their usuals, they couldn't help but overhear conversation from one of their classmates. Deciding to lean in and try to hear what they're going on about, Jessie kept an ear open to see what's up.
". . . Hear about that new transfer? Heard he's from Germany." One of the boys at the table notes. This elicited an eyebrow raise from Jessie- A lot of the students at her campus are German. Why's he so special?
"Really? I would've thought he was from somewhere else with his fashion sense." Another boy at the table asks, before the original student simply gave him a shrug in return.
"I dunno, man. Maybe Germany's having a fashion thing going on or somethin'." He responds, taking a sip out of his coffee cup. Finally, the only girl at the table chimed in.
"He's also kind of… Weird. Not even in just his looks, but the way he acts. Apparently, he doesn't even know what a computer is. Do you think he's… You know…?" She adds on, everyone at the table sharing their own confusion. Jessie looks over to Jack, seeing if he heard the same thing she heard. A nod from her classmate affirms her belief, as she leans towards him.
"Think it might be a fey…?" She asks, before Jack pauses, looking down at his coffee cup.
"Honestly, I'm just about ready for anything at this point. I wouldn't be surprised if he was even an alien from outer space." He sighs, taking another sip from his coffee. Jessie couldn't help but agree with him, even if she didn't really feel like it was the case this time.
Arthur was beginning to get worried- After the frequency of attacks, the idea of a peaceful day with nothing suspicious going wrong is worrisome for the ghostly fey. Either that means Moraiza was planning something big, or she was biding her time. Both of the outcomes do not bode well for Britain, but, alas, he cannot leave this castle. He should've known binding his soul to this place came with its set of disadvantages, but he still found himself frustrated at his inability to do anything outside of its stone walls.
That being said, it is not as if he is unable to know what is going on outside of his cage. He was thankful that the ancient humans followed his heedings and carved multiple runes into the ground across Britain- Magic Circles that can allow Arthur to peer into that area like a sentry of sorts. And, that's when he spotted him- The foreigner everyone had been speaking of. Though he only heard whispers and murmurs, he gathered that he was an outlandish looking individual, and certainly enough, the garishly dressed man had caught his eye. Or, at least, he was considered fairly strange to the more commonly dressed youth of Britain. But, as he looked at the possible foreigner, he couldn't help but feel something was off about him. Even aside from the strange fashion sense he sported. No, this was something magically off. Unfortunately, before Arthur could try to theorize, he was shunted back into the castle. He felt his essence begin to drain- A side effect from constant use of the Magic Circles set up. If the fey constantly uses the surveillance too long, he will drain out his essence- The reason he was still here, in the castle.
After taking a few seconds to recover, the dragon floated over to the table, sitting down on the chair he had chosen. It's possible that, perhaps, some of his kind had survived the destruction of his world. Though it's unlikely they fled to Earth, he can't rule out the possibility- Besides, with Alchemy, a human form can be attained.
"Curious… Truly, truly curious." He noted, before he floats down to the library. He feels like he may or may not have seen that person before. He figured that, where memory fails, books will not.
Jessie's day started off well with the fact that she woke up with what appeared to be a paperback version of 'The Matter of Britain' covering her face. It took her a few seconds before she remembered that she read it last night late into the night, trying to see what truth she could gleam out of the stories. Morgan le Fay, Lancelot, Arthur himself… It was clearly rationalized out as best as they could, with a few choice revisions, such as the main character's species, alchemy into magic and so forth. With what they knew now, it was definitely a fascinating read. Perhaps too fascinating, as she apparently passed out from exhaustion halfway through. Making sure to clean the book of any slobber, she got ready for the day as per usual, nearly smashing the alarm clock to pieces when it went off. To her surprise, she heard the knocking at her door earlier than normal- Seems Jack had tried to compensate for his late-ness by being extra early today. Getting dressed as quickly as possible, she saw the sorry state he was in. Though he wasn't zombie-like and trying to drag himself across the ground, he was certainly looking like he had a foot in the grave and another on a banana peel.
"Woke up at 5." Is all he said- Jessie made sure to check the Alarm Clock on the table. Yep, 8:28 AM. The student looked to her classmate with concern, but he just grabbed her by the wrist and began to drag her off towards their first class of the day, not wanting to waste and time.
The day was busy for them- They had 3 classes every tuesday and thursday, with every other day having just 2. It wouldn't be as bad if the classes on tuesday and thursday weren't the most complex and complicated- Machining Tech, Metallurgy Engineering, and Electrical Technician. All jobs that, while they seemed hands-on on paper, were actually bogged down in the first half by paper work and learning how things work before they could actually get to work. Jack mostly focused on writing, and at this point, Jessie almost felt like she did more writing than him. It was fascinating, do not get her wrong… But, at this point, she was having an itch to fulfill her hobby of taking things apart and putting them back together. So far, the most she was able to do with those classes was her pen, as she constantly took it apart and put it back together as a bit of a physical tic.
Opening her phone, she started to scroll through various social media sites as the student heard her instructor drone on about Iron and its usefulness for the 30th time. That enough was enough for her to start calling him Mr. Ironsides out of class, though Mr. Sid was probably more than happy enough to take the nickname.
It was around this time that Jessie felt the earth rumble and shake, the sound of destruction outside catching everyone in the classrooms interest. They all rushed to a nearby window, only to see that a giant building was halved in a matter of seconds, the top half sliding off before colliding into more. Pictures were instantly taken as Mr. Ironsides practically yelled at his students to get out of the school and make it to a shelter nearby. Jessie was the first to leave, though she made no plans to even go to a bunker and hide- As terrible as it made her feel, she was practically begging for this to happen. Grabbing her phone, she saw that her friends had already texted her in their group chat and decided to meet up nearby.
Alberich was all too happy that the armies of the fey began to cause havoc upon the world of Britain- After all, it was his time to shine then! But first, he needed to scout the area for those 'Armorgers' he had so much about- They were instrumental to his plans.
Though, he was unsure of how long he should remain on the sidelines, judging from who they sent down. Dark Purple armor glistening in the sunlight and a fire-like visor across his face depicting dark butterfly wings, he wielded what appeared to be a segmented sword that extended out like a whip. So that's how he managed to slice down that giant-ass building. Citizens fled in terror of the knight, who simply watched them in silence. He said nothing, only silently advancing forward. Watching the army appear in the distance, tanks at the ready, he simply raised a hand up. Light began to coalesce in the palm of his hand, before a bright beam of light ravaged not only the military brought to the scene, but the road and even a couple buildings. They were all enveloped in a blinding explosion, though the knight didn't even flinch. With a gesture, Homunculi began to run out across the street attacking stragglers that were left behind. Their short swords began to assault the citizens until a fireball hit one square in the head, shattering it like a sledgehammer to a rock. The Homunculus crumbled into rubble as Alberich observed 5 College Student age people run up-
Wait… That's Julian there! Does that mean…?
"Let's do this, everyone!" Jessie commanded, the others letting out a 'Right!' before showing off their various rings.
"ARMOR TRANSMUTATION!" They declared unanimously, before their rings summoned various elements that transformed into armor on them. While they had gone through their role call- Or, at least, a truncated version of it, Alberich couldn't help but feel a smile come across his face. Finally… His chance had come. But, first, he needed to wait. Can't let him spoil the stew by turning the temp up too high, right?
"Armorger… Riding Forth!" The newly formed Armorgers declared, before charging ahead to the battle.
The Red girl, Armor Red as Alberich noted, was the first to even engage against the Purple Knight, clashing her giant greatsword against his, he began to push him back, away from her comrades.
"You…! You're a knight, aren't you!? The same as us! Why are you-"
"I'm not interested- My Mistress' word is law, and I am the enforcer of said law. If she says that Britain needs to be destroyed, then I, Armor Faerie, will follow it suit. I hope you can understand." He interrupts, though his monotone, polite voice was not the type she expected to hear. Though distracted, Armor Faerie took the opportunity to strike, his sword's tip extending past the sword lock the two were found in and stabbing Jessie in the back. The attack was enough to stagger her momentarily, as the knight began to lay into her, slashing her in an X-shaped pattern before stabbing her in the middle. The attack was enough to make Armor Red fly backwards, curling up into a ball from the pain. The armor she wore… It practically did nothing! Retracting his sword into a blade, he held his hand out, before firing multiple shots of light towards the downed knight. The Armorgers watched in horror as their friend was bombarded with bolts of light, hitting her armor and even forcing her to revert to normal. After her armor left her vulnerable, Armor Faerie simply pointed a finger at her and began to charge up another shot.
"Don't do it! Knights… Knights are more than their master or mistress' orders! They are upholders of peace-"
"I don't care." He answers curtly, before firing off a beam. The Armorgers rushed forward in an attempt to help their friend, only to have her engulfed in a giant explosion. Armor Faerie stared at the smoke, watching for anything.
"You… You bastard!" Jack yelled out, before he took up his spear and began to charge the Knight. Of course, he only ran past the crater he shot to find out that Jessie still stood, alive and breathing, as a familiar face to Julian had wedged themselves between the purple knight and the leader. A gigantic lance used to parry the attack, the man stood to full height smoke clearing out of the way.
"A… Alberich!?" Armor Pink screeches, as Armor Yellow looks to him, curious.
"What, you know him?" She asks, the punk nodding instinctively. He was still in shock from what he thought was Jessie's death, and now this!? He was almost gonna be comatose at this point…
"Sorry for being late! I just thought that if I were to appear, I might as well do it with a bit of flair, right?" Alberich jokes, though Armor Faerie didn't seem to be too amused. Instead of attacking, the knight stood still, observing the new interloper as he made sure Jessie was alright.
"You all focus on the Homunculi- I'll take care of… Oh, what did you say your name was? Armor Fey?" He asks, taking out a notebook and writing down the name. The purple knight simply went for a decapitation slash against his neck, to no avail, as Alberich simply bent over backwards, flipping back onto his feet as he continued to write.
"Alright, alright, fine, I'll get to you." He complains, putting the small notebook away. Holding a hand out, he instantly balls it up into a fist before he struck his chest.
"FULL BODY TRANSMUTATION: ARMORGER!" Alberich yells out, before a dark body suit seemed to cover his entire body up to the top of his neck. It was almost comparable to a jumpsuit, just form fitting. Looking up, his eyes glowed with a light purple light, before his torso had become encapsulated in a lamellar-segmented breastplate, topped with a gigantic pearl-like jewel in the middle. Said pearl seemed to show a butterfly etched on it. Surrounding the pearl and extending out across the breastplate are vine-like silver-y carvings, with a few lamellar-like tassels hanging off the edge. The pauldrons were next, taking an epaulette form, complete with golden rope tassels surrounding the edges. Next were the gauntlets- Much like the other pieces of armor, it seemingly grew out of his body from the jumpsuit, covering his forearms entirely with a segmented, almost chitinous looking light purple gauntlet. Following suit were the greaves, which, much like Jessie, Bahisa and Riley, had a small train behind their legs- Though, this one seemed to be made out of the same lamellar plating his armor is made of. And, of course, there was the helmet, which the black jumpsuit seemed to produce from his neck up. The general shape was indicative of a German Visored Sallet, with a Butterfly shaped visor and a small fin-like part poking out the back of it. Holding his hand out once again, a small point poked out of the middle of his palm. Growing out of his hand, a giant lance launches forward- He manages to catch it by the hilt before it flies away.
"My Aether Longinus feeds on the fear of evil, Armor Purple is here!" He declares, before pointing his runed weapon towards Armor Faerie. The knight seems to almost take a step back from the sight of the weapon, though he doesn't run.
"Let's keep this interesting! Lightning Transmutation!" Alberich recites, the small disc-like device where the hilt and the metal lance meet beginning to turn, eventually ending up on a rune that's similar to one on the bottom. The lance responds by turning itself until the rune on the disc and the one on the lance meet up. The lance then began to explode with Electric energy, the tip gaining tesla coil-like discs at the end, the metal turning into a cobalt blue. Armor Faerie didn't seem that perturbed by the sudden appearance, instead snapping his fingers. As soon as the snap rang out, balls of clay rained down from the sky, before they transformed into more Homunculi. Armor Purple simply let out an indignant 'Hmph!' before grabbing his Lance's hilt with both of his hands and smashing it down on the ground. The resulting impact spiderwebbed lightning out across the ground, hitting all the newly formed Homunculi- Though, Armor Faerie managed to jump out of the way in time. The Homunculi twitched and shivered in place, paralyzed by the electric shock, before spinning the disc again.
"Let's go! Fire Transmutation!" He announces, as the Lance, yet again, changes form. This time, taking on a Bright Red color with various pieces of volcanic rock sticking out of it and smokestacks emitting out giant columns of smoke. Drawing a circle around him, the place where he dragged the tip of the lance caught fire with no warning before exploding forth in a gigantic wave of flames. The resulting fire crashed into the Homunculi, who exploded at the mere contact of the attack. Armor Faerie stood there plainly, watching as his small brigade began to dwindle down by the minute as the rest of the Armorgers finished up his original crew. Clearly outnumbered and outgunned, the Fey had only one answer to this.
"Fine. If you wish to duel, then let us duel at our fullest of strength. At least then, the loser won't regret their defeat." He suggests holding his hand out. The alchemy circle inscribed upon his hand began to glow with a red light, as a familiar sight began to occur in front of the knights.
"Magnum Opus Body Transformation: Gigant Fey." The knight announced, his voice still displaying a bored, placid tone as he began to grow to heights comparable to Jack-O'-The-Lantern. After he finished growing, the giant whipped his sword across the ground, destroying countless blocks of the city with just a single swipe and narrowly missing the Armorgers.
"Gah-! Dammit! Everyone, we need to form Great Armor Templar-!" Jessie began, before a hand on her shoulder stopped her thought. Looking over, Alberich, or Armor Purple simply shook his head, before stepping forward.
"Nah… This was my fight. I'll finish it myself. Just stand back, 'kay?" He asks, before thrusting his chest forward, the pearl embedded in his armor glowing with a magnificent light.
"MAGNUM OPUS ARMOR TRANSFORMATION: LEPIDOPTERA TEMPLAR, TAKE OFF!" The Knight recites, before his entire being was covered in a purple light. The first thing to emerge from his cocoon of light were two gigantic, gorgeous wings that seemed to span several blocks, before the legs emerged. Then, two thin, feather-like 'tails' emerged from the back as the entire Templar was formed. The Lepidoptera Templar in it's animal form, of course, resembled a giant Purple Steel Butterfly. The wings bore patterns of star maps and various constellations, including the Zodiacs, with the Sun being in the top corners of the wings. As well, the proboscis seems to be tipped with a blade at the end of it along with the bladed tips of the wings. The feet have multiple clamp-like attachments to them for carrying, and, overall, it seems to have a heavily armored appearance.
As soon as it took its full form, Armor Faerie threw another beam of light towards the Butterfly, who used its wings to reflect it back at him. Staggering back from the impact the knight simply stood his ground and tried to wrap the sword around the butterfly. After hooking onto the butterfly, he whipped it around behind him, smashing it into the ground. He then dragged it around before throwing it back into the sky. Of course, the insectoid Templar righted itself before another attack could be issued- Angling it's wings towards the Knight, Lepidoptera then shot out Chromatic Bolts towards him. For the most part, Armor Faerie simply parried them with his whip sword, before whipping his sword into a cone-like formation. Spiraling it as fast as he could, the resulting airflow began to drag the Butterfly closer, before Faerie grabbed its head and smashed it into his knee. The impact pushed the Templar back, before it made a mid-fall U-Turn and smashed into the Knight's gut, causing Faerie to stumble backwards.
"Well played. Though, I probably have had too much fun- Mistress would disapprove. Excuse me, but I must end this forthwith." Faerie responds, before charging up a giant bolt of Light in one hand, and a giant bolt of Darkness in the other. Colliding them together, the resulting power let loose a spiral beam of energy that struck the Butterfly dead on. Though a giant explosion had resulted in the impact, Faerie was still on guard. It was then that the light pierced through the smoke cloud from the previous explosion- A miraculous transformation was taking place! The front two legs that the butterfly bore began to fuse together, transforming into two heavily armored gauntlets and pauldrons, before the last, lower legs, transformed into greaves. The thorax moved upwards, out of the way of the newly formed legs, as the wings angled down becoming a newly formed cape. And, of course, the head turned backwards, the proboscis becoming a long, feather-like attachment as the plate on the back of its head flipped down, revealing a humanoid face, it's eyes covered by darkness.
"Hah! Thought you could get rid of me that easy!? Now, feel the wrath of the full-power Lepidoptera Templar!" Alberich yells out, a group of five swords circling behind his mecha. Each one was formed from the various elements- Electricity, Water, Metal, Air and Fire. Holding his hand out, the swords began to home in on the knight who immediately began to parry the remote controlled swords. Distracted by them, Alberich took the opportunity and sucker punched the knight in the back, using his cape to slash his exposed weak point. Crumpling from the hit, Armor Purple then went for the Karate chop to the neck though Armor Faerie rolled out of the way. Shooting his sword's tip towards the Mecha's head, he was interrupted by his swords, which all stabbed into the sword from all angles, making it stop before it could reach. Retracting the sword, Armor Faerie got to his feet and went for another slice against his body, though he simply bent backwards and had the swords stab into his back. Stumbling towards the Mecha, Alberich uppercut the Knight, sending him flying. Though stunned, Armor Faerie had enough conscious thought to hold his hand out.
"Mistress…! I am in need…! Of repairs…!" He calls out, before disappearing. Posing in victory, Lepidoptera Templar simply crossed their arms as the sword's span behind him in a ring formation. Their armor transmutations wearing off, Jessie fell to her knees, her brain fried.
"What the hell is even going on anymore…?" She asked to no one in particular.
A/N: a new armorger already? i feel like jessie- what the hell is going on anymore? ;)