"Well, The preliminary rounds are done!" Phoenix announced, leaning back in her chair. "And what a shock they were!"
"Indeed." Cleveland nodded her head. "If I am correct, former winner of last year's tournament and projected finalist Baltimore failed to secure a seat in the top eight!"
"And let's not forget Biloxi and San Diego." Phoenix tapped the side of her studio desk. "We were expecting a rather climactic fight from ranks 8 and 9 for the final seat, but both were upset by a destroyer: Nicholas!"
"Speaking of underdogs, We shouldn't forget the Siren Curiosity." Cleveland mentioned. "She has won all her fights in less than a minute. With Baltimore down, it seems she has a crystal clear path to the finals."
"I wouldn't be too sure." Phoenix shook her head. "I mean, there is a slight possibility of Montpelier being able to top her."
"I see…" Cleveland sighed.
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"Why the long face?" Phoenix poked her co-host. "I would be delighted to have my sister in the Top 8."
"I'm just concerned about her safety." Cleveland admitted, taking a sip of water.
"You shouldn't be concerned!" Phoenix patted her back. "I mean, the tournament does have a history of competitors using hidden deadly weapons to dismember their rivals and a group of biased officer corp overseers that will only intervene at their own discretion."
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"How was that supposed to help?"
"I mean, if you say all the worst things first, then surely it only goes up from here." Phoenix reasoned. (1)
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"You should never be a phyciatrist."
Disclaimer: Kiryu Kai Forever!
Today, I just learned that Montpelier is voiced by f-ing RIE TAKAHASHI
Holy CRAP My ears are BLESSED
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Maybe I should force Monty into a Megumin cosplay?
Reviews:
Severak: You know you can't live with out it. I gotta bring Indy back eventually.
The One: It's almost like the person who's writing Intrepid knows what is going to happen to them... :)
War Corgi: Crotch shots are painful no matter if you are a boy, a girl, or a 17 thousand ton warship!
John: Nicolas is far to inexperienced right now. But she might play a future role, maybe~
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Portland's POV:
"Are you ready for this?" Intrepid handed me my rewelded hull plating.
"As ready as I ever could be." I began to fill my last boiler.
"This is the first time you've faced a Siren since Guadalcanal, right?" Intrepid wiped my neck with a towel. "Didn't you get injured insanely badly then?"
"I've practiced for this match." I replied, finishing up my final stretches. "The most out of any other possible competitors. If there is one thing I can nail, it will be my anti-siren tactics."
"You should be careful." Intrepid offered me an oxycola. I turned it away. (2) "Curiosity's matches normally last less than a half minute."
"Let's change that." I rubbed my hands together before walking out to the grand stadium.
"How close!" Phoenix announced as the audience began to clap. "Essex just barely manages to stay afloat!"
"I expected this from the beginning, yet I didn't expect it to be this close." Cleveland admitted. "Essex is slipping. She should have never let Nicolas get into torpedo range."
"If it wasn't for the mishap in the dud torpedo, I would have no doubts that Nicolas would have won." Phoenix agreed. "Luckly, Faulty Ammunition managed to save Essex from elimination."
"But she can't rely on that forever." Cleveland noted. "But that's a story for tomorrows battle."
"That right!" Phoenix snapped her finger. "We will take a short break, and then it's up to the second round of the Quarter Finals: Portland versus Curiosity!"
I lifted my arms over my eyes to block out the sunlight. Compared to my previous fights in that suspicious hole and the gymnasium ring, Natural light would be the first outdoor match for me. Now that we are outside, I have to take into consideration the wind and the sun.
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It's been half a year since I've fought somebody in the daylight. Hopefully, my opponent will also be suffering from the weather.
I watched as Curiosity perfectly channeled a Siren ray into a practice water bottle, instantly evaporating its content.
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Who am I kidding? I'm facing a literal untouchable machine. My confidence began to drain out of my feet.
Suddenly, a blistering hot liquid dropped down my head.
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For the LOVE of Indy!
I gripped the back of my neck and dove my head underwater to quell the sting. Even though my ears were surrounded by the lukewarm Hawaiian summer tides, my body began to burn as the itch sprawled across my torso. I lifted my head out of the water and shut my mouth close to hold in the vomit.
"You okay Portland!?" Intrepid quickly came to my side and rubbed my back.
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"Just a little nervous…" I queasily waved her off, taking a sip of water. "I should be fine."
"Are you sure?" Intrepid wiped some of the sweat off my neck.
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"Totally." I got back up to my feet. In the corner of my eye, I saw Montpelier and her small flask of water vanish behind a support pole.
"And here she comes!" Phoenix raved from the sound booth. "Alrighty! Warm up time is over~"
"Time for round 2." Cleveland less enthusiastically announced. "Here, we have Heavy Cruiser Portland facing off against the only Siren in the competition, Curiosity."
"Well, Portland is certainly an interesting candidate. A former sex predator and the failure of Guadalcanal making it this far is quite intriguing." Phoenix read. "What's more, she managed to beat Baltimore in the final qualifying round with a dirty shot to the crotch. As expected of a criminal!"
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So how much did Independence pay you again?
"On the other side, we have Curiosity." Cleveland chewed on a piece of gum. "Not much is known about this Siren, but needless to say, all her matches lasted less than a minute."
"She sure is the stronger candidate." Phoenix agreed. "The question is: Can Portland pass that golden minute?"
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Why thank you.
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"I'm giving you one chance to Surrender!" Curiosity blasted her voice through a megaphone.
"How convenient." I taunted back. "I was going to say the same thing."
"Oh really?" Curiosity laughed. "You're funny! But wrong."
I slid to the side as a blast of the Siren heat ray vaporized the metal food stand behind me.
"I thought no lethal weapons were allowed!" I shouted to Enterprise, who was observing from the luxury booth.
"It won't kill you." A Siren next to her shook her head. "Just stun you for a bit."
Another homing blast funneled into the water beside me, burrowing into the depths as steam fumed from the wound.
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That doesn't look like a stunning weapon.
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Alright. I can't get hit by any round or else I'm dead. That makes my plan slightly harder. Approaching her from any direction would be suicide, so I must find a way to defeat her without closing the distance. I have to run and gun against a Siren.
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I winced.
Even the most optimistic of people know how sketchy this was.
But this is still better than nothing.
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"Well!" The sound booth echoed. "I see you both are very keen on this fight, but you have to wait until we start the match."
I took a deep breath.
"5."
I kickstarted my engine.
"4."
Light began to swirl around the body of Curiosity, forming glimmering rings around her carcass.
"3."
I steadied my twitching gun.
"2."
Curiosity placed one foot behind her back.
"1!"
An eerie silence blanketed over the ring. A gust of wind bloomed from the sky. I saw several rays of light above my head in the reflection in the water.
Curiosity sent the first rounds ahead of time!
I immediately slid to the side of the ring.
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"GO!" The intercom boomed as daggers of light stabbed the after mirage of my body.
I ran across the circumference of the arena as beams of lasers evaporated my footsteps.
My feet just barely managed to jut into the ground as Curiosity shot a tube of radiation in front of me. Taking her other finger, she unleashed a bar of plasma on the other side of the field and swung it towards me like a pair of scissors. I carefully back flipped over the converging beacons and used the momentum to switch directions.
"For Indy's sake!" I cursed under my breath as I zig zagged between Curiosity's death rays. Since I'm constantly moving, I ca-
I ducked under another bolt of plasma as a tide of ash blinded my vision. I dove into the water as another column of energy sliced across the ring.
-nt even think of a plan! She's completely suppressed me!
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I quickly emerged from the sea as a spiral of heat descended from the now grey sky. It struck the water, fabricating an echoing boom. Time seemed to stop as the newly created hole reflected the feverish flame into the air.
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I peered into the hole to see the scraped concrete at the bottom of the pool.
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Dear Indy.
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I stuck my arms out to balance myself as the water regained its senses and rushed into the now open well.
I didn't have a second to breathe. Immediately after steading myself, I noticed a grid-like pattern of plasma forming around Curiosity's fingers. With the flick of her hand, the crisscrossing blanket accelerated at me.
I took a step back and ran at the advancing wall, flipping through a crater in the embroidery. Her strikes were relentless!
I gasped for air as Curiosity summoned her next demonic attack. Wiping my sweat, I noticed that the rings around her began to unwind into a long twine. Grabbing it from one end, Curiosity whipped the device at me.
I weaved around her snapping slices.
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How do I even attack her? I can't even find an opening! Perhaps I need to fir-
A cackle of lightning swung from behind me. I jumped into the air. All the blades and rays were still rotating back around, conveniently overextended to show a modest gap in her infinite offensive. Curiosity was a couple of meters away. This was my first chance to attack!
I have to take this.
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Portland.
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RUN
I dropped to the ground and pushed my leg back to lift off. NOW
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My body fell to the floor.
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I slipped on the water.
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The opening faded away as the chains folded towards me.
I-
I failed.
Curiosity lifted her hand into the sky. A greyish yellow orb began to condense in her palm.
I closed my eyes and waited for the blow.
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I reopened my eyes. The pillars of light were digging into my clothes.
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But I didn't feel anything?
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Curiosity raised her eyebrows. She snapped another beam of radiation at me. It harmlessly reflected off me.
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I slowly walked towards her.
Curiosity threw everything she had at me. The whip of light wrapped around me. I flicked it; it tore apart.
She placed both of her hands in front of her and channeled another ray of heat at me. I walked through it.
The air behind the Siren turned green as Curiosity's ray multiplied in diameter. I continued to advance towards her. Curiosity's emissions faded away and she fell to her knees, coughing.
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I stopped right in front of her.
Curiosity looked up at me. I placed my turrets in front of her face.
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"Surrender."
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Curiosity nodded.
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"Agent 5, what is the matter?" The radio inquired.
"Commander. The serum works."
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I heard the soft clang of her radio dropping to the floor.
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"You know what this means, right?"
"Y-Yes." The radio quivered in excitement.
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"We can finally fight back against the Sirens."
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"Nice match." I threw a towel at Intrepid.
"Thanks." Intrepid sighed. "Ahh, my back hurts."
"That tends to happen when you trip over a torpedo." I recalled her second round with Princeton. "You were so caught up in that monologue you didn't even notice it coming. I mean, your 'Just because I'm lower ranked doesn't mean I can't beat you' was kind of chilling. Would have seemed far cooler if you did not faceplant into the ground the next second."
"I still won, didn't I?" Intrepid dropped to the chair. "Don't criticize me too much."
"Well it didn't have to come to a tie breaker." I noted.
"Fine." Intrepid motioned for my flask of water. "I could have do-"
Intrepid spat out the drink.
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"One coffee, 5 sugars, two creamers, eggnog, MSG, and a bay leaf." I poured it into her mouth. "The Indy special." (3)
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Intrepid discreetly vomited on the floor next to her.
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"Cruisers are insane." Intrepid burped. "They all are."
"Well let's hope Montpelier wins against Independence." I pointed to the two ships warming up for the match.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Intrepid chugged a bottle of water. "You might want Montpelier to lose."
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"What do you mean?" I faced her.
"Well, Montpelier knows all our secrets and our fighting style from watching us while she was injured." Intrepid grimly slouched back into her chair. "She has definitely formulated a plan to fight us."
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"So?" I tilted my head. "She is still our friend and we should root for her!"
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"Portland." Intrepid gripped my shoulder. "I don't think you understand."
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"There is a very real chance you will face Montpelier in the semi-finals."
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I bit my fingers. Montpelier and Independence stepped into the ring.
"They seem equally matched." Phoenix analyzed. "Montpelier is one of the most renowned Eagle Union cruisers in an already crowded field through her extensive use of kicks. Meanwhile, Independence has beaten all odds and risen up the ranks through her violent close air fighting. What matters is how Montpelier will stay in attack range while out of Independence's instant bomber raids."
Montpelier seems to be at a slight disadvantage. Her over reliance on kicks will force her to either expend energy or stay rooted on one foot, both which she can not afford to do while fighting against an Escort Carrier.
Montpelier placed a foot on the ground, evidently waiting for the first Airstrike. Independence slowly began to walk forwards, closing the distance.
Montpelier should keep a semi-large radius of distance between herself and the Carrier. She can't fight against Independence head to head. Unlike other carriers, Independence always fight hand to hand and, as such, has never used her airplanes for mid range to long range combat in tournament play. But Montpelier didn't know that.
I stood up from the crowd. I have to tell her!
I opened my mouth. Intrepid held my hand.
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That's right…
She is my enemy now.
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I sat back down.
Sorry, but you'll have to figure this one out.
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"Well, it all comes to this!" Phoenix blared into the microphone. "No side has surrendered yet! We've reached the final match up! Montpelier had a rough start, absorbing that heavy duty point blank bombing run! She managed to hold Independence back and retake several rounds, but no doubt her ship functions are slowly going to dull from the damage she sustained from previous rounds!"
Montpelier lightly swayed back and forth. I held my breath. Independence, at first glance in perfect shape, had been carefully hiding her breath and the tail end of her runway.
It's anyone's game.
Montpelier took her gun turrets and stuffed the rest of her rounds into the chamber. She was going for Baltimore's one shot kill. Independence clutched her lower arm. This was obviously bait.
Montpelier's engine began to sputter as she started to run for the first time since the start of the match.
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She fell for it.
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Trails of the crooked wind and the winding arrow in the rippling water re-emerged from her rudder. Even with her form crumbling, Montpelier pushed past her top speed for one final burst attack.
Independence ducked under the volley with unprecedented grace and jammed her deck into Montpelier's chin. An uncomfortable crunch echoed across the stadium as Montpelier fell back into the ocean.
Lying against the water, Montpelier gasped for air. Independence shut down her respiration cycle with a precise jab against her chest. Sputtering, Montpelier turned face down and placed her hands behind her head.
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She lost.
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Footnotes:
(1): I'm not really sure this is how Murphy's law works...
(2): Suddenly, Oxy-cola loses 4 million dollars in market value
(3): Remind me to never eat at Portland's place.
I think I have exhausted every synonym of Laser.
Oh I am so going to be screwed when Portland faces the nex-
Wait! No spoilers yet.
Anyways, See you next week!
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I quickly ran out to the field with a hospital stretcher. Montpelier was lying down on the ground, spasming violently in bursts. That doesn't look very normal. I need to get her to the hospital immediately! Perhaps I ca-
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Independence twisted her head to me and motioned with her hand to stop.
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We locked eyes. What does she think she is doing!? Montpelier's health is in danger! The round is over so there should be no problem with transporting her to get medical care. We nee-
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Independence lifted Montpelier's leg.
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And crushed it
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I pulled out my gun.
Quarter Final Standings:
Essex 3 - 2 Nicolas
Curiosity 0 - 1 Portland
Princeton 2- 3 Intrepid
Independence 5-4 Montpelier
Eliminations:
Baltimore - Round 3 (Projected Finalist)
San Diego - Round 3
Biloxi - Round 2
Louisville - Round 2