Law & Order: Leanbox
The Lynx
by Derald Snyder
Part 9- HDD Fight!
WARNING: There's going to be blood and gore here! Those with weak stomachs click away now, please.
DOWNTOWN LEANBOX CITY
OUTSIDE COURT
SEPTEMBER 20, 11:13 AM
(Where did she go?) Green Heart pondered as she flew around and through the skyscrapers. (I can sense her general presence, but...) Suddenly a medium-sized boulder fell on her from above, sending her into a downward spiral! Regaining control, she looked up, seeing the crazed face of HDD Alisa. The albino then sent her crystals to pummel Green Heart without mercy, who in turn let herself fall a little farther to get out of range, before summoning her spear.
(Music- 'Voltage', Megadimension Neptunia VII)
(Rookie mistake,) the greenette chastised herself. (I should have known an attack would come from my blind spot...) Dr. Pear abruptly teleported right in front of her, but Vert was ready this time, thrusting with her weapon and managing to land a scratch on the other CPU's hip. Alisa promptly backed off a little, as her four crystals shot beams of light that hit with tremendous force, forcing Green Heart the rest of the way to the ground.
She quickly righted herself, however, spinning her spear to deflect the crystals as Alisa attempted to pummel her again. "Nice try, but not this time."
"Oh, we're only just getting started," Dr. Pear stated with a grin that only a madman could wear. Snapping her fingers, the crystals suddenly appeared from below, hitting Vert several times as they rose in an upward spiral, carrying her with them... then Alisa teleported to Green Heart's position, unleashing a small explosion from her red crystal that sent the CPU falling again.
Vert gritted her teeth as she tried to think through the pain- she needed to go on the offensive, now! "Inbetween Spear!" she intoned, her weapon suddenly spawning several pointed energy projectiles which closed in on her opponent from all directions... Though Alisa tried to deflect them with her crystals, a few still found their mark, followed by a much larger energy spear which nailed her dead-on! "Not so cocky, now, are you?" Green Heart taunted.
"I will admit to not having seen that attack from you before," Alisa growled. "But my healing factor can easily negate such small scratches!"
The green-haired CPU looked closer, and sure enough the wounds she'd inflicted were already healing over. "A healing factor?! That's like something from an overpowered fighting game boss! How frustrating!"
"Exactly." Dr. Pear snapped her fingers again, conjuring several wind traps on the ground which blew Green Heart back into the air, then teleporting to her position and summoning a large energy blade which the CPU barely blocked. Alisa then magicked a large stone fist, the impact sending her opponent careening into a nearby wall. "Perhaps you're starting to realize just how outclassed you are..."
"Does anybody but you believe your lies?!" Vert shot back as she retaliated with a Rainy Ratnapura attack, Alisa's elemental crystals easily blocking the brunt of it as the CPU herself floated backwards and out of range. Not to be deterred, Vert followed up with a Sylhet Spear, only for Alisa to simply teleport out of harm's way. Green Heart then suddenly found herself encased in a large bubble, choking as her air supply was abruptly cut off. She quickly pierced the wall of the bubble with her spear, popping it and dumping water everywhere as she coughed and gasped for air...
"Aw, and here I thought you wouldn't mind cooling off a bit," Alisa taunted as she blasted Vert away with another small explosion from her red gem, only for the CPU to go into a roll and quickly right herself. The albino then used her yellow gem to spawn another boulder, Green Heart quickly spinning out of the way, before invoking another Inbetween Spear. Dr. Pear simply teleported again, only to realize the projectiles were actually tracking her, forcing her to rapidly teleport several times to evade the attack completely.
"Stand still!" Vert growled in frustration.
"Fat chance!" her opponent taunted, appearing behind the greenette and pummeling her from behind with her crystals, the CPU attempting to take flight again, only for another boulder to crash down upon her, pinning her to the ground!
"Hahaha... Now do you see, Vert? You never had a chance!" Alisa chuckled as she floated closer. "But don't worry, I'll take good care of Leanbox in your stead... and soon, all the other nations shall submit to me as well! Say hello to Lotson for me!" Clustering her four crystals together, she grinned madly as she intoned, "Salamander!"
The four gems emitted a huge fiery explosion, Vert screaming... Dr. Pear waited for the smoke to clear, so she could gaze upon her opponent's immolated corpse... only to see a large stone shield instead! "What the-?!" Then suddenly, a foot smashed into her face, sending her flying away a short distance! As she righted herself, Alisa's eyes went wide as she saw none other then the HDD form of Rei Ryghts herself standing before her. "You...!"
"Time to tag out, Vert," Chaos Heart stated matter-of-factly. "This bitch is mine."
Dr. Pear quickly recovered her composure, speaking, "What's this, now? You, saving a CPU? I thought you hated CPUs..."
"Well, you're a CPU, and I hate you," Rei retorted, her smirk quickly turning upside down. "In fact, just looking at you pisses me off to no end! This is exactly what I've been trying to avoid this entire time!" She then shrugged. "Oh well, it doesn't really matter... after all, your lab's shut down, and all your fellow scientists are rotting in the clink! All that's left is to destroy you, then I can finally put this sorry episode behind me!"
"...Do you REALLY think it'll be that easy?" Alisa smirked as she slowly rose into the air, her elemental Share Crystals rotating around her like an unholy halo. "I'll have you know, these elemental gems are products of my own research, not your DNA! Earth, Wind, Water, Fire... I have all the classical elements at my disposal!"
Chaos Heart just feigned a yawn. "That's nice, worm, but it won't save you!" With that, she summoned her staff-like weapon, holding it at the ready. "You do realize, I was watching your battle with Vert, so I have some idea of what you're capable of! I'm not going in blind like she was!"
"Some, but not all," Alisa smiled, before teleporting, Rei quickly turning to cover her blind spot... only to get hit from behind by an energy blade! "You fell for it!"
Chaos Heart gritted her teeth as she jumped into the air, spinning her weapon around, which sent some of Alisa's crystals flying away, though a few still found their mark, as the cyan-haired CPU backed up against a nearby wall...
"How clever of you," Dr. Pear's voice taunted, "putting your back to the wall to reduce your blind spots. Guess I'll just have to hit you head on, then." The yellow Share Crystal suddenly floated into view, before materializing a large stone fist, Rei barely blocking with her weapon, though the impact still caused a small crater. Rei then charged energy in one hand, before thrusting said hand into the stone fist, which cracked and exploded, sending rubble flying all over.
"You think you're hidden from sight..." Rei smirked as she charged another orb of red energy... "But I know exactly where you are!" She fired, the energy orb immediately arcing toward Dr. Pear's position, forcing her to teleport...
But then Rei fired four more balls in rapid succession, which spiraled in every which way! "Damn it!" Alisa cried as she used one of her gems to deflect one of the energy balls... only for the crystal to be trapped within the orb, rendering it useless! "What?!" The other energy balls closed in on her, three of them entrapping her other crystals, forcing the goddess to try and block the last one...
(Gotcha!) Chaos Heart thought as she made a slicing motion with her index finger... *Wha-P-SHING!* The air-slicing attack broke Alisa's guard causing her to get nailed dead-on by the energy orb, resulting in an explosion!
"Aaaaagghh!" the crazed albino cried in pain as she slowly fell down, Rei taking the opportunity to follow up, swinging her weapon into Dr. Pear's midsection, then kneeing her in the groin, causing her to double over. Then Rei grabbed Alisa by the head, the artificial CPU suddenly being engulfed in red energy herself!
"You can't teleport when I'm in direct contact!" Chaos Heart declared with an evil grin, as she flew downward, with the intent of slamming her opponent into the ground, Alisa futilely grabbing at Rei's arm to try and pry her off...
KA-BOOOOOOOM!
As the smoke and dust cleared, Rei slowly rose to a standing position, a miffed expression on her face as she turned to her left... "Hmph. You just managed to escape at the moment of the explosion. Clever thinking, maggot. You're faster than I thought."
Alisa stood a short distance away, panting heavily, one hand favoring her stomach. "D-damn you..."
"I had the feeling you'd be helpless without your elemental crystals to protect you," Rei continued with a sinister chuckle. "That was a mistake on your part, thinking I was as berserk as I had been back when I was a final boss... but if there's anything I've learned, it's that sanity has its advantages."
"DAMN YOOOOUU!" Alisa roared, an angry red aura surrounding her, as her crystals broke out of the orbs they had been trapped in, which immediately shot downward at Rei, who spun her staff to deflect the attack... only to get kicked in the stomach by Dr. Pear, who followed up with a left hook to the cheek. The bluenette swung her weapon in retaliation, only for her enemy to teleport away.
"Salamander!" Alisa intoned, the fiery explosion catching Rei off guard as she was sent flying away... then the albino snapped her fingers, the yellow crystal this time magicking a set of four large stone feet, which literally stomped Rei into the ground! The feet then began to crack up, before exploding in a flare of red energy!
"Not good enough, maggot!" Chaos Heart growled as she fired off more homing energy orbs, Alisa vanishing once more, before suddenly appearing behind her opponent, grabbing her from behind in a full nelson! "Oh, shit!" the bluenette cried as her own attack turned back on her, screaming in pain as she was nailed dead-on!
"You can dish it out, but you can't take it!" Dr. Pear laughed as she released her grip and kicked Rei away, teleporting again before the CPU could retaliate. She then intoned another Salamander, but this time the attack was blunted by Rei's stone shield. Chaos Heart then fired another flurry of projectiles, which homed in on their target... This time, Dr. Pear simply flew behind and around walls and buildings, letting the energy orbs impact on those instead of her. "Is that the only trick you have...? Oh, right! You never bothered to train yourself, because you wanted the other CPUs to be able to stop you if you lost control! Isn't that right?"
"Even untrained, I fought Blanc to a standstill!" Rei shot back as she took to the air again. "And she's much more of a stone wall than you are!"
"Perhaps... but what I lack in defense, I make up for in ATTACK." Alisa's crystals came from below again, repeatedly hitting Rei in an upward spiral. Then the blue crystal encased the CPU in a large bubble, Dr. Pear shoving it downward, the bubble exploding on contact with the ground. However, when Alisa looked down, Rei was gone! "What the- where'd she go?!"
"Right behind you, worm." Dr. Pear's skin turned pale, having no time to react as Chaos Heart brought her weapon down on her head, sending her crashing to the ground, then getting the wind knocked out of her by a follow-up double kick to the stomach. "Ready to surrender yet, maggot?" Rei smirked as she kept one foot on her enemy's stomach. The albino responded by bucking her off and teleporting again, Chaos Heart putting her guard up as she looked in every direction...
What she didn't expect, however, was a large laser coming down from the sky, abruptly encasing her in a large crystal! "How do you like my ultimate technique?" Alisa cackled with one hand outstretched. "Never saw it coming, did you?!" With that, she turned away, the crystal shattering, Rei screaming as her transformation broke, collapsing to the ground all but unconscious. "Aw, done already? I'll admit, you actually made me break a sweat... but now we know who the strongest CPU is! And soon, all the other goddesses shall fall to my unmatched power, and all of Gamindustri will be under my heel! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!"
"I think not," a voice cut into Alisa's triumphant laughter, the CPU turning to see Green Heart standing nearby, one hand nursing her arm.
"You again? I already kicked your ass once," Dr. Pear sniffed as she crossed her arms in annoyance. "Do you honestly think you still have a chance of winning?"
"In the name of a famous Leanbox patriot... I have not yet begun to fight!" With that proclamation, Vert raised one hand to the sky. "I call upon the power of the Hyper Share Crystal! Access NEXT Form!"
(Music- 'Absolute', Megadimension Neptunia VII)
"Wh-what?!" Alisa gasped in disbelief as a screen appeared in front of Green Heart, which she swiped her hand across, being briefly engulfed in light, her outfit becoming even skimpier as her hair turned a darker shade of green. A holographic list of files then appeared in front of the CPU, who selected four of them, which materialized as black gauntlets for her arms and legs, a black mechanical horn appearing on her forehead as a new set of processor wings materialized behind her, Leanbox's emblem appearing just above her ample bust. "Y-you had a second transformation?!"
NEXT Green simply smirked as she stated, "Didn't you know? When the situation is at its most dire, the heroine awakens to a new power in order to save the day! And now you shall learn why I am the only true goddess of Leanbox!" Dr. Pear suddenly found herself careening into a wall, her solar plexus suddenly registering pain on impact. The albino looked up to see NEXT Green with her fist outstretched.
(Was that... just one punch? I didn't even see it!) Regaining her composure, Alisa growled, "So, you've gotten a bit faster... but it won't help you!" With that, she teleported away...
-only to see NEXT Green right in front of her! "Hello!" the CPU greeted as she elbowed her opponent in the breast, sending her flying! Alisa teleported again-
-only to get kicked in the back as soon as she reappeared! She tried again, and was rewarded with a punch to the head, sending her downward! NEXT Green was suddenly there on the ground, lashing out with a vicious side kick that sent Alisa into the wall, causing a notable dent. (It can't be! She's faster than my teleports?!)
"What was that you were saying, about being outclassed?" Vert taunted. "It would seem the tables have turned..."
"Like hell they have!" the artificial CPU yelled as she sent her gems at NEXT Green, only for the goddess to instantly appear in front of her, kneeing her painfully in the stomach, then pinning her to the wall by her neck!
"You do realize, I haven't even used my weapon yet," the Leanbox CPU taunted with an evil smile. "But I will give you the chance to surrender gracefully..."
Alisa's response was a knee to the groin, loosening Vert's grip just enough for her to pry free and teleport a short distance away. She then conjured more wind traps which blew her adversary back into the air, but when Dr. Pear sent her crystals for a follow-up attack, NEXT Green vanished and reappeared behind the albino, kicking her into another wall.
"I'm warning you, Alisa," Vert cautioned sternly. "Don't make me destroy you..."
"D... destroy ME?!" Alisa hissed as she rose to a standing position. "The only one that's getting destroyed is YOU!" She sent an energy blade at NEXT Green, who again dodged, her opponent putting up her guard just in time to block the retaliatory kick. The stone fist appeared again, knocking the CPU away, only for her to vanish and elbow Dr. Pear in the breast, causing her to fall to her knees from the pain.
"Are you ready to give up yet? You should realize by now you can't win..."
Alisa spat an expletive at Vert, before snapping her fingers, the crystals hitting the greenette from behind, but she simply flash-stepped a short distance away, finally summoning her spear. "Rainy Ratnapura!" Dr. Pear screamed as she was assaulted with several blows, too fast for her elemental crystals to block, several large gashes appearing on her body as a result. "As you can see, I am clearly capable of of out-damaging your healing factor now..."
"This can't... be happening!" Alisa grunted in disbelief, staggering as she tried to remain upright. Glaring at NEXT Green, she raised her arms over her head, the CPU taking a defensive stance...
Only for Alisa herself to be encased in crystal instead! Looking closer, Vert saw her opponent's wounds begin to heal more rapidly. "Ah, a combination self-healing/defensive technique..." Acting quickly, she struck with a Purpurascens Burst, several cracks appearing in the crystal, the last blow shattering it completely! "Nice try, Doctor..." But the albino was gone!
"Salamander!" NEXT Green cried out in pain as she was engulfed in a fiery explosion!
(Oh, that is IT...) Flying up into the sky, she intoned, "Inbetween Spear!" The projectiles homed in on Dr. Pear's location, who teleported several times to evade them-
"Rainy Ratnapura!" Vert appeared in front of her, Alisa putting up her crystals to defend, only for the repeated strikes to crack and then shatter them utterly!
"WHAT?!" The albino cried in shock, before getting nailed by the Inbetween Spear projectiles, getting badly wounded!
"I will give you one last chance to surrender yourself," NEXT Green stated with barely restrained anger. "Do so, and I will promise you a fair trial..."
"F... fair trial?!" Dr. Pear hissed in pain. "Why should I... subject myself to that... when we both know what the verdict will be?!" She raised her hands again...
Vert easily dodged the laser coming from the sky, which caused a large crystal formation on the street. "So be it. Then I shall pass judgement now. SYLHET SPEAR!" Alisa tried to teleport, only for NEXT Green to easily compensate, the attack impaling her enemy through the torso, pinning her to a concrete skyscraper! Any level-headed person who would have been observing the battle would have realized that the wound was fatal.
"D-damn it..." Alisa whimpered, blood coming from her mouth.
"I didn't want it to end like this," Vert shook her head sadly. "But you forced my hand... May the powers that be have mercy on your soul."
"Not over... yet..." the artificial CPU grunted, as she began to glow... "I'll take.. you all... with me...!"
NEXT Green's eyes went wide with horror at hearing that... (She can't mean to use her remaining Share Energy to self-destruct-?!)
"GET OUT OF THE WAY, VERT!" A familiar voice called out, the CPU turning to see Chaos Heart flying towards them, holding her weapon out. "LIGHT OF..."
Vert gasped, before quickly vanishing out of harm's way.
"ABSOLUTION!"
"GRAAHHHHHH! DAMN YOU, REI RYYYYYyyyyyyyy..." Alisa C. Pear screamed as her body was completely annihilated by a pillar of red light, her final revenge having been denied her. When the smoke cleared, all that was left was a large vertical gash in the building, exposing the inside. (Fortunately, the people within the building had hunkered down in the basement.)
Rei panted heavily as she slowly descended to the street, her transformation reverting once she touched down, falling to her hands and knees, her head bowed. NEXT Green then appeared in front of her. "Nice job, Rei... You succeeded where I would have failed." Looking closer, however, she realized that the horned woman was crying. "Is something wrong...?"
Rei looked up at the goddess, the lower rim of her glasses saturated with her tears. "I... I swore... wh-when I regained m-my HDD power... th-that I would never... n-never take another life... ever again... b-but now... I... I..." *sob*
Vert's eyes widened slightly in comprehension, letting her transformation revert as she knelt down in front of the bluenette, pulling her head to her chest. "Oh, Rei... You know I didn't mean it like that..."
Rei hiccuped, "I-I know... but... I still... have b-blood... on my hands..."
"And you think I don't?" Vert countered. "There have been times that I've been forced to make tough decisions for the sake of my nation and my people..." She put her hands on Rei's shoulders as she looked her in the eye. "If you hadn't done what you did, Dr. Pear would killed me, you, and possibly everyone in Leanbox City. Count the living, Rei... not the dead."
The lawyer blinked several times as the goddess' words sank in... she felt the heaviness in her heart lighten somewhat. "Th-thank you... I needed t-to hear that..." She wrapped her arms around the CPU as she once again buried her head in Vert's ample bust, the blonde sighing softly as she hugged her back for a few moments, before pulling out her mobile device and dialing a number.
"This is Vert. The threat has been neutralized. I repeat, the threat has been neutralized. Send in the emergency crews to secure the scene... oh, and at least one building may have to be condemned..."
*To be concluded...*