Oh, IF? Tehehe, do not worry, my Lady. All of us think highly of her, though we also want to give her a spanking for her horrible magical education. Oh, and here is something you probably didn't look into: her mother's side of the family branched off of ours five generations ago. Surprising, yet it makes so much sense with her SP. I heard my good-for-nothing of a daughter planning how to connect with her, but... let us say there will be no progress on that end as long as it is for appearances.
-Nishizawa Keiko, matriarch of the Nishizawa family
IF yawned as she stepped out of the train. Cold air immediately bit her the moment she took her first breath in the loweean climate; even the heavy blue coat she wore could not prevent it from slipping through and making her shiver in places. Its stuffed hood had the side effect of obscuring her face, though; nobody paid much attention to her because of it.
Half a week passed since her first date ever, and the time went by rather smoothly; the short break had been enough for her to recuperate somewhat. Talking to Tekken was a little awkward at first, but IF quickly realised that little changed. They got along well.
Cold wind quickly took IF's mind off of her since departed friends; Falcom and Tekken both headed home the previous evening, the morning after which she had taken the train to Lowee.
By herself, the young Maker wondered just why Neptune would send her on an assignment in another nation that was to only last three days. There was not that much she could do in such little time. Granted, IF could guess the important part of it was to introduce her to the various other Makers, yet she still felt that this could have been solved better.
She shivered in the cold air and huddled a little deeper into her coat's collar. Her mind busied itself with the question of how cold it had to be in the heart of the nation if a small town several dozen kilometres from the border was already like this. Then she beheld the city itself and pushed aside the thought.
Before her lay a field of colourful lights, shining brightly in the fading night; IF had been on the train for three hours, from ten in the morning at home to seven in the morning at her destination. Lowee got less sunlight than the rest either way, but with how bright the city before her shone, one could think they made more than up for it.
Planeptune in the morning felt imposing, towering buildings sleeping in the shadows cast by streetlights. Lastation appeared more down to earth, quietly lying until its people awoke. Lowee, on the other hand, was warm and friendly even this early. Welcoming, even.
Other travelers had stopped much like her, most of them on their first visit to the Land of White Serenity. IF began to understand how it earned its name.
No large skyscrapers like home, no massive buildings like in Lastation. Just masses of bungalows, arrayed in patterns she could not discern from where she was. The only structure that stood out was the Basilicom, a vast stone spire reaching a hundred metres into the sky. It appeared much like a watchtower.
That place was also her destination; all three loweean Makers were supposed to meet her here for a larger assignment, seeing that a great number of powerful monsters had spawned nearby. They were spotted quickly and thankfully had not yet moved, but their number meant a few might make it into the city during a joint attack.
Originally, IF had been meant to travel to the capital of Myora. Neptune contacted her with the change of plans when the Guild found the monster den, but told her not to rush in the very same message. Now that she was here, she understood her friend's reasoning: even just moving around could be troublesome in Lowee. She would have to get used to the climate as best as she could before heading into battle.
Seeing that their meeting was scheduled to be later in the morning, IF found herself with a bit over two hours of idle time. With no idea what to do in an unfamiliar city, she decided to take a closer look and began to walk.
Planeptunian cities grew in all three dimensions, making them ultimately smaller than loweean ones. Just walking from the train station to the center of this town would take at least an hour. Lights of all colours illuminated the streets, mostly traversed by carriages and foot travel. She did not really stand out, as most people wore coats of similar thickness. Some were out and about in shorts and shirts, the first of which was a woman who made IF suspect a CPU. But there were more as she strolled along. The very idea of not bundling up in this weather appeared alien to her.
Nonetheless, IF had to admit that being dressed like this was a welcome change of pace; the constant attention, no matter how subdued it was by manners, had begun to bother her. Having to sweat in the heavy clothes she wore was a small price to pay in her opinion, at least for a time.
Shaking off the thought, she found that snow was everywhere; not just covering the ground, but also around and on the cozy houses she passed; all the roofs were angled and appeared rather smooth, making larger masses of snow just slide off. Mages melted overly large amounts with fire magic to make sure it did not block the street or buildings, mindful to melt the ice this procedure left as well.
After seeing this, the young woman took note of holes in the white blanket in other places; it appeared to be a common practice and she could understand why. Her own fire was by far not precise enough to melt snow in winter without scorching everything else, but many of the other children with magic had used it to get around shoveling duty.
With nothing to really occupy her mind, IF's thoughts eventually returned to the last few days of her life. She was still tired from how hard they had to work; this could not go on as it had. No matter how little she liked it, keeling over from exhaustion was not an option.
She knew that she could keep going if need be, but felt this would be better served in emergencies.
Yet the only thing she could cut down on in her everyday life was training. Staying in shape was important, though IF had to admit that her current standards were no longer sustainable during work days. They ate basically all of her free time.
A few minutes of quiet introspection passed, the young woman steadily wandering through snowy streets. She did not like the decision she reached, but figured it had to be done; cut all of her exercises and practice in half during work days. She would see whether those additional three hours were enough to get by on.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a snowball flying right past her face, and more soon following. Not out of malicious actions, but because a gaggle of children started throwing them at each other up ahead. Other passersby had to dodge some as well, though nobody seemed to mind. It was a common occurence.
Feeling playful, IF made a quick step to catch the next snowball that came her way; the girl who threw it appeared surprised and a little awed... until it impacted her chest, that was. IF had made sure not to throw with enough force to hurt her and gave the girl a cheeky wave as she passed by. Other children were laughing while her target pouted; it was visible in her entire posture even without being able to see her face well.
The child wiped off the snow before going back to play, though nobody else commented; their amusement was hidden by their own coats and the receding night. IF herself smiled as well; if the children were happy, the nation was prosperous.
. .
. .
Little happened on her way to the Basilicom. She saw flowers growing out of the snow-filled pastures, refusing the call of endless winter and blossoming nonetheless.
And once she actually paid attention to the carriages passing by her once in a while, she was reminded of the fact those were drawn by bears. With their white fur, the hulking creatures could barely be seen where snow was prevalent.
Of course she had known, intelectually, that bears could be found in Lowee. Yet actually seeing them was an entirely different experience.
She stayed out of their path as best as she could. Those creatures had to be well-domesticated to be allowed near children, but she still did not want to end up in front of one that was going the other way.
That were all of her observations until she reached the Basilicom, half an hour before her meeting was scheduled. IF calmly walked through a set of metal doors, entering a small chamber together with one other person. The next set of doors, made of glass, did not open immediately.
She knew what the sign on them said already, having read up on the practice. As warm air filled the room, the young woman spent these moments taking off her heavy coat. The regular one was underneath, though a little rumpled.
In Lowee, governmental and all other public buildings were uniformly built with two sets of doors to ensure most of the heat inside the building could not dissipate easily; the rooms between these worked as a buffer.
It was still not a comfortable temperature by the time the glass doors opened, but definitely no longer freezing. The procedure took maybe twenty seconds. Once the doors unlocked, IF stepped forward and opened them; warmer air greeted her immediately and she relaxed a little.
As she entered the main lobby, differences between the two nations became rather more clear. The building appeared more bare than the polished metal surfaces of home, more... rough, was the best way she could describe it; all of it had been built out of actual bricks instead of steel as well. The front desks were made of dark wood instead of plasteel, giving everything a much different feel from Planeptune's sleek and smooth architecture.
The counters in front were not her destination, though. IF went right past them and for the elevator close to the tower's main axis. The guard there eyed her for a moment, but quickly snapped to attention before she even showed her ID. With her winter clothes off, Maker IF had become recognisable once more.
The woman even saluted, which brought her some more attention from the attendants; IF did her best to ignore it and moved past the guard with a nod, quickly entering the elevator. She knew where to go.
Unlike the main Basilicoms of the nations, this place lacked the space to allow people to roam freely. Had she been a civilian, she would have to be processed at the front desk before being directed to a specific storey.
Instead of immediately heading for her destination however, IF made a detour to the seventh storey; it held guest quarters for officials passing through, and one had been prepared for her. She left her bag there, content that she did not have to look for a hotel. Being employed by the state had some nice perks.
On the way down to the fifth storey, IF checked her phone; she got messages from her divine friends as well as Compa, the latter wishing her good luck and the former telling her about mundane things. Neither CPU appeared worried about her at all.
Smiling to herself, she pocketed the device and opened the door. After standing in front of it for a few seconds and waiting for it to open, that was. She was around too many automatic doors in recent months.
A little embarassed and glad that nobody had seen her faux pas, IF made to take a look around. She was addressed immediately: "Welcome, comrade! You are ahead of schedule, so join me and make yourself comfortable." A mature yet playful voice called out to her, bringing her attention to the blunette already seated inside.
It was a medium-sized conference room, enough space for the single occupant to not be seen immediately. Her hair fell loosely down the white jacket, yet not even close to the length necessary to reach down to the end of its long hem. IF curiously noted the black trims as well, similar in colour to the pointy hat laying on the table.
Framed by her hair were deep blue eyes that held honest curiousity and a spark of great intelligence, as well as a welcoming smile. The little mole below her eye was barely visible, but there.
Maker MAGES., the most resourceful mage of her era. Despite having less Spellpower than IF, her efficiency was peerless.
IF smiled in return and raised her hand in greeting; the older woman's words had been a little weird, but she paid them no mind. "Good morning. I didn't expect anyone to be here already." She wandered over and the blunette stood to shake her hand, absently righting a sleek staff of blue metal that was in the process of tipping over.
"We all had to make the journey from Myora; our comrades are yet busy with private matters, though they will join us in the near future." MAGES. held an easy smile and looked IF over; she stood a little smaller than the brunette, but that did not bother her at all. "We already heard great things of you; meeting you in the flesh is an honour and a pleasure."
"Likewise," IF returned with a faint blush; she still had to work on her reactions to getting praised. She shook it off well enough, though. "It's the first time I get to meet and work with actual mages, so I'm looking forward to it." After a moment, she frowned. "No pun intended."
Her add-on drew a snort out of the older woman, who motioned for her to sit. "It is quite alright. Half the reason I picked this name is to force people into making the pun." She picked up a mug of weakly steaming coffee. "We should have about... twenty minutes before the other two arrive," she noted with a glance at a pocketwatch she carried. "Though Broccoli will be fashionably late by one minute as usual, I presume."
The brunette answered with a slightly raised eyebrow, but did not comment. She was used to other Makers having weird quirks by now, and this appeared comparably tame.
She got herself seated and loosened the straps of her katars, carefully placing her weapons on the table. Even though she doubted that they had been harmed by the cold, IF would not leave that to chance. Her blades were important in combat.
MAGES. eyed her curiously as she worked, but did not comment outside of an approving nod that IF failed to see. The younger woman had all her attention on her katars and quickly determined that everything was alright. Though the blades ought to be sharpened at some point in the near future.
Once she had finished her assessment, her colleague spoke up: "I am going to gather some more coffee. Would you like some as well?"
Her offer caught IF off-guard, but she quickly nodded. "Sure, thank you." She was not the biggest fan of coffee even after drinking it for so long, but it was warm and she could use something to drink.
MAGES. left the room without responding, soon returning with two mugs. IF thanked her again and took a sip.
A few minutes later, which the two spent mostly in a comfortable silence, someone else entered the room. What immediately stood out to IF were her orange hair and bright smile; a moment later she also noticed the newcomer's womanly figure below her thick sweater and trousers, but ignored it in favour of listening to her call of "Good morning!"
A melodious and peppy voice, as she recalled hearing the few times TV had broadcasted something about MarvelousAQL. None as outstanding as Falcom or MAGES., but a steady person who made it to Maker with talent and dedication alike.
"Oh, you are already here." And she had been spotted. Marvelous quickly wandered around the table to bow at her, which IF returned a little awkwardly. "It's a pleasure. I am MarvelousAQL, Marvy in short. I'm looking forward to working with you."
Her genuine happiness threw the younger woman off for a moment, but years of dealing with Compa made it easier to adjust. "Likewise. I'm IF, nice to meet you."
The older Maker nodded enthusiastically and gratefully accepted a cup of tea from MAGES., who motioned for them both to take a seat. "Let us sit for the moment until our last companion arrives. I very much doubt she will be ahead of schedule."
Marvy chuckled at that. "Of course she won't." IF just accepted the weirdness and sipped her drink until all attention went back to her. "Don't worry, you will like Broccoli. She is a little rough around the edges, but a sweet girl over all."
She had heard differently, but already figured not to make assumptions ahead of time. Going by MAGES.' chuckle however, Marvy was not telling her the exact truth either.
"We will see how those two get along, friend. But for now, would you indulge a magician and tell us about Planeptune?" The blunette put her empty cup down and shrugged over IF's curious look. "I am rarely deployed there, though the technological advancements are quite enjoyable."
"Mhm, that's true." Marvy frowned in thought. "I think our Lady usually sends her to Leanbox for some reason." MAGES. nodded in agreement, but did not comment.
IF found no reason not to induldge her colleagues, so she began to speak after a moment of thought.
. .
. .
Just as they said, Broccoli arrived punctually... a minute after the full hour. IF paused when the door opened, turning her attention there to see a little head peeking in; a head adorned with lightly coloured cat ears, which would have told her enough by itself already.
IF knew that Nepgear was working on mechanic ear types that could act like the real deal, but they were very much prototypes. This girl's ears flicked by themselves when she saw them, and a cheerful smile found its way onto her face. She quickly strolled into the room with a chipper "I'm here!", which the three women answered with greetings of their own.
Seeing Maker Broccoli in person, IF had to admit that one could easily mistake her for an actual child; she never asked Neptune for the classified background and doubted her friend would have told her even if she did, but Broccoli looked like a child. No older than eight. IF had been around children that age for most of her life, meaning that her instincts immediately tried to put this one into the same category. To be protected.
The fact she sported cat ears and a matching tail at least lessened the sensation, not that it would have had much of an influence on IF either way. The little brunette ran forward with a big smile to meet her, hugging her waist in greeting. "And you're IF. I heard a lot about you!"
She spoke as clearly as an adult, with the voice and mannerisms of a child. IF pushed back the feeling of alienation and decided to just treat her as such in turn; so she bent down and picked Broccoli up while answering her: "I hope only good things?"
The girl's surprise only lasted for a moment, then turned to mischievous glee as they came face to face. "Yup, everyone says you're great." She started to feel over IF's face, to which the brunette raised an eyebrow. They both had brown hair, and hers was curiously examined in childlike wonder.
Marvy and MAGES. contained their amusement in the background, though IF paid little attention to them. She blew a bit of air into Broccoli's face and gently pulled back her head, as she was used to. "That's enough of that. I don't like peoples' hands in my face."
"Aww." The Loweean sighed and pouted. "But your skin is nice and smooth; Marvy and MAGES. are getting wrinkles already." Her words led to two vastly different responses from the two: MarvelousAQL's eyes widened and she hurriedly made for a mirror to look herself over; her blue-haired companion merely smirked and shook her head.
IF only kept her eyebrow raised. "Still no. I'm sure there are enough girls my age who will let you if you ask. You have the cute child routine down pat."
Her compliment made the other Maker giggle. "Thanks, it took me years to get just right. Can you let me down?" IF put her to the ground without hesitation, earning a nod from Broccoli. The smaller brunette strolled around and climbed on one of the chairs, seating herself and waiting for her to do the same.
While IF seated herself, MAGES. rolled out a map for everyone to see. "I already marked our marks for this day's hunt. Did you get the details, IF?" She waited for the Planeptunian to nod, then continued: "Wonderful. Now then, most of them are around these parts."
The marked area was mostly flat terrain, not that it helped much. A dozen Phoenixes, several Turtles, a half dozen Whales, and several hundred smaller monsters already told IF that this would be a dangerous one. Many flying opponents and that last count did not include Dogoos, which could always merge into giant versions if threatened.
Broccoli looked over the map with a sigh. "That will take all morning, and maybe even the whole day if some start running. We could do it with the three of us, but four is nicer. Less work for everyone." The not-child cast a look toward IF after saying that. "I heard you're good. Do you think you can do this?"
For some reason, the doubt in Broccoli's voice irked her a little. It did not help that IF's own feelings on the matter told her no, then yes, then no again. She returned the girl's look flatly and raised an eyebrow. "My gut says no, the fact I'm here says yes." There was a bit of a challenge there, for the other Maker to say something insulting, but Broccoli did not take it.
Her ears flicked as she tilted her head, giving IF another look and a nod. "Okay."
"The feeling will never truly pass, comrade," MAGES. interjected with a sage nod before drawing their attention back to the task at hand. "But that aside, there are too many to use our usual strategy of distraction and disintegration. All of us will have to get close today." She did not sound happy, though IF could sympathise; a mage would naturally dislike melee as much as she disliked ranged combat herself.
"Heh, so the new girl gets to see me at my best?" Broccoli giggled mirthfully, over which the other two made faces.
"You have to know," Marvy began after a moment, "she is not the nicest kind of sight when she goes up close with enemies." IF had no idea what she was going on about; Broccoli only giggled more, making the busty Maker sigh. "Just... just be prepared to see something that looks really bad?"
"O...kay?" She still did not get it, but no one seemed comfortable enough, or in Broccoli's case willing, to talk more about the matter. At least she got a warning, though she was not sure about what.
MAGES. stopped any further distractions with a weary sigh. "Anyway, our main problems are the number of enemies and the fact so many of them can fly. The army would take too long to mobilise in the quantities we need to deny their airspace. We do have a squadron from the magic division on call, though."
"Eh, don't need them. There's ten thousand SP between IF, you, and me." Broccoli waved a hand dismissively. "If we need more, we can just as well call Blanc to do it for us."
Blanc being White Heart told IF enough about what her fellow Maker thought. She did feel she should clarify though, so she coughed. "I'd like to stop you there." Broccoli made a go-on gesture, waiting for what she had to say; the girl blinked over IF's next words: "I suck at magic."
"Wait, really? How? Your SP is enormous, I know that for a fact." She appeared genuinely confused, as did MAGES. and Marvy. "I looked at the numbers, it's almost as high as my own. How is that possible?"
IF had already known that before. It meant a lot, considering that the girl before her held the highest documented amount of SP in the entire gamindustrian populace.
The younger one, however, shrugged. "Never learned, never really put as much effort into it. Call me stupid, which I was, but I wanted to become strong and not a mage."
Broccoli did not even waste a moment in thought before responding: "Yeah, that's pretty stupid." Marvy grimaced over her bluntness, though MAGES. nodded her agreement. After having already agreed to it preemptively, IF saw no reason to argue the point. She had been dumb and now she paid for it.
"Okay..." Broccoli eyed her carefully. "How much do you suck at magic? We need to know that before we can go." She took a breath to continue, but paused and waited for her.
IF herself shrugged again and started counting off. "So, my Affinities are fire, light, and healing. I'm actually at least decent at healing magic." Nods from the other mages while Marvy listened curiously. "Nep gave me some remedial lessons, so I can at least use wind and ice, too. Raw magic is possible, but I can't keep it up for long."
"Demonstrate." That was MAGES., and IF simply complied with her command.
Slowly, a sphere gathered in her palm and rose into the air above her hand. It was tinged a faint blue, reminiscent of Awakening's colouring, but much less powerful. The construct wobbled and shook as she tried to keep it steady. "Anyway, my fine control is still atrocious. I'm good enough not to burn myself on my fire anymore, but directing attacks further than in a general direction does not work for anything bigger than a few sparks." For emphasis, the sphere began to wobble around her head in a faintly embarassing manner.
Halfway through its third time completing the circle, it burst into flame and quickly vanished. IF grimaced again. "That's why I'm not going to even try lightning, too."
Her blue-haired colleague had a remarkable amount of restraint; aside from the fact her face was a little too blank, IF would not be able to guess what she thought. Then again, Broccoli betrayed the effort by having her head in her hands.
"Yeah, you suck bad," was all the tiny Maker had to offer in response. IF's eyes narrowed slightly, but she reminded herself that this was her own fault and relaxed again.
"Well, I got pretty good at quickly mopping up all the small fry; that should give you some room to focus on the big ones." Her words were taken with understanding nods; the other Makers regarded the map again.
In the end, Broccoli pointed at the largest concentration of weaker monsters. "We go in from here. MAGES. and I prepare strong stuff and IF kills everything in front of us; when the bigger monsters rush in, we can kill the first few before they reach us." Not a word about her lack in capabilities this time, which she was quite happy about.
Nobody appeared to object; Marvy looked over the layout of the area once more before turning to Broccoli: "So I'm watching your backs?" She did not appear unhappy with the idea and the other two nodded confirmation.
IF had no problems with the plan; they were all playing to their strengths here.
. .
. .
Half an hour later, the four of them were seated in an armoured snowprowler; the vehicle took them toward the front of monsters in relative convenience, or at least warmth. The bumpy ride could not be called convenient for IF, who was used to planeptunian gliders. For all their horrible aesthetics, they sailed through the air so smoothly that one could forget they were flying at all.
"Behold," MAGES. explained with her usual gravitas, running a weakly flickering thread of heat through the air. "With sufficient practice, you can easily cover yourself in such a shell and brave the cold that way." She gathered it and then blew a wave of warm air toward IF. Marvy giggled when it went past her observing form, but Broccoli was only barely listening and did not react; she meditated to prepare herself.
The Planeptunian tried to follow her colleague's explanation and sighed. It was not that she lacked understanding, it was that she lacked the capability to simmer down her flames as much; not to mention combining them with wind and then circulating them around her body. Such efficiency required enough practice to make it be instinctive, for which she had not enough time.
The impromptu lesson was interrupted by an ugly snapping sound, which quickly turned everyone's attention to Broccoli. The childlike Maker had her arms stretched and a long blade of bone prodding out of each one. The bones curved back and reentered her body right before the elbow, each blade directed away from the body. Her feline ears and tail had vanished, making room for a pair of feathery wings that were still in the process of fully forming. Bones cracked into place and fleshy membranes bubbled over them within a matter of seconds.
When Broccoli opened her eyes, they held a feral glint in slitted pupils. It turned to mirth once she noticed IF's horrified curiousity, making her give a lispy laugh. "Tsehehe, surprised?"
"Yes." The taller brunette took a deep breath and looked her companion over again. "How are you doing that?"
Her question made Broccoli consider for a moment; then she explained with a shrug: "Human biology isn't really made for speed or strength. Sure, we can get our bodies fit to make the difference, but we're naturally pursuit predators. We can walk for hours without tiring, and barely any other animal in the world is the same. We're not as strong as others, not as fast, but we endure. Awakening can close the gap nicely, but few people actually have that."
She pointed at herself with a giggle. "Thanks to Gema, I can change my internal biology however I want. He's fused with me at the moment, but you can pet him later if you want." She blinked, recognised her tangent, and pushed away the topic of her constant companion. "Anyway, it's not an easy thing to pull off; I had to actually study biology to know how all the stuff works so I can emulate it. Still not as good as I'd like, but I have natural weapons and a body that is made for a mix of speed and strength."
The little Maker showed her fangs with a big grin. "I'm not as enduring as you three right now, but I can fight harder and faster than each of you for a bit."
"Now combine that with her Awakening and her magic," MAGES. noted drily before giving IF a nod. "Either way, you are holding out better than some. Among others, RED actually got sick when she saw that for the first time."
Truth be told, IF's stomach was revolting; she merely refused to let it empty itself. After a few moments of quietly forcing her body to calm down, she nodded at the blunette. "That warning you gave me earlier probably helped." Then she turned back to Broccoli with a certain curiousity. "Doesn't that hurt?"
The not-child chuckled and shook her head. "Nope~" She giggled and explained further, one clawed finger running over a boneblade. "It hurts if I do something dumb or have no idea what I'm doing, but its mostly fine. Honestly, my abdomen is still aching more than that."
For some reason, the notion had Marvy pale. Noticing that, IF raised an eyebrow at the mage. "Do I want to know what you did to it?"
"It's really nothing bad," the girl returned with a shrug. "But Marvy wants children, so just the idea of having her uterus taken out gets that kind of reaction." Seeing that IF was nonplussed, Broccoli pointed at her. "See, just like I said. I will be like this forever anyway, so that thing just took up space."
At this point, Marvy chimed in weakly: "...I'm not sick because of that, but what you use it for." After a glance at IF, the busty woman elaborated: "She stores Gema... down there."
Now IF shuddered at the thought, having to involuntarily imagine it. "Okay, that's... uh, yeah." She shook her head and ignored the giggling girl. "Oh look, a distraction: we're there."
Moments later, their ride ground to a stop and the four women got up. IF was quite glad about it, seeing that she could push the thoughts about her colleague's weirdness aside in favour of killing things.
Monsters became aware of their arrival quite quickly, especially once they closed. Cold air wafted around IF, creeping through her usual coat and giving her goosebumps; she shook off the cold as best as she could and gathered her flames.
She was in front, quickly traversing the snowfield while Dogoos and more powerful monsters turned their attention to them. Then she thrust her arm forward and let go, her mind forcing the flames to spread in a cone from her palm; it lashed out in a quiet hiss, engulfing the area in front of her. Snow was melted, the air around them warmed for the moments her fire lasted, and nothing was left once no more followed.
IF took a deep breath to center herself while MAGES. whistled behind her. Broccoli, meanwhile just commented on what they all knew already: "Yup, you really do suck. How much of your juice was that?"
She did not turn around, instead waiting for more monsters to close the gap while preparing a second gout of flame. "About, hm, maybe an eighth?" The silence behind her was telling.
As they spoke, the greater monsters had begun to notice and turned to investigate the distraction. They approached without caution, like most monsters did; even had they been cautious, it would not have saved them. Neither from the stream of concentrated magic bursting out and punching a finger-sized hole into a Whale from front to back, nor a Phoenix from being battered by no less than ten gleaming orbs.
Upon completing their runs, both attacks curved around to strike again. Especially the returning beam confused some monsters as they turned to look for threats in the other direction.
That was about what they could achieve before the remaining monsters reached them. IF leapt off the melting snow, aiming for one of the Phoenixes; Whales and Turtles were much too thick and armoured respectively for her to reliable pierce.
A moment before she crashed into the avian monster as it swooped for her, a blur darted past. Broccoli's little foot delivered a kick to her opponent's beak, then used it as a springboard to jump further up.
Momentarily distracted by the tiny mage, the monster did not manage to get its metre-long neck out of IF's striking range; her katar lashed out and she only needed to spread her Awakening as wide as her own arm. Head and body collapsed into glittering fragments as they were separated.
Another Phoenix exploded ahead and a third screeched in pain. She could not see the reason, though; more monsters reached beyond Broccoli, another being of red and yellow feathers crashing into her. She barely got her protective shroud up in time and the monster's tackle still took the air out of her lungs before sending her toward the ground.
IF did her best to twist in mid-air and catch her fall, then found Marvy coming for her. A dozen magical orbs guarded the older woman as she made contact with IF, clasping her hands around the younger one's shoulders. Her greater momentum still pulled Marvy along, but was greatly reduced for the price of some aches that even their Awakenings could not prevent. Both of their powers lashed out to cushion them against the ground moments later.
"You okay?"
"Yes."
"Good to hear."
Marvy smiled at her and they turned back to the mostly aerial battle. Broccoli flitted back and forth between several opponents while MAGES. stood still in mid-air and continuously bombarded monsters with all kinds of projectiles from magical spheres to icicles.
A Phoenix dropped their way, the metallic skeletons of its right wing molten to the point it could no longer fly. The groundbound Makers separated without so much as a look. IF jumped off to clear the ground with another wave of fire, her colleague quickly ended the avian monster with an augmented slash from her katana.
When Neptune originally taught her how to project her blade further out, IF never would have thought how useful that particular trick would end up being.
Flames consumed the newly gathered monsters, though several dozen Dogoos on the sidelines began to shiver and huddle together. IF caught one cluster with another firestorm, but the others already started to shine and melt together.
A moment later, five Giant Dogoo's fearlessly hopped toward her. IF muttered under her breath and leapt to dodge a Whale's dive at her position, slashing across its snout to shoo it back.
MAGES. hit the ground next to her like a comet, unharmed due to her Awakening and a defensive layer of magic; the blunette tore a trench twenty metres long before stopping. Once she got up however, she only wore a displeased frown and wordlessly unleashed a hyperfocussed beam of flame to cut through the closing Whale.
It was not an easy battle and only got worse when the Turtles lumbered into their reach, forcing the Makers back. While three of them focussed their efforts on the new opponents, Broccoli continued to dance between the flying monsters, her small size and wind magic making them unable to actually hit her.
The last Phoenix began to dive for Marvy after futilely trying to tear Broccoli out of the sky; this left the not-child to giggle as she had a stream of magic flow into her eyes. The arcane power gathered, compressed, coalesced, and shot out under her will within moments, cleaving right through the avian monster's back and ripping a Giant Doogoo apart mid-hop. Both monsters ceased to be while Broccoli's beam struck the earth and used itself up in a small explosion.
Down on the ground, IF blinked at the display of power. Then she shook her head and focussed back on her own opponent; with no Tekken to force the Turtle back out of its shell, she had to get creative... and take a slightly higher risk of getting bitten. Her own solution was to attack from the front and project her strike right into the opening the monster's head disappeared into, which at least appeared to hurt it.
Then a small orb of flame slipped past her and through the hole she left before expanding into an inferno and cooking the monster inside of its shell. MAGES. tipped her pointed hat with a grin, then motioned for the next Turtle with her thumb.
IF grinned and nodded, taking another leap to burn down the smaller monsters in-between her and her target. Marvy had taken to destroying the Giant Dogoos, leaving the two of them to wrap up the ground battle.
Half a minute later, it was over. Four Makers stood amidst a vast patch of scorched and broken earth, partly covered in ice. Snow lay up to twenty centimetres at the edges, molten and refrozen into icy shards.
Broccoli landed on Marvy's shoulders and immediately draped over the woman's head. Her wings and 'natural' weapons receded, leaving only a snoozing girl to be pulled into the other Maker's arms. Marvy smiled leniently and held the small bundle tightly. MAGES. supplied warm air from her reserves, keeping the four from freezing on the short trek back to their ride.
It was not a perfect fight, IF had to admit that. She quickly checked everyone over with her healing magic, cured some ugly bruises, and received thanks from the others.
All in all, though...
"That went well." And nobody argued her words.