Chapter Six: Head to Hed
A large metallic thing hung in the air far up above the stadium, glistening in the pinish twilight. Ribbon Girl tried to focus her eyes on it and it seemed to be glowing a strange red mist as it floated in place.
Nobody was quite sure what it was, or what to do, or even what to say. But suddenly it began to fall, flying straight down toward Ribbon Girl and Max Brass, who reacted quickly by thumping Ribbon Girl hard - pushing her far away as it came down and slammed itself onto him.
"I-It's g-glommed onto Max's head!" Biff stammered over the intercom. "COMMISH?! SOMEONE, HELP HIM!"
Ribbon Girl, the closest to the Brass/creature hybrid, watched it closely from the ground she had been pushed to. It had shining golden teeth and deep sunken dips under a thick metal brow - dips where a small red light began to appear. She gazed at them, squinting to try and focus better, before they suddenly expanded to large bright red orbs with swirling white pupils. Her heart skipped a beat, but she swallowed her fears and got to her feet, watching as portions of its metal faces jirated back and forth.
She put her ARMS up ready for a fight, just in case this thing was about to attack. In return, it forced Brass' ARMS up too. At the very least, if she were to fight this… Thing, it'd be a fair fight.
And then it drew a long breath and roared again, extending an additional four long ARMS from its metal skull, each baring duplicates of Brass' gloves - Nades on its right ARMS, Kablammers on its left.
The crowd was stunned, still silent and unmoving, until the creature snapped its head back and stared at them. Several people screamed and began dashing to the exits as quickly as they could, the whole crowd trying to escape from possible danger as quickly as possible.
Ribbon Girl lunged her Sparky to it, smacking it in the back of the head, and causing it to snap its attention back to her. She had planned a confident taunt to it - something along the lines of "hey, bub, look at me!", but words failed her once she was back face-to-face with it. She knew she wanted its attention off of the fleeing crowd, but as a result its attention was now squarely on her.
It road and began to throw ARMS at her. She jumped and flipped, dodging four of them, but getting caught by two Nades. It dodged her Slapamander with ease, then smacked her around with all six of its ARMS - both the artificial four from its skull and the two taken from Max Brass alike.
She picked herself up, panting hard. She wasn't sure how she could beat this thing. It wasn't like going up against Brass, this simply thing wasn't a fair fight at all - it had six ARMS to her two .
She looked to the crowd, which was thinning quickly, and caught eyes with Min Min. Min Min's eyes perked up a bit, noticing she needed help, and she began to run toward the announcement stand where Biff was situated.
"Biff!" She yelled, making him jump. "Is this supposed to happen?"
"Wha…? N-No!" He stammered.
"So I don't risk Ribbon Girl's championship if I jump in?"
"No, not at all! I-If you can help the Commish, please do!"
She reached into her pocket quickly as she ran toward the ring, slipping on her mask as she jumped over the barrier, and landing with her ARMS outstretched. She pulled one back before curving it forward, launching a Ramram into the back of Hedlok's metal skull. It turned sharply to face her and she began to dodge and weave her way around its ARMS.
Ribbon Girl continued to fight from the other side, smacking it while its back was turned and it couldn't defend itself or even see her attacks coming. It flipped its attention back and forth between the two of them as they fought it, though it still put up an incredible fight and seemed to have an absurd amount of durability to it.
Min Min connected a grab and threw it to the floor on the other end of the stage, sliding herself beside Ribbon Girl shortly after. "You okay?"
Ribbon Girl nodded. "What is that thing?"
"No idea." They watched as it slowly got back to Brass' feet. "But it sure knows how to take a beating."
"This is so unfair." Ribbon Girl squeaked. "I'm glad I'm not against it alone now, but even still, it's got six ARMS to our four! "
It roared again, and they put their ARMS up, ready for it. But just as they did, a shout came from the other end of the remaining crowd. "OUT THE WAY!"
The crowd quickly parted itself in shock as a yellow bucket-like machine thrust past and flung over the ring's barrier, landing squarely between Ribbon Girl and Min Min.
Mechanica smiled at the two of them, sitting in her mech, her still wearing her pink shirt adorned with Ribbon Girl's posed figure. "If we hold out a little longer I think I can disconnect that thing from Brass' head."
She gasped as six ARMS rushed toward them, and they each dodged to the side quickly to avoid them. Ribbon Girl distracted it with another charged Sparky, disabling its ARMS just long enough to get a good hit in with her Slapamander.
"Is that thing still tuned to Brass' fighting style?" Min Min questioned.
Mechanica nodded. "I'm gonna keep it on autopilot while I try to get that thing disconnected." She hammered away at the buttons on her dashboard quickly. "W-We just have to keep it busy!"
The fight went on, with both sides now equally matched - the Brass/creature hybrid with its six ARMS total on one end, and Ribbon Girl, Min Min, and Mechanica on the other end.
"Not much longer!" Mechanica called out as her mech dodged past a Kablammer.
Ribbon Girl zapped it again with her Sparky, and Min Min followed it up with a quick grab, slamming it to the ground hard.
"I'm almost there!"
Mechanica's mech stunned it with its Whammer, then knocked it far back with an explosive Homie shot. When it got back to Brass' feet, Ribbon Girl lit it ablaze with her Slapamander, and Min Min blasted it with her Dragon.
It began to move as if it were getting tired - their joint attempt at stalling it certainly seemed to be working! But then, with another mighty roar, it began to glow a thick yellow mist around it.
"I'm done!" Mechanica smiled brightly, taking her eyes up off her dashboard and sending them forward, pointed right toward a large blistering fireball that had been launched her way. Time seemed to slow for a moment as the world fell silent around her, and this incredible meteor got closer and closer. She shut her eyes tightly and tensed her body, unsure of the exact pain she was about to endure.
But instead, she heard a clanging noise. She opened her eyes wide to see Ribbon Girl in front of her, swooped in at the last second, blocking the fireball with her shield - it clanged continuously as it deepend in shade to until it was a brittle red, but the fireball dispersed before it was able to break it.
Ribbon Girl turned her head back behind her, smiling at Mechanica with pride. Mechanica's heart skipped a beat, unbelievably thankful for not instantly being turned to toast by a mysterious body-snatching creature fallen from the sky.
"MECHY!" Min Min shouted from the other end of the stage.
She gasped, realizing she had completed the program she needed. She leant herself forward sharpy, grabbing a lever at the center of her mech's dashboard, and yanked it back. A large blue shockwave sent out in a bubble around her, skimming over Ribbon Girl and Min Min without note, but leaving a devastating effect on the creature latched to Brass' head.
The hybrid fell to Brass' knees as it began to shudder and spark, before it shrieked and a bright purple light shone out from the gaps in its metal plating. The head fell forward and the light faded, with its red eyes being extinguished all the same. Then, after a moment of suspense, it popped right off of Brass' head and flew off into the sky with a laugh.
"I-It's gone?" Biff splurted over the intercom in disbelief. The remaining crowd, though sparse, cheered wildly. "But how's Max doing?"
Brass sat on the stage floor in something of a daze, before shaking it head quickly and snapping out of it. He got to his feet and cheered, his hands up in the air, before striking a pose, doing a quick roll, and coming up beside the trio with a bright smile and flex of his incredible muscles.
The crowd cheered for Brass, but loudest of all of them was a cheerful " Woo! " from Ribbon Girl. Min Min and Mechanica followed, cheering at the sight of a wake and healthy Commish. He grave a grand thumbs-up to Ribbon Girl, before turning back to the crowd and playing to his adoring fans.
Min Min slung her ARM around Ribbon Girl's shoulder. "Well. This was certainly eventful."
Ribbon Girl let out an heavy laugh. "I think I've had enough excitement for today." She rested her head on Min Min's ARM. "I'm really hungry."
"Yeah, I think we're done here." She took her mask off and the ARM beneath Ribbon Girl's head returned to its curled up form. "Not gonna lie… But I'm kinda in the mood for steak."
Ribbon Girl laughed again, more energetic and cheerfully than she had in a long, long while. "Me too! Steak sounds great." She smiled softly. "Do you like steak, Mechy?~"
Mechancia's eyes perked up. She had forgotten for a moment that she was there, physically with the two of them, and not just watching from afar. "I-uh…. Wha-?"
"Steak dinner." Ribbon Girl smiled. "Brass says it's to die for. You comin'?"
She was in stunned silence for a moment. "I-I-" She cleared her throat, speaking quietly. "O-Okay!"
"I think I owe you one." Ribbon Girl winked.