Author's Note: Apologies for the long, long delay. Schoolwork has proven to be a pain to deal with. On the side note, I created a Deviantart page not too long ago. I'd appreciate it if you guys could check it out, even if my artwork isn't the best out there.
Makoto huffed as she placed another bomb around in the room. Above, the Cauldron was held. With surprising accurate measurements, she managed to lie each of them at an appropriate space from each other. She paused to look at the work she had done so far. According to Kokonoe who provided the bombs, there would be a time limit to evacuate the whole building after activating them. A time limit of one minute, that is. Worry seeped through her mind. One minute was certainly not enough time leave without some plan.
In hopes to ease thoughts, Makoto's mind drifted for a moment to the thought of Tsubaki and Ragna. I would have never imagined Tsubaki of all people to… She shook her head; now was not the time to think about them.
She recalled back to Rachel's plan of the assault of the branch. Makoto shivered as her worry rose. What if something happened to either Noel or Tsubaki? Besides, they had a much tougher job. Their mission is to destabilize a Prime Field, huh? Please be okay, you guys.
"Loading… Loading… Loading complete." The 13th Prime Field Device opened its lone eye, regarding the two women in front of her. They were both familiar. Her memory returned to Ragna from days before. She glared at the red haired woman as she spoke in monotone. "Targets identified as the Sealed Weapon Izayoi and the Arcos Diabolus: Bolverk. Target threat level is A and S. Searching memory of the targets… Searching complete. Viewing memory… Beginning termination of targets."
Not a second later, a large sword descended down and slammed the ground with a loud noise echoing the space. Smoke billowed, as well. When the smoke cleared away, v-13's visor covered both eyes. Without another word, Nu rushed towards the girls at great speed. Tsubaki dodged over to the right as Noel moved to the left. Noel fired multiple bullets from her pistols while Tsubaki charged her armagus. Tsubaki dashed over to the Murakumo, raising her arm in preparation to slash down at her.
In v-13's eye, Tsubaki's movements were slow. She drifted backwards, just avoiding every slice in time. She bent down and swung her "wings" of swords. They caught Tsubaki's book shield hard enough to force her to stumble back. Using that to her advantage, Nu summoned a multitude of flying swords towards the red haired woman. As a few of them were blocked of by Tsubaki's shield, the others skimmed past and she hissed in pain as the swords grazed part of her leg. She stumbled and tried her best to stay up.
Noel fired rapidly, in hopes to block off some of the swords, but mostly to draw v-13's attention away from her friend. Both challengers jumped high. Nu flipped backwards, kicking upwards. Noel spun in midair, shooting close so her shots acted like a shield. "Revolver Blast!"
A small cloud of smoke came into view. Tsubaki stood in a firm stance as she waited patiently. As her friend and her opponent made it out, Tsubaki rushed down towards the Murakumo. A wing sprouted from her shield and at her enemy's face, stunning v-13. After concentrating, a ball of harsh light fired from her book. "Aequum!"
Tsubaki charged forward with her defense up, passing through the staggering Murakumo. She was then thrown back with a hard slice. In the air, however, she regained herself and performed a backflip, summoning her myriad of swords again. As the red haired soldier struggled to block all of them, Noel took her opportunity and fired, jump kicking while her blasts created a distorted arch in the air. When the flying daggers and bullets quieted and settled for the moment, v-13 slowly lowered herself. "Damage minimal. Resuming terminations of targets."
Both Noel and her friend panted as they held their fighting stances. They both had no idea how much more their mutual enemy or even, themselves could take. Noel ran first, taking the lead with more shots.
"Weak! You can't even hit me!" Hazama cruelly grinned as he calmly sidestepped virtually every one of Ragna's swings. Occasionally, his butterfly knives would meet the edge of Ragna's sword. His opponent's arm lifted from the ground and made an upward swinging motion. Out from the ground sprung a merciless all-too-familiar head with its teeth bared. The attack in fact, forced Hazama back a couple strides. Regaining his footing, he smirked. "Whoa there, boy! That one almost got me."
"You damned…!" Shadows licked from the red gem adorned Ragna's right gauntlet as he rushed forward.
"Come on over. Let's play~" It was now Hazama's turn. Concentrating, he summoned three snake heads of pure green, dark energy. In response, Ragna leaped as high as he could and rotated is body. Blood-Scythe extended and, with Ragna's momentum, sliced in a circled motion. The criminal's slash only managed to hit two of the heads, though. The third one rammed into him, sending him tumbling toward the ground.
With a groan, Ragna supported himself back on his feet. He heard Hazama cackle again as he taunted. "You're just as weak as your little girlfriend. No, you're slightly better. The little bitch would just be better off dead. Would make my life so much easier. Hahaha!"
"What the hell did you say?" Ragna growled. He received no verbal reply, but only an elongated chain with the head of a snake at the tip. The criminal sliced through it and deflected it with his sword, emitting a horrible SCHING.
"Are you deaf as well as stupid?" Hazama snuck another green head from his jacket, catching Ragna. As the Grim Reaper fell over and coughed, Hazama continued. "Yeah, she was supposed to die. When she had received her orders to assassinate Jinny and Noel, she knew she had to take and accept them. Unfortunately, the bitch herself couldn't bring herself to kill the Major; how disappointing."
Ragna did not know how much more he could listen. For this monster to openly insult someone he cared deeply about… If it could, his intensifying glare would kill one on the spot. He readied his blade once more and lunged forward at a great speed, and roared. "Carnage Scissors!"
"Jayoku Hōtenjin." Hazama disappeared for a brief second. His foot then warped into reality and caught Ragna's blade. A loud din echoed through the area and field, followed by a large grey cloud of smoke flowing through the air. Each fighter jumped out of the smoke and waited for the cloud to dissipate.
Hazama took time to adjust his fedora. This was it; this was when he would enrage his enemy, lighting his fuse until he would explode. Hazama once again smirked as Ragna's snarl and continued. "You're little girlfriend was destined to die! She was supposed to die fighting Noel and be disposed of like the sack of trash she is!"
"You bastard!" He could not ignore that last comment. Ragna had no more intentions to listen anymore, his anger rising to the heavens. Blinded by the haze of rage, Ragna rushed forward. His right arm coated itself with dark purple energy and extended. Hazama deflected Ragna's attack with his pair of butterfly knives. Ragna in turn deflected his knives and raised his sword, preparing to strike downward.
"Veritas!" With that, Tsubaki rushed down and slashed, her blade ranging and whipping through, almost invisible. The attack did enough to send v-13 back a bit.
Immediately on the offense, v-13 rushed down and summoned a portal in front of her. A myriad of blades was fired towards Tsubaki. Tsubaki blocked most of them with her book-shield. A number of them past her defense and slashed at her, and she cried in sharp pain as she was thrown back against a wall.
"Tsubaki!" Noel dashed forward and jumped up, much like before. A rain of bullets descended on the other Murakumo, stunning her. Following that was a series of dual movements of her feet and guns. However, they were all blocked off easily as v-13 had put her guard up. With a glare, Noel morphed her dual guns into what appeared as a large missile. "Fenir!"
Her opponent floated upward, avoiding the shot. She effortlessly countered the shot with her swords before rushing down at Noel. A spinning double kick caught the defenseless girl off-guard, sending her to a wall that was of far distance. The sight of the other struggling girl against the wall caught her attention. In the blink of an eye, v-13 rushed over to the injured girl, swords prepared. Tsubaki could only stare in fear at the power and speed this girl possessed. In a desperate attempt, she held her sword in a shaking grip.
"Perish." The eight swords materialized around the Murakumo. They all pointed directly towards Tsubaki.
Tsubaki's eyes widened. This was it; there was just no end to the uncountable attacks delivered. No… She would not lose hope; she already was on the verge before, and she would absolutely not allow it again. With a shred of hope, she clenched her eyes shut and waited for impalement.
Suddenly, v-13 was forced back with her defenses oddly up. Tsubaki opened her eyes at the sight before her; several objects were placed randomly in the air. They fired blue lasers, catching the Murakumo. Tsubaki turned her head and saw her friend, clad in a robotic-like suit. On her forehead donned an armor head plate with horns sticking up. Disembodied swords much like v-13's hovered around her body. With great speed, Noel swiftly made her way to her opponent and slashed, a golden sword taking view.
Tsubaki glared as she concentrated, her strength seeping back to her. A ball of intense light glowed at the tip of her dagger, and with careful precision, she aimed. She paused; was this alright? She had no idea how much of a toll her weapon would cause her should she overuse it. No… she should still be safe. With a cry, she unleashed the ball, letting it hurl towards her opponent. The distracted Prime Field Device took the blow, rendering her temporally paralyzed.
Concentrating more than before, Tsubaki closed her eyes and enchanted. "I am justice. I am the true light. Izayoi, activate!"
At her command, Tsubaki's weapon unleashed. Two white angel wings sprouted from her shield, engulfing the holder. Her body glowed, and after a second, a stunning new look came into view. Tsubaki's hair had been pulled back and knotted into a ponytail. Her uniform altered into a sleeveless, skin-tight bodysuit of white, purple, and gold. Metal plates protected her hips.
Wasting no time, Tsubaki darted forward, raising her long blade. Her opponent, with losing speed as well, deflected Tsubaki's attack with her eight swords. The pair exchanged a multitude of slashes. Losing no momentum, Tsubaki suddenly teleported away. She appeared behind v-13 and delivered a bow with Izayoi's hilt, catching the girl off guard.
As v-13 was momentarily stunned, Noel swung a massive, yellow blade. If her opponent had brought up her eight blades any later, she would most likely have said farewell to an arm. However, the force of the attack was enough to drive her back further. When her body heaved itself with some effort, tattered marks on her suit were visible. Blood seeped through some of them as well. "Damage increasing. Threat levels of targets now exceeding. Continuing attack."
Did v-13 underestimate the prototype and previous unit? Just what was making her incapable to fend off these two women? Without warning, a sudden streak of discomfort erupted in her head. She halted all movements and gritted her teeth, fighting the growing pain coursing through her head. A spell… by magic? "No… This is… not what Nu wants… Stop!"
Tsubaki and Noel stopped their charge as well and looked at the struggling girl. The former's eyes widened at the familiarity before her. She recognized it too easily. A spell, to corrupt, was actively being placed upon v-13. She and Noel glanced at each other once, nodded in understanding, and watched, more appalled than ever at the sight before them.
Sounds of clanging metal sung throughout the lower levels, echoing. In his fury, Ragna lunged forward with unbelievable speed and slashed down, hoping to cut Hazama's smirk off clean. "Carnage…"
All Hazama did was jump back, letting his chain guide him back. He then hurled the snake head and let the jaws clench Ragna's shoulder, stopping the criminal. As a distracted Ragna hollered in pain, Hazama took the sweet opportunity to catch his chin with an overpowered kick. The blow left a mark as it also sent Ragna towards the ceiling. Following his kick, Hazama launched Ouroboros; this time, the fangs of the head bit into his airborne opponent's neck. Ragna felt an unpleasant and painful force, almost jerking his whole body towards the ground.
"Gaaah!" The Grim Reaper's vision blackened a bit as he crashed to the ground. With the minimal strength he had left in his body, he tried to raise himself. His effort was interrupted as a foot stomped hard on his skull. Darkness threatened to seep his vision.
"This isn't over yet, hah! Hyaa! Suffer! Let me here more of your delightful screams," Hazama snickered as he emphasized his comment with another stomp. "The part has just begun."
"You… shithead," Ragna grunted.
Hazama laughed maniacally in response, clearly enjoying the sight of his suffering opponent. "Hyaaahahahahaha!"
"Tager, do it." A single beep sounded throughout the perimeter. All actions ceased as both fighters heard a familiar, female voice.
"Roger." Another voice sounded, as well. In the blink of an eye, a behemoth rushed down and caught Hazama with an electric punch in a blur of orange.
"Whoa! That was close... Don't interfere, you monster cat!" Hazama retreated away from the swift blow, his foot finally steeping off of Ragna's head. Wait… What the hell? "Huh… What?"
The criminal grunted as he rose to his knees and gripped his forehead with his left hand, trying to ease the pain. His defenses did not lower, even as he felt a crimson liquid running down the side of his face. Wait… Something was wrong. "W...What, I suddenly can't see out of my right eye... H... Hey Kokonoe, what the hell did you do?!"
"This feeling..." Hazma recognized it all too well. Just how far was damned cat going with this? "Hey, monster cat, did you…"
Kokonoe's voice sounded again and she growled. "Yuuki Terumi... I will do whatever it takes in order to kill you… Whatever. It. Takes."
Hazama's face paled, something that was a rare sight. Slightly panicked, he backed away from Tager. The backside of his legs came into contact with one of the metal coffins. Only this one in particular was open. Two small, pale hands gripped the sides and the figure's head slowly came into view. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you serious… would you normally take it that far?!"
"Wha... t?" Ragna stared at the sight with the deer-in-the-headlight expression. A rather young female's face was now visible. Her long, auburn hair was tied back with a red ribbon. Her eyes glowed a bright crimson hue. She wore a short black skirt with a white long-sleeved top. Hooked at her neck and draped over her shoulders was a long black cape.
Kokone answered the stunned men's reaction in a very blunt manner. "I have told you this before… Ragna the Bloodegde... This is, your Blazblue, your definite weakness…"
Hazama looked at the girl in pure astonishment. "Whoa whoa, what are you talking about? I've never heard of this, I'm telling you I've never heard of this." He shook his head, desperately searching for a way out of this. He called out, "Phantom! Allow me to move now! Hey, hurry, I'm telling you to hurry!"
Ragna blinked multiple times. A rush of similarity suddenly came down on him. Almost like a distant memory, engraved far too deep in his mind. "A... woman..?"
"Why are you here…? Why the hell are you here?!" Hazama demanded. No, this was not supposed to happen. A majority of his power felt as though it had been stripped apart from him. This was not right. This woman… she should be…
"Ragna?" The woman spoke as she acknowledged the injured man with white hair. Concerned, she jumped from her seat and walked over to Ragna. "You're injured. Let me help."
Ragna's eyebrows narrowed downward, suspicious. A stranger. Who had just offered to help? "Who the hell are you…?"
Before the mystery girl could answer, a loud crash was heard from floors above. The cacophonous grew louder until a lump of metal pieced a hole in the ceiling as it hurled down. The severely damaged Murakumo Unit troubled herself to stand upright.
Ragna ignored the new girl as he saw Nu crash down to the lower levels. Grabbing his sword with his right hand, sans the ability to tap into the Azure for the time being, he prepared to run down. Shit, they just keep coming, huh? Fine, then. I can still- "Gah!"
Forgetting temporarily about his injuries, he thus aggravated them even more as he tried to move. After all the effort it took him to stand, he collapsed right back down. Grunting, all could do was watch the helpless silver-haired girl. She appeared to be resisting some strange force by will. Nu did not even acknowledge Ragna. That was it. Ragna knew that there was some humanity inside. Nu…
"Kokoone, the 13th Prime Field entered the parameter. What should I do?" Tager asked, not liking where the situation was leaning towards.
"What? How is that…" A pause followed. "Just restrain her and try to get her back to the lab, alright."
"Alright."
"Ragna!" Two familiar female voices sounded from behind. Ragna barely had the energy to turn his head. Tsubaki and Noel, both in their new forms, ran forward. The former made a beeline towards him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. She kept a wary gaze on the new face while she spoke. "Please, don't push yourself, Ragna."
"Tsubaki…" Ragna could not hope to let his eyes off her.
"Ah shit. Now everybody's here. You know, I'm feeling a little claustrophobic, so… Phantom!" Hazama turned his back on the glaring group. He began to walk off as a hatted witch, garbed in a purple robe, materialized in thin air.
"What?" The brown-haired woman questioned with wide eyes. Is that…?
"You!" Leaving Ragna's side, Tsubaki held up her long dagger and sliced, the blade ripping through the fabric of air. The blow sent the captain tumbling a bit. Tsubaki wasted no time to slash, hoping to catch Hazama.
With his powers limited, Hazama's offense options had been reduced as well. Growling, he only backed away from Tsubaki's strikes. In his eyes, every one of her attacks moved with little speed, just begging to be dodged. Finding an opening, he jabbed with one of his knives, gutting his assailant in the side. Tsubaki cried out loud and fell to one knee, clutching her wound. With one last jump, he made his way next to Phantom, and snapped his fingers. At his command, the witch unleased an unrecognizable barrier towards Nu. The Murakumo Unit was left immobile, only letting her scream denials. Hazama allowed a smirk. "Sorry, cat. But I saw her first. Phantom, we leave now."
The pair disappeared, taking v-13 with them, and left the group alone. Ragna gripped his head again and grunted. Noel noticed this and called out. "Ragna! Oh my gosh! Tsubaki!"
Tsubaki rose to her feet, doing everything she could to ignore the burning sensation in her side. With her hand wet with her blood, she covered her wound and made her way towards her boyfriend. "Please, try to stay still." Concentrating, Tsubaki muttered an ars, and her hands glowed yellow. She began with the bleeding cut on Ragna's face in courtesy of Hazama's foot. Looking at only the mars where the cut clothing had shown, she continued her work. Eventually, she was completely drained of her energy. Panting, she sat down close to Ragna. "I'm sorry; I wish I could do more."
Feeling slightly better and relieved, Ragna offered Tsubaki a smirk. Her healing ars had earned herself a quick peck on her cheek. Her face was painted red as Ragna leaned his mouth close to her ear and whispered. "You're goddamn beautiful."
"Um… excuse me. But perhaps I can finish healing him. You as well, Miss. Oh, and my name is Celica." This Celica person walked up to the pair and smiled. She bent her head down as she lowered to her knees, politeness escaping her.
"Oh yes, please. I mean… if it's not too much trouble for you. Thank you." Tsubaki answered for both of them. She and Ragna remained silent as Celica placed her hands on Ragna first, finishing up whatever cuts and scratches were left visible. Noel's eyes widened in amazement at the quick speed this girl only took.
While Celica finished up on Tsubaki's major wounds, Tager sent a transmission ars for Kokonoe. "My apologies, Kokonoe, but I was unable to hold the 13th Prime Field Device down."
"No shit. I saw the whole thing." Kokonoe grunted and continued. "Don't worry, then. We'll just have to get her some other time."
"Understood…" Out of the blue, a second beep sounded from Tager's transmitter. "Wait, who… Private Nanaya… I see, roger that."
"Was that Makoto?" Noel asked.
"Yes. She had just informed me that the bombs have been set. We must evacuate immediately before the building collapses under its weight. Rest assured, she had already made it out." Tager backed up and watched as Celica helped both Tsubaki and Ragna to their feet. "Kokonoe will a provisional base for the group. We will rendezvous with Private Nanaya at Sector Seven.
Author's Note: Okay, just one more chapter left. And I hope to get it done as soon as I can. Hopefully, I can juggle my work with this.