As The Fox
By: Aviantei
[Twelve Shots of Summer: Eleventh Hour 9/12]
[Parameters: "Last Light" & "Final Boss"]
Game Nine
There is a poke at its consciousness, and the Progfox is awakened from its slumber. It stretches out, turns its head to the side and howls as it becomes one-in-two, its very being stretched across opposite ends of the Noise Plane. On one side there is a redheaded boy dressed in blue and white, an almost casual lilt to his opening stance. On the other side is another boy, though one with ashen blond hair and an almost overwhelming level of Soul tucked away inside of him, though it sleeps beneath the surface.
Something about him is familiar, but something about him is also Shibuya, and that's enough to have the Progfox's hackles raise. Pure Noise do not quite have conscious thought, but there is an instinctual understanding that dawns upon the Noise, nonetheless:
If it holds back, it will die.
Lucky for it, the Progfox has never been one to hold back. It has torn through any other Noise that have tried to come for it, and settled upon its territory in Miyashita Park, waiting for the right moment to fight. Any Player that wanders by and is brave enough to face an enemy they do not have to deserves that much. And while the Progfox does not like to send Players to Erasure, it will also not disgrace any of their bravery by going easy on them.
And so the battle begins, the Progfox teleporting across the field in puffs of smoke as it launches of its arsenal of attacks. Icicle spears, meteors crashing to the earth, a skeletal body made manifest. Further transformations that shift its shape into a mushroom, to other Noise, to even a replica of the redhead boy him. That Player isn't half bad—has plenty of Psyches, even if some moves are rough around the edges. The ashen blond one's various dropped pieces of city shrapnel hit a bit harder than the average Player, but he's almost lazy as he taps on his phone, not even manifesting the fullness of his strength.
And then, after a prolonged battle, the Progfox collects one more red flame, allow the last of its nine tails to unfurl as it turns into its full powered form and soars over both Planes, blasting them both with pink and white light.
The redhead decides that is an excellent reason to bounce. As the Progfox curls back into its sigil form, it hopes they one day come back and try again.
[Author's Notes]
And here we go: the whole basis behind Nepuro's character concept! He's always been the Progfox, so it was fun to work into what that would look like in Canon hours. While I know it's possible to beat up the Progfox on your first go round, for the purposes of Nepuro being, you know, around, I went the route of what happened on my first playthrough where I got my butt handed to me and came back to fight later.
Final Boss may be a bit of a stretch, but I think the connection with Boss Noise is more than enough to work out here. Last Light made a good pair for how the Nine Tales form works out, heheh.
I'm still behind on reading (it's been a whirlwind of a week offline), but I do know that Chronic Guardian has dropped a one shot about Uzuki and Kariya, "VI-Left Behind." Check it out for some extra TWEWY fic fix!
Next week's prompts will be "Last Secrets" and "Final Years," which will go up on Sunday the 4th. Please look forward to it!
-Avi
[27 July 2024]