"You understand where I'm coming from, don't you, Boone[1]?" said Six as they stood over the tied-up NCR senator.
"Yeah, I do."
"I mean, imagine if it was your wife."
"I KNOW." Boone paused for a moment to calm himself. "I know. So, now what?"
"Think we can get this guy in a cell for life?"
"Not sure. Don't know much about law. Maybe if we got enough witnesses, it might be enough."
"They'd probably have to leave Vegas to testify, and NCR can't force them to come. If we can get a coroner's report confirming what he did, it'd be damning evidence. I know Nero'll have a ledger of transactions or a receipt. It won't flat out say the senator paid them, but it'll show that this isn't a coincidence."
"How long you think it'll take?"
"Damn, I forgot about that. We'd have to sneak out the body, steal their ledger, transport the body to the law in NCR territory, and wait for them to do their own investigation. It could take weeks at the bare minimum, possibly months."
"So? They'll still get him."
"He's got the money to bribe the jury, prosecutor, and even the judge. Nobody comes to Vegas broke after all. Even if he saw a cell, he'd just bribe the guards to look the other way so he could escape. The only guarantee of him facing justice is with us."
Boone looked at Six for a hard second. "A murderer who does good deeds is still a murderer." Six sighed. "Fine, we could take him to the Mojave Outpost. Me and Cass worked with the ranger running the place. We can trust him to make sure it gets to the right people. After this, we need to talk about who I'm siding with." Boone nodded and they got started.
"Robert?" Sona called out.
"Oh, sorry. Dozed off for a minute there. Guess I didn't get 'nough sleep. What'd I miss?"
"Not much. Issei healed Koneko with a stimpack, and they're on their way to meet up with Kiba."
"Sword birth!" yelled Kiba as he fought against three of Riser's pieces.
The girls dodged just in time, all in different directions, spacing them a bit apart. Kiba immediately went for the one on the far left; she was the most separated from her allies. Sprinting, he immediately swung down his sword. She raised her own, blocking it. He then brought it back to his hips and thrust for her stomach. She dashed to her left, dodging it entirely. Kiba ran to her left to get a view of all three of them. They regrouped and ran to Kiba, one facing him directly, the other two trying to flank him.
Thanks to the group combat practice, Kiba was experienced with fighting multiple opponents. He waited for the three to get as close as possible, then the moment they swung their weapons, he jumped back just enough to stay barely out of range, spread his wings, flew to the spot where he first used sword birth, grabbed a light blue sword, plunged it into the earth, and the floor beneath the girls became covered in a layer of ice.
Not giving them any breathing room, he grabbed a sword and then hurled it at one after another. The girls dodged the hurled swords, landed back on the slippery ice, causing them to lose their footing and trip.
Kiba flew over the ground, closed the distance, and plunged his sword into the ground.
"Sword Birth!"
The last girl rolled on her side, barely avoiding the eruption of swords. Kiba grabbed the nearest one, picked up another, and flew towards her. She spread her wings, dodging the sword. Kiba then thrust his sword straight toward her wings, piercing the left wing three times.
Unable to fly, she crashed to the ground. Kiba flew down after her and landed a final blow to her midsection.
"Three of Riser's pawns have retired," announced Grayfia.
Issei and Koneko finally met up with Kiba.
"President, I'm here with Issei and Koneko. Now what?"
"You're going to the track. It's the fastest path to the new school building. It'll be well defended. Going off the previous two teams, he'll have three or four pieces there. But with their Queen now on the field, they might send out everyone. If the remaining six pieces engage, report immediately."
The trio acknowledged her order and moved out.
When they arrived at the edge of the track, Issei yelled out a challenge. "We know you're here! Come out so we can whoop you!"
A girl rushed onto the track and stopped on the opposite side, leaving a trail of dust and dirt. She wore steel armor. "Heh, what kind of idiot announces their presence and gives away their position to the enemy? But I respect that. It takes guts to do that despite being disadvantaged. I'm Karlamine, a knight."
Kiba then stepped forward and drew his sword. "I'm Kiba Yuto, a knight. I've been looking forward to facing another knight." The two rushed each other and began clashing blades.
"Issei, stop staring. More enemies are here." Koneko then pointed toward a bush where a girl with short brown hair, a white mask covering the right side of her face, and a black cropped jacket stood.
Then a blonde girl in a pink dress stepped forward from another side. "I can't believe there's a sword fanatic in Rias's peerage. Karlamine was already enough. Shame too, he's quite handsome."
Another girl approached Issei from his left. She had black hair and wore a long purple and pink kimono that reached the ground.
Behind the blonde girl, more girls stepped forward to stand behind her, one wielding a giant sword and another pair of twins, both with large cat-like ears, wearing MMA gloves.
"Same plan as last time, Issei."
"Got it. Who are you taking, Koneko?"
Koneko pointed to the brown-haired girl and the girl with the giant sword. "She's Riser's other rook and the other his knight." Koneko then activated the magic communicator. "President, the rest of Riser's peerage is here."
"Understood. Defeat as many as you can and hold out until Akeno arrives." Rias stood up and headed for the door.
"President, where are you going?" Asia worriedly asked.
"Akeno is tied up with Riser's queen. I'll head over there, hide in the patch of trees, surprise attack her, then quickly come back here. Asia, you need to stay hidden and notify me if any of Riser's peerage approaches here."
Rias quietly closed the door behind her, ran to the trees for cover, and slowly approached Akeno's location, eventually coming across the two flying around each other, dodging, and firing magic, each trying to maneuver around the other. Rias dug an X on the ground and activated her communicator.
"Akeno, I'm nearby hiding in the patch of trees. I've made an X on the ground; I'm hiding behind the tree in front of it. Force her onto it. If you can't land an attack to make her crash onto it, tackle her instead; she definitely won't see it coming. If you can't get close range, make sure she isn't looking in my direction. I'll ambush her from behind."
Akeno silently nodded and tried over and over to land a powerful bolt of holy lightning, but Riser's queen, Yubelluna, was proving far too persistent. Akeno fired a broad-range attack in hopes of obscuring her vision, but she dodged it yet again and landed a solid explosion magic attack on Akeno.
Akeno plummeted to the ground and crashed onto the dirt, clutching her stomach. Yubelluna flew down and hovered over Akeno, confidence written all over her face. "What a joke. You? Rias's strongest piece?" She chuckled and raised her hand to finish her off.
The moment she did, she was struck with a powerful blast by Rias's power of destruction. Akeno followed suit, blasting Yubelluna with holy lightning. In less than two seconds, she was gone.
"Riser's Queen, retired."
Rias then rushed to Akeno. "Akeno! Stay still; I've got a stimpack for you." Before Rias could make it over, Akeno stood up and brushed herself off. "It's ok, President. I was only pretending to be hurt. I did let her land the attack, but I moved far enough for it to only mildly hurt."
Rias chuckled at the revelation. "That's why you're my queen. You remembered what Robert said about pretending to be hurt to throw them off."
"Thanks, President, but we really should get back to home base." Rias nodded, and the two ran back to the old school building. When they arrived, Rias threw open the door, and Akeno stood behind her, ready to attack. "Asia, are you there?!" Asia then peeked over the top of the couch, nervousness apparent. "It's ok, Asia. Me and Akeno are back."
Asia sighed in relief and walked up to Akeno. "Senpai, you're pretty beaten up; please hold still." Akeno sat down on the couch, tired, while Asia spent the next couple of minutes healing her.
"I'm feeling better thank you Asia. President, what about Kiba, Koneko, and Issei?"
"They're fighting the remainder of Riser's pieces. I've told them to stall for as long as possible but given how long it'll take you to be ready to launch another full power holy lightning attack, I'm considering sending you in." She then activated the communicator. "What's your status?"
"Issei is fighting two pawns and a bishop, I'm with a knight and Koneko with a rook. Issei is stalling but that bishop is landing more and more ice attacks on him."
One twin got behind Issei, Kicked his calf forcing him to the ground, the other punched him straight in his solar plexus, both then backed away, the bishop followed up, hitting Issei with three spears shaped from ice in his stomach, piercing him and pinning him to the ground.
"Damn it…" Muttered Issei, quickly losing his energy.
If you lose, everytime you see Miss Gremory, you'll remember how you failed her when she needed you most.
"NO! I'm not done yet!" Issei put his strength into his legs, desperately trying to get up. When he did, he saw the trio that attacked him were now focused on Koneko. Issei limped his way to a nearby tree and slammed the half of the spears behind him into the tree, shattering them. He lifted his shirt into his mouth, bit on it as hard as he could and pulled out the half of the spears in front of him doing his best to not scream. Immediately after he pulled out a stimpack and injected it into the wounded area. Seconds later, he was good enough to go and began running towards Koneko.
"Red Dragon Emperor! If you can hear me, answer me! Grant me more strength!"
The green gem in the gear light up and Issei felt like he could run four laps around the track in thirty seconds, lift a car one handed, and withstand being thrown off a five story building.
"More! Respond to my feelings even more!"
"DRAGON BOOSTER, SECOND LIBERATION"
The gauntlet answered him by growing brighter, bright engravings appeared below the green gem, a huge pillar of bright green light emitted from Issei, blowing a great gust of wind, throwing the two twins he was approaching off balance.
The gauntlet extended in length, unsheathing a more plate mail now covering down to Issei's elbow. The gauntlet then emitted a faint green light for a brief second and Issei nodded.
"Kiba! Unleash your sacred gear!"
Kiba's face showed uncertainty and hesitation for a moment but nodded.
"Sword Birth!"
When the attack reached Issei, he reached down to the ground, his sacred gear absorbed it in. "Transfer!" "Koneko, Kiba, Jump!" Issei then punched his fist into the ground then dozens no, hundreds of swords erupted piercing everyone on the battlefield.
"Two of Riser's pawns, two knights, two bishops, and a rook, retired."
Kiba quickly activated his communicator. "President, all that's left is Riser himself!" Back at the home base Rias was surprised at the news. "Akeno, Asia, it's time we take the king. Stay there, I'm on my way." The two nodded and they all flew straight towards the track.
"Well done, I'm glad you're all ok. Now all that's left is to checkmate the king. Issei, promote to queen when you walk inside. Asia, you'll be following behind Akeno, healing her of any injuries. Our goal is to land as many hits as possible on Riser."
"Not bad Rias but your luck ends here." Declared Riser as he flew down from above with his flame-shaped wings.
"Those fake phoenix tears you're using won't be enough to heal you from my flames."
Kiba looked at Rias."President?" She nodded and Kiba used his knightly speed to close the gap and attack Riser.
Rias then began giving orders. "Koneko, you and Kiba will be on the ground! Issei, go promote to queen! Akeno, Asia, and I will attack from above! Asia, stay behind Akeno!"
The moment Kiba's sword was within reach Riser exploded the ground beneath him, blowing Kiba into the air and onto his back. Koneko jumped into the air, Riser launched hellfire straight towards her when she neared the maximum height of her jump, Koneko activated her wings, used them to accelerate to the ground, the hellfire missing her entirely, landed a hook right on his jaw so loud everyone could hear it, and slightly behind him to his right.
The spot where she landed a hit then caught on fire, dying down in a second and the purple bruise she left was gone, fully healed. Riser stomped on the ground causing a trail of fire to head straight towards Koneko. She easily dodged it however its true target became apparent. Issei was within arms reach of the door to the school but he was blasted by the hellfire sending him flying into the air. Rias managed to catch him when he began to drop down and sent a power of destruction beam straight towards Riser. Riser flew vertically into the air avoiding it, only to be stopped by Kiba, stabbing him in the stomach and forcing him to the ground.
Riser didn't even flinch at the move and sent out an explosion of hellfire in all directions straight from his body, knocking back him and Konecko who was waiting on the ground to follow up. Seeing everyone far enough away from Riser, Akeno blasted the entire area with her holy lightning, stunning Riser for a full three seconds, unable to move from his muscles spasming and the burn from the holy attribute.
"Promotion, Queen!" Declared Issei, who had run inside while the rest of the team kept Riser busy.
"Tch. How annoying." Was all Riser had to say before his injuries began to heal again. He lobbed a ball of hellfire into the air to Issei's direction, when he heard rapid footsteps behind him, he lit the ground beneath him on fire, causing Kiba to grunt in pain.
Kiba felt he may be unable to run, manifested a sword and hurled it straight towards Riser. The sword pierced his ribcage, left lung, the crossguard prevented the sword from flying out, and Riser stepped forward from the momentum. He struggled to breath for a second or two which Akeno and Rias took advantage of, slamming him with a combination of a holy lightning bolt and a crimson blast of the power of destruction.
For the briefest of moments, it appeared as everyone would hear Grayfia announce their victory but that thought was shattered instantly.
"ENOUGH!" Riser then engulfed the track with a ball of hellfire, knocking everyone down to the ground. "I was bored so I held back but I refuse to have my first loss be to those who've never been in a rating game!"
Rias quickly got up and began giving out commands. "Everyone, get up and heal yourselves!" Riser spread his fire wings, dove straight for Rias to land a finishing blow only to hear, "EXPLOSION". Riser was slammed by a cannon of draconic energy, sending him flying straight into the building, breaking through the wall, and crashing into the stairs.
This gave everyone the precious moments they needed to heal up and they charged Riser again. Kiba, leading the charge was rammed by Riser, he then stomped on the floor well within range of everyone, lighting it on fire, when Koneko jumped in the air he fired two hellfire bursts in the air. One towards Koneko, the other towards Akeno, when she charged up her holy lightning. Rias erased his right arm with her crimson blast of destruction but it healed the next second.
"Sword Birth!"
Riser flew to the sky the second he heard the word sword, sent hellfire to Kiba, was then hit with a chunk of rubble by Koneko, the attack didn't knock him out of the air but Kiba appearing in front of him, stabbing him and forcing him down again he tried to melt the sword with his hellfire he was surprised when the flames didn't burn the sword instead creating a cloud of steam between his flames and the sword.
"I'd almost forgotten about my flame delete sword. Shame your fire is so strong it cancels out instead of my blade beating it." Kiba then jumped away, confusing Riser for a second. He immediately realized Kiba would only dodge in that circumstance if another large area attack was on its way but it was too late.
"EXPLOSION" The huge blast of energy sent him further away and deeper into the ground. Knowing one of them would follow up he bombed the area with another explosion of hellfire. When he got up he saw that they were all far away, well out of its range.
When he flapped open his wings he felt something he hadn't felt the entire fight, exhaustion. Using so many magic attacks had began to drain his demonic energy, causing his regeneration to not kick in,
His mind began to race with everything that's happened. The fact that he'd lost his entire peerage while Rias hadn't. Or how didn't carry a phoenix tear on him since he had his inherent regeneration, choosing to give it to his pieces instead. Number wise, this entire fight has been an overwhelming victory for Rias. He couldn't even finish off one of them. The anxiety and fear of losing had been slowly creeping into his mind but, he ignored it for most of the fight but now? It was all he could think about.
"The game has ended, Rias Gremory holds all her pieces and Riser Phenex holds none. Rias Gremory is the winner."
Riser was shocked. "What?!" He didn't keep track of time as he thought the game wouldn't have lasted as long as it did. Across from him he heard Rias and her peerage cheering. A teleportation circle appeared below him and he was teleported away.
Thanks for reading! I'd love it if you told me what you'd like to see in a future chapter, what I could've done better, and what you liked. If you'd like to support me I'd appreciate it if you looked me up on Ko-Fi at ThatGuyAlex2077.
Sorry this one's shorter than normal. I wanted to get one out by the first of this month no matter what.
[LINKS]
[1] Fallout wiki: Craig Boone or Youtube: Fallout: New Vegas - Boone Introductory Dialogue (Dec. 29th,2018)
